The Guardians

Chapter 60

"Let me get this straight," Talish said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You want to find this dragon and question it?"

"That's the gist of it," Lyra confirmed.

"Does your insanity know no bounds?"

"Not really, no."

This brought a laugh from Aiden.

"You should know this, Talish."

"Seems I had forgotten about that."

"How exactly are we going to find where Deandra is going to be next?" Aiden asked.

"What do you think I've been doing over here?" Will asked from the table where he, Kara, and Grace were sitting, a large shallow pan of water in front of them. "Taking a nap?"

Talish saw the smile playing on her lips.

"My father is the elder of my village. He has the gift of sight. I didn't exactly inherit that gift but I can scry the future to a point. There's a village nearby loyal to Sari. If we start now we can arrive when Deandra is due to begin her havoc."

"Why do I think this is a bad idea?" Talish asked.

"Probably because it quite possibly could be," Lyra answered.

~~~

Morrigan, Thorn, and Draven waited near the village.

"Are you sure this is where they were heading?" Thorn asked.

"Yes, I was in the room when the Druid scried the dragon's future," Draven said with a sigh. "It will take them a bit longer to arrive than us. She may be our Champion but she is still human."

"Patience, my brother," Morrigan said. "We must have patience. Unlike ours, her powers do have a limit."

~~~

Lyra looked over their group. They were sixteen strong but she did not know if Deandra would turn and fight them. She didn't know if she could protect them all if the dragon mistook them for the village guard. Lyra suspected she was the victim of one of Alora's binding spells.

"Why do you do that?" Aiden had joined her.

"Do what?"

"You always touch the base of your neck when you are in thought."

"I didn't know I was doing that."

Lyra hoped he hadn't guessed why. Apparently, even after all these years she was still absently checking to make sure the collar was still gone.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You worry about the dragon?"

"Yes. I'm only hoping she doesn't turn on us."

"As do I."

As they rounded a bend in the path, they saw too late that they'd stumbled upon two fractions of men. One side was clad in the red and black of Arlan, the other the blue and silver of Sari. They attacked each other and the small band tried to escape before they were seen. A stray arrow hit one of the Paladins in the side and he cried out in pain. Lyra rushed to his side just as two of Arlan's men saw them. The wounded Paladin shoved Lyra out of the way and took the blade meant for her. She gasped as he cried out and doubled over, grabbing the man's wrist. He reached up and grabbed his throat. The soldier screamed. The Paladin let go of him and fell to his knees. Arlan's soldier staggered back towards the battle, still screaming and holding his throat. Lyra ran back to the Paladin's side just as the soldier exploded, taking out two of Sari's men and three of Arlan's. She'd never seen that spell before. The Paladin was dead, giving his life for hers. Angry, Lyra drew her sword and charged the closest red and black clad man. The earth beneath their feet began to buck and roll. Vines sprouted here and there. The two fractions began to panic and flee, forgetting their fight. Lyra looked around. Two of the Paladins had been killed in the fight and Talish and Kara were tending to Shara's left arm. Will and Lex were tending to Corrin with his healing salve. Daylen, Saren, and Neve were checking the bodies of the slain men. One of the remaining Paladins and Grace were tending to a head wound on the other. Lyra's heart suddenly jumped to her throat. Aiden was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Aiden?"

Shara frowned. "He was fighting next to Will when I saw him last."

"He was right behind me," Will said.

They all heard the now all too familiar sounds of steel against steel. Lyra spun around and sprinted towards the sound, drawing her bow and an arrow as she ran. The sounds became louder. She crashed through the trees and saw Aiden faced off with three of Arlan's men. Blood stained his right shoulder and he sounded winded, but his sword was held defensively in front of him. He didn't see Lyra as he was intent on the three men.

"You either come quietly or you die here, Guardian."

"Screw you. If you want me to come with you, you will have to take me by force."

"That can be arraigned." He took a step toward Aiden.

Lyra let loose the arrow she had nocked, quickly following that with two more. Each man lay dead before they even knew she was there. Once he realized they were dead, Aiden began to relax. He staggered backward and braced himself against a tree before lowering himself to the ground and pressing his hand against his wounded shoulder. Lyra dropped her bow and rushed over to him, fearful that he'd been badly wounded.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, struggling to keep the panic out of her voice.

"I think one of them nicked my shoulder but I'm fine," he breathed. "Just winded."

Lyra removed his chest piece to check his shoulder, remembering how he'd nearly died from downplaying a serious wound not long after they'd met. Although the wound was more like a cut than a nick, she was relieved that it wasn't worse. She quickly healed it and then punched his other shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, you oaf!" she cried. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought--"

To her surprise, Aiden suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She didn't fight it. In fact, she surprised herself by returning it.

"I'm sorry," he said when they broke away. "I rushed forward to keep one of Sari's men off Will and was cut off. Arlan's men drove me this way. And don't kill me for kissing you just then. I've been wanting to do that for a while and it was the only way I could think of to make you stop yelling at me."

"Oh, shut up."

He stood and took her hands into his, helping her to her feet. "We should join the others."

Lyra turned to see Daylen and Talish standing nearby, watching them. Daylen had an amused look on his face. Talish looked hurt but the look was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"I see you have everything handled here," Daylen said with a smirk, holding out Lyra's bow.

"I could feed you to Deandra, you know," Lyra said as she took it.

"She'd just spit me back out. I don't think I'm her favorite flavor."

Talish was about to rush forward and pull Aiden off of Lyra until he saw that she wasn't fighting him. And he realized that if she had ever loved him more than a brother at all, she'd moved on. Not that his words the night they reunited helped anything. She had Aiden, a man that was always at her side and didn't deny that he loved her and made his move. Even if the timing of that move was a bit odd. Kissing her while surrounded by the bodies of the men they'd slain was perhaps the last place anyone would expect that. He was hurt, yes, but he now knew that he would never have a chance with her. Maybe if he'd... Talish pushed the thought away. No, she moved on. It was time that he did as well. He had a duty to do. He should no longer pine for a love that was never meant to be. Talish knew he would always love her but maybe over time that love would return to a sisterly love. After the bantering between Lyra and Daylen, they returned to the others and he went to check on his men's statuses. Two of his men had been killed, one having given his life for Lyra. He'd seen her rush towards him to tend to the arrow wound. He'd used his own body to shield her before using the last of his energy to cast a walking bomb on his killer. The other had been cut down protecting his wounded brother. He saw the other three were being tended to. Between Lyra and Will, they were ready to continue.