Eosutana shifted into existence at the edge of the battlefield. Her passengers rose up from the cloak of darkness around her a moment later, and she craned her neck to survey the devastation. The surroundings stood in the eye of a massive storm that blanketed the Valley in all directions. The Locust flew at the center of it; his brow furrowed as he fired bolts of energy at the Councilman. Archibald's body was suspended in the middle of a large vortex of rock and stone above the nearby forest. Most of the mountain had been carved away and flew in loose orbits around him, and he was in the process of uprooting the trees to serve as more ammunition. He directed his largest chunks of debris at the Locust, attempting to pin him down, but Rankyne's body managed to weave through the oncoming boulders and avoid being struck to the ground. Xondriss and Breshet flew around the Locust, blasting fire at him to draw his attention but accomplishing little beyond forcing him to change trajectories from time to time.
Back on the earth, the rest of the would-be combatants had backed off. The remaining Nightmare Entities had gathered by Ronuba, just far back enough from the fighting that they could jump in to assist the Councilman should he need them to. Gabriel stood a short distance away, still clearly with them but too intimidated by the battle to bring himself closer. Ven and her allies were standing further back, trying to plan out their options. Eosutana emerged midway between the two groups.
"Ven." She said, pushing Thorn's body toward the woman. Ven was only momentarily startled, but the others were less composed.
"Thorn!" Gran'ma Ben shouted. She ran up to her granddaughter before Eosutana could finish moving her. The entity got her tendrils out of the way to give the old woman space. She looked Thorn over for a moment before glaring up at Eosutana.
"If you did this, I-" Gran'ma Ben began to say. Eosutana shook her head and gestured at Fone, who lay on the ground next to Smiley. The latter was coughing and getting to his feet, but the former was unconscious.
"Bullshit." The Great Red Dragon spat.
"It's true." Smiley said, still coughing. He bent down to grab Fone's body, but one of Eosutana's Tendrils moved to grip his throat and pull him back.
"Fone did this?" Gran'ma Ben asked. Smiley nodded, eyes locked on the tendril at his throat. He took a step back and Eosutana released him. He moved to grab Nagratek's body, and she didn't stop him. Less burdened than he'd expected by the body, he made his was over to Gran'ma Ben.
"Somethin' happened to him in that cave." Smiley said. "He wasn't the same Fone we know 'n love. He-" Smiley's voice hitched. "It almost looked like he'd enjoyed doing it."
"The Successor is gone." Eosutana said, more to her siblings than everyone else. "We must deal with him quickly, before Mon'Yaran takes advantage of the situation."
"Can you wake him up?" Ven asked. Everyone else turned toward her, most bearing confused expressions.
"Do you want me to list off all the reasons that would be a terrible idea?" Shard asked. "We'd be here until that fight up there has a clear winner."
"The Locust needs to die." She replied. "The second that monster regains enough power to start manifesting Ghost Circles, it's over. Even if Mon'Yaran's got some influence over him, he might be able to pull it off."
"Too risky." Ronuba shook her head. "Mon'Yaran would just as likely side with the Locust as fight him. I'd rather we focused our efforts on reviving the downed Chosen One. From what I hear, she managed to deal the Locust a worse blow than anyone else."
"And she nearly got herself killed tryin'." Gran'ma Ben said, snapping around to glare at the old woman. "Besides which, what she pulled off isn't likely to work now."
"Why not?" Ven asked.
"She and Fone brought the blasted thing's soul to the Crown of Horns, that's why not! How do you suggest we get there?"
"That's not…" Shard frowned. He'd been staring daggers at Eosutana until then but mention of the Crown caught his attention. "Mon'Yaran is the Crown of Horns. If he was powerful enough to kill the Locust just by touching the thing's soul, he wouldn't have needed the Councilman to create the Locust in the first place. You're sure that's what she did?"
"Positive." Gran'ma Ben huffed. Smiley nodded. Slowly, a grin spread across Shard's face.
"It works." He chuckled.
"What works?" Zakaita asked. "Don't tell me-"
"You bet your ass the cannon works!" Shard shouted. "You hear that, asshole!?" He jabbed a finger at the Councilman. "The cannon works!"
"Cannon?" The Great Red Dragon asked.
"The ontological cannon. A weapon I designed to kill Mon'Yaran. I never managed to create a working prototype, but I was close before the Councilman decided to go ahead with the Extinction Drives. On contact with a being's soul it causes a chain reaction that rips them apart on a fundamental level. And if my hunch is right, somehow Thorn used the same principle to kill the Locust."
"And Mon'Yaran has this cannon?" Eosutana asked. "What's to prevent him from using it against us? Or the Locust?"
"Exactly. If he's managed to build it, why hasn't he deployed it since and destroyed everyone in his way? I'll tell you why. He doesn't have the cannon. Or at least not all of it. The component I was missing was something to constantly adjust the frequency of the reaction to ensure it would proceed to completion without falling out of resonance with the target. Between the Chosen One and the Successor? Somehow, during the chaos of the interaction between their souls and the Locust's with the Crown of Horns, they managed to reproduce all the components of a working cannon. Hell, they might even be the cannon."
"You think they can do it without the Crown?"
"It's worth a shot." Shard shrugged. He bent down next to Thorn and stuck his hand into the wound on her stomach. Nagratek's crystal bandage was still in place. "Ven, can you help her?"
"I can try." She responded. She crouched opposite Gran'ma Ben and merged her hand with the crystal. "I'm no expert though. I'd feel much better about this if Nagratek were awake."
"I'll see what I can do." Shard sighed. He motioned for Smiley to put Nagratek's body down. He ran his hands across the body for a moment, confirming that Nagratek was indeed still alive. He looked up and waved a hand at Zakaita and Ronuba. "I'll need one of you to help me with this. He's not going to last long unless we can get him some more energy."
