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343 lines
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<head>
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<title>The Shadowmaster - Chapter 33</title>
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<h1>33</h1>
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<p>
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"It begins," his mother said, barely more than a whisper. "And it ends here."
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</p>
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<p>
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As if she had called out to him, Jack's father turned towards them. Their eyes met and held. Neither his mother nor father them spoke, but Jack saw the
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love and regret in his father's gaze.
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</p>
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<p>
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He mouthed one word that was swallowed in the noise from the tide of grotesque creatures surging across the arena.
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>Lauralen.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint looked at his son, and Jack felt that same love encompass him. His father nodded slowly, just once. But in that small gesture he managed to
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convey so much. Jack knew his father thanking him for bringing Lauralen Flint back. And he sensed the father and son bond that he had dreamt about since
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childhood. For the second time that day Jack's heart felt as if it would burst.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry turned and when he saw the fair haired woman his eyes grew so wide they looked as if they might pop out.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Wow!" It was all he could manage.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen just gazed at her as if Jack's mother was an apparition. Jack still wasn't sure she was not.
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</p>
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<p>
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"The Great Lord of Darkness comes," Lauralen said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"First we have to fight these beasties," Kerry finally found his tongue. Jack passed the glowing staff back to Rionna.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint swept his gaze around them all.
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</p>
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<p>
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"We stand here," he said. "I wish it were different. But such is fate." His voice was steady and calm.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Always for the light," said Lauralen, just as calmly. She showed no fear. "Always for the right. It was ever thus."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's father turned to face the approaching creatures. As he swung up the great sword Jack thought it fit his hand as if it were made for him.
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</p>
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<p>
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The horde of sprites, slowed their advance. For a moment, all Jack could hear was the scratching of claws on stony ground. Corriwen readied her bow. Kerry
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was muttering something to himself. It took Jack a moment to recognise it was the poem that he had helped him learn at school. It was about Robert the
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Bruce at the battle of Bannockburn.
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>Now's the day and now's the hour, see the front of battle glower.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry had his shortsword in one hand and swung the heavy bolas in the other.
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>Ready as I'm ever going to be, </em>
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he breathed<em>.</em> <em>But I'd rather be fishing any day of the week.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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Lauralen Flint silently handed Megrin's staff to Rionna who gripped it tight.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack expected the creatures to come surging towards them at any moment, but they did not. Instead, they began to mill together, forming a tight pack.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What are they doing?" Corriwen's voice was tight with tension.
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</p>
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<p>
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They surged together, piling one on top of the other, forming a mound of arms and legs and claws and tails.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's mother stood calmly. The heartstone gleamed at her neck, pulsing in time with the one Jack wore.
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</p>
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<p>
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The heap of wriggling bodies began to change shape. All the hideous creatures merged together, sinking into each other until there was just a featureless
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shape in front of them.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Is that it?" Kerry asked. "Are they dead?"
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</p>
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<p>
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As if in reply, the mound gave an enormous shudder. Jack watched in horror as it expanded, growing upwards into a pillar until it towered above them.
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</p>
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<p>
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A huge head swelled upon massive shoulders. Its toes grew into curved claws, two upon each foot. Fingers stretched into long, hooked talons. Horns grew on
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its head, spiralling and ridged like a monstrous ram.
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</p>
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<p>
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A mouth opened, showing row upon row of jagged black teeth and from it boomed a mighty, triumphant laugh that echoed madly around the walls of the
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amphitheatre.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint had turned to face it. Kerry looked at Jack and his eyes were bright with apprehension. Corriwen had drawn the bow, ready to shoot. Rionna
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had raised Megrin's staff.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack realised with dismay that neither he nor his mother were armed. They had nothing but the two heartstones. Jack felt his own heartstone beat stronger.
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</p>
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<p>
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The beast laughed again, and the ground heaved. It raised its arms and spread them out on either side<em>.</em> Flames burst into life and raced up and
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down its body, twisting around its arms and legs.
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</p>
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<p>
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It swung a vast arm around and pointed a claw at Jonathan Flint. A bolt of fire exploded out. Jack's father disappeared in gout of flame, and Jack cried
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out in alarm.
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</p>
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<p>
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Then he saw him, twenty yards distant, unscathed.
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</p>
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<p>
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Where he had stood, the rock was flowing white-hot. The reek of burning filled the air.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint was moving <em>fast.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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His spear was at his shoulder. His back arched and he launched it straight at the fiery shape. Where it struck, tongues of flame gouted out and Jack saw
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the monster stagger.
