The dragon swooped down like a hawk after a rabbit. They all dropped to their stomachs as the beast dove low and stretched its forelimbs down, attempting to rake or grasp one of them. The dragon missed, but the wind from its powerful wings stirred pebbles and dirt. It shrieked again, so close that Spence’s ears rang, and then it flapped its wings harder and soared high into the air.

The four scrambled to their feet and drew their weapons. The dragon quit flapping high above and slowly rotated its body to face them again. It hovered for a moment, sailing like a vulture on a warm current. “Head to the trees! Morgan, see what you can do to slow it down. Spence, get your staff ready. Trey, you know what to do!” Caleb shouted.

Trey pulled his ax off his back, turned, and sprinted toward the sparse line of trees, some one hundred yards behind them. Caleb, Morgan, and Spence slowly retreated behind him. Morgan pulled her bowstring to the corner of her mouth and aimed an arrow at the soaring dragon. Spence struck the butt of his staff on the ground and instantly experienced the comforting surge of energy. The tip shone brightly in the rapidly vanishing daylight. Caleb held his shield before him and gripped his sword in his right hand.

The dragon suddenly stretched its wings out wide and flapped a few times, stopping its forward momentum and causing its body to rise. It opened its mouth, filled with long, sharp teeth, and screamed. Then it lowered its long neck and head and dove toward them, flapping its wings several times to gain momentum.

Morgan stopped moving long enough to let the first arrow fly. The dragon ducked its head, and the arrow flew along its back and disappeared behind it. She nocked another arrow and released it as the beast closed to fifty feet. This time she aimed for its chest. The dragon somehow managed to roll its body and pull up. The arrow appeared to graze its rear left leg but didn’t penetrate. However, it disrupted the dragon’s dive, and it had to sail harmlessly overhead and flap its wings to regain altitude. Morgan turned and continued jogging with the others toward the trees.

“That thing doesn’t appear to be a robot,” Caleb called out. “Nor does it seem magical. It looks like a dinosaur.”

“Which means it can be killed with regular weapons, even though I’m sure those scales are tough to penetrate,” Spence panted.

“If we can survive one more dive, we should be able to reach the trees,” Caleb said.

The dragon circled overhead, beating its wings to spiral higher and higher as the three continued retreating. Spence was trying to decide when to attack and which button to use. Despite it resembling a dinosaur, it could be a magical dragon in this strange world. If so, he wasn’t sure if the lightning would have much effect. And despite the fireball having a homing ability, he thought the creature, magical or not, might be able to avoid it. He still hadn’t tried the third button, but he had an idea what it might do. One logical attack remained for something based on technology and not magic.

Once again, the dragon paused in midair, arched its body, screeched loudly, and entered its deadly dive. Morgan had two arrows nocked this time, with the thumb on her bow hand sticking up and bending forward to separate the tips. She waited until the dragon was thirty yards away and then released. The dragon flapped its wings and tried to pull up from the dive. The lower arrow sailed harmlessly past, but the upper arrow struck it in the middle of its stomach. The arrow found its way between two scales and half its length buried into the beast.

The dragon screeched but didn’t continue climbing. It resumed its dive, although at a significantly reduced speed. Spence and Morgan dropped to the ground. Caleb crouched with his shield raised on his left forearm and his sword cocked behind his head. The dragon targeted him since he was the tallest target. The dragon’s mouth opened, revealing the six-inch-long teeth. Its front legs stretched forward with the clawed toes spread wide. It tried to snap Caleb’s head from his shoulders, but Caleb swung his shield up and struck it just under the chin, pushing its head upward and causing the bite to miss. Then he swung his sword into the beast’s right front leg, slicing deeply into the flesh above the clawed toes. The blow also knocked the leg to the side, causing the claws to miss him. This time, the dragon’s shriek sounded different, mixed with either pain or rage. It flapped its wings and once again ascended high overhead.

Spence scrambled to his feet first. “You two run to Trey. It’s my turn now. Tell Trey to get ready.”

Caleb and Morgan turned and sprinted the remaining fifty yards to the trees behind them. Spence retreated another twenty yards and then stopped, watching the dragon complete its attack ritual. He gripped his staff tightly and pointed it at the beast, hovering his right forefinger over the third button and bracing himself.

The dragon changed its attack run slightly. It had apparently learned from dodging Morgan’s arrows on each pass. It flew far out over the rocks and boulders and reduced its altitude considerably. Spence realized the dragon was going to come in at a much lower trajectory, which would give it more opportunity to dodge arrows and still attack. It would also make it nearly impossible for him to just drop to his belly and avoid the claws at least raking him, if not getting scooped up and carried away. His quest would be over if his new attack didn’t work, or work well enough.

