SHE TURNED, SLOWLY.
The presence was overwhelmingly powerful. It was like staring into a bright light, yet being unable to look away. The…entity…stood at the edge of the square, its sheer power so staggering that her knees threatened to buckle. It thrust itself into her awareness, existing on multiple levels at once…she thought, suddenly, of the nexus points. The entity wasn’t even doing it deliberately, part of her mind noted. It was so powerful she couldn’t help looking at it.
Its power thrummed on the air, deafening her. She wanted to kneel, to prostrate herself before its immensity. It was so real that she felt like an illusion, like something that didn’t quite exist. No wonder Alba had been so badly shocked when she’d seen the entity; no wonder she’d termed it a god. And yet, something kept Emily from surrendering her will completely. It could be a trick.
She forced herself to take a mental step back, then another. The entity stood there, her senses swimming as she tried to study it. It was huge, infinitely large, so enormous its head touched the sky…she tried to comprehend how it could be both utterly immense and yet standing calmly in the square. Her head spun as she pulled back again, glancing from side to side. A good third of the crowd had fallen to the ground, prostrating themselves in front of the entity. Others cowered or ran in all directions…
It’s a lie, she thought, as she touched her chest. The rune wasn’t burning, which meant…what? No subtle magic? A compulsion on such a scale wasn’t impossible, if one had enough power. But there was no nexus point in the city, was there? No one could have kept a nexus point hidden, not when anyone with a hint of magic could detect it. It has to be a lie.
Caleb coughed, tugging at her arm. Emily realized, dully, that her hand was throbbing in pain. Caleb had squeezed her tightly enough to hurt. And yet, she’d barely noticed – no, she hadn’t noticed. She pulled her hand free, then glanced at Frieda. Her friend was wavering, looking as if she might fall to the ground at any moment. Emily caught her shoulder and yanked her back, hoping to break the connection. Frieda jumped, then looked away from the entity.
“I AM JUSTICE,” the entity said. There was so much power in its voice – so much compulsion – that it was hard, very hard, to doubt it. It spoke as if it, and it alone, possessed the truth. “I HAVE BEEN SUMMONED TO TEND TO MY CAUSE.”
The power surged, suddenly, as the entity raised its hand. A bolt of lightning flashed from its fingertips, reaching out to strike Jalil. The older man screamed in pain as his entire body blazed white, then turned to stone. Emily knew, on a level that could not be denied, that he’d died…and that he’d died in agony. The knowledge beat on the air like a giant heartbeat, impressing itself into her soul. She looked around as the lightning flashed again, seeking out Guildmaster Merriam. Merriam screamed and ran, but the lightning followed him. There was something cruel in the spell, Emily thought dully. It moved in slow motion, just slowly enough to give the impression that Merriam might manage to escape. But it was a lie…
She looked away, shielding her eyes, as Merriam died.
Too much power, she thought, numbly. It hurt to even try to probe it with her senses, but she had to try. Even a protected nexus point didn’t have so much calculated malice woven into its very nature. The entity was designed to hurt anyone who tried to analyze it. She found her head starting to hurt – again – as she tried to study the power. There’s too much power being thrown around too freely.
Her mind raced as Sienna pulled her back, shouting for her husband. A necromancer would have such power, but almost no control. Was she looking at a necromancer wrapped in an overpowered glamour? It didn’t seem possible. A necromancer would have slaughtered the entire crowd by now, instead of merely making examples out of a couple of guilty parties. She glanced back at the entity, trying to focus on how it channeled and used power. But it was too powerful for her to track the ebb and flow of magic surrounding it…
“THIS CITY WILL COME TO KNOW THE WAY,” the entity boomed. Its presence seemed to grow stronger, but this time Emily was ready for it. “THE SINNERS WILL BE PURGED. A DAY OF PEACE WILL RISE.”
Emily sensed another surge of magic and turned her head. A set of sorcerers were screaming defiance, hurling dozens of spells at the entity. Justice made no attempt to move, let alone to defend itself. The spells struck its exterior and vanished, snapping out of existence as if they’d struck a brick wall. And yet…Emily reached out again, frowning as she watched the second set of spells strike home. The magic was unravelling, the mana breaking down and falling towards the entity…
They’re feeding it, she realized.
“JUSTICE WILL BE DONE.”
The three sorcerers suddenly blazed with white light. When it faded, three more statues stood in the center of the square. The crowd broke, half falling on their knees, the other half running in all directions. Fistfights broke out as they struggled to get out of the square before it was too late, sorcerers and magic-users panicking and lashing out with their powers as they ran. Hundreds of people were going to die, Emily realized dully, trampled to death when they fell to the ground. Justice – whatever it actually was – would be responsible for them all…
She felt the presence ebb, just a little, and turned to look. Justice seemed smaller somehow, yet still impressive. His face was indistinct, but rigid; she saw flashes of his features, rather than a complete picture. A black beard, flashing black eyes, a stern chin, a muscular body…she thought he was garbed, but his clothes refused to come into focus. She couldn’t help thinking of Judge Dredd or – perhaps – an Old Testament prophet, coming home to lay down the law. There was a solidity about him that caught her attention, something that convinced her she wasn’t looking at an illusion…