Fists of Justice (Schooled in Magic Book 12)

by Christopher Nuttall

  “There must be balance.” Janus’s voice was calm. “All must pay for their sins.”

  Balance, Emily thought. Something was nagging at her mind, but…she couldn’t put her finger on it. The Hands of Justice fought for balance, complete balance. Murderers must be killed, arsonists were to be burnt, criminals were to be stripped of their goods…she knew, all too well, that they couldn’t hope to achieve true balance. All they could do was make criminals suffer for their crimes. They want balance…

  “You cannot make those judgements.” Sienna moved forward, slowly. Her sheer force of will was astonishing. “How can anyone make those judgements?”

  “He can make those judgements.” Janus nodded to Justice, still standing in front of the altar. “I am merely his Speaker.”

  He’s stalling, Emily thought, dully. It felt odd, but it made sense. Janus was playing for time, hoping that Justice would eventually convert them to his cause. And it might work, she conceded. The pressure against her defenses was growing stronger. He wants us to join him.

  “And yet, he kills the people you ask him to judge,” Sienna said. She took another step towards him. “He shows no mercy.”

  “He shows no mercy when none is deserved.” Janus still sounded very certain. “He sees all, hears all, knows all. And so he can pass judgement.”

  He believes every word he’s saying, Emily thought, grimly. She glanced at Caleb. He stared at Marian, fighting to walk to her. Beside him, Croce eyed Janus with open hatred. There’s no way we’ll get through to him.

  She swallowed, hard. How long would it be, she asked herself, before Justice decided that life itself was a crime? All crime was committed by the living, after all. She recalled a quartet of comic book characters who’d argued just that. And in his current state, Janus might decide such a piece of insane troll logic actually made sense. Justice would unleash a slaughter that would drown the whole world in blood. Janus…might even turn himself into a lich, just to honor his god.

  Sienna’s eyes hardened. “What did you do to my daughter?”

  “We merely introduced her to the truth,” Janus said. “She was one of many who saw the manifestations of Justice. And she pledged herself to us.”

  “You didn’t give her a free choice,” Sienna charged. “Your…pet monster warped her mind.”

  Janus showed a flash of anger. “You dare to question her faith?”

  Sienna looked back at him. “She would hardly be the first youngster to join a cult!”

  “She saw a god,” Janus snapped. “Do you question it?”

  His face darkened with rage. The presence grew stronger, billowing around the staff in his hand. Emily followed the surge of magic as best she could. It was a complex series of spells, but the more it moved, the more she saw of it. Perhaps, if she could muster the energy to move, she could ram her staff through the haze and into the god. And then cast the spell, knowing it would be projected through the staff…

  “I do,” Sienna said.

  “She saw a god,” Janus repeated. “How is worship not a valid choice?”

  Emily winced. If a choice was the right choice by default, then…well, it was the right choice. It couldn’t be disputed. Anyone who argued against it was either ignorant or wilfully evil. She recalled a whole string of religious arguments from Earth that had revolved around the same premise – the truth was the truth, therefore anyone who disputed it was a liar by definition. And once you accepted that a religion was true, you could use it to justify anything.

  No religion is ever as good as its god, she reminded herself. Something still nagged at the back of her mind. It’s only ever as good as its followers.

  “I could cast a spell on someone that would make them believe every word I said,” Sienna said. “I could make them say or do or believe anything. That wouldn’t make it a valid choice.”

  “You’re human,” Janus said. “Justice is a god.”

  And that makes it okay, Emily thought. She shivered. You’d do anything if god told you to do it.

  Sienna managed another step forward. “Release my daughter,” she said. “Take me instead.”

  Emily stared at her. A trick? Or was Sienna giving up? Her mental defenses were strong, but she hadn’t faced Justice before, not at such close quarters. Justice might be wearing Sienna down, exploiting flaws in her defenses to break through and warp her perception of reality. Or maybe she was trying to get Marian off the altar before anything else happened to her. Emily could sense the cobweb of magic growing stronger…

  They’re draining her power, she realized. But slowly, very slowly…

  “Your daughter submitted herself to us,” Janus said. “She came of her own free will.”

