The Judge Page 5

  Zheng’s long black ponytail swung behind him as he motioned with his head at someone behind Connor. Connor turned to see his father walking toward them.

  ***

  “Tell me again why we can’t just train in the palace?”

  “Too many distractions. The palace is overflowing with Elites from the five families. All of them preparing for war. We need to go somewhere where we won’t be interrupted,” Caderyn said.

  “Okay, well I get that, but do we need to go this far?” Connor readjusted the pack on his back as he looked behind him. The side of the steep mountain they had been trekking through for the last four hours stretched out behind him like a serpent back down the mountain.

  “I’m with Connor on this one,” Orion said from Caderyn’s side. “I’m getting too old for this kind of stuff.”

  “Calm down,” the last member of their party reassured them. “We’re almost there.” Zheng’s easy manner of speaking seemed to calm Orion as he huffed something under his thick beard and moved on.

  The sun was high overhead. The heat was amplified by the moisture in the thick jungle undergrowth. Plants and trees flirted with the travelers on either side of the narrow path they walked through.

  The incline to the mountain was beginning to wear on Connor’s legs. Sweat was pouring down his tan face and the backpack he carried felt like he was literally transporting a ton of bricks.

  Deep breaths, keep moving. You’re a Judge now. No room for doubt or being weak. No complaining. They will all need you very soon. Let’s go, forward.

  Connor’s vision began to redden as he grabbed onto the inner power and pushed himself forward. Eyes to the ground and focused, he pushed on.

  The next hour was grueling for Connor. He wondered why the other three men, who were all much older than himself, found the trip so easy. Even Orion, who was complaining earlier, now joked and laughed with Caderyn and Zheng.

  Just as Connor was debating whether or not to take the backpack off and drag it behind him, the four men reached a plateau. The area had once been cleared from all shrubs and bushes, but that day was long ago. Now the underbrush was winning the battle to retake the space. A small stone building in poor condition stood in front of the group. Stones fell from the walls and vines crept over broken pillars.

  Connor didn’t care what the building looked like as he dropped to the ground. He tore at the straps on his shoulders that had dug indentions into his skin and muscles. The backpack clinked as it hit the jungle floor behind him.

  “You okay, Connor?” Orion asked as he gently placed his own backpack beside him.

  “Yeah,” Connor panted. “What—what was in that bag? I felt like I was carrying weights the whole way up the mountain.”

  “Orion reached over and unzipped the large brown backpack. He grinned like a mischievous child as he reached in and started taking out yards of dense grey chains, each link as thick as Connor’s arm.

  Connor’s mouth dropped as he witnessed coils of chain being transferred from the backpack to the ground. He guessed the chains being taken out of his backpack weighed close to two hundred pounds. “You loaded my backpack with steel chains?”

  “Yep,” Caderyn said as he walked over and handed his son a bottle of water. “We don’t have much time, so we needed to start your training right away. Endurance, strength, but most importantly, your willpower, will see you through these next few days. Vercin was an enemy nobody could defeat in a physical confrontation. To be able to compete with him, we’ll need to reach a whole other level.”

  Connor nodded as he gulped down the cold water, taking time to drain the entire bottle before he got to his feet. “I’m ready. Let’s start.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Zheng said as he began setting up camp.

  “Follow me,” Caderyn said. “Orion and Zheng will stay behind tonight to get things ready here.”

  Connor obediently followed his father through the thick jungle underbrush. Within a few minutes the camp was lost to sight. Besides the varying shades of green all around him, Conner had only his father’s back to follow.

  Caderyn walked straight ahead, his long grey button up shirt wet with perspiration. He kept a steady pace until he reached an area surrounded by trees. The trees formed an oval around a shallow piece of ground covered in soft grass.

  “Connor, I want to talk to you about the raid that took place when we rescued Laren.”

  Connor raised his gaze and nodded. “Sure, what did you want to talk about?”

  “When we were fighting through Vercin’s posted guards, you had a dozen opportunities to kill the men you were fighting. Instead you chose to let them live. I want to know—to understand why?”

  Connor was wondering if his father had noticed his decision to spare life the night before. He was right. Connor had intentionally spared each one of their lives. He had chosen to use the butt of his axe or wound his enemies instead of ending their lives.

  The two men stood quiet, Connor looking into the eyes of a father that was truly concerned for him. When Caderyn had asked the question he had done so in a way void of any judgment or even a hint of condescending tone. He was truly curious. Connor chose to tell him the truth.

  “I rescued Laren and Lupus from a group of Elites that were going to kill them. This was back home in the Catskill Forest, in New York. Before I understood what I—what we are. I just saw them in trouble. I knew if I didn’t do anything they were going to be killed. I made a split-second decision to step in and when I did—”

  Connor paused as he was forced to remember the scene that still haunted him. The pick axe that was meant for bringing life to the earth. The tool used for breaking up land to plant and grow, he had used to kill. He saw the man’s face as he sunk the blade of the axe deep in his skull. He saw his eyes as his soul left his body.

  “When I did, I killed a man. I took his life. I ended everything he was and everything he could become. I took away his opportunity to be redeemed. In that one second I took away everything from him.”

