"You gotta be kidding me!"

Castille flashed me a sour look, turning back to examine to green-eyed stone man. It slouched with an ape-like posture, resting its knuckles on the dirt floor.

"It's growing."

She was right. The stone man was increasing in size. It had Finnick's Landbound ability, and it was using it to absorb the surrounding stone and dirt into its body.

"Isla…"

"I feel better."

She grabbed Dugan's hand and got to her feet.

"Thank you."

The stocky man gave her a sharp nod and turned to me.

"You're next."

Finally…

"We need to end this before that midget finishes his growth spurt," Castille said.

"D-don't be mean."

Castille rolled her one good eye.

"I'm amazed a soul transferred to another body could keep its Landbound ability," Isla said, rubbing her temples.

"The quintessence remembers even if the body doesn't," I said.

Isla recoiled and then smirked.

"When did you become an expert?"

"I… I don't know. It just makes sense."

"If you ladies are done talking, we have an Enchanter to kill. Isla…"

"Right."

The handle of the war hammer in front of Isla regenerated. Castille walked over and picked it up without taking her eye off Nostrand and the reborn Finnick.

"Let's go."

Isla nodded. In an instant, the dazed look on her face vanished, replaced with intense focus.

This is a mage.

She walked down the stairs a few steps behind Castille with Thor close to her side. Below, Nostrand got to his feet, climbing the stairs in search of his sword.

"Hurry, Dugan."

"You can't hurry this."

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He was right. I wasn't in the same condition as Isla. My body had multiple injuries on top of the poison flowing in my veins. Dugan couldn't pick or choose what injury he healed, and he couldn't use all his healing on me. The best I could hope for was a quick fix to stay a little longer in the fight.

He pressed his hand against my forehead, and warmth flooded into me. The tension drained from my body. My aches and pain became a distant memory. The wound in my stomach began to close as the swelling in my shoulder and feet went down.

"Dugan! Jacob! Move!"

What?

Dugan grabbed me by the jacket and threw me over the steps. I tucked into a roll, landing in a crouch a moment before-

BOOM!

I closed my eyes, waiting for the world to stop spinning and the dust to clear.

"Dugan!"

That was Castille's voice.

I opened my eyes to see a large boulder with copper and gold veins; red crystals embedded in its surface stared back at me.

Dugan had tried to jump out of the way, but his short legs had not carried him far. The boulder caught one of his legs below the knee, pinning him to the terrace floor.

"Hold on! I'm coming."

I ran to the boulder on my partially healed feet. I put my full weight against it to create enough space for Dugan to crawl free. His face was twisted in pain. He grunted to stop from screaming.

Come on… Come on…

"Jacob! Watch out!"

I looked over my shoulder. Another boulder, the size of my torso, was flying toward me.

I ducked behind the boulder pinning Dugan. Rock smashed against rock, exploding in a hail of stone that scattered down the steps.

I looked over the boulder to see the source of the projectiles.

It was Finnick.

He was mashing together the stone men's bodies, using his Landbound ability to launch them in the air. All while his body continued to grow.

Spirits below.

Even in death, he wanted revenge.

Wait…

Destroying the staff…

Having green instead of red eyes…

Why didn't I realize it sooner?

Finnick was a revenant but not one of Nostrand's subjects. He didn't come back to life to create a stone empire. He came back to kill me.

He was a third party.

We could use that.

"Hold on, Dugan. I'll get help."

I ran down the steps with my arms forward to keep my balance. Another boulder flew at my head. I jumped into a forward roll, slipping under it.

BOOM!!!

I rolled to a stop, sitting up with my legs spread wide. I blinked to get my bearings. Below me, Nostrand had found his sword and was fighting against Castille. Off to the side Isla was supporting her, replacing Castille's war hammer as soon as she or Nostrand broke it. Thor stayed close to Isla, waiting for his chance to attack.

Behind me, something rumbled.

The boulder…

I rolled to the side seconds before it crushed me.

"Castille, get out of the way!"

She jumped to the right without looking. The boulder collided with Nostrand and pushed him further down the stairs.

Castille turned to me, wild-eyed.

"How's Dugan?!"

"He's trapped under a boulder. I can't get to him free while Finnick is after me. Let me keep Nostrand busy."

"Arena."

Our eyes snapped to the boulder as it dissolved into finely ground sand.

"Don't die!" Castille said.

She threw down her war hammer and made a break for the top of the stairs. Isla gave me a short nod and turned to face our enemy.

The sand had put out the fire around Nostrand's face. The singed remains of his white robe fell around his feet. The black stone of his body was scuffed and scraped from the fighting, and the golden halo sprouting from his back was bent from his fall down the stairs. Despite it all, he stood with regal confidence, his glowing stone sword dangling from his left hand.

Below him, the reborn Finnick continued to grow in size, his beady green eyes almost level with the first-floor terrace.

Even without the poison in my blood, I would be queasy facing down these enemies, but with it…

I got to my feet, pulling the cane out of my sword belt.

At least I'd already thrown up.

Nostrand raised his sword, levelling it in my direction.

"Are you ready to die, child of my blood?"

A spark of conviction ignited within me.

I smiled.

"I'm ready to win."

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