tower and cowering away from the lion in the sky.
“It’s magic,” Aurelia said, brushing her hand across his face as she stared into his eyes. “Look at me. Look, and repeat after me. The fear is weak when the threat is false. Say it.”
“The fear is weak when the threat is false.”
Soft light flickered on her fingertips. “Again.”
“The fear is weak when the threat is false.”
Light flashed between them, but it did not hurt his eyes nor make him blink. The cancer in his stomach vanished.
“That should do for now,” she said, kissing his lips. “Delysia can better ward us against fear should we find her. Come on.”
She grabbed his wrist and pulled. The lion roared as if mocking them.
“Sooner we get rid of that thing the better,” Harruq said, glaring at the lion as it glared back down at him. They ran until they could see the large fountain in the center of the city. They stopped again, but not out of fear.
“What the abyss is that?” Harruq asked. The lion in the sky roared, triumphant. The half-orc felt his swords shake in his hands. Aurelia wrapped her free hand around his wrist, needing its touch.
Five priests of Karak surrounded the fountain, whose waters ran red with blood. Pelarak stood at the north side, his hands raised and his eyes to the sky. The other four were on the opposite end, kneeling in prayer or chanting. Three bodies lay like the corners of a large triangle surrounding them. Their chests were wrenched open, their ribcages broken and twisted wide as if something had burst from within. Standing above the bodies were the lions.
They were larger than horses. Their black flesh rippled with muscle. They had no fur, instead covered with a smoldering coat of embers. In unison the three arched their backs and roared, and from their bellies streams of fire soared into the air. The lion in the sky roared back, pleased.
“What are they,” Harruq asked, his eyes wide with terror.
“Lions,” Aurelia said, gripping his hand tighter. “Servants of Karak. He’s twisted them, made them…we need the guards, we need Tarlak. Where is everyone?”
The panic in her voice only worsened Harruq’s fear. He could imagine one bearing down upon him, its claws made of molten rock, its fur burning his very flesh as its obsidian teeth closed around his neck…
“Faithless children!” Pelarak screamed, drawing his attention outward, away from his nightmarish vision. All throughout the city, his voice could be heard. “Behold the Lion that comes in the night seeking to reclaim his Kingdom. You have turned from Karak, willingly forgetting all that once made this city proud. Now you cower, fearing his judgment. Will you surrender? Will you accept the truth you have blinded yourselves to? Or will you give in to death, and in its embrace hide from your ignorance?”
The priest lowered his gaze and stared straight at the couple.
“Your brother was always the wisest, Harruq Tun,” he said. “He approaches with an army at his side. Your master marches with him. Will you join them? Will you repent, and turn to the life you once lived? Or will you doom yourself and your loved ones by fighting against him?”
Harruq looked to his wife, and in her eyes he saw the floating corpse of his daughter. The half-orc met the priest’s gaze, and he felt his fear shatter underneath his anger.
“I would rather die than become the soulless murderer my brother would have me be,” he said.
Pelarak nodded, accepting the decision.
“So be it. Karak has given us his servants to prepare the way. It is in their teeth you will die.”
The lions roared, all three leering at him with hungry eyes. Harruq snarled back and smashed his swords together. Aurelia clutched her staff, and a flickering shield of red grew around her. Two of the lions belched fire, the powerful streams ripping through the air, only to part against the elf’s shield.
Aurelia twirled her hair and smirked. “That it?”
Pelarak chuckled.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Aurelia Tun, however briefly. May you die with little pain.”
At his command, the lions charged. They filled the entire street, one leading, the other two side by side behind. The ground shook from their footfalls. The night shimmered under the red embers of their fur. The couple held their ground. When the lions were about to reach them, and the foremost had leapt into the air, Aurelia knelt and pressed her fingers against the ground. A wall of ice grew straight upward, several inches thick. The entire wall groaned from the pressure as the first lion hit it. Hundreds of cracks filled the ice.
“Here,” she said, pressing her hands against Harruq’s chest. Red light surrounded their skin. “That will protect us from their fire.”
She kissed him as he stared at the ice wall, which had begun to crumble.
“And their claws and teeth?” he asked.
“On your own there,” she said as the barrier shattered. She flung boulders of ice from her hands as deadly concentration blanketed her face. Harruq stayed at her side, determined to protect her no matter the cost. The foremost lion snarled as the boulders crashed against its face and legs. A second lion leapt past with frightening speed.
“Come try me,” Harruq yelled, running to one side and batting his swords together. The lion veered toward him, its mouth open in roar. A stream of fire shot between the gaping jaws and enveloped the half-orc. He crossed his arms and braced his legs, but Aurelia’s spell held strong. The fire flickered across his armor and skin without burning. He felt the heat, and sweat poured across his skin, but he was not burned.
It seemed the lion was not surprised by his survival, for it leapt with its paws leading, obsidian claws hungry for blood. Harruq dodged to one side, slashing out with his magical blades, Salvation and Condemnation. The sister swords cut through the molten armor and into black flesh. Dark fluid seeped out, bursting into flame at contact with the crisp cold air. The wounded lion cried out in pain and wrenched its body away from the swords. When it landed further down the street, it spun, its eyes glaring with an intelligence that was terrifying.
As Harruq prepared for another leap, Aurelia used a spell to raise her high into the air. The other two lions belched fire and leapt skyward. Lance after lance of ice batted them back, angling them so their claws passed inches from her dress and their teeth snapped air instead of flesh. Frustrated, the two lions circled underneath, snarling up at her.
“Poor kitties,” the elf said as more ice swirled around her fingers. “You want to come and play?” She fired thick lances of ice, which thudded against the muscular feline bodies. She wasn’t harming them much, but at least the two lions were focused on her instead of Harruq. She threw two more boulders of ice. One missed while the other cracked in two as it collided against the spine of a lion. As its cry of pain ended, she heard a voice.
“Well done,” Pelarak shouted. Dark circles sparkled on his fingertips. “But it is time your foolishness ended.”
Aurelia felt a tingling throughout her body, and then the firm grip of gravity took hold. She hooked her fingers and cast another levitation spell, but the magic would not take. The elf fell, her green dress flapping in the air as the lions waited hungrily below. They were denied their meal. Strong arms gripped her as she passed by the houses, jarring her to one side. Together they rolled along the roof. She came to a rest still inside those arms.
“Having fun without me?” Haern asked as he helped her stand.
“About time you…” She stopped. “Are you alright?”
The assassin was clutching his amulet of the golden mountain as his entire body shook.
“The amulet helps,” he said. “I will not cower before the demons of Karak.”
“You poor dear.” She put her hands on his own. White light flared as she cast the same spell she had cast on her husband. Haern’s shaking subsided.
“Delysia and Tarlak will be here soon,” he said. He grabbed her hand and held it firm. “Thank you,” he said.
The lion in the sky roared once more, and it seemed the entire city shook under its power. The two lions leapt atop the building, the wood and plaster cracking under their weight. Their eyes shimmered as they tensed for a pounce.
“Can you keep the lions at bay?” Haern asked.
“Have so far, haven’t I?”
The one on the right dug its claws, waiting for the slightest movement to react.
