Chapter Twenty-Seven
The first guardian struck like a falling boulder.
Its stone fist crashed down where Lyra had been standing only a second earlier, shattering the floor into a web of deep cracks. Dust and fragments of ancient stone exploded into the air.
Lyra rolled across the ground and sprang back to her feet.
“Okay,” she said breathlessly. “These things are definitely stronger than they look.”
Another guardian lunged toward her from the side.
She lifted both hands and unleashed a blast of golden energy.
The explosion struck the creature square in the chest and sent it sliding backward across the floor. Pieces of carved stone broke away from its armor and scattered across the sanctuary floor.
For a moment the guardian looked like it might collapse.
Then the glowing symbols ac
