Kdar Tol charged towards him, sword raised. The jagged blade came down just as the last stones snapped into the chamber.

  Tex flicked the switch to auto and squeezed the trigger.

  The stones rattled against Kdar Tol’s breastplate. He reeled back, arms flailing. Tex stumbled to his feet, still firing.

  He emptied the entire magazine. The Necromancer swayed like a giant fir tree but remained standing. His armor was badly dented, and several stones had lodged themselves in the metal.

  A few of them had even broken right through, presumably entering Tol’s torso.

  He wavered, and Tex heard a muffled cry. It was the voice of an elderly man.

  But the Necromancer recovered himself, and his fists crackled with electricity.

  He was desperate enough to go for another magic attack despite being low on power.

  Tex chucked his last chunk of Dargild into the chamber and watched it slide into place. Lightning flashed from Kdar Tol’s fists, but Tex had just enough time to pull the trigger.

  The Dargild hurled through the air as fast as a bullet.

  In the same instant, everything disappeared in the flash of electricity. Momentarily blinded, Tex got to his feet. Kdar Tol’s blast had missed him.

  But maybe my shot missed him, too.

  Tex’s vision quickly returned.

  Kdar Tol stood before him motionless, like some grim statue, hands extended in a gesture of alarm. A fist-sized hole was in his armor, on the right side of his chest.

  White steam poured out.

  Finally, Kdar Tol’s hand fell onto his breastplate. He scrambled back in a panic, fumbling to pull off his gauntlets.

  The shouts of both Aramantha men and Skrillings drifted up the trail from nearby.

  A pair of Skrillings came running up the trail from the village, followed closely by Zila and Bmimi. The Skrillings abruptly halted and stared at their leader as he wavered on his feet, the cloud of steam drifting out of his armor.

  It started hissing, spewing vapor and blood.

  One Skrilling’s head suddenly jerked back. He fell to the ground with one of Zila’s throwing daggers in his back.

  The other one stood with his mouth agape. Kdar Tol’s gauntlets dropped to the ground, his trembling hands clawing at his armor.

  Meanwhile, Bmimi leapt onto the Skrilling, dragging her claws across his throat.

  Tol finally stumbled and collapsed onto his back.

  Tex gathered up stones to reload his magazine, watching the Necromancer as he scrambled his legs in the dirt and slapped at his chest armor.

  Five more Skrillings charged up the path. Strangled noises of shock came out of their throats when they saw their leader writhing on the ground.

  They were followed by Utu and Neesha. Bmimi and Zila turned and fell into fighting the Skrillings alongside Utu and Neesha. Working together, the four of them killed the Skrillings in less than a minute.

  Meanwhile, Kdar Tol’s long, pale fingers grabbed at the armor around his neck.

  Plumes of white smoke curled out from the chinks of his armor. He unclasped something, and the top part of his helmet came loose.

  It fell back a few inches, opening a rent in his armor, through which a small cloud of smoke escaped.

  Kdar Tol gasped for breath.

  Tex sauntered towards him, his magazine fully loaded. The girls stood by, watching in wide-eyed amazement.

  Tex looked at them. “Take cover.”

  The girls scattered, running off the trail into the woods.

  Tex pulled the trigger. Stones rattled off Kdar Tol’s armor, but something seized Tex’s wrist, squeezing and biting so hard that he dropped the Imaginatum Stone.

  The gun instantly vanished.

  An oppressive weight pressed down on Tex’s shoulders, stabbing him with what felt like a thousand invisible daggers.

  Buckling under the pressure, Tex doubled over and collapsed onto the dirt. He saw Kdar Tol’s languid hand raised towards him.

  The pressure increased rapidly, and Tex feared he would be crushed like an insect. But it only lasted an instant; then the invisible hand’s grip loosened somewhat, and Tex could breathe again.

  “Tex!” Neesha screamed, emerging from the trees. The other girls also stepped into the grass.

  “Get back!” he bellowed, forcing himself up, still fighting against the considerable pressure on his shoulders.

  Bmimi’s voice called out. “Tex! Isn’t this Dargild?”

