Henry's Battalion, Prologue

Henry and the rest of the battalion of guardian angels face a wicked foe.

Alright, I wanted to give this a little more time and attention, but hey, I homeschool five children, so, this is as good as it gets for now! If I do decide to print copies of this new edition of Henry’s Battalion, perhaps I’ll give it one more once over. I tell you what, though, when I first printed it six years ago, I edited and edited and edited and edited. The first edition was the best I had in me at the time. I’m guessing nothing I write will ever be perfect, and future me will always have something to add or to change.

Something particularly personal and special about Henry’s Battalion is that several chapters include journal entries, written in the form of letters, from the main character’s mother to her. These were written when she was a child. Actually, they were written when I was a child. They are almost word-for-word transcribed from a journal of letters my own mother wrote for me. It’s one of my most prized possessions, and seeing her handwriting is like hearing her voice.

No more ado. Here is the prologue for Henry’s Battalion, second edition.

(if you missed it, here is the post where Henry’s Battalion is introduced)

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Prologue

March 14, 1989

My sweet little Emma,

It has always been my belief that it is every child’s unquestionable right to come into this world and expect her every physical need to be attended to. But more than that, she should be loved, cared for and cherished as a priceless treasure. Showing each other love is the reason why we are here on this earth--it is no chance coincidence or ‘lucky’ thing that just happens. So I want you to know that I love you beyond my ability to put into words. You should always know, no matter where you go, what you do or what happens to you in this tumultuous time, that you are indeed cherished--by me, by your father, and by your Heavenly Father and Mother. You are here to be loved and to give love to those around you, and nothing else really matters--it’s that simple. 

I guess first of all I want to tell you about your birth. After a long and miserable pregnancy, we planned your birth for the 9th of January (since we knew that you would be born by C-section. It seems that my body doesn’t cooperate with labor, and we’re both better off just bringing you out from the top). So I’m at my last doctor’s appointment and good old Dr. Theurer teased me about showing up on the right day, as he knows how anxious I am (was). I teased him right back, because he actually forgot to show up in the delivery room for Peter’s birth. (The OR personnel had to track him down while they threatened to let the janitor operate on me.) I said, “Now you’re sure that you’re not going to run off to the Bahamas and leave me to the janitor again, are you?” He looked at me with a totally blank stare and said, “By golly, I really am going to be in the Bahamas. I totally forgot.” So we rescheduled your birthday for January 5th. Hope you like it. Dad and I had to be at the hospital at 6:00 am. They got me all ready to go. The anesthesiologist held a mirror for me so that I could see you be born. What an overwhelmingly awesome experience! First your little head and then your wet, squirming body. I have never felt closer to my Heavenly Father (and Mother), as you left one realm and entered another--mine! To hear your little cry and to know that you were healthy and beautiful still brings the tears. I would have loved you no matter how ugly or imperfect, but you weren’t, you were gorgeous. The worth of such a gift could never be designated.

Our stay in the hospital was very peaceful and uneventful. It snowed and snowed, and I remember nursing you in the night with the lights off and watching the snowflakes glisten as they fell in the glow of the lights outside. I want your life to be just that secure, but I know that it won’t be. You will have difficult, desperate times when you think that you are very alone in this world. You are not. You are of infinite worth and value and you have great potential. I know that, and your Father in Heaven knows that. My love and confidence will be with you always, as will His. Whatever you must endure--He understands. You can meet any challenge if you let Him be your friend. You can be a force for good in this world. At this point in my life, I think that the key to understanding the Savior is to be able to love and give when it is the most difficult. It’s easy to love someone who loves you and is good to you, but can you truly love someone who you think is less deserving? I haven’t conquered that yet, but I’m working on it.

You have been a wonderful nurser and a pretty good sleeper, in spite of these many weeks of colic. If we can lick that, we’re in good shape. I will tell you lots more later but I need to go now. Love you infinity,

Mom

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

June 3, 2012

Henry took in a deep breath before addressing his battalion. Every one of them was ready to follow him into this deepest of dark battles. At present they formed a protective circle around their captain and the shuddering figure kneeling on the ground next to him. Each of the half-dozen soldiers were on one knee, facing both their charge and their captain. A heavy fog of thick darkness rolled in from every direction. Venomous hisses and insidious whispers tainted the air as it drew ever closer, smothering all light and sound.

