The Trials (The Elite Series) (19 page)

“
He has the entire Karnag population at his command spread out over the Shetland Islands and they are a terrifying sight. I could list names, but that would be pointless. You’re all familiar with the kind of Elite that gets locked in Karnag for an eternity of punishment.” Randolph winced as he realized Caderyn had just been released from the same prison.

Caderyn didn’t flinch
, but motioned Randolph to continue.

“
He’s also called Elites to his banner promising wealth, power, and standing in his empire when the fighting is over and the land gets divided. I didn’t see the sorceress while I was there, but there’s no doubt he had her busy working on something. I couldn’t even get Faust and Christof to talk about what she was doing. They’re strong, determined, and ruthless.”

Connor couldn’t tak
e it any longer—he had to know. “And Laren?  Did you see Laren anywhere?”

“Yes
, she’s being held under constant guard in a tower. I wasn’t able to see her, but I know she’s alive, no doubt chained with binding Julie has made to hold her.”

“What are they doing with her? Why did they take her?” Connor asked.

“I’m sorry, Connor, I don’t know. When I heard the call that you were gathering at The Island, I came with as many of my family members I knew could be trusted and left without a word. They’re probably just now discovering my escape.”

The room was quiet.
All he could think about was Laren and her safety, but before he could voice his opinion, a dark voice in the doorway spoke, “Great. So as soon as I find the Shetland Islands on a map, I’m leaving. Anyone who wants to come can, but I’m going now.”

All eyes turned to Lu
. There were shadows under his eyes, his long hair was shaved down into a short Mohawk, and stubble covered his muscular face.

“Lu
, wait,” his mother pleaded, but he was already gone.

“I’ll get him
,” Connor reassured her and headed after him. He caught up with him just down the hall as Lu stalked through the palace halls. He was wearing dark pants, military boots, and black tank top. “Like what you’ve done with your hair. What brought about the change?” Connor tried to sound light and cheerful but he knew he was wasting his breath.

Lu didn’t even give him a second look. “It gets in the way when I fight. I plan on doing a lot of fighting and a lot of killing very soon.”

Connor tried not to visibly swallow hard. He had seen Lu sarcastic, rude, and even mean, but this was something different. Lu was cold now, and it was clear vengeance was the only thing on his mind.

“
I’ll come with you, but you have to give me an hour.”

“I don’t HAVE
to do anything.”

“Listen
.” Connor grabbed Lu’s large arm and swung him around. “I get it you’re mad. And that’s fine, so am I. I’m not going to pretend to know what you’re going through, but you can’t do this alone. One hour—give me one hour—”

“There is no
more time!” Lu roared, spittle coming from his mouth and his eyes threatening to dilate yellow. “I have no room in my heart for waiting, even less for forgiveness or planning. All I have is hate. Hate for him killing my father and hate for him taking my sister. Get out of my way or so help me, Judge or not, I will throw you aside.”

He knew Lu was on the verge of losing control. He had two choices: let him pass or stand his ground and threaten a physical confrontation, and that was something no one wanted. Connor was raring to go as soon as he could, but he knew he had to address the crowd of Elites that were gathering on The Island. They would be the backbone of his army when the real fighting started.

“Fine
, you want to go? Then go!” Connor yelled back, stepping aside. “Go and kill yourself, I don’t care, but without help, you’re not only endangering your own life, but Laren’s, too. What do you think they’re going to do when you charge into their camp, tearing Elites to pieces?”

Lu had taken a few steps
past Connor, but now Connor could see him hesitate. It was working. “They’re going to kill her. You need my help and we can do this together. One hour is all I’m asking. You’ll need that time anyway to prepare transportation and the gear we’ll need. One hour.”

Lu’s frame shook with anger
as he turned and said, “You have one hour.” He stalked off down the hall.

Connor let out a huge sigh. Trying to get Lu to be smart about the rescue was going to be a whole
different task, but this was a start. Connor turned and ran back to the meeting room. Zheng and Caderyn were the only ones still there. “I’m going to need some traveling clothes before I leave, and I think it would be best if I was able to speak to the crowd that has gathered before I go.”

The two men nodded their approval. “I’ll get the Elites gathered. I think talking to them is a great idea.” Cad
eryn smiled at his son as he rose from his seat.

“You
’ll need clothes befitting a warrior Judge. If the Elites gathered are going to believe you and be willing to follow you into battle, you’ll need to look the part,” Zheng said as he rose from his seat. “Follow me.”

A
short trip that wove through the vast palace interior led them to a large, brightly lit room full of armor and weapons of all kinds. There was traditional armor a knight would wear to the more current Kevlar vests found on modern soldiers and everything in between. The weapons the room held were large in quantity and even greater in variety. Connor did a double take as he saw a Gatling gun mounted on the far wall. Morrigan and Orion were already there sorting through the room’s inventory and taking stock of the supplies.

“
Thought you would be along soon,” Morrigan said. “We won’t be dressing you in a suit today.”

Connor was soon geared in black pants and boots like Lu’s with a large black belt and a black short sleeve shirt that was held to his body with a tight fitting Kevlar vest. Connor felt like a super soldier he
’d seen in action movies.

“How’s the vest feel?” Orion asked as he stood back
, arms crossed, and looked at Connor.

“It feels heavy.”

“You’ll get used to it.” He winked.

“You don’t think this is all a bit overboard? I mean
, I feel like I’m going to war.”

“That’s the point,” Morrigan agreed.

