The Judge Read online

  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 sho
ulders 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.

  Chapter 35

  Connor braced himself for the impact he knew was coming. He could practically feel the bolt collide with his skin and burn his flesh. He would be thrown into the air like he had been before. But instead of the pain he should have felt, a cool breeze touched his skin.

  Morrigan had appeared next to Katie and both sorceress and apprentice extended their hands, creating a barrier from Julie’s attack.

  Forces of magic collided with dangerous intensity as the air sizzled and shimmered all around them.

  Julie let out a scream of frustration as her anger was turned from Connor and directed at Morrigan.

  “She’s made her choice, Julie,” Morrigan said as she held the barrier in place. “Neither Connor nor myself turned her from you. You did that all on your own. If you want someone to blame, then you have no further to look than a mirror.”

  Connor sensed that this was his time to go as the sorceresses squared off for a battle that would be talked about for years, decades to come. He almost wished he could stay and witness history but he knew there were more pressing matters to deal with.

  Connor left Katie and Morrigan with a nod and ran to find Vercin. He took in the defenders’ situation even as he knew what he had to do next. The Elites defending the palace were putting up an amazing fight. To have been so vastly outnumbered at the beginning of the battle and still be holding on was amazing.

  But their numbers were dwindling. The Elites from Vercin’s army were too many. The war was continuing to rage all around him but he knew they were still vastly outnumbered. Even if they did win, the loss of life they would pay for the victory was something Connor refused to accept.

  You have one last move to make. Once last chance to save lives. But what if things go wrong? What if you do more harm than good?

  While Connor’s mind ran though the possibilities, a group of Karnag inmates who looked more like pirates than soldiers spotted him. There were three of them, and as soon as their orange eyes saw Connor, they grinned with wicked pleasure.

  No words were said as they charged at the Judge. Their intentions were obvious. The first man was lanky and swung with a long sword. Connor opened himself up to the power once again. Not just the Elite gene but the animal inside that set him apart as a Judge. Connor parried the blow with his axe and stepped in, sending a fist to the man’s crooked jaw. The fist Connor used held his knife, pointed blade down. Very easily he could have sent the steel through the man’s skull but he chose not to.

  Without pausing, Connor moved on to the next attacker. In one fluid motion he dropped his knife and hit the man square in the chest with an open palmed strike. The man shot from the ground and flew across the battleground.

  Connor stood, daring the next man to come at him. The last Elite stood wide-eyed in a crouched stance with a knife in his left hand. Earrings clattered around his ears and he bit his lower lip with stained yellow teeth. A moment passed as the two men stared at one another. The next thing Connor knew the man had dropped his knife and started running in the opposite direction.

  Connor spared a moment to smile before he was brought back to the dire situation by shrieks of pain. He didn’t know where the howl was coming from but he knew he had to stop the fight. Life was being lost by the second, and that’s when he made his decision.

  Throwing enemies out of his way and dodging blows, Connor made his way up the left stairwell were Miyanda and her men still held the wall. There was no doubt their numbers had dwindled. Miyanda had defended her assigned area of the wall at great cost to herself and her men. Deep cuts crossed her abdomen and left arm. Blood trickled down her left temple.

  “Miyanda!” Connor shouted above the noise. “It’s time!”

  Miyanda nodded and pointed toward a steel case that stood by a lit torch. Connor pushed two more attackers off the wall, sending them plummeting to the ground below as he made for the chest. Dropping to his knees, Connor reached inside for the bow and arrow.

  The arrow was wrapped with a small cloth around the point that Connor wasted no time in dipping into the fire. The gas-soaked cloth caught faster than the eye could see and flamed bright.

  Although the clouds were yielding to the sun’s bright rays, the arrow would be visible to anyone who was watching. Far from an experienced archer, Connor notched the bow and drew the string back like he had seen in movies.

  The oak bow was strong and fought against his grasp as Connor drew the string to his face. His left arm was completely straight. His right hand pulled back on the string as far as he dared.

  Connor said a silent prayer. Please let this work. Please know what to do and help us.

  Then the arrow was away. The flying flame punctured the sky at an incredible speed. Like a comet reaching for the next level of the heavens, it arched upward. Higher and higher is sped until its forward momentum was exhausted and it came down in a perfect arch to land somewhere far below.

  It’s done, Connor said to himself. Somewhere Pete and Joe had seen the flame and would release the dragon.

  Chapter 36

  After firing the arrow, Connor waded into the thick of battle once again, still looking for Vercin but stopping and helping whenever he could. It had only been minutes since the arrow was loosed from the bow. Connor was dispatching a group of nasty looking enemy soldiers wearing tattered black and white striped clothes that reminded Connor of patients in an old school insane asylum.

  These men gnashed their fangs and attacked with wild howls and strikes. They had given in to their Elite gene. They had chosen to let their animal rule them. As a result they were stronger, but the attacks that came at Connor were sloppy and far from strategic. Only rage pushed these men forward.

  Connor dodged and parried blows. It was in the middle of the fight with these men that the monster’s first roar was heard.

  Connor lifted his red eyes to the heavens. An unspoken peace treaty agreed on by all combatants passed, as everyone paused from the fight and searched for the origin of the terrible noise.

  The roar came again. It shook men from the outside in. Connor could practically feel his bones rattle as the intensity of the monster’s bellows increased.

  A brief moment passed as all eyes searched for the creature or whatever was making the alien sound. Then shouts broke out from both sides—cheers from the defenders and gasps of astonishment from the attackers.

  All eyes witnessed the impossible as strong leathery wings beat the afternoon sky. The animal was only a speck at first but within seconds all could see what bellowed the fury of war. A dragon. A dragon had come to join the fight.

  Even though Connor had witnessed Spero in his true form, his breath was still stolen by the violent wonder of the creature. As the dragon approached the battle, the fearless inmates of Karnag started to fold. The men Connor had been encircled by looked at one another and ran. Attackers begin to shy away from the fight and head back towards the gate they had once been so eager to enter.

  Spiro’s form grew larger and then impossibly large as the beast flew toward the sound of battle. The behemoth hovered in the sky for a moment before it bellowed another roar and landed next to Connor with a force that shook the very ground itself.
/>   Connor stumbled from the impact, even as he reminded himself there was no reason to fear the animal. Fear, however, had a mind of its own. An uneasy feeling still sat deep within Connor’s heart as he looked into huge serpentine eyes. The dragon looked at him as if for direction, lowering its long, scaled neck to Connor’s height.

  Connor took a deep breath. He was reminded of how this species of dragon was the most clever. It had survived its kind’s extinction because it had adapted. It was the most intelligent of all species of dragon.

  “I don’t know if you can understand what I’m saying, but we need your help.”

  The dragon gave him a blank stare. Its cocked his head to the side like a dog when it was given an order it didn’t understand.

  Oh, this is crazy. It’s an animal. It has no idea what I’m saying.

  As Connor searched for an answer to his problem, help came in an unexpected form.

  Some of the Karnag inmates had started to run, others began to back away. The bravest of Vercin’s army edged forward and formed a circle around the creature. Connor was surprised to see Christof as one of these men.

  The relative to both Randolph and Faust inched forward, a long spear in his right hand. He led a group of his own family. Black-eyed Elites who brandished steel armor and swords.

  In that moment, Connor knew what Christof was trying to do. He was trying to earn favor with his master. Inching forward, sweat pouring from his hairline, Christof drew back the spear and hurled it through the air.

  Both blade and shaft flew at an astonishing rate. The weapon hit the dragon named Hope perfectly in his chest, the exact area where his heart would be.