  “Dargild!” he snapped, whipping around and looking at the glinting purple rock in the cat girl’s hand.

  “Yes!” he said, just as the pressure from Kdar Tol’s invisible hand increased once again.

  Tex felt the pressure tighten around his throat. He raised his hand.

  Bmimi threw the stone. Tracking it with his Dirt Magic, he gave it a mid-air pull, bringing it right to his hand.

  The grip on his throat tightened even more. He could not breathe at all.

  He forced himself forward and Tex collapsed onto Kdar Tol.

  Straining against the tremendous force around his throat, his face turning purple for lack of air, Tex peered into the opening in Kdar Tol’s helmet.

  It was dark and smoky, and he could see nothing inside.

  With a trembling hand, he reached for the helmet and pushed it off.

  Chapter sixty-seven

  WHEN THE BLACK helmet dropped back against the ground, the first things Tex noticed were Kdar Tol’s eyes. They were strikingly yellow but also misty, as if he was blind.

  The lower half of Kdar Tol‘s face remained hidden by the bevor, the piece of armor that protects the throat and lower half of the face.

  Tex shoved it down, revealing a gaunt, aristocratic face. White hair tumbled down like snow, surrounding his tall forehead, high cheekbones, and prominent chin.

  He must have been exceedingly handsome once, but now his skin was pallid and squishy, like a salamander.

  White smoke billowed up from inside his armor, and his thin lips were parted. He took fitful breaths.

  Kdar Tol no longer looked terrifying. He looked fragile. As weakened by being exposed, the grip loosened from Tex’s neck.

  Tex gasped for air, raising the Dargild towards Kdar Tol’s mouth. He was going to shove it down his throat.

  But the invisible grip returned, tightening around Tex’s wrist. After a brief struggle, the stone fell out of Tex’s hand.

  It landed on the Necromancer’s eye.

  A strange cry arose from Kdar Tol. Strange because of how normal and small his actual voice sounded.

  It was the voice of an old man, full of fear.

  His long hands feebly grabbed Tex’s arms, almost as if to beg for help. But Tex put his hand over the Dargild, pushing it into The Necromancer’s eye.

  Foul-smelling steam hissed out from under the stone as Kdar Tol’s pitiful screams turned into sobs.

  Tex did not regret what he did. Not for a second. He didn’t even feel sorry for Kdar Tol.

  He did, however, lament his fall.

  Tex had seen glimpses of his former greatness. Tall and resplendent, eloquent in speech, skilled at arms. A brilliant mind.

  He could have brought the world into another Golden Age.

  But he fell in love with his own intellect.

  He tried to become a god.

  And now, he’d come to … this.

  Tex felt the Dargild sink into Kdar Tol’s socket as his eyeball was eaten away. He shuddered.

  That’s sufficient.

  He staggered to his feet and backed away from Kdar Tol’s dying body.

  “Let it be a warning,” he muttered to himself.

  Bmimi, being the quickest, was the first to reach him. “What did you say?” she said, pawing at his arm.

  He looked at her in a daze. “I said… Let it be a warning.”

  Neesha, Utu, and Zila rushed up and threw their arms around him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Let it be a warning!” he repeated, stumbling from exhaustion. “I don’t want to forget.”

  “It will be a warning,” Utu said. “We will stick his head on a pike for all to see!”

  “No, no,” Tex said. “That’s not what I mean.”

  His mind was reeling, but his thoughts were clear. He wanted to say it out loud so it was on record, and he could never forget: “I mean, let it be a warning … to me.”

  “To you?” Utu said. “What do you mean? I think you need to sit down.”

  Zila’s unibrow frowned with concern. “Tex not feel well.”

  “I know what he means,” Neesha said. “He doesn’t want to end up like Kdar Tol, corrupted by the temptation of power.”

  “Yes,” Tex said, looking firmly at the Necromancer’s melting face.

  A sudden commotion drew everyone’s attention down the trail towards the village. A stalky Skrilling had stumbled into view. His body was riddled with so many arrows that he looked like a pincushion.

