After she spoke a bolt flew from the gloom striking Uro in the chest. Icy blue shone over his body as he froze, unmoving, unable to respond to the actions of the elves quickly heading towards us out of the mists.

  Behind me I hear Isha draw in a breath, only to stop and begin coughing. Footsteps all around faltered and ceased as one after another the group came to a halt. It was no mystery to me either, for as she approached Nora seemed to be exuding some form of paralysis, keeping us still and in place. The elders with Uro resisted for a few moments, but even to them it was pointless, being rendered immobile and at the mercy of our captor.

  “What's all this then?” Nora asked as the approached, looking us over. “Looks like we finally caught up with you Uro.”

  “Should we dispose of them ma'am?” one of her soldiers asked.

  “No, I'll deal with this one personally, the other's we'll hold. Perhaps they can be brought back to sense when this is all over. Search them thoroughly though.”

  “Understood,” I couldn't see the man behind me, but couldn't see as he began to rifle through someone's things. As he did so the older elf turned to me, pulling her head to the side a bit.

  I considered casting, but struggled with the idea. Songs and movement weren't needed for my magic, though they did work sort of like a crutch, movements that felt right for the magic helping to focus. Regardless she'd have defenses, and if they noticed me building anything big I had no doubts about what they'd do.

  Normal spells wouldn't work, that was clear. What about something like I'd used on the soldiers in the cave, something pernicious and quiet? Maybe, but I didn't have the time I had then, and there were too many people nearby, gasses like that might effect my allies if I wasn't careful.

  “What do we have here? Justin, I'm surprised to find you in this situation. You know, had you only waited for me you'd have been able to walk out of here freely so very soon. Were you with him the whole time? That would be a surprise wouldn't it. We'll have to find out together what the truth is.”

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  She was teasing me, dangling the same damn carrot she'd been playing with the whole of my stay here. Man I hated this woman, her games, her stupid words. She'd wanted to trap me here, and now she had me. While I silently seethed, trying to think of something, anything I could do to stop her hands began to go through my pouches and clothes.

  Nora had turned, taking a few steps away and moving towards Uro, with a wave he could speak again.

  “We don't have to fight anymore,” he pled. “The messenger, one of us can leave, a new land, no competition. Consider it Nora, an end to this madness.” His words were jerky, probably some interference designed to keep him from singing, and breathless too, so no shouts.

  “Another ploy, at this point, really? As if I'd believe that.” Uro tried to speak again, but his words froze, almost into a choking sound.

  “We have something,” the guard examining me interrupted before she could finish whatever she was doing.

  “What?”

  “These are... weird,” he said, bringing over the pouch he'd pulled out.

  “Hmm?” Nora said, dumping the pouch out into her palm. “Are these... wherever did you get this? And what have you suspended them in? Are these from that old monster up North?” As she spoke she looked at me, blinking.

  She looked, and I looked too, for she'd dumped the crystals into her hand. How long I'd had those, bouncing around in my things, all the things I'd considered doing with them. Now there was a chance, now I could do something, defend myself.

  “You're just a bundle of secrets aren't you Justin?” Nora continued. “I'll have to have all of them of course, and I will. Perhaps your little assistant would be willing to serve as 'motivation', or... Yes, I think the woman would be better wouldn't she?”

  The tyrant smiled as she looked over to where Isha was and I saw crimson. How could these people follow her? Did they not realize what she was like just because she doted on them? Didn't matter though did it, she'd made her decision, so I made mine.

  How little she understood about what she held, how little she knew. I didn't doubt she'd seen similar crystals before, with her age and power that was a given. Had she seen any made by one of us though? No, if she had she'd have thrown those as far from herself as she could. Instead the greedy elder clasped them in her hand.

  Those were mine though, they were my mana in crystal form. They obeyed me, and so I commanded them, reaching out with my mind to the power I'd put into the small grains, suspended in their artificial diamond prisons. It was a command I was so fond of, one I'd used so many times before, one she deserved.

  BURN

  In an instant each of the little grains ignited with the force of a wildfire. Her magic fought against them, but it didn't matter, didn't change the fact that she was holding that much energy that went from solid to heat in an instant. To make those I'd had to focus mountains of power into such a small space, mountains that now burst like a ruptured dam, pouring back out into the world in a torrent of flame.

  There wasn't a shockwave, that was the only thing that surprised me. No, one moment her fist closed around the set of little jewels and the next it was an inferno. The scent of char filled the air as the fire grew brighter and brighter, consuming the hand, then her lower arm. She didn't even have time to scream as it melted flesh and carbonized bone.

  As the fire took her arm I was the only one prepared. Others looked on in horror as their leader suffered, or else stumbled a bit as her spell failed. For it did fail, whatever she'd been doing must have taken active involvement she was no longer capable of, because as she charred we were free. We were free and I was ready.