Page 102 of Sun Elves of Ardani

Neiryn saw Rhian’s dark form turn and run down the alley as the magic-eater pivoted toward her. It leapt toward the alley, crushing the closest building into splinters as it did so. Another flame hit it from behind as Tanwyn attacked and then retreated. When the magic-eater turned again, Roshan charged in from behind it and slashed at its back leg with a sword. The magic-eater whirled to swipe at him, only narrowly missing as he darted away and Eliyr shot another stream of fire at it.

It was a delicate dance to keep its attention from lingering on any one of them too long. It worked for a few moments, and then it managed to hit one of the humans with its foreleg. Three others surged forward to draw its attention away as Rhian dragged the injured human to safety.

While it was distracted, Kadaki was weaving a massive spell. Neiryn inched closer to her, gripping his sword tightly, ready to strike at the magic-eater if it got too close, but didn’t dare do anything to break Kadaki’s concentration.

When she released the spell, a burst of energy shot from her hands. The magic-eater shrieked. Its entire body exploded. Every bone shattered into powder. Its screams vibrated through his chest as particles of dust floated off and washed away in the rain.

Kadaki stepped back, breathing hard. It was silent except for the roar of the rain. For a moment, it seemed like it was done.

But the strange magical glow of the magic-eater remained whole. And after a moment, it began to shudder. It was still alive, and it was drawing the bits of dust back to itself, slowly rebuilding its body.

Kadaki, unsurprised, raised her hands to cast again, murmuring words to a spell. Just as the magic-eater finished remaking itself, she shouted something, motioning sharply. The earth quaked, and crack opened in the street. The magic-eater fell into it, scrabbling at the edge of the crack before tumbling down into the fissure. With another shout and an outpouring of magic, Kadaki closed the crack again. The stones that formed the street shifted and buckled as they came together like a ragged scar.

Neiryn watched it grimly. They’d tried to bury the magic-eater once. It hadn’t worked then, and he suspected it wouldn’t work now.

In fact, it took less time for it to escape the trap this time than it had last time. In less than a minute, tendrils of blue light curled up from the ground like smoke. There was an eerie, ethereal roar that could only have been a sound of anger.

Nearby buildings began to bend, cracking and groaning as chunks of wood and metal and stone tore away from their fastenings and flew toward the magic-eater, building new legs and ribs and a head made of splinters of cedar with sharp spikes of wood for teeth.

As the others resumed their attacks, Kadaki readied another spell, but her expression was tight. She was afraid. And so was Neiryn.

But with a desperate wave of her hands, she cast again. The stone and wood that formed the magic-eater’s new body began to change. The wood smoked and then burned away. The stone turned red, then orange, then blinding yellow-white, and then started to melt. Liquid-hot iron and rock caught bits of wood and plaster, igniting them instantly. The rain around the magic-eater turned to steam and the water beneath its feet boiled and evaporated as its skeletal figure became a mass of molten sludge.

For a few seconds, it lay there, inert. And then, just as before, it began to gather bits and pieces of things to remake itself.

Kadaki screamed wordlessly with frustration. She gestured wildly, pounding massive, invisible fists into the magic-eater, beating it into the ground. She had realized, just as Neiryn had, that the magic-eater was not tiring as they’d hoped it would. It showed no signs of wear at all.

She could keep attacking it, but it wouldn’t matter. It would keep coming back. Again and again. Forever. It would outlast her.

The obelisk’s power had failed.

The essence of the magic-eater was magic itself. And how did one kill a being that was made of pure magic, a being that had no true body?

As Kadaki fell to her knees, panting in exhaustion, the magic-eater slithered toward her. It ignored the attacks from the others. It knew who the real threat was now.

Neiryn leapt in front of her, shooting flame from one hand as he raised his sword. “Kadaki, run!”

She didn’t move. He glanced over his shoulder. She was sitting still, staring at the magic-eater.

“Kadaki?”

“There has to be something I’m missing,” she said, her voice barely audible over the storm. “There must be. I just don’t understand…”

He shook her. “It doesn’t matter. You’re out of magic. You’ve got to retreat. I’ll cover you.”

The magic-eater bore down on him. Heart pounding, he forced himself to wait until it was close enough before he struck. As it opened its mouth to bite, he swung his sword in a wide, powerful arc. The sharpened blade cut through wood, severing its lower jaw. He felt no triumph over it, because then it raised its leg—a stone pillar twice his size—above his head, and he realized he was about to die. He couldn’t help it; he flinched.

He waited for the killing blow. It didn’t come. Everything had become strangely motionless and quiet.

He looked up. The magic-eater was frozen in place, its massive leg still hovering above him.

Kadaki hadn’t run. And though she had no magic left for spellcasting, her hand was outstretched toward the magic-eater, and a tendril of bright magic was running between them. As he watched, the magic-eater staggered as if weakened.

“Kadaki,” Neiryn breathed, awestruck. He took a step back to stand beside her, lowering his blade.

She was taking its magic. Just like she’d taken magic from the obelisk.

The mage in the mural hadn’t been using a spell against the magic-eater; they had been drawing the magic out of it.

---