kept his eyes on it, moving to one knee and working his muscles to loosen them up after the wait.
The only real armour he was wearing were the long steel-backed gloves he used to cover the scars on his arms. The rest of his outfit was tailored black linen, like he’d worn when still a member of the Narkang Brotherhood, and a stiffened brigandine. It wouldn’t stop the dragon’s claws, but it might protect his ribs if he was knocked flying.
A second rumbling growl was followed by a single whoosh of wings against the air. The dog faltered, turning in a circle, trying to run and bark, while keeping its eyes on the dragon. Ilumene followed the beast’s approach by watching the dog, gauging distance by the increasingly frantic barks.
Two more wing-beats, then a thump as the dragon landed. From the sound it was just around the corner of the building. For a moment it didn’t move, then there was a loud hissing rasp, like a snake moving through leaves, and the dog yelped in fear as the creature advanced into view.
Ilumene gaped for a moment; it was vast, bigger than any living creature he’d ever seen. The dragon’s body was long and lithe with a bulky knot of muscle at the base of its wings, a deep emerald colour that shone in the pale winter light. It had three sets of black horns; one shorter pair swept low and forward to protect its throat, a long recurved pair above those and a third set pointing back to complete the protection of its head. The dragon’s muzzle was thick and snub-nosed, sporting a large pair of upper canines — inelegant but powerful.
Ilumene glanced over at the tunnel doors. They remained closed, ready to jerk back the moment the order came.
‘Now’s our chance,’ he breathed, looking back at the dragon. Its wings were half-furled, doubled over, but standing high on its back like a butterfly’s. ‘Gods, it’s a perfect target.’
He jumped to his feet, waving frantically towards the tunnel doors. ‘Now! Now, you bastards!’ Ilumene screamed as loud as he could, ‘Fire!’
The dragon snarled and jerked its head around. Seeing them it half-turned, pushing up from the ground with its powerful forelimbs, but dropping back with a jolt as one snagged. The beast roared with fury and lunged forward but the movement was awkward as a second cable on the ground hooked its rear talons.
‘Fire, you bastards!’ Ilumene roared again, waving his axe madly to keep the dragon concentrating on him.
For a moment nothing happened and he felt a cold trickle of terror run down his spine, from the left a black bolt flashed across the valley and sped past the dragon, causing it to rear up in surprise and rage. Now it was facing the doorway where the shot had come from. It roared at the new threat, a deep bellow magnified by the cliff-walls that Ilumene felt like a blow to the head.
He clapped his hands over his ears, taking a step back as the dragon moved and the cables hidden under the turf whipped up like striking snakes. Before the creature could take the strain and rip the cables from the ruined building they were anchored to, a black spot appeared in the centre of one of the pale green wings and caused it to billow like a sail.
The dragon reeled from the blow, its right wing pitching over its back before it caught its balance. It roared again, and tried to leap up into the air to gain some advantage, but only one wing opened and the powerful jump became an ungainly fall as its right wing remained folded, pinned by the fish-hooked ballistae bolt caught in it.
‘Come on!’ Ilumene yelled to his companions, feeling the familiar sense of bloodlust welling up inside.
The others jumped up and Aracnan moved alongside Ilumene. Out of the corner of his eye Ilumene saw a flash of white and realised the winged Litse white-eyes had emerged, but he didn’t slow his charge. The dragon had its back to him, concerned only with the source of the bolt. With an ear-splitting roar the dragon spat a gout of flame towards the door. Ilumene couldn’t see what it hit, but he took the opportunity to close the ground, crow-bill axe raised above his head.
He and Aracnan reached the dragon together. Ilumene ran up the beast’s planted hind leg and jumped off it, throwing himself up onto the body of the beast so he