A Kingdom in the Hands of the Enemy

A Kingdom in  

 the Hands  

 of the  

 Enemy

The only escape is to understand your true enemy.

Redemption Trilogy: Book One

Copyright © 2012 Jeff Hamstra

www.jeffhamstrabooks.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4118-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4117-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4119-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012903570

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/24/2012

Contents

Prologue

When Darkness Falls

The Strewer of Death

Nightmares

Struck

Madness

Death’s Journey

The Dominance of Fear

The Showdown

Lost

On Sinking Sand

When the Clock Struck Midnight

Bloodlust

Tricks and Traps

Evil of the Worst Kind

A Mystery Unsolved

The Sweet Revenge

The Beginning of the End

Victory and Defeat

The Result of Sin

Falling in the Black

The Black

Epilogue

Note from the author…

Getting more personal…

A little deeper…

How to see reality in fiction…

About the author…

Ephesians 6:10-20

Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take a stand against the devil’s schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace,

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.

NIV

Prologue

Lucifer smiled to himself, pleased with his plan. After years of battle he had gained wisdom and knew how to play the game.

Ivan, or Mr. Black as they called him, was his assistant. (Black was a descendent of Ahab. When the others were all killed in a previous battle, he, being the most evil of them all, was allowed by God to help Lucifer with his schemes.)

Lucifer and Black were just discussing the kingdom’s gain of faith and how they must stop them. If we wait any longer, Black complained, if we continue to hold off what’s-his-face, the priest will have brought them all to you-know-who, and all will be lost. Why did we have to wait twenty years to return anyway? Do you really think it was necessary? We have been wasting time!

Lucifer smiled. Black had a point, but then again, he was always jumping ahead of the situation. It is going to get him into trouble one day, Lucifer thought to himself. We will wait no longer. We will strike them without warning. We will go in the black of night, when we are the strongest and they are most vulnerable.

Black frowned. That is the way of a coward and you know it. Shouldn’t we do it in the morning when they first awake?

Don’t you ever call me a coward again or I swear that I will strike you down! Lucifer hissed. No, they would not believe us if we arrive then. Rather, we should go in the evening or at night. Then they will take us in. Besides, I have a score to settle with them from our previous visit. Lucifer had never forgotten the thick but fading scar on his chest.

It has taken me twenty years to regain the strength I had before we first attacked them, and now I feel it in my bones. Revenge is sweet, they say, and I say that we get us some. I will finally be at peace, knowing that those, those things, that beat me so long ago will die slowly. Every one of them in my chamber that I have set up while I was recovering. Even now my eyes long for the sight of suffering and blood. Their blood gives me power. It is what I need to live, to heal, to kill, and to take more blood. It is what I was created to do.

Lucifer’s evil smile caught Black in a trance. When he noticed Black in that state he asked, So,

So what?

Aren’t you going to ask it?

Whaaa…oh yeah, right. So, when are we going to leave? Black asked.

Patience, Lucifer replied. We will leave when the time is right. You cannot run on the road of perfection. It must be traveled one step at a time.

You ask that same question and say that same thing every time we go out on a mission!

And you still never get smart! Lucifer thought. "The first step is planning, and that has been in progress twenty years. That part was taken care of. The second step is disguise."

Lucifer turned to an old wooden chest along the far side of the room and withdrew two long cloaks with flourish. Both were the shade of black. He handed one to Black, then put on the other. Black held it out in front of him to admire it, and then folded it and placed it in the crook of his arm.

"The third step is the preparation. I will take care of this. We leave at first light tomorrow, so get some sleep."

After he had said this, the two departed for their rooms to prepare for the battle that lay ahead.

When Darkness Falls

James Brown was walking down the street to a small house, the Williams’ house, that doubled as a chapel. Ever since James arrived in the valley, the Williams had welcomed him into their home whenever he needed a place to stay. James looked at the sun: almost noon.

He reviewed the lesson for the day in his head. He knew that King Peter and his son, Eugene, were going to be there, along with the others who usually attended. Ever since the queen died, Peter had wanted to learn more about God. He desired to increase his faith through whatever means necessary.

As he walked up to the house, the front door opened. There stood young Matthew Cooper and Alex Williams to greet him. Right inside was a big room that they used as a meeting room. As usual, the townspeople stood up when James entered the room. The young Prince Eugene sat under the window. Next to him was his good friend, Samuel. James took his usual spot at the front of the room. The people quickly gathered around to hear his teachings.

