Chapter 9: Battle of Magics
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   Alcan faced the three figures in the streets of Jidoor.  While they
were nothing next to whatever was beyond them - and how had it managed
to conceal its presence and strength so well? - they were still powerful
in their own right.  Alcan spared an instant to glance around, and noted
that he had a lot of room around him.  That was good, he thought; fewer
innocents would get caught up in the effects of the magic that would be
flying around in a moment.  /Although I'm sure those last spells
encouraged them to stay out of the way./

   The moment of distraction nearly cost Alcan his life.  Just in time,
he "saw" the buildup of magical energy in a form that could be deadly.
He instantly erected a magical shield, and the creature's - /Dark Force?
Is that what he called it?/ - magic expended itself harmlessly against
the shield.  Alcan then responded with a similar spell of his own, and
one of the Dark Forces... dissipated.  Without sparing a thought for the
strange manner of the creature's departure, Alcan finished Sabin's work
on the second, magically tearing it apart; it died in the same manner as
the first.

   Then Alcan was swept from his feet by a gale-force blast of air.  He
hurtled backward and landed with a *thud* on the street.  Pushing
himself upright and shaking his head, he saw the remaining Dark Force
advancing.  Once again he sensed the death-spell forming, and he
restored the magical shield which had fallen when he had hit the ground.
The magic was once again wasted.  Alcan then concentrated, creating a
charged area of ground below the creature and another high above it in
the air.  An instant later, an immense lightning bolt connected the two
points, and the creature, stuck right in the middle, was incinerated.
"And you can go to hell too," Alcan muttered.  Then he threw his arms
out in front of him to protect himself from the rubble that flew from
the point of the lightning bolt's impact.

   Dusting himself off, Alcan thought, /How did I do so terribly?  To
let that one right in on me - and that bolt was massive overkill.../
Shaking his head again, he hurried toward the others to see what else he
would have to deal with.