Page 3539

Rathmore breathed deeply and took a step closer. “Lucky am I that you have become such an arrogant, careless fool. Never could I have accomplished this when you were younger.”

Nykeir straightened. “Accomplished what?”

“Curious, are you?” said Rathmore, raising one hand slowly, palm upwards. “Or merely frightened?”

The other man gave an audible sniff. “Go on, Seer. Stupefy me, then. Show me what your Heavenly Sight has seen.”

“I can grant you but a glimpse. ‘Twill be up to you to see anything beyond.”

“Hmph.”

Rathmore’s hand tensed suddenly. “Now, Behold!”

Light gathered into his hand, then burst forth, shooting toward Nykeir and enveloping him.

It clashed against a wall of yellow flame, with Nykeir remaining comfortably in the center, apparently unbothered about being entirely consumed by fire.

“Tell me this is not all,” said Nykeir, his voice distorting from behind the inferno, sounding lower and almost monstrous, as if the flames themselves might be speaking for him.

But indeed, that was not all. Because the light still enveloped the flames, and then bounded backward to the Gate, first touching the smaller rock, then connecting to the larger one. The beam stayed there, bright and strong, linking Rathmore to Nykeir, and Nykeir to the stones.

“Yigorosk!” said Rathmore.

And Hector blinked, in complete disbelief of what he was seeing.

A gargantuan tentacle shot out of the Gate, appearing from the shimmering line of light between two rocks and arcing over Rathmore’s head to slam down on top of Nykeir.

The ground exploded from the impact, filling the area with a cloud of dirt and debris, and Hector had to wait for it to clear. When it did, he saw Nykeir still there, standing within the fire and light, a massive hole burned into the tentacle where it fell upon him.

From his body language, he seemed a bit confused but not terribly concerned. Then he started laughing. “What in the world is this?!” he said happily.

Rather than answering, the light from Rathmore’s hand shone even more intensely, and the burned tentacle shivered and melted into a bluish ooze, which splashed over Nykeir, coating him entirely. The yellow flame and even the light surrounding it were both smothered.

And the tentacle reformed, yanking itself back through the Gate, whereupon it winked out of existence, taking all remaining traces of the light beam with it.