The Last Guadian

Darius and Elara face the last guardian of the vault. Daily Flash Fiction Entry.

The smoke dragon lunged with a guttural roar, its incorporeal body twisting like a living storm through the ruined vault. Heat and ash blasted through the room as Elara and Darius dove in opposite directions, barely dodging the sweep of its massive claws.

“Split up!” Darius shouted. “Draw it away from the vault chamber!”

“Easy for you to say!” Elara yelled, rolling to her feet.

Darius ran, heading toward the collapsed western passage, and the dragon veered after him.

Elara sprinted toward the eastern corridor, where water glistened faintly at the end of a tunnel.

She reached the river’s edge and looked back to see Darius arrive, panting, face streaked with soot.

“You alive?” she asked.

“Barely.” He pointed to the water. “We can follow the current; it’ll spit us out near the ruins.”

Behind them, the dragon’s roar echoed down the corridor, closer now.

“We’ll have to swim,” Darius said.

“No,” Elara pointed. “We cross the stones. The riverbed’s shallow here. If we move fast, we stay out of the current.”

Then came the hiss.

A snake, large and iridescent, uncoiled from beneath the surface, eyes glowing with the same runes that shimmered in the vault walls.

“It’s a guardian,” Elara said under her breath. “One of the last I hope.”

“What do we do?” Darius whispered.

She held her ground. “We show respect. Don't fight. Just move.”

They stepped carefully, slowly, and the snake watched...then dipped back beneath the water without striking.

Behind them, the smoke dragon roared again; but this time, it didn’t follow. The snake had chosen its side.

As they reached the far shore and disappeared into the darkness of the escape tunnel, Elara finally spoke.

“Next time,” she muttered, “you tell me everything before we’re running from dragons and ancient river serpents.”