The Lost Book of Chaos: How to Divide the World (The Secret Wars of Angels 1) (11 page)

Judas handed the small sacred blade.

The enemy Vice-Captain looked at her as if she was crazy. She couldn't even take one of them down with a sword, let alone three, and, with a much smaller weapon, her chances had now become close to nothing. Or so the enemy thought.

“By the power of the Zohar,” Arcana chanted, “A, NUN, GI, A!” The small blade seemed to glow, but it could have been Judas's imagination, either that or it was just the reflection from one of the torches.

Arcana charged forward, swinging her small blade in a wide arc. The captain blocked the attack with his sword, but Arcana's blade cut through it with almost no resistance. She struck again, this time her blade cut through the armor of the three enemy soldiers in one fell swoop. What surprised Judas even more was the sheer force with which the enemy soldiers were sent backwards, where they crashed against the wall and fell in a heap. After which, they stopped moving.

“You did it,” Judas said in astonishment. “You defeated all three of them in one blow!”

But Arcana dropped to her knees.

“Help me get to Varak's side,” Arcana said, “I need to heal him fast.” Judas supported her.

Arcana brought Varak back to consciousness.

Varak tried to stand, but Arcana put a hand on his chest. “You need to rest for a bit,” Arcana said. “Being healed twice in two days will take a lot from you.”

Varak grunted.

“It's you I'm concerned about,” Varak responded, “this is nothing.”

There were footsteps from the dungeons. Arcana turned in that direction, her blade ready, though it didn’t look like she could do something like that one more time, not after the toll on her when she healed Varak. Judas moved forward, standing by her side. But the man who came up wasn’t the enemy Captain, it was Gnaeus.

“It’s great that you’re all right,” Gnaeus said. Then he saw the three guardsmen unconscious, their armor broken. “How did you—?” Then he shook his head.

“All that matters is that you’re safe my Lady,” Gnaeus said.

“What about the enemy Captain?” Arcana demanded.

“I'd like to say I took care of him,” Gnaeus said. “But he's a tough bastard. We need to go or we'll be trapped on both sides. If this Inquisitor Captain's any good, he'll have made sure to put his men outside too.”

Arcana already had a hard time fighting the Vice-Captain. The Captain must have been stronger that even Gnaeus was no match.

“You’re hurt,” Arcana said.

“It’s nothing,” Gnaeus said. “just a little scratch.”

Arcana moved towards Gnaeus.

“Don’t waste your energy on a stranger,” Varak warned. But Arcana ignored him and went on to heal Gnaeus. As Gnaeus’s wound disappeared, his face lit up in wonder, then looked at Arcana and Judas in askance.

“Is this—” Gnaeus began.

Then Arcana turned to Judas, not letting Gnaeus finish.

“Take this sacred blade and run,” Arcana commanded. “Hide it where no one can find it, until the time I come for you. There may be more of the Inquisition outside, but if we draw their attention, you may escape their attention since you're a civilian. It is important to separate the pieces, so even if they catch me, I will be useless to them.”

“What about you?” Judas said.

“We will rest here and take care of ourselves,” Arcana said. “You worry about yourself.”

“I’ll protect them,” Gnaeus offered. “And besides, I have a few men outside too.”

"But how will I find you?" Judas said.

Arcana handed him an amulet. It bore symbols similar to the one on the sacred blade. “Wear this amulet, and I will find you. If you need me, think of me, and it will show you the way.”

Judas sighed. More magic.

There were footsteps from the dungeons below.

“Now hurry!”Arcana called.

Judas ran outside. There were people there bearing torches and makeshift weapons, ordinary villagers come to see what the commotion was about. The villagers must have heard the ruckus, and maybe even seen the corpses of the local guardsmen and reported to the others.

“Who goes there?” One of the villagers challenged.

“I’m just a lawyer and I'm unarmed!” Judas said. He had hidden the sacred blade under his clothes. “There are dangerous people who killed the guardsmen inside.” The villagers looked to each other, as if hesitating if they should come in. “They are well armed and dangerous, not something that ordinary villagers can handle.”

That should buy his friends a few more moments to recover. While the villagers argued what they should do, Judas headed into the crowd to escape from the scene.

Then there was a loud whistle from inside the prison. Judas turned to see Captain Shaul. His face was dark with rage. Whatever Gnaeus had done to Shaul, it had infuriated the enemy Captain.

At the sound of the first whistle, more whistles came from all directions, from the trees, from behind the buildings, and from everywhere.

Soldiers of the Inquisition came en mass, surrounding Arcana, Varak, and Gnaeus. There was no where to run. Judas was left outside the ring of villagers. If only there was a way...

There is a way.
The inhuman voice in his head said.
Shemyaza gave you a way.

What?

Do you want me to show you?
The voice said, tempting him.

Judas gritted his teeth.

There was no other choice.

Whether he was going crazy or not, he was about to find out.

“Then show me!” Judas said.

Pain erupted from his right hand. It was the same hand that Arcana had healed. The same hand that the Shemyaza's golden serpent had bitten.

His right hand started bleeding. What was happening?

Judas watched in panic as the wound that had healed opened again. But rather than just red blood, something else other than blood came out.

Judas screamed.

Golden scales came out from his wound. As if the scales were hiding inside his body! The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. They weren't just scales, the scales had tiny feet. It was like looking into a beehive, or a dense colony of ants, or a mass of insects—only the bugs were golden.

