Forged Destiny [Book 5: Ch. 15]

I made a mental note of it, looked back in time to see the controlled woman almost reach the robed figure, and dashed back towards my Mage. As expected, he used his portals to escape again, this time back to where he'd been before, almost perfectly so. I stopped to catch my breath, which invited a few attacks in my direction. This time, rather than take them I ducked behind the stone pillar behind me, using it for cover.

"Do you think I'll come over there to move you?" the Mage laughed. "I'm no fool." An explosion caught the other side of it, shaking me and the pillar itself. He was going to cut through it with magic, which I'd mostly expected. Still, it gave me a chance to look out and spot my opening. I wanted for another spell to hit the pillar, shaking dust from the ceiling. I pushed off it and dashed out after the Mage once more – seeking to close the distance while he was recovering from the last attack.

"Die!" I roared, swinging towards him.

"Fool," he laughed, vanishing into another portal. He appeared back where I'd been, raised his staff, but then froze as a cracking sound echoed behind him. The pillar he'd struck had started to tumble, aided by my solid push before I'd charged him. It tottered and teetered, now threatening to fall down and crush him.

With a wave of his staff he summoned another portal, but when he tried to step into it, he stumbled and fell. Panicked, he looked down at the ground, where his right foot was stuck, almost sunken into the floor. He couldn't get into the portal.

His eyes shot to me in time to see me on one knee, bare hand pressed against the solid gold tiles which made the religious symbol inlaid into the floor. Where my hand touched it, a burn mark looked to have traced all the way to him, but in truth it was nothing more than an etched line. And beneath him, where I knew he'd land, a chasm had formed in the gold, trapping his foot.

Gold was still technically a metal, after all.

"How?" the Mage gasped.

He didn't get an answer. The pillar tumbled down, crushing and killing him under at least a tonne of falling rock and marble.

—Forged Destiny [Book 5: Ch. 15]