"Why should we help him?" Ronuba asked. "He's a traitor. So are you. Our truce only ensures we focus on the common enemy. The past has not been forgotten."
"Well focus, then." Shard shrugged. He glanced up at the Locust for a moment to see several pairs of wings coalesce out of the energy around Rankyne's back. Xondriss slammed into him, driving him back toward the remains of the Eastern Mountains. A pair of wings folded forward and wrapped around themselves, forming two long insectoid claws. They pierced either side of Xondriss and lifted him off the Locust. Xondriss lurched to the side, pulling the Locust's body with him. A moment later, the mountain came crashing down on top of the pair, striking them both to the ground.
"That's our cue!" The Great Red Dragon shouted, charging toward the Locust. Zakaita and Gran'ma Ben charged in after him. The councilman erected a dome of earth to keep the Locust on the ground, but Xonrdiss's body crashed through it. Breshet descended, slamming a hand down on top of Rankyne's legs, and both Zakaita and the Great Red Dragon began pounding him into the ground. A wave of lightning struck them all back, but a spear of stone descended the next instant. The Locust barely managed to roll aside and keep himself from being skewered. Xondriss rushed him again, and he knocked the dragon aside and took to the air again in a single motion.
"Go." Shard said, locking eyes with Eosutana. "I'll handle things here."
She held his gaze for a moment before nodding and slinking off toward the fight. A handful of tendrils erupted from every shadow cast by the myriad stones the Councilman had orbiting the battlefield. They all speared up toward the Locust at once, binding him for a moment. The binging didn't hold long enough for any hits to land, however.
Another pair of wings folded into limbs, much longer than the ones he'd used to skewer Xondriss. They began to swipe at the combatants on the ground while his body rushed forward to impale the Councilman with his smaller appendages.
"Are you going to help them or just glare at me?" Shard asked, separating bits of himself to slowly rebuild Nagratek's arm.
"You're planning something." Ronuba replied. "I want to know what it is so I can stop you."
"Will you get over yourself? If we don't kill the Locust now, then none of that even matters. Even Eosutana seems to have realized that. Why can't you?"
"Because you will turn whatever weapon you intend to construct on Father. Eosutana trusts you too much-"
"Trusts me?" Shard laughed, attempting to approximate a snort. "That woman hates my guts."
"But she still trusts your experience. Your instincts. You spent too long working together for that not to be the case. But I'm not going to forget what you've done."
"Of all the times…" Shard sighed. He turned to Gabriel. "You, then. See if you can't help Ven get Thorn back on her feet."
"Don't you dare." Ronuba spat. "I'm not sure why Father feels it important to keep you around, but I won't hesitate to strike you down if you go over to the enemy."
"I-" Gabriel started to speak but flinched as Zakaita hit the ground in front of them. He was missing half a leg and a large portion of his chest. Gran'ma Ben ran down and dragged him to his feet, practically hurling him back up at the Locust. In that instant, Ven crushed the crystal pommel of the dagger the Great Red Dragon had given her. Gabriel locked eyes with her.
"What are you doing?" Ronuba asked.
"This weapon of theirs might finally be able to wipe out the dragons, once and for all." He smirked, striding over toward Ven. "All we have to do is take it from them once they've finished making it."
"Get down!" Smiley shouted, drawing everyone's attention. A cascade of lightning bolts fired in their direction, heading straight for Thorn. Smiley threw himself in front while everyone else scrambled to get out of the way. His skin erupted with crystals that began to conduct the electricity, directing it into the ground away from everyone else.
"How'd you do that?" Shard asked, looking up from his work. Smiley shrugged. His skin was slow in returning to normal. "I never got a chance to look at that thing in your head, but…" He trailed off.
"Quit standing around!" Zakaita hollered back at them. "We're getting hammered over here!" As he spoke, Gran'ma Ben pulled Rankyne to the ground and the Councilman attempted to put another dozen spikes of earth through his chest. They disintegrated on contact, but one of them left a small wound. It closed nearly instantly, but he nevertheless let out a shriek. Instantly Gran'ma Ben was thrown back, her hands burned. He dragged himself back up with his appendages and drove one through Breshet's wing. He dragged her forward and he made a beeline straight for Archibald's body, knocking Zakaita and Xondriss aside as he did. The Great Red Dragon managed to tackle him to the ground for a moment, giving the Councilman time to change positions, fire more debris, and restock on ammunition.
"We need more time." Shard shook his head. "We're not going to last long enough to get the cannon up and running at this rate."
"Any ideas?" Ven asked.
"One." He sighed. "But I'll need Ronuba's help."
"I will not-" She started.
"Ronuba!" The Councilman yelled. "Make yourself useful!"
"Very well." She sighed. "What's your plan, Shattered One? The least I can to is make sure you don't turn it on us."
"We're going to turn Smiles here into our new big gun." Shard clapped Smiley on the back. "Ven, I'll need Thorn conscious by the time I get back." She nodded, and he bent down for a moment to pick up Nagratek's body before running off toward the battle. Hesitantly, Smiley and Ronuba followed him.
"Report." Ven said, focusing on Gabriel the instant Ronuba was out of earshot. She kept her voice down just in case.
"Nagratek had one last plan in place, in case things got this bad." Gabriel whispered. "He asked me to get my hands on this." He rummaged through his pocket and held up several strands of black hair. "It took me a while, but I managed to goad Deyavara into attacking Eosutana. These came off during the very brief fight."
"Deyavara?" Ven asked.
"It's a longer story than we have time for. Nagratek told me you'd know what to do with these?"
"Yeah." Ven grabbed them and wrapped them around Thorn's wrist. "I'll need Fone's body too."
