"A duel," he repeated. "You and me. Right here, right now. Think about it, how strong your magic is. You might beat me. "
But Dawson didn't sound too concerned by the possibility.
Bastard was trying to goad me into making the first move. Into doing something sloppy. Oh, I was going to do something all right, but it wasn't going to be what he expected.
Still, I had to play this out to its inevitable conclusion, so I reached for the cool power deep inside me. Gathering it up, letting it fill every part of my being. Although I couldn't see them, I knew my eyes were glowing a bright silver with my elemental power. All around me, the stones' murmurs intensified, sensing my command over them.
But the dwarf wasn't worried. If anything, my reaching for my magic amused him. Tobias Dawson grabbed hold of his own Stone magic. Power poured off him like the water sliding down the cavern wall, and his eyes glowed a dull, slate blue. The dwarf was strong, and his magic felt old and well-worn, like a horse he'd broken in over the years. No wonder he wanted to duel. One burst of magic from him would be enough to take down most elementals.
Maybe even me.
The dwarf let out a low l
augh. "You have power, bitch, I'll give you that. A lot of raw power. I'm going to enjoy this. "
"So why give me this chance, if I'm so strong? If I could beat you?"
"Because I like challenges. " Dawson grinned and spit out another stream of tobacco juice. The foul brown mixture landed at my feet.
"Do you know what I like, Tobias?" I asked.
"What?"
"Playing dirty. "
I smiled at him and threw my magic at the cavern ceiling.
There was no time for finesse, restraint, or even patience. One shot was all I had, and I took it. I threw everything I had at the cavern ceiling. All my Stone magic and all my Ice power, weak though it was. The water that had been dripping off the formations and sluicing down the cavern wall immediately froze. The resulting crystal droplets glistened like the diamonds embedded in the walls. The sudden surge of Ice caused bits and pieces of the cavern to crack and sheer off from the rest of the walls and ceiling.
Dust and dirt puffed up into the air.
Jo-Jo Deveraux had always told me I had more Stone magic than anyone she'd ever seen before. I hoped that meant Tobias Dawson too. But I'd been weakened by Dawson's punches, and I wasn't at full strength. Even if I had been, I was still hammering at stone that had been around long before I'd been born - and would be around long after I was gone. Layers and layers and layers of it. But I used my magic, my Stone power, like a hammer, smashing at everything I could feel with raw, brute force.
Across from me, Tobias Dawson frowned, not sure what the hell I was doing, why I wasn't attacking him. I had maybe another two or three seconds before he figured it out and hit me with everything he had.
I drew in a breath and threw another blast of Stone magic at the ceiling, even as I reached for my Ice power, making the frozen droplets and stream of water expand in size. I forced the Ice into the stone like a chisel. Ice, stone.
Chisel, hammer.
My vision became a field of silver. Sweat dripped into my eyes, my knees trembled, and my whole body felt weak. It felt like I'd been toiling away for years, decades, even though only a second, two tops, had passed. I wanted to let go of my magic, wanted to rest. Every part of my aching body screamed at me to just let go and fall into the blackness that was threatening to overwhelm me.
But if I did that, if I gave Dawson a second of opportunity, he'd throw his own magic at me, and I didn't have the strength to ward him off. Not now. So I gritted my teeth, pushed the pain away, and kept hammering at the stone. Bringing the ceiling down might be the last thing I'd ever do, but the fucker was going to fall.
Crack! Crack-crack!
It started to work. A large stalactite broke off from the ceiling. It plummeted down like a knife and speared one of the giants in his shoulder. He howled in pain and fell to the cavern floor. Crimson blood splashed everywhere, and the stone underneath my feet took on a darker vibration.
Dawson's head snapped around at the giant's screams. Sloppy, sloppy of him to get distracted like that.
I kept working. Ice, stone. Chisel, hammer.
Another second passed. Another piece of the roof broke off, this time above Dawson's head. His Stone magic gave him enough of a warning for him to leap forward to get out of its way. The dwarf hit the ground hard.
It didn't even daze him.
"Kill her!" Dawson screamed at the other giant even as he scrambled to his feet. "Kill her before she collapses the whole ceiling - "
Too late.