“Let no man’s heart fail him—she needs us all tonight,” Henry called to them. There was the slightest quiver in his voice. “We all know how much the Opposition would love to topple a Great One, and we all know that she is tired, worn…” he paused and knelt down next to the soul entrusted to his guardianship, “and now broken.” Reverently, he rested his strong hand on her shoulder. “But she has us, and we will not abandon her.”

As he spoke, the impatient noises issuing from the suffocating darkness grew more rabid and deranged, like starving scavengers waiting on a meal. Henry’s gaze lifted heavenward as the last of the starry sky was choked out by the noxious cloud. He stood, and his battalion followed. The sharp whispers of hatred and malice cut through the air around them like serrated knives. Darting, smokey shadows lunged out from the edges of the fog, anxious for the attack. Not a single guardian so much as flinched. Within moments, the fog and its minions converged on them, fueled by darkest doubts and twisted echoes of regret and anguish, agitated by the peace of the battalion that refused to conform to the chaos around it.

“Not to worry, Hal,” said one of the soldiers, a young girl who couldn’t be older than twelve. She turned her baseball cap backwards. Her short, auburn hair framed her freckled, smiling face. She twirled a slingshot in her hand and pulled a blazing, golden ball out of a pouch at her waist and deftly loaded it into her weapon.  “We’ll take care of them, you take care of her.”

“That’s my girl, Eden,” Henry replied fondly. He turned to an old, pleasant looking man wearing a sky blue bowtie and brown suspenders over a plain, button-up shirt. “David, I’ll leave it to you to make the call. Tonight I think we needn’t hold back.”

“Yes sir, Captain,” he replied with a smart salute. With his other hand, he leaned slightly on a wooden cane. Cracks in the wood were filled with golden light, as if the core of the old walking stick was made of the sun itself.

With a nod from Henry, the battalion turned to face the darkness. Each of them wielded a weapon that pulsed with the same vibrant light as Eden’s marbles and David’s cane. The wisps of darkness that had begun to seep from the cloud evaporated from within the circle as they raised, loaded, and aimed their defenses. 

Outside their formation, the demonic din took on a frenzied, ear-splitting volume. The edge of the black fog was tense, like a dam straining to hold back a flood. Suddenly, it broke, and out sprang a wild horde of shadowy figures with a horrifying cry, something like the terrorizing roar of a lion and the murderous scream of a bird of prey. Some were like savage wolves, hunched over and running on all fours. Others were almost the shape of humans, but for their snakelike faces and strange, long limbs. They were accompanied by small and winged demons that shrieked as they flew through the fray. 

The face of every soldier was calm, though they were fighting fiercely now. They wielded their weapons with destructive expertise to the dismay of the demons that bore down on them with frightening determination. Upon impact with the weapons, the creatures shrieked and burst like fireworks, only to be replaced by dozens more. 

One guardian, a young woman with long, beautiful black hair and big, enchanting eyes took her place a few yards from Henry and began to sing. Her voice was soft and sweet, but full of resonant power that radiated from her in the form of golden light. Nearby, a girl even younger than Eden danced to the merry tune of the song, apparently oblivious to the ferocious battle surrounding her as she waved a long, golden ribbon through the air.

“Stephanie, sing the one about the tree!” she called to the singer. Stephanie smiled a wide, beautiful smile and gracefully changed her tune. The little girl moved about, spreading the light emanating from Stephanie with every sweeping twirl of her canary yellow sundress. Her tawny hair was messily braided, and the more she danced, the messier it became. Whenever one of the beasts got too close, she whipped out the ribbon, and the creature of the dark exploded with a howl upon contact. 

“Got one!” she yelled triumphantly.

“Well done, Aelia,” David said proudly from nearby. 

