The Judge (15 page)

Chapter 32

“What happened?”

Randolph looked up as he directed his men to hammer bent nails back in place. “No steel or metal has been made to take the kind of punishment an Elite army can produce.”

“Can’t we get Morrigan to put a spell in place or strengthen the steel?”

Randolph shrugged. “I wish it were that easy. She can strengthen the steel but that’s not our problem.” Randolph pointed a gloved hand to the large metal doors and the area where the gates met the stone wall.

Connor could see what he was referring to without him even needing to open his mouth. The steel was bent but holding. The area that was not able to withstand the constant battering were the hinges that anchored the doors to the stone wall. Even now Randolph was ordering his men to bend back the large nails and secure the hinges but how much longer the gate would hold was anyone’s guess.

As if Randolph were reading Connor’s mind, he ran a hand through his black hair and shrugged. “I’m sorry. I wish I had better news. It will come down next time they attack.”

Connor’s mind searched for an answer. He knew if Vercin was allowed into the courtyard, it would be over. Even though they had made the enemy pay for their first overeager attack, they were still outnumbered. Before Connor could come to a solution, he heard Katie yelling his name.

“Connor! Connor! Hurry, come look!”

Katie was pointing an outstretched finger over the top of the wall. Connor left Randolph to deal with the door and took the stone steps four at a time. Katie was pointing to a spot in the jungle that ran parallel with the main road. Connor squinted, willing his eyes to see past what any human could.

First nothing, then a blur of movement. Men running. Connor raised a hand to place above his eyes, not shielding himself from the sun but his body instinctively trying to find a way to look closer.

Then Zheng sprang out of the jungle foliage, Orion’s limp body over his shoulder.

“Open the gates!” Connor screamed below.

Zheng was running fast with a trail of monks behind him. Further down the path, Connor saw what they were running from.

Vercin had marshaled his men. He had ran back to his camp to fend off Zheng but the monks had escaped with Orion. Vercin was not pleased.

Connor ran down the steps faster than he had climbed them. The clouds were beginning to part and sun shown down at awkward angles, gleaming off of warriors’ weapons and the battered steel gates.

“Open the gate!” Connor yelled again as he reached Randolph and his men.

Randolph was already lifting the large steel bar that ran across both doors. Metal nails were being pried open. Grunts of exertion escaped the lips of the Elites at the door but in a few seconds the metal gates were open and Zheng ran inside, followed closely by his men.

Orange-clad monks were bruised and bloodied. They had all paid a high price for the rescue of the ferryman.

Connor helped Zheng place Orion on the courtyard floor. The usual fun-loving dark-haired man entrusted with the passage between The Island and the human world was not moving.

“Zheng, is he…” Connor’s voice trailed off and he hated how small he heard himself sound but he couldn’t finish the sentence.

Zheng was sweating with a line of blood coming off his own scalp. His long ponytail fell across his shoulder as he lowered an ear to Orion’s still lips.

The courtyard was quiet. The air that had been filled just minutes ago by the sound of war and death held now for the uncertain fate of Orion’s future.

Zheng looked up into Connor’s worried face. “He’s alive. His breaths are shallow but he will live. We need to take him inside.”

Connor moved to lift Orion’s still form but another shout stopped him in his tracks.

“Connor! They’re coming!” Lu roared from the battlements.

Connor left Orion with Zheng and ran to the front gate. That was the thing about being a Judge, in time of war, you were the one people were depending on. When Connor looked out of the palace entrance, he knew why Lu had shouted.

Vercin had not stopped his chase of Zheng and his monks, even when they had reached the safety of the palace walls.

Randolph and his men were securing the battered steel gate. Connor had just enough time to look out the gate before it was closed and secured. What he saw chilled him to the bone.

Vercin was leading the charge this time. His eyes were alive with hate and the lust for blood. Beside him was Julie and the monster that had once been Faust Ulfric. Following behind them were the prisoners of Karnag, howling for war.

