"Will respond or should respond?" Seraphina's challenge was practical now, not hostile.
"Will." Brynn's certainty made pride unfurl in his chest. "I opened it. I can close it."
He studied the map, a lifetime of tactical experience already calculating approaches, weaknesses, opportunities. His shadows traced pathways through the projection.
"A direct assault on the refinery won't work." He began circling the table, mind working through possibilities. "His defenses are too concentrated. He'll expect us to strike there first."
"Then what?" Vex demanded. "We just let him keep harvesting?"
"We divide his attention." His shadows carved four distinct pathways through the projection. "Four simultaneous strikes. Force him to spread his forces thin."
He pointed to the first pathway.
"Seraphina. Your warriors hit his outer defenses here. Draw thebulk of his army away from the refinery. Make him think the assault is coming from your direction."
Her eyes tracked the route, warrior's mind already calculating. She nodded slowly.
"Vex." He indicated the second pathway. "His processing chambers. The souls he's already harvested but not yet weaponized. You consume them before he can use them."
"Consume his stolen power." A smile crossed Vex's gaunt face. "Turn his resources against him."
"Thessa." The third pathway wound through ethereal channels. "The spirits he's holding prisoner. Guide them to their proper destinations. Every soul you free is one less weapon in his army."
Her translucent form solidified with purpose. "The lost will find their way home."
"And us?" Brynn asked quietly.
He met her eyes across the table.
"We anchor the central ward repair." His shadows moved to bracket the gateway's location. "While they handle the military action, we reach the heart of his operation. You close the gateway. I keep you alive long enough to do it."
Understanding settled in her expression.
"The wards will need to be stabilized simultaneously," she added, tracing connections he couldn't see. "Otherwise, closing the gateway might cause a cascade failure. I'll need access to the original ward-stones while you?—"
"I'll clear your path." The words came out rougher than intended. "Whatever it takes."
Seraphina studied the projection, tactical assessment evident in her gaze. "Dividing our forces. Risky."
"Staying together is riskier." He let his shadows emphasize the four pathways. "He'll expect a unified assault. This way, he has to defend on multiple fronts simultaneously. Can't concentrate his forces if he doesn't know where the real threat is coming from."
The realm lurched around them. The projection flickered. One of the ward-maps on the wall fell, parchment tearing.
"When do we move?" Seraphina asked.
He felt Brynn through the shadows. Carrying everything that had happened and everything still to come—the kind of heaviness that wouldn't lift with sleep.
"We need time to prepare." He made the decision. "Rally our forces. Coordinate timing. Rest and recover our strength." His shadows settled around Brynn's feet. "The assault happens in two days. Tomorrow we gather our armies. The following dawn, we attack."
"Two days." Seraphina nodded. "My warriors will be ready."
"I'll prepare my court." Vex squared his shoulders. "If I'm going to consume his operation, I'll need to gather what power I have left."
"The spirits will guide me." Thessa began to fade. "I'll spend tomorrow opening pathways for the lost souls."
One by one, they departed. Seraphina in violent red energy. Vex in dying amber light. Thessa, fading from sight.
Finally, he and Brynn stood alone in the war room.
