[Author]

"By the gods... he killed it!" Author exclaimed. He was hiding in a deep ditch that ran parallel to the street. At the moment he occupied the ditch alone; Blaymore had gone in to get a closer look several minutes ago. Since then, Author had seen December withstand several magical attacks from Trisk, and, most amazing of all, had seen the man kill one of Trisk's golems without touching it. Now, Trisk was again trying to incinerate December with a bolt of fire.

Blaymore reappeared in a bright blue flash beside him. The blue-robed assassin was shivering violently, and hugging himself.

"What happened?"

"G-Got a little t-too close-" said Blaymore.

"What are they saying? What happened to the golem?"

"I d-don't know."

"What? You were just there?"

"N-no. Look ov-ver there" Blaymore pointed down the street, where two large figures were emerging from the night. "Golems, ap-p-proaching our position. Slowly, but they're coming. I h-heard Trisk say that h-he had recalled them from M-Montfort, and I went to t-take a look. G-Got a little too close to them. What happened h-here?"

"Near as I can tell, December froze one of them."

"Is that possibl-" A sudden shout interrupted Blaymore. Both men peered over the rim of the ditch at the figures on the street, trying to see what was unfolding.

[December]

"NOOOOOOO!" Jerimiah wailed in anguish as he recognized the approaching figure. He staggered backward, and the world seemed to fade away leaving only the wooden face of his daughter as she took her place beside December. His mind told him what had happened, but he simply could not bear to believe it...

"You should not leave your toys lying around where someone can find them, Jerimiah. She belongs to me, now."

"No! You Bastard!"

"Your game is over. You have lost. Everything you have done has been for nothing. I completed the spell that you so carelessly left half-done, and now your daughter belongs to me. Body and soul."

"NO!" Jerimiah raised both hands and, with a snap of the wrist, summoned a half-dozen daggers out of mid air. They flew directly toward December's chest.

December took a quick back and ducked behind the Julia-Golem. The wooden figure did not even come close to hiding his immense frame, but December still got the desired effect. As the daggers changed course to follow December, Jerimiah gasped and canceled the spell. The daggers vanished an instant before they would have sunk into his daughter's chest.

"Go ahead, Jerimiah. Release all your fury upon me. Destroy us both!"

"You hide behind my daughter like a coward!"

"No more a coward than the father who sent her to her death."

"It was YOU-!"

"You gambled with her life, and you lost. Now you blame me your pain. You STILL do not understand the rules of the game you play. Do not risk something that you are not willing to sacrifice."

"I shall sacrifice YOU on the altar of vengeance!!"

"And deprive your daughter what meager semblance of life she has? I think not. Kill me, and she dies. Again. Do your worst, Jerimiah...I dare you."

"No! Julia!" Jerimiah turned his attention from December to the wood and metal golem that was his daughter. "Julia! I'll find a way to free you! There must be a way! You will be free of this monster!"

"I am not the monster here, Trisk." said December

"...k-kill...." Both men gaped as the Julia-golem spoke. Her lips slid back on their tiny hinges as her jaw dropped open with a creak. She took a raspy breath and spoke with a tiny, hollow sound. "...kill...m-me..."

"No, Julia! No! What are you saying!"

"Isn't it obvious, Jerimiah. She is in Hell."

"...p-please... kill..."

"SILENCE!" shouted December. Julia's mouth literally snapped shut. "You see. She is completely under my control. Imagine it, Jerimiah. Her sole purpose for existing to destroy me, the man who took her life. And yet she is bound to obey my every command. Is there any greater Hell than that? Hmmm.... Now that I think about it, I do believe that there IS a greater Hell. Julia. Kill your father."

The Julia-golem staggered forward, her face was twisted into an expression of pure terror. She raised her right hand, bringing the sword up and holding it before her.

"Julia, No!" screamed Jerimaih.

"She is under my command. Believe me, Jerimiah, she is going to kill you."

The golem marched steadily onward.

"Don't make her do this! It will destroy her soul!"

"This is all your doing, Jerimiah. You sent her to her death. You foolishly brought her back to life. The fault is yours, not mine."

Jerimiah raised his hands before him, not in preparation for a spell, but in a sign of submission. He began to back away from his daughter.

"Use your magic, Old Man! Incinerate her! Destroy her so that you may live to fight another day!"

"I cannot kill my daughter!"

"Do it and live."

"No! You've won, December!"

"Release her from her misery! Destroy Her!"

"Please, stop this! You have won!"

The golem was almost upon him. Soon, Jerimiah would have no choice but to use his magic or die. Julia's mouth opened once more, she wanted to scream... to beg for mercy... but she could not disobey December's order of silence.

"DECEMBER, PLEASE!!!"

The tip of the sword was only a few inches from Jerimiah's chest. Still, the golem advanced.

"PLEASE!!!"

"Too late, old man."

"PLE-" The sword sank deep into Jerimah's chest. The man's eyes grew wide with shock and surprise, then they softened. He gazed lovingly into his daughter's crystal eyes as his own eyes went blank. Jerimiah coughed once, and fell to his knees. The sword slipped from Julia's grasp, and Jerimiah's body collapsed onto the cold earth.

Julia turned to face December. Her wooden face was filled with hatred.

"You may not scream," instructed December. "You may not cry. You will stand there and-"

December was interrupted by a loud crash from further down the street. There was another crash, and then screaming. Women. Children. The screams ended suddenly, and were followed by the sounds of a number of men yelling. Swords were being drawn. Then the screaming started again, the men this time.

"What have we here? J'Hasp!"

J'Hasp trotted out of the darkness and stood before his master. The inhuman thing shuffled nervously from one foot to the other. December nodded, satisfied that J'Hasp was not the cause of the commotion down the street. He looked at Julia.

"It appears that father-dear has left a legacy; his golems are laying waste to this pitiful town. I think I will stay a while and enjoy the show."

[Author]

"What's happening?" asked Author. He and Blaymore had been watching from their position in a ditch by the street. They saw the end of Jerimiah Trisk, although neither of them truly understood the horror of what they had witnessed. They had been too far away to see the look on the Julia-golem's face as she slew her own father.

They watched the old man fall, and were both wondering if December was weak enough now to take down, when the ruckus began. Screams and Fighting. Something was happening. Something unpleasant.

"The golems," said Blaymore, "Without Trisk to control them, they're running amok."

"We have to stop them! People are being killed"

"You didn't fare too well the last time."

"December killed one! Maybe we can..."

"Convince him to help? The man tortured you to within an inch of your life. You want to go up there and ask for his help?"

"Bad idea."

"Very bad. Your people should be here soon... the Town Guard. They'll handle it."

"They'll be killed as well! They don't know what they're up against?"

"And we do? For all we know, December is the ONLY one who can kill them."

"You can! After the things I've seen you do, I know you can."

"I'm an assassin. I kill things that are ALIVE. Not these....creatures. Most of my abilities won't work on these things."

"Well, you can stay here and make excuses for your cowardice if you want. I'm going to hold these things off until help arrives." Author stood and drew his sword. Blaymore reached up and yanked him back down into the ditch.

"What about December?" said Blaymore

"To Hell with December! This is my town!"

"Stay here. Watch him while I go see what I can do."

Without making a movement or a sound, Blaymore disappeared.

"Stay here indeed." Author stood and took off at a run toward the commotion.