  Steelfarr fell upon him, cracking the knotted end of a club against his head. After three blows, the Skrilling hit the ground.

  Steelfarr glanced up the trail, greatly excited, eyes gleaming. “Lord Tex!” He charged forward, then halted, staring at the spectacle of Kdar Tol’s poisoned corpse.

  White smoke curled out from every chink in the armor. The pristine white hair framed a face that looked like an Egyptian mummy. Red steam hissed out from the eye socket.

  Steelfarr choked. “Is … that…”

  Tex nodded grimly. “Yes. Kdar Tol is dead. Spread the word.”

  “Steelfarr, you’re bleeding badly!” Neesha said, looking at his animal skin, which was red with blood.

  He held up his left fist, which was a gory mess. “I lost some fingers, but it’s nothing,” he said.

  Then he pressed the injured fist against his animal skin. “We’ve got the upper hand, Lord Tex. We’ve taken out so many. They’re on the backfoot!” Then he bowed. “I must return to fighting.”

  “Get that looked after first,” Tex said. “There’s no use passing out from loss of blood.”

  Steelfarr shook his head. “I don’t want the healers to waste time on me. Other people have more serious injuries.”

  “I’ll send Emi to help out soon,” Tex said, starting up the trail towards the hut. “Come on,” he said to the girls. “Let’s check on Emi and Grendel.”

  ***

  Tex walked briskly up the trail. It was probably selfish of him not to allow Emi to go to the healing hut during the battle.

  But the healing stones Lorelei had given them were very powerful. If it got to the point where they weren’t enough, it would probably mean the Skrillings had taken the village.

  And in that scenario, everyone would die anyway. So it was better to try and keep Emi safe as long as possible.

  That was his reasoning, and he stood by it.

  However, when the hut came into view, it seemed alarmingly still and quiet. Not a sound came from inside.

  Tex broke into a run, gritting his teeth.

  God, if anything happened to them…

  Rushing through the beaded doorway, he came into an empty room.

  He glanced around. The big bed was neatly made up. The charred remains of a fire sat in the firepit. Dried flowers hung on the walls, perfuming the air.

  Grendel’s hair brush was on the table, along with a tapestry she’d been making by hand; adorably, it depicted Tex and Emi’s return from the Isle of Shayla.

  Hanging over a chair was a pair of leather trousers that Emi was making for Tex.

  It felt as if they’d just been there, going about their usual business, but something had abruptly stopped them.

  The other girls rushed in behind Tex.

  “Where are they?” Utu said.

  “I don’t know,” Tex muttered. “Maybe they got scared and –-”

  There was movement in the corner of Tex’s eye.

  In one corner of the room, a wooden board covered the larder, which was in a hole in the floor.

  This board suddenly lifted up, and Emi’s voice came from underneath: “Tex!”

  “Emi!”

  The board lifted more, and everyone saw Emi and Grendel’s faces peeking up at them.

  Tex rushed over and pushed the cover away. Grendel was holding her bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. Emi was hugging the little spear that Tex had made for her.

  “God, you two gave me a scare,” Tex said, taking Emi’s hand and pulling her up.

  “We thought you guys were Skrillings!”

  “Why you go inside there?” Zila said, shaking her head.

  “We were hiding!” Grendel said as Tex pulled her up. “Oh, my gods! That was scary.”

  Zila frowned. “You lucky they not find you. Catch you very easy down there.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter,” Neesha said, wrapping her arms around Emi. “We’re all together now.”

  Emi and Grendel suddenly started sobbing, and everyone gathered closer, hugging them tightly.

  But Tex soon pushed them away and walked through the door.

  Utu and Neesha came out after him, followed by the others.

  Tex stopped. “Everyone, wait in the hut till this is all over.”

  Utu and Neesha looked at each other. “No!” Utu said, clenching her spear and marching past Tex. “I’m coming with you.”

  Tex turned around and held out his arms, stopping Neesha, Zila, and Bmimi. “I need you three to stay here and protect the girls.”

  Bmimi opened her mouth to protest, but her ears perked up when Tex said “the girls.”

