“Fear not,” he said, maneuvering the shield into place as he talked, “we will turn your dragon this day.” Pulling her along, he led the way to the edge of the field, leaving Daniel to bark orders at the assembled men.
He wasn’t even going to order his own men around! Kathryn glared at him. There was no way this man would make a decent lord, even if he survived the dragon.
The dragon was huge! It stood ten feet tall at the shoulder, and its mouth was large enough to fit a full-sized man. His scales were black as obsidian, and a boned frill protected the back of his head. A beautiful specimen. It was such a shame that they were going to have to kill him.
“You’re going to take on that with a few swords and shields?” Kathryn sassed.
Patrick had to hand it to her. Even knowing she was going to die if he failed, she still had spunk. “Of course not, my fair maiden.” He smiled at her. “I’m going to use words.”
The look she shot him clearly said he was insane.
He patted her hand reassuringly as they waited for the dragon to approach. They stood at the center of a wall of men ready to defend the town.
The dragon stopped and considered them for a moment. His eyes fell on Kathryn before looking at the rest of the men.
Giving her one more reassuring pat, Patrick released her. Turning to where he had dropped his shield while the men formed ranks, he stomped on the edge of the disk again. The hard metal popped up, and he caught it with the same flare as before. “Wait here while I reason with him.” He turned his attention to Daniel. “Keep her safe.”
Daniel took up a protective position next to her.
“Good morrow!” Patrick called out as he walked into the field with the dragon.
The dragon cocked his head curiously.
“I am Patrick Mylan of Eternity. By order of the king, I demand that you end your harassment of this village. If you surrender now and come along peacefully, your trial will be just and your sentence lenient. If you refuse, you will force us to take swift action to defend these people.”
The dragon blinked a few times as he drew in a deep breath.
Seeing the attack coming, Patrick dropped down and raised his shield. A great blast of fire washed over the hardened steel, heating the metal. Grabbing the pouch at his side, he tucked it up so the flames licking around the edges of his shield wouldn't set it alight. As soon as the onslaught stopped, Patrick rose to face his attacker.
The dragon looked at him. The cock of its great head showed its confusion.
Steam rose from the man’s soaked leathers, but Patrick was mostly unharmed. “It would do you good to use your nose before you attacked,” he taunted. “I know a thing or two about dragons.”
The dragon twisted his head the other way before opening his mouth to try to roast the lord again.
Taking aim, Patrick threw the pouch from his side into the dragon’s open mouth before dropping back down behind his shield again. A second blast of fire hit him just before the pouch exploded in the dragon’s mouth. The shock knocked Patrick back to the ground, and the creature’s flames were cut off as it coughed. Black smoke boiled out of its mouth. It shook its head violently before staggering off-balance. A shudder ran down the creature’s body before it took wing and retreated.
Dropping the red-hot shield, Patrick tried to stagger up and away from the charred grass. He stumbled and fell backwards onto his butt as Daniel and Kathryn ran to check on him.
The men held their line in case the dragon changed its mind.
“What the hell did you put in that?” Daniel asked as he bent to his friend.
Patrick looked at him, dazed. “What?” he yelled, putting his finger into his ear and rubbing it furiously. His entire head rang from the explosion.
“What did you put in that?” Daniel yelled, articulating his words more carefully.
Leaning back onto the heels of his hands, Patrick looked up at his friend. “Just the normal stuff.” He wasn’t quite yelling now, but his voice was a lot louder than it normally was. “Pine pitch, wood dust, saltpeter, sage, clove, sulfur… oh, and I added some charcoal.” The questioning look Daniel gave him made Patrick shrug. “I thought it would make it smoke more. I wasn’t expecting it to pop like that.”
Daniel reached his hand down to help Patrick up. “Where did you get that idea?”
The downed man looked at it for a moment before grasping it. “The king’s last birthday,” he explained as Daniel raised him to his feet. His friend took most of his weight as Patrick tried to find his balance. “I stole one of the sky fires.”
Daniel just chuckled.
Kathryn gasped. “Your arm.”
The note of dismay in her voice drew Patrick’s attention before he dropped his gaze to the hand he’d been holding the shield with. The skin on his wrist and forearm was blistered from the heat. “That’s nothing.” Patrick held on to Daniel as he kicked at his shield and flipped the thing over with the toe of his boot. The center of the large disk was blackened and warped.
Kathryn bent over it, shocked.
Daniel raised an appreciative eyebrow. “His fire was nearly as hot as yours.”
Patrick nodded. “I will endeavor to get it hotter next time.” That second blast of flame had almost been too much for the metal. As it was, the leather padding on the back was going to need to be replaced. Even after being soaked in water, the dragon had cooked that protection clean off.
“What kind of metal stands up to dragon fire?” Kathryn asked, holding her hand out towards the hot surface.
Patrick looked down at the ruined shield. The telltale marks of its forging ran across the surface like water, making it easy to recognize, but this type of metal wasn’t seen very often in this area.
“Damascus steel, forged in dragon’s fire,” Patrick answered. Feeling a little more stable on his feet, he released Daniel to stand on his own.
Kathryn glared up at him. “You use dragons to forge your shields?” The accusation was heavy in her voice.
Patrick shrugged. “Not all dragons are bad.” He had been forging his own shields for a while now. When he’d first entered training, he had relied on others to craft his weapons, and one had failed during a particularly nasty session. Those burns made the one on his arm look like a scratch. Thankfully, he had healed well.
“What would have happened if he had tried to eat you instead?” Kathryn asked, standing away from the cooling metal.
A smile curled the edge of Patrick’s lips. He flipped the shield back over with his foot. “He would have had a really bad day. The edge is sharp as a sword.” Stepping on the edge of the bowl, he tried gathering it up again, but the metal had warped so it didn’t come up as far as it had before. Patrick lunged for it, trying to catch it, but he hadn’t fully recovered from the explosion. The quick motion made him stumble.
Kathryn grabbed him before he could fall onto the hot shield.
“Sorry.” Leaning into her shoulder, he swallowed hard. His head had started spinning, and it wasn’t doing his stomach any good.
Daniel chuckled at him. “If you can help him back to his men, I’ll get his shield.” Stepping on the edge of the shield, he popped it up and grabbed the handle without touching the hot metal.
Kathryn watched in amazement. Apparently, that skill wasn’t just to look good. She held Patrick up as Daniel took the shield away. The new lord looked a little green. “Come on.” She shifted to his side and pulled his arm over her shoulder.
He leaned on her and stumbled back towards the town. “Thanks.”