Alexander Rothâs soul abruptly returned to his body like a comet plunging into the sea.
His soul swelled with Hannahâs power, great amounts of her energy flowing in by the instant. It flooded in, radiating through every fibre, pore and cell, sparking his mind, his thoughts. When he opened his eyes, it wasnât just to the confinement of the area between the two divine wards in the Fae lordâs throne roomâŠit was to the universe itself.
For a moment, he was nowhere, yet everywhere.
Witnessing endless vistas.
Hearing endless sounds.
Smelling endless scents.
Feeling and tasting everything.
And as he finally awoke, truly awoke, the power settled in, deep within the centre of his soul.
âAlex! Can you hear me? Are you alright?â Merzhin was standing over him. âYou just dropped like a puppet with cut strings. I thought something awful had happened to you!â
The priest looked panicked. âThe potion-mist, itâs fading. Aenflynnâs distracted by Baelin again, but who knows for how long! AndâŠand Iâm sorry, but Iâm still having trouble getting through this damnable barrier! The ward is too strong.â frŃewebηovel.cŃłm
Alex smiled. âI wouldnât worry about that.â
The General of Thameland teleported from flat on his back to being up on his feet without having to think about it.
âYessssss,â he whispered as Merzhin kept watching him.
That act of teleporting had been as easy as breathing for Alex, as easy as instinct.
What heâd done when he was near death had been unusual, but now that Hannah was back in the material world with her full powerâŠthere were new limits to what heâd be able to do.
Limits he was eager to test.
But, there were more pressing things to do first.
âMerzhin,â Alex looked at the Saint slyly. âYou might want to look through the potion-mist. That area looks clear enough. I think sheâs going to be pretty annoyed if you donât greet her.â
The young priest looked at Alex as if heâd lost his mind. âWhat are you talking about? Whoâs she? I donâtââ
His words fell away as a holy light grew outside the outer divine ward.
âWhat?â Aenflynnâs voice suddenly cried. âWho are you?â
The potion mist continued dissipating.
Merzhin gasped.
âI-is that?â the Saint stammered. âI-it canât be!â
White robes were revealed slowly, followed by wings burning with chaos-tinged flame. A glowing halo appeared soon after, shining above a head of dirty blonde hair.
And finally, that face.
That kind face.
That familiar face.
âHello Merzhin,â Carey said. âBeen ever so long, hasnât it?â
âCa-carey!â Tears immediately sprang to Merzhinâs eyes. âItâs you! Youâre here!â
âWhat in the name of Och-Fir-Nog is a Carey?â Aenflynnâs effigy snarled. âAnd why does it smell of divine energy? Get out! Guards, destroy her!â
Fae guards beyond the divine barrier turned, lunging for Carey.
She fixed them with a chilly glare. âAway with you.â
Flame shimmered in her wings, flaring up.
Guards flinched from the radianceâŠbut, too late.
Like ice on a frozen pond, cracks appeared along the fae knightsâ flesh, running through it as though they were being split apart, and within each crack, was neither flesh nor bone.
Replaced instead by the blazing light of chaos explosions.
âN-no!â a fae knight screamed. âMercy, m-make it stop! Make itââ
Her body exploded in a perfect cylinder of chaos-tinged flame, leaving a black stain marring the castle floor.
The rest followed in a chain, exploding into nothingness, not leaving even a trace of dust behind.
In heartbeats, the chamber was empty of Aenflynnâs guards.
Silence followed.
Aenflynnâs effigy quickly turned away from where his mighty knights once stood, and faced the transformed young woman.
âNevermind, Iâll do it myself!â he snarled. âYouâre gone! This situatioâOooarrfg!â
The effigy suddenly spun around, holding its side as though protecting it from a heavy blow.
Outside, thunder shook the sky.
âYou know, I do believe this was a very poor tactical decision on your part,â the archwizard said from behind his mask.
Aenflynn spun through the sky, desperately healing his broken rib with a pained whistle.
âAway, you old goat!â the Fae lord snapped. âSomething has happened, and I have no more time for you!â
âHah! You are immortal, and so am I!â the archwizard laughed darkly. âWe have all the time in the universe!â
He teleported, appearing in front of the Fae lord, who was hissing at him, whistling harshly.