"On it." Gabriel scrambled over to Fone's body and began dragging him over to Ven, keeping one eye trained on the battle to make sure no one noticed what he was doing. Eosutana was keeping the Locust occupied while Zakaita and Breshet recovered. Xondriss and the Great Red Dragon circled him, ready to take over at a moment's notice. Shard and Ronuba were still arguing, with Shard making occasional wild gestures at Smiley. Eventually she relented and merged one of her arms with one of the crystals on his chest.
The Councilman, meanwhile, hadn't take his eyes off the Locust since his very brief outburst at Ronuba. Gabriel wasn't entirely sure he couldn't hear or see them, but he hadn't tried to stop them yet and they were just about out of time as it was.
Gabriel laid Fone's body next to Thorn's and Ven began wrapping the hair around his wrist as well.
"What's the plan?" He asked, focus still on the battle. A pair of red dragons had arrived to take over for Breshet. The Great Red Dragon was speaking with a third. Gran'ma Ben was pulling spikes out of Xondriss's back and hurling them at the Locust. Zakaita lumbered to his feet, limbs reattached by tendrils of Eosutana's darkness, and began charging at the Locust.
"Eosutana is, or was, a First Folk. Most pick an element to inhabit, but she inhabits absence. Wherever she exists, the Dreaming doesn't. If we can tie them together and then force the Dreaming to fill the void left by the bindings, it should create a bridge between their Dreaming Eyes. Once that's done, Thorn might be able to pull him out."
"And if she can't?" Gabriel asked.
"Then we get to die knowing we did our damnedest." Ven shrugged. She placed her hands against the binding and began forcing energy through it. For a moment, nothing happened. A moment after that, a golden light erupted from Fone's body.
As the haze around Fone's eyes cleared, he could feel something slick coating his arm. Blood. He looked down at it and froze. Thorn's body lay on the ground. She was bleeding from a hole in her stomach. It pooled around Fone's feet, and he stumbled back, tripping over himself and falling back. His hands went out to catch himself, but the blood coating his hand made it slip out from under him. It took him several seconds to realize that it was her blood. When he did, he screamed.
Or he tried to. But no sound came out. He looked up to see his body still standing over hers, a cold sneer on his lips. It was the same expression he'd seen in his visions. His body began to laugh, wracking itself as it twisted around to look at him. The sound was horrid. It echoed in his ears and in his mind. He wanted to scream, to throw himself at his body and make it stop, to rush to Thorn's side and help her, but he couldn't. He was trapped. Slowly, his vision began to fade as his body turned its attention elsewhere. The horrid, manic sound was the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness.
When Fone's vision returned, he stood in the cave of the Crown of Horns. Bodies littered the floor. Phoney. Smiley. Bartleby. Gran'ma Ben. Mermie. Taneal. Wendell. The Great Red Dragon. All of them were slumped against the ground, blood running from their eyes and mouths. Some of them were missing pieces of themselves. He looked down at his hands, and the blood covering them was almost black, mixed with chunks of gristle and bone. Instead of surprising him, there was a hollow feeling in his stomach. Somehow, he'd known it would come to this.
He turned around to see Thorn's body laying at the base of the Crown. She still had the hole in her stomach. The hole where his arm had torn through her. He reached out and took a step toward her, but when he touched her body, he knew the truth. She was dead. He'd killed her. Slowly, he let his arm drop. The hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach intensified.
"It's my fault." He muttered. "All of this… The war, the deaths, the suffering. I brought it all here. I-" His breath hitched. "I killed her."
You did what needed to be done. He heard a voice echo inside his mind. He whirled around to see Havaki standing amidst the bodies. The child's eyes had turned a bright shade of gold. There was an emotion in them, a malic burning just beneath the surface, that terrified Fone. He took a step back, but his hand brushed against Thorn's corpse. He reacted like he'd been struck, stumbling forward and away from her body.
You can't change what you did. Havaki's voice continued. Only it wasn't his voice. It was Fone's.
"Did I really do this?" He asked, his voice hoarse.
Of course. Havaki smiled. It was your destiny.
"This is wrong." Fone's head hung. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I was trying to get my powers under control, not cause… This."
You realized your destiny, dear Successor.
"Don't call me that!" Fone shouted. He lunged at Havaki, but his hands passed through thin air. It took him a few moments to get back on his feet. When he looked up, Havaki was standing over him.
"You're not real." He muttered, shaking his head. "None of this is real. It can't be."
It is real enough. You know what you did.
"You forced me to do it." He hissed. "I should never have listened to you."
I didn't force you to kill her, you made that decision on your own. Deep down, somewhere in your heart, you wanted this. You were sick of being dragged around everyone else, never having a voice of your own. Never dictating the terms of your own fate. You watched as Thorn tore herself apart fighting the Locust, and you nearly got yourself killed trying to help her. Trying to prove that you wouldn't simply sit by and watch. But you knew she could never be the person you wanted her to be. You left her because it felt like the only choice you could make that was your own. But you forgot that, as long as you were with your cousins, you could never be your own person. You wanted so badly to be the hero, to get the girl, to finally have everything you deserved. So when those visions came to you, you knew it had to have been destiny calling. You-
"Stop." Fone said. "Just… Stop. I never wanted any of this."
Of course you did. You spent so long playing Ishmael to Phoney's Ahab. To Thorn's. You wanted your turn in the spotlight. You wanted your chance to shine, even if it destroyed you. Even if it destroyed everyone and everything you loved. What does it feel like, now that you've done it? Now that you've got more power at your fingertips than even the Lord of the Locusts?
"I should really be asking you that, shouldn't I? I'm not the one in control anymore. All that power I was supposed to have is sitting inside my body. And I'm… Wherever this is. My mind, I guess? My dreams?"