  “You want to believe that,” Sienna said. “Justice warped her mind.”

  “Justice is a god,” Janus said. “He has no reason to lie…”

  Sienna threw herself forward, snapping out a pair of spells. Janus caught the first on his staff, deflecting it into the ceiling; the other struck the staff and blasted it into sawdust. Emily sensed the sudden shift in magic and reached out for the cobwebs, hoping to tear them apart while Justice was distracted. Instead, the magic surged and slammed into Sienna, picking her up and hurling her through the air. Croce lunged toward Justice, waving his staff wildly; Justice backhanded him, casually. The force of the blow smacked him against the far wall.

  Marian screamed, her entire body shuddering. Her wrists and ankles were tied to the altar, keeping her trapped. Caleb shouted something, but Justice caught his eye and he froze, helplessly. Emily saw him trembling with rage as she tried to undo the spell…but there was no spell. Justice wielded raw magic like a hammer.

  We need a Manavore, Emily thought. Or something else to soak up the excess magic.

  “Justice protects me,” Janus said. “They have been judged.”

  Emily glanced at Frieda, then back at Janus. “Please, will you let me check on them?”

  “Of course,” Janus said. He sounded unbearably smug. “They have been judged.”

  The presence seemed to grow weaker, just for a moment, as Emily checked on Sienna as best as she could. Both of Sienna’s legs were broken, as far as she could tell; her left arm looked as though it was broken or twisted out of shape too. Sienna was fighting to remain aware, knowing – all too well – that falling asleep so close to Justice might prove fatal. Emily didn’t even dare give her a painkilling spell. It would have weakened her defenses at the worst possible time.

  “Croce’s been knocked cold,” Frieda said. She sounded as though she was fighting to keep her voice under control. “His right arm is a mess.”

  Emily nodded, wincing in sympathy as she walked over and knelt beside Croce. Judging from the state of his arm – it felt as though his bone had been smashed into powder – Croce was incredibly lucky his neck hadn’t snapped, killing him instantly. His right ribs felt broken too. Putting them back together would require a trained Healer and a great deal of luck. She tried to cast a freeze spell, intending to put Croce in stasis until they could get him somewhere safe, but the magic refused to form. Justice was steadily sucking all of the magic out of the chamber.

  She looked up. Janus looked back at her, his eyes…composed. He wouldn’t help her, she was sure. He was so convinced Justice was real that he would believe Croce’s suffering was precisely what he deserved. There were no arguments that would get through such fanaticism. Everything that happened – that had ever happened – had happened because it was the will of god. A fanatic who believed so strongly could ignore all contradictions in his faith.

  Of course God can change his mind, she thought, as she picked up her staff. She hadn’t even noticed when she’d dropped it. He’s God. He can do whatever he likes.

  She forced herself to think clearly as she looked at Justice, leaning on her staff. The entity seemed more human – no, humanoid – now. A stern judge, a stern father…she was appalled to find herself drawn to him…to it. There was something about the im
placable, yet just entity that appealed to her more than she cared to admit. A judge who would not be swayed, a judge who would not be bribed or intimidated, a judge whose only interest was judging and upholding the law…

  It’s a trap, she told herself, firmly. And it’s trying to get into my wards.

  Caleb stumbled as the presence pulled back. He turned, his eyes streaming with tears. Emily understood, all too well. He’d been unable to look away from Justice, forced to stare into the blinding light. He was lucky he hadn’t been blinded – or drained. Justice was warping the magic within the chamber, trying to drain all of them. Somehow, she found it a little reassuring. A god who needed human sacrifice – or even human prayers – was nothing more than an immensely powerful entity.

  “I’m sorry,” Caleb managed. He took her hand. This time, she let him hold it. “I…”

  “It’s all right,” Emily whispered. She fought to come up with a plan, but her brain refused to function. Were they going to die together? Or be converted into the next generation of Fists of Justice? “I…”

  A thought struck her. It was a gamble, a desperate gamble, but they were desperate.

