A Dragon’s Tale

The dragon leapt in a high arc backwards away from the thug with the round shield, hitting at least ten feet at the apex of his leap.  As it leapt, it twisted in mid-air until it was facing down toward another shocked thug, who craned his neck and leaned backwards slightly to follow the dragon’s trajectory. 

The dragon took advantage of the thug’s poor footing by flipping the spear around and driving the butt spike downwards.  The thug tried to parry, but since the dragon was above him, he was completely out of place.  There was a slight crunch of steel piercing bone, and the thug dropped like a ton of bricks. 

Four left.

The dragon landed, pulling the spear out of the thug’s skull as it did so. 

*Ethan, stay with me here.*

The dragon shook its head, ignoring the annoying elf in its mind, she believed that she could help him, but he didn’t need her help.  He was a dragon, and what mortal could possibly hope to help a dragon?  He had toyed with these pathetic vermin long enough.  He opened his mouth and let loose a terrifying roar.  The earsplitting sound washed over the thugs and The Arena audience like liquid nitrogen; freezing everything in its place. 

The dragon smiled and threw its spear at one thug, before calling its hammer to its hand and throwing at another.  Still near paralyzed by the dragon’s roar, they both reacted too slowly to defend themselves, and they fell to earth. 

Two left. 

The dragon felt a rush of satisfaction.  Those insects had finally learned what a real dragon could do.  They understood their place; or would if they still lived.  They were prey, not his equals.  They were rodents; insects to be toyed with... and he was getting tired of the game. 

Leaving the hammer where it lay, it called its spear back to its hand and went on the offensive.  He ignored the thug with the large round shield and darted toward the other one.  He took a flying leap forward, using his momentum and leverage on the spear to augment a powerful swing.

The thug panicked and foolishly tried to block instead of dodge or deflect.  The dragon was delighted to see the fool’s meager strength was nowhere near enough to block the blow.  The edge of the spear hit the man’s arm, opening a massive gash.  But the finishing blow was the thrust that immediately followed it.

One left.

The dragon turned to face the thug with the large shield.  His face was white and he trembled slightly, but he looked resolved.

Idiot.

What mere mortal could hope to survive a dragon? 

The dragon considered what to do after he had dispatched this last thug.  It had half a mind to tear that bitch Kendra’s clothes off and take her right here in The Arena floor.  It would serve her right to be fully exposed and bred in front of this crowd for daring to think she was his equal. 

The dragon could think of no better or more fitting torment for her than to force this pathetic little girl -- who clearly hated dragons -- to birth one into this world; to make her give life to the majestic creatures she so clearly despised.

Oh yes, the dragon thought; she would pay.

*ETHAN!*

* * *

Ethan shook his head, Alana’s voice jolting him back to his senses as his actions in the last minute caught up to him.

”What the fuck?!” he said as he remembered the thoughts which had just been running through his head replayed in slow motion.  That was NOT something he wanted to do to Kendra at all. 

Ever. 

*Better?* Alana asked.

*Thanks, I was... thanks.* 

*There’s only one left plus Kendra.  You can do this Ethan, and you don’t need your dragon side to do it either.*

Ethan grimaced, but didn’t reply.  Truth was, he might be dead now if it wasn’t for his draconic impulses.  The dragon had cut through those men like a hot knife through butter. 

He wasn’t sure he could have.

He turned his attention to the last remaining thug.  The man with the large round shield was cautiously advancing.  His shield covered nearly his entire body and he looked determined.  Ethan called his hammer back to his hand and strode forward to meet him. 

He spared a glance at Kendra as they closed distance.  The dragon hunter hadn’t moved much since the battle began.  She seemed content to watch.  She made no move to attack or to defend the last remaining thug.  Instead, she sat down on The Arena floor and leaned back to rest on her arms, watching and waiting.

Ethan turned his attention to the thug, who was only a few yards away by now. 

”Last chance.”  Ethan said.  ”Give up now.” 

The shielded thug spat.  ”Fuck you.”

Ethan dropped his hammer to get a two-handed grip on his spear, and prepared to fight. 

 He didn’t wait long. 

The thug rushed forward, using his shield to defend while his sword rained down blows on Ethan’s spear shaft.   Thank God Alana had enchanted it to be cut resistant; the thug’s blade barely nicked it.  Plus, He could see his attacks much better now with his improved reflexes.

The thug was good.

Very good.

Twice in twenty seconds, the only thing that saved Ethan was his recently enhanced reflexes. He didn’t even have an opening to counter attack.  His slightly improved reflexes only made a small difference, but that small difference somehow made a huge difference.  

”Drop ’em now and I’ll make your death quick.” The thug gloated after Ethan had leapt back almost ten feet to get some space.

He panted as he finally got some breathing room.  *I’m open to suggestions.*

*Never come anywhere near Arcanum ever again,* Alana replied.

*Don’t worry, they’ll see nothing but taillights after this.*

*What are taillights?*

*They’re...  nevermind.*  Ethan tuned his attention to the man in front of him.  He was wise to Ethan’s hammer-return trick, and had assiduously avoided putting himself between the dragon and his hammer.  He desperately wished his spear had some kind of small hook on the end he could use to hook the shield out of the way. Sadly, it didn’t. 

