Judgement (The Twelve) (26 page)

Chris took the offered key, “Why tell me all this?”

“I
f something should happen to me.
Priest and huntress,
are my executors. You however are my son. All this will become yours should I die.
Y
ou will need to look after the….survivors.”

Chris could see he wasn’t finished,
and waited as he
turned and walked over to another pool of light. A single rectangular trunk stood under the spotlight.

“This contains my personal belongings. They are yours if I should …
die
.
I’ve changed the code on
the combination lock
to
0016, your age
, when we first met
.”

Chris looked up, “First met? That was only four months ago. You make it sound like ages ago.”

Anvil smiled, “You’ve aged son or rather Judgement has aged you.  Haven’t you noticed you’ve grown in height? Put on weight, added muscle?”

Chris hadn’t until now, but his father was right, he was older! “But my clothes still fit me!”

Anvil just cocked his head to one side and shrugged, “Dwarf clothing” Was his only explanation.

He explained that the chest contained a map how to find all of the existing Dwarves dotted around the globe. A necklace he once wore in another life together with his first iron axe head, “there are some other papers and photos dating way back when and letters of introduction to world leaders past, present and future
, y
ou may do with them as you think fit.”

Future
leaders
?
B
efore
Chris could
say
anything
else
,
his father
strode off into the darkness. Chris waited until he reappeared far away in another pool of light. He saw that it contained a very small box
.
Anvil
waited until Chris joined him. Bending down, he retrieved the box and handed it to Chris.

“This is for you. It contains a lock of
her
hair
in a sliver locket
and
four
photo
s of
your mother
and I taken in one of those photo passport machines
.
It was more t
han a one night drunken stand but we were never in love, never thought of marriage. I did care for her and set her up in a small flat. Whenever I could I visited her. She never took another, always waited for me. I was away overseas for quite some time
,
didn’t know she had died in child birth.
I was told were she had been buried without a headstone, but nothing about you.
I paid for her body to be
re-
buried. O
ne day I’ll take you to the church where her crypt stands. 
The box also contains
an old
rope and bead love bracelet that
belonged to your step
brother’s
mother.
She gave it to me when I left
.
I kept it because
that chance encounter
meant something to me. Of all the women I’ve known, they are the only two I have anything that belonging to them.
I know it isn’t much
,
but it’s the only link I have to give you that connects you to your past. “

The box felt heavy in Chris’s hands, “Thank you.” 
The words choked him.

Anvil
nodded towards the box, “It also contains a letter from me to both you and Edge. If I die and you both still live. Please see Edge somehow gets his letter
and the necklace
.”

Chris could only nod in agreement.
Anvil
stepped back into the dark and was gone. His voice echoed around the
warehouse floor, “When you’re rea
d
y meet us downstairs. We need to plan our first attack.”

Chris shouted into the darkness, “What attack?”

The lifts steel mesh door slide shut, “The one you will be leading.”

Chris stood there clutching the box as he listened to the lift descend.
Silently he lifted the lid with one shaking hand. The first thing he saw was
a strip of four
small photos resting on top of the boxes contents. It was of a happy looking, smiling young woman
and a happier looking Anvil
, each one was of
them
smiling or striking a different pose. In the last photo,
Anvil
was kissing her
.
Chris could see he was wearing normal street clothes.
The woman looked pretty and
he saw that her hair was cropped short and white like his own.

“Mother,” He whispered
. 

Chris
slowly clos
ed
the lid.
T
ear
s
formed at the corner of his eye
s
. Absently he wiped
them away and sniffed.
Then Judgement took control
,
‘
It is time
.’ The voice inside him stated.
He placed the box back within the pool of light, hesitated for a moment before retrieving something and placed it inside his trouser pocket.
Chris
strode grim faced through the patches of light towards the lift.

Chapter Eight

A
nvil
had the group gathered close together and was speaking when
Chris
arrived
. He fell silent when he saw the look on Chris’s face.

Chris allowed
Judgement
to speak
with that clear deep commanding tone that instantly captured there attention,
“Today will be the start of a war that has been waiting to hap
pen for several thousand years.”

Priest cut in
, “But w
e’ve time to prepare. Edge has to find the Chosen One first and
….”

Judgement
interrupted him taking command again
, “No time
Priest
. The Chosen One has found The Dark.
”

Priest
fell silent and waited passively for Judgement to
explain
.

But Slash defended his thinking,
“
How do you know? Besides even if that is correct w
e have
time on our side.
Edge
has to instruct her as
the Chosen One.”

Judgement
shook, his head, “
I am Judgement and know when my opposite has arisen.
The Chosen One needs no training.
S
he has taken charge of
her new body and
The Dark.
T
hey are planning there first full scale attack on us.”

Priest rubbed a hand across his huge belly, “
A female!”

Judgement
nodded
, “Night and Light, Evil and Good, Ying and Yang
, male and female
.
All things are balanced. As
Edge chose his moment to call a truce with
Anvil, n
ow it is
Anvils
turn to call a truce with Edge.”

Hot Cross nodded, “So that the Chosen One…”

Speed finished, ”Will be revealed to us
, just like Chris was revealed to Edge
!”

Anvil
bowed
solemnly to
his son,
before looking to Priest,
“
W
hat do the prophecies say about this?”

Priest thought for a moment, “That night shall meet day and a new dawn shall rise! I’d forgotten that one.
Sorry.”

Chris smiled, “It’s not that you forgot. It’s more like the Creator allowing you to remember.”

Priests eyebrow shot up, “Never thought of that. How amazing!”

Anvil
looked to Huntress, “Can you find them for me?”

Huntress nodded, “With fast boy here I should be able to find out soon enough.”

Speed grinned from ear to ear, “Just point me in the right direction!”

“No need.”
J
udgement
stated matter of fact,
“I know where they are.”

“What?” Slash asked.

“
…..
Are you?” added Huntress.

“
….
On about?” Priest finished.

“
Can s
omeone
please
explain
my heads hurting
?
” Of course this was Rage.

Even
Anvil looked puzzled
, “Yes pleas
e
explain your self
son
.”

Chris who had become Judgement replied in a deep voice, “T
oday night shall meet day. The Chosen One shall meet me.
I think if I try hard enough, I will be led to him. For it
was
prophesied
.”