Thomas Reid - The Crystal Mountain

Micus dipped and dodged and managed to evade the dangerous sphere, but Pharaun did a little spinning motion with his hand and had the ball racing back toward Micus from behind. Just as the cursed creature alighted upon the sand between Kael and Pharaun, swinging his axe at them both, the sphere reached its mark and struck Micus.

The energy of the sphere dissipated, sending spidery tracks of electricity all across the thing's body.

Kael expected him to have a bigger fit than he did, imagining how much punishment such a spell would deliver. But the aberration only started in surprise and turned to see what had hit him.

"Immunities," Pharaun grumbled in disgust.

Micus, perhaps realizing where the attack had originated, turned on the drow wizard and lunged at him with the axe poised to strike.

Upon seeing his foe turn his attention away from him, Kael leaped close and sliced at the thing, cutting a deep gash in the aberration's flank and ruining one of its legs.

On the opposite side of the beast, Pharaun retreated and gestured at the ground in front of himself. A set of snaking, black tentacles wormed up out of the very rock and quickly latched onto the abomination. The tentacles curled around its legs and climbed to engulf its body. Howling in rage, Micus thrashed and kicked and fanned his four wings, trying to break free.

Impressive, Kael thought. Don't get caught up in those.

Kael used his magic boots to go aloft and avoid the black tentacles, then closed in to cut at the creature again. Trapped as he was, Micus could not evade the impending assault, but he didn't seem to care. All his bestial concentration seemed focused on breaking free of the magical appendages holding him.

Kael swung his greatsword in huge arcs that opened the beast from shoulder to tail several times. Micus screamed and howled, doubling his frenzied efforts to break free. Finally, with its body broken and bleeding, the thing crumpled to the ground, still thrashing.

Kael settled to the ground next to Pharaun. "What a pity," he said.

The wizard shrugged. "But also fascinating. Two creatures, fused in such a fashion. I'd love the chance to study-"

"That's enough," Kael growled. "He was a high-ranking member of the Court of Tyr and one of Tauran's closest friends, not an experiment. I will not hear him spoken of in that way."

Pharaun's mouth twitched in the faintest hint of a smile, but he gave a slight bow and said, "As you wish."

Kael nodded. "Release your tentacles," he said, "and I will finish him off."

Pharaun gestured, and the black, writhing appendages vanished, leaving the Micus-Myshik thing flailing feebly, its lifeblood soaking the sand and turning it crimson.

Kael approached the creature. "I'm so sorry, Micus," he said. He hefted his sword. "I wish that… everything had been different between us."

He drew back the blade and sliced downward. Micus's grotesque, bloated head tumbled from his shoulders. Blood sprayed as the head bounced to one side and rolled away. The rest of the creature continued to flop and spasm.

Kael turned back to Pharaun. "Tauran will grieve this loss for a long-"

"Beware!" Pharaun said, grabbing Kael and shoving him aside.

Crackling, blinding light erupted from behind Kael and engulfed Pharaun. Kael staggered to the ground and flung his arm up across his face. Spots swam in his vision and he shouted in pain and horror.

When the afterimages of the stroke faded enough for him to see again, Kael, on his hands and knees, peered toward his father.

Pharaun lay unmoving. Smoke rose from his scorched body.

"No," Kael pleaded, scrambling to his father's side.

Aliisza could barely keep aloft. Her muscles, weakened so much from her magic consuming her, struggled to work. She climbed slowly, gasping for breath with each pump of her wings, rising in a corkscrew fashion.

Just one more time, she'd tell herself. Just once more. An easy pace. You can do it.

But she didn't think she could.

The last of the demons were dead. She had slain them with her blade and watched them fall away. She wondered where they would land. If they would land.

You could fall, too, she thought. Just let go. It would be easy. Get rid of this pain.

No! Just one more time around. An easy pace. See this through. Kaanyr needs to understand.

At last, Aliisza came through the tops of the clouds and spied the bottom of the great stone basin that held the Lifespring.

She almost sobbed in relief, but she couldn't give in even that little bit, or she'd lose her momentum.

Aliisza circled around three or four more times until she crested the edge. She pitched forward and went limp upon the rocks.

You did it. You got here.

Yes, she thought, gasping and panting. Now for the hard part.

She could hear the shouts of battle and urgency forced her up again. She sought her companions and spied them part of the way down the shore, still fighting. Kael and Pharaun opposed the thing that had once been Micus and Myshik. It had grown since she had seen it last.

She felt a momentary pang of guilt and regret, remembering how Micus thought she had betrayed him. Then she shook it off. I am not that person, she insisted. I did the best I could.

Farther along the narrow beach, Tauran and Kaanyr dueled one another.

Eirwyn lay crumpled on the sand.

Aliisza struggled onto her knees, then tried to stand. She wanted to rush forward, to join the fray, but her body was betraying her. She dropped back down.

I can't, she thought. The magic has taken everything from me. Just too much. I'm sorry.

No, the defiant part of her thought. Get up. Die trying. Don't lie here regretting. She listened to that defiant part, struggling to rise again. You must help them. Find a way, Aliisza.

She staggered upright once more. She took one tentative step, and then another. Confident she wouldn't tumble over from exhaustion, she moved forward, maddeningly slowly.

She saw Kael take Micus's head from his body and a sense of sadness, but also peace, filled her. Tauran will take it hard, she thought. But Micus's suffering is over, at least.

She was getting nearer to the pair when Pharaun jumped forward, knocking Kael to the ground. A booming crack of lightning erupted from the beast's corpse. The concussive blast stunned Aliisza and she fell to one knee, watching as Pharaun, his back arched in torment, was engulfed in the blast. He toppled.

"No! Pharaun, no!"

Aliisza forced herself to her feet a third time and stumbled down the beach.

By the time she reached him, Kael had recovered and had Pharaun's head cradled in his hands. She dropped down beside the two and saw then that the wizard's form had reverted back to its natural state. Kael held Zasian, whose broken and battered body sported several injuries. "Is he-?" she asked, her voice a near-whisper.

Kael looked at her. "It caught him squarely." His voice cracked. "I guess the 'imperfect vessel' finally had taken all the punishment it could. He was… interesting."

Aliisza stroked Kael's hair. "At least you finally got to meet him," she said. Then she looked down the beach. "Kael"-she tried to get to her feet one last time-"Tauran still needs us."

"I know," Kael said. He set Zasian down gently and pushed himself up. "Come." He took her hand.

The two of them trotted down the beach as fast as Aliisza could move. She could see Kaanyr and Tauran battling furiously. Beside her, Kael was already clenching his sword, and she could see the lines of his jaw working as he clenched his teeth.

She didn't want to tell him to go on ahead. She didn't want to be left behind. I want to be there when Kaanyr goes down, she insisted. But Tauran was in trouble, and Kael wanted to rush to his side.