* * *
Luna needed the rest, but after a short nap, she was also ready to leave. The moon goddess had saved her from thirst and hunger, but she still needed to find her tribe. And bring them to this valley paradise.
Strapping her bow and quiver to her back, she climbed back up to the crevice. This time, she wasn’t afraid to step through the dark gap in the mountain. When she emerged on the other side, the sun was peeking over the horizon. It lit the landscape with rays of orange and red.
From her vantage point, Luna could see for many miles in any direction. She didn’t have to search for long before she saw the smoke. A thin tendril rose up in the distance, far from where she had traveled the day before.
Her tribe! They must have tried to circumvent the mountain by another route.
Luna ran toward the smoke. Rested and fed and with anticipation coursing through her limbs, she raced to the location of the campfire. She wanted to wave her arms and yell, but they were much too far away to see or hear her.
It was more than half an hour before she reached the bottom of the mountain, and she was only halfway to the tribe. Luna fought off her exhaustion and hurried onward. She made out the outlines of the wagons, arranged in a defensive circle surrounding the people within it. The horses were tied to one of the wagons. She still couldn’t see anyone inside the ring of wagons.
As she closed the distance to her destination, Luna spotted a speck descending from the sky. It grew larger with every passing second, until a brown shape with wings became apparent. The sand dragon.
Luna shouted a warning to her people, but she was still too far away. The dragon swooped over the wagons, knocking one onto its side. Warriors poured through the opening in the circle with bows, spears, and swords in their hands. The sand dragon landed just beyond the wagons, its back to Luna.
She retrieved the bow from her back and reached for an arrow as she ran. The warriors were already engaged in battle with the dragon. They threw spears at it and shot arrows in its direction, but the monster’s scaly hide deflected all assaults. A warrior charged with his sword, but the dragon swatted him aside before he was within arm’s reach.
It still hadn’t noticed Luna, and she planned to use that to her advantage if she could. She slowed down once she was within arrow range to catch her breath. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to still her body. When she was able to hold her bow steadily once again, she nocked an arrow. Taking a breath in, she raised the bow and sighted the dragon’s head. Then, slowly releasing her breath, she drew back the arrow. With half of the air expelled from her lungs, she held her breath and released.
The arrow flew true. It struck the dragon above its mouth but glanced off without doing harm. The dragon turned toward its new enemy.
Luna heard someone shout her name, but she blocked it out. The dragon ignored the other warriors and singled her out. Luna grabbed another arrow and aimed it at the dragon’s chest. Again, her aim was on target but the arrow was ineffective, bouncing off the beast without incurring a scratch.
The dragon now stalked toward Luna. She fired one arrow after another to no avail.
Every step that the dragon took brought it dangerously closer to her. The other warriors continued to attack it, but their weapons were as useless as Luna’s arrows.
Luna refused to believe that she survived her trek only to die at the hands of the sand dragon. The moon goddess wouldn’t have kept her alive and shown her the way to the valley if she wanted Luna to perish the next day. There must be a way to defeat the dragon.
When she reached into her quiver, Luna felt only two more arrows. She pulled one out and set it above her grip. She drew back the string, feeling the tension in her bow. Moon goddess, guide my aim.
Luna saw a patch of darker brown on the dragon’s neck. It looked like an old wound where the scales hadn’t grown back in completely. She lifted her bow and pointed the arrow at the dark brown patch. The projectile flew from her hand to the dragon’s neck. Unlike the other arrows, this one stuck in the monster’s hide. It roared, stopping in surprise at the pain the weapon inflicted.
Without hesitation, Luna nocked her last arrow and aimed for the same spot. It landed inches from the prior arrow. Again, the dragon bellowed.
“The neck!” Luna called out to the other warriors. “Look for the dark brown patch on its neck. That’s the dragon’s weakness!”
The warriors circled the dragon and focused their efforts on the location Luna had told them about. Arrows and spears flew at the sand dragon’s neck. It batted some away, but more found their target. Finally, a spear sent the giant creature tumbling onto its side.
The dragon’s movements slowed as it tried to push itself back up. Blood drained out of its wounds. It roared once more, twitched its tail, and settled to the ground amid a cloud of sand.
A group of warriors rushed to the dragon to confirm its demise. Others ran to Luna, their faces stretched in joy at seeing her alive.
Celestial Page 44