“Here, these should do nicely.” Zheng walked up to the trio with a black bladed axe in one hand and a large black knife in the other. “It seems as though axes have served you well in the past and a knife is always a useful weapon.”

Connor nodded
, taking the weapons. There was a sling on his back for the axe and a holder on the side of his boot for the knife.

“Ha! There we are,” Orion said
, nodding. “I’d follow you into war any day.”

“You look like the kind
of Elite that could beat Vercin,” Zheng agreed.

“Come now
, let’s not keep your army waiting,” Morrigan said, ushering Connor out the door.

As they walked to the entrance of the palace
, Morrigan didn’t offer him any advice like she had done during their time at the castle.

“So
, no words of wisdom on what to say?” Connor asked.

“I think you know what to say,” Morrigan said.

They were approaching the castle courtyard quickly and Connor felt butterflies in his stomach. “So hypothetically speaking, let’s say I didn’t know what to say.”

“Speak from your heart. From
what you know is true and right,” Zheng said.

Morrigan nodded
. “I couldn’t have said it any better.”

Then they were there
. The large doors that led to the palace courtyard loomed like titans guarding a treasure. “We’re here for you,” Orion said. “So is your father and Katie and Kora.”

Connor took a deep breath
and reminded himself of who he was and the reason he was doing all of this, then grabbed the large brass handle and opened the door.

The sun was high overhead as he walked outside. Cad
eryn was there, standing at the top of the steps, and hundreds of Elites filled the courtyard, staring at him as he approached. He saw Miyanda and Tarana in the crowd with a large group of violet-eyed Elites. Randolph was there dressed in a blue suit with a handful of his family members, Zheng’s warriors took up a huge portion of the courtyard, and the remaining green and brown-eyed Elites could be found in small pockets throughout the crowd.

Connor strode forward
, keeping his back as straight as possible. His black hair was wild and long, falling halfway down his forehead, and a shadow of a beard clung to his face, making him look a few years older than he really was. He couldn’t help but wonder how many people Vercin had at his command. Although the courtyard at the palace was large, there couldn’t be more than a few hundred gathered there.

All eyes were on him and he forced himself to look into as many eyes as he could. “I want to start by thanking you all for coming and answering the call to stand against Vercin. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Connor Moore
, and I have passed the trials and claimed my place not only as a Judge, but as the Judge that will see our people through this time of darkness we now know is Vercin.”

“You passed the trials
, then? All three?” a voice shouted in the crowd.

“Yes, all three
, just like our customs state.”

“
How do we know you did, then? No offense.” This time Connor saw the speaker. He was a large brown-eyed man wearing fatigues and leaning against a large broad sword. “No disrespect,” the man continued in a Scottish accent, “but if I be following yeh into battle, I’d want to know I’d be following the true and proper Judge.”

The
re was a mumble of agreement from the crowd as other Elites threw in their own misgivings about Connor. Connor looked first at the man, and then at the rest of the crowd. “No offense taken and I would ask the same thing.” Connor began to sweat and he could feel the blood rushing to his face.
Why didn’t you plan this out beforehand? You should have known they’d want proof. Where is the dragon, or the keys of Karnag? What did you do with them?

Before Connor could worry
anymore, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was his father, and in his fist he carried a large, ancient set of stone keys. “Let all who gather here know that the third trial was passed! That Connor Moore has gone into Karnag and taken the keys from Karnag from the hands of the dead!”

Another rumble rippled through the crowd as heads nodded and Elites looked at one another and support for Connor grew.

“Connor Moore has also passed the second trial by challenging and besting myself, the king of The Island.” Zheng stepped forward, carrying The Island’s blue pulsing stone. The crowd stood in awe, as few of them had even been to The Island before and fewer had seen the stone.

Shouts now rose from those gathered
, as even more doubt was washed away.

Then there was a roar.
A roar that shook the very insides of Connor’s chest and made his bones vibrate. The gates from outside the palace courtyard burst open in a dramatic fashion and the dragon, accompanied by Lu, walked through.

Besides Miyanda’s tribe
, no one there had ever seen a dragon. Elites looked to run at first, but when they saw the dragon was tame and stood by Lu’s side, they stopped and stood wide-eyed. “I was with Connor when he captured the Ignis Serpent from the Amazon, passing the first trial,” Lu shouted. Looking over at Connor, he continued, “Now finish your speech and let’s go save my sister!”

A roar ripped through the crowd as the Elites looked with admiration at their Judge. All doubt was gone and Connor knew he had their support until the end. More cheers and roars
came from the crowd as weapons were raised, hands clapped, and feet stomped. Connor lifted his hands for silence. Letting the roar die down, he furrowed his brow as he began the most important speech of his life. “Our time is limited. We face a villain who has murdered our leaders, freed those who have broken our Law, and now seeks to conquer our world. He is the most powerful Judge there has ever been. He has a sorceress and an iron will. Most would despair, but I say friends. We take hope because we have a dragon!”

Right on
cue, the dragon shook his head and gave another roar. “We have two sorceresses!”

The crowd looked
at Morrigan and then Katie, who stood by her side, and roared even louder. “We have not one, but two Judges to calm this storm!”

Elites nodded and shouted
, looking at Caderyn and remembering his past feats as well as looking at their new Judge, who looked every bit the part of a leader to follow into battle. “But most importantly, we have each other! We will win! We will take this fight to the enemy and the history books will remember that a few turned the tide of darkness and saved the world from a tyrant. That a few made a difference! My friends, we did not ask for this burden to bear, but it has been given to us, and by God, we will see it through to the end!”