Nothing happened.
âWhat?â Alex pressed his palm to the Ravenerâs surface. âWhatâs going onââ
The construct seemed indifferent to him, fully focused on gathering strength to stop Claygon.
Alex called on Hannahâs power once more while recalling the image heâd seen when heâd connected to the Ravener. A dark place, filled with crystalline columns and crystalline wires.
He knew the space was inside the Ravener.
Again, he tried teleporting into the construct.
ButâŠcouldnât.
Nothing happened.
âWhat in all the hells is happening?â he wondered, calling on the Mark of the General.
It brought up images of him teleporting.
Focusing on him âjumpingâ into Keldaâs sanctum. The sanctum had been teleporting so quickly that it had been in four places at once, and Alex getting into it had been the most challenging âjumpâ heâd ever made.
But the guidance was not enough to help him teleport to the location he had seen inside the Ravener.
He couldnât find or make a connection.
âItâs likeâŠâ he thought. âItâs like the Ravenerâs mana pathways continually change. And I donât have enough of a connection to it to teleport inside.â
Even as he tried to get into the construct, he could feel its mana pathways shifting in location and configuration. He was rapidly losing the limited connection he had with it.
Its attention turned to him, determined to be rid of him.
An ageless intelligence focused its mind on the young wizard.
âNo,â was all it said.
Lethal magic came at Alex too quickly for him to escape unscathed.
Like an electric shock, the deadly mana shot into his body, rampaging through every cell. Alex screamed, teleporting away before the destructive energies could consume him completely.
When he reappeared, it felt like white-hot coals had been pressed into his flesh, mana pool, and soul. Chaotic energies stormed through him, seeking to rip his very being asunder.
His teeth clenched, he fought to endure, but the vicious power moved faster, shattering his mana pathways, rupturing blood vessels.
His heart thundered in his ears, beating faster and faster, his mind racing.
âDid it useâŠa mana poison?â he managed to think through the white-hot agony raging through him. âI have to get it out! I have toââ
A glowing hand fell on his shoulder. âOh mighty Traveller, heal this great representative of yours. Bind his wounds and jettison this evil rot from his body and soul!â
Divinity poured from Merzhinâs hand, passing through his body, bringing with it a familiar warmth.
Hannahâs teleportation energy reacted to the divine touch as his body was washed clean. His mana pathways instantly mended. Blood vessels healed and pain vanished like it was never there.
Alex took a deep, relieved breath and looked up at Merzhin. âThankâŠyou.â
âIt is nothing!â the Saint said. âBut what happened? Were you unable toââ
âYou cannot control me, filthy Usurper,â the Ravener broke in. âYou are not the first to try. A Usurper once tried the same, underestimating me, labelling me as merely a dungeon core and seeking to control me as she had my cores. She did not get very far before my defences annihilated her. You cannot control me, but you are free to try againâŠFool.â
The Ravenerâre-sheathed in its cage of deathâwas firing beam after beam at Claygon, defending Uldarâs corpse.
Alexâs eyes narrowed on the construct.
His mind started to race.
The world slowed.
âAlright, Alex. Think. You canât get inside,â he acknowledged. âWhich means you probably canât shut it down. What do you do, then? What do you do?â
His heart beat faster.
âWhat can you do? If you canât get inside to shut down its ability to reconstitute itself, this warâs lost. It canât be convinced to stop trying to kill everyone. You have to shut down its ability to restore itself, you have to. But if you canât get insideâŠthe planâs dead. What do you do?â
He spotted Hart, flying toward the Ravener.
Then he looked back at Merzhin.
âWhen you were near death, you were able to teleport to Merzhin. You were able to surpass your limits because your soul was closer to Hannahâs. Do you get Hart to stab you now? Is this where you go to the desperation move?â
His streams of consciousness raced faster and faster.
He was getting closer to calling out to HartâŠ
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âNo,â he decided. âNo, you need to get rid of Aenflynn. Better to destroy the throne, thatâll stop that fae bastard from helping the Ravener. Itâll also give us more time for Hannah to come back, and for me to work out the problem. Okay. Follow the plan.â
He watched the Ravener closely.
âItâs distracted with the others right now, you and Merzhin can go and take care of the throneâŠbutâŠâ He thought about the injectors sitting on the floating platform. âMaybe you can attach some to the Ravenerâs surface before you go. Drain its powerâNo wait. The cage.â
His eyes focused on the cage of deadly beams wrapped around the construct. âYeah, even if I was to attach one of the devices, all itâd have to do is activate that defensive cage around itself and destroy the device. AndâŠif I use them too early, itâll be warned that theyâre a danger to it.â
He watched the battle progressing before him. âRight now, itâs focused on us; it thinks weâre trying to grab Uldarâs body and destroy its servants. We donât want that to change. The more it believes thatâs our goal, the better for us to get it to exhaust its power. It must have used up a fair bit of its power using those worms and beams against us. âŠit looks like itâs firing the beams more sparingly than before. So, nowâs probably a good time to go for the throne, before it gathers more strength and before it realises that weâre doing more than just attacking it and Uldarâs corpse.â
The world sped up again.
Alex looked at Merzhin. âAlright, you ready? When it hits me with that mana poison again, weâre gone.â
The Saintâs eyebrows rose and he nodded. âNow would be a good time. It is quite distractedâwait a moment, did you actually say when you get poisoned again?â
âYeah,â Alex whispered. âWe need a reason to leave the battle. If Iâm injured, thatâll be a convincing reason.â
âAlrightâŠI just pray Iâm ready to open the divine ward on the throne.â
âI hope you are too,â Alex said. âBut Iâve got faith in you.â He said, as he contacted Claygon.
