by Lisa Daniels
Annora finally gave a sigh of relief as it roared and took off toward the Unforgiving Ridges. Waiting a few minutes to make sure it did not return, the dragon hunter quickly made her way to the base of the mountain. It looked like this part of the mountain had actually been part of a pass for humans at some point as it was very easy going for the first part of her climb. The young woman was more than halfway up toward the cave when she had to switch from walking to climbing. Her arm began hurting and she suspected that the wound had opened again, and the wounded ankle proved to be a bit of a hindrance as she worked her way toward the cave. Though the going was slow, Annora reached the cave in just under an hour. Wiping her hands on a cloth, the dragon slayer tried to mask the smell of blood from the open cuts on her hands after the climb. Looking around, she didn’t notice the stunning view of the forest under the setting sun. All that she cared about was the return of the dragon. As it was not in sight, Annora turned to check out the cave.
It was always best to be slow in approaching a dragon cave because there could be live animals who were scared, wounded, or both. Being too eager to get inside a cave was a novice mistake that had cost too many their lives. Annora carefully entered and allowed her vision to adjust. The inside was small for a dragon’s lair, but to a human, it was still an immense cavern. The ceiling was far higher than any castle she had been in, but it did not impress the dragon hunter. It was actually rather small, even for the size of the dragon. There would not be much room to fight, and the number of places to hide were nearly none. The only good thing was that there were no animals or bones present. That would at least make the fight easier since she wouldn’t have to worry about tripping over bones or rocks. A level floor was a unique kind of advantage that she had not experienced often.
There was no sign of a human in the cave. Annora had not seen any other caves near this one, but even if there had been, the rock would have made it very difficult to control the dragon when it woke. Even if a mage had ridden on the creature, there was no evidence of a person living there. The dragon hunter tried to shake off whatever the men had been talking about. It was not her concern. The only thing that mattered was taking care of the problem as soon as possible.
Finding there wasn’t much to explore, Annora returned to the entrance. Given the size of the cave and the lack of hiding spots, it would not take the dragon long to realize the dragon hunter was there. Deciding that she should look for a place to hide outside the entrance, the dragon hunter stepped out into the fading light. Turning to the right, she looked around and found a small area that would be difficult to reach. It would be worth the challenge if she was able to comfortably hide there. Annora leaned over to secure any loose articles.
When she stood up, a hand covered her mouth and an arm went around her waist. A familiar voice hissed in her ear, “And just what the hell do you think you are doing here? I don’t have anyone to hand you over to here.”
Annora’s surprise lasted only a couple of seconds. She could feel Elian looking around for the dragon which meant he was splitting his attention between her and keeping watch for the dragon. While his attention wasn’t entirely on her, Annora slammed her elbow into his stomach. She felt some satisfaction as he had not been prepared for the attack.
Rolling away from him, Annora came up with her sword and dirk in hand. Elian gave her a wry look. “Are we really back to this? Here? Now?”
Annora said nothing as she glared at him.
Faster than she would have believed, the man pulled his broadsword from his back. “I did not save you so that I could cut you down on a god-forsaken mountain or let you run off to get killed by a dragon. Why are you doing this?”
Her only response was to swat the tip of his sword toward the edge with her dirk. Elian closed his eyes and shook his head. “Please don’t do this. I already have enough to manage here without this.”
“That is not my problem.”
“And what is your problem?” His handsome face was cold as he looked down at her, the broadsword now firmly pointed at her.
Annora took a step back, both of her blades blocking any angles of a potential strike. “Right now, you are my problem.”
He plunged the sword into the rock near his foot. Annora noticed the way the rocks fractured around it. The man was much stronger than anyone she had ever seen because that should have been impossible, especially since he only used one hand. There was exasperation in his voice, but also a hint of concern. “Please, I really don’t want to be doing this. Not with you.”
Without easing her own stance, the dragon slayer responded, “I would rather avoid this as well, but you don’t always get a choice.”
“But why are you here? I can hardly believe that you made it this far given how-”
“I am perfectly fine. The vast majority of my wounds are completely healed.”
“Because of what I did. It’s not a magic fix! Well, it is, but even magic can only do so much.”
Annora narrowed her eyes. “I never gave permission for the use of magic.”
“Well, you really weren’t in a state to give consent for anything. Given your condition, it was the only way to ensure you didn’t die. I know that you are not completely healed, and yet you insist on this reckless behavior that is going to get you killed.”
“I’ve had so much worse.”
He gave her a very condescending look. “Yes, I could tell. To be honest, I have no idea how you have lived so long.”
“I live for my job.”
Elian paused, turned his head a little, and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Are you some kind of nature watcher? Because if that is the case, this is not the place for you to be.”
Annora laughed, “I’m nothing of the sort.”
“Then why are you here? What reason could you have for being at the cave of a dragon?” He watched her carefully, expecting her to be shocked by the mention of what lived there.
