Duality : Book 1 of Codex Elysium

chapter 6 (edited)

Chapter 6

Jason stood in the ruined street with sword raised, ready to fight, Janus faced him with hands clasped behind his back and a peaceful smile on his face.  Thunder rumbled and the grey light seem to dim as Janus spoke,

"you know who I am, your eyes have seen and your mind knows the truth."

A bright white aura began to surround Janus,

"I am God! You should be on your hands and knees begging for mercy. You dare to raise a sword at me!"

Janus raised his hands and lightning streaked across the sky, followed almost instantly by deafening thunder.  Jason didn't flinch, he tightened both hands on the sword handle.

"You are not God! I will not beg for mercy, I did no wrong!"

"You worshipped false gods! You worshiped idols!" Janus snapped back. "You are a heathen who even now defies me!"

Jason braced himself knowing a fight was about to begin.

"You leave me no choice," said Janus. "I damn you to hell!"

At a click of his fingers the Passus started shuffling out of the shadows, climbing through broken doorways or falling through windows. The four main streets began filling with the damned as more and more shuffled out of alleyways and the shadows.

"Well this doesn't look good." Jason sent the thought to Brutus, the cat made no reply.

Lifeless eyes stared and withered hands clutched at weapons of various sorts. Some had rusty pipes or lumps of wood. Jason scans his surroundings. All four streets are full of the damned, the crossroads is completely cut off.

"Well any suggestions? I'm open to all offers," Jason said.

Instead of answering Brutus begins to hiss and spit. His back arches as his body begins to shake. Muscles begin to bulge and shift. The cat's top incisors begin to grow and extend. Brutus grows until the transformation is complete and he becomes a fully-grown sabre-toothed cat. It lets out a deep and powerful roar. Okay, good answer, thought Jason.  The Passus  formed a complete ring. There was no escape and Janus had melted back into the crowd. One of the Passus began to shuffle forward, its feet stumbling on the rubble-strewn street but somehow it maintained its balance.

"Don't come any closer!" Jason warns. The thing ignores Jason and puts out a withered arm, fingers getting closer to Jason's face.

"I mean it! Not one step more!"

This warning also gets ignored. The Passus keeps coming.

Okay no choice, thinks Jason, as he swings the blade. The arm goes flying and blood flows from the wound, the Passus doesn't seem to register the loss of a limb. It just raises its other arm and keeps coming. Jason doesn't hesitate this time. The sword flashes in the storm light and the other arm tumbles to the ground. Still the Passus advances, opening and closing its withered mouth like it's trying to talk.

"What the hell is with this thing? How do I stop it?" Brutus doesn't reply and Jason realises he can no longer understand the cat's thoughts. The thoughts coming from Brutus are much more primal and savage now. They are more like senses and feelings that cannot be translated into words. What Jason does pick-up on is a sense of loyalty and a need to protect, coming from the cat. There is also a huge wave of hostility but it is all aimed at the Passus. The armless thing comes closer, lifeless eyes staring straight ahead but not really seeing. Jason didn't even think about what he was going to do. His sword came up and the severed head drops to the ground. As the headless body collapses at Jason's feet a grey mist seems to drop down on the world. Distant buildings fade. The whole world seems to fade to grey. Visibility drops to just the surrounding area. Something seems to run through the surrounding crowd. Weapons raised, all the lifeless eyes are on Jason. The silence is shattered by the harsh caw of a raven. Jason looks up at the great black bird perched on a rooftop. Just as at Jason's execution, no one else seems to notice the bird. Brutus lets out a huge roar and charges the crowd, three of the Passus go down as the massive cat lands on them, their thin rotten bones snapping under the impact. Brutus doesn't spare them a second glace as his razor-sharp claws begin slashing at others. Jason took one last look at the raven, did it just nod? Conscious thought begins to fade as Jason charges into battle, sword flying, as he parried blows from rusted pipes and sticks, limbs and blood begin to fly in all directions. Although Jason had spent many years in fencing competitions, he didn't think his swordsmanship could cope with this many enemies at once. Rotten nails scraped his skin. Chunks of wood and pipes thumped his body as his blade cleaved through flesh and bone.

Brutus clamped his jaws around the waist of a Passus and began to swing it around like a rag doll. Other Passus get hit and are sent falling to the ground. Jason paused for a second to marvel at the cat's strength and power. The moment's hesitation proves fatal as withered hands come from behind and wrap around Jason's neck. More hands clasp his sword arm. Jason struggled against the Passus. They are amazingly strong despite their appearance. Jason looks to Brutus for help but the cat is too far away. Shouting and cursing Jason struggles to free his sword arm. He glances at a withered thing's face that is advancing on him, and swears at it. The insult doesn't register on the Passus. An arrow flies out of the mist and slams into the Passus's forehead. Jason feels the wind of another arrow barley missing his cheek. The pressure on his neck loosens as the Passus restraining him falls to the ground. Looking in the direction the arrows had come from, Jason spots a young girl on a rooftop. She is wearing a black robe with a longbow in-hand. Jason nods his thanks, She winks back then aims another arrow straight at his head. Before Jason can even react, the arrow goes sailing past him. He turns to see another Passus fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out of its eye.  I guess Brutus was right, I do have an ally. The moment passes and Jason plunged back into the fight, arrows raining down, picking on anyone that gets too close for comfort.

Tiberius remained concealed on the rooftop, invisible to all, he watched the battle below like a general overseeing his troops. He knew Eva was an exceptional archer. How many times had he watched her practise? She never missed her mark. Tiberius had never imagined Eva would possess that kind of accuracy in the heat of battle, but so far not a single arrow had been wasted, everyone was a kill shot. Tiberius looked down on the massive cat, it stood on a pile of mangled corpses and was shredding anything dumb enough to go near it. No help needed there. What impressed Tiberius the most was the man they were here to rescue? It was very clear that he needed no help, he was a master swordsman. No movement of the blade was wasted, every cut and thrust found its mark. The ground at his feet was piled with corpses and body parts. Tiberius began to relax, perhaps this would all work out ok? Just as he finished that thought, all at once the flow of the battle changed.