by Frank Morin
He blocked her, pouring in his entire will, and wrapped Verena’s mind with his own. The queen tore at his defenses, but his will was like an impenetrable fortress. His love for Verena defined him, and he simply could not allow the queen to hurt her.
The queen kept slowly approaching, but he wouldn’t wait for that. She was barely forty feet away, and his body still hadn’t completed its healing. He couldn’t manage a running battle, but he wouldn’t allow her to hurt Verena.
He max-tapped granite and basalt as he closed on her, his body quivering with the need to strike down the hated woman. She beckoned him on, grinning, and called forth her mighty elemental affinities to smash him aside again.
Connor unleashed stilling-enhanced pumice.
He couldn’t beat the queen with the elements, so he didn’t even try. The super pumice cloud formed around him as he closed the distance. Queen Dreokt lashed out with whips of mixed elements, but they dissolved when they struck his invisible pumice cloud, three feet in front of him. Some of that raw power flowed through pumice to Connor, refreshing him and magnifying his own strength.
Queen Dreokt’s eyes widened. That surprised her. Connor doubted she’d ever tried super pumice.
He closed the remaining distance in a fracked rush and tapped every primary affinity, wrapping each of them in stilling as he activated them to supercharge them. With the combined might of all of those primaries roaring through him, Connor jumped into the air and slammed into her, leading with both knees.
Energy erupted out of him in a titanic blast that eclipsed what he’d unleashed with diorite alone. Releasing that mix of supercharged primaries was like he’d distilled the power of five Last Word bombs into his knee caps. The blast catapulted him all the way back to Verena in a thunderclap so fierce it shattered his new eardrums. Air fled and felt like it might never return.
The blinding flash seared his eyes, but he refused to look away. The queen hadn’t been ready for a blow like that. She’d tapped granite, but Connor’s brutal strike blasted her body like her serpentinite attack had blasted Jagdish. With super basalt and obsidian speeding up his mind and senses, Connor clearly saw the ripples of force tearing through her, pulverizing bone, rending flesh, and shattering organs.
The blast flung her away, the back of her body bursting like an overripe melon, blood and shattered bits sprayed out, coating the land with crimson.
This time she screamed.
Connor wasn’t sure how she managed that since her lungs and throat were smashed to bits. He gave chase, leaping upon her broken body even before it hit the ground, pummeling it with every bit of power he could muster. That initial blast had drained his reserves of supercharged power, but he still managed to tap granite and basalt at the same time, fracking his enhanced arms, punching her twenty times a second, trying to beat her to dust.
No one messed with Verena.
Connor howled with anger as he smashed Queen Dreokt to a pulp, covering himself in her blood and gore. It was disgusting, but he couldn’t stop. Kilian joined him, super-fracking his hands, making them a blur as he tore at his mother’s corpse. Together they worked to rip it apart so badly, not even she could regenerate.
The entire world condensed around him until he saw only the queen’s brutalized body. He had to keep hitting her until there was nothing left. He kept the pumice cloud in place to prevent her from striking back at him with elements, and he fought off several chert-fueled assaults against his mind. This time he held the advantage, and he would not relinquish it again.
“Look out!” Verena cried into his mind. Their thoughts were still melded, and her thought shook him out of his murder rage.
Connor paused, his fracked arms snapping back into place with a flash of pain he barely felt. The queen’s body was a ruptured, splattered mess under him. She no longer looked human, but he sensed her mind was still potent, but she wasn’t attacking him.
He cast his senses out farther, and gasped.
A spear of earth fifty feet thick and a hundred feet long was plunging straight down toward him. If Verena hadn’t warned him, it would have annihilated him as badly as he’d just beaten the queen. With a shout of fear, Connor released pumice and threw himself backward, using air to haul him mightily away and to push Kilian the opposite direction.
They just barely made it. The immense spear of earth missed his feet by inches and smashed down over Queen Dreokt with a thunderous impact and drove half its length into the hard ground.
