I pushed my magic out through the marble. The force of it made the walkway ripple like the surface of the river below us, but I focused, aiming the power across the floor and then forcing it up into the statue. The figure of the old man seemed to shudder as my magic raced up his legs, then spread into his chest and out into his arms.

Clementine felt the walkway rise and fall beneath us. She glanced at me a moment, then turned her head to look over her shoulder, trying to figure out what I was doing with my magic. “What the—”

I focused even more and pushed more of my magic into the statue, putting everything I had into the marble—all of my Stone magic, all of my Ice power, every single drop of magic that I had left, along with what was stored in my spider rune ring. And then I grabbed hold of all that magic, all that power, and I made the statue move.

It was difficult—so damn difficult. It was one thing to fling around raw magic. Any elemental could do that, just like any giant could throw a couple of punches. But this was a finesse job, a surgical strike, just like what Owen had done earlier tonight in the vault and how I had disarmed the rune trap on the covered bridge.

Just like my fight with Peter Delov all those years ago. Back then, I’d made the giant go where I wanted him to, and now I was going to do the same exact thing to Clementine.

I wanted to unleash my magic more than anything, wanted to send it racing out through the marble in all directions until it pulverized the statue and every other rock it came into contact with.

That wouldn’t save me, but maybe this would.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the old man shuddered again. Bits of marble chipped off his arms and legs, but his stone chest slowly swiveled in my direction, and so did the spear in his right hand.

Sweat poured down my body, mixing with my blood, but the only things I was aware of were that spear and the growing mutters of the marble as I forced it to go exactly where I commanded it to.

Clementine finally realized that I was up to something, because she leaned forward and clamped her hands over my nose and mouth once more. “Oh, no you don’t—”

I’d gotten the statue into position. Now it was time to do the same thing to the giant. I sent out a burst of magic, forcing a bit of my Ice and Stone power into a small crack I’d sensed in the side of the statue.

The old man’s left arm shattered with a roar.