“Here, you’re going to need this to brace the gate. When it falls, you just worry about Vercin. I’ll take care of Faust. I’m sure Morrigan and Katie can handle Julie.”

Despite it all, despite the situation, despite what Connor knew was coming, her voice brought reassurance. Beside him, Laren was holding up a shield.

“Laren? You can’t be here, can you?”

“Yes, the doctor pulled through. It’s you and me against the world right now and it’s going to stay like that for a very long time.”

Connor felt a smile spread across his lips. Laren’s eyes were yellow. A fire hotter than hell itself burned inside the woman he loved. He knew she would stand by him until the end. It was her strength that gave him support now.

Connor grabbed the heavy metal shield she offered and he took his place in line with Randolph and the soldiers at the gate.

“Hold the walls!” he shouted up to Lu and the rest of the defenders. He was done with the wall. The brunt of the fight would now take place at the gate.

Chapter 33

Left shoulder pressed against the shield, Connor braced himself and waited for the impact he knew was only seconds away. He could feel the pressure of the soldiers behind him pressing their own shields against his back. He could smell the sweat they had poured into holding the gate through the first attack all around him.

Dirt was churned underfoot as footholds were found and lost. Laren was beside him on his left, her hair pulled behind her in a tight ponytail, armor glimmering in the emerging sun. She was gorgeous.

“Here they come!” Lu’s voice boomed from the wall.

The first impact made Connor’s teeth rattle. The blow from the opposite side of the large metal doors was deafening. The impact of the shock flowed through the steel walls and pushed Connor backwards.

Lowering his head, he resumed his place on the door. His shoulder was tingling with the sensation of the hit. Yells filled the air as men from the opposite side of the barricade threw their Elite gene against the obstacle. Steel groaned and iron bent.

“Hold the gate!” Connor yelled at no one and everyone. It seemed an obvious thing to say but it gave the men hope as they pushed against the steel doors.

Connor felt the door rumble and vibrate again and again under the unrelenting force of Vercin’s army. Through red eyes he could practically picture Vercin, Faust, Julie, and the rest of the army hurling bone crushing blows at the door from the other side.

Laren was yelling with him. She was shouting encouragement to the men and women beside her. But Connor knew that no shout, no verbal inspiration would save the gate. The sound of tearing steel met his ears and he knew he was right.

The gate was a dimpled mess of twisted metal. The hinges holding the gate to the palace walls had held as long as they could. With one last charge from the enemy the hinges burst, sending steel pellets down on the defenders.

“Back!” Connor yelled.

He could hear shouts to follow his orders coming from behind him as men fled from the tottering wall of metal.

Connor threw his shield to the ground and braced the gate with both hands. He needed to buy them whatever time he could before the gate crushed them. Hands on steel, he gritted fanged teeth. Out of the corner of his red vision he caught Laren on his right.

“Laren,” Connor grunted under the pressure of the gate. “Run, I can’t—I can’t hold it up!”

“I’m not leaving you!” she shouted back over the hammering of weapons on the steel gates from the opposite side.

“If you don’t, we’ll both be crushed!”

“Well, then you better Judge up and throw this thing back at them. If they want it down so bad, then let them have it!”

Connor knew what she was getting at. She wanted him to tilt the gate and send the pounds of solid steel on top of the enemy. Connor’s arms trembled as the top of the gate inched closer and closer to his head. His feet churned in the dirt trying to find a hold.

“I can’t—it’s too heavy!”

“Find a way, Connor. I know you can!”

The steel wall was coming down on him and Laren. If there was ever a time to call on the untapped power that he held deep inside, this was it. Tears filling his eyes with intensity, Connor let the power that he held inside free.

Every muscle bulged. From his arms to his back to his legs, every fiber of his being reached a new level of strength. Hands on the steel gate, Connor let out a long breathe and took a step forward.