Her eyes shone as she stared back at him, her weapons still leveled at him. Instead of responding, she attacked, her blades moving quickly. The broadsword should have slowed him down, but the way Elian used it was almost as effective as if he had two blades.
Pressing her back, he continued to talk. “Why? Why have you come here?” His voice was forceful and emotional.
Annora lunged forward trying to gain more ground. She responded, but lost a little ground as her blades struck from both sides. “Because I’m a dragon hunter. This is what I do.”
The look of shock on his face was not reflected in his actions. It was almost as if his weapon moved without Elian’s knowledge. “What do you mean? Is this your first time? Do you think this is an easy job? I can promise you, it isn’t worth your life.”
The dragon slayer let out a bark of a laugh. “It is hardly my first.”
A look passed over Elian’s eyes as he watched the way she fought. The woman’s skills were unbelievable. What he had seen her do before paled in comparison to the way she was fighting now. Knowing that she wasn’t fully healed, Elian began to suspect the unthinkable. “Who hired you?”
“What difference does it make?” She was moving in front of him like a predator, her blades ready to begin the attack again.
“Because it matters. Who hired you?” His eyes narrowed, and his broadsword blocked any further attack.
“You never asked my name.”
“What?” Elian gave her an honestly shocked look.
“You never even asked who I was. Why do you care what I do or who I work for if you can’t even bother to find out who I am first?”
Elian opened and shut his mouth. “I didn’t care who you were because that wasn’t what mattered. I wasn’t responsible for you getting hurt, but I was responsible for what happened next.”
Annora lowered her blades as she tried to understand what he was saying.
His eyes showed how guilty he felt. “You were right. I should have done something.”
“I don’t understand.” Annora wa
s standing still. As soon as he moved, her weapons were back at the ready.
Elian looked up at the sky. “I felt responsible for you, so I couldn’t just let you go. I’ve made that mistake before and,” he raised his hands indicating their surroundings, “this is where I am because of it.”
“That was very sweet of you, but it was totally unnecessary. Now you know, you can leave and not feel bad about it.”
“I cannot leave, not if you intended to kill her.”
“Why do you care about a dragon?”
Elian struck with such speed and force that Annora had a hard time keeping up with him. The first blow knocked the sword out of her hand and into the cave. The second blow forced her into the mouth of the cave.
He loomed in front of her before she could retrieve the dirk. Scrabbling to get away from Elian and retrieve her weapon, Annora repeated her question, “Why do you care? Are you a hunter too?”
Elian let out a laugh that felt as if it would shake the entire mountain. “No, I am not a dragon slayer. I do not kill my kind. I am responsible for what happened to her, for the fact that she lost her mind.”
Annora had no idea what he was talking about, but she could not allow him to trap her in the cave. As he moved toward her, she dove past him as he explained. Back out in the dusky light, the dragon slayer tried to find her stride. Whatever the guy had said was insane – it made no sense.
When he strode out of the cave, his sword wasn’t even ready. “Who hired you?”
As she tried to strike, Elian easily knocked her attack wide. “Who hired you?”
Annora tried to press in again only to be easily rebuffed a second time.
“Who hired you?”
“King Salmon.” Her eyes were narrowed as she watched the look of horror on his face. “But I would have done it for free after what this monster did to Marked Tree. Do you have any idea what those people suffered? After so long, they were starting to prosper, and then – BAM!” Her sword lashed out again while he seemed almost immobile. He deflected her strike, but she managed to catch his forearm. A thin line of blood appeared.
Elian didn’t seem to notice as he watched her. “You are The Fiend?”
“I’ve never heard that name before.”
Annora wasn’t sure she heard him as he continued, “You’ve killed over a dozen dragons? On your own?”
It was the usual response: “Couldn’t possibly be true. I’m just a woman. Women could never do something so manly.”
Elian shook his head. Annora was about to say something else when he answered, “You can’t be. I don’t want you to be.”
“Too bad. This is personal. That monster dies tonight.” She stepped forward.
Looking directly into her eyes, his own pleading, he said, “Please don’t do this. Just let me talk to her. Let me talk to her first.”
“What? It’s a dragon, you can’t persuade or talk to a dragon.”
“Please. I promise-” Whatever Elian was about to say was lost as a loud roar let them know that the reason for their fight had returned.
Both heads swiveled as the dragon came crashing down on the ledge nearby.
Chapter 9
Impossible Odds
Without thinking, Annora’s blades immediately went up to block herself as the dragon’s teeth snapped out at her. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her arm and jerked her out of reach of the dragon. From the place where she fell, Annora looked up to see Elian with his arms outstretched. “Please stop!” he pleaded.
The dragon looked down at him, its eyes unfocused.
“Please stop this. It’s enough!” His voice was commanding. The dragon seemed to waver in what it should do.
“Come back with me.” His voice cracked with emotion.
The dragon roared and before Annora could do anything, it swatted Elian over the lip of the ledge as if he were a fly.