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>It can be hurt,</em>
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he thought.
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</p>
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<p>
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Two clawed hands swung round and gripped the spear. Fire surged between the hands, but the great weapon did not burn. Grunting, it pulled the spear free.
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The puncture holes in its body spewed burning liquid and acrid fumes.
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</p>
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<p>
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But Jonathan Flint was still moving, swinging the Scatha's sword in his right hand. Kerry and Corriwen, to Jack's amazement, were on his heels. He made to
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follow them, but his mother pressed on his shoulder.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Wait," she said softly, and that word carried an enormous weight of command. Jack froze. Lauralen Flint placed her free hand on Rionna's head and together
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they stood, watching the deadly battle. Jack was jittering with the need to fight with his friends and at his father's back, but the hand on his shoulder
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made him stay.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's father ducked under a mighty arm as it came sweeping down at him. The sword flashed, slashed, and a huge claw tumbled away and landed with a thump.
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Kerry had been veering to the left and the claw missed him by a whisker.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen raised her bow. She was moving fast, a red-headed streak. One arrow shot out and stabbed between the jagged teeth. Foul steam billowed and it
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roared again.
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</p>
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<p>
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It swung at her and a sizzling jolt traced her as she dashed away, scoring the ground in puffs of vapour.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry jinked past the twitching claw. Without warning it flipped over scuttled after him, a nightmare on four claws and a hooked thumb, moving with
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spider-like speed.
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</p>
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<p>
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He let out a yell of fright and ran as the thing scrabbled after him, trailing blood that sizzled as it hit the ground. Corriwen launched another arrow,
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again high on the monster's body, just as Kerry blundered between its legs. Briefly distracted, it missed a slashing grab for him. Instinctively Kerry
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jabbed and the sword turned pink then flopped like a wilted leaf. A vast hoof raised over his head and stamped down again. For a second, Jack saw Kerry
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disappear in a cloud of fumes and then he was out the other side, ducking and rolling as it stamped again, so hard that the whole dark world trembled.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack watched with pride as his friends and his father fought the monstrosity. He was desperate to run in and help them, to do <em>something</em> other than
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watch, but his mother's hand stayed firmly on his shoulder.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen launched another arrow and another, shooting and reloading fast. They spiked around its hideous face, but the beast brushed them off and came at
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her. She leapt aside and Jonathan Flint strode in again with the great sword. It seemed to blaze with light as he slashed right and left, tearing huge
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gouges in the monster's thighs, gouges that formed mouths with jagged teeth that gnashed in fury.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry found Jonathan Flint's spear. It looked much too big for him but he managed it nonetheless. Jack's father was up close and slashing madly. Everywhere
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he cut, another mouth opened to scream at him. Kerry ran to his side, with the spear raised up. Jack's father stabbed hard and the beast faltered, giving
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Kerry the chance to put all his strength into one hard lunge.
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</p>
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<p>
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It staggered, bellowing. Jack watched in amazement as it rocked back and then began to tumble forward. It happened as if in slow motion. Jonathan Flint
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grabbed Kerry's hood and hauled him back just as the behemoth toppled and hit the ground with enormous force.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Is it dead," Rionna asked.
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</p>
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<p>
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"No," Lauralen said. "The great beast can never die, for he is not alive as we know it. He is the sum of all the evil he has gathered to himself."
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</p>
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<p>
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Now Jonathan Flint, Corriwen and Kerry were backing off. The beast was on all fours, scoring gouges in the ground. It seemed to curl into itself. The hand
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that had chased Kerry crawled towards it, clawed its way up and sank back into its warty skin.
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</p>
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<p>
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Before their eyes, the arms and legs shrank back into the main body until all they could see was a twitching mass.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's changing again," Rionna said.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Stand by me," Lauralen told. "Now we play our part. We have two heartstones and you have more power than you know. We will need all of it."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack saw the surface of the mass rip wide open and what emerged made his stomach clench. At first it was a writhing mass of worms, wriggling and looping
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and slimy, like branched tentacles, except that each one ended in a head that was grotesquely human. It uncoiled, still swelling and the tentacles hardened
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into jointed limbs. The head, on a long, segmented neck, reminded Jack of a preying mantis. Great wings opened and beat the air.
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</p>
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<p>
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A voice spoke in Jack's head.
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>Lost forever, mortal.</em>
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The voice was like rot and sickness. He felt it deep inside him and he shuddered. <em> Your pain will be eternal. I will burn you for all time and feast on your anguish.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack clapped his hands to his head, staggering under the mental assault.
