Fists of Justice (Schooled in Magic #12)

“This way,” Sienna snapped.

Emily caught sight of Janus as Sienna led the way towards the Guildhall itself. The Speaker stood beside the podium, his hands clasped behind his back as he watched the carnage. He looked at Emily, just for a moment, and nodded politely to her. There was an oddly beneficent look on his face that was more terrifying, somehow, than any smirk or scream of rage.

He did this, Emily thought. The screams were growing louder. He knew it would happen.

She saw Harriman, lying on the ground near the doors. Blood poured from a nasty gash on his forehead. She hurried over to him, but it was too late. He made a gurgling sound, then died in her arms. She stared down at him for a long moment, knowing that she didn’t have the time to try to get his body out of the square. He’d deserved better than to die in such a way…she took his papers, then stood. Janus had turned back to look at her.

Magic boiled around her fingertips, demanding release as he watched her through cold, dark eyes. She could kill him right now, she could end it…but she knew it wouldn’t be enough to save the city. Justice’s mere presence would change everything, even if Janus died. They had to find a way to stop something that might as well be a god…

“Emily!” Caleb shouted.

Emily turned to run. She felt tired, her legs starting to hurt…she felt almost as if she were swimming through molasses. It felt like a nightmare when she couldn’t move, no matter how much she tried…she knew, all too well, that something was coming up behind her. She could feel the presence growing stronger, feel her knees threatening to bend…her body wanted to turn, to surrender…she raised her hand, somehow, and slapped her face. The pain gave her just enough focus to break free and run.

“We have to get out the rear,” Sienna snapped. “Hurry!”

She tossed a spell at the doors as soon as they were inside the building, slamming them closed. A second spell locked them, although Emily suspected it wouldn’t last more than a few seconds. Justice had more than enough power to reduce the entire building to dust, if it wanted. She heard the sound of falling masonry in the distance as the ground shook…she wondered, as she followed Sienna and the others through a maze of ornate corridors, if the island was tectonically stable. A major earthquake might do real damage…

Or a volcano, she thought. There were stories about magicians who’d triggered volcanoes, although most of them were cautionary tales. What if the city was built on a dead volcano?

The building shook, again. A large painting of a stern-looking guildmaster fell from the wall and crashed to the floor. Others followed, forcing them to jump. A lantern dropped from a great height and smashed against a tapestry, starting a fire. Sienna snapped a spell at it, quenching the flames in a heartbeat, but it was only a matter of time until something else caught fire. The shaking was growing worse.

“ALL WILL BE JUDGED,” Justice said. The voice was so near that Emily glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting to see the entity right behind her. Given its power, she suspected the entire city could hear it. “YOU WILL ALL COME TO ME IN TIME.”

Sienna threw the back door open. A small group of Hands of Justice stood behind the Guildhall, handing out weapons. Sienna didn’t hesitate. She raised a hand and threw a spell at them, knocking them to the ground. Emily’s hair stood on end as she sensed the residues. It was a killing spell, but not one she knew. Whatever it was, she thought as she watched Frieda scoop up a short sword, the Hands hadn’t stood a chance.

“Stop,” a voice shouted. A spell flashed over their heads. “Stop and be judged!”

Emily turned. A dozen more Hands ran towards them. One of them waved a wand in the air, threateningly. The others carried swords and staffs…the latter, perhaps, charged with magic. She noticed, as she readied a spell of her own, that they wore different insignia over their chests. It looked like a clenched fist…

“No,” Sienna said.

She threw a spell at the leader, knocking him back. Emily and Caleb threw fireballs too, then force punches; Frieda cast a spell of her own, a lightning storm that lashed out at everyone within range. The Hands scattered, then regrouped. Sienna struck them with another force punch, chanting words under her breath. The small group was flung in all directions with terrifying force.

“ALL WILL BE JUDGED,” Justice said.

“Run,” Sienna ordered.

Emily turned and ran for her life, followed by Frieda and Caleb. She was vaguely aware of Sienna doing…something before she ran too, something that sent more shivers down her spine as the spell detonated. The screams behind her cut off abruptly as Sienna joined them, pounding down the street. Thankfully, the streets were largely empty. Emily didn’t want to think about what that meant for the crowd left in the square.

“Janus knew.” Emily reached out with her senses. Justice was easy to sense, just like a nexus point; a flickering awareness of presence that seemed to ebb and flow around the center of the city. And yet…there was something odd about it, something that nagged at the back of her mind. What was it? “He knew something was going to happen…”

“Less talking, more running.” Sienna didn’t even sound winded. “We have to get back home before anything else.”

Emily nodded. Sienna was right. And yet…she couldn’t keep herself from thinking. Janus had known, right from the start, that something would happen. No, perhaps it was worse. Vesperian’s death hadn’t started the whole nightmare, making it impossible for the city’s population to delude themselves any longer. It had only made matters worse…

If Janus knew the whole scheme was about to collapse, she thought as she forced herself to run faster, he might have tried to take advantage of it. And yet…

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