Annora’s heart stopped as she watched the look on his face as he disappeared over the edge. Please be safe. Please be safe. Her thoughts were beyond her control. Oh gods, just be safe and I will help you when this is over with. I will do anything you ask, just be safe. Please be alright.
She nearly choked when that last thought passed. Enraged, she immediately lunged at the dragon. The dragon was momentarily confused as the woman raced toward her. It was only when the sword and dirk connected with her throat that the dragon roared and started to fight back.
Annora was going in for another attack when she felt a hot wind blowing up from the side of the mountain. Both her head and the dragon’s turned as another dragon emerged. In her shock, Annora forgot to watch the first dragon. It seized the opportunity to swat her, causing the dragon hunter to smash into the rock face. The wound on her arm reopened and the blood freely flowed through her new shirt. Her ankle twisted the wrong way as she crumpled to the ground.
Ready to accept the end, Annora looked up. There was no way she would be able to face two dragons, and now she would likely not be able to face one.
To her surprise, the new dragon was more than double the size of the first and it was attacking the smaller dragon. While her mind told her it wasn’t mating season, Annora’s body immediately took her into the cave to get out of the way. There was no way to go down the cliff now, and remaining outside was a sure way to get killed. The odds weren’t too much better in the cave, but at least there they were better. Annora pushed up against the wall as the entire place shook from the fight going on outside.
The smaller dragon repeatedly tried to get into the cave, but the larger dragon kept dragging it back. One time the small dragon looked ready to breathe fire, but something happened and it had ended up swallowing the flame before it could be spewed into the cavern.
Though she had gotten as far back in the cavern as she could, Annora could still see the dragons fighting. The large one was too big to stand, so it continued to hover near the entrance. There was no way it could have entered the cave, nor could it land to stop the other one, but its size was a definite advantage as the other dragon could not seem to find a way to work around it. From what she could see of the second dragon, it was large and black. Once or twice she thought she saw the flash of a red eye, but the dragon slayer thought it must be just her imagination.
Annora tried to rewrap her ankle as the dragons fought. Despite what the smaller one had done, its attention largely stayed focused on the large one. Since the small one was able to stand on the ledge, it was able to bite and rake its claws on the stomach of the larger one when it tried to shift positions. She could see dragon blood oozing out of some of the wounds. As far as the dragon slayer could tell, there were very few marks on the little one, almost as if the large one was trying to keep from hurting her.
Finally, the little one clamped its jaws down on the large one’s wing. It roared in pain and momentarily disappeared from view. With the second dragon gone, the small one made a dash for the cave.
Annora looked up at a now very angry dragon that had smoke billowing out of its nostrils.
Your turn, you bastard. Without any concern for herself, Annora charged at the surprised beast.
Chapter 10
The Dragon Slayer’s Lullaby
The dragon had not expected the welcome that it got as soon as it entered the cave. Annora slid under it and shoved her dirk into the soft underside of the dragon’s jaw. She felt it plunge into the tongue, and the dragon slayer twisted the dirk.
The roar was nearly deafening as the creature thrashed trying to kill Annora and get the blade out. Rolling several times, the dragon slayer was able to attack with her sword, driving the blade into the creature’s stomach. It roared again and swung its head to find her. Annora was too fast. As the beast snapped out at her, the young woman dove under it, dragging her blade along the scales. Many of them were knocked from the dragon’s body, and blood began to flow. The dragon hunter barely managed to get out from under the dragon as it slammed its body down where she had been.
Annora’s sword was
up again as she charged at the dragon from the other side. She heard the blood pumping in her ears and she ignored the pain screaming at her from her arm and ankle. Ignoring the blood running down her side from her open wound, Annora aimed to drive her sword into the dragon’s eye. The dragon saw what she was doing and brought its head up above her, the steam flowing. It was only a matter of time before the thing breathed fire. The dragon slayer shifted the grip on her sword and drove it into the dragon’s throat. The smoke immediately stopped as the creature roared again. Now bleeding from numerous wounds, the dragon seemed to be slowing down.
“That’s right. You wiped out Marked Tree, and now you’ve knocked Elian over the edge. I think I’ll leave you alive just long enough to make sure he’s alright, and if Elian isn’t-”
The dragon’s claws lashed out, catching the young woman on the right leg as she dodged. Annora rolled and came up in a fighting stance. The pain was minor compared to the rage.
“Really, I cannot leave you alone for a minute without you doing something reckless, can I?”
Annora could not stop the smile that spread across her face, even as the dragon snorted, causing the smoke to curl out of its nostrils.
“I’ll have you know that it has been several minutes, and you can just sit this one out. I’m not going to back down from this.” Her heart was singing as Annora realized that Elian was alright. For all of his faults, his timing really was impeccable.
“I’m afraid you are wrong there.”
The dragon’s eyes watched them, as if it was trying to decide who to attack first.
“I’ve already told you, this is what I do. I’m not going to let this creature live to kill more innocent people.”