Connor landed near Verena, breathing hard from his exertion and shock at the near-obliteration event. He wasn’t sure how long it would have taken him to regenerate from getting splattered, but definitely longer than the queen. He couldn’t believe she’d not only handled getting pummeled to soup, but had retained the presence of mind to launch such a vast spear of stone at him from a distance. She must have released direct control over it after launching it to ensure his pumice cloud couldn’t deflect it.
The spear of earth melted away, revealing Queen Dreokt. She stood in her shredded battle clothing, bloody and misshapen, but standing. Even as he watched, her body continued to heal at an alarming rate. Despite the horrific damage she’d suffered, she would quickly return to full strength.
Connor allowed himself a moment to feel really tired. Killing her was proving even more difficult than he’d feared.
“How can we fight her off?” Verena asked. Connor felt her terror, but also her determination to keep fighting, and her towering frustration that Dreokt had not yet tried tapping the sculpted stone.
The sculpted stone. Connor muttered a curse. There might be seven kinds of idiots, but he’d just invented an eighth. Why hadn’t he seized that sculpted stone when he had the chance?
Well, he’d have to pulverize her again and take it. She was holding it in her broken hands like a trophy.
Queen Dreokt struck at them again with chert, her mind somehow more focused than before. Maybe lacking a full body helped her focus, but Connor rocked under the onslaught, fighting to replenish his mental shielding.
“Imagine everyone you love standing in your mind with you, reinforcing your thoughts,” he told Verena. That had helped him defeat the mind bomb and fight off the queen’s mental assault earlier.
He also cast the thought at the queen, “You’re such a coward. Let’s finish our duel first. Then you can deal with Verena, if you can defeat me.”
“I’ve already defeated you once, boy. I’ve slaughtered my unruly grandson, and my armies are crushing your little rebellion,” she retorted.
“Then why do I feel your fear?” he shot back.
That annoyed her. She shifted her attack from Verena to him, and mental daggers stabbed at his brain.
Perfect. He could deal with that, and he filled his mind with Sentry speak. With Evander’s memories percolating down into his, he suddenly found he possessed a far deeper well to draw from. He cast it all at her, a flood of indecipherable sentences with multiple meanings.
One of his favorite new ones was, “Any cake will fall if poked at a critical moment, but the lingering kiss of a true beloved settles upon the soul like the rising of a springtime sunrise.”
He hadn’t realized Evander was such a secret romantic, and felt relieved he didn’t know if that sappy thought had been prompted by Evander’s turbulent dating history with Harley.
Queen Dreokt paused in her advance, her eyes blazing with living fire. She shrieked, “You know how much I hate that frivolous language!”
“Why do you think I’m doing it?” he shot back, casting ten more Sentry speak lines at her. She actually retreated from his mind and seemed actually pained by the deep thoughts.
Kilian appeared out of nowhere, flashing past on super-fracked legs again, going for the sculpted stone in her hands. This time she was ready, and he rebounded off an invisible shield of air. The unexpected impact sent him tumbling away, and she chortled in triumph, lashing out at him with ropes of deadly earth.
Connor’s heart
nearly stopped, seized by sudden terror. He’d just watched her destroy Evander. He couldn’t bear to see her destroy Kilian too. Before he could help, Kilian’s entire body blurred, as if he was super-fracking every part of himself. Connor hadn’t realized that was possible and would have sworn attempting it would just rip a person apart.
Not Kilian. He pivoted in mid-air and shot away at an angle. Just like he’d done dodging the lightning, he moved so fast he seemed to teleport. The queen’s earth attack slapped nothing but empty air.
Connor gathered his affinities to strike at the distracted queen, but Earth appeared in front of him. The elemental being looked so much like Evander, for a second Connor only stared, wondering how the giant could project himself out of the corner of his mind where he’d taken refuge. Water and Fire appeared flanking Earth, while Air appeared above them.
They all looked immensely pleased.
