The Fires of Cerran

Chapter Forty

Astriel felt her skin wither beneath her armour. She felt the armour plating, and the leather strapping underneath, depress into her skin and leather its mark as the heat burned through the stones she had taken as cover. Her hands shook uncontrollably, and her teeth chattered, cutting at her tongue. She lifted her hand away from the floor, slowly moving so that she sat against the wall of rubble with her legs stretched before her. All seemed quiet to her, the ringing drowning out any noise that tried to come to her. She let a blade gently floor to the floor, and moved her hands to her face, she felt the ash the covered her skin and felt for any wounds. A thin cut underneath her right eye, caught by her own blade or by the jagged edges of the rocks as she had slid into them, she did not know. Mixed with the dirt and ash it felt more like a deep gouge than a slim recess.

As the ringing in her ears began to fade, slowly at first and seemingly echoing about her skull and drumming against her eyes, she began to reclaim her thoughts. She blinked, gasping as the shooting pain of the cut caught her again and again. She turned her neck and felt the back of her armour plating as it began to cool. Her hands were shaking less now, but she still fumbled with the dagger that remained in one of her hands. Only now did she turn fully, lowering herself onto her stomach and lifting her upper half to look over the rubble and view the courtyard. She saw the beast, flailing as arrow upon arrow was fired into its left side, and they came to look like a delicate ladder up to the beast's throat. She had seen four come upon the beast's hide before Ser Ramon came to her side, his hair wild and his bloodied and bruised. His armour was crushed around his lower waist and streaked with blood. His cold blue eyes held a wild stare as he came to the girl's side, resting his blade up towards the beast.

'Are you hurt?' He said, his voice a harsh whisper as the beast drew flames upon the western wall of the stronghold, causing huge chunks of timbers to fall.

'Not too much, I can still fight.' Astriel answered, wincing as she pulled herself to a crouch.

'You look hurt.' Ramon returned quickly.

'Well, you don't exactly look like a King right now either!' She returned.

Ramon's lips curled into a rare smile and he shook his head in disbelief.

'I should leave you to the beast.' He returned, not looking away from the courtyard.

'I could handle it.' Astriel replied quickly.

Ramon opened his mouth to answer her, but as he did so the beast turned its long neck towards them, baring its fangs to them and roaring. Its speed was frightening at that moment, coming down upon them within a heartbeat, and crushing the rubble before them with its tail. Bits of timber and iron stuck into the creature's back end as it rose, ripping away at them with its clawed forelimbs. It beat its wings, bringing a cloud of smoke and ash across the courtyard like a waterless wave, and Ramon only just managed to clamber atop Astriel as the dust and debris came towards them. Ramon turned his head as the dust around them plumed again as the dragon took a swipe at the wall behind them, bringing a large section of stone and timbers crashing towards them. He pulled Astriel up, Hellblaze lifted high, and ran at the beast as it brought its head down to meet them. It roared, the flickers of flame deep within its throat. But as the creature went to exhale it yelped in pain, quickly turning away to reveal an arrow embedded into its eye.

It frantically clawed at the thin wood, the thin membrane and thick eyelids conjoining as the shaft snapped from the head. Almost at once did the pupil begin to blur and whisps of murky fluid filled the eye.

Ramon took his chance, slicing at the creature's throat, drawing a thick line of flesh and sinew as he brought his blade down again. The beast went to move, but again Ramon came hard with his sword, sticking it hard in the wound as the creature roared anew.