  That caught them all off guard. It implied that they weren’t “the girls,” because Tex considered them equal to the male fighters.

  That was how he’d intended it; he figured a little flattery would butter them up. Besides, they deserved the compliment.

  It worked. Bmimi’s ears perked up, and she went into mother cat mode, conducting Emi and Grendel back into the hut. Neesha and Utu took up positions by the door, looking very important.

  Meanwhile, Utu strode alongside Tex, her head high.

  Tex marched back to Kdar Tol’s corpse. He knew what he had to do. He needed proof that the Necromancer was dead. The helmet would have been effective.

  But his head would be much better.

  Tex approached the corpse with a distasteful grimace. Strange hissing noises came from its throat. The long fingers were twitching.

  “Look!” Utu said, pointing. “Is he still alive?”

  “I don’t know,” Tex said. “It won’t matter long.”

  He went about the grisly task of removing the armor that protected Kdar Tol’s shoulders and throat.

  Then he stood up, turning away from the foul smelling smoke that drifted out from the breastplate.

  He sighed. “Hm. Kinda forgot I don’t have my axe anymore.”

  “I’ll do it!” Utu said, raising her spear.

  “Wait,” Tex said. “That’s gonna be messy.”

  Looking around, he spotted the large rock he’d chucked at Kdar Tol’s head. Examining it with the intuition of his crafting magic, he could see just how it would break and what sort of chopping blade could be made from it.

  It would suffice.

  Raising his hands, green light began to glow around the rock. It broke in two. Then the bigger half lifted into the air, and an invisible force rapidly knapped away the stone until it formed a jagged blade.

  “Good enough,” Tex muttered, ending the spell before it was quite finished.

  Then he picked the blade up, held it over Kdar Tol’s neck like a guillotine, and let go, using his dirt magic to give it some extra force –- but not as much as he’d hoped.

  It didn’t quite do the job.

  “Shit,” he said, looking away in disgust as he lifted the blade. “It’s still attached. I don’t think I have any magic energy left. I’m running on empty.”

  The job had to be finished manually. A couple chops, and it was done.

  Tossing the stone blade aside, he extended his hand to Utu. “Give me your spear.”

  Tex took no pleasure in the next part — although he did wonder about Utu, judging by the wild sparkle in her eyes.

  Once he had the head on the end of the spear, he realized it wouldn’t really be recognizable without the helmet.

  It had to be both.

  Tex held the spear steady as Utu shoved the helmet onto the head. He shuddered. Was all this really necessary?

  Yes. It was exactly what was called for now. He needed to get the message out that Kdar Tol was dead.

  He jogged down the trail towards the shouting, and crying, and the crackling of flames. Steelfarr had exaggerated when he’d said the enemy was on the backfoot.

  In fact, the Skrillings had the advantage, outnumbering Steelfarr and his friends two to one. Some women had even come out of their huts with their bows and arrows, joining the fight.

  The hellhound was still there, barking, but he seemed to be mostly staying out of it now.

  Steelfarr was shouting as he fought: “Your leader is dead. Kdar Tol has fallen!”

  But the Skrillings didn’t flinch. Some of them even sneered and laughed.

  Tex strode forward, holding Kdar Tol’s head high in the air. He puffed himself up, hiding his fatigue.

  Shock and awe, shock and awe…

  “Behold!” He bellowed. “The head of your leader.”

  There was silence. The fighting all around him ceased, and everyone stared in amazement.

  The Skrillings seemed to forget all about the battle. Their mouths fell open, their eyes seemed about to pop out of their heads.

  “I told you,” Steelfarr yelled. “Lord Tex has killed Kdar Tol!”

  Another bachelor yelled, “The Prophecy has been fulfilled!”

  The bachelors fell back into fighting with redoubled energy, but at least half the Skrillings began to retreat, grunting and yelling in their own language.

  Word spread quickly. The Skrillings were disoriented by the sight of their god-like leader’s head on a pike. It made them easier to kill.

  The armored Skrillings continued fighting, but without spirit. The others beat their retreat out the gate. The village was secured shortly.