Finally coming around?
"Not on your life. I'm not letting you use me for whatever your planning. If this is supposed to be my dreams, then I say I'm the one calling the shots." He screwed his eyes shut and reached out with his Dreaming Eye. He couldn't feel any Dreaming around him that he could control. He tried to visualize the cavern floor tearing itself up and impaling Havaki, but when he glanced up the child was still standing there, smiling at him.
You didn't think I'd really give you anything to work with, did you? This farce was entertaining, but it's gone on long enough. As soon as I work around the block Nagratek placed on your mind, I'll be free to do with your powers as I see fit. You're going to-
"Hold up." Fone said. He thought back to just after he'd stabbed Thorn. He'd fallen unconscious but reaching inward with his Dreaming Eye he was able to feel out the half-conscious fragments of a memory. Nagratek goading him to attack. Rushing him and feeling something strike the back of his neck. Feeling the power drain out of his body as he seized up.
"Sneaky." Fone smiled, shaking his head. "I guess Nagratek bought me enough time to figure out a way out of here."
Hardly. He cut off my access to your Dreaming Eye, for the time being, but I'm busy breaking down those barriers as we speak. And it appears I have some help in that regard.
Behind him, Fone heard something burst. He turned to see a long crack forming on the Crown of Horns. Havaki smirked. The crack widened. The Crown began to crumble into dust. As it did, a shimmering crack appeared in the air, and a figure stood in front of it. Fone could feel the Dreaming return to him. Havaki's smile faltered. It was Thorn.
She took a step forward and flew at Havaki, moving faster than he could react. The air around her shimmered, and she drove her knee into his gut. He collapsed, his knees buckling, and she grabbed his head. She slammed it into the ground, cracking everything around it. As she pulled her hand back, the ground lurched up, forming a prison around Havaki's body. He struggled against it, but to no avail.
"Thorn…" Fone said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Is that… Is that you?"
"It's me." She said. She didn't turn around to look at him. "We need to go."
"Right." He nodded. "I'm-" His voice hitched as tears began to build up in his eyes. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Yeah…" Thorn sighed. She lifted into the air and turned, floating back toward the crack in the air. Fone scrambled to his feet and ran after her.
Thorn shot up from the ground as the light faded. She screamed and flew toward the Locust. He turned, trying to put a wing between himself and her, but she punched straight through it. She grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ruins of the mountainside. He tried to pierce her side with one of his claws, and she crushed his neck. He went limp for a moment, but as she floated up from him his wounds began to regenerate.
"Move!" Shard shouted. Thorn glanced back just in time to get clear of the barrage of lightning the shot forward at the Locust. It struck him, and a pillar of lightning shot into the sky, straight through the eye of the storm that had formed overhead. The Locust thrashed around, the energy wracking his body. Through the fighting, Thorn got a good look at him.
Underneath everything, the body was still Rankyne's, but he'd undergone serious changes. Several sets of compound eyes had sprouted on his face, and spines protruded through his skin in several places. His two smaller energy appendages had coalesced into physical limbs, and the one wing Thorn hadn't destroyed was attempting to do the same.
"What happened?" She asked, glancing out across the battlefield. Breshet was missing a wing and had collapsed next to some of her men. The Great Red Dragon and Gran'ma Ben were still on their feet, but they were bleeding from at least a dozen gashes and burns. A woman draped in shadows was busy using them to stitch together a hulking giant of black crystal. Shard and an old woman stood over Smiley as he hunched over, lightning gathering between two crystal spikes protruding from his shoulder blades. A white dragon with crystals piercing its skin stood beneath the body of a Bone, floating in midair and surrounded by a storm of rock. Ven and Gabriel stood over Fone as he-
She looked back at the Locust. Rankyne. Whoever it was supposed to be. The Bone in the sky floated next to her. His eyes glowed red, and his skin was covered in cracks.
"You allies made a colossal mess of the situation, Chosen One." He said, his voice echoing across the battlefield.
"I take it you're the Councilman." Thorn said. "I expected someone more… Intimidating."
"Ven said much the same." He laughed. "I proved her wrong too."
"Right…" Thorn looked down at the Locust. He looked back up at her, eyes brimming with fury. "Am I looking at what I think I am?"
"Unfortunately."
"Anyone have a plan for dealing with it?"
"Simple. Crush it into oblivion." The Councilman floated forward, and a pair of spears formed out of the debris around him. He sent them flying at the Locust. They broke apart as they approached, but each piece continued to fly with the same speed. The Locust lurched forward, the lightning beginning to subside, and the trajectories of the incoming projectiles bent around him. He flicked his hand to the side, and half of them raced toward Smiley.
"Thorn!" Shard bellowed, stepping forward to intercept the projectiles as Smiley charged another shot. "A little help over here!"
"Sure!" She replied. She drew her sword and rushed the Locust, driving it through one of his legs. He took a swipe at her with his claws, and she shot up and out of the way. She surged Dreaming energy through her sword, driving it further into the ground and merging it with the surrounding landscape. The Locust howled as she flew toward Shard, the Councilman and Eosutana stepping up to fight instead.
"What do you need?" She asked, touching down next to him and Smiley. Ronuba shot them both a glare before running off to join the fighting.
"You and Fone nearly destroyed this thing before, right?" He asked.
"Yes." She crossed her arms. "We brought it to the Crown of Horns, and its power overwhelmed him. I'm not sure how he survived, but it seemed to do some serious damage."
"That's not…" Shard sighed. "The Crown can't do that. If it could, Mon'Yaran would have wiped us all out by now. But something about the interaction between it, your Dreaming Eye, and Fone's managed to create a signal that could hurt him. I think we might be able to replicate that signal."