Henry watched the battle for a moment, then did his best to ignore it. He turned to the woman kneeling on the ground. His kindly face bore the gentle wrinkles of middle age, made deeper with concern as he knelt down in front of her. He moved closer until his knees touched hers.

“This isn’t the end,” he whispered. He closed his hazel eyes and focused his energy on the tiny, flickering light barely still alive in her core. “You are not alone.”

The Opposition had sought its prey in a most desperate moment and was determined to make the most of it. Some members of the battalion had never faced such an attack, yet all were unwilling to yield an inch. One soldier, a young man, was thrown to the ground by the charge of a particularly thick, four-legged offender. He gave a furious yell, scooped up his sword and jumped to his feet. With one hard shake of the hilt and a soft but sharp zing, it became a bow instead. A full quiver appeared at his waist where his sword’s sheath had been. He fired the bright, golden arrows inside and they flew, and struck, like lightning. The quiver never emptied. Within a matter of seconds he had finished a dozen demons, each one swallowed up in fiery light. He could almost feel his heart race with the familiar rush of war. It wasn’t exactly the same; as spirits, neither the guardians nor the demons could actually die, nor could hearts actually race. The demons, when defeated, were banished only temporarily. If a guardian was struck, the pain was more like a stab of anguish, a shot of sorrow--disorienting and debilitating blows of anxiety, confusion, frustration, or discouragement.  They were precisely the wounds intended for the soul they were protecting.

“Sasha!” Eden shouted in alarm. She was fighting with a dagger now.  Her slingshot, less suitable for close combat, stuck out of her back pocket. The young man turned and saw her pointing into the circle, where half a dozen demons now prowled. They had snaked their way in during the brief moment he was down. Sasha nocked an arrow, drew back, and was about to release when one of the wolf-like creatures attacked from behind. It leapt onto his back and sent him once again sprawling; the arrow flew but missed its target. Eden hurled the dagger at a monster running at her, then grabbed her slingshot from her pocket. The sparks from the exploding enemy hit by the dagger flew into her face. She waited a moment for her field of vision to clear, and then with absolute concentration and practiced aim, let loose one of the golden marbles from her pouch. It struck the snarling creature pinning Sasha directly in the head and the beast burst into shards of light. She grabbed her dagger and ran to her comrade’s side, where David had already appeared. Back to back the three of them fought the whole pack of devil wolves that had arrived from out of the fog to replace the fallen one. David handled his cane like a sword. With deftness and agility uncommon for his age, he did battle like the fiercest of warriors. He flipped the cane over and used the crook to pull one of the creatures off of Eden, then sharply flung the beast away. In the same swing he took out a couple of the hawk-like demons, just before they could finish their dive towards Sasha. Despite the trio’s impressive skill, and that of the rest of the battalion, there seemed to be little progress made.

Henry, who had taken his attention momentarily off of his charge to assess the state of his soldiers, saw several dark monsters now circling in towards him, closer and closer. He stood and unsheathed his own sword in one swift movement. Though he looked like a simple, quiet man, his blade sliced through the hellhounds with the skill and ease of a seasoned warrior as they suddenly attacked from every direction. The Darkness may have been determined, but Henry defended someone he loved. They stood no chance against him. As the last demon in the pack fell to his sword with a furious hiss and a burst of garish light, he heard Sasha shouting.

“This isn’t working!” he said. His bow was now a battle ax. 

“Form ranks!” David called, barely heard over the din of the demonic Opposition.

In the course of the battle, their circle formation had become scattered. At David’s call, each of them simultaneously sheathed or stowed their weapons. Aelia tied her ribbon in her hair. Sasha gave his ax a shake and it became a simple iron rod which he tucked into his belt. David rested his cane in the crook of his arm. They were all back in the circle in less than a moment, standing about four feet apart. The battalion collectively inhaled before they reverently stretched their arms out towards each other, palms facing upward, and closed their eyes. 

“Send us more Light,” David said, his tone prayerful.

