Chapter Thirty-Three
A Voice Like Doom
Sara’s lungs felt like they were on fire. She was panting with exertion, and the heat of her surroundings was a heavy burden, pressing against her. With the aid of her sister, she was supporting the weight of Evelyn, who was conscious, but still stupefied by whatever disorienting effect Pan Gu’s presence had inflicted upon her.
But as strange as it might seem, the sisters were relatively okay with all this. They were used to pressure, after all, and they were also accustomed to forays into the bizarre and uncanny. They were anxious, of course, but still confident they could escape, and comforted by the presence of one another.
The curator was propped up between Maria and Sara, with one arm thrown over each of their shoulders. They were helping her along as they desperately tried to navigate the museum, searching for an exit from what had quickly become a crumbling inferno.
They were discombobulated and disoriented by the chaotic environment. Fire spewed forth, debris crumbled, and deafening noise surrounded them from all sides.
The floor had become extraordinarily wobbly, bucking and shaking as Pan Gu trampled about. Plus, the beast had inflicted irreversible damage to the structural integrity of the museum. The building had taken on a rickety quality, inspiring the notion that it might very well come crashing down at any moment.
As for Pan Gu’s current activities, the dragon was throwing a most devastating fit, but there was a silver lining to this unsettling scenario. The monster seemed to be completely oblivious to the human beings who scurried in its presence. Indeed, they were of such miniscule stature by comparison, the sisters theorized that they might be considered no more than mice in the eyes of the enraged creature.
They had no complaints whatsoever, concerning this lack of attention. Pan Gu seemed intent only on destroying the museum, not on singling them out and stomping upon them. Maria and Sara realized that this may very well be their only opportunity to get away… if they could actually locate an escape avenue, through all the smoke and fire and carnage.
However, the sisters soon realized they had another problem – one that was rather large, hairy, and possessed of alarmingly long claws. Though they were under the radar of Pan Gu, and did not interest that beast in the slightest, the same could not be said of the Guardian Lion.
As the sisters scrambled through the crumbling, burning museum, desperately seeking a way out, they came to suspect that the creature was stalking them. They would occasionally catch glimpses of its glowing, golden eyes behind sheets of smoke, and they could hear the bangles upon its ankles, the sleigh bells issuing soft jangles with each step.
Most alarming of all, the sound of the Guardian Lion’s growling reached their ears, though they could not pinpoint the location from which it originated. It sounded like a supernatural jungle cat, and it was downright creepy. The beast was stalking them like they were its next meal, and the sisters realized they would not stand a chance against a predator so large and primal.
They had to get beyond the creature’s reach, and fast. If they weren’t quick about it, they wouldn’t have to wait for the building to fall in upon their heads or the flames to overtake them – the Guardian Lion would gobble them up, and that would rather succinctly terminate their days of adventuring.
“I’m not going to lie to you – this is kind of freaking me out!” Maria exclaimed.
“We must be nearing an exit. Keep going!” Sara encouraged.
Above them, Pan Gu roared and spun and smashed. A sweep of its tail caused more debris to plummet to the floor near the sisters, and flame leaped through the air as if it had come alive. A great quantity of smoke gathered in front of the sisters and swirled about, stimulated by the rapid changes in air pressure and the earth-shaking movements of the beast.
As Maria and Sara stared into the swirling, twirling, mess of black smoke, they instantly became even further disoriented. It was like a malicious wall of stuff to impede and gag upon, a wraithlike apparition that was conspiring against them. It soon surrounded them, and with Evelyn still in tow, they slowly spun in a circle, trying to get their bearings and penetrate the smoke with their eyes.
It was a vain effort, however, for they realized that they were hopelessly lost. They could hear the shrieking of Pan Gu and the ongoing destruction that surrounded them, but for the time being, they were without their bearings.
The growling of the Guardian Lion reached their ears, and it seemed as if the beast was right on top of them. But they could not pin down its location, for the deep, rumbling growl reverberated through the air, alternately seeming to come from the right and left, and simultaneously from the front and back. The sporadic sound of the bell-laden bangles could also be heard, though this noise was as aimless as the other.
“Where is it?” Maria asked, her eyes frantically scanning the smokescreen.
“I can’t tell. Stay on your toes!” Sara answered.
Through the dark mass of smoke, they saw a pair of large, golden eyes materialize before them. They could see no other part of the beast, but they knew the eyes belonged to the Guardian Lion. They burned like stars, and were unblinking, fixated upon the sisters.
Maria and Sara were paralyzed by the hypnotizing sight, and they grew rooted to the spot. They could not bring themselves to turn away from those eyes; they were pulled toward them like magnets. Besides which, they knew that to attempt to outrun such a capable, otherworldly predator would be the very height of foolishness, particularly when attempting to tow Evelyn along for the ride.
As they watched, the eyes slowly became larger. The Guardian Lion advanced with purposeful strides. It was a beast within which the genetics of stalking had been hardwired.
The silhouette of the tremendous creature slowly became visible through the wall of smoke, and it was an awe-inspiring sight. Its height was mind-boggling, even for a lion. The shape of its body reinforced how outlandishly large it was, and its shoulder blades slowly switched back and forth with each step that it took.
With an explosion of force from its powerful hindquarters, the Guardian Lion leaped, bursting through the veil of smoke. It attained an impressive altitude as it soared forward. Maria and Sara could only watch, their mouths agape as the beast came for them.
Its forelegs were extended, and even in the darkened, smoky environment, its claws glittered like an array of finely honed cutlery. Its jaws were held wide, revealing a fearsome arrangement of teeth. As it came forth, it roared with an intensity that rattled bones and stirred blood.
And though it was an inarticulate, animal noise, that roar seemed to give voice to a concept nonetheless – doom.