CHAPTER 14
SLAYING THE DRAGON
As soon as had Michael and his companions withdrew from the place of the dragon they heard the sound of someone approaching along the mountain path in their direction.
Quickly they hid themselves behind some brush and watched to see who would be coming toward them. Soon they saw the appearance of someone they had seen before. It was Mister Todd from the inn, accompanied by one of his servants.
“That man betrayed us to Diabolos, Prince Michael,” Zachary said in a voice clearly looking for justice. “Perhaps this is the time to settle accounts before they get too old.”
“No!” said Aaron in a quiet yet intense way. “He is one of the most wretched men I’ve ever seen. Once we destroy the dragon and Diabolos, his punishment will overtake him very swiftly.”
“We’ll just wait and see what happens,” commented Michael. “For some reason I feel we need not worry about vengeance. I’m not sure why.”
So the four of them watched as the two men approached the place where the dragon was to feed. Suddenly they heard Mister Todd cursing and saying, “Where is the sacrifice?” in an excited voice. “The giant is here, dead, and the sacrifice is missing. We must find the sacrifice or the dragon will not be appeased. Lord Diabolos will then lose power and he will hold us responsible!”
As Mister Todd and his servant stood there in the midst of the dragon’s place, trying to think of what they could do, the dragon suddenly appeared as if out of thin air with a tremendous roar and breath of fire.
The dragon was just as awesome as Artemus had described. As far as Michael and his companions could make out, the dragon was about twenty feet tall with great wings and a long tail. The dragon was dark green, almost brown and had a very noticeable large horn between its two red eyes. As it waved its head all about in the air as if proclaiming itself king, it spewed out breaths of red and white flame.
After proclaiming itself for a few moments, the dragon looked down on Mister Todd and his servant. For a moment it seemed as if the dragon recognized them and was considering how to deal with these two men.
Todd and his servant were so taken by surprise they did not know what to do. Suddenly it seemed they decided they must pay homage to the beast so they knelt before the dragon in worship.
As Michael and his companions listened, they heard Todd and his servant speaking to the dragon in a way that could have been praying or pleading with the dragon. It was impossible to tell what they were saying over the dragon’s roaring.
Despite the pleading and supplications of the two men kneeling before the dragon, without warning, the dragon breathed fire upon the two of them and devoured them before Michael and his companions could move.
Even though the dragon’s roar was louder than any they had ever heard and overcame any other sounds in the mountain forest, the cries of agony of Todd and his servant were all too clear. Once the dragon had completely devoured the two men, it raised its head high into the air as if proclaiming its own victory.
At this point Michael cried out, “We must move!” as he darted from their hiding place with Avenger drawn. No sooner had he jumped toward the dragon, than Aaron and Zachary were close behind him with their weapons ready, having forgotten their great weariness.
As they ran to battle the dragon, the young woman called for them to be careful and began to tearfully pray for their safety as she trembled with fear. She knew her life and the safety of the land depended upon these three men.
Just as Michael reached the great dragon and was about to plunge Avenger into its chest, Zachary shot an arrow into the dragon’s neck. The arrow had no effect on the dragon. He merely looked down as if annoyed. The dragon’s annoyance was also evident as Michael thrust Avenger into its chest.
It seemed to Michael the wound closed and healed itself as soon as he withdrew the mighty sword.
As Michael prepared for another thrust, the fierce creature angrily knocked him to the ground with a great swing of its wing. Michael fell to the ground half-conscious and greatly exhausted. He tried to lift himself up but could not gather enough strength.
Just as the dragon was about to devour Michael, Aaron took a mighty stroke at the dragon with his sword, cutting deep into the dragon’s chest. Before the monster could turn on Aaron, Zachary came from the left cutting another slice into the evil beast.
The two mighty men fought the dragon for, what seemed to them, hours. Each took turns fighting the dragon and trying to stay out of the way of its fiery breath, swinging tail, and razor sharp teeth.
As they fought the dragon, cutting it many times, they began to realize they were having no effect on it. Though Aaron and Zachary continued fighting, they began to despair of ever winning the battle.
Worse than the feeling of despair was the weariness that was overtaking them both. They began to slow down and began made mistakes, at times nearly striking the other in their attack on the dragon.
In the midst of this melee, Michael looked up still in a daze to see the dragon and his two friends. The first thing he noticed was that the dragon had knocked Zachary down and had pinned him to the ground with one of its wings. Next, he saw Aaron stumble and drop his sword.
Michael had little more than regained full consciousness when he realized his friends were about to die. As quickly as he could, he gathered all the strength he could find and staggered to the dragon. He was about to again plunge Avenger into the dragon’s side, when he realized he was dealing with a creature from another dimension.
As his thoughts raced he decided he must do something different to defeat this foe and save his friends. While struggling with his thoughts he again heard Lionel’s voice saying, “Let the King of Heaven guide you.”
Stunned by the voice of his brother, who was nowhere around, he let his body go limp, as if he were surrendering to the dragon. He then noticed both his hands raised into the air holding Avenger pointed upward. A blue light came from the pommel of Avenger and joined with the amulet, forming a shield before him, which the dragon’s fire could not penetrate.
After a few moments, seemingly an eternity to Michael, the dragon realized his fire was having no effect on his opponent. The dragon then raised his head toward the sky with a great, frustrated roar. Without thinking, Michael lowered Avenger and thrust it through the dragon’s chest, just below the neck.
As the great sword sank into the dragon, the blue light went from the sword into and all about the dragon. It seemed to Michael that the dragon’s roar intensified as if it was in great pain.
Then the roar became lower and lower indicating the dragon was indeed dying. Suddenly the dragon’s head dropped to its side and it collapsed to the ground. The dragon was dead.
When Michael withdrew Avenger from the dragon’s body, he noticed the dragon began to wither and decay before his eyes. Aaron and Zachary stood by and watched in a combination of astonishment and relief.
Then the young woman ran to Michael, knelt and as she clung to him said, “My lord, you have saved us all! I am Princess Alethia of the North, and my kingdom will be yours.”
“Arise, Princess Alethia,” Michael responded wearily. “You may keep your kingdom. However, before we can return you to your own home, we have another enemy to defeat.”
“We have a long journey and little time.” Aaron added in a concerned but tired voice.
“Yes,” Michael responded, “but we must first rest. We don’t have the power to stand on our own feet right now. How could we fight against Diabolos?”
With night coming on, the four pitched their camp there at what had formerly been the place of the dragon. While each of them was exhausted, they all looked forward to their journey back to the king’s province and hoped they could return in time to take part in the battle against Diabolos.
Diabolos’ Scepter
Prince Michael and The Dragon Page 15
