The Judge Read online

  “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 d
ecided not to tell anyone. Instead he slipped out of his room in the middle of the night, leaving by himself to free Orion.

  Chapter 27

  “You look like you’re up to no good.”

  Connor wheeled around, his eyes adjusting to the dark even as he sought out the person who had caught him off guard. The bushes and plants in the palace courtyard made it hard for even him to see. But he recognized the voice. He could never forget the voice that had raised him for eighteen years.

  “Mom, you scared me.”

  Rebecca Moore was sitting on a stone bench. A thick blanket was wrapped around her shoulders.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t sleep. I needed some time to think so I decided what better place to remind me of home than a garden.”

  Connor hesitated. He knew that daybreak was close. If he was going to try and free Orion on his own he needed to go now.

  “Oh, well, I’m glad you found somewhere to rest. I have to go—patrol the area now.”

  “Connor, you know how much I love you, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, with all that love comes special abilities of my own. I’m not extra strong or fast but I do have special powers. Like knowing when you’re lying or going out to do something you’re not supposed to.”

  Connor stopped, knowing there was no getting around his mother’s intuition. She was a master at finding the truth. He had hated lying to her, anyway. As if his mother sensed his hesitation, she continued, almost laughing.

  “Connor, do you remember the time you tried sneaking out of the house to go to Katie’s party?”

  Despite the siege being laid on the palace, Connor had to smile. He took a deep breath and crossed his arms.

  “You mean the time I tried to climb out of the window? I fell into all the garbage cans and broke my wrist. You came out running from the side of the house with a rolled up newspaper.”

  Both Connor and Rebecca laughed out loud at the memory.

  “I’m not sure what I was going to do with a rolled up paper,” Rebecca said through fits of laughter.

  “You even hit me a few times with it before you knew it was me,” Connor said, wiping the joyful tears from his eyes.

  “Oh my goodness, Connor. Anyway, you have that same look on your face now as you did back then. The same look when I asked you where you were going.”

  Connor had stopped laughing. It only took him a second longer to decide to tell his mother the truth.

  “I’m going to try and free Orion. I know that if I told you or anyone else that you’d try and stop me.”

  Rebecca nodded in the dark. Connor couldn’t make out her distinct features but he knew his mother well enough to know she was pursing her lips. She was thinking of the right words to say.

  “I’m not going to try and stop you son. I just want you to be careful and do what you think is right. Don’t make decisions because you’re impatient but because you know that deep down this is the only way.”

  These words were worse than hearing Rebecca tell him not to go. He hated when she did that because she was right. She wouldn’t give him direct advice but she would ask him questions about his decision. Then he would think it out on his own and decide he was doing the wrong thing.

  “Just think about it,” Rebecca said. “I know it’s easy to be impatient. You and your father are both doers and that’s not a bad quality, you’re a leader. Just make sure you’re making your decision based off what is best for everyone, not because of a lack of current activity.”

  Connor felt his shoulders slump. Somewhere deep inside he had known his plan was risky and brash. He knew his chances were slim but he hated waiting for Vercin to make the first move. He felt helpless.

  Connor walked over to the bench, taking a seat beside his mother. Years working at her own floral shop had given Rebecca the perpetual smell of flowers and warm earthy scents. Connor hadn’t realized how much he had missed her till now.

  Rebecca smiled at her son, reaching over to place a soft but firm hand on his shoulder.

  “You’re going to do great. I always knew you were special. I mean, I guess every mother thinks their children are, but you were different. I knew from the second I held you in my arms, when you were taking your very first breaths. You were born to do great things, Connor.”

  Connor felt a smile spread across his face. A smile of thankfulness to his mother and for all the years she had taken care of him and believed in him.

  “Thanks, Mom. Just saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough for all you have given me.”

  Rebecca’s hand fell off her son’s shoulder but she didn’t stop smiling.

  “Oh, Connor, it’s more than enough to see you now.”

  Connor sat with his mother in silence. His type A personality was still telling him to jump over the wall and take action. But he knew that this meeting in the garden had happened for a reason. His mother was right. He would still rescue Orion. He would still find away to bring his friend back but this decision to go alone was born from impatience not wisdom.

