I pull out an Infusion of the Phoenix, a very specific rare Infusion meant only to help Priests who have had their Mark of the Phoenix scarred through and rendered useless. It gives meresistanceto burning, but because of the way it’s made, I won’t have access to my Mark of the Phoenix. It certainly won’t save me from concentrated dragonfire for long, but it might give me a few seconds of survival. Normally, I’d never use this one, but against a dragon, I’m certainly not going to be trying to kill it with fire.
I down the Cat, Falcon, and Bear, but skip the Boar. If Sidon gets his claws or teeth on me, no amount of thick skin offers any protection. What would Cedric and Bram tell me?Look for weaknesses. A dragon is no different from any other beast, no different from a demon or wolf.Stay away from the teeth and front claws. Watch for kicks. That tail looks like it could be brutal.
Watch those wings.How am I supposed to fight something that can fly?My bow.
I turn to Azric as Sidon takes another step towards me. “What does lightning do to a dragon?”
He suddenly becomesveryserious. “Do not use lightning against him.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because it can kill him. The goal isn’t to kill him. It’s to fight him and not die. I… I didn’t…”
“The girl can use whatever she wishes,” Sidon says, his head coming down to ground level for the first time. “If a human, even one with tricks and lightning, can kill me, then I deserve to die.”
He lunges at me. The Falcon spurs me into motion, and I leap forward and to the left. I feel his head rush past me, jaws snapping as I roll. My wings are pulled tight against my body, and as soon as I stand up, I look upward. I’m underneath him, a dangerous spot. All he’d have to do is lie down, and I’d be crushed.
Instead, he steps, the massive paw coming down to smash me against the stones.
I roll again, and dust flies into the air as stone shakes right behind me. I race toward his back leg and leap onto it. Just like demons, those back legs are for strength and don’t have as much mobility. My hands cling to the ridge around each of his scales.
It’s easier than climbing a wall. There are hand and footholds everywhere, and I scale it as if I were created for the task, my hands and feet moving on instinct. While I climb, I try to figure out how I’m supposed to do anything beyond not dying. I’m supposed to fight Sidon, not just escape him.
The bow really is my only weapon. Even if I were strong enough to pierce his scales, which I’m not, a dagger just doesn’t go deep enough to actually wound him. I’m not allowed to use Marks. My bow and those lightning arrows are the only answer.
First, though, I need to get onto his back. Strangely enough, being on a dragon’s back seems like the safest place to be. Then he leaps, and everything changes. His wings, as wide as he is tall, beat, and it’s as if he’s thrust us into the path of a storm. The world around me becomes a mass of swirling wind.
I hang on, not able to make any progress even though I’m almost to the curve of his hip. I can feel every wing beat as he soars intothe air, but thanks to the Bear, I hang on. Then, again, the world changes, and it’s like my body’s forgotten where the ground is.
It takes a moment to understand what’s happened.He’s upside down. I remind myself of the wings on my back. If I fall, I won’t die. Probably. I wish I’d had more than a single chance to use the Vulture in my training.
My hands shift to hold me as the sky turns into the ground. The toes of my boots hook under a scale, and I’m a little terrified of whether I’ll be able to stay on.
Sidon was trying to knock me off, but he might have just given me the perfect tool to get onto his back. If I could control my fall, I wouldn’t have to climb. I just can’t do it from this position. I need to flip upside down so I’m falling feet first rather than headfirst. Again, I repeat to myself that falling doesn’t mean I’ll die.
I let go with my feet. My muscles tighten, holding me still while only my grip keeps me from falling. I couldn’t hold this position for long, but I don’t have to. I spin on the dragon, my feet coming down and my head moving upward. I breathe a sigh of relief as my heels find another scale to support them, and I’m left with my back to the dragon’s leg. I’m still not quite in the right position. With a single hand on the dragon scale, I rotate and turn my body to where I’m facing the leg again.
If I didn’t have the Bear and Cat running in my veins, I’d have been pulled away by the hurricane force winds already.
I let go and slide. My wings flare, slowing me some. My legs and arms are wrapped around him to steady me and make sure Idon’t fly off. Just as I get to his hip, he changes orientation again. I cling to his scales. My feet dangle, which is utterly terrifying.
Just like before, he spins, but instead of ending upside down, I’m lying down on his hip. My heart’s racing like never before as I do my best to stand up. His back is almost ten feet across with a long length of silver spines running down his backbone that are as thick as flagpoles and end in a sharp point.
They also make far better handholds than scales do. I run alongside them, and Sidon dives. Immediately, I grab hold of one and hang on with an iron grip. My wings are pressed tight against my back, and I feel like if a single feather catches this wind, I’ll go flying. My feet slide out from under me, and the wind whips at me hard enough that my cloak turns upside down. Several of my Infusions fall out, but I barely notice.
My bow beats against me as the wind buffets it. My armor is rattling against me under my tunic. Several of my arrows catch a gust at the right angle and fly. I notice none of it.
Instead, I only worry about not falling. The world has become nothing but the feel of my fingers against the bony spine. It’s rough with thin barbs that extend every few inches. My fingers press against two of those barbs, and they slowly but surely cut through my skin.
Still, I hang on for dear life.
Then it all stops. I fall, not toward the ground, but flat against Sidon’s back. There’s no roaring wind. The ground isn’t moving under me.
He landed.
I leap to my feet, blood pouring from my cut fingers, and I pull my bow from my shoulders. Sidon’s sinuous head has turned, and like a dog trying to bite a flea, his gaping maw races toward me.
For a moment, I see a strange shining bit of light behind one of the scales where his neck and chest meet. It’s unlike any of the rest of him. Where they’re like rain clouds with the sun hiding behind them, this is like the moon on a cloudless night. Soft, yet undeniably bright. Impossible to ignore, yet easy to look at.