  “And you dream about him now?” Caderyn asked.

  “Yeah, I guess I do. I wish I could be like you and—and just not let it get to me.” Connor hung his head, feeling shame in front of his father for the first time. “You must think I’m a horrible Judge. I don’t even want to kill anyone.”

  Caderyn stepped toward his son, placing a firm hand on Connor’s shoulder. “You’re absolutely wrong, Connor. We need leaders like you now more than ever. Orion, Zheng, myself—we have all done our fair share of killing. We have become dull toward what really matters. Your respect for life is one of your greatest strengths, Connor. It’s a blessing, not a curse.”

  Connor gave his father a half-hearted grin. If his memory of killing someone and his fear of doing it again was in fact a blessing, it didn’t feel like one.

  “You’re on the right path, son. Don’t lose the moral compass your mother has given you. It’s always led you in the right direction, don’t abandon it now.” Caderyn paused with a smile. “But I didn’t bring you up here to talk about that. Connor, tell me what you know about your Elite gene and how you control the power inside.”

  Connor looked into his father’s brown eyes that so closely resembled his own. “It’s something I turn to when I need that extra push. It’s always there and I can feel it even when I don’t need it, but it’s quiet until I call it. Kind of like a caged animal, I guess. When I need it, I let it out of it’s cage and then put it back into its cage after I’m finished accomplishing whatever it is that I needed done.”

  Caderyn had his arms crossed as he paced back and forth in front of Connor. “Go on.”

  “Well, I guess that’s it. I control it so I can use it—”

  “That’s what we need to change if you’re going to have a chance against Vercin.”

  “What is?”

  “Control. If you’re controlling it, you aren’t tapping into its full potential, you’re treating it like a faucet, opening the valve
just enough. We need to break the drain and let it go. Like an open fire hydrant.”

  “But how? If I do that I’ll lose control. I’ve seen Faust, Lu, and others give into their animal and it always ends with them in a blind rage.”

  “It’s strength of will, son.”

  Connor’s confusion must have shown because Caderyn stopped pacing and ran a hand through his long grey hair. “You are a Judge, Connor. One of only a few Elites in history to claim that title and one of even fewer to complete the trials. Normal rules won’t apply to you if your strength of will is powerful enough.”

  Connor slowly nodded. “How do you do it? I mean, as a Judge, how were you able to keep from letting the power consume you?”

  “For a very long time I couldn’t. For years I struggled with controlling the gene until I met a woman who really put things in perspective for me. She was a beacon in my time of rage. Something I held onto even when I felt like losing control, and because of her I was able to harness the power.”

  “Who was she?”

  Caderyn smiled at his son. “She was the reason I threw all of this away. A woman I think you know very well. She’s your mother.”

  Chapter 11

  Connor raised his eyebrows. “You really had to love her to be able to turn your back on the Elite race and the Council.”

  Caderyn looked deep into his son’s eyes. “I love her with every fiber of my being. I would have spent another century in Karnag, in that dark hell of a prison gladly if it meant being with her for only a few more hours.” It was Caderyn’s turn to lower his gaze as memories of the woman he loved shook his firm resolve against emotion.

  “Are you going to go back with me to see her? When this is all over?”

  Caderyn squinted as he looked past Connor into the clear sky, “No—no, I’ve put her through enough. I could never ask her to forgive me for abandoning her.”

  “But—”

  “Come on, this isn’t my therapy time. This is your time to be training. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  “What, now?”

  “Yeah, there’s no time to lose.”

  Connor took a deep breath, every muscle in his body tensing, bracing for the rage to move forward. His vision blurred for the briefest second and turned red. He could see the world around him now in varying shades of crimson as his fangs grew.

  The power inside of him quivered at being let free. The gene that made him so much more than human woke from its sleep and wrapped Connor in power.

  Connor was alive with tingling, unlimited animal strength. He felt jittery, even anxious to direct his power and strength at something, someone.

  “Good,” Caderyn said. “More, let it consume you.”

  Connor felt like he was on some kind of drug as the power washed over him in waves. His hands started to shake as he could feel the rage inside of him build. The beast within wanted something to expend its energy on. Connor could feel the rage begin to boil over.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  “Hold it, Connor! Embrace the power!”

  Connor fell to his knees panting, shaking his head slowly in defeat. “I can’t. It’s too much. There’s too much to control.”

  “Maybe you don’t need to control it.”

  Connor looked up from the place on the grass he knelt. “If I don’t control it I’ll turn into a mindless animal. I could hurt someone.”

  “And that’s why you need to find that one thing to hold onto. For me it is and will always be my love for you and your mother. You need to figure out what it is for you. When that urge to lose control comes you need to grab onto whatever it is for you that will keep you grounded. Whatever it is that motivates you, whatever moves you forward, that’s what you need to hold onto. ”

  Connor nodded, finally beginning to understand what his father was talking about. He was struck by how genuine and sincere his father was without sounding preachy or demanding. Not for the first time Connor found himself wondering how different his life would be if he had had Caderyn in his life the past eighteen years.

