settled its gaze on Nissa. The ground shook when it took its first step toward her, and then the next; and then it was running full speed.
Nissa yanked up the tip of her staff and drew it level with the charging giant. The giant stooped down as it ran and brought its hand sweeping in from the right in a wide arc. Nissa stepped forward, bent her knees, and hopped straight up, and the giant’s hand rushed under her feet. Unbalanced with the lunge, it tripped and tumbled forward with a tremendous crash that brought down a small landslide at the edge of the canyon wall.
The speed with which the giant regained its feet surprised her. It hopped up, turned, and charged again. Nissa ran at the giant and leapt. She planted the tip of her staff on the giant’s forehead and vaulted over the top of it. The tremendous creature stopped and stood. From where Nissa landed some feet away, she could see from the cast of its eyes that something was wrong with the giant. The spot where she had planted her staff glowed slightly. Once she saw the glow, Nissa concentrated the mana in her fingertips and reached toward the giant’s stomach. She felt themillions of tiny creatures living there move at her suggestion. In her mind she sang them into excitement, and in a moment the giant’s eyes went wide. Nissa tickled the flora in its stomach further, and the giant’s eyes screwed down in pain as its hands went to its belly.
As she concentrated, a drop of sweat ran down Nissa’s nose. She incited the small creatures in the giant’s stomach and intestines into higher and higher states of animation, and the giant fell to its knees. When she felt the giant had had enough, she severed her connection to the wildlife in the creature’s gut.
The giant slowly fell over with a tremendous thump.
Nissa turned, and was hit so hard that the world went suddenly black.
Then the colors filtered back into her eyes, the tips of her fingers and toes were tingling. She could not move her limbs. When the tingling receded and she felt in control of her body again, she sat up slowly. There was a bump on the back of her head the size of her fist.
Across the canyon Anowon was standing opposite a second giant, His hands still bound. As she watched, Sorin stumbled up from where he had been thrown. Nissa turned, looking for her staff. The first giant was still on the sand behind her holding its stomach.
Her staff was nowhere to be found.
Then she saw it pinched between the second giant’s thumb and forefinger. She stood and took a step and didn’t fall, so she took another. Soon she was ambling toward the giant. But Sorin was there first. He paused and took a deep breath and began to hum. The he started to chant the strange words she’d heard before, in the language with inflections like a wet fish flapping on a stream bank.
Nissa could see the effort tense Sorin’s body, but the effect was almost instantaneous. The giant’s body shuddered once, but did not fall. Sorin kept chanting, but the expression on his face told her that he was surprised by the giant’s resilience.
With its attention thus diverted, Anowon snatched another tooth from the folds of his clothes. The vampire took a running start, jumped, and executed a series of flips that landed him in front of the giant. The giant lifted a foot and tried to stomp it down on Anowon, but the vampire rolled away.
Nissa stopped short. She surely did not want to run through Sorin’s singing, but one look at his quivering legs, and Nissa knew he could not hold the song for much longer.
Anowon threw his tooth, and the giant’s leg turned to white marble up to the knee. The giant tried to turn, but the marble leg was slow to move.
Then the giant did something that Nissa never would have expected. It pointed Nissa’s own staff at her.
It will not function
, Nissa thought.
How can it?
But the staff did work. The giant became calm, and a tendril of magical energy shot out from the tip of the staff. Nissa
Nissa yanked up the tip of her staff and drew it level with the charging giant. The giant stooped down as it ran and brought its hand sweeping in from the right in a wide arc. Nissa stepped forward, bent her knees, and hopped straight up, and the giant’s hand rushed under her feet. Unbalanced with the lunge, it tripped and tumbled forward with a tremendous crash that brought down a small landslide at the edge of the canyon wall.
The speed with which the giant regained its feet surprised her. It hopped up, turned, and charged again. Nissa ran at the giant and leapt. She planted the tip of her staff on the giant’s forehead and vaulted over the top of it. The tremendous creature stopped and stood. From where Nissa landed some feet away, she could see from the cast of its eyes that something was wrong with the giant. The spot where she had planted her staff glowed slightly. Once she saw the glow, Nissa concentrated the mana in her fingertips and reached toward the giant’s stomach. She felt themillions of tiny creatures living there move at her suggestion. In her mind she sang them into excitement, and in a moment the giant’s eyes went wide. Nissa tickled the flora in its stomach further, and the giant’s eyes screwed down in pain as its hands went to its belly.
As she concentrated, a drop of sweat ran down Nissa’s nose. She incited the small creatures in the giant’s stomach and intestines into higher and higher states of animation, and the giant fell to its knees. When she felt the giant had had enough, she severed her connection to the wildlife in the creature’s gut.
The giant slowly fell over with a tremendous thump.
Nissa turned, and was hit so hard that the world went suddenly black.
Then the colors filtered back into her eyes, the tips of her fingers and toes were tingling. She could not move her limbs. When the tingling receded and she felt in control of her body again, she sat up slowly. There was a bump on the back of her head the size of her fist.
Across the canyon Anowon was standing opposite a second giant, His hands still bound. As she watched, Sorin stumbled up from where he had been thrown. Nissa turned, looking for her staff. The first giant was still on the sand behind her holding its stomach.
Her staff was nowhere to be found.
Then she saw it pinched between the second giant’s thumb and forefinger. She stood and took a step and didn’t fall, so she took another. Soon she was ambling toward the giant. But Sorin was there first. He paused and took a deep breath and began to hum. The he started to chant the strange words she’d heard before, in the language with inflections like a wet fish flapping on a stream bank.
Nissa could see the effort tense Sorin’s body, but the effect was almost instantaneous. The giant’s body shuddered once, but did not fall. Sorin kept chanting, but the expression on his face told her that he was surprised by the giant’s resilience.
With its attention thus diverted, Anowon snatched another tooth from the folds of his clothes. The vampire took a running start, jumped, and executed a series of flips that landed him in front of the giant. The giant lifted a foot and tried to stomp it down on Anowon, but the vampire rolled away.
Nissa stopped short. She surely did not want to run through Sorin’s singing, but one look at his quivering legs, and Nissa knew he could not hold the song for much longer.
Anowon threw his tooth, and the giant’s leg turned to white marble up to the knee. The giant tried to turn, but the marble leg was slow to move.
Then the giant did something that Nissa never would have expected. It pointed Nissa’s own staff at her.
It will not function
, Nissa thought.
How can it?
But the staff did work. The giant became calm, and a tendril of magical energy shot out from the tip of the staff. Nissa
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