Not good. Connor didn’t need them interfering right then, but although he envisioned his tertiary affinity gateways like doors in his mind, the elementals did not disappear. Time seemed to slow, and Earth said, “Events have unfolded that you will wish to hear.”
“I don’t really have time to argue again,” Connor said, gesturing at Queen Dreokt, whose mouth was moving in a slow-motion scowl.
His vision faded to black, then his mindscape formed into a view of the little cave south of Alasdair where General Carbrey had imprisoned Nicklaus and Verena. That was unexpected, and he looked around in confusion. The elementals appeared nearby, and then so did Verena.
She blinked at them and gaped. “Connor? What’s going on?”
Of course. He was still linked to her with chert and had dragged her into the mindscape. He took her hand, comforted by her presence. “I think you’ve already met Water.”
Water inclined her head, and Verena made a little curtsy, although she cast a nervous glance at Connor. Connected as they were, she didn’t need to voice her worries. “I thought we couldn’t trust them.”
“We can’t. I don’t know what’s going on,” he thought back to her, then said aloud, “We’re kind of busy right now, so if you don’t mind, can we hold this conference later?”
“Time can wait for this,” Water told him with that expression of hers that still made him think she truly cared about him.
Fire added, “Unless you wish to simply abandon the boy Nicklaus to his fate.”
Connor felt a rush of cold dread. Verena’s grip on his hand tightened and she exclaimed, “What about Nicklaus?”
“You know we’ve been coaching him,” Air said.
“I appreciate you helping him. He’s had a hard time after losing his affinities,” Connor said, but for the first time berated himself for not worrying more about that. They had been so consumed by the threat Queen Dreokt posed that he hadn’t thought to warn Nicklaus of the dangers of the elemental gifts.
Water stepped closer. “He has joined the great battle.”
“No,” Verena breathed, her free hand going to her mouth.
“And he activated the great construct I instructed him to build,” Earth said happily.
“You did what?” Connor asked, his fears growing faster than Hamish’s appetite.
Fire grinned, looking immensely pleased. “You would refer to it as a higher-level mechanical, similar in power to the one you call Kirstin’s Defense.”
“He’s not ready for something like that,” Verena exclaimed.
“Neither were you when we met that day,” Water said. “And yet you approached that bridge. For a time I thought perhaps you would prove the best vessel for our freedom.” Her expression hardened, her eyes turning the color of the sea before a storm. “But you turned away from us just as Connor did.”
“Not Nicklaus,” Air said with a happy giggle.
“What do you mean?” Connor asked, although he feared he already knew, and he wanted to beat himself for a month for leaving Nicklaus exposed to their treachery.
“He activated the construct, which he aptly named Time Out,” Earth declared. “It elevated his malleable mind to the bridge you refer to as the Builder threshold.”
“We have to stop him,” Verena said, turning to Connor as if he could somehow cross the many leagues in a blink and convince Nicklaus to stop.
“Even now he stands upon it, eager to cross,” Fire said, stepping closer, crimson flames dancing in his hair.
“But that would . . .” Connor breathed, horrified. They set up Nicklaus, gave him the power to destroy himself. He was so enthusiastic, and if he had indeed disobeyed orders and joined the battle, Connor had no doubt he would ascend, hoping it would give him power to save lives.
The awful truth was just the opposite.
Water waved one hand, and a sheen of crystalline droplets formed into a mirror. Its surface billowed, as if filled with heavy morning fog, then clarified into a view of Nicklaus kneeling on the ground, with Aifric beside him and Hamish lunging into view, expression terrified. Somehow Water was showing them what Nicklaus was doing.
“Please stop him,” Verena cried.
Connor asked, “If he ascends and you use him as the gateway to freedom, he’ll be consumed, won’t he?”
“Indeed, the child possesses a flexible mind, but lacks the will to withstand such an ordeal,” Fire confirmed. “He will be consumed.”
Water said gently, “But you might not.”