"Have you got a spare Crown of Horns on you?"
"Very funny." Shard frowned as best he could. "I think we might be able to do without it, depending on how in control Fone is."
"He's…" Thorn glanced back at him. He was still getting to his feet. Ven seemed to be catching him up, but he didn't look like he was paying much attention. He was looking up at her with tears streaming down his face, muttering something to himself. She looked away.
"What happened back there?"
"It was… Bad. He wasn't himself. I tried to help him, and he attacked me. When I came to, I was inside his dreams. There was something else in there with him, wrapped around him like a parasite. I drove it back for now, but I'm not sure I can kill it. It seems like it's a part of him now."
"Shit…" Shard muttered. "Well, he seems lucid enough now. We'll worry about that thing once the current crisis is over with."
"Got another one charged." Smiley said, grunting as a bolt of lightning cracked between the two spines.
"Right." Shard pressed his hand to Smiley's back, and the storm unleashed from him. It barreled toward the Locust, but this time it was ready. It lunged out of the barrage's path. Just before it could pass him by, however, Zakaita grabbed his leg and pulled him back toward it, striking him against the storm. They were both struck dead on, and as the lightning enveloped the Locust, the smoking husk of Zakaita's body fell to the ground.
"Get another one going and stick by Ronuba." Shard said. "She should know how to fire it." He slapped Smiley across the back and ran down toward Fone and Ven. Thorn floated behind him. She paused when she saw Nagratek's body.
"He's alive." Ven said. "Barely."
"He'd better live." Thorn replied. "I still need to beat him to death once this is all over."
"You might need to wait on that one." Gabriel said. "Even if we kill the Locust, we've still got the Councilman and his goons to deal with."
"What are you even doing here?"
"Nagratek thought my talents could be put to better use outside of a jail cell. I am still one of the Vedu, after all."
"Don't worry about the Councilman." Ven said. "I've got a plan for dealing with him."
"You said that the last time we fought him." Shard said. "Need I remind you, that was right before he killed you."
"That was back when I was human, and he wasn't…" She motioned up at him. Shadows whipped around him as he hurled more debris at the Locust, speeding up his attacks and catching newly formed claws of energy before they could reach him.
"Can we focus?" Thorn asked. "Shard, what's your big plan?"
"We link your Dreaming Eyes." He said, extending his hands toward Thorn and Fone. "You two draw out as much of Fone's power as you can and hurl it at the Locust. Then all you need to do it keep it tuned to the fight frequency to annihilate him."
"Right." Thorn frowned. "How do we pull something like that off? I haven't the faintest idea how I'm supposed to keep adjusting my Dreaming Eye like that."
"You had a piece of the Locust's soul in you." Fone said. All eyes except Thorn's focused on him. "That's what we used last time, when we killed him."
"We do the same thing, then." Ven said. "You two get to focusing. I'll go get us a piece of that bastard's soul." She took to the air and shot toward the Locust. Shard motioned at Fone and Thorn with his hands again, expectantly. She reached out and grabbed it.
"Thorn…" Fone said. "I'm…"
"It can wait." She replied. She reached out and took his hand in hers. "For now, we've got to focus on this."
"Right." He said, taking Shard's hand. Together, the three of them began to dream.
Energy crackled out from Tom's skin, running into the circle of prayer stones Taneal had set up. She still had a single stone clutched in her hands, eyes locked on the Crown of Horns. The space around them warped, the ground moving further away and closer at the same time. Focusing too much on it gave Tom a headache, and he couldn't make heads or tails of it. But the space in the immediate vicinity of the circle seemed anchored in place. As did the Crown of Horns.
"What's our next move?" He asked. She didn't reply. She hadn't spoken since she's freed herself of whatever Mon'Yaran had done. The others were still trapped, though. Tom could see them, stock still by the entrance.
"Do I just-"
"Focus on the circle." Taneal grunted. "It needs to be complete before I lose this battle."
Tom didn't speak again. She was trying to focus, and he knew it'd be stupid to distract her. Still, he didn't know what he was doing. She was the one who knew how these things worked, not him. He hoped all he had to do was keep adding energy until something happened. Slowly, though, the distorted space was closing in around them. Eventually, they'd have nowhere to stand. He felt it touch his foot, and instinctively moved it forward.
"Mind the circle." Taneal said.
"Right." He said. He looked down and saw that he'd nearly scuffed one of the prayer stones out of place. He moved his foot back, and it crossed into the distorted space. It felt strange, like his senses were dulled or slower, but he didn't feel stretched out any. He watched as his foot distorted, spreading across multiple places on the ground, and nearly threw up. He did his best to increase his energy output to the circle. He wasn't sure it did anything.
Why does he take the form of a child, I wonder? Mon'Yaran asked. This wasn't the first time he'd spoke. Tom tried to ignore him this time, too. That thing I had Lorimar put in the Spark shouldn't have an identity in the way you and I do. A body it calls its own. So why does it keep taking that form? It had to have come from somewhere.
"Shut up." Tom growled. Taneal glanced back at him for a moment.
Struck a nerve, have I? There's no need to feel ashamed. You did everything you could, you know. You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened. You'd certainly have a much different opinion of Lorimar if you knew the truth about your brother's-
"Shut up!" Tom shouted. The energy surged out of his hands, and the ring of stones lit up in response. The distorted space retreated, and the light from the Crown of Horns faded for a moment. A stray bolt of energy struck Taneal, but she didn't flinch.
So volatile. Mon'Yaran chuckled. This is how you wield the power of creation?
"Shut up." Tom growled. "I'm done listening to this. You're the one who made Lorimar attack our friends, right? Give me one good reason I shouldn't just crack you like an egg."
"Tom, stop." Taneal said. "We've put up a barrier around him for now. Let's focus on sealing him for good."
