Ashes and Screams

Even with the first stars decorating the sky, it wasn’t getting darker. By now, the faint scent had turned into an inferno that was devouring the Garden. Light and shadow were dancing along their path to the clearing, with thick waves of black and green smoke rolling in low to the ground.

"Where did all this fire come from? What did this?" Lilly coughed, having inhaled some of the smoke.

"I don't know, but we need to pack up. We can't stay here."

The Garden was in chaos. Monsters and animals, from small to flying, were fleeing the scene, ignoring the two of them. At the clearing, they began gearing up. Water, cloth, and armor parts they had taken from felled Gnolls. Anything of use that wouldn’t burden them.

Then, a voice cut through the disorder.

"Not enjoying my housewarming gift, I presume?"

Dumas stood at the edge of the clearing. For such a meager build, the flickering firelight at his back cast him as much larger than he was.

"You monster! Did you do this?" Lilly was enraged. "This is our home! Why would you do this?"

"Trust that I have my reasons, and though you may not understand, I promise my cause is just."
Dumas was smirking, but to Lucian, it didn’t look like he was lying.

"Now kids, as you can discern, we are short on time. Tell me. Where is your guardian? He’s still around, I presume?"

"Why would we ever tell you after what you’ve done!"

His smile faded.

"Disappointing, I must say."

Dumas began approaching.

"Get ready, Lilly!"

The two had trained for moments like these. With Byakko gone, they were forced to hone their skills to fend off monsters, but seeing Dumas’s actions, he made for a fitting substitute.

Lilly stretched her arms out and focused. The wildfire that was beginning to surround them leapt at her command, engulfing the man.
Lucian focused on his own spell in the meantime, static turning into that familiar—

A horrid screech shattered his concentration. With a wave of Dumas’s hand, the fire around him extinguished in an instant. Not even his clothes were charred.

"Lilly, what’s going on?"

"I don't know, but I feel so..." Lilly collapsed.

"Lilly!" Lucian knelt beside her, picking her off the ground. Her breathing was heavy and she was sweating profusely. There was clear discomfort in her face, but her eyes still met his.

"What did you do to her!?"

Dumas hesitated for a second. "This is... unexpected. But don’t worry, she’ll be fine in a few hours, rest assured."

Tears began rolling in. Who did he think he was? Lucian prepared his spell. Once Dumas was close enough, he wouldn’t hold back.

To his dismay, he wasn't closing in anymore, instead being lost in thought.

"It's okay, Lucian. I'm fine." Dark bags emerged under Lilly’s eyes and Lucian could tell she was struggling to stay awake.
"Just stay with me, please."

Those words set Lucian off. Even with his heart pounding like a sledgehammer, he made sure to gently lay her down. Vengeance was the only thing on his mind now.

"The girl should suffice, I presume." Dumas turned around, and with a wave of his hand, that awful shriek returned and parted the blaze.

"Barion! I've found them. You can take the boy, but the girl stays for now."

Shadows emerged from the scorched treeline, more humans. Some with leather armor and bows, others in full suits of armor. Then there was Barion: studded beard, large scar, and a sword with an uncanny blue tint, streaked with fresh blood. His eyes were locked on Lucian, his stride determined.

"I... I'm not leaving without Lilly!" Maintaining the spell was becoming difficult, but now Lucian wasn't even sure who to aim it at anymore.

Barion sheathed his sword. "We won't leave her, lad. You're just coming first."

"N... No, stay away. I'm warning you! Either we go together or not at all!"

"Listen lad, we don’t have time for this. The Exabiest could return any second. Do you know how many monsters we had to slay to even get here?" Loss and exhaustion were carved into his eyes. He wasn't bluffing.

Just as he was about to grab Lucian, a strong gust of wind blew out the surrounding fire, cloaking everything in darkness for a second. A menacing growl sent horrified whispers through the troupe. Lucian turned and looked directly into a familiar face.

"Byakko!"

The tiger’s eyes gleamed at the multitude of invaders that had tarnished and infected his sanctum. Lucian knew, it wasn’t a question of who dies anymore, only the order they would perish in.

"Barion, take the boy. I'll distract the Exabiest.
Soldiers, prepare!
The rest of you escort!" Dumas ordered.

The troop rallied and acting on the sudden confusion, Lucian took off. Barion lunged after him but fell short. Set on exacting vengeance now, he charged at the old mage.
Surprised, Dumas raised his arm, but this time Lucian was prepared and braced himself.

"DUMAS!"

The screech from his opponent’s spell was mind-numbing, but Lucian stayed focused. Having closed the distance, he aimed his hand at Dumas and released at full force.

"FLASH!"

The beam of white light was magnificent. For a moment, it was as if the sun had climbed back to its zenith. The searing sensation bit down on the skin of his palm, but Lucian was ready to push through.

Squinting to avoid blinding himself, he missed the hand that was now on his wrist.
A pained laughter cut through the light as it dimmed.

"You kids are full of surprises! First the girl, and now this! What a wonderful place this is!"

Lucian looked up at him in shock. He had landed a solid hit. Parts of Dumas’s skin bubbled from the heat shock. Deep scarring was etched across his face. From his angle, Lucian thought he could even see some of the cheekbone. But his eye. His good eye was beaming with excitement.

"BARION!"

A charge followed by a roar could be heard. Before Lucian could turn around, an invisible force had tackled him away from Dumas. In a desperate attempt for control, Lucian tried holding on to something, anything, and managed to grab hold of Dumas's brooch, ripping it clean off.

Holding it tightly, he watched Byakko getting intercepted by Dumas. Unable to give chase, the tiger chose two men who'd gotten too close as his first victims. Leaving the clearing it's treeline blocked the view, but he still heard their shireking fate.
As the curtain of fire began encircling the clearing once more, all Lucian could make out were Dumas shouting orders and panicked screams from soldiers who were getting torn to pieces. At least Lilly was safe with him. Byakko could—

Despite the heat, ice shot through Lucian’s veins when he looked at the grizzled veteran.

"Where's Lilly?"

"Don't worry lad. Dumas will bring her back. Even in this state he's—"

An elbow to the back of Barion’s head gave Lucian the chance to weasel himself out of his grip.

"Never leave the clearing alone... I'm coming, Lilly!"

Lucian sprinted toward the battlefield, when suddenly everything went silent. The ground began shaking. An erratic charge prickled his skin.
Lucian was getting warning signals from every part of his mind and body when something blunt hit him over the head from behind.

Disoriented, Lucian found himself on the ground before beeing picked up again. Looking back toward the clearing, rising out of the blaze, was Byakko. He wasn’t coming out of them, not after him. But growing, ever larger. His form dwarfed not only the flames but even the Garden itself. His face was fury, his eyes were red hatred, and at a last frenzied roar, Lucian lost consciousness.

"Lilly..."