Wizards Conclave

Instead of flying toward Je

The heavy brow furrowed in a look of confusion. It swatted at the apparition with its remaining arm, but the magical hand blocked the blow. Then Coryn mimicked a backward slap, swatting aside the mighty cudgel of the golem's fist. The creature tried to step to the side, and once again the wizard held up her hand and parried the maneuver, holding the monster at bay.

Now the golem paused, its marbled visage raised to focus on Coryn. She pushed her hand forward, and the magical fist met the torso of the creature with powerful pressure; though she was unable to drive it backward, it could not advance. She felt the force of its great to

Countering rapidly, she drew her hand back, and the magic arm followed suit, pulling away so quickly the golem lost its balance and fell forward, its lone arm propping up its massive body precariously. Coryn felt the earthshaking thud of its fall, and knew she had but a few seconds to act before it recovered. A downward glance showed that Dalamar's eyes had flickered open; his hand was pressed against the bleeding wound on his scalp.

"Use it!" he hissed.

Coryn turned away, still wielding her magical hand, bringing it to bear against the creature's face. She punched and pressed, trying to twist it backward, to keep the stone giant from rising.

"Use what?" she gasped to Dalamar in despair.

With a lurch and a moan of straining rock that sounded like a cry of determination, the golem rose to its knees and swatted at the disembodied image. The White Robe tried to adjust, but she was too slow; the monster caught the image in its massive fist, drove it to the ground, and tried to crush it.

The pain was horrible, as if her own hand were trapped in a vise. Coryn cried out, twisting around, and fell to the ground, rolling over to cradle her wrist. Instantly she dispelled the magic-the enchanted fist disappeared. Her pain began to ebb. But lying next to Dalamar, she felt defeated.

"Your wand-use it!"

Of course! She grasped at that hope and leaped to her feet, pulling the wand from its sleeve in the front of her robe.

The golem smoothly rose to its feet, close to the two prostrate mages. If it stepped fast, it would crush them. Coryn reached for Dalamar's arm, ignoring his groan of pain as she tried to yank him out of the way.

Je

Coryn looked at Je

In a frenzy the golem thrashed around the confines of what looked to Coryn to be a large, and utterly invisible, cage. With its single fist the creature smashed at the wall that hindered it on every side. Je

The golem ceased its fruitless struggles, crouching on the massive pillars of its legs, its one arm cocked back, poised for one last mighty blow in the Red Robe's direction. Je

"Ammtn… harrarr… moot____________________"

Je

"End this! Destroy the thing!" he urged Coryn weakly. His black robe was stained with blood, soaking the shoulder and arm of his right side.

Coryn gazed at the golem's knobby back. Images danced in her mind-she saw swarms of great meteors plunging from the sky, magical missiles arcing from her fingertips in great barrages, blasts of heat and ice and fire all exploding simultaneously toward her foe. She extended the wand, unsure of what to say or do, not knowing what to expect.

Je

As Je

"No!" cried Coryn.

Solinari was with her. The wand thrummed in her hand, vibrating with concentrated power. She was abruptly surrounded by whiteness, a storm of magic drawn from the forest, from the air, from the lingering essence of the white moon. The swirling power coalesced around the young woman, exploded through the tool of her slender wand, and wrapped the golem in an irresistible grip. Its stone body cracked and crumbled with a force that shook the ground. The swirling and the noise and the stone-crushing seemed to go on forever.

But when the spell at last faded, there was only a pile of multicolored rock pieces where the golem had stood.

Chapter 24

Wearers of the Three Robes

There is no door-so how can we get into the Tower?" asked Coryn. She stood in the courtyard, glaring up at the twin spires.

"We could fly up to one of those balconies and try to get in that way," Je

"I won't hold you up," growled the dark elf. He had finished wrapping a piece of dark cloth around his scalp, where the wound had ceased to bleed. "But I'm not certain that would be the best tactic-a wizard who is flying is extremely vulnerable. Kalrakin could strike at us in the air, and we couldn't do much to stop him."

He pulled up his hood and draped it over the top of his head, concealing the makeshift bandage almost completely. "Still, I'm ready to go," he added in a tone of grim determination.

"Wait," Je

The sun had already dropped below the level of the courtyard walls, casting the whole area into purple shadows. Coryn looked out through the gates, saw that the face of the forest was glowing with emerald vitality, brilliantly lit by the nearly horizontal rays of the sun. In the frenzy of the battle, she had almost forgotten the spell they had cast on the previous night. Now she felt curiosity and hope: Had wizards heard the summons, and how long would it take them to get here?