Judgement (The Twelve) (11 page)

“
This is something new. For ions, all you’ve had to do is destroy Shades and the occasional Ghoul. Time to time, I have killed one of the Dark but they are always replaced. None of you have been allowed to kill any of The Dark.”

Hot Cross muttered, “Not that we’ve tried!”

Anvil ignored him, “
We can expect
to be
attack
ed. That is Edge’s way
. The first
and hopefully the last one tonight
will be very soon, so I will be quick.
With the arrival of Judgement, Edge can now find and recruit Chris’s equal, or as I expect he or she will find Edge. Once that’s done, they can declare the war of blood, fire and souls. It will be at that point that each of you and each of them will be able to kill one another. I’ve waited thousands of years for this. So far we’ve only lost
three
to The Dark, so I want you all to be very careful.”

Huntress added, “You can’t be sure Edge killed Chameleon.”

Anvil rubbed at an eyebrow, “
Only possible answer. He went out on a reconnaissance mission and didn’t come home. The only reason would be if Edge had killed him. Remember Edge killed Steel and Wings. Speed you replaced wings and Hot Cross you replaced Steel. The balance was always maintained.
We killed two of theirs,
Rust face
and
Fracture.
”

Huntress wasn’t giving up, “Then why wasn’t Chameleon replaced?”

Anvil didn’t want to think of the alternative.” Maybe he or she’s not been re-born yet. After all it was
a hundred years
before I found Speed
and another forty before Hot Cross arrived on the scene
.”

Speed glanced towards Hot Cross, “But you found him in just
forty year,
Chameleon’s been missing for
two
hundred years
or so
.”

Priest
butted in
, “You know we don’t work to a time line. So shut up
the fuck up
and let Anvil finish.”

It was the first time he’d ever spoken harsh words to any of them and it showed on there faces.

Anvil thanked Priest
before
continu
ing
, “
As soon as Speed gives the warning, I want you to let them in through the front and back doors. Huntress take the landing, you can cover the hallway and stairs with your bow. Rage fight in here, don’t worry about damage, we move out tomorrow. Hot cross in the hallway but give Huntress
a clear shot. Slash the kitchen, with me.
Bulls Eye the landing with Huntress
. G
uard
Patch and the kid in case any
come in through
the smashed window.
Priest take the front room next to the hallway
, I expect they will come in through the windows as well as the front door
. Speed will do his own thing as usual.”

Patch raised her hand in an almost school like
manner,” What
about me?”

Back bedroom again with Chris,
I mean Judgement and
guard him with your life.”

Before anyone could ask a further question, Speed burst in, sending a whirling gust of air around the room, “Shades coming.”

“Which way?” 
Anvil
asked.

“Front and back. Over a hundred I’d say and I may be wrong but I think Ghost
and Shad
ow are
with them.”

“Positions everyone!”
Anvil
voice thundered
out
the
command
.

Chris found himself pushed up the stairs into the same back bedroom by Patch and Bulls Eye.
“Who’s Shadow
and Ghost?
” Chris asked as he was pushed along.

Bulls Eye answered on the trot, “
Shadow, is a middle aged male, about six foot tall, well built, with  teeth
filled
to points. He’s an eater of flesh and commands ghouls and Shades in Edges absence. Oh and he’s a
will-o'-the-wisp
.”

By now they were in the rear bedroom.
Chris was ordered to crouch in one corner of the room besides a chest of drawers. The other two stood near the smashed window.

Chris looked totally puzzled, “What the hells a
will-o'-the-wisp
when he’s at home?”

Patch pulled two long thin knifes from out of the folds of her outfit, “Also known as J
ack-o'-the-lantern or Corpse Candle. But he was named Shadow by The Dark. He has the faint shape of a man with a flickering flame where his heart would be.”

“Bugger that!” was all Chris could think of saying.

Both Patch and Bulls Eye replied together, “No thank
you.”

He didn’t get time to ask about Ghost.

