Using his distraction to my advantage, I took the opportunity to quickly try to gauge the size of the dragon in comparison to others I had encountered in my time away from my father’s home. From this distance, I felt that I could safely assume he was around the same size as Sinda, whose size I was familiar withboth close up and from far away. This was always the first thing I did when facing a new opponent.
Assess and compare strengths and weaknesses.
Speed would be on my side, but the sheer size of him would cancel that out. If he lifted a foot, intending to crush me, the diameter for where he needed to strike was massive. I would have to not only choose the correct direction to avoid him before he brought it down but also hope that I could get to the edge of his hit zone.
The same went for his tail. Thankfully the ridges and spikes that started small at the bottom of his tail, progressively becoming larger as they moved up toward his back, wouldn’t be an issue, unless he could twist his tail around to impale me. As it was, I could attempt to duck, jump, or throw myself to the side if it swept toward me. That move, at least, would be heavily projected and give me time to react, but considering I was about the same size as the skinniest part of his tail, I was once again at a disadvantage to the beast.
“Best of luck, mortal.”
The god’s words broke me out of my inspection of my opponent just as the dragon seemed to focus on me, swinging its neck around and pointing its snout in my direction.
I quickly surveyed the arena, finding the walls around us were far too tall to even consider trying to climb. The only exit appeared to be the hall from which the dragon appeared, which still stood directly behind him. Perhaps I could use the more narrow hall to my advantage to fight from, instead of the large arena that left me vulnerable and open to attack from all sides.
Time was up for my inspection as the dragon opened its jaw and unleashed a torrent of fire as it lumbered toward me. I quickly darted to the side, pumping my arms and legs harder than I’d ever pushed them before as my heart leapt into my throat. This was the true beginning of my trial.
I felt the heat of the dragon’s fire breath licking at my back, but I refused to glance back, focusing instead of interspersing my path with sharp and unexpected turns to throw the dragon as far off my trail as I could manage. Eventually the heat dissipated and I took the opportunity to glance over my shoulder, breathing heavily as I saw a glow building from his belly. He came to a stop, giving me a chance to put the pieces of information I’d gathered, together.
So there was a finite amount of fire that he could blast me with before he needed to produce more, it seemed. The faint glow from his underbelly was the perfect cue for me to watch for, and with that in mind, I took the risk of turning back and heading toward him. If I wanted a chance at survival, I had to see how quickly he could begin to attack with fire again–my survival depended on my understanding of the extent of his abilities. If I stayed far enough away, he might perceive me as not being much of a threat and hold onto the fire until he felt it was needed again.
A growl vibrated as his lips peeled back, spit dripping from his razor-sharp teeth and dropping to the ground, causing the stone to sizzle and heat waves to appear in the air above it. So his spit contained some level of heat as well.
Just as I began to build confidence in my ability to catalogue the ember, he lowered himself slightly, haunches bunching before he launched himself into the sky. As his jaws opened once more, his wings flapped, lifting him higher. The god must have encased us in a magical barrier, though, because after a moment, the dragon was forced back down, as if he had bounced against an invisible wall of force.
He quickly righted himself, hovering just below the space where he’d smacked into the barrier before cascades of flames tore through the air, coming directly for me.
“Shit!” I squeaked, equally impressed and terrified of the distance the flames could travel.
I sprinted toward the open hall, knowing there was no other place to find cover. The dragon could stay in the air indefinitely, wearing me out until I made a mistake or was left with no stamina to escape the flames. The only way I stood a chance was if he came back down to the ground and fought on my level.
His earlier attack had left scorched, hot lines that glowed across the stone floor, but with the path I needed to take to get to the hallway, I was left no choice but to run directly over them. The bottoms of my boots hissed with the contact and I gritted my teeth as the heat quickly passed through to my feet as I reached the other side. Now I knew I couldn’t afford to let him cover the entire arena floor with fire either, the heat of his breath attack working against me on multiple levels.
I was quickly running out of options for finding a path that would allow me to get close enough to the dragon to even wield my own weapon against him.
Still, I refused to concede. Every enemy had an opening. I just needed to buy myself enough time to find his.
Darkness passed over me as I retreated into the hall, the heat of flames blasting the opening at my back. My chest heaved as I gasped for air, whirling back around as the heat faded once more. It seemed he’d run out again.
My thoughts raced as I desperately tried to piece together what little information I’d gathered, knowing I had limited time until either the stone floor would be too hot for me to survive running on or until my own stamina failed me. It required every bit of energy I had to keep up the pace required to avoid his flames, and I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could keep it up for long. Nor was I foolhardy enough to believe that the dragon wouldn’t begin to formulate his own plans of attack, easily seeing how limited my own prowess was at a long-distance.
I needed him up-close and he needed me far away, or pinned to one spot, to use his fire accurately.
My eyes blinked rapidly as my brain snagged on that thought. The only way he’d risk coming close enough for me to use my weapon was if I was pinned to one spot, unable to flee, giving him an opening to funnel his flames into.
This hall was the perfect trap for both him and me. All that mattered was who executed their plan best.
My palms began to sweat as my heart skipped a beat, and I took a moment to wipe them on my trousers, passing my sword between my hands as I did so. I shuffled back and forth on my feet, nerves twisting my stomach into a mess of churning bile as I waited.
The rhythmic beat of the dragon’s wings sounded, growing closer as his shadow cast over the opening.
That’s it. Come down to my level.
I wouldn’t get a chance to surprise the dragon again. If I didn’t get this right, I was dead, plain and simple.
The only option was to either die alone or be victorious. I could not allow Theo to give up the very essence of his being to protect me. Never before had I felt such immense pressure weighing on my shoulders for the sake of someone else.
Someone who matched my own fire and would never let me settle.
Someone who made me ache deep to my core when I was in his presence.
