devil himself!”
Arthur waved his hand toward the retreating troops as they burned in the dragons’ fire. “But we are winning handily! Your winged wonders are cleaning up every last savage.”
Merlin pointed his sword at the boiling sky. “Three dragons!” he shouted.
Edward looked up and spotted two red males and a smaller tawny female diving toward them. “More help?” he asked.
“No!” Thigocia yanked Edward off her back with her tail and dropped him next to Merlin and the king. Stretching her wings, she wrapped all three into a tight huddle and ducked her own head underneath. A wall of flames screamed past them, and the sound of beating wings whipped by, followed by a stiff breeze.
Thigocia lifted her wings and jumped into the air. “It’s Arramos! And he has Goliath and Roxil with him!” She circled over the trio of humans, shooting balls of flame at the huge red dragon as he glided high above. Goliath and Roxil beat their wings in sync with Arramos, one on each side, and easily dodged Thigocia’s volleys. They flew in a wide circle, Arramos taking the lead as they began to form an attack arrow.
Sir Devin rushed toward the king, Palin running at his side. Both men raised their swords. “The dragons have deceived us!” Devin shouted. “They have concocted this plan to expose us and kill us all!”
“Nonsense!” Arthur said. “They have destroyed our enemies.”
Devin pointed at the charred bodies in the battlefield. “They don’t care what colors a human victim wears as long as they end up in black shrouds!”
Thigocia landed and trumpeted a loud note. “Arramos is not here to kill humans,” she shouted, “he is trying to draw Makaidos into battle.”
“If that’s true,” Devin said, “then why doesn’t Makaidos respond?”
White-hot sparks flew from Thigocia’s nostrils. “Because he is busy making sure your worthless backside remains intact!”
Arramos and company angled toward them, picking up speed with every second. Thigocia sent a warning fireball that splashed off Arramos’s neck but did nothing to alter his course.
“Everyone under my wings again!” Thigocia shouted, but before they could duck for cover, another red dragon zoomed into view.
Edward thrust his finger upward. “It’s Clefspeare!”
Clefspeare smashed into Arramos, chest to chest, sending the elder dragon tumbling through the air. As Clefspeare passed by the other two attackers, he snaked his tail around Goliath’s neck, then, taking a sharp turn, slung his body right into Roxil, collapsing her wings. Both dragons crash-landed in a deserted portion of the battlefield but scrambled quickly to their haunches, shaking off the mud as they made ready to fly again.
Merlin held up his closed fist. “Clefspeare!” he shouted. “I have dragon’s bane. Keep Arramos away, and I will fend off the other two.”
Without a word, Clefspeare flew in the direction he had thrown Arramos. The fierce red dragon had righted himself and was heading back toward the king. Clefspeare, his claws extended and teeth bared, crashed into Arramos again. Both dragons fell toward the ground, biting and slashing each other. At the last second, Clefspeare fanned his wings, threw Arramos into the mud, and, with a mighty flap, ascended again. Making a sharp, one-eighty turn, he dove toward his fallen opponent, shooting a blinding torrent of flames, but Arramos leaped to the side and launched into the air. He zoomed away with Clefspeare in pursuit, and the two faded into the rainy backdrop.
Goliath, now skimming the clouds again with Roxil, swooped toward the king and smacked into Thigocia, knocking her to the ground. Roxil followed with a stream of flames, but King Arthur blocked it with his shield just before the torrent could slam into his face.
Merlin held up his fist, opening his fingers slightly. Goliath and Roxil faltered, their wings out of sync. As they flew away, they alternately rose and dipped in the gusty winds. Merlin closed his fingers again.
Thigocia pushed her wings against the mud and righted herself. “I saw a new horde of Saxons swarming on the hill! They are coming this way!”
Arthur shouted, “Make your defenses!” The king’s soldiers formed a wall of sword-wielding men and a cadre of bowmen behind them, their arrows bending their strings.
“Edward!” Thigocia shouted, lowering her head. “Mount! We will thin their ranks!”
As Edward climbed into position, Sir Devin stalked toward them and raised his sword. “This is more dragon treachery! The barbarians waited for their dragon allies to join them before they brought their second wave.”
Merlin leaped in front of Devin and blocked the knight’s thrust with his own sword.