"Why do we have to seal him? I say we just kill hi and be done with it."
"Because without the Crown of Horns, the entire Dreaming will lose its balance. The Dreaming and Waking Worlds will collide in a violent convergence, and they will both be destroyed."
"How do you know that?"
"Teachings, past down for generations among the Dreaming Masters, point to the Crown as the fixed point in our reality."
"Teachings you learned from dragons." Tom said. "Dragons that work for him. How do we know it's not just a lie to prevent us from doing what I'm suggesting?"
"She's telling the truth." Lorimar said, dragging herself into the room with a series of vines. "Without the Crown, the Waking World will die. It contains a tear in the veil of reality that would otherwise collapse everything."
"You've lied before." Tom spat. "And don't you come any closer. I'll burn you if I have to."
"Does our friendship mean so little?"
"We're not friends! You used me!"
"The Nacht had invaded our world. The Dreaming World. He was a weapon of last resort left behind by the Councilman before he was imprisoned. He slew many of our kind. My master could not act against him, and so I sought help. You were a candidate to become a vessel, yes, but I never lied to you about our mission against the Nacht."
"Candidate?"
"You were-" Lorimar paused. Tom clenched his hand, and energy crackled between the fingers. It seemed to motivate her. "I was assigned to watch over you, when your Dreaming Eye first opened. We thought you might have held some potential, in a very different way than the Veni-Yan-Cari. I was instructed to protect you until we could be sure of your potential."
Straight from her mouth. Mon'Yaran said. Tom could feel the smug expression just by the tone of his voice. She cared so deeply about you. She kept you from every danger until the day the Nacht rose up against us. Even the dangers you were so intent on placing yourself in.
"No." He muttered. "You didn't…" He looked at Lorimar. She looked away. "You did!"
His face contorted with anger, and he lunged forward. The second he took a step, a vine burst from the ground and struck him in the back. He was sent sprawling, and two more lashed out, impaling his wrists to the ground. He couldn't reach up to touch them, and couldn't muster the focus to transmit the energy long distance.
With Tom trapped, Lorimar glided forward and swept the prayer stones aside. Taneal tried to stop her, but she was thrown aside as well. The glow of the Crown of Horns returned, and Mon'Yaran laughed.
If only Havaki knew who you'd modeled him after. I wonder if he'd be flattered to know you still kept that boy this close to your heart, after all this time. To know those brotherly instincts are still intact, perhaps directed at him in some small way.
"Shut up!" Tom hollered. "Don't you dare!"
"My lord, we should begin." Lorimar said.
Indeed. Mon'Yaran said. A silver line appeared in the air, quickly expanding into a tear in space. Lorimar reached through it. It's time to begin our dream.
"Red!" Ven shouted, running headlong at the Great Red Dragon. "Boost!"
"Right." He grunted. He bent low, held his hand out, and looked up at the Locust. She jumped and landed in his palm, and he launched her as hard as he could toward the flying half-insect. She collided with one of his wings, one arm stretched out into a shimmering blade, and lunged for his head with her free hand. He flicked the wing up, throwing her into the sky, and tried to swat her aside with one of his claws. She grabbed onto one of the Councilman's flying boulders and launched herself back down at him. A cloud of insects caught her from below and threw her at Eosutana, who was hurling concentrated spheres of shadow against another of the Locust's wings.
"He's getting more powerful." Eosutana noted as two more clouds of locusts crackled into reality around him. They shimmered, producing an unnatural haze around them, and the sound they gave off was distorted.
"The Councilman built him." Ven replied. "You'd think he'd have some plan for dealing with this."
"There is a plan." Xondriss said. "Even if you can't understand it."
"Well, I'm not betting the future on that man's whims. If I can get close to the Locust, Thorn and Fone can end this."
"The Successor is awake?" Ronuba asked. She glanced over to see him standing in a trance with Thorn and Shard.
"What did you do." Eosutana growled, turning on Ven. The other two Nightmare Entities backed up.
"Pulled him back." Ven squared up with the shadowy woman. "Now can you get me in close or not?"
"If you did anything to him, I will eviscerate you." Eosutana struck out with her tendrils, expanding the tips into spheres of webbing and catching the swarms of insects in midair. They struggled, and her tendrils began to glow.
"Thanks." Ven said. She ran forward and jumped, planting a foot on Robuna's head. The old woman took the hint and bucked, tossing Ven directly at the Locust. Smiley fired a blast of lightning at it, forcing it to move instead of deal with Ven. She struck her foot out and sent out a last-second burst of energy driving her straight into the Locust. She drove her hand-turned-blade through his shoulder and grabbed her forehead with her free hand. The two hit the ground.
The Locust shrieked, a dozen claws unfurling from the space around him. They began furiously taking chunks out of Ven, carving flesh away from stomach, chest, head, limbs, and anything else they could reach. It regrew, but not fast enough. Slowly, he started to whittle her away. The air around them began to head up, and sparks discharged between the two, as Ven tried to rip a piece of the thing's soul off by force.
"She's mad." Ronuba said, watching it happen.
"She's got guts." Gran'ma Ben huffed. "That's better than you can say, using the same attacks over and over."
"The longer it spends in its host, the more it relies of pure instinct, as opposed to intelligence." Xondriss said. "It wouldn't have done to have it take over Mim and simply supplant her. The longer we drag this fight out, the less it'll effective it'll be at fighting back."
"The less damage we'll do, too." The Great Red Dragon noted.
"It's not like we were doing any damage before. Now that…" Xondriss paused as the Councilman shifted in midair.
"Is it ready?" His voice boomed.
"Yes." Xondriss replied.
