looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “Perhaps I have assumed too much. Did your father impart none of his knowledge of warfare to you?”
Sebastian’s feeling of shame deepened as he wordlessly shook his head.
“I see.” He placed his hat on his head. “Well, there’s nothing else for it then. I’ll need to instruct you on such matters myself. Follow me.”
Half-anxious, half-thrilled, Sebastian followed Vittorio, who walked swiftly across the ice bridge without a moment’s hesitation or any hint of concern. This was a true soldier, fearless and bold. Sebastian looked down at the rope in his hand and his shame deepened further. He quickly handed it back to Rykov, who followed wordlessly behind them.
Once they were across the bridge, Vittorio stopped and gazed out at the Pustoy Plains before them. Beyond the plains, Sebastian could just make out the dark line of trees that marked the beginning of the Stena Forest, and to the north loomed the black, craggy peaks of the Cherny Mountains. But directly before them and stretching several miles to the south, the Pustoy Plains were flat and useless for agriculture because of the rocky soil. It was a great swath of empty space that in the winter now appeared as an endless-seeming blanket of snow interrupted occasionally by a small cluster of fir trees.
Vittorio stretched out his hands. “Imagine a vast army of undead marching across these plains, Lieutenant! What do you do?”
“Well, I suppose—”
“Don’t tell me, boy! Show me how you would wipe such a horde of abominations from our fair lands! Prove to me, here and now, that I did not seek you out and gift you with a priceless treasure in vain!”
Sebastian stared at Vittorio, but the commander’s keen eyes did not waver.
“Has no one ever spoken to you like that?” asked Vittorio in a quieter but no less firm voice. “Has no one ever demanded more of you than you were easily able to give? Has no one ever challenged you as you deserve to be challenged?”
He waited, motionless, for a response.
Sebastian had never been allowed to use his magic in such a massive and sweeping way. “N-no, sir.”
“Then it is well past time. How can you expect to achieve your full potential if you do not push yourself to the fullest expression of your gifts? I promise you that the great apothecary Stephano Defilippo did not cling to such safety. If you wish to follow in his footsteps and change the world, you must move beyond what you perceive to be your limits. Indeed, you must accept no limits at all. Only then will you know your true capabilities.”
“I understand, sir. And… thank you.”
Vittorio nodded, then turned to face the Pustoy Plains. “Picture it, Sebastian. A mass of slavering, shambling corpses coming toward us, intent on consuming the tender flesh of your mother and everyone you hold dear.” He looked back at Sebastian with wide, haunted eyes, as if he was already picturing such a horror in his mind. “What will you do?”
Sebastian gripped the diamond tightly in his fist and stared out at the empty plains. No, not empty. Full of monstrous creatures that were an affront to nature and God. An endless wave of evil descending on the innocent of Gogoleth. He would wipe them from the face of the earth. He would cleanse the ground of their foul existence.
First he melted the snow, making it disappear like a blanket being yanked away. The liquid soaked into the thawing ground beneath until it was a sea of mud. But that was surely not enough to stop the undead.
Slowly the mud began to seethe and bubble. The grass and trees turned brown and shriveled with the heat, but he did not stop there. He renewed his focus on the gem and increased the heat until the liquid boiled away, and the ground was nothing but a hard, barren mass of brown.
Even then he knew that wasn’t enough. The undead could surely survive such a thing. He must try harder, push further.
He reached deeper, below the earth’s crust to the bedrock. The weight of it pressed against his mind, the heaviness so palpable it became difficult for him to breathe. But he squared his shoulders, gritted his teeth, and pressed his focus further into the gem.
Sweat glistened on his brow as he heated the bedrock. It built up so much pressure that the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. He steadied himself and continued to make the ground