A loud scream erupted from the street behind them and the Guard Marshal knew it would be mere minutes until the enemy soldiers caught up to them. They ran along the tightly packed streets and ducked into doorways whenever soldiers passed. They had narrowly avoided confrontation countless times and they came to realise that there was little chance of them making it to the western gate. Coppercloud's original plan had been to get Nallia and the children onto a fast horse and send them out of the city through the southern gate, but as they had approached the stables, word had reached them that the gate in the eastern wall had been opened and that the enemy was inside the city.
A fleeing soldier had then warned them that the southern gate had been taken by strange creatures and Coppercloud could only assume that he had been talking of the flying beasts that they had seen earlier. So, with no other option left, Coppercloud chose to take them through the city centre to try to reach one of the western exits. Unfortunately nothing had gone right.
Shortly after leaving the overrun stables the young boy had overturned his ankle and was now being carried by the Guard Marshal. The enemy soldiers had caught up to them, making the travelling too difficult. Judging by the time they had already spent lurking in the shadows, Coppercloud believed that the enemy would likely have already blocked off all of the exits.
"I hear footsteps down the street," said Nallia, her voice tainted with fear. The Guard Marshal looked ahead and saw a group of Dargonians walking their way. The leader spotted them out and they began to run towards them.
"Damn the gods!," shouted the Marshal as he turned. They were about to flee back down the street when he saw more soldiers heading their way, blocking off their retreat. He moved to the nearest door and kicked it open. Nallia followed him inside and closed the door behind them. "Check for a way out," he called frantically.
Nallia raced through the building and came back shaking her head miserably. Coppercloud spotted a stairway leading up and pushed the children towards it. He followed after Nallia and could hear the Dargonians drawing near. Upstairs he found a short corridor with one room on both sides and a door at the end. He hurried to the door and opened it, finding what appeared to be a sewing room for the servants of the house. There was a small window, high on the right wall, but it wasn't big enough to climb through. The room was full of bundles of cloth and half finished dresses. The Marshal motioned for Nallia to take the children and hide behind a spinning wheel in the corner and moved to close the door.
The sound of the front door being kicked in carried through to the upper level and slowly the creaking footsteps drew up the steps to the small corridor. Coppercloud knew that there was no chance of escape and only hoped that the attackers would show Nallia and the children some sympathy. Voices outside signalled that they had checked the two rooms and were now heading for their location. The Marshal drew his sword and took a deep breath. His hands shook uncontrollably as he tried to steady the hilt and he felt his stomach cramp.
The door to the room burst open and the young boy and girl began to cry. Four of the Dargonian elites entered the room carrying large, already blood stained, axes. They looked at the Marshal through the thin slits in their visored helmets and then spotted Nallia and the children in the corner. One of the Elites moved towards them and Coppercloud moved to block his passage. "Stay away from them," he warned.
He poised his sword in front of him and ran as fast as he could towards the man, but stopped just short as he felt a tremendous blow to his chest. The Marshal fell to the floor, as the Elite that had struck him removed the axe from his chest. Before the Marshal passed into darkness he thought only of the innocent children.
Dawn of the Valiant (The Valerious Chronicles: Book One) Page 72