"Good." The debris around the Councilman sped up. He tore more debris out of the ground around the Locust, where his struggle with Ven was turning the surrounding rock into a superheated sludge. He collected everything he could reach into a thin column, stretching high into the air. He moved it away and then slammed it back toward the pair on the ground, accelerating it to high speeds in the process. The column ploughed into them and kept going, shattering itself. Half a mile of solid stone and rock dropped on the pair and reduced to dust.
As it cleared, the Locust stretched to his feet, a dozen of its appendages mangled and broke, with Ven impaled on the four ones that had survived. Despite that, and the crack running down the side of her face leaking a blue fluid, she was smirking. The Locust screamed and manifested two more. Before he could drive them into her eyes, however, a shockwave rippled across the battlefield.
The Councilman hovered over Xondriss's body, extending his control into the growing collection of crystalline spines on the dragon's back. They lurched out, tearing chunks of darker crystal with them, and formed a mass below the Councilman's feet. Xondriss's body went limp. Slowly, the red glow faded from Archibald's eyes, and the cracks in his skin deepened. He went slack, floating eerily to the ground as the crystal floated forward.
It began to shift, stretching and contorting until it formed a vaguely humanoid shape. Fifteen feet tall, with long pointed claws and jagged protrusions at its elbows. Its face was blank at first, but slowly a pair of red eyes faded into existence on it. As it floated to the ground, the Councilman's voice rang out from it.
"This ends now." He stretched out a long finger at the Locust. The thing that had been Rankyne didn't pay him much mind, instead opting to resume his attack on Ven. Before he could, she struck him in the chest with the flat of her palm and sent herself flying back toward Shard and the others.
"Run interference!" She shouted, scrambling to Shard's side. Eosutana surged forward and slammed into the Locust as he shot after Ven. He drove a hand through her stomach and began pouring Dreaming Energy into her, slowly burning her from the inside out. Gran'ma Ben grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him back. The veins in one of her arms burst from the effort, but she managed it. The Great Red Dragon knocked the Locust aside, burning his palm in the process, and caught Gran'ma Ben as she fell to her knees.
"Bandage." She grunted. The Councilman rushed forward behind her, tearing up a series of spikes from the ground and driving them into the Locust.
"You need a lot more than that." He said, pressing his hand down on her wound. "If you push yourself any further, I'm not sure you're making it through the next few minutes."
"I appreciate the concern, Red, but-" Robuna released a six foot long crystal arrow from her palm, and the crack as it went supersonic and struck the Locust drowned out what Gran'ma Ben was trying to say.
"They'll manage without us." The Great Red Dragon sighed. "I'm finding you a doctor."
Gran'ma Ben protested as he slung her over his shoulder and began scrambling over the remains of the mountain. Other dragons swooped down to take his place, bombarding the Locust with blasts of fire as the Councilman tried to keep the thing pinned. Smiley unleashed another blast, forcing everyone out of the way. It struck the Locust but didn't last as long as the others had. His breathing grew haggard as he tried to pull another blast together, and he didn't notice the Locust rush him.
He struck Ronuba aside, claws raking through her flesh before it could solidify into crystal and grabbed the spines of Smiley's back. He roared, and the spines shattered. Smiley crumpled. Ronuba backed away, firing another arrow that glanced off his shoulder. One of his appendages reached out to grab her by the neck and he turned his focus back on Ven. She had placed her hands on Thorn and Fone's shoulders and joined their dreaming.
A spike tore through the Locust's chest, arresting his momentum. Two more appendages reached back and grabbed onto Ronuba as he twisted his body, snapping the spike. He dragged Ronuba toward him and began cutting through her with his wings as he manifested swarms of locusts to beat the Councilman back. She tried to strike out at him, but her attacks didn't slow him, and they drained her. With each strike, her attacks hit with less force.
Breshet fell on top of the pair as they moved forward, having half lunged, half flown at them with her remaining wing. She forced the Locust to the ground and grabbed his head. Her skin began burning, but she pressed on, slamming him into the ground repeatedly. A swarm of locusts caught her in the face and began chewing through her skin. She didn't stop then, either. She only stopped when the Locust lashed out, snapping her arm and throwing her back. She didn't get back up.
The Councilman began raising spikes around Shard's group as the Locust's swarms began to grow in intensity. Eosutana threaded the spikes with webs of shadow, and the two strode toward him. The swarm kept the other dragons at bay, so only the three of them remained on the battlefield. The Locust lunged, and the Councilman erected a field of spikes up and around him, trapping him for a moment.
"Protect the Successor." The Councilman said, glancing back at the group of people still connected to Shard. "He still has a mission to complete."
"The Shattered One has two Drives." She replied. "If we can get them-"
"There's no time left for that." The Councilman said. "Even if we could get them…" He went quiet for a moment. "Deyavara has cost us much."
"Do you think the Successor can manage it, then?"
"He was designed to. If he is awake, that will have to suffice." The Councilman's attention shifted back to the spikes imprisoning the Locust. They began to shatter. The thing that tore through them wasn't Rankyne anymore.
Chitin had grown over the rest of its skin, forming a green exoskeleton mixed with black lines of energy. It had eight small appendages at its sides, only as long as it was tall, with four more larger appendages that stretched dozens of feet protruding from its back. Three full sets of wings had formed connections to its spine, with another larger two made entirely of energy rotating around the small of its back. Its normal arms and legs were tipped with claws, and its head was eclipsed by two large, glassy compound eyes, with two smaller sets crammed around them. Mandibles had formed around its jaw, clacking as it reared back to let out a primal howl.
