From Ashes and Snow

Fractured

Chapter 37: Fractured. 

Vossen leapt.

In the next second, a heavy body careened into him and I could only blink, shock thundering through me as I watched the pure, raw strength of an enraged Troll. It was enough to knock Vossen to the side and a heavy fist cracked down on his face. She was quick to rise, retreating as she cracked her knuckles.

"Thank you, Gwen." I murmured.

Viciously sharp talons scraped along the stone floor as Vossen rose. The power of the Troll could already be seen in the bruise blooming across cracked, smoking skin. Confusion flickered in those dark eyes as he moved that great, unfurling tail of plated, obsidian scales. The barbs had caught in the thick tapestries hanging down the wall and he snarled as he looked back to them, his pulsating rage coursing through my veins. Silver veins bulged prominently.

"You're welcome, Shiny." Gwen clamped a hand down on my shoulder. From her belt, she drew out a hammer. Something that seemed so light in her hands, but I had just witnessed the strength of her body. She didn't need a weapon to inflict brutality.

"Get outside, now!" Mahon's yell was a comforting balm.

I began to move back, keeping an eye on Vossen as whoever else was in the hall began to flee, overturning chairs and knocking things to the ground in their panic. Fighting Vossen in a crowded room would be suicide, even if we were skilled fighters.

"What happened to him!" Mahon ghosted my shoulder, glancing quickly over Gwen. Fyr's voice filled the silence, flames snapping along her hands.

"He feels like a Nirani," I felt the cool wind of the open doors brush over my skin. It wasn't enough to combat the heat coursing through my veins, but it offered some relief.

Brightness flooded the room and Vossen roared as fire cut into him. His skin burned away, smoke scattering out across the room. His tail sliced through the tapestries and he rose, that same skin reforming. Fyr paled, the fire on her palms flickering. What kind of creature could not be burnt?

"Fyr," Kohen seized her arm and hauled her back out into the open air. Vossen's roar swelled behind us, a deep and guttural sound from a man who could not be human. Not any-more. Captain Bryant moved away from my side, going to Greydon who had begun trying to organize the Captains.

Thoughts whirred as I stepped outside, my blade still held tightly.

"We need to bar the doors!" A voice yelled.

Was he ever human? Could humans be infected? Were Nirani once human? Why was He seeking the tablet?

I stilled. "Shite."

Someone called my name as I sprinted back inside, leaping up onto the table to avoid the overturned chairs and the mess sprawled across the floors. The tablet was left where I discarded it, half-unveiled on the table. Bright eyes rose to meet mine and the Commander's face split, his jaw cracking as he grinned widely at me. His mouth was lopsided, too-wide like a Nirani's. Several human teeth littered the ground around him, replaced by long fangs.

Shite.

"You came back for the tablet." His voice was strange. "Foolish little mutt."

He leapt again and I threw myself to the side, hitting the ground as I felt his body soar. But – he hadn't been aiming for me. A shudder shook the room and as I scrambled to my feet again, I watched him swing that muscled tail again and again, blocking the doorway.