Drekablóð Rising:Fire(Book 1)

Chapter 25 {Phoenyx}

Phoenyx hated being stuck in this over-extravagant stone prison.
It was like a giant museum filled with suits of armor, paintings, and it even had a museum.
She officially hated the Royal Family's vacation home.
Phoenyx should be helping Savita get rid of potential threats to her reign. Instead, she was on babysitting duty of the two future heirs of Et ignis in Terris since Savita was barren.
She sighed.
   Phoenyx returned to fletching her arrows with Phoenix feathers, her personal trademark.
   "Um, scary-brooding-woman, can you play a game with me?" The annoying little boy asked her.
   She glanced at his hopeful face and then returned back to her work.
   "No. You have a sister. You two can play with each other." She told him, ignoring the pout on his face.
   "Pretty please. I won't ask again." He asked once more.
   "No."
   The boy didn't say anything.
   Thinking he left, she remained focused on her work.
   Then she felt someone plop down next to her on the stone windowsill.
   She glanced again and saw the annoying little boy next to her.
   She huffed.
   What did she have to do to get away from this annoying little child?
   "Get down. You're not suppose to be sitting up here." She told him. "You could fall." She added quietly.
   Did she actually care for this little runt? Of course not. She was an assassin. A deadly weapon raised and trained to have no feelings whatsoever. "Never get attached to anything or else others will use it to strike you down and kill you once and for all", was what her mother used to say to her. That seemed like a lifetime ago when it actually was.
   "Make me then if I'm not suppose to be up here." He challenged her.
   Was this little brat willing to piss her off all so she would "play" with him?
   She huffed in annoyance, and went back to work.
   The little brat had a sister. Why couldn't he go play with her and just leave her alone to her peace and solitude.
   "Well? Are you going to make me?"
   "Get lost kid. I've got more important things to do than 'playing' with you." She told him with distain, and got off her perch, and headed out to the gardens to patrol for anyone within sight of the palace.
   The runt didn't follow her.
   She had made it very clear to them when they first got here to never, ever step outside the palace or else she would kill them, and she wasn't even kidding and they knew it too.
   As she walked around the walled in palace, she swore she heard something sliding over stone.
   She looked up at the stone wall, seeing nothing but the empty cloudless sky.
   Glancing once more at the wall, she continued on her way.
   Then she heard the sound of something sliding over stone again.
   Letting a kunai drop into her hand, she spun around on her foot, prepared to face whatever was behind her.
   But again there was nothing there.
   What was going on?
She kept her gaze on the wall, determined to make whoever was in hiding come out under the intensity of her glare.
After waiting for a few minutes, she gave up.
It was probably those good for nothing little kids.
Turning around with her kunai still in hand, she continued on her patrol around the gardens.
As she reproaching the spot she heard the thing sliding over stone, she saw a tuft of what appeared to be dried grass from the steppes.
   Which idiot from the supplies caravan left kindling laying so close to the horses' stables? She wondered to herself.
As she approached the stables she heard the horses freaking out.
Rushing over quietly to the stables, she saw what the horses were so frightened of.
A large, pale sandy colored snakelike creature with feathered wings was in the stall and currently drinking from the large water trough used to water all of the horses.
Now she saw that tuft of grass was actually the giant lizard's tail.
Great. How was she suppose to get rid of something this big without altering anyone nearby of her presence?
Everyone thought that Queen Savita was only having the palace stocked for a vacation from all the stress of her family dying and taking over as the new ruler.
Well if she couldn't quietly and quickly dispose of this giant lizard and soon, things were going to go very, very south.
Her hand went for her rapier only for her to remember that she only had only a dozen kunai and her crossbow and bolts. They were definitely not going to be any use in a fight with this beast, unless she managed to slit it's carotid artery, shoot a bolt into its brain or down its gullet.
This was not going to be an easy fight. But then again, since when were any of her assignments easy, especially when she had to kill that one Draconigena from The Earth Stronghold, who was an ambassador for The Earth Stronghold king.
   However, she knew she would triumph due to her supernatural abilities that she had gained a long time ago. They were what had allowed her to kill that Draconigena in the first place, without them she would had been the one slain that faithful night.
Pulling out another, kunai, she held them in a throwing position as she slowly approached that giant winged lizard.
When she was close enough, she threw her first kunai at where she thought it's carotid artery would be. All she managed to do was give the beast a flesh wound, nothing serious to kill it. Just to piss it off.
The giant pale, sandy colored lizard swing its head around to glare at her with its sky blue eyes.
Shit.
Phoenyx jumped back as the beast roared, and struck at her like a striking snake when angered.
She dodged the beast as it continued its continuous attacks on her.
While dodging, she looked for an weak point. However, it was nearly impossible to find one weak spot.
Its eyes weren't exactly going to be easy to hit, neither were its mouth. It practically kept its mouth shut whenever she was facing it. Like it knew she might try something.
   Why couldn't this beast be as stupid as all her quarries in the past? At least they gave her a fun time hunting them and later watching them squirm as she killed them with her own two hands.
   This was the complete opposite of fun. It was hell. Though she had been to Netherworld multiple times so this wasn't as horrible as all the other times she had went to Netherworld and came back once again.
   The beast struck again. She barely managed to get out of the way in time.
   It was a whole lot smarter and faster than she had anticipated.
   Dodging it once again, she threw her other kunai at its face, hoping she would wound it.
   As the kunai approached the beast's face, it knocked the kunai straight out of the air with its feathered wing.
   She slowly backed up as the beast let out an earth shattering roared, and slithered surprisingly quickly over to her.
   If she didn't time this correctly then she would be monster food; for a little while. But if she did she might kill it.
   Phoenyx tensed her muscles as the beast rushed at her.
   As the beast was within striking didn't of her, she ran at it, ignoring its roars and lashing tongue.
   With enhanced agility and speed, she jumped over the beast's head, pivoting to where she was able to fire a clean shot at its head as she withdrew her one handed crossbow.
   Pulling back the trigger, she watch as the bolt soared through the air and disappear through the beast's left sky blue eye as it watched her.
   The beast gave out an anguished cry before collapsing to the ground, shaking the earth as she landed back on the ground.
   She walked over to the beast and pulled her kunai out of its neck.
   She had no idea how she was going to get this thing out of here. Or how she was going to keep those two demon children away from it.
   Phoenyx sighed.
   Guess she was going to have to call in someone with a dragon from one of The Holds to get rid of the giant corpse now sitting in the courtyard.
   Hopefully those two demons inside would be too busy playing and pestering her to notice the rotting corpse.
   Placing her crossbow back in its holster, she made her way back into the palace.

  

P.S. This is kind of what I imagine the Amphiptere that attacked Phoenyx looked like. I know most Amphipteres that you see are more brightly colored but I like to think they evolved to match the colors of the Fire Sands Deserts and the steppes with all the hunting of them by humans. Though some still have lingering distinctive colorful markings that trace back to their ancestors.
I'm not sure if Amphipteres can breath fire. I think they can but I've decided to not let them and leave all the fire to the dragons. These guys can already squeeze you to death and are like giant flying snakes and can hide excellently in the desert or steppes. I don't think they need any flaming breath added to their abilities cause then it would just make them a little bit overkill, at least in my opinion. And because I don't want so many species being able to breath fire, like the Chimera. Dragons deserve the spotlight because we all know they beat all mythical creatures out there. Sorry if some of you think otherwise.

After evolution

Before evolution