Gone

The scream was deep and manly, which made it that much more terrifying.

Alaron did not hesitate to answer the call. He leapt from behind the desk and went racing for the hall. "Stay here"! he ordered.

"Over my dead body!" Mairwen marched after her brother with a determined scowl.

"Could you maybe choose different words?!" Renat chased after them both. He knew it was futile to try to stop either of them, especially when someone needed help.

Alaron paused at a juncture of hallways, trying to discern which way to go. He saw his sister approach and sighed. From his cloak, he brought out a bow and quiver of arrows. The Guardian handed them to the princess.

"Please stay back at least," he begged. It did not matter that she had more real battle experience; the woman was still his sister and he would protect her.

"I'll do what needs to be done," she answered curtly. She slung the quiver across her back. Even in her disguised state, she still looked every bit the Warrior Princess.

To Renat, the Guardian passed a sword. The scientist was not well versed in the art of swordplay, but he was able to defend himself thanks to Nurlan's on the job training on their way to the Drifting Dunes. The scientist could also point and slash as well as the next person. "Thank you," he nodded.

Another yell echoed through the halls. "I don't know! Please!"

The trio did not need to exchange a glance. In unison, they ran towards the fray.

Nearing the Chancellor's office, the group heard a series of chirps, clicks, and screeches that sounded almost like hissing. Fannur's voice spoke over them, "I have given you all I have! I swear I don't know anything about a key!"

His voice was hoarse and weak, as if his last couple of screams had taken all of his energy. With a sickening thud, his voice went silent.

Alaron pushed through the doorway just in time to see blood pooling on the floor around Fannur's body. He lay completely still by his desk with a series of thin. oozing gashes littering his paling skin. The Guardian gasped.

Before him, three giant, green reptilian creatures loomed on their back legs over the Chancellor's body. Their vermillion skin was punctuated by long yellow spines running their curved backs all the way to their truncated tails. Their eyes were too close together and their mouths were only slightly elongated. They looked horrifying and wrong.

One of the monsters had his razor sharp claws still lifted, hovering over the fallen scholar for another strike.

"Stop," Alaron commanded.

The attackers paused. A single eye from each of the creatures shifted toward the door. The sight sent a chill down Alaron's spine.

Mairwen gasped as she rounded the corner, and Renat's eyes widened in fear. The creatures were around the humans' heights but the power they exuded was immense. In a hand to hand fight, the people did not stand a chance.

"W-what are they?" Renat stuttered.

Alaron's eyes narrowed beneath his hood. "Dangerous." The Guardian drew his own sword--the blade of the first King of Valiant and held it up threateningly. "Surrender," he told the creatures.

His words were met with more hissing and clicking as the three assailants spread out across the wide office.

"I think that means no," Renat gulped as he flexed his grip on his weapon. Mairwen lifted her bow and trained it on the closest of the lizards, freezing the attacker's approach. The humans stood their ground a spread out slightly, unsure of how to proceed.

Their was a stand off momentarily as the three reptiles became like statues, except for their eyes shifting in two different directions with one on the people and the other on their comrades. Then all at once, the closest dodged to one side and charged, shielding the second creature with their body.

Mairwen could see the collision about to take place with her husband, and she let her arrow fly. The quarter's being tight, the shaft barely cleared the bow before colliding with the reptile.

The arrow glanced off the attacker's thick, leathery skin, leaving a splash of red blood behind on the creature's shoulder.

The lizard cried out in a wailing hiss, and landed directly on Renat with the remaining momentum. Fortunately the man was ready. He lifted the blade and held it directly out in front of him. While this was not the most effective position in most cases, it was now the perfect move because the distracted creature fell into it without resistance.

Its stomach met with the weapon and slid cleanly through, the blade coming out of the other side. As the lizard hit the scientist, the full weight of its body pushed them both to the ground. Renat's head cracked on the stone floor, causing him to see stars. A second crack was felt as his ribs caved inward where the pommel of the sword became wedged between the man and his attacker.

After a convulsion, the lizard went still. It was no longer a threat.

The two humans left standing had no time to check on the scientist as the final two monsters raced forward in a coordinated attack. It was almost as if they were reading each other's thoughts. The taller lizard got down on all fours as it neared, aiming its spines at the Guardian. Alaron managed and overhanded strike at his opponent, but the blade railed against the iron-like ridges and skidded into one of the Chancellor's many chairs.

Seeing his chance, the reptile picked up the piece of furniture and hurled it toward the cloaked figure. Alaron somersaulted on the floor to avoid the object, and a rain of splitters littered the ground as the chair hit the wall and disintegrated.

'That was close.'

The Guardian blocked a down-sweeping claw with his sword. The sharp blade trimmed the nails of the lizard, blunting them slightly. With and angry hiss, the reptile retreated momentarily. It continued to launch chairs and furniture, making Alaron play a dangerous game of 'dodge' to preserve his life.

Each chair crashed and flew in every direction, like a wooden burst ball. The Guardian was very glad to the magical cloak around him, or he would already be gashed into pieces.

Alaron backed into the book case next to the filing cabinet. He found the heaviest volume and chunked it at the lizard.

'Time to put this reading to good use.' The book bounced off the lizard harmlessly, causing the monster to raise one hairless eyebrow at the attempt. 'Or not… Time to try something else.' The Guardian leapt toward the ceiling as a chair exploded at his feet. 'And fast!'

Meanwhile, Mairwen was dealing with her own lizard problem. She had already landed three arrows against the beast, but it did not seem to be making any difference. Blood flowed from the gashes, but it seemed that the thick skin was impervious to the pain.

Being smaller and more slender than her opponent, Mairwen was able to avoid the lizard's more deadly strikes, but at last one caught her across the shoulder. Five long, thin gashes ripped the clothes and skin covering her shoulder blade. The Princess's arm felt suddenly limp. The muscle had been damaged as well.

"Mairwen!" Renat's hoarse cry rang out as he tried to get out from the beast that had him pinned. His chest heaved from the exertion. He slid a rod from broken chair leg along the ground, distracting the monster for only a second. "Get out!"

The princess discarded her bow and ran for the area behind the Chancellor's desk. It would at least put some distance between her and the creature while she tried to clear her head of the pain. The princess scanned frantically for anything she could use as a one handed weapon.

Her eyes fell on Fannur's still form. He was twisted as if he had been reaching for something. She followed the line of his arm, and looked below the Chancellor's desk. Beneath the drawers on the ground she discovered a sealed flask.

'Here goes nothing…' Mairwen took hold of the flask and, thinking quickly, she lobbed the glass container at the lizard's eyes.

With all the power of her throw, the container crashed into the smaller lizard's face and broke. The creature hissed, and the princess could have sworn it cursed her.

From the container a clear liquid spilled out and covered the monster's horrifying visage. As the droplets ran into the creature's eyes, its hiss turned into a loud, shrill squeal. A foul smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Mairwen covered her ear with her working hand and ducked under the desk. When the lizard went wild, at least she would have some protection.

The desk suddenly groaned under the weight of a massive force as the scream of the monster grew more intense. The wood cracked above Mairwen's head, about to give way.

The pressure and sound ceased for a moment, and the princess braced for the final devastating impact.

However, no attack came. Silence filled the room as the acrid smell dissipated.

"They've gone," Alaron panted. He leaned on his sword, which was tinged with blood from the only successful strike he had been able to make. "You can come out. We're safe."