The golden scales marched on his arm, like an army of tiny golden beetles. Each golden scale used its tiny legs, creeping forward until they covered his entire arm. He watched in horror, helpless, but it didn't end there. When the army of golden bugs found their place, their bodies hardened, and their tiny golden feed burrowed into his flesh.

Judas screamed anew at the pain of thousands of needles piercing his skin and bones.

He must have passed out for a brief moment, because when he opened his eyes again, there was a sword on his hand, and his entire arm was covered with golden scales.

It's not yet perfect
, the inhuman voice said,
but it will have to do. Something's strange about your body Judas. Your blood, is different from an ordinary human. I wonder why that is so?

Judas let go of the pain, and focused his thoughts on saving his friends.

How much time had he wasted?

But as he looked, the soldiers had not yet attacked the three.

Time slowed down for you,
the inhuman voice explained,
or rather, your awareness of time increased a hundred fold. So you experienced every detail, while only a few seconds have passed in the world.

Who are you?
Judas thought back.

I am Nacash,
the inhuman voice said,
the Great Serpent. I have been watching you, Betrayer.

At last,
Nacash said in a serpentine voice,
you have given me a better means to interact with you. Though this form is incomplete. Shemyaza's gift, we will use it together.

Now what do I do?
Judas thought to the snake.
We need to help my friends.

Your awareness of time is still enhanced,
Nacash responded,
but not for long. I'm afraid your body is not yet ready to tolerate this state for a long time. I will explain to you how this works. The enhanced time awareness won't last forever, so you will have to move fast.

There are so many enemies,
Nacash continued,
so we will need a strategy.

What do you suggest?
Judas said.

Focus on their leader,
Nacash said.
I believe the Vice-Captain was already taken care of by Arcana earlier. Once they are leaderless, they will be plunged into confusion.

Good idea,
Judas said,
but will I be able to beat him?

Nacash didn't answer his question.

A few more seconds and it will wear off,
Nacash said,
go, now!

Judas ran towards his friends.

The villagers around him didn't even notice him. That was because he was moving too fast. He went past the ring of soldiers, ignoring them as well.

By the time he reached his friends, his perception of time had begun to return to normal, meaning he was moving slower now.

His friends were cornered, facing the ring of soldiers surrounding them and Shaul towering behind them by the prison entrance.

Arcana, Varak, and Gnaeus were surprised at his sudden appearance.

“Judas, how did you—” Arcana began, but Judas did not have time to talk.

Judas immediately rushed towards Shaul, intent on taking him down while he still had the strange power.

The enemy who had suddenly appeared gave a downward blow, which Shaul parried with his sword.

However, when their two blades met, the sound was not of sword clashing against sword.

It was the sound of thunder.

Shaul was pushed several meters backward by the blow. Shaul felt dizzy and wobbled from that one blow, but he somehow regained his balance.

These people, these heathens!

Anger welled up inside of him. He was the one who was righteous. He fought against evil. He fought against the lawlessness of pagans. He was the one who fought against people who worshipped a false prophet as god! Idolaters!

His right arm was broken from the man-demon's blow, but his conviction strengthened him.

“Demon!” Shaul's voice boomed. Then, he raised his voice even louder. “Inquisitors! Attack them all at once!”

Shaul's soldiers, who had fallen silent at the sudden exchange between Judas and Shaul, screamed to the top of their lungs and cried out their warcries. Whatever hesitation they had after witnessing the interchange of swords, was not gone. They were back and ready to fight.

The Inquisitors probably numbered several hundreds, as Captain Shaul came prepared. The sound of their voices shook the area.

“Take the woman and the other two alive,” Shaul continued, voice booming even over the warcries, “but kill this one! This demon must not be allowed to live!”

Shaul's right hand was rendered useless, despite having parried the demon's blow, so the Inquisitor shifted the sword to his left.

Shaul charged.

The demon blocked his attack. This time, the sound of the clash was the normal sound of a sword against sword, as if the demon had lost its strength.

Shaul smiled. There was a hint of uncertainty in the face of the man-demon.

“Evil will not win against righteousness,” Shaul said.

Shaul continued his attacks, pushing the demon backward.

He was winning.

A few of his men had fallen while fighting the other three, but Shaul saw that their sheer numbers had overcome the witch's magic.

The other three were now caught and Shaul's soldiers were drawing the captives away.

The only one left was this demon.

His men formed a circle around the two, so as not to give the demon any means of escape. Yes, as befitting the Captain of the Inquisitors, Shaul would destroy this demon himself. His men had no need to interfere in the fight, and they knew it.

The demon looked around, like a cornered wild animal. Now that it could no longer find its companions, whatever strength it displayed before had vanished. It fought back awkwardly, as if it wasn't used to using the sword.

It was Shaul's victory.

I can't defeat him,
Judas said.

I will give you strength once more,
Nacash said,
but it will only last for a second. You must use it well.

Only a second... What could he do with that?

Still, it was better than nothing.

Then do it,
Judas said.

Strength gushed forth in him, and Judas dashed forward with a wide arcing slash, aiming for Shaul's head.

The Inquisitor faced it head on with a downward slash.

Judas's blow sounded like thunder, breaking Shaul's sword in half and going through to Shaul's head. The blade ripped apart Shaul's eyes.