The centre of the tarn began to seethe, as though in surprised anger. A rumbling like thunder began to shake the ground . . .
. . . and then, the waters of the tarn began to rise against them!
Anest very nearly lost control of his staff at Lily's reaction. She was suddenly become an avatar of white fury, opening full her throat, issuing a tantara of unfettered rage! And the Summoning Stone! The forces she demanded of it were impossible, ascending with the rising pitch of her voice to what seemed must be imminent detonation! He lent her all his strength, sparing himself nothing, and the green-white crystal-ice of his staff hissed, dripping freezing vapour that steamed, and it
thrummed in his hands with such force that he began to fear for its endurance, if not his own!
It was then he noticed that the rising waters were shot with green sparkles, that the entire Marsh began to steam and hiss! Abruptly, the tarn before them seethed once more. A writhing wind-devil of fire sprang from its centre! The Murderer was coming!
The sight of the hated enemy, so close at hand, seemed to drive Lily wild! Her chant suddenly modulated, and the waters began to move towards the middle of the tarn, slowly at first, then sinking faster and faster into the bowels of the earth. Gouts of superheated water geysered, consumed by the column of fire, each rocketing fountain propelled heavenward by a deafening, heart-stopping concussion that left cannonading echoes in its wake.