âBuddy, weâll be heading to Aenflynnâs castle soon. I want you to protect everyone, okay?â
âI willâŠfatherâŠâ the golem thought.
A death beam shot out, striking Claygonâs chest.
Steam hissed from his iron body as he returned fire, fire-beams striking the Ravenerâs surface. Explosions ripped over the lake.
âTrust our friends to me fatherâŠI will protect themâŠâ
âI know you will,â Alex thought.
The General threw a glance over his shoulder.
Together with Thundar, and Najyah, the prince of Tekezash had sealed another entrance. Behind them, the tunnels theyâd already sealed were reinforced and being guarded by elder earth elementals.
They would protect the seals from air blasters, titans or other Ravener-spawn looking to break through. The elementals wouldnât be able to hold the line forever, butâŠwell, hopefully, it would be long enough.
Alex caught Khalikâs eye and nodded.
The prince nodded back, gravely.
Alex also nodded at the others, silently wishing them luck.
Any who were looking at him, nodded back.
âItâs going to be okay,â he thought. âTheyâre going to be okay.â
âHere I go,â he whispered to Merzhin, turning his attention back to the Ravener, and teleporting to its side.
The world slowed.
He readied four Shred Magic spells.
The world sped up again.
He released them.
The cage shattered, and Alex shot forward, pressing his hands to the Ravenerâs surface.
âAlright, you big round piece of trash. You invited me to try again, well, hereâs round two.â
He drove his mana into the Ravenerâs inner pathways, focusing the Mark of the General on the task of controlling itâŠto better sell the lie.
âUldar might have built you,â Alex snarled between clenched teeth. âBut he couldnât have thought of everything. Iâm going to take command of you, and Iâm going to stop all of this carnage youâre trying toââ
The Ravener groweld. âDo not speak his name. It seems you need another lesson.â
Power flared within the construct.
Alex tensed.
âThis is gonna bloody hurt,â he thought.
Mana poison flooded from the Ravener, racing through the young archwizardâs mana pathways; the amount was greater this time.
A scream tore from the Generalâs throat.
His whole body burned, feeling like heâd been scalded.
His heart felt ready to burst.
His brain throbbed as his vision washed red. Blood vessels ruptured, filling his mouth with the taste of iron.
âNow,â he thought weakly.
Screaming, he focused the Mark on showing all of his agony, then teleported back to Merzhin, coughing blood.
âHelpâŠâ he groaned.
Merzhin grimaced. âWe have to get away from here.â
The Saint pressed his light-sheathed hands to the General.
Healing divinity washed through the young archwizard from head to toe, yet Alex kept screaming as though the poison was overcoming the Saintâs power. He imagined a forest clearing in Och Fir Nog: one far from the Ravenerâs lair, a place heâd flown above when he and the engeli were tracking Uldarâs body.
The General of Thameland focused the Travellerâs power on that image.
Abruptly, he and the Saint disappeared.
A thrill surged through the Ravener.
Creating the mana poison had taken no small amount of its strength, but it was well worth it! If it could have smiled, it would have done so endlessly as it watched the wounded General flee to nurse his wounds.
Surely he would return, but with less arrogance in him.
Now, it would use the time to focus on destroying the Heroes and their outlander companions.
âYour Foolish General has fled,â the Ravener announced. âYou should have done the same. I am disappointed: this will be less of a trial and more of a purge.â
âAye, well, weâll see about that,â the Chosen countered, wrapped in divine power.
The Ravenerâs focus went to him.
Should he be the next to fall?
Or should it be the metal golem?
No, its attention should be on the Chosen so he could not heal the rest. But firstâŠ
The Ravenerâs surface rippled.
More Spawn emerged, each bearing their own dungeon core.
Time to replace those that were lost.
It drew on the stream of divine power from its ally andâas it didâa voice spoke in its thoughts.
âWeâre nearly there,â Aenflynn said, though his voice sounded strained.
âUldarâs enemies have reached me,â the Ravener answered. âI am resisting, and have wounded one of themâŠa treacherous Hero.â
âExcellent. Soon you will be ready to wipe them all away,â the fae thought. âJust a little more.â
Alex and Merzhin reappeared in the skies over Och Fir Nog, with the Saint pouring his divinity into the Generalâs body. Alex felt himself healing; his mana pathways were restoring and his body was repairing.
He sighed with relief.
âThanks again, Merzhin,â Alex looked down at his body, stretching then looking up at the sky.
Strange starsâif they really were starsâtwinkled in the heavens of Och Fir Nog.
âItâs hard to tell how much timeâs passed,â Alex noted. âAh, well, thereâs nothing we can do about that except move on.â
âPrecisely,â Merzhin said, balling his hands into fists. âI pray we can reach the throne quickly. Do you thinkâŠwe can really destroy it?â
âYeah, I do,â Alex said. âBetween Hannahâs teleportation power, your divinity and my magic, I think we have a real good chance of destroying it. We just need you to get us through that wardâŠno pressure or anything.â He smiled.
âYes, of course,â the Saint looked a little nervous. âI will not let us down.â
He almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anything, though the magic of Army of Heroes was lending confidence to his voice.
Alex simply nodded. âI know you wonât, Merzhin. I donât doubt it. So, letâs get going.â
The young archwizard raised his staff, channelling invisibility magic.
Both Heroes vanished, turning transparent in the eyes of their own true seeing magics.
âAlright,â Alex thought, with fleeting anxiousness.
If this worked, theyâd take a major step forward.
If it didnâtâŠ
He shook the thought away.
It didnât matter now. They were there, and they had a job to do.
âLetâs go take Aenflynnâs toy away,â the young archwizard said.
He touched Merzhinâs shoulder and together, they teleported to the fae lordâs castle.