Despite Spence’s recently discovered confidence and bravery, his legs shook. The dragon was enormous. It could probably kill him in many ways—a glancing blow from a wing, a leg, or the tail, not to mention the claws and teeth. The dragon began flapping its wings, propelling itself swiftly toward him, this time much lower in the sky. From a distance, it appeared to be coming straight at him. Spence then worried about when to unleash his attack. The failing light made it much harder to judge speed and distance. Everything had to go perfectly.

Two hundred yards…one hundred fifty…one hundred…. Spence gripped his staff even tighter and braced his shaking knees the best he could. He squeezed the third button at what he guessed to be fifty yards. God, please let this one work! The staff recoiled hard, sending him sprawling to the ground despite bracing for it. A sound like a sonic boom roared and instantly deafened him. He raised his head to see what had issued forth from his staff. To his horror, he saw nothing, and the dragon continued toward him, its mouth open and front talons stretched wide. Then, only twenty yards away, the dragon’s entire body shuddered violently and then went limp. The beast still sailed toward him but was no longer flying.

Spence’s mouth opened, but no scream issued forth. He watched in terror as the massive beast careened toward him like a crashing jetliner. First, the head passed over him, drooping down with its mouth hanging open, then the long neck, chest, front legs, and stomach, with Morgan’s arrow still protruding. The arrow was so close he could have reached up and plucked it out if he had wanted. Then he realized the tail wasn’t going to sail harmlessly past him. He rolled to the side and kept rolling. The tail struck right beside him just as the ground shuddered from the dragon’s body landing hard behind him.

Spence rolled onto this stomach and raised his head to observe the rest of the plan unfold. He still couldn’t hear anything except for an intense ringing inside his head. The tallest tree in the thinned-out woods slowly began falling in his direction. The dragon had skidded another twenty yards past him, right in line with the tree. The tree toppled over and landed directly on top of the monster. Trey stood behind the newly created stump, his ax still in hand. Morgan and Caleb stood to either side of him.

Spence sat up and watched his three companions rush toward the pinned dragon. The dragon began moving again, slowly at first, and then thrashing violently beneath the tree's weight. Its tail moved the most, only restrained by the topmost and thinnest of the tree’s branches. But the trunk securely pinned the dragon’s head and neck beneath it. Its legs stuck out from either side, and the dragon began alternating pushing up from each side, trying to either roll the tree off or pull its body free.

Morgan stopped ten yards from the dragon’s head and sent an arrow flying straight into its left eye. Trey and Caleb rushed in from either side of the trunk and began hacking at its neck. The creature opened his mouth and, Spence assumed, shrieked loudly. Trey chopped at the neck as he had at the tree trunk, sending blood spattering in all directions. Caleb alternated hacks with jabs, also covering the ground with bright red blood. Morgan shot an arrow into its other eye.

The dragon’s body writhed desperately beneath the tree, and its tail broke limbs and slapped hard at the ground. But the beast was helpless to defend itself from its brutal attackers. Its mouth snapped open and closed and strained to reach an arm or weapon. Its armored hide was tough, but Caleb’s and Trey’s weapons were exceptionally sharp. After ten minutes, the pair had separated the dragon’s neck and head from its body. Its body continued writhing and flopping like a decapitated snake. But the dragon was dead and just didn’t realize it yet.

Thank you. Spence stood, brushed off his clothes, and rejoined the others. Trey and Caleb cleaned their blades on the dragon’s hide, and Morgan retrieved the two arrows from its eyes. “Got to love it when a plan comes together,” Spence said, grinning. His hearing was slowly returning.

“Simply having a plan makes a big difference,” Caleb said, sheathing his blade.

“I just want one of those damn staffs,” Trey commented, slinging his ax over his back. “How many more freakin’ tricks does it do?”

“I think that’s it,” Spence said.

“What the heck was that one?” Trey asked.

“I’m not sure. I guess some kind of sonic shock wave.”

“How do you have it make different attacks?” Trey continued.

Spence’s heart skipped a few beats. He still hadn’t revealed his staff contained buttons and not magic. It probably wouldn’t matter, but for some reason, he didn’t want the others to know, especially Trey. “A wizard can’t give away all his secrets.”

“We’d better make camp,” Caleb said, saving Spence from further questioning. “It will be dark soon, and there might be more of those things around.”

***

“Now the dragon,” Ra said.

“Their working together has turned out to be a good thing. That has greatly increased the odds of at least one surviving. They only have my pet standing before them and completing the quest. Then, whether they accept the offers or not, it will be time for phase two. This group is definitely the one we have been waiting for,” Enki said.

“I have another bit of good news,” Odin said.

“And?” Enki replied.

“I have located the missing human.”

“Did you have him eliminated?” Ra asked.

“No, not yet.”

“Why not?” Artemis said.

“Our questers will do it for us,” Odin replied.

“They will not kill one of their own!” Ra exclaimed.

“There are ways….”