Chapter 4

Edward stood at the top of a hill overlooking the small town of Abington. The town was small and, to the mortal eye, it appeared quiet and peaceful. Edward's eyes, unfortunately, saw beyond the natural. To his eyes the town was a quagmire of evil spirits. Though he could not see the individual spirits from here, he could see the perverse energy that gave the village a ghastly and forlorn aspect. The sorrow of the blind, enslaved souls of Abington's inhabitants was almost a palpable force. Even at this distance, the power of their sorrow almost overwhelmed him and threatened to drive Edward to his knees. Tears welled up in the powerful warrior's eyes as he thought about those poor people and how they had absolutely no idea of what they had done to themselves.

Edward knew that it would take an incredible amount of courage to fight down in the town itself. It would be hard to keep the pain and sorrow of those poor people from overcoming him and his soldiers. He was able to appreciate the irony of the fact that the empathy that his kind shared with humanity, the same empathy that allowed them to help mortals, could damn nigh come close to killing them this day. Too bad emotions aren't a switch you can turn on and off at will, he thought with a wry smile.

The young warrior turned sideways and looked at Tristan and Robert. "Do you think the plan will work?: He asked the two commanders who had accompanied him on this reconnaissance trip.

"It ought to." replied Tristan, looking down at the school gravely. "It's gonna be a risky play any way you go at it. That pain will be a killer."

"I still don't know." replied Robert, also looking down. "I'd still like to take a few more days to see if the situation changes, my plan isn't good enough yet, it's gotta be perfect."
"Robert," said Tristan in exasperation, "you never think your battle plans are perfect. You're too smart for your own good! Nobody could defeat the plan you have now, at least I know I couldn't, and I know what we're doing, the Enemy will never know the full extent of what we've done, let alone why."

"Tristan's right, Robert, the plan is fine as it is. I think we should strike tomorrow. We can't afford to keep those children out of school much longer or we'll draw attention to them, and that's what we're trying to avoid, remember?"

Robert sighed, "If you want to use the plan as it is, then this is perhaps the best time to attack."

"Tomorrow at dawn then. Remember, this mission must succeed, the children are our future. Whoever controls the minds and souls of the children controls the world for a generation or more." Edward turned and launched himself into the air. Robert and Tristan followed close behind. As he flew, dark thoughts began infringing on Edward's consciousness. Doubt began to intrude. What if Robert's right and there is something wrong with our plans? What if the Enemy knows we're coming? We could be slaughtered! Edward scowled and shook his head. Not was not the time for contemplating such things, he should have faith in the power of the Lord, nothing would happen.

The morning dawned bright and beautiful. As soon as the sun started pouring over the hills into the small town of Abington, a hundred white-clad soldiers swooped down from the hills and headed straight for the small high school.

There weren't many mortals at the complex yet, the students wouldn't start arriving for almost half an hour and Edward's charges were scheduled to arrive about an hour from now, right at eight o'clock. Even though only a few teachers and custodians were present this early in the morning, there were still plenty of enemy creatures inhabiting the halls. Those dark warriors who never left the school but stayed to keep it saturated with the energy of their presence and to prevent the sanctity of the buildings form being contaminated with the energy produced by Edward's kind.

The energy produced by Edward and his soldiers, the forces and ideals that drove them, when around mortals gifted the mortals with the ability to see things the way they really were. The Dark One's soldiers couldn't have that. If humans started to think for themselves then they would start to see the bonds of conformity and slavery that the Enemy had placed on them. Then they would cast off those bonds and the Enemy would begin losing power.

All this went through Edward's head as he rocketed towards the school. Once he and his warriors reached the buildings, however, there was no time for profound contemplation.

The school was heavily guarded, and the battle was nip and tuck all the way. Edward knew that this fight was simply a distraction, to keep the evil creatures from noticing the three young people who would be arriving shortly, but they still had to stay alive long enough for the distraction to be effective. That was becoming more and more difficult the longer the battle progressed, however. The Enemy was constantly receiving reinforcements as the children and staff arrived with their own personal guards and they pressed Edward and his troops harder and harder. Finally a pure trumpet note sounded above the din of the battle. That was the signal for Edward and his people to retreat, which they did gladly, fighting their way clear of the school and streaking away from the town as fast as their wings could carry them.