The implication was clear, and it chilled him to the bone. The elementals had seemed to resign themselves to Connor’s refusal to help them, but that had just been a ruse.
“Why offer to allow Connor to take his place?” Verena asked suspiciously.
That was a good point. Was there some risk to them in using a child? He couldn’t imagine they felt compassion for the boy. They pretended to human emotions with remarkable skill, particularly Water, but they were not human and didn’t actually feel those emotions.
Water said, “We have been forthright with you, Connor. We seek freedom and you are our chosen champion. And you, Verena, we shared knowledge that only one other Builder has ever possessed. Despite your betrayals, we wish to prove our sincerity. We will allow you to take Nicklaus’ place, Connor, to become the vessel of our escape, and we will do everything in our power to preserve your life through the process. As before, we will swear to obey your will pertaining to your homeland and defend and support your descendants for all time.”
“What?” Verena asked, glancing from Water to Connor.
“They did make that offer,” he acknowledged. He still felt it was a bad idea, but it offered a slight ray of hope.
“Or you can reject us again and we’ll consume the boy in the fires of our liberation,” Fire declared without a hint of remorse. “And we will wreak vengeance and destruction upon these lands and upon everyone you each hold dear. You will witness their destruction as fitting retribution for your refusal.”
“This can’t be happening,” Verena breathed, tears in her eyes as she stared at the mirror showing Nicklaus.
Air hovered closer and spread her arms wide. “The choice is yours, Connor. The escape from our bonds is sure.”
“Upon you lies the choice of how we do so, and how many will die as a result,” Earth said.
“Choose now, beloved. The boy is already rushing across the bridge and in a moment, we will have no choice but to accept his willing sacrifice,” Water said.
Connor looked from her to each of the others, numb with cold horror. He needed to think, to figure out some way to avert the disaster, but his mind was blank. All he could see was Nicklaus holding that stone, with that look of exultation on his young face.
He’d risked everything in Alasdair to save Nicklaus from Carbrey and Dougal, and he hadn’t even known the boy yet. Now he did, and he could never allow Nicklaus to die in such a terrible way.
He turned to Verena, took her hands in his, and met her terrified gaze.
“There has to be another way,” she spoke directly into his mind. He was glad the e
lementals didn’t seem to be able to hear their chert conversation.
“I don’t see one,” Connor confessed, hating himself for allowing the elementals to position them in such a compromised position when they were already dealing with the queen and her armies. It was too much, and he felt overwhelmed. He was supposed to be the clever battlefield tactician, but so far he’d accomplished nothing but failure.
“If they use you to break free, do you really believe you’ll survive?” she asked.
“Maybe. They promised to protect our lands either way.” That fact offered less comfort than he hoped.
“Can you trust them?”
“How could we?”
“Hurry, chosen one,” Water urged. “We have slowed the passage of time for this conversation, but not even we can stop it entirely. He grows irritable if denied.”
“He?” Verena asked.
Connor really wanted to ask about that, but they were out of time. He drew Verena to him, savoring the feel of her in his arms. “I don’t see any other choice.”
In answer, she kissed him fiercely. He felt her trembling, and with their minds linked, they didn’t need to talk. She agreed, and she feared what was about to happen as much as he did. He couldn’t stop it, though, not if Nicklaus was already trying to ascend. If they were closer, maybe, but there just wasn’t enough time.
So he released her and turned to face the expectant elementals. They looked triumphant. All he had to do was say it, embrace a path he no longer wanted, but could not avoid. He’d agreed to sacrifice himself for family or country more than once. It never got easier, and this time the fate of far more than his home or even the entire kingdom was at stake.
Connor opened his mouth to say the words.
55
And You Thought Things Couldn’t Possibly Get Worse
Connor cleared his throat and said to the eagerly waiting elementals, “I—”
A blinding headache seared through his mind and he staggered, groaning. His vision blurred, and he heard Verena calling to him, as if from a great distance. Then she yelped in surprise.
