"W-what…" was the only thing that came out of my mouth.
My mind had gone blank, I couldn't take my eyes off that thing. Just a moment ago… there was Myriam, a person, someone who had given me work, food, a place in the village. Now… none of that remained, she was simply torn apart before me.
The beast tilted its head slightly.
I felt my body tense up without being able to avoid it. My hands trembled around the sword, which I was holding by pure and stupid instinct, there was no way I could do anything against a wyvern.
The air seemed to compress around the creature. Its chest expanded slowly, the feathers along its neck bristled and a faint, reddish light began to seep through the gaps of its beak.
A deep hum began to sound. My legs wouldn't respond, I remained there, standing, watching how that thing opened its mouth, how that light intensified until it almost turned black.
"Luke!" I heard Serin's voice, broken, distant.
The wyvern finished opening its jaws and, for an instant, everything fell silent.
Then I saw it, a pulse of energy condensed in its throat, spinning uncontrollably on itself like a compressed sphere of light and heat, ready to be released.
I'm going to die. That was my only thought in that moment, my cowardice reaching such a point that it didn't even allow me to escape in a dangerous situation. I'm simply usele…
*Krrrash*
The world shattered.
Everything turned completely white, everything looked brittle. A blink later I found myself rolling down the thatched roof of a nearby house. Before falling completely to the ground I reinforced my back, neck and other important areas with pulsar so as not to hurt myself as much.
As soon as I hit the ground I felt everything tremble and then I was left completely deaf with a loud ringing in my ears. As I lifted myself slightly I could see the place where I had been just seconds ago, it had been completely wiped out by the wyvern.
I didn't understand what had happened, I thought I had already died… I began to look around desperately. The next moment, when some of my hearing returned, I heard someone groaning in pain behind me.
I turned and saw Serin, trying to get up while spitting mouthfuls of blood.
"S-Serin" I threw myself to the ground and tried to help her.
Now that I saw her with me I knew what had happened, she had used her ability with the daggers to move us away from the impact zone. She had saved my life.
Apparently the wyvern thought it had exterminated us, so it raised its wings and with a loud crash lifted into the air. It headed toward the screams and clashes of swords on the outskirts of the village.
When I looked back at Serin she was already on her knees, her eyes cold and lifeless as she stared at her own hands.
"We have to leave now, the whole village is full of soldiers and creatures, we need to find Edric and the others", I said hesitantly.
"He… wasn't supposed to die" Serin muttered, still fixed in place.
I was desperate, I didn't know what to do in this situation. Demanding that she help me after being so pathetic not only in front of the wyvern but against all the creatures I had fought felt hypocritical on my part.
I bit my lip in desperation, but then I thought of my brother, he is always firm and quick in these kinds of situations.
I placed my hands on Serin's shoulders and shook them quickly, "Serin, I… I'm not even close to the right person to say this, but you have to stand up".
She moved her eyes slightly toward me.
I continued, "I don't know what you must be going through right now, but you have to survive, even if I didn't know him well I'm sure he wouldn't want you to die in vain here", I lowered my head in embarrassment, "besides, I won't make it without your help".
She opened her mouth slightly, but in the end didn't speak, she closed her eyes for a second and composed herself. When she opened them she got onto one knee, wiped away her tears, the blood from her mouth, and looked at me. "The fight with the soldiers left me exhausted, I could barely use my Flashdagger one last time to escape the wyvern".
I let out a sigh of relief, not only because she would help me, but because I knew she had recovered, at least a little.
I shook my head, "We shouldn't fight, the village is full of enemies, we need to get to Edric's house as soon as possible to meet up with my brother… and hopefully with the rest".
She kept her gaze on me, "Alright, let's go", she extended her hand so I could help her up.
I nodded and helped her to her feet. I cast one last glance toward the now almost night sky, blackened by smoke, where the wyvern was no longer visible. I swallowed hard.
We moved through a narrow passage between two partially collapsed houses, trying to stay away from the main streets. In the distance, the clash of steel, muffled screams and, from time to time, the roar of some creature I couldn't identify could be heard. The entire village had turned into a battlefield.
Serin walked just half a step ahead of me, her breathing still irregular, but controlled. I noticed how her gaze constantly moved, evaluating routes, shadows, possible threats. She wasn't fully recovered, but she was still far more aware of the situation than I was. At one point, she slightly raised her hand, signaling me to stop.
Two… no, three men. They were coming from the intersection that connected to the main street. I leaned slightly, peeking just enough to see without being seen. Dark armor, the same I had seen before. One of them carried a spear, another a short sword stained with blood. The third had a woman grabbed by the nape, dragging her along the ground.
I felt a knot in my stomach.
I glanced at Serin. I felt like if she clenched her jaw any harder it would break, she was furious, but she knew better than anyone that we couldn't do anything, so we waited.
The soldiers passed by without noticing our presence, their voices fading into the general chaos. When the sound of their steps disappeared, I slowly released the air, as if only then remembering I was breathing.
"We have to go around", I murmured, "if we keep going this way we'll end up on the main street":
Serin nodded without saying anything and pointed toward an opening between a fallen fence. We slipped through there, entering what seemed to be the back area of several houses connected by small yards.
We followed that path for a few minutes until we moved away from the center of the village, then we were able to see not too far away what I had called home for the last year, Edric's house.