didn’t slow at all. Merciless and unstoppable, he stomped forward leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
Charlie tried to jump forward so she could strike the bishop with her glowing fists, but she found it impossible to get past his weapon. Calling on all her K’Changa moves and gambits she leaped, tumbled and somersaulted this way and that, but each and every move was checked. Darkmount was simply too strong, his Stonesong too powerful and, armed with his club, his long reach was insurmountable.
Charlie was outmatched and outpowered.
Realizing this, Darkmount grinned.
Switching his grip so that he held the club one-handed, Darkmount started to sing louder. With his free hand he pointed to the stalactites that clung to the ceiling. One by one they burst free to fall like spears.
KA-PHOOM!
KRAK-PHOOM!
Close to panic, Charlie jumped from side to side, doing her best to avoid not just Darkmount’s club but the battery of missiles that cracked around her.
Aware that he held the advantage, Darkmount’s singing grew in power to become a deafening roar. Flinging the club aside he raised both hands upward. At his gesture the largest of the remaining stalactites burst from the ceiling. Charlie dodged one, slid beneath the explosive impact of another, but was too slow to avoid the debris of the third. She squawked, then screamed in agony as a large rock slammed down on her leg with a sickening crack.
Charlie went down in a tangle of limbs, the pain of her broken leg extinguishing her Will. Hearing the thump of Darkmount’s approaching footsteps she rolled on to her back so she could face him.
‘Just tell me why?’ she hissed through gritted teeth.
Darkmount leaned down to tear the pendant from round her neck. ‘For this, of course.’
‘You’re going to sell it to Bane?’ choked Charlie. ‘But why?’
Darkmount snorted in derision. ‘Foolish to the very last, eh, Charlie Keeper? No, Bane is no longer my main concern. With my god returned to me I can now bring the true faith to the whole of Bellania. The only fear I had was the return of the Winged Ones. They would have objected to my holy plans, but now with your pendant in my grasp I no longer have to worry. If it’s any consolation, know that Bane and all who honour him will fall beneath my fist. And now, Charlie Keeper, the time has come for us to say our final goodbyes.’
Lifting his fists he called upon his stonesinging and once again gestured towards the ceiling. Charlie, seeing what was coming, screamed. Raising her hands she summoned her Will, but the pain from her mangled leg broke her concentration so that it only manifested as a jittering light that stuttered weakly across her fingertips.
Darkmount grunted with mild appreciation at her efforts. ‘Still defiant? I can almost respect that … but it won’t save you.’
With a final bellow of Stonesong, Darkmount pulled the ceiling down upon Charlie. The light of her Will grew brighter, but as the weight of rock piled up around her it flickered and finally died beneath the onslaught of stone.
When the rockfall finally ceased, Darkmount gave Charlie’s burial mound a nod. Whether it was a nod of satisfaction or a nod of respect from one opponent to another it was impossible to tell. Checking that the urn was still secure in his robe he strode across the cavern, raised his glowing fists and carved an exit tunnel into the deeps.
24
Lightning
Without Darkmount by his side, Nibbler was slowly being overwhelmed. He could no longer successfully hold back all that rose up against him. The Stomen and the Shades knew it too. They slowly began to pace forward as step by step they pushed Nibbler backwards.
The Hatchling’s chest heaved, his throat was ragged from spitting so much flame and his talons felt blunt from endlessly scraping them against armour and weapons. Eyes rolling and muscles shaking, he took one more step backwards then stopped.
He could not give up. He couldn’t. Charlie was depending on him.
Grabbing hold of his courage, he dug deeper than ever before. He felt the gases inside him churn, then boil with the need to be ejected. Gritting his teeth, he reached even deeper. He was determined to show these Stomen and Shades what it meant to face a Winged One. He would show them what it meant to face a fire-breathing creature.
The pressure built internally as his lung and chest muscles heaved with effort, but he wasn’t ready to release his wrath. Clenching and tensing,