  “Speaker,” she said, fighting to keep her voice stable. “I ask for judgement.”

  Janus smiled. “You ask for judgement?”

  “I ask for a judgement from Justice,” Emily said, carefully. Caleb’s hand suddenly tightened on hers. “I ask to put my plea to him in person.”

  “That is your honor,” Janus said. He gestured towards the entity. “You may speak to your lord and master.”

  Emily pulled her hand free, then forced herself to step towards Justice. The whispering grew louder until it deafened her. Caleb said something, but his words were so faint that she couldn’t make them out. She hoped he understood she was trying something desperate, something that might easily get all five of them killed. Hell, she hoped Frieda understood it too.

  Up close, the presence was overwhelmingly powerful. The urge to go down on her knees was so strong she had to fight to remain standing. She knew she had to kneel, to offer proper respect, but she wanted – she needed – to do it on her own terms. Justice’s sheer power was pushing her defenses so hard that the slightest chink would be enough to allow the entity to rip her mind to shreds.

  She knelt, carefully. Justice loomed over her, a presence thousands of miles tall…she knew it was an illusion, she knew it was a trick, yet it gnawed at her mind. She tightened her defenses, marshalling her arguments. Justice had been created to uphold an ideal. She just had to convince the entity there was a better way to fulfill its function…

  “My Lord,” she said. It was hard to keep her voice stable. “I ask you for judgement.”

  “YOU MAY SPEAK,” Justice boomed. The words seemed to come from all around her, a deafening chorus that tore at her mind. “SPEAK.”

  “There is a man who has killed many children,” Emily said. The presence was growing stronger and stronger. “He has killed many who will never have the chance to face judgement. He has done this in the belief that he is right, that their deaths are just. But how can the death of a child, of those who have not been judged, be right?”

  There was a chilling pause. “IT IS NOT. THIS MAN MUST BE JUDGED.”

  Emily allowed herself a tiny moment of relief. The Hands of Justice had never encouraged vigilantism, even though they’d patrolled the streets with whips and canes. They’d always wanted to be sure they were punishing the right people. A person could not be condemned to anything without being properly judged. And Justice had been wired to believe in the tenets of his creator’s faith. He couldn’t look away from them.

  “This man believes that he is doing the right thing,” Emily said. She didn’t dare try to lie to the entity, not now. It was so powerful that she wasn’t even sure she could lie. Putting a string of words together was suddenly the hardest thing in the universe. “Does that make his actions just?”

  “NO,” Justice boomed. The odd sense of intelligence looking back at her grew stronger. She wondered, suddenly, how long it would be until Justice slipped his leash. The whispers were already fading. “I MUST RESTORE THE BALANCE.”

  Emily swallowed, hard. Either this worked or…

  “Janus has killed hundreds of children,” she said, carefully. It had to work. Surely, it would work. There was no question of guilt. “And hundreds more who will never be judged.”

  Janus let out a squawk of pure rage. “Everything I have done, I have done for Justice. I fear no judgement!”

  “Then be judged now,” Emily said. Sweat poured down her back as the presence shifted around her. Justice was moving, heading directly for Janus. “Accept his judgement.”

  She braced herself, unsure of what to expect. A man who doubted his religion might have run, or tried to fight; a fanatic who knew where he stood with the lord would stand his ground. Emily gritted her teeth, her fingers curving around the staff as Justice focused all of its attention on Janus. She hadn’t had time to study all the texts, but she was fairly sure the deaths of so many innocent children would upset the balance. One didn’t behead children for being cheeky…

  “YOU HAVE BEEN JUDGED,” Justice said. There was no doubt at all in its voice. “AND YOU ARE GUILTY.”

