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.”