In between each of them appeared a being made entirely of light. Shaped like humans, these shining beings linked hands with the guardians, doubling their force. Almost immediately, from the heart of every member of the battalion, a faint golden light began to emanate—small at first but growing ever brighter. The magnificent and unconstrained energy they could now produce with the help of the new arrivals required the unbridled strength and absolute focus of every guardian. The shadow beasts hesitated, unnerved by the light beings, but not for long.

Henry inhaled deeply and exhaled softly. He kneeled down again next to the sorrowing soul. He put his forehead to hers, wrapped his strong hands around her prayerful ones, and pinched his eyes shut. He softly hummed the tune of her favorite hymn, and as he did so, he began to emanate a warm, gentle light. This light was meant for his charge. The radiant beams from the battalion were for her foes.

A particularly heinous creature of the Darkness dug its long, crooked claws into the ground. With the strength of hatred, it withstood the force of the light that had begun to blow away the other creatures like a powerful wind. Over the shoulder of the Great One he protected, Henry saw the loathsome thing, the size of a grizzly bear, crouched just outside the circle. It trembled under the effort to stay and advance. The hunched and undefined form wavered in the radiance of the battalion. Its wicked eyes fixed on Henry, who remained unflinching under the scathing glare. Henry ignored the sickening snarls and snapping, drooling jowls and focused his attention wholly on the soul before him. Her hands were clasped tightly in prayer—so tightly that her knuckles were white from the strain. Her head was bowed, in reverence as well as in anguished despair. Her whispered communion with Deity was accentuated with tears and quiet, shuddering sobs.

The maniacal creature peered through the ring of guardians and light beings, whose attention was consumed by the effort to sustain the growing light. It took several running dashes at the young woman, jumping between the unmoving sentinels. Henry’s light originated in his core, near his heart, and though it pulsed warmly for the protected one, with each attack it exploded out with cold brilliance in every direction. It struck the beast like the blast from a bomb and sent the miserable thing sprawling. The demon became more agitated and angry with every failed attempt. Finally, in a crazed and enraged fit, it dove at the woman, the intention to tear her to pieces evident on its ugly face. Henry bowed his head, and with a burst brighter than the rest, the persistent fiend was swallowed by the light into which it had trespassed. 

Henry took several slow, deep breaths. Stephanie took up the tune of the song he had been humming, and soon the whole battalion lended their voices. After what could have been minutes or hours, the Darkness and its depraved minions were entirely overcome by the light of the little battalion, which, in the end, shined as bright as midday sun. The tears on the face of the prayerful one dried, her shuddering ceased, and a small light kindled again in her soul and could faintly be seen by all around. Henry opened his eyes and leaned back from her. He gave a great sigh of relief.

“Resilient as ever,” he said softly with a quiet smile. He stood and looked around him. The sun was just breaking the horizon, and its fresh light made the dew on the grass sparkle cheerfully. A kindly breeze rustled the row of towering cottonwood trees nearby, and birds sang brightly to gently wake up their world. The glowing newcomers bowed their heads reverently to the battalion and dissolved into the dazzling morning light. The guardians let their hands fall back to their sides. Shoulders relaxed and smiles returned.

“Piece of cake,” said Eden as she spun her hat back to the front. 

 “For us, maybe,” responded David. “Not such an easy task for Emma.” He sighed and shook his head. “We all knew it was coming. She did too, in a way. Doesn’t matter how much you know, still hurts.”

Henry nodded. 

“Eden?”

“Yes, Hal?” she replied eagerly, anxious for an assignment.

“Come here and stay right by her, alright?”

Eden instantly obliged.

“Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll take good care of her,” she said, clearly pleased to be entrusted with such a duty. Henry couldn’t help but crack a little smile and shake his head.

“A hundred years in the service and you think you know it all,” he said.

“Hey, that’s a hundred and six to you, sir, and I am a fast learner. Gabriel himself said so.”

“She’ll be the captain of her own battalion before long,” chuckled David, who stood nearby leaning on his cane, which now looked rather normal. 

With a grin and a wink, Henry disappeared. 

My mama and me, just a few months after she wrote this first journal entry