Chapter 43

     In a small port town in Larylia, coastal kingdom trouble is brewing. Aurelia has no idea what kind of trouble, but it warranted twelve men and two werelions. Zinjo professionally held his partisan. Aurelia clutched the parasol blade with determination, despite the small shard of doubt in the back of her mind. With one victory under her belt, she felt like a child next to the men who practiced day and night to keep their skills sharp. 

   "What sort of enemy are we facing?" Zinjo managed to ask after a prolonged silence. 

    The guard captain, Tiberius Steele, turned to Zinjo and pointed to the woods, "Our enemies are creatures of our own making I'm afraid. Once upon a time, Larylia was the pinnacle of magical research. We were prosperous, and had the respect of peers."

    "What happened?" Aurelia asked. Her ears detected low hisses and the rustle of leaves amid the snap of twigs. She looked over at Zinjo, and he nodded to signify he heard it too. Aurelia kept her ears focused on the noise to discern the enemy's location. 

    "The Order of the Gentle Tower came and spread their lies. They specialized in creating hybrid species meant to help product and other such fiddle-fiddle." He bowed his head to his chin, "For a time, we enjoyed the easy life. The hybrids performed as the Order promised."

    The sounds grew closer and Aurelia tensed up her hand gripped the hilt of her blade, "What went wrong?" She followed the noise to the tree line in the east. She pointed, "They are coming from that direction."

   Tiberius goggled at her statement, "How can you be sure?"

   "Lion hearing is many times better than humans, as is our sense of smell and we can see in the dark," Zinjo almost seemed to flaunt his superior attributes in front of the soldiers who regarded him with admiration. 

   "Anyway as the Order of the Gentle Tower became more prominent, they took bigger risks and began to mix dangerous creatures. Some found their place in the food chain and others threatened the natural order with their very existence."

   Zinjo stood with his partisan at the ready, "This is what we fight today?"

   "Unfortunately. I've seen horrors that would turn a regular officer's bowels to water and lived to tell the tale. I have tried to find their nest but come up empty every time," Tiberius drew his sword, "They are close weapons at the ready, and hold the  position ." He barked. 

   Aurelia closed her eyes and could hear an odd slurping noise followed by a pop. She deduced the noise came from her left but saw nothing. Her nose tasted the air, muskeg, ro,t, and something else she hadn't smelled before. Her eyes moved to a building, something about the noise worried her. Her head turned to the roof and her instincts went crazy, "They are coming from above." Aurelia shouted. 

   A loud his pierced the air and as the beasts came into view. They were ugly things, with long ragged teeth and beady eyes, on their headlong sharp bone. Thick serrated claws pierced brick. On the basis k a curved dorsal fin, with lizard-like appendages with a long whippy tail. 

   They moved in unison like wolves, and implemented strategy in their assault, "They are unnatural things, dangerous things. Why would the Gentle Tower create such monsters?" Zinjo tensed up. 

  "I believe these were slated for military application, or hunting, it's hard to tell since they all hate us," Tiberius replied. "These are the worst of the worst, I'd explain but it's better if you see for yourself." 

   The horned beast lunged forward and only to be met with a pair of pikes, one of which severed a leg. Aurelia assumed the fight was over, but the moment the leg hit the ground, a new burst from the body and Aurelia thought she heard a cruel chuckle escape from the horrid mouth. 

   "Do you know what puts them down? Aurelia asked as she dodged a horn and severed a foreleg, another approached her, she opened the bright parasol and the beast froze. This time she sliced horizontally across the mouth and severed half the head. Thick purple ooze splattered against tStoneyney street. Aurelia kept her eye on the fallen horror. The head didn't grow back.

    "Aim for the head, and try to remove it," Aurelia shouted at the top of her lungs.

    "Hmmm," Zinjo growled as spun and chopped the head off another, the beast went inert. 

    Tiberius seemed irritated they were on the road to victory and distressed when his men followed Aurelia and Zinjo's example. "Keep the pressure up," Zinjo shouted, as he swept another lethal beast down. The partisan whistled through the air.

   Aurelia joined another soldier in his struggle in what appeared to be the leader of the beasts. It its companions and lets out a mournful cry. The other lizard beasts raised their heads and quickly scampered off into the woods before the soldiers could mount any sort of offensive.

   Tiberius stared at the dead beasts, "You realize, they will be back and in greater numbers."

   "We intend to follow them back to the source, right Zinjo?" Aurelia's eyes were alight with adventure and excitement.

   "The dark princess speaks true. We should follow them back to the nest and figure out how to end the threat for good. Is that not a worthy endeavor?"

   Tiberius glared at Aurelia and Zinjo before he turned back to his men, "Who among you will take on this brave task and follow our furry friends into mortal peril?"

  The air came alive with the sound of links clinking together as the soldiers raised their hands. Tiberius scowled, "Who will protect the citizens of this fair town if you all leave. I say we let the happy couple carry out their suicide mission."

  The men murmured among themselves and agreed with their esteemed leader. Tiberius shot them a triumphant glance, "It appears you two are on your own," He grinned wickedly pointed to the outskirts of town 

  Aurelia pulled Zinjo aside, "Somethings not right, he wanted to protect the town, but not end the threat? And where are these Order of the Gentle Tower?"

   "I agree dark princess something is amiss. I intended to get to the bottom of it."

    Aurelia sheathed her blade and marched up to Tiberius and gave him a serene smile. The familiar scent of human nervousness touched her nose and she put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry Captain we will get to the bottom of  this."

    "I look forward to seeing what you discover, your majesty," Tiberius's bow mocked her.

     Zinjo tapped the end of his partisan against the ground and in a low voice said, "Don't worry captain, you will be the first to know what we discover."