They both moved. Alexander's hands slammed together and he pumped every drop of his will into a shatter-shield spell. Raw astral force ripped around them, and power streamed upward out of him, tearing into the lattice of the shield. He felt tendrils of ice whip into him as she struck with her own energy. He reeled, trying to control the power arcing around him. As his mystic bolt impacted, the shield was hit hard from the outside. Unable to withstand the dual concussion, it shattered, raining prismatic energy. A giant dark form poured through the opening and past the falling shards.