Thraxas and the Ice Dragon - By Martin Scott Page 0,79
the crowd and Elupus, she manages to score a half point by thrusting her sword up into Elupus's ribs, even as he stands over her to deliver a lethal stroke.
I scream in appreciation. "You can do it Makri!" Something hits me on the head and everything goes blank for a few seconds. I come back to my senses to hear Lisutaris cursing as the Marshal awards Elupus another half point. The score is now four to two, and Elupus needs just one more strike. I try to summon up energy but I have nothing left. I can barely move. Lisutaris is breathing heavily as she attempts to repel the relentless onslaught of the entire Samsarinan Sorcerers Guild. Elupus attacks again and the sound of his sword, crashing against Makri's shield, can be heard even above the roar of the crowd. Elupus presses his attack, propelled forward by the weight of sorcery behind him. Makri is forced back, and as she turns to avoid a thrust I can see blood seeping out from under her helmet. The sight enrages me.
"That's it," I cry, drawing my sword. "I'm going to kill someone." I step onto the field. A steward tries to haul me back. I push him away and march forward but I'm brought to a sudden halt when, very unexpectedly, a small white dragon plummets out of the sky and lands on Elupus. The Simnian swordsman takes a heavy blow and is knocked to the ground. The crowd screams. The Marshal gapes stupidly and seems unable to move. To her great credit, Makri still has her wits about her. She leaps over to the prone figure of Elupus and slashes with her sword, halting the blade as it touches his throat.
"Lethal Stroke!" I scream, and charge forward. By the time I reach the centre of the field, the young dragon has shuffled over to Makri and is licking her face. The Marshal hasn't yet made a call.
"What's the delay?" I demand. "Call Makri as the winner. That was a lethal stroke!"
The Marshal, his flag hanging limply in mid-air, seems to be having trouble comprehending what just happened. "I… eh… it was… "
"Makri made a lethal stroke to the throat. Call it or I'll kill you!"
"Lethal stroke," mutters the Marshal.
Lasat Axe of Gold is swiftly into the field. "This is a complete travesty!" he rages. "That dragon attacked my fighter. It's foul play! What's it doing here anyway?"
"Your spells obviously weren't good enough to hold it," I reply. "Anyway, Makri's the winner."
"She is not the winner! There was outside interference!"
"This whole fight has been about outside interference!"
There's movement around the edge of the field as some of the Samsarinan sorcerers approach, but the stewards and officials hang back, not liking the look of the dragon, which is now considerably bigger than a man. Soldiers have rushed to protect the King, and stand in a semi-circle with arrows notched in their bows. Lisutaris arrives, moving slowly and painfully.
"What's happening?" she gasps. "Has Makri won?"
"Yes," I say.
"No she hasn't!" cries Lasat. "I will not stand for this outrage." He swings round to face Makri, raising his hand. The dragon interprets this as a threat to its friend, and roars threateningly. Lasat furiously casts a spell at it. The young dragon howls in pain, then cringes like a young child.
"Don't do that!" says Makri. "You shouldn't - "
Makri doesn't manage to complete the sentence because at that moment a gigantic white dragon lands beside us with an earth-shaking crash. The huge beast is roaring with anger, and breathing flame. I grab Makri's arm with one hand and Lisutaris's sleeve with the other.
"Run," I say, and we run. We flee towards the edge of the field where the assembled crowd are cowering in fear. The sudden, shocking arrival of such a monstrous dragon spreads panic. Such a beast has never been seen in Elath before.
"I knew its mother would come back," I gasp, as the three of us stumble to safety. When I look round to see if we're being pursued, I'm confronted by an awful sight. The Ice Dragon, infuriated by Lasat's attack on her child, has grabbed him in its jaws and is shaking him around like a toy. Several Sorcerers approach as close as they dare but their spells don't have any effect. The dragon finally spits out Lasat. As his mangled body lands on the grass, it's obvious that the Samsarinan Sorcerers Guild will now be needing a new leader.