Free Final Confrontation by D. Brian Shafer

Kara, and ultimately Lucifer. The angel had assumed the horrid appearance of a human with a rat-like face, grinning as he approached Herod. The old king was bent over a table looking at a map of Judea, unaware of the angel’s presence or mission. He peered over the map for a moment or two longer and violently swept it off the table.
    “I should have all the frontier guards killed,” he raged aloud.
    “And yet the Child lives…”
Rhedi spoke softly.
    “The Child lives,” Herod thought to himself. “Somewhere in Bethlehem.”
    “If He is allowed to grow into adulthood, He will take the throne from your children. The name of Herod will forever be forgotten…”
    “I owe it to my father to do something,” Herod mumbled. He began crying tears of anger and shame. “Father I am sorry! All the work you did, all the groveling before these Roman dogs.” He became furious. “These petty Jews! Always looking for their Messiah. How do we know this is not some trick of Satan? How do I know these magi were not demons disguised as humans to dupe me?”
    “And yet the Child lives such a short distance away…a brief journey…”
    Herod began thinking about how close Bethlehem was—how close the Child was to Jerusalem. Such a short distance—such a horrible threat. Surely his spy would have returned by now had he something to report.
    “Bethlehem is so small…nobody would know…nobody would care…”
    Rhedi stepped back to enjoy his work. This time his words had hit deep. Herod contemplated the bloody possibility. How many children could this be? Merely a handful of them, at most. It could be done quickly and quietly—even this very night…Rhedi approached Herod for a final thrust.
    “Just the children born since the star’s appearance…”
    Enough!” he shouted to himself.
    One of his aides came running in.
    “You sent for me, sire?” he asked timidly.
    “No, fool!” A pause. “Wait! Yes. Bring Zereth to me. Now!”
    The servant left quickly and within a few minutes returned with Zereth, the commander of Herod’s personal guard. Zereth was Herod’s most trusted servant, and was adept at performing unpleasant, secretive tasks. He was particularly skilled in the art of assassination. Herod looked at his trusted killer.
    “I have something for you,” he whispered. “Utmost secrecy. Only your most trustworthy soldiers who know how to do as they are told and remain quiet afterwards. And of course a great reward will be involved.”
    “I am yours to command, my king,” said Zereth, patting his sword.
    “Excellent,” said Herod. He walked to the window facing south. Already the star that had been over the land for these past many months was beginning to fade. He turned back to Zereth.
    “It seems I have a problem in Bethlehem.”

    “Joseph!”
    “Joseph!”
    Joseph wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not as he found himself confronted by another angel. This one seemed different from Gabriel—somehow commanding even greater authority. Joseph listened as the angel began speaking to him.
    “I am the Angel of the Lord,” he said. “You must listen. Take your family and go down to Egypt. Herod’s soldiers are coming to kill the Child. Go now!”
    “Egypt! But how long are we to stay in Egypt?” he asked, looking around the house and mentally packing.
    “You will remain in Egypt until I bring you word,” the angel answered. “Herod will not rest until the Child is dead. Go!”
    Joseph suddenly awoke. There was nobody in the room. His wife and Son remained asleep. Was it real? Suddenly he felt a sense of urgency overwhelm him as visions of his family slaughtered began playing before his mind. He awakened his wife and began making preparations for Egypt.

Chronicles of the Host
Egyptian Escape
    And so it was that Joseph, having been warned by the angel, took his family to Egypt where they were able to live comfortably on the gifts given to them by the magi. For his part, Herod was content that the