Free Messiah: The First Judgement (Chronicles of Brothers) by Wendy Alec Page A

Emperor...’ Jequon bowed again to Lucifer. Charsoc rested his hand ominously on the hilt of his glinting Necromancer blade. ‘Relay it. Word for word.’
    Jequon took a deep breath. ‘That ... that this day a child is born – this day in the town of David...’ Jequon looked up at Lucifer, his courage deserting him ‘A saviour who is...’. Not a muscle of Lucifer’s face moved. ‘Who is ... Christ...’
    Lucifer swung around in astonishment to face Charsoc. The blood drained from Charsoc’s face.
    ‘ Chris ... tos ,’ Lucifer hissed, appalled. A terrible horror contorted his features.
    ‘...The Lord,’ Jequon gasped, his eyes never leaving Lucifer’s. A strange smile played on Darsoc’s pale lips as he watched Charsoc walk unsteadily towards Alastor, his whole body trembling.
    Alastor stared in shock from Lucifer to Charsoc. ‘An error, my lord.’ He stood to his feet, his chins trembling. ‘An error.’ Charsoc murmured.
    With one savage thrust, Charsoc impaled Alastor on his necromancer blade. Alastor stood choking on his own blue blood, retching.
    Then with one sudden, brutal thrust, Charsoc sliced straight through Alastor’s neck. Alastor’s head landed on the floor with a thud. ‘Errors are never tolerable,’ Charsoc muttered. His blade slipped out from his hand and clattered onto the empty floor.
    ‘Errors are never tolerable!’ Like lightning, Lucifer swung around to Charsoc, his own sword raised directly above Charsoc’s neck. ‘Your magi have failed me, Charsoc!’ Charsoc’s entire body shook uncontrollably, sweat poured from his temple.
    ‘This Nova ... this King...’ Lucifer grasped Charsoc’s long hair savagely in his fist and wrenched him so close that Charsoc could feel Lucifer’s hot breath burning against his cheeks. ‘This King is none other than Christos ! His blood – is it undefiled?’ Lucifer gave another cruel wrench on Charsoc’s hair. ‘You know, as I, the tenets of Eternal Law.’ Charsoc stared at Lucifer, horror struck, his mind reeling. ‘If his blood is undefiled, he will exchange his soul for the souls of Men and wrest my kingdom from me!’ Lucifer roared.
    Lucifer stood, silent for a full minute, then flung Charsoc savagely from his grasp. He stumbled to the floor beside the unfortunate Alastor. Alastor’s head vanished. Then his body followed, disappearing straight to the Abyss.
    Lucifer flung his broadsword down, then strode to the window and threw open the curtains, raging blasphemies at the star still overhead in the Second Heaven. ‘Yehovah’s genius! He sent Himself! Tricked by my own preconceptions, as He knew I would be!’
    He pushed past Charsoc to where Darsoc stood, trembling.
    ‘His Messiah will have no palace, no royal robes. His Messiah is born of dust and clay! Tell me, Darsoc, the destination of the infant king,’ he hissed, his face only inches away from Darsoc’s own.
    ‘I followed ... I followed your royal orders, sire,’ Darsoc uttered in growing dread. ‘My Black Murmurers followed the magi back through the desert towards Persia.’
    ‘The infant is with the magi?’ Lucifer circled him.
    Darsoc held out an unsealed missive, his pale fingers shaking uncontrollably. Lucifer snatched the missive, then crumpled it in his hand, his face contorted with sheer hatred.
    ‘The child has vanished! ’ he snarled.
    Lucifer leaned heavily against the pillar, running his fingers through his raven locks, muttering to himself in an evil, peculiar angelic tongue as one demented.
    ‘My brothers deceive me,’ he muttered. He turned to Charsoc, still trembling on the floor. ‘Investigate the circumstance of the infant’s birth. Find out what Jether is up to. Do not dare fail me again, Charsoc!’
    He wrapped his robe tightly around himself, then he turned to Marduk. ‘Stir up the demonic hordes that torment that imbecile Herod day and night. Infect his dreams that he may have it in his heart to kill all males under two years old. The