Scorio felt a dull and enervating sensation sweep through him. He wanted to hang his head, to allow his arms to fall limp, to exhale and allow the darkness to sweep him away. For in that moment, he knew his Black Star plants were lost to him, that with them went the last of his dreams, his terrible, fanciful hope that there yet remained a chance of victory.
“Lianshi, Leonis,” he heard himself say, voice stern, brooking no denial. “With me.”
And he unshouldered his heavy pack, dropped it to the ground, and ran from the burrow. Turned his back to its beckoning tunnel, and ignited his Heart with a great and furious sweep of his will, so that its pitted and fractured surface incandesced in a black inferno.
Leonis stretched out his hand and Nezzar appeared in his grip, improbably massive, its hexagonal form blunt and crude yet somehow inspiring awe. Lianshi raced out wide, no doubt seeking a more advantageous approach, fleet-footed, black hair streaming behind her.
And the Nightmare Lady? She remained still, frozen in the crouch in which she’d landed, watching as the Alben Worm surged toward her, rearing up like a huge wave to crash down upon where she waited.
Scorio wished for a weapon. That mangled blade he’d discarded weeks ago, a rock. Anything with which to pummel or slash the fiend, but he knew his best hope lay in his mana-infused fists. Even with the might of a Cinder coursing through his veins, however, he doubted he’d be able to hurt such a massive fiend with blows alone. But he’d do what he could.
The worm fell upon the Nightmare Lady like a collapsing tower, its huge mouth peeling open as its tongue speared forth. But the Nightmare Lady had been waiting for just that, and dodged aside at the last moment, her tail coming up and around, the triangular tip scything through the air toward the worm’s human face.
But she’d underestimated the tongue’s speed. It blurred, corrected course, snaked around the Nightmare Lady’s waist, and yanked her toward its huge maw. Her tail strike was thrown off by the sudden jerk, and she was half inside its mouth before she could recover.
Though he kept running, Scorio was stunned—how did something so massive move so fast? Faster even than the Nightmare Lady?
The worm reared up once more, dragging Naomi into its throat even as her tail lashed and lacerated its sides with blind fury. Each cut caused milky white fluid to burst forward, followed by a thicker, more clotted substance like curds or rancid cheese. The Alben Worm didn’t seem to mind; it pulled her in deeper, its lower jaw rising to mold around her body and force her in.
Leonis powered right past Scorio, closing the distance in a flash, and with a roar he leaped high into the air, his Emberling power carrying him up and past the Alben Worm’s head.
And for the first time, Scorio saw his friend swing Nezzar, and witnessed what the weapon could do.
The runes blazed into life, so bright that they left luminous trails seared in the air behind them, and the blunt tip of the hexagonal club impacted the side of the Alben Worm’s head, which exploded away under the blow like a burst bladder. A great cloud of fluid and soft, pale flesh streamed into the air, and the worm keened as it wheeled about, orienting on Leonis as he fell into a crouch beyond it.
Just as Scorio reached its base. His leap was much less impressive, despite his putting all his strength into it, but enough to cause him to reach up and snag the Nightmare Lady’s ankle. He grasped it with both hands, swung on it, and his weight combined with the worm’s shock and pain caused the Nightmare Lady to tear free of its flexible mouth. They both crashed back down to the ground in a welter of thick, creamy saliva, and the Alben Worm’s keen grew enraged as it drew back.
Scorio sensed the mana in the area begin to shift as if invisible storm clouds were forming, but even as he rose to his feet, he felt a burst of confidence. They could do this. Together, united, they could pummel the worm into submission. Force it to flee.
The Nightmare Lady flipped up to her feet, her movements harsh, rapid, and her tail whip cracked out behind her, sending gobbets of slime flying.
“Run,” she said.
Scorio frowned—was she telling him to leave because he was a Cinder, because he was weak, or—?
A great cone of shimmering light formed around them all, with the worm at its center. It was like being trapped in a cyclone of heat haze, one that encapsulated most of the square. Immediately Scorio felt the storm cloud sensation of the mana begin to quicken.
The Alben Worm, a quarter of its entire head—or human torso, or whatever—gone, reared back from where Leonis was advancing. The massive man twirled the huge club about as if it were a baton and came on, his face that of an executioner.
“Damn it,” hissed the Nightmare Lady. “We need to kill it now!”
“That’s what we’re trying to do!” Scorio shouted back over the growing thrum of wind around them. No, not wind—it was Coal mana swirling around them, under the worm’s control. A huge, roiling cyclone with the worm at its center. “What’s it doing?”
“Killing us,” snarled the Nightmare Lady, and she burst forward, running in a zigzag toward the Alben Worm, bent over low, tail following sinuously in her wake.
Leonis roared and leaped, swung Nezzar, but this time not only did the worm sway out of his way, but a large, curved shield of force appeared in his path, blocking his blow and knocking him back. His roar turned into a surprised cry as he bounced off it and dropped. The Nightmare Lady came in low and tore around the worm, leaping over one of its coils as she went and opening its belly with a slash of her tail.
What could he do? Where was Lianshi? There—she’d worked her way behind the worm, was looking as frustrated as he felt.
The Coal mana was whirling faster and faster. But now it was changing. Heating up, growing toxic, like actual clouds of superheated soot. It was becoming hard to breathe, and he felt his skin begin to burn.
The Alben Worm whipped aside, undulating with preternatural speed, and hit the Nightmare Lady with its tail, catching her mid-leap and slamming her across the square. She hit the cone of force that contained the mana storm and bounced off it with bone-jarring force.
Leonis ran forward, swung his club again, trying to clobber the worm’s flank. Nezzar flared brightly but once more was rebuffed by the suddenly materializing shield.
“Lianshi!” Scorio ran out wide, waved to get her attention. “Run to me! I’ll be the bait!”
Would she understand? There wasn’t time to explain further. The mana storm was growing in speed and power, and every passing second made him feel as if he were being flayed alive. Gritting his teeth against the growing pain, he ran forward, right into the worm’s path, waving his arms at it as he went.
“You!” His shout was barely audible over the growing storm’s scream. “Hey! Down here! Come and get me!”
The Alben Worm rose to its full height, seemed to consider Leonis as he battered at the invisible shield that barred his way, and then the bright blue eyes narrowed as it decided Scorio was too easy and tasty a morsel to pass up.
It dove down, so quickly that Scorio felt his heart lurch up into his throat. Even as his instincts bid him leap aside, his knees bending, his whole body trying to lurch away, he saw the maw open, the tongue snaking forth.
This thing had been fast enough to catch the Nightmare Lady. There was no way he could evade it.
But that wasn’t the plan. He drew forth his chalk and raked a line in the stone before him. The tongue slammed into the sudden wall of force, but just before the worm could react Lianshi dove in, spearing forward as if into a pool, and threw herself right into its mouth.