The dragon roared just before it spewed forth fire. Zollin heard the screams and curses below him, but the voices didn’t register. The flames hit his magical shield and bounced harmlessly away, but the light from the fire showed the fearsome beast. Zollin saw the malice and hatred in the beast’s eyes as it swooped past, the downdraft from its wings made the sails flutter.
The dragon disappeared into the darkness again, but Zollin tracked its motion through the night sky with his magic. His containment field was holding up well and he felt strong, although he was relieved that he hadn’t wasted his strength producing wind to fill the sails. Bartoom circled back toward the ship and Zollin held one hand out, palm facing the beast, ready to produce a shield to block the flames. He was pleased to discover that blocking the dragon’s fiery breath only took a fraction of his power. Unlike magical fire, the dragon’s breath was not a powerful force and there was no danger of the fire knocking Zollin out of the crow’s nest.
With his other hand he began to conjure his own magical energy. His power often imitated lightning. Branock, the powerful Torr wizard who had kidnapped Brianna, produced fire, and Zollin could produce a molten plasma that resembled volcanic lava, but his power in its rawest essence was like bright blue lightning. It crackled and popped up and down his body in waves now, building in force as the dragon approached. Zollin also knew that if he angled his shield the fire could be deflected with much less effort than stopping a straight-on blast. He braced his feet against the wooden frame of the crow’s nest and waited.
The dragon came in low, close to the water, hoping to ignite the ship’s hull, but Zollin was ready. He dropped his shield down, angling it so that the fire bounced harmlessly into the water, sending clouds of steam shooting up. The dragon stayed low, but Zollin cast his magical energy at the beast like a mythical god throwing lightning bolts. The blast of power hit the dragon on the back, scattering across the hardened scales like a web of lightning, charring the dragon’s skin where it hit.
The dragon roared a high-pitched scream of pain and rage that caused most of the sailors to grab their ears. Zollin whooped for joy, realizing he’d hurt the beast in at least a small way. It was the first time he’d been able to land a blow of his own against the dragon. The beast’s scales were still flashing with sparks as it flew out past the ship and beat its wings to gain altitude. Zollin wasn’t positive, but he had an idea. He jumped out of the crow’s nest, his heart hammering even as he used his magic to guide and slow and his decent. He landed on the command deck near the captain, who had Mansel next to him. Mansel had his sword, but the weapon would do little good against the dragon.
“I have an idea,” Zollin said. “Do you have spears?” he asked the captain.
“We’ve some harpoons.”
“That should work. Get your best throwers on all four sides of the ship. I’m not sure where the beast will strike again, but this time, when I hit it with magical power, order your sailors to throw their harpoons in the exact same spot.”
“But they won’t be able to penetrate the dragon’s scales, will they?” Mansel asked.
“They might. I think my magic weakened the scales. Its worth a try, right?”
“Absolutely,” Mansel agreed. “What can I do?”
“Direct the fighting down here,” Zollin said. “I need to get back up top.”
“Go!” Mansel said loudly, clapping his friend on the back.
Zollin didn’t wait-he jumped and used his power of levitation to propel himself back up to the top of the mast. The dragon was not as close as before, but it wasn’t moving away either. It had retreated into the darkness but was pacing the ship. Zollin could hear the sailors below, most with buckets of water or manning the ship’s water pump to hose down any fire that might be kindled on board the vessel. Mansel was jogging around the ship, checking each sailor’s position and weapons. There were a few bows and Mansel had the archers stationed on the command deck. Other sailors were sent into the rigging to act as lookouts and to be ready to cut away the sails if they caught on fire.
Finally, after several long, tense moments, the dragon returned. It was higher in the sky this time and Zollin turned to face the beast. Once again he raised a shield with one hand and kindled his magical power in the other. From a distance he saw flames as the dragon exhaled, letting the bright orange fire dance back across his body. Many of the sailors screamed as the dragon approached, letting their fear give them strength as they prepared for the worst. But this time the dragon didn’t breathe fire at the ship. Instead, it swerved away at the last moment, lashing out with its tail. The beast’s tail hit the mast near the top, just below the crow’s nest. It tore through sail and rigging alike, smashing the mast and snapping off the masthead.
Zollin had held back his own strike, surprised by the dragon’s change of tactics. When the tail hit the mast, it sent Zollin flying through the air. Zollin was shocked by the blow. The top of the mast swung down, still connected to the rigging, but he was thrown clear of the ship. His preservation instincts kicked in just before he hit the water, throwing up a shield of protection around his body like a bubble. Hitting the water at speed still stunned Zollin, and his weight made him sink. He tried to swim, but his shield made that impossible. He took a deep breath and then lowered his shield. The cold ocean water was almost as much of a shock as being knocked off the ship. Zollin kicked hard for the surface and came up gasping for air. He could hear sailors on board the Northern Star shouting, “Man overboard!”
He knew he needed to get back to the ship, which was all but defenseless without him on board, but his mind seemed numb. He could hear a tiny voice in the back of his mind telling him to levitate, but all he could think of were the waves that kept slapping against him and the cold. He wanted to close his eyes and sink below the waves, but he swam instinctively, treading water and fighting to keep his head up.
“Zollin!” he heard Mansel shouting. “Zollin!”
Then the dragon roared again, shooting down toward the vessel on the opposite side of the ship from where Zollin was languishing in the water, and he knew all was lost.
Chapter 10
Adrenaline kicked in and Zollin began levitating himself out of the ocean and toward the ship. He knew he was too late, but he had to try something-it was against his nature to give up. He sent his magic down into the water, letting it spread and touch thousands of fish until it finally brushed against the ocean floor. He was flying to the ship when the dragon attacked. Mansel had sent all his harpoon men to the far side of the ship and they were casting their weapons at the beast, which caused it to pull up. The harpoons hit the dragon’s underbelly, but none penetrated the beast’s scales.
It roared out and set the sails ablaze with its fiery breath. The canvas burned quickly, sending flaming fragments floating down toward the deck as the dragon circled around for another pass. When Zollin finally lowered his soaked and shivering body to the deck, both masts were burning like torches and the crew was working feverishly to extinguish the fires on the decks. People were shouting and a few even jumped overboard.
Zollin took a massive breath and then let his magic blast forth in a kinetic wave that rocked the ship as it snapped both masts near the deck and sent the sails, rigging, and masts hurling into the water. Steam flew up in a hot jet of air where the flaming wood landed in the seawater as Zollin sagged to the rough deck planks.
Eustice appeared from nowhere with a blanket, which he wrapped around Zollin’s shoulders. Then he pushed a small metal cup into Zollin’s hands. The young wizard drank without thinking, not realizing how strong the grog mix of alcohol was. It burned all the way down his throat, as if he’d swallowed a live coal from a fire. He sputtered and coughed, but then he felt the alcohol spread soothing heat through his body. His eyes seemed to focus and he let Eustice help him back to his feet.