The steel bent under the pressure. Connor could feel the metal forming around his hands as it was submitted to a force not of this world. The raw animal force inside him told him to go forward. It tried to take over his body with the idea that he was capable of anything. It was intoxicating but Connor knew that he needed to focus. He thought of the woman beside him and he moved forward.

Two steps, three, the gate was beginning to tilt. It stood perfectly upright now. The yards of steel structure began to bend the other way as it swayed down toward the enemy on the opposite side of the gate.

A cheer rose from all around him as Connor dug his feet into the dirt and pushed forward. Men witnessed the impossible as the lone Judge bent the gate toward the enemy outside.

Sweat poured down his back. Muscles burned and threatened to buckle under the pressure but Connor pushed forward. One, two, three more steps. The army on the opposite side was falling back. Every second Connor could feel less and less resistance against the gate as the enemy fled in fear of the giant steel doors collapse.

With one last step, with one last push forward, the gate came down. Dirt and dust exploded into the air. A loud boom rocked the entrance, chasing the enemy away.

Those who had not been quick enough to escape the steel door’s wrath were crushed under tons of solid, unforgiving steel.

Connor was trembling at the power, the rage that being a Judge of the Elite race provided. It was her voice again that pulled him back.

“I knew you could do it!” Laren handed him his shield and smiled as she unsheathed the sword by her waist. “They’ll be through the wall any second—quick, the line.”

Connor followed her gaze to where Randolph stood with the rest of his family, along with Zheng and the remaining monks who still stood battle ready after their daring rescue attempt. Ranks of burnished shields and tempered steel weapons glinted in the sun.

Much like them, the sun was fighting back the clouds. The light was making its way through the sky, slowly making itself seen.

Connor ran with Laren to the front line. He was trembling with power as the rage inside him grew. The animal inside begged him for a target. Shield on his left arm, axe on his right, Connor stood with his people.

Laren was beside him, narrow eyed and  teeth bared. Randolph and Zheng stood on his left.

“Here they come!” Randolph shouted. “For your families!”

“For your home!” Zheng added.

“For your futures!” Laren yelled.

Chapter 34

The enemy gushed through the broken gate as if they were made out of one solid mass of snarling teeth and steel. They came so fast that Connor barely had time to brace himself against the horde. The Elites of Karnag, led by Vercin and the monster that was once Faust, collided with the defenders with a force unlike any Connor could comprehend.

Bodies flew through the air on both sides. Bones were snapped in half and lives ended on impact. Connor had tried to position himself to meet with Vercin but the mutated giant sought him out first.

Faust was wearing a shirt that looked like it belonged to a wild animal more than a man. The sleeves were torn and steel bands with chains hung off his neck and wrists. The monster held a sledgehammer that came down on Connor’s shield when the warring sides collided.

The blow from the hammer sent bolts of blinding pain down Connor’s arm and shoulder. Again and again the giant landed the hammer, forcing Connor to his knees under the constant pressure.

Move, you need to get out of here. Get up. Roll. Do something!

Connor knew he had to move but he couldn’t. It seemed every second brought another blow. If he moved the shield, his head would be exposed. A plan eased its way into his mind as more blows fell. Connor knew for his plan to work, timing had to be perfect, timing would be everything.

Another blow fell, denting his shield inward. Connor waited the length of a heartbeat before dropping his shield and axe, opening himself to the attack. The hammer came down again but this time instead of meeting steel, Connor grabbed it in both hands.

The war hammer was long with a solid oak staff attached to an iron piece that resembled an anvil. Connor caught the weapon just below the metal. The giant hesitated for a moment, trying to form a new plan.

Before even Connor could react, Laren appeared out of nowhere and shattered the oak pole with one blow of her sword.

The giant that was once Faust stepped back and roared with anger.

“Go,” Laren said out of the side of her mouth. “I can handle him. You have someone else to deal with.”

Connor hesitated as the mutated giant prepared himself for attack. “Are you sure you can take him?”