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Divine power blasted from his body, striking the ancient beastman in a wave. He raised his sword, driving the divinity washed blade straightâŠ
âŠonly for both sword and wave of power to be blocked by the wizardâs armour.
The goatmanâs hammer struck first, directly into the faeâs gut.
Aenflynn doubled over.
âPay attention, child,â the archwizard warned. âYou are acting as though you havenât held a sword in a thousand years. Stop being distracted, or I will kill you.â
âBegone!â Aenflynn shouted, his voice bordering on hysteria.
âThatâs the way,â the ancient beastman replied. âFight me with everything you have.â
The heavens shook at their clashing.
Inside Aenflynnâs castle, the Fae lordâs effigy fell silent once again.
Alex smiled. âThatâs right, Baelin, mess him up.â
Carey looked at Merzhin closely. âMerzhin, we donât have much time: these barriers must be shattered. You are the only one who can do it; your divinity and connection to Uldar makes you uniquely suited to this.â
âIâŠâ the Saint looked completely overwhelmed. He shook himself, standing to his full height. âI donât know if I can.â
âWe can.â Careyâs voice was like steel. âI am going to channel the Travellerâs divine energy into you, and together, with our divine might combined, I know you can do it.â
âNo, I donât know if I canââ Merzhin repeated.
Carey fixed him with a stern look. âIt is not about can or cannot. We simply must.â
Alex placed a hand on Merzhinâs shoulder. âThis is it. The Travellerâs back, and you have access to her divinity. Just like I have access to her power.â
The young archwizard looked at the outer barrier. âThereâs new limits to what we can do. And I want to test those limits. Like so.â
Alex closed his eyes, channelling the Travellerâs power.
It flowed through him with full force, filling him in body and soul.
Power sparked through every fibre of his beingâŠand he felt his very being spreading out over space.
He called on the Mark of the General, focusing on the task of breaking through the barrier.
Every stream of consciousness focused, calling up memories of every act of teleportation heâd ever done.
Memories unfolded in a stream, flowing through his mind, streams of consciousness examining everything heâd done right and wrong. The world slowed around him, and his mind sorted through each mistake he made teleporting in the past.
Hannahâs power soared inside him as he reached greater understanding.
The Mark of the General focused attention on two specific memories.
The first was when heâd teleported to Merzhin when he was near death.
The second was when he and the Traveller reached each other across the veil of life and death. Images of his parents rose in his thoughts, crystal clear among the hazy memories of the after-world.
He had seen them.
He had seen them in the after-world.
And if he could travelâin that momentâacross the veil of life and deathâ
âThen how can the stolen power of a dead god trap me?â he thought.
Hannahâs power surged.
Every fibre of his being reverberated.
His soul felt as though the universe was calling to him.
Then he was gone, teleporting away, travelling through time and space, and appearing outside the divine ward.
âHow?â Aenflynnâs effigy barked. Another roll of thunder crashed outside, stunning the stone statue into silence.
Through the window, Alex could hear Baelinâs voice echoing through skies outside: âFocus!â the archwizard said to his opponent.
Merzhin looked at Alex, stunned.
âSee? Itâs like I said, new limits, and if I could get past the outer barrier, you can break through the inner one.â Alex told him.
âIâbut, the inner barrier is much stronger than the outer one andâŠâ the Saint stopped. âNevermind. You are both right. It is not a matter of can.â
The Saint turned toward the inner barrier, raising both hands.
âIt is a matter of must.â
He began praying, his voice echoing through the chamber.
Power gathered around him like a coming storm.
Carey glanced at Alex. âYou look ratherâŠsteely...â
âHuh?â he looked down at himself, realising he was still under Steel Bodyâs effects. âOh yeah. Itâs a new spell,â he explained, looking up at her.
There were so many things he wanted to sayâŠbut there wasnât time now.
âCareyâŠIâm glad youâre with us, and what about Hannah, howâs she doing?â Alex asked.
