The Judge (12 page)

Chapter 25

Shouts filled the air as the sound grew. Connor passed over Laren’s eyes as he broke their embrace. She was already forming a plan.

“I love you, Connor. You are the man we all know you are. You are the Judge. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Right now I have to see a doctor about an antidote.”

Connor nodded and the two ran in different directions, Laren toward recovering her Elite gene, Connor toward the shouts and sounds of thunder.

Connor sprinted to the front of the palace courtyard. Aided by his Elite gene, he made the trip in just a few seconds. The sky had been dark before, angry clouds preparing The Island for a storm. Various shades of grey consumed the air above them. Now grey wasn’t the only color.

Just over the high wall Connor could see blue and black energy highlighting the dark sky. Warriors of both genders ran for weapons and armor. Connor caught sight of Lu and Zheng.

Both men were shouting orders as they ran up the long flight of steps that led to the top of the wall. Connor ran to join them. He caught up with them as they reached the last step. As one the three men witnessed the coming of the once Judge turned tyrant.

The palace grounds sat near the middle of the large island. All around were mountain ranges and hills covered with thick jungle foliage. Aided by their eyesight, Elites could see the ocean miles away if they focused. The blues and greens of the water were barely visible from the wall.

But today none of this was the focal point. The air vibrated as a portal was ripped through space. Just over a hundred yards from the palace wall a door was being opened. Thick tendrils of energy appeared and disappeared as the portal grew. It looked like a gigantic octopus was coming from the other side as thick arms of energy quivered and twisted through the door.

With each second the portal grew. The amount of power and energy needed to create a portal that large was staggering. Previously, Connor had only ever seen the portals Orion and Morrigan had opened. They were large enough to comfortably walk through and on one occasion even big enough for the dragon to travel through. Each successfully opened portal had left Orion and Morrigan weary and exhausted. This display of raw power was something else entirely.

The portal grew and grew. It spanned nearly as tall as the castle wall and dozens of yards across before the first figures appeared. There was no doubt it was an army. The Elite inmates freed from Karnag poured through the portal like ants. Hundreds, thousands of them came in waves.

Connor chanced a look at Zheng and Lu. Both men had their jaw set with worried but determined looks. Before doubt and fear could snake their way through their veins, Connor took action.

“Zheng, do all the men know where they’re going to be stationed for the fight? Lu, we’re going to need some weapons and armor. Do we have any for us to use?”

Zheng ripped his eyes away from the enemy and nodded before he turned and ran off, shouting orders.

Lu looked at Connor with a grin. “Do we have weapons and armor? Does a one-eyed ferryman need saving?”

“I’m telling you this is the way to go.”

***

Connor looked at the huge breastplate Lu was strapping himself into. Not only was the piece of steel ancient but it looked cumbersome. Any quick motion he needed to make Connor imagined would be impeded by the armor’s thick and unwieldy design.

“I’m not a knight of the round table or the tin man from the wizard of Oz,” Connor said. “Isn’t there anything else?”

Lu looked around the diminished armory. The large room that had once held hundreds of pieces of protective gear and weapons was bare. It looked like Lu and Connor had arrived late to the party.

“He might have something for you,” Lu motioned behind Connor to a figure standing in the doorway.

Connor turned and saw his father. Caderyn was looking better. The small wounds and cuts over his body had all but healed. The large white bandage covering his ribs however, was still securely in place. As Caderyn made his way over to his son he wobbled on unsteady feet. He carried a large dark bag in both hands.

Connor ran to his father and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady his swaying.

“Thank you. Whatever you do, Connor, try not to get old. It’s not as great as everyone makes it out to be.”

“I’ll do my best,” Connor grinned, getting a better look at his father’s condition. Caderyn was healing quickly but he still was in no shape to fight. A look into his father’s eyes told Connor his father knew this as well.

“Here.” Caderyn handed Connor the bag. “I thought I had lost these years ago, but it seems Zheng had kept them safe for me.”

Connor gave his father a quizzical look before he peered into the dark bag. Whatever was in the bag was heavy. Connor reached in and pulled out an intricate piece of chain mail. The metal used was flexible and sturdy. It could cover him like a shirt. Also in the bag was a thick leather belt, vambraces that would cover his wrists and forearms, and a tunic.

“It will give you protection while still allowing you to move freely. I used them myself when I wasn’t much older than you.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Here, let me help you.”

Caderyn pulled the steel material over Connor’s head. The metal felt cold against his face. Goosebumps prickled at his exposed flesh as the chain mail made contact with his bare skin.

Caderyn handed him the thick leather belt and vambraces and Connor got a better look at the tunic. His father straightened out the cloth with a reverent hand. A musty smell filled the room. Connor got the idea that the tunic was much more than a piece of clothing his father once wore.

What Connor at first thoughts was a shirt or tunic proved to be more of a cloak. The black material extended down to his knees and a deep-set hood fell behind the cloak’s shoulders.

“This belonged to my father and his father before him. Judges for a very long time have worn our family colors and crest.” Caderyn motioned for Connor to lower his head. With a grunt that reminded Connor how injured his father remained, Caderyn placed the material over his son’s head.

The steel vambraces covered his forearms and wrists like they were meant for him. Sturdy leather straps tightened the steel around his solid arms. Connor began to strap the thick leather belt around his waist. That’s when he noticed a dark crimson colored emblem embroidered into the cloak’s chest. Faded with time, the emblem was hard to see. Almost indistinguishable, Connor made out the head of a large dragon. The animal was looking out of the cloak head on. Reptilian eyes squinted, daring anyone to come close.

