“Telhari!”

Perry rushed in to strike the dragon while its back was turned but he was not fast enough. The dragon flared its claw and swiped along the ground toward Perry.

Perry’s sword flew through the air as he was knocked backward. Wasting no time, the dragon lurched toward Telhari with an open jaw.

Snap!

Telhari felt a rush of hot air blow past his face as a mighty jaw closed only a few inches out of reach. Then the dragon retreated from him— or rather, was pulled away.

Perry stood behind the dragon, with his arms wrapped firmly around its tail, gripping with an impossible strength. The dragon thrashed about and tugged in all directions, but Perry would not yield. Telhari marveled for a moment at this feat, then gripped the handle of his blade and stood again. A wave of heat emanated from the dragon’s mouth as it prepared to unleash hellfire onto Perry.

Just then, a blurred projectile sliced through the air; a roar of tremendous pain sounded above the crackling flames of the burning town. Deep red ichor stained the ground and a massive bolt sank into the dirt.

“SIR PERRY!”

Perry managed to turn his head while holding on to the dragon’s tail; down an adjacent alleyway stood Eadig and the others, flanking an empty ballista.

The dragon’s arm hung there, deformed and leaking blood; its claw twitched miserably and was slow to respond.

Perry grinned bitterly.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?” he shouted, “HIT HIM AGAIN!”

The men scrambled with the mechanism and tried to load another bolt.

Then a metallic scent filled the air.

Static cascaded over Perry’s arms and raised his hairs on end.

The dragon stared headlong into a burning white mass of magical force manifested with a single minded purpose.

“ENOUGH!”

Two magnificent wings thrust heavy against the ground; a pulse of cutting wind spread out at great speed, with the dragon at its center. Both Perry and Telhari were thrust backward and the flames in the vicinity were all but extinguished.

“You will burn, Vlag’Zestaiyr.”

Swiftly, the dragon launched itself into the air and soared high out of reach.

“Sir Perry, quick!” Telhari shouted.

Perry rolled himself up off the ground.

“All of you!” he cried to the remnants of his Starspawn forces, “Launch your arrows at it! It musn’t be allowed to land!”

The men ran at once to fetch what war-bows they could find amidst the debris. They bit down their anguish at the sight of their fallen companions, turning pain into fuel for their retaliatory assault. Near two dozen men pulled hard on their bow strings and fired relentlessly at the dragon as it attempted to swoop low. With each volley launched, the dragon turned abruptly to avoid their assault; despite its bodily heft, it was still frighteningly agile.

“Why isn’t it breathing fire?” Perry asked as Telhari came jogging over to him.

“It is weakened,” Telhari answered. “It is likely that the number of times it can summon such flames without further rest is limited.”

“And what of its defenses?” Perry asked.

“That is harder to tell.”

“We can’t keep this up for much longer,” Perry warned, “There are few arrows left. Most have been burned or buried.”

Telhari looked around him before spying something useful.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“We need only a few more seconds,” he said quickly as he reached toward the rubble.

Perry heard a clanging of metal as Telhari withdrew a long line of metal chain and proceeded to wrap it around his arm.

“What are you doing?” Perry asked with surprise.

Telhari didn’t answer him. Instead, he ran over to the ballista and loaded in a bolt. Then he turned; and with a stone-cold face said the most ludicrous thing Perry had ever heard.

“Perry, I want you to launch me.”

“Huh…?”

Perry stood, among the flames and ash and apocalyptic battle sounds, with his mouth agape.

“Launch me.”

“WHAT!?”

Telhari placed one hand on the chains and began to weave a spell as he spoke.

“You are the only one with the strength and reflexes to do so. You will launch the ballista to get me into the air and close to the dragon.”

“B-but can’t you just jump? Or fly like before!?”

Telhari shook his head as he stood on the device and wrapped his chain around the massive wooden bolt.

“If I use my magic to get close, the dragon will sense it and intercept. I need to create an opening.”

Perry stood dumbfounded at the request. Telhari tightened the chain around the bolt, secured his grip and turned to Perry expectantly.

“We must hurry. Your men are almost out of arrows.”

A monstrous cry split the air as the dragon turned once again to fly toward the town square.

“Agh! Very well!”

Perry grunted begrudgingly, gripped the handles of the ballista and turned it with great effort toward the dragon.

“Don’t go dying on me!”

Telhari grinned.

“I don’t intend to.”

The sound of a great wing beat drew closer as the dragon came into view.

Perry moved the machine bit by bit to adjust the trajectory. Telhari had been correct; it was only by means of this enchantment that he had the strength and perceptual ability to predict the dragon’s movement and adjust accordingly.

“Ready…” Telhari said.

The dragon was fully in view now— less than two hundred feet above the ground.

“Steady…”

An orange glow became visible as the dragon prepared one final assault.

“FIRE!”

SNAP!

The entire machine rebounded. The wooden frame of the contraption fractured from the force of the blow as its massive bolt soared through the air at breakneck speed. The men watched from below with bated breath for an impact.

With sickening ease, the dragon wove around the bolt; it bit down on the growing ball of fire in its throat and turned to unleash its fury upon Telhari.

But he was gone.

The bolt whizzed through the air and began to descend; yet there was no one atop it. The dragon spun its head around, reaching its senses out as far as possible to feel for its enemy…

A hundred feet above the ground the dragon hovered in a fury; and one thousand feet beyond Telhari reached the peak of his ascent.

He gripped one end of the iron chain in his hand; and by his will they began to resonate with his tune as the magic worked through them— imbuing the iron with unnatural fortitude and resilience. Then, he began to fall. Careening through the air, Telhari loosened the mass of chains at his back and whipped them around with a seamless flow.

A shock of realization moved through the dragon; the barbed spines along its back stood on end.

It had been outmaneuvered.

The dragon looked up in surprise, but there was no time to react.

Like a steel serpent, the chain snaked around Telhari’s outstretched arm and shot toward the dragon. The enchanted chain wove down the dragon’s neck and spread out along its wing. Bone and ligament snapped as the chains found each other and drew themselves tight in a vice-like grip. The wing collapsed suddenly and violently toward the dragon’s body.

Telhari landed with a force against the dragon’s back and it fell closer toward the ground. He flexed his legs and pressed his boots into the dragon’s neck, willing the free ends of the chain toward his open hands.

“You would dare to—!”

Telhari pulled tight on the chain, choking the air from its throat. In a desperate thrall, the dragon tore through the air, attempting to rend Telhari into pieces while fighting to remain aloft. But it could not reach him; and they were quickly losing altitude.

Telhari looked down below him at the burning town. He had this one final chance to separate those innocents from this creature of death. With a great effort, the winds responded to his call. The air whipped violent along the ground and then rose into the air. A wind tunnel swirled into existence and engulfed them both.

Perry watched from below as a powerful and unseen force swept both friend and foe away toward the Dags. He then flexed the muscles in his legs and arms— the enchantment was still there.

Good, he thought.

“You all!” he called to the Starspawn around him, “Search the area for survivors and bring them safely to the river’s edge!”

“And what of you, Sir Perry?”

Perry remained silent, searching the area for his sword. He found it lying on the ground, gleaming bright among the ash and debris.

“I will find a horse and ride after them,” he said as he bent down to pick up his blade. With a solemn tone and determined eyes, he addressed them all. “I swear to you, on my life, that this creature will breath its last.”