Except that now the Black Robe was a dozen paces away. He had used an instantaneous escape spell to buy himself a few seconds. Jenna-limping along the inner wall of the courtyard, moving away from her fellow wizards-took advantage of that interval to cast her own lightning spear.

A violent explosion of fire engulfed the golem, knocking it back a step as the Red Robe's spell smashed home. The creature slumped to one knee, several shards of stone breaking from its rocky body. Again that acrid stench permeated the air, and the noise of the blast left everyone's ears ringing. Coryn shook her head to clear the buzz, saw Dalamar waving to her. The dark elf was pale, his face slick with sweat.

"Your turn-now!" he shouted.

Coryn raised her finger and pointed, remembering the words to one of the spells she had gained in the Test. The golem, lurching unsteadily, pushed itself up to a standing position, shedding several more large fragments of stone as it moved. The young sorceress aimed for its wound, felt the surge of magic, and cried the words of command that would unleash the spell.

The magic flowed from her and assailed the giant-but it felt as though her power were being resisted by a strong barrier. She strained, her gut tightening under the effort, and the spell was reinforced; a bolt slammed into one of the giant's hands. Coryn grimaced, clenched her fists, concentrated, and felt the magic penetrate, turning the hard marble into dripping goo. The monster shook its great arm and the fist fell away, falling to the ground as globs of mud.

But the stone creature seemed undaunted; it -was only a very small fraction of its total mass. The young White Robe slumped to the ground, gasping for breath, her face slicked with sweat. Never had the casting of a spell drained so much from her-and she had barely wounded the massive construct! She could sense the wild sorcery of the golem's maker, imbued in the stony body, actually gaining strength from their magical attacks.

The golem took a step toward Dalamar, and the dark elf turned and ran toward the Tower, drawing the creature away from Jenna and Coryn.

"Cast another spell-now!" cried the Red Robe.

"I can't!" It was terrible, but true: Coryn had no spell ready, and could think of no magic with which to smite this lethal foe. Furthermore, she was too weary, too drained, even to think. She groaned aloud; then a spark flickered in her subconscious. Pushing herself to her knees, she struggled to recall the words to a certain spell, focusing on her hatred of the foul-blasphemous, Dalamar had said, and he was right-being before her.

Her thoughts were gathering, as Dalamar turned to face the advancing golem. The dark elf raised his hands, twisted them through a pattern in the air as he chanted the words to a spell. With one of those great fists, the creature wrenched a piece of stone from its own wound, and hurled the missile at the Black Robe. Coryn gasped as she saw the rock, as big as a human skull, strike Dalamar and send him sprawling to the ground.

Jenna, leaning on her staff with her left hand, gestured with her right as she called out a spell. The words boomed, reminding Coryn of the great cracks that periodically scored the Icewall and sent lingering echoes for miles across the tundra. At the sound the golem spun around with surprising agility, raising another block of stone to cast at the wizard- but the Red Robe's spell blasted outward before the creature could finish.

A storm of ice assailed the stony giant, hailstones as big as fists smashing against the rocky visage in a whirlwind gale. Wind howled, chilling the entire area. The staccato pounding of the icy bombardment drummed like an avalanche, powerful enough to knock the golem off its feet. Great pellets of ice bashed and pounded, swelling in force and power.

More and more hailstones piled up. Ice draped the frowning brow of the stone giant, gathered in white heaps in those cavelike eye sockets, limned the entire form in a cocoon of rigid frost. For many seconds Jenna kept up the bombardment, until the golem was nearly buried. Finally the storm ceased and the older woman slumped back against the courtyard wall, drawn and trembling from the exertion of the mighty casting.

Coryn skirted around the now motionless, ice-caked guardian and raced to Dalamar. His face was utterly white, and his eyes were shut. He showed no sign of awareness as the White Robe leaned over him, gently probing at his scalp. He had lost a lot of blood, but she could only hope that his skull was not fractured. The elf's teeth chattered, and he cried out in pain when Cory gingerly touched his injured right shoulder. Suddenly he reached out and took her arm with his left hand, his fingers tightening like a vise around her. His eyes opened and came into focus, his gaze burning into the woman's with searing intensity as he pulled his head up from the ground.

"Forget me! Destroy it!" he hissed, then released his grip and fell back. He drew a deep breath, and his eyes clouded. Coryn felt a horrible sense of helplessness. She turned, despairing at the sight of shuddering and slowly increasing movement within that massive drift of ice. Chunks of frost broke free as one marbled arm thrust upward; then the whole mound shivered and came apart as the golem forced itself slowly to its feet.

But her lightning bolt spell was coiled and ready now. She pointed a finger and cried the words, the sound of her own voice strange to her, like the shrieking of a powerful storm. She felt a joyous release, watched as the electrical spear crackled outward, searing into the golem's face. Stones blasted loose and the creature took another step back, driven by the unusual force of the spell. Coryn leaped to her feet, still casting, forcing the lightning into her foe as if she were driving a blade deeper into its hateful flesh.

But once again she felt a powerful barrier deflect much of the power of her magic. Her power was being sucked from her and then rechanneled into her enemy. Her hand began to burn. Coryn shouted in anguish, a pitiable sound lost in the shattering of ice and the groaning of the great rocky golem. It stood once again, shrugging off the mantle of frost that draped from its broad shoulders; its face, revealed as the lightning faded away, was pocked and scarred, but its sightless eyes once again focused on the wizards.

In addition to the wounds on its face, one of the creature's arms had broken off, the stub jutting upward like a small monolith in the slushy melt. But the golem displayed no real signs of hindrance. It turned slowly, those gaping sockets in its face falling upon the motionless black-robed wizard, and the young woman in white who stood before him. Coryn frantically looked for Jenna and saw the Red Robe drawing herself up again, leaning on her staff while forcing herself to stand. Her face was pale, and when she started to chant, her voice was so weak the younger woman couldn't discern the words.

The golem heard the chanting, however, for it turned toward the Red Robe then smoothly reached down and pulled the remnant of its broken limb-which was still a pillar of marble some four feet long, and as big around as a man's torso-free. Raising the thing like a missile, it poised for a throw that would have crushed Jenna against the courtyard wall.

"No!" Coryn cried-and that exclamation started her mind whirling again. She still had potentially powerful spells, vibrant and alive with white magic. Perhaps she could protect her friend. The young wizard stood, glaring at the back of the golem, and held her cupped hands before her face.

"Palmis denni!"

Immediately the form of a massive hand appeared, disembodied and translucent-right behind the golem. Coryn reached with her right hand and the huge magical apparition matched her gesture perfectly. The massive hand reached for the stone guardian with grasping fingers. She squeezed, and the magic image grasped the broken arm just in time to interfere with the stone giant's throw.