again, many slipping and falling under the tide of trampling feet. Arthur drew the sword back, and the beam disappeared.
Goliath plummeted from the sky. Makaidos zoomed behind him, snapping at his tail. With his wings stretching wide, Goliath leveled his flight near the ground and reached down with expanded claws, seizing Arthur’s clothes and jerking him upward. As the king rose into the air, his shield went flying and Excalibur fell to the ground. Arthur’s bowmen turned their aim toward the sky, keeping their arrows drawn back as they awaited orders.
Scattering water droplets from his wings, Makaidos landed next to Merlin, breathless. “Do not think . . . for a moment . . . that Goliath fears killing the king. We must . . . take great care.” The other dragons, Hartanna, Valcor, and Legossi, settled in next to their king. Clefspeare, however, was still nowhere in sight.
Goliath landed in a nearby patch of grass and threw Arthur against a large stone. Trumpeting a great roar, he planted his claws on the king’s limp body and shouted at the soldiers, “Are you willing to bargain in order to rescue the human king? He is alive, but if you refuse to make a deal with me, he will be dead before sundown.”
Roxil landed close to Goliath, but he pushed her away with his tail.
Merlin reached for Excalibur. The moment he snatched it up, the beam returned to the blade and shot into the sky. He angled the light toward Goliath, but when the dragon raised his claws to strike the king, Merlin pulled it back. “With Arthur in his clutches,” he said, “I dare not strike the dragon.”
Sir Devin drew his sword. “I will give that demon an answer he will never forget!”
Merlin pressed his forearm against Devin’s chest, stopping him. He then stepped to the front of the group and faced Goliath. “What would a rebellious dragon want from the two-legged creatures he despises?”
Goliath spewed a stream of fire into the air and let the sparks sizzle for a moment as they fell to the grass. He laughed and stretched out his reply in a low drone. “War.”
“Between humans and dragons?” Merlin asked.
“You catch on quickly for a human, but I do not make agreements with the lying sons of Noah. I am addressing the dragons, those who follow the so-called king of the dragons. I want them to break their alliance with the humans, so that I and my followers can freely wage war against the stupid bipeds. If they give me their word, that will be all I need.”
Makaidos snorted a spray of smoke through his nostrils. “Don’t give in to the demons within you, my son. They have sung lies to you, and they will bring you to destruction.”
Goliath spat a ball of sparks onto the ground. “When you chose the love of humans over that of your own kind, I ceased being your son.” He spread a wing over Roxil’s back. “And your daughter agrees with me.”
Makaidos whipped his tail down, splashing mud all around. “Roxil, was rebelling against me and birthing a youngling with this beast not enough for you? Will you now fight humans with him?”
Roxil turned her gaze toward Goliath. “We are not merely allies in war. We are mates for life.”
“Enough idle chatter!” Goliath roared. He clutched the chain mail on Arthur’s chest and lifted him into the air. “What is your answer, O King of the Dragons?”
Makaidos turned toward Merlin, his eyes flaming red. “I am too angry to think. Do you have counsel?”
Merlin spoke in a low tone. “We must protect the king. Tell him you’ll break the alliance. A falsehood to save an innocent life is not a sin.”
“You do not understand,” Makaidos said. “I cannot utter words I know to be false. Goliath knows this.”
Merlin lowered his head and folded his hands over Excalibur’s hilt. “Then do whatever you must, but I advise that you make no covenant with one who uses threats of murder to gain an advantage.”
Makaidos bowed to Merlin. “I understand, but Goliath is not bluffing. I must prevent him from killing the king.” As he turned back toward Goliath, he lifted his head high. “We will break our alliance. I will no longer fight alongside the human race.”
Goliath’s toothy grin spread wide across his snout. “Very well. Meet me at your cave within the hour, and I will turn the human king over to you. Come alone.”