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Arlen ca the de a wall He felt the coreling’s bones crack under his warded fists, but even with his inhuether before he could pull back for another blow

The de its sharp spines deeply into hirunted but held on as it took a step forward, that ithard at its knee and collapsing the li spear, but the wards kept its talons froain Arlen ha the demon no chance to counterattack

But then suddenly the de It slipped from the loosened hold and drew a quick ward that burst the stones at their feet, knocking Arlen and Jardir onto their backs

The Crown of Kaji slipped askew in the tumble, and in that instant, the demon dematerialized and atte and hard for this o Instantly he dissolved and gave chase He had faced demons in the immaterial between-state before, and knew battle there was more a , but he was confident in his strength against one With all humanity at stake, there was no way the demon’s will could match his

The tomb arded, and the cut-stone blocks of the floor offered no paths to the Core The demon raced for the entryhere Shanvah worked her bow, desperately trying to hold back an assault fro in the air

Arlen caught it before it could cross the roo on as he forced his will upon the creature

But thishe had ever faced Even the three he fought at once had not breached his defenses as effortlessly as this one did, slipping into his ht pull on an old pair of boots As he had done instinctively in his first confrontation with a ainst the ht as well have tried to run through the great wall of Fort Krasia The h his own --with ease

Had he a voice, Arlen would have screamed

It was Jardir who saved him In the moment Arlen delayed the demon’s escape he had reestablished the barrier, and now he raised the Spear of Kaji, firing a lightning strike into the cloud ofcoe and had chosen to risk killing thee of agony through them both broke the demon’s hold for an instant, and Arlen quickly solidified, dropping heavily to the floor, his h of relief Not for the first ti He would be a fool to ain They would have to find another way

Jardir led to his feet, never taking his eyes off the glowing e of the barrier In its im to har a gap it could exploit to escape Across the rooht for their lives, but they dare not take their attention from the mind, even for a moment

"What do we do, Par’chin?" Jardir asked "We cannot wait like this forever"

"No," Arlen said, "but we can wait a lot longer than it can" Heaside the heavy stone that lead to their secret tunnel to the surface "Drag it up with us Sunrise’ll be soon enough"