Eosutana rushed to meet the creature's advance as the Councilman reached deep into the earth. She threw up walls of shadow, and the Locust bounced off them on its first charge. Before it could charge again, the ground beneath its feet lurched upward. The Councilman lifted his hands, and the column shot upward, producing a violent tremor that only increased in intensity as the column rose. The Locust leapt from it, wings unfolding to take it down toward Ven, and spikes shot out from the column, aiming to strike the monster to the ground. The Councilman began to dissolve the column as it continued to climb, reforming the rock elsewhere to form barriers or additional projectiles to herd the Locust's movement.
Eosutana used the shadows cast by the flying debris to bind the Locust with webbing strung between larger chunks or impale it on spears of rock the Councilman was neglecting bound together by shadowy tendrils. It screamed, and the tendrils began to disintegrate. Rocks still smashed into it, but with much less force than intended. It lunged at Eosutana, and she used long stilts of shadow to push herself aside, attempting to draw it away from the barrier they'd raised around the dreaming group. Instead, it barreled straight past her, directly into a wall the Councilman had set up.
Debris began piling up, cascading down the surrounding hills and forming a veritable second mountain as the Councilman continued to raise and break down the pillar. Large blocks formed, attempting to crush the Locust without giving it any room to escape. Instead, it just tore through the attacks. Wispy lines of shadow awaited it on the other side, digging into its chitin and sapping its energy away. A wave of lightning crackled out from it, and the storm and swarm above the Locust's head doubled in intensity.
A wave of molten rock struck the Locust, knocking it to the ground. It tried to struggle against the substance, but more poured on top of it. The Councilman had begun drawing up rock from deep enough in the ground to get what he'd been looking for. More raw energy than even a Nightmare Entity could withstand.
The prison of magma flew around the Locust as it fought free. Eosutana did her best to keep the substance contained as the Locust's thrashing tossed it around. One blob caught her shoulder, and she folded herself around it rather than try to brush it off. It meant becoming insubstantial for a moment. In that moment, the Locust acted.
A wave of energy rippled out from him, saturating the surrounding landscape. A Ghost Circle. Eosutana folded back into reality just as it touched her, and she screamed. Her body all but disintegrated as it passed over her. It stopped just short of the wall around Shard's group. Everything within a hundred feet of the Locust was reduced to dust. Only the shimmer of the magma slowly radiating its heat away gave any indication that everything was still there, simply unable to interact with anything unless the Locust deemed it so.
The Councilman floated forward, his hands spread, as he attempted to contain the Ghost Circle with his own energy. It was a losing battle. Slowly, the edge of it crept forward, annihilating debris on the ground inch by inch. Cracks began to form on the Councilman's arms, and he glanced over his shoulder. A large crystal growth had sprung from Shard and Ven, enveloping the hands of the Successor and the Chosen One. They were his only hope now.
Suddenly, the Ghost Circle halted. From the center of it, the Locust snarled. It floated up out of its new domain to see Mermie and the Great Red Dragon standing at the head of a mass of humans, dragons, and rat creatures. Sybron and Bartleby stood with them, helping Gran'ma Ben stay on her feet. Many humans were burying prayer stones in the ground. Others simply bowed their heads. But they all prayed. And as they did, their small, latent Dreaming Eyes influenced the flow of the Dreaming itself. It constricted around the Locust, and the size of the Ghost Circle shrank, freeing Eosutana.
"You thrive on fear." Gran'ma Ben said, looking up at the Locust. "But this Valley killed you once already. We're not as afraid as you might think."
The Locust screamed, jaw pulling back more than should have been possible. Its swarm descended on the mass of people. A few began to back away, confusion spreading, but many held their ground. They'd seen too much death already. Just as the swarm reached them, a pinprick of light emerged from Shard's body. The growth he'd constructed around himself began to crack, and more light filtered through. The Locust shied away from it, and its swarm changed targets. It didn't react fast enough to matter.
The crystal shattered, and a wave of energy washed over the Locust. It thrashed around, falling out of the sky. The Ghost Circle vanished beneath it, and it landed in the middle of the magma pool. It pulled itself out, dragging its body forward toward the wall of crystal. It's body began to revert as it crawled, its hold on its host spilling. The appendages fell away, the wings turned to dust, the chitin slid off, and the eyes broke up. Even its swarm began to disperse, and the storm overhead began to calm. After a few more moments, it went entirely still. For a long time, no one watching the scene moved.
"Is it dead?" Gran'ma Ben asked.
"It's dead." The Councilman replied. He began to retract the wall he'd erected around Shard. "We're-" His head snapped around, eyes narrowing on Archibald's body. The Bone began to stir. His face was still covered in now bleeding broken skin, but he was conscious.
"Don't-" He slurred, barely having regained control over his faculties. "Don't let- We can't-" He collapsed to his knees. Sybron took a step toward him, but Gran'ma Ben put out a hand. She hadn't taken her eyes off the Councilman since he'd spoke.
"How does this go now?" She asked.
"I finish what I started." The Councilman said. He turned to face Shard, who was still drawing himself back together. Ven had fallen to her knees, winded but still conscious, and Thorn and Fone were stirring as well.
"Stop him!" Archibald cried out. The Councilman pressed on, ignoring him, but Gran'ma Ben rushed forward. Eosutana threw herself in the old woman's way, but she didn't have much fight in her, and Gran'ma Ben pushed through her.
"Don't let him get to Fone!" Archibald continued to shout. "Shard isn't who you-"
A crack tore in the air behind Shard just as Archibald spoke, and Lorimar's vines began to reach out. They touched Shard on the shoulder, and he nodded. Rather casually, he bent down and grabbed Fone by the neck. As he looked up, his eyes were filled with a golden light. Fone struggled but couldn't muster the strength to beat Shard back like he had before. With a single step, Shard took Fone beyond the crack in the air before the Councilman could even break into a run. Only Thorn managed to react in time, throwing herself off the ground and tackling Shard through the portal the instant before it closed.