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</p>
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<p>
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His mother laid a soft hand on his head and the sensation faded until he could open his eyes once more. The heartstones thrummed together in powerful
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harmony.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Begone." Her voice was clear. "You will <em>never </em>have him."
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>Give me what I will have. Give it now and he will suffer less.</em>
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<em>The Mailachan Mhor commands.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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"You are no Great Lord," she said. Jack could hear the words but couldn't see her lips move. "You are the king of nothingness."
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</p>
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<p>
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<em>I will bring perpetual night and pain. I will ravage! I will cover all in darkness.</em>
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</p>
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<p>
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The great wings whooped in the air. Its neck stretched out towards them, head swelling and contorting, bent to the ground.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack watched in horror as a great eye began to open. He could see fire swirling under the scaly eyelid. His mother made no move.
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</p>
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<p>
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The eye creaked open. Rionna let out a small cry. Jack saw the ground shrivel under the power of the gaze.
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</p>
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<p>
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Something thudded at Jack's side. His hand found the satchel. His other hand went to the heartstone and its throbbing rippled through him. His fingers
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opened the bag and touched the Book of Ways. Before he knew it, it was in his hand.
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</p>
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<p>
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His mother reached and grasped Megrin's staff with one hand on top of Rionna's. In her other, she raised the crystal heartstone. Instinctively Jack
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imitated her. He held his own heartstone up before him. The Book twisted in his hand.
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</p>
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<p>
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The awful head came up and as it swung towards them, Jack got a glimpse of the eternal evil in that gaze. He thought he might fall down and die.
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</p>
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<p>
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His mother stepped in front of Rionna and the eye turned to follow her. It was almost completely open, as red as boiling lava. Rocks burst asunder as it
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began to focus.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint ran in, sword raised. The eye swivelled towards him.
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</p>
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<p>
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Megrin's staff suddenly blazed with incandescent white light. A jolt of power blasted out from the monster's eye, a beam of pure night. Every nerve in
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Jack's body shrivelled, and an intense cold shuddered through his bones.
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</p>
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<p>
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Megrin's light met the creature's dead-light head on. Lauralen Flint held the staff in a firm grip, eyes wide, concentrating. The Book of Ways twisted
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again in Jack's hand. A strange, juddering sound throbbed where the two lights met. Darkness tried to engulf Megrin's light, but Jack's mother held firm.
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</p>
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<p>
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Lauralen Flint held up her heartstone.
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</p>
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<p>
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And Megrin's light winked out. The monstrous beast roared in triumph.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's heart lurched. But suddenly the Book of Ways opened in his numbed hand, just as the beast's glare blasted straight at his mother.
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</p>
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<p>
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A blast struck the crystal heartstone with such force that the air about them seemed to rip to shreds.
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</p>
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<p>
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The heartstone glowed. It beat once, twice. And the deathly blast leapt from her stone to Jack's in a beam of blue. He felt it strike, amazed that he was
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not instantly incinerated.
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</p>
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<p>
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The heartstone turned the light yet again. A beam stabbed down and hit the open book. Pure copper on the page turned to gold and the darklight, now a line
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of brilliant white was hurled back in the direction it had come.
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</p>
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<p>
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It struck the beast right in the glaring eye.
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</p>
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<p>
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Then the devil got a taste of his own. The light from the Copperplates melted the eye in its socket. The great beast juddered and its wings froze in
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mid-beat. Its foul head bent backwards and the mouth gaped like a cave-mouth. A deep, hollow rumble rolled over them and then the mouth closed with a
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crash.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's mother stood watching, heartstone in her hand.
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</p>
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<p>
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The beast swayed on its horny feet, and Jack watched in fascination as its movement began to slow until it was almost still.
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</p>
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<p>
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A sudden wind whipped up the sand around them, swirling around the monster. As the grains struck it. The wind gained strength, but they stood firm, holding
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on to one another as the creature swayed in the blast and then toppled backwards and crashed to the ground….
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</p>
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<p>
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It shattered into a million fragments that instantlycrumbled to dust which was swept away by the gale. The wind died as quickly as it had begun and they
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stood, six of them together, in a land scoured clean.
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</p>
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<p>
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All around them was emptiness, no rocks, no stone, no amphitheatre, nothing.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's mother let out a long sigh and took his hand in hers.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint came up beside them, wrapped his arms around both of them.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You came back," Lauralen said.
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</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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