  Connor wasn’t sure how long he sat with his mother talking about what had happened in the time he had left her till now. Time must have flown by faster than Connor had guessed because he jumped to his feet as the dark sky evolved from shadow-like clouds to a soft grey.

  As if on cue there were shouts from the palace’s front gate. A loud horn blew, reverberating through the air.

  Connor looked at his mother. Rebecca’s eyes told him everything. She hated him going, she wanted to tell him to stay. She wanted to hold him again like she had when he was a child, to protect him from everyone. But she knew she couldn’t. Tears for her son filled her eyes, but she gave him a hug and a determined smile.

  “Be safe, son.”

  Chapter 28

  “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

  “Connor,” Morrigan said as she peered over the top of the wall towards the enemy camp. “I just sent a messenger to go and get you. It seems as though Vercin would like a meeting with you.”

  Connor followed Morrigan’s gaze to a small group of figures breaking away from the main camp. One of the small silhouetted figures held a long pole with a large white flag.

  Connor strained to see who was coming but they were still too far away. His best guess was that it was Vercin and Julie, accompanied by maybe one or two of his captains.

  “I doubt he’s going to change his mind. I’m not even sure why he wants to talk.”

  Morrigan tilted her head. Her hair was wrapped behind her. A long red robe draped across her body, hiding everything besides her neck and head.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Vercin didn’t march his army here to talk.”

  Morrigan beamed at Connor like she was his own mother.

  “You’re right. I’m not sure why he wants to talk but he’s not going to give up or bargain with us. He probably wants to gloat or try to instill fear before he attacks. All tactics a man sure of victory would use. He’ll be very surprised indeed.”

  “Well, let’s go see what he has to say.”

  Morrigan nodded and the two moved down the stairs. Warriors from various Elite families lined the walls. A large group had been stationed at the front entrance. Connor noticed Randolph giving his men final instructions near the main gate.

  The gate itself was a vast interlocking network of steel and iron plates welded together. The once wooden doors were now solid steel gates.

  Randolph looked exhausted. Bags dropped from under his eyes and his black hair poked in a dozen different directions. Nevertheless, Randolph was there, a sword in his hand as he stationed his men.

  “Randolph,” Connor said as he and Morrigan approached the gate.

  Randolph stopped mid-sentence as an older blue-eyed man he was talking to saluted Connor.

  “Yes? Everything is in place. They won’t be getting though the gate easily or without great cost to their own army.”

  Connor nodded in approval at a ma
n he still knew was trying desperately to wipe red off of his slate.

  “It looks amazing, Randolph. You’ve done a fantastic job. Thank you.”

  Connor took a moment to pause so that Randolph would know his words were genuine. Connor looked past Randolph at the handful of Ulfric family members who had sided with him. It was beyond his ability to imagine what they must be feeling now, to know that they stood against their own family.

  Randolph, as well as his followers, knew very soon they would be drawing the blood of their own kin. When Vercin and Connor had called the Elites of the five families to their banners, all had joined Connor except for the Ulfric family. The majority had sided with Vercin, except for the few that now stood in front of him.

  Connor looked at grim faced warriors, all with bright blue eyes. He knew they would fight for him until the end. He knew that their sacrifice in no way would be less than anyone else’s, maybe they even had more to sacrifice.

  Connor was brought back to the moment as a genuine smile crossed Randolph’s lips. He was clearly pleased by Connor’s words. It was in that moment that Connor made the decision to bring Randolph with him.

  “Randolph, Vercin wants to talk. About what I’m not sure, but Morrigan and I are headed there now. Would you like to join us?”

  Connor could see Morrigan’s jaw drop and then quickly close beside him. Her gesture of surprise was followed by Randolph’s own.

  Randolph raised his eyebrows and opened his eyes wide.

  “You would want me to come with you? I mean after—”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way. You deserve it just as much as anyone else. If you feel uncomfortable I would understand.”

  Randolph shook his head furiously. He dropped to one knee and a gloved hand fell to the sword at his waist.

  “It would be an honor to be by your side.”

  Connor clenched his hand nervously. He wasn’t used to having anyone bow or bend a knee to him. All eyes in the courtyard, not just of the Ulfric family but of every family were on him and the conversation taking place. Connor felt compelled to do something, but what, he wasn’t sure. The seconds ticked by. The pause only became more and more awkward.