The second I step forward, black mists swirl in a raging vortex. It blows back both of us back onto our asses. Just as soon as it starts, it ends, leaving the baby on the ground.
Be wary of those who approach, troll king. May we not be enemies the next time we see each other.
The black voice rings in the air, leaving an acidic taste on mytongue, but I ignore it in favor of the giant baby wailing on the steps.
“Shit,” I say, grabbing the infant as Vann hacks at the impenetrable wood. “We need to get inside before those others arrive. If the women are gone, Rholker is still there.”
“Cave rat!” a new voice booms across the distance.
The ground trembles beneath our feet as the voice echoes through the air.
I hold the crying giant baby close to my chest, feeling its tiny heart pounding in fear.
Vann's eyes narrow as he looks towards the source of the voice, his grip tightening on his cleaver.
Four giant lords and half a dozen warriors pour into the empty compound, their towering figures gleam with sweat in the overcast sunlight, highlighting their tattoos and sweaty skin. Their yellow eyes are something out of my nightmares.
“Give us the boy or we will kill you!” one calls out, his voice like thunder in the stormy sky above.
“Enough have died today,” I call out. “Do not come closer if you wish to live.”
The giant lords exchange glances, a low rumble passing through them as they consider my words. One of the warriors steps forward, his massive hands tightening around his war ax.
"You dare threaten us, cave rat?"
Vann brandishes his cleaver, the metal glinting in the dim light as he stands protectively in front of me and the wailing giant baby.
“Call me that again, tree rutter,” he challenges.
One of the giants cocks back his enormous spear.
When he hurls it, I take both Vann and me to the ground. The child wails.
I know we can't let them take the boy, even if it is a giant.
With a deep breath, I focus my mind on the molten core of the earth beneath us.
Lava magic flows through my body, a power as old as time itself. The ground begins to shake violently as fiery cracks split open around us.
With a guttural cry, I unleash my magic, calling upon the power of the lava to rise up and protect us. Streams of molten fire burst forth, enveloping the giant lords in a wall of inferno. The heat is so intense it sears their skin, blistering and melting their tattoos. The giants are caught off guard by the sudden invocation, and their screams fill the air. Fire and lava continue to cover the area, reducing the ground beneath them to a savage, molten pit.
The volatile energy tears against me, overheating every part of my body and promising to inflict scars that will never fully heal.
Vann cries out, as does the boy he now holds.
“Run,” I pant, struggling to keep the magic at bay.
The lava cools at a rapid pace, and I lose my grip on the magma. The ground beneath us begins to move and shift again, by a force as powerful as my own.
But it’s not coming from me.
My skin begins to heat, as Vann races away, sensing his way along the stone and darting across the non-molten ground to one of the fallen walls. I feel helpless to the mounting magic. It’s like water running over my skin, leaving my body to be used elsewhere.
Silence descends, and then, seconds later, the walls of the manor explode.
That moment of peace was just as charged as the sound that rips past me, blowing me and everything else back. I land on the ground, hard, feeling my armor crunch against a dead body.
I don’t have time to look at the fallen when the light shines out around me, as brilliant as the explosion of the star.
