"Edwin must have finally figured out a spell to prolong someone's life. He always wanted to do that. Did Barty ever shave his beard?"
"Master Bartemus had a beard?" Aidan asked.
"Never mind," Marcus said, smiling. "Back to Spinebacks. If you place a leeching curse right in the dragon's mouth, you will kill it. I would suggest trying that first, because if you aim for the rider and miss you will probably be killed."
Aidan suddenly felt really small.
"Do you think you are ready to go back out?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Aidan said, his voice only shaking a little.
"Then close your eyes. When you open them, you will be out of the ring. Remember, always roll towards the tail if it tries to flick you. And Aidan? Try not to get yourself killed."
The young mage closed his eyes.
8
Aidan instinctively fell to the ground before he even opened his eyes. He looked up and saw the great incisors snap shut just as he rolled out from under the dragon's mouth.
The dragon swung its head around to face Aidan again, and the rider laughed.
"You're quick, mage. But I'm quicker."
Aidan saw the dragon pulling its tail back. Fighting every instinct in his body, he lunged forward toward the great serpent.
The tail missed him by inches and slammed through the back of the staff and wand building. The dragon finally became frustrated and used its massive paw to fling the terrified Aidan into the hole it had just created.
Aidan slammed against a wall and fell to the ground, the fight gone from him.
"What's wrong little mage? Your tricks not working?"
The dragon pushed its head through the hole and opened its mouth.
In the moment before the creature struck Aidan felt something long and smooth under his back.
A staff.
He rolled over and put his hand on the weapon, at the same moment yelling out his favorite curse.
"Mahor yok wenne!"
The power flooded out of Aidan in a torrent unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was as if a part of himself was being wrenched out of him. It was painful, yet at the same time it felt exhilarating.
He knew he had hit the beast as it screamed, raising its head up through the roof of the room and raining bits of wood and stone on Aidan.
The dragon tried to take flight, but it was already weakening. The rider figured out what was happening right as the dragon let out a final roar and rolled onto its back, squashing the screaming dark-clothed man.
Aidan gripped the staff tighter as his vision began to blur, and then turn to black.
Bartemus heard a yell and turned in time to see the Spineback roll over onto its rider.
As soon as the other dragons saw that their largest fighter had died they began to sweep off into the night, followed closely by balls of fire.
Did the boy just slay a dragon?
Bartemus ran to what was left of the staff and wand building and kicked down the door, which in turn knocked down the last wall.
"Aidan!" he yelled.
Please don't let him be dead, if he's a second Thunderheart…
Several other wizards and mages that were not looking for friends or nursing injuries began to shift through the rubble with the old warlock.
"Aidan, are you here?"
"He's over there." said a strangled voice.
Bartemus ran to the fallen form of Timothy, who was clenching his teeth against the pain of a broken hip.
"It was amazing, he saved both of us." the young mage said, gesturing towards Eleanor's limp but breathing body.
"I am going to take the pain away," Bartemus said, "Amilech and your master can fix you up later. Morka eslang!" Pain be not.
Timothy instantly blacked out when the spell hit him. Bartemus stood up and yelled for Malachi, then hurried to where Timothy had seen Aidan.
He has so much power, and if he has Marcus’s ring, then maybe we can-
The warlock's thoughts were cut off as soon as he saw what the unconscious Aidan was holding.
It was the black staff. Malcommer’s staff.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Dragon Slayer."
Aidan rolled over and opened his eyes. He was in a tent the size of a small palace hall, with cots set up all along the walls, many of them filled with young wizards or mages. Timothy and Eleanor sat on Aidan's left, Amilech on his right.
"Where am I?" he asked, a little dazed.
"You're in the new infirmary." Amilech said. "Those stupid dragons had to come down and knock down my building, so where do they make me work? In a tent! I'll tell you, if I was in charge then…"
The old warlock continued to mumble to himself as he walked away.
Aidan leaned back into his pillow, his head pounding.
Timothy opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it.
“What?” Aidan asked.