Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

The others turned to the stairs below. I sat up, but I had already guessed the source of the sound.

Reed.

She walked up the stairs with her long club tucked under her armpit. Her gloved hands slapped together for polite, slow claps in sync with her steps.

"Well played and well done."

She flashed us a beaming smile.

"I knew you could do it."

"No thanks to you," I said.

She recoiled, hand against her ample chest in mock shock.

"Jacob! I'm hurt. I've been saving my will all morning… for him."

She turned to Nostrand's limbless body. He hadn't moved since his fall down the stairs. The hand bomb had blown off his bottom jaw and much of his face, but he was still alive. He stared vacantly at the souls flying overhead.

Reed grabbed the handle of her club in a reverse grip, letting it scrape along the floor to announce herself as she walked to the former King.

I pushed myself to my feet.

"Easy, Jacob," Castille said.

"I need to see this."

We gathered with morbid curiosity around Reed and Nostrand. She laid her club beside her and sat on her heels with her hands in her lap. She leaned forward, a wicked smile on her lips.

"Poor, poor Nostrand. No arms. No legs. No way to speak High Song."

Nostrand's eyes narrowed and fixed on the Inquisitor.

"What were you planning? A stone kingdom? You're delusional—always have been. Look around—look at your stone kingdom. I will spend the rest of my life tearing it down."

His eyes widened.

"That's right. The only thing you'll rule over… is rubble."

A low, sorrowful moan resounded from the gaping hole that used to be Nostrand's mouth.

Spirits below.

I almost felt bad for him.

Reed continued, savouring his suffering like a goblet of her favourite wine.

"Then, I'll take the rubble, have it ground into a fine dust, and let the wind blow it away. In ten years, no one will remember this place. No one will remember you. You never mattered. You're nothing. You BUILT nothing."

He was screaming now, his head rocking on the floor, in a futile attempt to reject Reed's words.

"But don't worry. I'm merciful… in my own way."

She leaned closer and whispered.

"You won't be alive to see it happen. Mortuus."

The Enchanter's eyelids snapped open. His head jerked back, arching his neck and raising his chest. The light left his eyes, and Nostrand Del collapsed to the ground with a dull, metallic thud.

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We watched in stunned silence. She killed him with a word. It was the stuff of legends and nightmares. It was only possible by breaking Nostrand's will. Even so, for her to be that strong…

In that moment, my respect and fear of the Inquisitor rose.

"Reed?"

She fell face first over Nostrand's dead body.

We were too shocked to catch her.

Golden wisps of quintessence leaked from the Enchanter's stone corpse and the corpses of the other stone men around us.

"I was right," Isla said, watching quintessence flow from the boulder that pinned Dugan on the floor above. "Destroying their control crystals didn't kill them."

"Dreams…"

Reed coughed, pushing herself back to her sitting position. She looked down at Nostrand and smiled, wiping her bloody bottom lip with her right hand. The dried blood streaked across the side of her chin.

"To kill a man, you must first kill his dreams."

Reed sighed.

"I didn't expect it to use the rest of my will, but that's what will wells are for."

Killing dreams? That was one way of putting it. Without Nostrand's goal of a stone empire, the revenants he created had no reason to continue living.

Reed blinked as if seeing us for the first time.

"We should hurry."

"Why?"

She looked up at the Grand Terraformer.

"That orb is about to get a massive infusion of quintessence."

Isla's dark-circled eyes widened in terror.

I understood her concern. The more quintessence the Grand Terraformer absorbed, the stronger its terraforming effect and the more will it needed to consume. The quintessence of every stone man ever created was about to flood into the enchanted object. If that happened, we would be drained of our remaining will and knocked unconscious, along with anyone who tried to save us.

Castille understood a moment later.

"We need to destroy it."

"I agree," Reed said.

She got to her feet and slung her club over her shoulder.

"Let's go."

"More stairs?" Isla asked, her voice weak.

"At least you're not falling down them," I said.

I tried to smile but even I was tired. It was a struggle to stand, let alone walk.

Castille sighed and picked us both up over each shoulder.

"Hey!"

"Shut up! We're wasting time."

Thor let out a short series of grunts, something between laughing and snorting. Reed smirked at me with eyebrows raised. My face flushed bright red.

"OK. Fine."

Castille looked over her shoulder at Dugan.

"Sorry, I only have so many arms."

He shrugged, leaning on Isla's broken staff.

"I'll manage."

# # #

My embarrassment aside, Castille carrying us to the Grand Terraformer was a good idea. Without Nostrand around to power the orb, the oppressive aura of the enchanted object had increased. We were in no position to waste our will climbing the stairs.

Castille let us down on the third flight of stairs between the second-floor terrace and the platform the Grand Terraformer hovered over. Reed stood beside us, with Thor and Dugan pulling up the rear. He was waddling like his animal companion, pushing off Isla's broken staff to walk. Along the way, he had picked up his damaged shield for an unknown purpose. As we moved closer, the rings around the orb spun faster, and a wave of fatigue settled into my bones.

I forced myself to stand straighter. Reed was watching me. She was watching all of us. Her sharp eyes inspected us like a merchant buying rare and expensive goods. She smiled, giving herself a slight nod.

"Here's the plan. Dugan and I will stop the rings. Isla and Jacob will attack the core with a combination of fire and ice. Understood?"

"One second," Dugan said.

He handed his shield to Castille. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh! It's been a few years since we've done that."

"Are we ready?" Reed asked, an edge of irritation in her voice.

It was understandable. The longer we stayed near the orb, the more will it drained.

"Aye, we're ready."

"Then let's begin."

Reed stepped forward, raising her free hand at the orb.

A long golden ribbon materialized around the object, slipping between the rotating rings and slowing down their once frictionless movement.

Castille was next. She held Dugan's shield in both hands. She twisted her torso, keeping her stance sideways while looking back over her shoulder. Her body was tense like a bowstring drawn taut. A moment later, the tension was released, and the shield flew like an oversized throwing star. The wood shattered against the rings, and from the scraps, tree roots sprouted. The roots, combined with the ribbon of light, ground the rings to a stop.

Isla and I stepped forward. She looked at me with weary eyes. Out of all of us, she had used the most will today. She raised Nostrand's broken staff and flashed me a weak smile.

"Together?"

I smiled back.

"Together."

I grabbed the other end of the staff, and the fatigue weighing down my body was pushed to the back of my mind. With perfect clarity, I could see my target past the rings, roots and glowing golden ribbon.

Isla raised her free hand at the core of the Grand Terraformer. Slowly, that golden surface frosted over with layer after layer of ice. I conjured an explosive orb as big as I could manage. Even with my body mostly healed, the orb was smaller than my regular size.

This was everything—all the will I could give while remaining conscious.

After this, I wouldn't be able to walk or stand. I would be defenceless—exposed. It was a death sentence… if I didn't trust the people around me.

I did. I trusted them… except for Reed.

The orb launched from my hand. It flew between the rings—between the tree roots—between the glowing, golden ribbon and found its target.

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