“It was our family crest a very long time ago. Judges from our family have worn it and survived for thousands of years. Today will be no different, Connor. You will defeat Vercin, I know it like I know the sun will rise and set. Stay the course.”

The lights seemed to dim in the room but Connor knew it was his imagination. He looked into the eyes of the man who had brought him into this world. Eyes that said without uttering a word that they would trade places with him in a second if they could. But this was his journey. It was his battle to win or lose. Nobody could do it for him.

Caderyn broke the silence as Lu approached the two men. “The steel is enchanted. It won’t break but you can be sure Vercin has the same. Lupus, how are you feeling?”

Lu wore a thick breastplate and gauntlets and carried a war mace bigger than Connor’s head.

“I feel like I’m ready for this to be over. I’ve waited long enough for things to come to a head. It’s time for my father’s death to be avenged.”

Caderyn cocked his head to the side, taking in Lupus. In a tone more befitting a father, Caderyn looked to Lu. “Lupus, your father would be proud of you putting your anger aside now to confront the enemy level headed. I knew him well. Despite our differences, he was a good man.”

Connor half expected Lu to come back with a sarcastic comment. He was sure Lu would snort or shrug it off. Instead, Lu blinked a few times. He stared at Caderyn and opened his mouth. Where words should have come a soft silence filled the air. Lu nodded, closed his mouth, and walked out of the room.

Connor had never seen anyone put Lu at a loss for words so quickly.

“He still has some growing to do, but Lupus Abelardus has too much of his father in him to be anything but a great man.”

Connor looked at his father, the man who had been imprisoned by the Council for breaking the Law. The same council Lupus’ father had sat on. Still, his father had forgiven him. Caderyn had let go of his hate. That was something Connor admired in his father. An admiration he knew would continue to grow as he got the opportunity to know his father better. If, he got the opportunity to know his father better.

“Looks like you have a limited choice for weapons. I’m sorry that my own aren’t here.”

Connor was brought back to the present with his father’s last words. It was true the armory was almost completely bare. Only a few items had escaped the storm or warriors preparing themselves for battle.

Connor walked over to an aisle that looked more like a basket at a grocery store with ninety-nine cent items. It had been picked over thoroughly but inside he spotted what he needed, a dark hand axe in a shoulder sling and a long knife.

“They need you now, Connor. Be the leader that you were born to be.”

Chapter 26

“Have there been any changes?” Connor asked.

Morrigan shook her head as she peered at the hundreds, maybe thousands of tiny fires through the darkness. “No. They will wait for the dawn. Maybe Vercin will try and intimidate us, maybe not. But he won’t attack during the night.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Morrigan turned to Connor and the torchlights on the wall reflected across her eyes in a dangerous way. “Because when you have lived as long as I have you realize that men like Vercin are all the same. They are hungry for power and fame. Vercin will have no fame if he attacks at night. He’ll wait for morning so everyone can see.”

Connor swallowed a knot in his throat. The anticipation sat heavy on his shoulders. He looked out over the wall again. Hundreds of tiny lights marked campfires and torches.

“How many of them do you think there are?”

Morrigan took a moment to respond. She tilted her head like she was consulting an internal calculator. “I would say roughly four thousand.” As though she knew exactly where Connor was going with the conversation, she continued, “They outnumber us almost four to one.”

The words hung in the air and the knot in Connor’s throat became harder to swallow. It wasn’t fear that was clenching his stomach. It was the anticipation of fear. He knew that sooner or later he would feel fear ink itself through his veins. He knew when that happened he would push it back through force of will. The problem was that it hadn’t happened yet.

“I would ask you how you’re feeling but I’m sure you’re getting that enough. And I doubt you’ve heard it asked for the last time.”

“I’ll be better when this is over.”

Morrigan chuckled at the plain simple truth. “We all will, Connor.”

Connor flexed muscles that ached under the weight of stress and worry. He wished more than anything for things to have turned out different. He wished that resolution could be found without bloodshed. But he knew that with men like Vercin this was the only way.

Dark- skinned warriors passed by, talking in low voices. When they saw who they were walking by, they both broke into large smiles and bowed their heads respectfully to Connor and Morrigan. Connor did his best to smile back.

“Your people love you, Connor. They will stand with you till the end. We all will.”

***

That night Connor couldn’t sleep. He had only left the wall at Morrigan’s reassurance that nothing would take place till the morning and a firm promise to wake him if anything should.

He lay awake in bed for more than a few hours. Tired of staring at the dark ceiling, Connor got up from his bed and paced back and forth across his small room.

The hours were ticking by and the time would come when he would face the tyrant king in battle. The question of if he could be one with his Elite gene when the time came bore its way to the forefront of his mind.

He had failed once when his mentors had taken him up the mountain. He had managed to tap into the fury without losing control once as well when he was fighting Faust and the doctor. But which version would he channel when the time came again?

Connor forced his mind away from these thoughts and instead focused on how he would free Orion. He knew Vercin would keep him alive to ensure passage to and from The Island. But the one-eyed ferryman was sure to be under heavy guard. More than likely, Vercin would have him imprisoned in the heart or rear of the camp.

Think. How are you going to get him out? There’s a way—you just haven’t found it yet.

Connor stopped pacing as a wild plan slowly grew. Details began to blossom, and questions were answered. Connor knew that his idea was crazy. It was ridiculous. No one would give it a second thought. Even as a Judge he would be forbidden to carry it out. So that’s why Connor decided not to tell anyone. Instead he slipped out of his room in the middle of the night, leaving by himself to free Orion.