“You really ought to hook up with Master Yat,” I said. “He has no problem beating on people.”
“Master Noh Fan Yat is an old friend.”
“I’m not surprised,” I said with a groan. “You share similar beating philosophies.”
“He and his infernal stick are memorable.”
It was my turn to chuckle, which I regretted instantly.
“Why?” I asked. “What was the purpose of all this?”
Her face darkened.
“Toson will try to kill you,” she answered, looking over at the approaching trio. “If he can’t, he will attack those closest to you and any he deems an obstacle.”
“I’m familiar with the method, trust me.”
“You can’t reason with him or appeal to his sense of justice or fair play. There is only one truth—his truth.”
“You couldn’t just tell me that?” I asked. “Even an email would’ve been good…really.”
“No, I couldn’t. You needed to know this was possible. You needed to experience”—she waved an arm at the circle around us—“a circle of death.”
“Can we not do that again…ever?”
“The skills you tapped into while facing me, are the skills you will need to face Toson and his golem.”
“Fear and an extreme sense of self-preservation?”
“Observation, deduction and extrapolation,” she said, getting shakily to her feet. “He has few weaknesses and the golem fewer still. How did you figure it out?”
I stood slowly, careful not to aggravate my assortment of injuries. I really needed a large cup of coffee and a nap.
“Bare feet allow you to have a connection to the earth,” I said. “Your melee style of fighting means you like to be close to your opponent, feel where they are. Nice throws, by the way.”
“Thank you,” she answered. “That was a calculated risk. What if you were wrong?”
“Like Ezra said, the best way to know someone is to fight them.”
“You managed to cut me,” Jen said, touching her side gingerly. “But you weren’t fighting to kill.”
“Neither were you,” I said. “Trust me, I can tell the difference.”
“I’m sure you can. Toson will not afford you such mercy. How did you know to attack from the air?”
“I figured, being an Elder your skill was high enough that you could probably sense air vibrations too, but relied mostly on your connections to the ground.”
“Impressive,” she said. “That explains the aerial attack.”
I nodded. “For a few seconds, I hoped you’d lose me while I was airborne. Even if you could detect air vibrations, it was my only window of attack.”
“When you face Toson, there will be no rules. He will use all of his abilities to destroy you. You cannot hold back.”
“I don’t intend to.”
Peaches bounded over to where I stood.
<You’re alive. That’s good. I thought she was going to hurt you.>
<She kind of bounced me on the ground a few times, but I’m mostly okay.>
<If you ate more meat, you could be bounced and not get hurt. Do you want me to lick you?>
<I’m going to pass on the drool therapy for now. I just need to leave this place and my body will start to heal.>
<Can we go to the place? I’m hungry.>
<You just ate.>
<My hunger is in the present. The meat I ate was a long time ago.>
<Long time ago? Are you kidding?>
<You need to eat more meat in the present. Then you wouldn’t get hurt because the meat would make you strong.>
<Your Meat Zen is way past my ability to understand.>
<You need to make your understanding elevators. That is the beginning.>
“There have been developments,” Ezra said. “The violent kind.”
“Developments?” I asked. “What developments?”
“The golem has been spotted in the city,” Ezra answered, his voice grim. “It would seem Toson has altered his plans.”
“He’s removing anyone that could help me defeat him,” Jen said. “It’s too late. Secure your city and get to safety. The golem is unstoppable.”
“No one attacks my city,” I said. “No one.”
“You don’t understand—the golem can’t be stopped,” Jen said. “Ezra, send me back I will begin the fortifications.”
“I can’t,” Ezra said. “Not until your shift is done. The risk is too great, to you and to the Red Mountain. You are no use to your people dead.”
“There must be a way to stop this creature,” Monty said. “Nothing is unstoppable.”
“There is one way,” Jen said, “but it’s too dangerous. You would be throwing your lives away. The plan was to stop Toson before he created a golem. Everything has changed now.”
“In what way?” Monty asked. “Tell me.”
“If Toson has created a golem, it means that the Earth’s Breath is in play,” Ezra said. “He’s using it to control the golem.”
“It’s an ancient artifact,” Jen answered. “In order to use it, the artifact siphons life-force from a victim, draining them until death.”
“How is he powering this artifact?”
“If the golem is present, he is using the artifact to make himself powerful,” Jen answered slowly. “The only way to do this is to siphon other mages.”
“Mages?” I asked in disbelief. “This thing made him the equivalent of a mage vampire?”
“That’s an oversimplification, but yes,” Jen said. “You understand now why you can’t confront him? Especially you, Tristan. Toson will be wearing the artifact. You have to remove it from his body. The moment you attempt this, the golem will move to protect him—by killing you.”
“I’m going to have to agree with Simon on this…no attack on this city will go unanswered,” Monty said. “Ezra? If you could facilitate a portal, please.”
“Of course,” Ezra said, waving a hand and forming a portal that led back to The Moscow. “Are you certain about this?”
“No,” I said. “Facing a golem wasn’t the mission, but it seems like we have limited choices now.”
“You’re beginning to understand,” Ezra said, nodding and handing me Ebonsoul and Grim Whisper. “Remember what you learned here. It will be useful when you face Toson.”
“I’ll try. It’s not like I can remember every—”
Ezra whacked me upside the head with a gentle tap.
“Do or do not—there is no
