“Run to me.” Gregori corrected his hold on the crossbow and lined up his shot as Aldelbert swooped back around in his direction.
Unaware of Gregori, the construct pounded after Aldelbert, the ground shaking from the force of its steps.
Gregori twitched his finger, loosening the bolt—which hit the construct in the left eye. It disappeared so deeply, only a tiny bit of the bolt’s red fletching poked out of the eyehole.
The construct roared like a mountain of rubble falling in on itself and clutched its eye.
Angelique relaxed minutely as she felt the foreign spell that protected the construct evaporate. “Yeah, I’d call that a weakness.”
“Aim for its eyes or mouth!” Marzell shouted.
Wendal chucked his daggers into its open mouth—making it fall to its knees and tip over like a chopped tree. Once it toppled—which made the ground buckle with the impact—Aldelbert jumped onto its jaw and speared it in its open mouth, destroying whatever spell powered it.
The construct shuddered, then liquified and lost all shape as the spell winked out. Like the first version of constructs, it evaporated into smoke, leaving behind Gregori’s crossbow bolt and Wendal’s daggers.
More tension left Angelique when the magic that powered the construct evaporated.
For all that the mage is reinforcing the constructs, it has one downside: they can’t easily reassemble them.
“Judging by its end, I would say these things are another magic-made work of the rogue mage,” Marzell said. “Which is at least a little encouraging. It means we’re not fighting against multiple black mages.”
“That’s wonderful,” Oswald grouched. “Great effort. Now if we could have a little help over here?”
Rupert jabbed at the remaining construct, standing between it and Snow White with Oswald and Fritz. “The second monster is still alive, in case you’ve forgotten,” he growled.
Angelique grinned as she and Snow White stepped back, following the curve of the cottage wall as the construct tracked their progress. If all we have to do is poke them in the eyes or mouth, perhaps I could use an unnoticeable splinter with my core magic…
Angelique flexed her fingers, but before she could release it, magic enveloped her.
It was the same vast, but ruthlessly numb and empty power she’d felt when tracking Evariste. The magic instantly spread, filling her throat so she couldn’t speak—couldn’t breathe.
It lazily drifted through her body, making her legs heavy and laden as she and Snow White staggered away from the construct.
It wasn’t a spell. The magic didn’t do anything except invade her every sense, as if it was inspecting her and slowly paralyzing her in the process.
No—no! I can’t let it find out who I am!
Angelique was aware of Snow White’s hand trembling in hers, but Angelique could barely feel it as the foreign magic invaded her blood.
“Step lightly, Oswald, Fritz, Rupert,” Marzell shouted—his voice echoey, as if he was far away.
“Turn it around,” Gregori said in a distant voice.
“How?” Oswald demanded—hardly any louder.
The mage sent magic deeper into Angelique, burrowing into her chest.
“Magic…A mage?” She felt the words in her bones more than heard them with her ears as her lungs screamed for air.
She was cold—but it wasn’t the chill of snow or ice; it was the unforgiving erosion of sheer emptiness.
Who could have powers this terrible and soulless?
Her vision blurred, and she could barely make out Wendal throwing daggers at the back of the construct’s head while Oswald stabbed it again.
She choked, but even Snow White didn’t notice—she was watching the warriors converge, attacking the construct on one side.
For a moment, Angelique felt completely helpless.
Whoever this mage was completely overwhelmed her, pinning her with little effort—likely all the way from Glitzern Palace!
Even if she could speak, Snow White and the warriors wouldn’t be able to help. Her lungs felt as though they would soon burst in her chest, and the awful void of the magic made her want to weep just from the mental anguish.
Her vision turned black, and Angelique bit her cheek until she felt blood. She was dying.
No. Her thought beat in her frozen heart—rebellious and angry. No. I didn’t come this far to be put down by a Chosen mage!
The magic burrowed deeper still, mindlessly striking all the way through…to her core magic.
Angelique’s war magic—great and terrible—held with the unmoving strength of a mountain as the foreign magic smacked into it.
In the darkness the mage had sent over her, her core magic glittered silver—cold, calculating…and waiting to be unleashed.
I wasn’t done in by endless curses, deadly monsters, or paperwork. I’m certainly not going to let one Chosen mage kill me! Not when I’m this close to finding Evariste!
Angelique released her magic, which flooded her body in a sharp wave that scraped against her insides as it drove out the invading magic.
She sucked in a breath of air and had just enough time to blink her eyes clear before she saw the construct’s grasping hand, reaching for Snow White.
“Nope!” Angelique croaked. She whisked Snow White right out of the construct’s clutches, though one of its claws snagged on the princess’s dress and tore it.
Once far enough away, Angelique sagged, resting her back against the stone cottage.
“Should we move off the wall?” Snow White asked. Her face was pale, and some of her hair had come free from the ribbon she’d pushed it back with, but she was doing a remarkably fine job of keeping calm considering the situation.
“I don’t much like that idea.” Angelique’s voice was hoarse from her struggle with the Chosen mage’s magic, and she peered suspiciously at the construct—watching for any signs of its creator launching another magic-based investigation. “It keeps too many of your sides open, and it’s harder to contain it.”
“We might not have a choice,” Marzell said.
Angelique sucked in a couple more breaths—just grateful to be breathing—as the warriors tried to herd the construct with little success.
Fritz disappeared at some point, but Angelique was more concerned with the dark mage and his construct.
“Aldelbert, get between this thing and Snow White. With your reach, you might be able to keep it back,” Marzell called.
“Of course!” Aldelbert vaulted over his barrel of portraits, sliding in front of the construct and hefting his spear high enough to jab it in the face.
Angelique tensed as she felt another nudge from the black mage. His horrible magic danced at her senses. Her heart franticly pounded in her worry, and she loosened another wave of her core powers—which drove the magic off.
The monster hissed and dove forward, nearly crushing Aldelbert in the process. Once it hit the ground it writhed, thrashing its limbs so it struck Marzell, Rupert, and Oswald and sent them flying.
The wet crunch the trio made when they smacked into the ground sounded painful.
Gregori shot the monster twice, but the construct ignored him and lumbered to its feet, its face pointed at Snow White.
This is too dangerous. I need to stop it—even if it blows my cover.