CHAPTER 2

                     STONE KINGS

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,

but we shall all be changed,

-1st Letter of Paulus to the Korithians 15:51

THE air grew warmer as they sailed south, pushed

on by the trade winds.

Though Daniel’s heart felt a deeper wound from

his father’s death and from the thought of losing Rachel’s

love than from the death of a grandfather he had

never met, his mind still reeled from the news of Anak’s

fall. Men, even kings like his father, all fell prey to death,

and Daniel supposed that a young man had lost the love

of one he held dear somewhere in the world each and

every day, but angels were just not supposed to die.

Anak had sat on his throne for a thousand years and

had lived for ages before that. His presence seemed as

permanent as the sun and the stars. Mountains rose and

fell while he lived. The years were counted by his reign.

If the moon had suddenly disappeared from the sky

Daniel would have been no more shocked.

But there was work to be done. Daniel set about the

task of winning back Rachel’s love. As per Simon’s instructions,

he spent his mornings sitting on deck, reading

in the scriptures those passages regarding love that

the priest had told him to study. Daniel had not realized

there was so much on the subject in the holy books, not

only the love between God and man, but also the love

between man and woman. He remembered Simon’s

words in describing a woman’s heart.

“A woman looks upon the man that she loves as her

protector. It is a natural role for you, so it comes as no

surprise, but keep in mind that she needs protection

from you as well: from your own weakness, your selfishness

and anger, from decisions made without wisdom,

knowledge and prayer. A woman wishes to look up to

her man, to view him as her hero and her armor. Now

Rachel has been shown a flaw in her hero, a gap in her

armor. She had believed in that armor, but now she does

not know if she can trust its strength in the battles that

life brings. You must close the gap and show her that the

armor will not fail. Before she saw the gap, she would

have taken on faith the strength of the armor. Now you

must prove its worth before she will trust her life to it

again.”

Daniel had shaven off his beard the morning after

leaving Logres and returned to Moor his black shirt—

which was just as well: the sleeves were much too long.

The burn marks on his arm were healing. Simon had

given him an ointment to reduce the scarring, though

Daniel knew enough about such things to realize that

some scars would remain with him the rest of his life.

At each meal, Daniel would ensure that he sat across

the table from Rachel, offering her food and making

small compliments here and there about her clothing or

hair. Rachel’s replies were polite but short, and she

hadn’t given any indication that she wished to speak

further.

Every afternoon, Daniel would take the traveler’s

horses one by one on deck to groom and walk them. The

third day out from Logres he went into the hold as usual

to bring a horse above and found one of the sailors

mucking out a stall.

“Afternoon, Bleeker,” Daniel said. “How fares our

cargo today?”

“Well if you mean the ‘orses, sir, they be as good today

as they ever was.” The sailor lowered his voice. “If

you be meanin’ our new cargo, sir, they be givin’ me the

shivers since they come aboard.

“Ah, well,” said the prince with a shrug, “those of

Anak’s blood are not like other men.”

“I have ’eard such things, sir, but the way they sleep

just ain’t natural, if you ask me.”

“Oh, why do you say that?” asked Daniel.

Bleeker dropped his voice to a whisper and leaned

closer. “They sleep like stone kings.” He pointed to the

far end of the hold. “Go look for yourself, and see if I

ain’t right. They be at the aft end of the hold, up against

the back wall.”

Curious now, Daniel made his way to the back of the

hold past large cargo boxes and barrels, lashed down to

prevent their moving about as the ship rode the waves.

The Anakim had taken seven of the boxes and lined

them up against the back wall. Each Anakim had all his

armor upon him and each sat upright on a box, his

hands resting upon his knees. So mighty they appeared

and yet so still were they that they did bring to mind

stone carvings of great and ancient kings set before a

tomb.

Daniel crept closer until he was standing before

them. He watched for a time, but did not see any movement

at all from the giants. No chest rose and fell with

breathing. No eyelid fluttered with a dream.

Could they have all died in their sleep? Daniel was

standing before the eldest of the Anakim, the one named

Gath. Should he try to wake them? He knew better than

to touch a sleeping warrior, so he whispered a low,

“Hello?”

Instantly the Anakim’s eyes snapped open, glowing

in the lamplight like those of a wolf. Surprised, Daniel

stumbled back a step. All the Anakim were staring

straight ahead now as if in a trance. Then their heads

slowly turned towards Daniel and fixed upon him with

their strange, luminescent eyes.

“Is it time?” asked Gath in a voice like stone grinding

on stone.

“No…no, it’s not time,” stammered Daniel.

Without another word the Anakim turned their

heads, closed their eyes and withdrew back into their

sleep.

Daniel backed away from them and left. He returned

to the front of the hold and found Bleeker still at

work in the stalls.

“Eerie, ain’t they, sir?” asked the sailor seeing the

look on Daniel’s face.

“Eerie. Yes, that is a good word for them,” replied

the prince, wondering what kind of beings his uncles

were.

Copyright © 2005, 2009 William R. McGrath