âShe is defending Thameland right now, and fighting with all of her might,â Carey said. âHowever, she just broke through the veil between life and death. Or, rather, she travelled between it, which took a lot of strength, and I donât know how long she can defend all of Thameland because of that.â
âWhat are you babbling about?â Aenflynnâs effigy glared at them. âYouââ
Alex turned to the effigy, fixing it with a glare. âFocus,â was all he said.
âWhaââ Aenflynnâs effigy started to say.
The young archwizard called on the Travellerâs power and the Mark of the General.
Streams of consciousness brought images to him of when heâd used teleportation for the purpose of attacking:
Of when he teleported Kaz-Mowang into the path of Claygon and Kyembeâs fire beams. Of when heâd teleported Gabrianâs arm off his body. Of when he teleported the First Apostleâs head off.
Back then, he needed to touch an object to teleport it.
But nowâŠnow there was no veil of life and death between him and the source of his teleportation power.
Hannahâs power surged within him.
He didnât move.
He didnât have to touch Aenflynnâs effigy.
âWhat is thisââ The effigyâs movements went rigid, even its power of speech failed.
Alex felt an ancient will push back on his mind.
The General of Thameland called on both the Travellerâs power and his Mark, flowing through different images of past teleportations. Gabrian and YantrahpretayeâŠtheyâd resisted him too.
Aenflynn was stronger than they were, but this was only an effigy.
And Alex wasnât about to let a stone puppet stand against him.
The power flowed from his soul, finding the shard of the Fae lordâs will and power within the effigy, strangling it, seizing control of the stone likeness and teleporting the figure across Och Fir Nog in ten thousand pieces, spreading them throughout the realm.
From outside, Alex could hear Aenflynnâs scream.
Carey looked shocked. âMy goodness. YouâveâŠgotten quite good with that, and so quickly.â
âIt felt good too,â Alex smiled at that, then looked at Merzhin. âBut if Aenflynn gets a chance, heâll make another effigy.â
âI can stay with Merzhin,â Carey said. âYou should go. This wonât end unless the Ravenerâs destroyed.â
âI know that youâre right,â Alex said, clenching his metal fists. âButâŠthereâs so much to do. I donât want to leave you two alone, Hannah could use some help in Thameland, and the Ravener needs to be stopped. Thatâs a lot.â
âI know, but you cannot be in more than one place at a time,â Carey said regretfully. âEven Hannah cannot do that.â
Being in more than one place at a time.
This wasnât the first time that thought had occurred to him.
But it was silly.
Nothing could be in more than one place at once.
If Hannah couldnât and Kelda couldnât, then how couldâ
That thought cut off.
His mind returned to when he was in the Irtyshenan Empire searching for Keldaâs sanctum with Bjorgrund and Birger:
âKeldaâs sanctum is supposed to be in one of four places, right?â heâd asked. âYet weâand who knows how many other people over the centuries have been looking for itâhave never found it.â
âSo, are you thinking it's not in any of those four places?â Bjorgrund had asked him.
âNo! Quite the opposite, I think it's in all of those places!â Alex had told him, excitedly. âWhat if the sanctum moves? What if it moves like we move? What if it moves by teleporting from place to place? One time it's in the forestââ Heâd pointed to the first indentation. His finger had shifted to another. ââthe next, it's in the mountains, then on the tundra, and then it's on the island! It could move to another place every time someone's getting too close to it, or maybe it just moves constantly!â
Alex had continued.
â...maybe it's moving so constantly, that I just couldn't feel it⊠It's harder to see something thatâs moving really fast, right? And with the Travellerâs power, you can be gone in an instant. In a heartbeat, it could be in a different place in any one of those locations.â
And what had happened next?
Heâd found Keldaâs sanctum, and it had felt like it was in four places at onceâŠwhile being in none at the same time.
He remembered something Baelin had once told him:
âDistance is a manacle, my young friend, just as much as time or mortality. Butâthankfullyâwizardry has had far more successes when it comes to defeating distance.â
And what was the Travellerâs power if it wasnât a mastery of distance? Of space itself.
Kelda had shown him that through what sheâd done with her sanctum.
âBut can I do it?â he wondered.
He paused, suddenly beginning to laugh.
âCarey, you know what, you were right,â he said.
âAbout what?â she asked.
âItâs not about can,â he nodded, as if confirming his thought. âItâs about must.â