You did not think we would be set as guardians against your coming and not be protected?

Foolish of you to think that, Druidecht. Very foolish.

Annon saw the other one loom over him, coming down at blinding speed.

Khiara rushed to his side in an instant, holding her long staff between her fists in front of her, up at an angle so that the mouth could not close around her because the staff was too long and struck the inside corner of its jaws. The power of its strike knocked her down, but the mouth could not close around her. It recoiled and hissed.

Annon reached down and helped Khiara stand. “Fly!” he told her.

She inhaled deeply and shot into the air, rising above the boulders. Annon ran toward the shrine and saw a flicker of motion as the head followed him quickly. He dived to the side instinctively, just an instant before the head swiped down at him. He struck the sharp stones painfully and struggled to his feet. Fear made him quick. He had seen lizards stalk prey before and recognized the bobbing of the heads, the scuttling motion as they scrabbled from the top of the rock. Their necks were powerful and quick, their tails offering balance to keep from overshooting their victim.

He abandoned using the fireblood and sent out a call to the spirits of the mountains, pleading for help.

He runs! How delicious! Save the Preachán for later. He is hiding behind the rocks.

I want the Vaettir still. She would be very tasty.

I love how they wriggle. The one I ate is still struggling. We will gorge ourselves.

The panic inside Annon mounted as he glanced for a place to hide. The lizard-spirits were quick and crafty, coming down from the boulders and slinking swiftly to each side, trying to box him between them. Their plump tails dragged along the stones, speckled with black.

A rock sailed from behind the boulder and struck one on the side of the head. Erasmus grabbed another and prepared to hurl it too.

Khiara came down on one, jamming the end of her staff into its neck.

How pesky these mortals are.

Indeed. How tiresome.

The one she struck whipped its head around, snapping at her and Khiara barely managed to inhale fast enough to move above its reach. She began twirling the staff, getting ready for another lunge.

Nizeera launched at the one advancing on Annon, raking its side with her claws and teeth. It was like watching a cat attack a horse. It hissed, but the tail swished and swatted Nizeera away in annoyance.

Are you ready to die, Druidecht?

Are you ready to surrender?

Which do you prefer? The Arch-Rike will treat with you.

You could surrender.

Come closer and we will discuss it.

Come closer and—

One of the lizards writhed with pain and flopped on its back, twitching violently in spasms, its mind-shriek nearly knocking Annon down.

A slit opened up from its underside and Lukias crawled out, dripping with ooze and steaming in the cold air.

The other lizard-thing hissed with fury, rushing Annon viciously. As it lunged, Khiara’s staff came down on top of its bulging eye, smashing it. Again, another mind-shriek of pain that nearly bowled Annon over with its intensity.

Erasmus appeared at its tail and grabbed a strange metal object bound around it and tugged it off. It was a metal band, as thick as an iron collar but fastened to its tail.

“Annon, now!” Erasmus yelled.

He realized that the band around its tail was its protection against the elements. Annon raised his hands, spoke the words again in his mind, and unleashed a plume of fire into the lizard’s contorting bulk. This time the flames ripped into it, charring the scales and overwhelming it with pain. The creature thrashed recklessly, shrieking at the torture it was experiencing. It scuttled away from the plumes of flame, hissing in fury at him. It charged Annon, mouth gaping.

Scrambling backward, Annon unleashed the fireblood inside its widening maw. The flames wreathed around it, coursing and hissing, causing the beast to explode in a shower of ash. The flames consumed it entirely.

Annon retreated still, trembling, clutching the talisman around his neck. He knew he had almost died. He knew the Arch-Rike was expecting them and had prepared the creatures with protection against fire. He had nearly failed the others and doomed them to be ingested by giant lizards.

Lukias staggered toward him, his face pink with acid burns. He trembled as well, his eyes full of emotion and disgust at the ordeal he had survived.

“Khiara,” Annon said hoarsely. “Can you heal his injuries?”

She floated down gracefully, tossing aside her elegant staff. When her feet reached the ground, she rushed to Lukias who bent double and began to vomit. She gripped him by his shoulders, murmured soft words in the Vaettir tongue that Annon did not comprehend. But the effects of her prayer-like utterance were immediate. The acid burns on his cheeks, arms, and hands began to heal, fresh skin replacing the blisters. He continued to tremble as her power surged through him, calming him until he was resting in her embrace. Annon recalled the pleasure of being healed by a Shaliah and was grateful she had chosen to join them.