Laren raised an eyebrow. “Connor, please. He may be bigger than I am but give an Elite girl who’s lived over a hundred years some credit. This isn’t my first fight.”

As if to validate her words, Laren side-stepped a clumsy swing from Faust and struck out with her sword, drawing blood from her enemy’s forearm.

Connor nodded. He hated leaving her even if she could take care of herself but she was right. There was an enemy present that was beyond anyone there but himself, or so he hoped.

Connor grabbed his axe and searched the courtyard for Vercin. To say that chaos had broken out seemed like an understatement. This was madness. Fighting had spread to every inch of the palace courtyard. Lu and Miyanda still led their families’ fighting on the wall, with Randolph and Zheng below.

Connor’s eyes glanced over more dead bodies than he wanted to see. The battle was raging so loud his ears started to ring. Still he couldn’t find Vercin. What he did see next took his breath away.

Julie Huber stood dead center in the middle of the courtyard, fearless of any enemy. Those who did try and impede her progress toward the palace doors were met with sizzling blue and black electric bolts that flew out of her hands like extensions of her reach.

At the steady pace she was using to walk forward, she would reach the palace doors in minutes. There would be no telling how many she would kill once she was inside.

The injured and elderly were hidden inside the palace, along with Connor’s mother, father, Reap and Kora.

Connor was reminded how his last encounter with the sorceress had ended, with him smoking from a lightning bolt that sent him soaring through the air. Still he knew he had to stop her. He couldn’t let her inside the palace, not while he was still capable of drawing breath.

Connor took a path that led him directly in her way to the door. Julie stopped and smiled at him as if she was seeing him for the first time.

“Walk away, little Judge. I am so far beyond you it would be a waste of time to send you to your death. Besides, I’m sure Vercin would be disappointed if I killed you first. He has special plans for you that involve a lot of pain.”

Connor ignored the fear crawling over his skin even as he wondered how he could defeat her.

“The time for walking away is past. I don’t know what happened to you, how you could change so much from the woman I knew. From Katie’s mother—”

“Please, that was a mask I let you see. It was a cover I had until it was time for Vercin to rise and for us to make our presence known. It was all a lie.”

“All of it? Was I just a cover?” Katie had found the two among the crowd of warriors. Connor could hear the pain in Katie’s voice and also the poor attempt she made at hiding it. “Me, Dad—we were just a cover for you? A way for you to fit into the human world until it was time for you to make your move?”

Julie Huber stopped in her tracks. A brief flash of humanity crossed her black eyes. “No, Katie, you were the only thing that was real. I love you like any mother would love her daughter. But somewhere along the way you were bitten, awakening your Elite gene, and now you have chosen the wrong side in this fight. You’ve been deceived by Morrigan and this false Judge. Come back with me. Come back with me where you belong.”

There was no hesitation in Katie’s response. “No. I love you, Mom. I don’t know if I can ever stop loving you, but you are not the same person who raised me. Maybe it was a mistake, but you were a good person. You let your guard down and you loved Dad, I know you did. Whatever you are now, you can go back. You can be the woman I looked up to and loved again. But I can’t do that for you, you have to do it.”

Julie was stopped as her shoulders hunched and she hesitated as an internal debate went on that would decide her future. For a moment, Connor thought that she might surrender to her daughter’s pleas. That maybe Katie was right and a small part of Julie had actually liked leading a normal life. But that moment passed quickly as Julie’s gaze shifted from her daughter to Connor.

“This is all your fault. You led my daughter to this.”

“No, the decision was mine,” Katie shouted, but it seemed Julie had made up her mind.

“You’ll pay for turning my daughter against me!”

Julie’s feet rose off the ground. Dark currents gathered at her hands. Her dark blonde hair waved in the air despite the absence of a breeze. Julie lifted her hands in a violent motion. Black streaks of painful electric magic raced towards Connor.