Rynn fell backwards, too startled to stand, and felt a gasp betray her. If Navaros hadn't looked frightening before, now, as he loomed over her with a cruel smile and glowing with power, he was terrifying.
"My Death Magi did a good job in simulating the beginning of my ritual, didn't they?" Navaros chuckled, then glanced at Arokh without lifting his head. The red dragon had advanced towards them a few steps, looking puzzled. "Call him, Rynn."
"What?" she managed. "Why?"
His answer was a kick under the chin.
Rynn's head snapped back and hit the rocks. Bright spots appeared before her eyes and she heard Arokh snarling behind her. Blinking, she looked for Navaros. Where..?
She sat up and glanced around wildly, noticing he now stood between her and her Bonded. The dragon himself crouched with his red wings half-spread and neck extended, baring his fangs. Navaros walked towards him.
Rynn stumbled to her feet, a dozen plans tumbling through her bruised mind. Shame burned her as Navaros deigned to look back.
"You've failed, girl."
He pointed at Arokh, and blue flames licked around his hand.
"Get out of there, Arokh!" Rynn shouted.
The dragon swept his wings out and shot into the air at exactly the same time five blade dragons beat their way aloft from concealment along the crater's rim. Rynn felt her Bonded's startlement as the creatures croaked triumphantly and flew at him with razor wings. He barely evaded the first barrage of poisonous fumes, and Rynn felt a slight, frightening dizziness when he inadvertantly breathed some in.
"Watch yourself, Rynn!" Arokh roared, and she spun in time to see a huge war giant lumber from a cave in the crater's sloping wall. It turned its brutish face in her direction and fingers thicker than her arms flexed around the haft of a gigantic battle axe.
"Did you think I'd be so foolish as to be alone?" Navaros whispered in her ear.
She jerked away from him and he laughed.
"Come, Rynn." He spread his arms, smiling. "Kill your brother."
The ground shook as the giant charged down the side of the crater and its bellow echoed through the dome.
Rynn, still looking at her brother, drew Runeblade. A sudden thought came to her... he thought this was what she'd come here to do! He didn't know about the Jewels, but how was she supposed to get him to use one?
Again Navaros laughed, this time at her supposed indecision. "Again you fail."
Rynn turned away and threw a stream of ice at the oncoming giant, hiding her grim smile. It seemed Navaros wasn't going to kill her either; he was after Arokh-
Something struck her in the back and threw her forward. She only just retained wits enough to roll, avoiding a nasty collision with the ground. When she came up in a crouch her shoulders felt afire and were itching painfully.
Above, Arokh roared in agony.
Rynn saw a blade dragon slam into the rocks some distance away, a half-roasted carcasse. She tore her gaze away and stood to face the giant.
This time her right leg was struck. It buckled beneath her and she dropped to one knee with a disbelieving cry.
"You are not here to fight, Rynn. You're here to watch Arokh die."
The giant siezed her, its fist trapping her from chest to knees, and lifted. Rynn struggled, gasping as she pictured herself splattered across the rocks after a casual overhand throw. But the toss never came. The giant was only restraining her.
Navaros smiled and returned his attention to the embattled dragons.
Rynn tensed her hands and let her anger overflow, feeling the fire burn through her veins and shoot from her fingers. The giant howled and dropped her. She fell about ten feet to land badly on the rocks, her already injured leg twisting. With a shout of pain and rage, the young warrior-mage threw a ball of flames at Navaros' back.
The Lord of the Rift turned almost casually and caught the fire in one hand. Flickers of crimson-gold spurted between his fingers for a second, then he tossed the spell back at its caster.
Rynn threw herself forward to the rocks and the fireball struck the giant, which howled a second time, then, snarling horribly, lifted its huge axe. Rynn rolled over and was frozen, hypnotised, as the double-bladed weapon rose higher, the tendons in the giant's hand standing taut... its eyes glaring down at her.
Arokh interceded just as the axe chopped down with a ghastly swooping sound... followed by a crunch.
Rynn heard a scream tear from her throat, and for a second, couldn't tell if it was she or Arokh who'd been struck. There was a hot wetness on her face and when she wiped it off with her hands they came away red and sticky.
The ground shuddered, and roars came from both the giant and the dragon.
About to sit up, Rynn was suddenly kicked in the side of the head by Navaros as he walked past her. She groaned and bit back a cry of pure agony as Arokh shrieked.
Don't give up, Arokh! Don't give up!
Rynn, hurry...
She got to her hands and knees, blinking blood from her eyes. Several feet in front of her, his back turned, was Navaros. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw he was holding Runeblade in one hand.
He definitely wasn't taking any chances with her.
Beyond, the war giant was on its back on the rocks as it grappled with a clawing, biting dragon half its size. As she watched, Arokh breathed fire into his adversary's face and it howled in response, then struck the dragon's limp right wing with a fist.
Rynn gasped, almost blacking out from the shock. But the horrible pain gave her the strength to stand.
Whatever she was going to do, it had to be done now. She fumbled at the strings of her belt pouch.
"Navaros!" she screamed, and, in her haste, instead of throwing a Jewel at him, hurled the pouch itself at his head.
He spun and snatched it out of the air the same way he'd caught her fireball. "I'll use this one to kill your Bonded," he sneered, fingers curling around the tanned leather.
Rynn could almost feel her heart stop.
Navaros grinned at her, never looking away from her horrified expression, and his hand burst into angry blue flames. He half-turned, raising his fist to throw his power - and what he thought was hers - at Arokh.
He stopped... stared at his hand.
Rynn found herself holding her breath, eyes widening. From his burning fingers fell a fine trail of ash.
Navaros opened his fist to find a handful of Jewels.
"NO!" he shrieked, making to hurl them away, but by then it was too late. Green light shot up his arm in a flash and enveloped his entire body. He stumbled towards Rynn with a snarl, then fell face down on the rocks and lay still, the green light gone.
Several glowing Jewels dropped from his hand with a musical chiming.