This was First Elder Orahjene in her capacity as Judge, Jury, and Executioner. She looked at me and nodded.
“Thank you both,” she said, her voice slightly altered with the increased power. “This is something I must face. Something I must do.”
I moved to the side as she started approaching the golem.
“That’s not just the golem,” I said, warning her. “Toson is in there somewhere, too.”
“I know,” Jen said. “If you would allow me, I have need of your hellhound.”
“He’s hurt,” I said, looking at Peaches. “I don’t think he can help you.”
“He can, but first I must help him,” she answered. “With your permission?”
“If it means making him better, then yes, please.”
Jen waved an arm in a semi-circle, while extending the other arm in Peaches’ direction. A beam of red-orange light flowed from her hand into Peaches’s side. A few seconds later, the beam disappeared. Peaches got steadily to his feet and shook his body.
“Tristan, Simon, please step back,” Jen said and walked forward as Peaches leapt forward and crashed into the golem, sending it tumbling. “This will be over soon.”
The golem swung at Peaches, who moved back out of the way. I saw him take a breath and braced myself for one of his supersonic barks, but when he opened his mouth, a blast of red flame is what shot out, wrapping itself around the golem.
I stood there in awe as the flames kept growing over and around the golem. This wasn’t normal flame.
“Hellfire,” Monty said, standing next to me. “She must have helped him unlock that ability.”
“Hellfire,” I repeated as Peaches hit the golem with another blast. “This is going to be a problem—I think.”
Jen extended both arms to the side and then moved them in a circular fashion. The energy around her body increased in intensity as she completed the circle. When her hands came together, she pushed them both forward.
The wave of energy traveling outward from Jen slammed into us and launched Monty and me down the street. After we landed, we bounced for another few feet until we finally came to a halt.
“That was unexpectedly unpleasant,” Monty said with a groan. “I’d say she has definitely shifted into Archmage level, or is at the very least one shift away.”
“You think?” I said. “She wasn’t even trying, and we were behind her.”
I looked up to see the golem gone. In it’s place, stood a battered, bruised, and bloody Toson.
“Hello, Toson,” Jen said. “Look at what you have done. For what? For power?”
“Jenny,” Toson said through cracked lips. “I did it for us!”
“Us?” Jen said, and I felt the power spool in her direction. “You did this…for us?”
Monty gestured and cast another set of shields.
“Yes, Jenny,” Toson answered. “Everything I’ve done…I’ve done for us.”
“My name is not Jenny. It is O…rah…je…ne. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
“Simon, hurry,” Monty said as he dropped another Bulwark dome over us.
Jen raised an arm and unleashed a beam of white light. The beam punched into Toson, obliterating him into nothing—not even dust remained. The shockwaves rushed out from her as the beam made contact and increased in intensity. Monty and I were sliding back from her as the energy dissolved Monty’s shields.
I pressed my mala bead materializing my shield, only to have it disintegrate a few seconds later.
“We can’t withstand too much more of this, Monty.”
“I…know,” he said, straining against the waves of power slamming into the Bulwark. “We’re too close!”
“This is one shift away from Archmage?”
“I may have slightly miscalculated the extent of her power,” Monty answered. “It would seem—”
“As First Elder,” Jen’s voice boomed across the area. “I, Orahjene find you, Toson of the Red Mountain sect, guilty of the crime of murder. A life for a life. Goodbye, husband.”
The power threatening to wipe us out subsided almost immediately.
“Anyone worth killing is worth overkilling,” I muttered to myself as I looked where Toson had once stood. “That’s some serious firepower.”
Monty dropped the shield, and we approached Jen. We must’ve looked like we’d been dragged from a warzone. Most of my clothes were wrecked. I didn’t point out to Monty how shredded he appeared, because he’d already had a few bad incidents with his jackets.
“I owe you a debt I cannot repay,” Jen said. “Before I go, what can I do for you?”
“What did you do to Peaches?” I asked as he bounded over, regular sized and in one piece. “Was that fire I saw come out of his mouth?”
“Hellfire,” she said. “I merely nudged it forward a little. It would have manifested soon enough.”
I looked around at the devastation in Times Square. I remembered what Dex had done in Japan to the damaged temple. Jen was probably just as strong as, if not stronger than Dex.
“There is one thing you could do for us,” I said. “Could you handle all this damage—?”
“Simon,” Monty said. “She’s the First Elder of the Red Mountain, and you want her to act—”
“As a friend,” Jen said, her voice holding a tinge of sadness. She formed a large orb of violet-white energy and released it into the air above us. “If you ever need my help, do not hesitate to ask. The Red Mountain is forever in your debt.”
Monty placed his hands together and bowed.
Jen returned the gesture and stayed there until Monty nudged me in the side with an elbow, reminding me to do the same. I put my hands together and bowed.
“Until our next meeting,” Jen said and disappeared. “Thank you.”
I looked around and Times Square was still wrecked.
“The place still looks like a warzone. Ramirez is going to have a cow. Forget that, he’s going to have a herd of cows. Maybe she still doesn’t have the hang of the whole First Elder thing yet?”
“Wait,” Monty said. “Give it a moment.”
“For what?” I asked, pointing at the orb. “I mean, sure that would be great as—I don’t know? Mood lighting? It’s not working as demolition repair. May as well start picking cities
