Smoke lingered. Silence—then a subtle electric hiss crept from the black crater I had just blasted.
ZRAK… ZRAK… ZRAK…
I turned sharply. The ozone stings my nose again. At the bottom of the crater, lightning fragments gathered like an angry beehive, weaving themselves into a lightning cocoon. The surrounding rocks melted, then floated, held in place by an electromagnetic field that had appeared out of nowhere.
Rena—still kneeling beside me—looked up, her breathing heavy.
"My Lord, he—"
"I know. Take three steps back. Recover your breath," I said flatly, without looking away.
The cocoon cracked.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