The thug attacked. 

Ethan found himself on the defensive almost instantly.  The thug used the combination of his sword and shield masterfully.  He defended like a tank with the one, and attacked like a viper with the other.  Ethan was forced to constantly give ground, often the only thing that saved him was the newly improved reflexes. 

Then finally, he was too slow.

The thug used his shield to conceal a thrust.  He saw it coming too late to block, and was forced to dive backwards to avoid it.

But he wasn’t fast enough.

A sharp pain erupted in his side moments before he hit the ground, the thug’s sword having opened a long shallow cut.  His fall trapped his spear under him.  The thug charged forward with his sword raised.  The war hammer was too far away to call.  Ethan started rolling, hoping beyond hope he would move quickly enough.

He didn’t.

There was a brief, infinitesimally small moment where Ethan was 100% sure he was going to die.  He couldn’t block, parry, or dodge.  The thug was in range and he was about to die.   He had one thought in that instant; he pleaded with God -- he wasn’t even sure God existed -- but he pleaded with Him not to leave his wife without her husband and his unborn daughter without her father.  He couldn’t bear the thought of hurting them that way.

Then the thug tripped.

His foot caught on a small bit of wood that was buried in the sand with only an inch exposed.  He lost his balance and his sword veered slightly off course, missing Ethan by barely an inch. 

Ethan finished his roll, leapt as far away as possible, and called his spear back to his hand.  He was panting, and his entire body was coursing with more adrenaline than he’d ever felt.  His side ached, but the wound wasn’t very serious so he ignored it.  His fingers shook slightly as he resolutely stared at his opponent.

The thug reached down and yanked the bit of wood out of the sand.  It was maybe a foot long and looked like it had come from a spear shaft. The thug tossed it aside and glared at him. 

*Ethan, Rachel suggested using your wing’s claws to hook his shield, just like you did with former champion,* Alana said. The fear surging over their bond was so great he closed the door to his mental fortress so didn’t feel her emotions, but could still hear her. 

*Will do, this guy is good.*

A plan now in mind, Ethan advanced on the thug.  They traded blows for several moments, then Ethan lunged high to make him move his shield.  With the thug’s view partially blocked, Ethan reached out with his right wing.  He used the bat-like claw to hook the bottom of the shield, tipping it up as he drew his spear back for a thrust to the legs.

The thug was caught completely off guard. 

Ethan thrust his spear forward and deep into the man’s thigh, just as the thug swung a counter attack.  Even with his enhanced reflexes, he wasn’t fast enough to completely dodge it.

A jet of white-hot pain shot through his left arm, thankfully missing bone and major arteries, but cutting deeply into his bicep.  His left arm dropped limply to his side, blood flowing freely as his spear fell from his hands. He started healing it immediately, but it would take time.

Ethan and the thug looked at each other for a moment.  The thug’s leg wound was bleeding so profusely, he thought the man’s femoral artery must be severed.  Moments later, the thug’s face drained of color, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell to the ground unmoving.

Zero left.

Moments later, Ethan felt something wrap around his torso.  It was some kind of thin rope that wrapped completely around his chest several times.  Then -- as if by magic, the two weights at the ends attracted each other and held fast.  He couldn’t move his arms because his upper arms were now pinned to his chest. His wings were now likewise pinned.

Kendra. 

He whirled around to see the raven-haired dragon huntress sauntering toward him, a bastard sword in her hands.  Once again, she had completely outmaneuvered him.

”Silly dragon.”  She chuckled wickedly.  ”Never take your eyes off the most dangerous foe.  Those bolos are enchanted so nothing but my death or yours will release them.  If you give up now, I’ll make your death slightly less painful.” 

He growled at her.   She pulled a necklace out from her under her shirt.  It was made of teeth that looked very familiar.

”I once worked with someone who had this quote he said every time we killed a dragon...  until one of your kind murdered him.  He said it so often, I accidentally memorized it.”

”I certainly didn’t kill your friend.”

Kendra ignored him.  ”As my friend said: You read the Book of Light, dragon?”

”No.”

She continued quoting.  ”Well, there’s this passage I got memorized. It sort of fits this occasion: Ezekiel 25:17. The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.”

Despite the pain and the danger, that phrasing jogged something in his brain.  It took him a moment to place it.  It was from the movie Pulp Fiction.  Samuel L. Jackson’s character quotes it to a guy they’re interrogating right before he kills him. 

How did Kendra’s friend know...?

She smiled gleefully as she continued.  ”Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.”

She flourished her sword.  ”And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers!”

She raised it, clearly preparing to charge.  ”And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!”

She charged.

Ethan took stock. 

His left arm was near useless and both his arms and his wings were firmly strapped to his chest by the bolo, though he could still use the lower half of his right arm.  He was exhausted; she was rested.  He couldn’t use his spear properly because that required both hands.  Plus, his one trick with the hammer would be far more difficult to pull off now.

”Oh fuck.”

(End of chapter 12)

Note: This chapter began on day 48 of Ethan’s life in the Ten Kingdoms and ended on day 49.