  “Come on, Connor. That’s enough for today. I think you’re beginning to understand what this is going to take. Zheng and Orion may be able to help you as well.”

  Connor took Caderyn’s extended hand. The two Judges made their way back to the abandoned temple where Orion and Zheng had set up camp.

  In the short time Connor and Caderyn had been gone Orion and Zheng had the entire camp set up and ready. Part of the temple’s roof was still intact and their supplies and bedding were ready inside.

  Orion was starting a fire and preparing a meal while Zheng sat quiet with his legs crossed and eyes closed. He sat on top of the deteriorating temple wall seemingly oblivious to the world around him.

  “Back so soon?” Orion asked with a twinkle in the eye not covered by his black patch.

  “We knew if we didn’t get back soon you’d eat all the food, ferryman,” Caderyn said.

  “You know me too well, Judge.”

  “Connor, have you seen the view?”

  Connor looked up at Zheng and walked over to where the King of the Island sat on the ancient stones. “No. Are you sure it’s safe up there? I mean whoever had the job of maintaining this temple is kind of slacking.”

  Zheng opened his amber eyes. A smile played across his lips at the young Judge’s comment. “I assure you it’s safe. Come up and see.”

  Connor raised an eyebrow and gingerly placed a foot on a portion of the grey stone wall that looked like it would buckle at any moment. To his surprise it held, and so did the next hand hold and the next step after that. Soon Connor was on top of the wall next to Zheng. What he saw took his breath away.

  The Island’s rolling hills and diverse landscape spread out in front of him. To his left he could see the glistening ocean and to his right a tiny building he knew was the palace. Connor squinted and tapped into his Elite gene, allowing him to see farther than any human would ever be able. The palace was alive with motion as tents were set up in the visiting courtyard and monks wearing bright colored robes ran about preparing for more guests to arrive.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Connor agreed as he tried to find any sign of Laren in the palace. There was none but instead he found a tiny figure slashing at bushes and trees with a long stick. Connor smiled as he imagined what Reap was playing at.

  An idea hit him like a anvil and he kicked himself for not realizing it before. “Zheng, The Island has special healing powers, right? I mean, you said it yourself. That’s why Reap is here and he’s getting better.”

  “That’s correct, Connor. However, if you are trying to get at the idea that The Island will heal Larentia from whatever Vercin did to her, I’m sorry to say that it won’t.”

  “But why? How do you know?”

  Zheng rose to his feet and placed a comforting hand on Connor’s shoulder. “The Island has powers to restore natural imbalances. Whatever was done to Larentia Abelardus was anything but natural. I’m sorry.”

  Connor broke the King’s amber gaze and looked back at the palace.

  “We will find a way to help her, Connor. But first we need to teach you to be the Judge you were born to be.”

  Chapter 12

  Connor helped prepare the evening meal as the sun made its way through the sky. Dinner was a simple affair of meat, bread and fruit. None of the men wasted time with utensils. Instead they dug in, appeasing their appetites that demanded food after their long trek up the mountain. Connor found himself enjoying the company of his father and the other two men who acted more like brothers than anything else.

  As dinner came to an end and the sun was disappearing under the horizon Orion stood up and stretched. “Ready for round two, Connor?”

  Connor also rose to his feet. “Round two?”

  “Yeah, you lugged those chains all the way up here. It would be a waste not to put them to use.”

  Connor looked at Zheng and Caderyn with confusion. Orion wa
sted no time in looping one chain around a thick tree trunk and the other around a temple pillar.

  “Like I said we have a very short window to train you,” Caderyn said. “Chaining you up will let you release your beast within and allow you to practice truly embracing the power. Chained, you won’t have to worry about hurting anyone or running off in the jungle.”

  Connor was exhausted from the trek up the mountain but he knew he had to push himself further than he ever had before if he was going to succeed. “Okay, so how does this work? You guys chain me up like a bad werewolf movie and I howl at the moon?”

  “Something like that,” Zheng said as he maneuvered his orange robes and motioned for Connor to stand near the chains Orion had set.

  Connor obeyed. He felt a bit reluctant as Orion and Zheng fastened the thick steel chains around his wrists and forearms. Every fiber in his body screamed at him not to let someone chain him.

  Caderyn fed the small fire they had made earlier and set torches around the perimeter of their camp.

  Light battled the jungle’s darkness in a slow dance as the three men formed a half circle around a chained Connor.

  “Not too tight? How does it feel?” Orion asked.

  “I feel like I’m being sacrificed to King Kong,” Connor said as he tested the chains. The chains were tight and held his arms at shoulder level.

  “King who?” Zheng looked to his two friends for clarity.

  “You need to get off The Island more often,” Orion said.

  Zheng shrugged.

  Caderyn took a step forward. Sleeves rolled up and hair pulled back into a ponytail, Connor’s father looked more like a university professor than an Elite Judge hundreds of years old. “Focus now, Connor. You can let go fully. The chains will hold you. Morrigan placed a spell on them. Let go now and search for whatever it is that will keep you grounded. I wish I could tell you what it is, but you have to find that for yourself, and through raw strength of will, hold onto it.”