After a short prayer, they began a discussion of the topic that not all are perfect. Even the great King David, the man after God’s own heart, had sinned many times.

After more than one-and-a-half hours of preaching, James decided to wrap it up. Many of the people needed to go home and tend to their animals.

On the way home, he stopped by the village tavern to get a drink. It was a small wooden building located in the center of the village. It had several rooms upstairs where guests were able to stay. Inside, there were several round tables where the locals gathered to catch up on the latest news around town.

As he stepped in, he noticed a man in a black cloak sitting at the bar. James continued to the counter and leaned against it. When the bartender came over, James asked him who the stranger was.

He came in last evening, Elijah replied in a hushed tone. He refused to give me his name. He had been in his room until about ten minutes ago. He hasn’t said a thing since he came downstairs. He just pointed at the dish he wanted to order. Even last night, he refused to say more than, ‘Do you have vacancy?’ That was it.

Elijah set a glass of white wine in front of James. He took the glass in his hand and sipped it before continuing.

Maybe he doesn’t understand our language, James wondered, or at the least, he can’t speak it. Maybe he could be holding his tongue so he doesn’t identity away.

Possibly, but why would he want to spy on us? the bartender asked. We don’t pose any potential threat to anyone. We haven’t raided another nation for at least 50 years. Unless their king holds grudges for life, we really don’t have any reason to be avenged.

We had better keep an eye on him. He could be here to assassinate the king, or someone else that is important to our kingdom.

Since you are staying at the castle, maybe you should warn King Peter when you get there, Elijah suggested.

Leave it to me to see that it happens.

Okay. Satisfied, Elijah returned to his work.

James downed the rest of the wine. Setting down his now-empty glass, he paid and headed for the door.

God be with you, Elijah called over his shoulder as he put the coin in a drawer under the counter.

And with you, James called back.

As the sun was setting, James climbed the long narrow trail up to the castle. The castle sat on top of a hill above the village. It gave an incredible view of the valley below.

It was a cloudy night and the moon and stars did not show through. The only evidence that the village below existed was the faint glow of torches lining the streets and the fires scattered throughout the fields.

As he reached the castle’s gate, the guard nodded at him, and he passed through into the courtyard. The courtyard had grass that was trampled by the heavy boots of the soldiers and the carts and horses that passed over it every day. There were even some faint trails worn down in some places. A blazing fire in the center added an adequate amount of light. He extinguished his torch and stored it next to the opening of the gatehouse. In the amber glow of the fire, the castle took on an evil look.

James walked down the corridor to King Peter’s chamber. Again, he thought about the man in black. The more he pondered the mystery, the deeper it became.

When he reached Peter’s private chambers on the fourth floor, the guards recognized him immediately and let him through. The king was sitting on the edge of his bed with the Bible James had given him, open on his lap. James silently stood in the shadows a few yards away watching, waiting patiently.

After a few moments, Peter looked up, greeted him, and ushered him to a chair. Getting down to business, James repeated the conversation with Elijah.

Interesting, Peter said in a deep voice. Even though he was just over fifty years of age, his hair was already graying. Peter was strong and an excellent sword fighter, perhaps the best in his kingdom. Although his kingdom, called Ahraam, had not waged battle against another nation since his youth, Peter still kept an army fit and ready for battle.

So tell me again, what did you say he looked like?

He looked like he was just over six feet tall, or so. He was sitting down, so I have no accurate measurement. He wore a coat that was blacker than the black of night,

His eyes, did you see his eyes? questioned Peter.

The question puzzled James. No, he never really looked at us. Why do you ask? he asked curiously.

In a legend, the devil himself wore a cloak the color of night, and his eyes had a glint of red to them. If what you tell me is true, the man you saw might be…

I’d better go warn Elijah right away! James interrupted.

Not so fast, Peter cautioned. If he were The devil himself, then most likely he would be after you. He would want to stop you from converting us to Christianity. He would most likely be looking to kill you, not me. Peter wrung his hands together as he pondered what to do next. Go gather your things from your room and come back here with them. You will sleep in here tonight, so I can keep an eye on you.

James objected. It is too much to ask for. He did, however, like the idea of having the privilege of sleeping in the king’s own bedroom.

Nonsense, I will have it no other way, he insisted.

So James agreed.

After he had settled in, the moon broke through the clouds. It was a full moon that cast an eerie blue light on his quilt.

James was exhausted from the hike to the top of Red Mountain that he had made earlier that morning. It was