S
uddenly
, Chris heard
a downstairs window smash in, followed by both the front and back doors. T
he night was filled with wailing moans and screams of anguish, mixed
in
with the sounds of breaking furniture and heavy fighting.

Chris heard Priest’s booming voice yelling scriptures, Huntress’s bow string twanging and the whistle of arrow
after arrow in
flight.  A massive thud shook the house. Rage had entered the fight. A figure suddenly appeared at the window. Scrambling over the sill, it leapt forward.
It wasn’t a Shade but something even more hideous to Chris. The thing stunk to high heaven of rotting flesh, as indeed that’s what it was, a wailing walking rotting human corpse.
Bulls Eyes guns boomed twice and the thing flew back out of the window, Sparks
,
ash
and green gloop
blooming from massive twin holes in its chest.

Another appeared almost as fast, followed by
a Shade
. Bulls Eye
Spun the right gun and fired,
sho
o
t
ing
the first
in the head
then again to the centre of its body mass. The thing
collapsed in a heap of
rotting flesh
. The
body’s
remains
start
ing
to speed decay
.

But that left the Shade, Bulls Eye beckoned to Patch with his free hand.
Patch
surprised
Chris. As
fast as lightning she
sprang high into the air,
her head almost touching the ceiling (and this was an old house and the ceiling must have been nine feet high).
She
slash
ed
the Shade
across the throat with one
sharpened steel
toe cap. The thing staggered back clutching flames that shot between
its
fingers. Patch landed
, spun and kicked it high in the forehead.
The Shade was propelled violently back against the window frame. Patch whipped her rice flails from
the holster on her thigh
.
T
wo lightning fast blows,
striking
first the right
side, t
hen
the l
eft side of the Shades head
. Both sides
exploded into ash
, t
he body following a fraction of a second later. Bulls Eye was quickly reloading
, his fingers a blur of movement
. In that moments lull, Chris focused on the fi
ght
taking place in the rest of house. It sounded utter
pandemonium.
Chris was utterly terrified. He knew he should be helping but he couldn’t move.

“Shit
,
back away!” Patch screamed.

Chris’s eyes snapped back to what was happening in the bedroom. Bulls Eye and Patch where slowly moving away from the window. Bulls Eye deliberately started to fire first one gun then the other at the empty window.
No wait! It wasn’t empty, a black rolling cloud was moving slowly over the sill into the room. Was something on fire? Hang on
a minute Chris thought,
Bulls Eye was shooting at the smoke
. Chris would see huge chunks of the wooden
window
frame
being blasted to pieces but also small holes appear
ing
momentarily in the smoke as well.

Patch held out a hand
urgently
towards
Chris,” Come
on Chris, we need to leave.”

Although frozen with fear, Chris somehow managed to find his legs. Staggering slightly, afraid they’d buckle any second
. H
e started to slide over towards Patches outstretched hand. The rolling black cloud reached her first, engulfing her as it took on the outline of a female form
. The swirling female smoke cloud
totally engulfed her from head to toe.
Its face seemed to be touching hers, almost kissing her. To his horror Chris saw that Patch couldn’t breath. She was trying to take big gulps of air, but the black cloud looked like it was suffocating her.
Slowly it started to pull her back towards the open window.

“I can’t shoot!” Bulls Eye shouted.

Without thinking Chris took a
hesitant
step towards it, “Leave her alone!” His voice was nothing but a frightened
squawk.
The thing ignored him and Chris tried to find his voice, “I said leave her be.” Then another deeper voice rolled from his mouth, “……Or stand and be Judged!”

The creature swirled away
from
Patch who collapsed to the floor
, gulping in air
. Gathering itself, the cloud flew towards Chris.
He could barely make out a beautiful females face together with two hands,
outstretched towards his throat.
All he could do was raise both hands to protect himself and to his surprise, instead of passing through the cloud. He felt resistance instead and pushed back hard.