  Janus’s mouth opened, in shock or anger or merely to argue…Emily didn’t know. It was too late. His body blazed with white light, so bright that Emily had to throw up a hand to protect her eyes. He screamed in pain and terror, then fell silent. Darkness fell so rapidly that Emily found herself blinking frantically, half-convinced she was blind. And when her vision cleared, she saw a stone statue looking back at her. Janus had died in screaming agony…

  “JUDGEMENT,” Justice said. The cobwebs seemed to be fraying. Marian screamed, thrashing against her restraints. “I SHALL JUDGE ALL…”

  Emily cursed under her breath. They’d killed Janus, but they’d also freed Justice from his restraints. She grabbed the staff, braced herself and then thrust it into the entity’s back. The shock of contact threw her back, but the staff remained in place…if Sienna was right, the entity shouldn’t be able to dislodge it. It might not even know it was there.

  Grabbing for the parchment in her pocket, she began the spell.

  Nothing happened.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  FOR A LONG MOMENT, ALL EMILY could do was stare.

  The plan had been so simple. Use the staffs to get one half of a charm into the entity, then use the other half of the charm to channel a dispelling charm into its soul. It should have worked. They’d certainly tested the charm repeatedly between crafting the staffs and setting off to the temple. And yet…

  She looked at Caleb. He looked back at her, equally stunned. Their secret weapon had failed, leaving them with nothing. Magic wouldn’t work; physical force wouldn’t work…she glanced at Frieda, motioning for her to slip back. Perhaps they could escape before Justice broke free completely.

  “We have to get Marian,” Caleb said. “Help me!”

  “ALL WILL BE JUDGED,” Justice said. The entity didn’t seem to have noticed the attack. “I WILL WALK OUT AND PASS JUDGEMENT ON ALL.”

  Frieda held up a second staff. Emily took it, but hesitated. If the second charm failed too, they’d only provoke the entity. It was immensely powerful and now it was free of all restraints. She had to think of something, but what? Thrusting herself into the entity would almost certainly get her killed or brainwashed. Her defenses were already threatening to splinter as the entity grew in power.

  Marian screamed, again. Caleb hurried over to her side and started to free her, but the bonds refused to break. Emily cursed under her breath as the entity slowly turned to face Caleb, its power rising steadily. She forced herself to look, realizing that the cobweb spells were breaking one by one. And yet, it still drew power from Marian.

  It’ll need another source of power soon, she thought, numbly. There were five people in the chamber, just waiting for the entity to dine on them. And beyond
the temple, there was an entire city. But it’ll run out of victims soon.

  She gritted her teeth. Justice’s power demands would keep rising until they simply couldn’t be met. The entire city – and Zangaria beyond – wouldn’t be enough to power the entity, not unless it found a way to lower its power requirements. But she doubted it could, not without a great deal of help. And who could help it?

  Me, she thought. But it would be foolish to trust me.

  “YOU WILL BE JUDGED,” the entity said.

  “Caleb,” Emily shouted, as the entity jabbed a finger at Caleb. “Get down!”

  She felt the power levels rising, a moment before Justice cast his spell. Marian screamed, once again. A blast of white light shot over Caleb’s head and splashed harmlessly against the far wall. Justice advanced, moving his arm as though it was were a gun. The moment it caught sight of Caleb, it cast another spell…

  “Wait,” Emily shouted, as Caleb rolled out of the way of another blast. “We have to talk.”

  Justice turned to face her. “ALL MUST BE JUDGED.”

  Emily fought for words. The entity’s presence was starting to feel a little ragged. Perhaps the trick to defeating it was to force it to expend power faster than it could drain it…but that would almost certainly kill Marian too. What would happen if she killed Marian? Would the girl’s death spell the end of Justice? Or would Justice merely turn one or all of them into a source of power?

  She focused her mind. Keep it talking, she thought. Perhaps Frieda and Caleb could get Croce and Sienna out of the chamber before it was too late. Limiting the number of available power sources would force Justice to burn energy trying to catch some power. Perhaps we can find a way to trick it.

  “Tell me,” she said. “What gives you the right to pass judgement?”

  “I AM JUSTICE,” the entity said.

  Emily forced herself to meet its eyes. Something looked back at her, an oddly inhuman intelligence. She’d met demons and fairies, but this was something else. She wanted to look away, but somehow she held its gaze. The entity had to believe her if she was to chip away at its faith in itself.