Tristan went through the contents of Hunter’s backpack with a shake of his head. “What I really need is a 303/431
small handheld missile. How come no one carries those in their backpacks anymore?”
I knew he was joking, but still I said, “Could we make one?”
Jane and Hunter looked at me with that condescending expression smart people get when they think you’re being an idiot, so I said, “Didn’t the Chinese have rockets in the Middle Ages?” After all, I’d seen the movie Mulan. Hey, for a cartoon character, Shang was hot.
“They did,” Tristan said. “But I have no idea what sort of fuel they used.”
“Besides,” Hunter said, “the body of a rocket has to be perfectly cylindrical or it won’t fly straight. The chances of hitting a dragon’s throat are slim.”
“What about cannons?” I said. “Didn’t they have those in the Middle Ages?”
Tristan calmly refilled Hunter’s backpack. “They had trebuchets, which worked more like catapults—great for hitting castles, but not so accurate at hitting moving objects.” He looked over at me, and his voice softened as though he appreciated my worry. “Trust me, people here have tried lots of ways to kill dragons—poisoning their food, drugging them. An arrow to the throat is the only thing that’s worked.”
I went and sat on the bed, just so I could be near him.
“That’s because the people here haven’t considered 304/431
everything. But we’re from the twenty-first century. We know what’s possible.”
Jane shook her head. “Knowing what’s possible and being able to replicate it are two entirely different things.”
And so there was Tristan standing alone underneath the dragon again, and no one seemed to be bothered by this except for me. I poked at the blanket on the bed with irritation. “If you’re not going to use your knowledge, then what’s the point of being smart? Anyone could shoot a bow. I could do it.”
“But you’re not going to,” Tristan said with more forcefulness than he needed. To Hunter he added, “Your job tomorrow is to make sure Savannah stays out of trouble.”
“Could we feed it explosives?” I asked. “You told me it cooks its food inside its mouth.”
“They didn’t have explosives in the Middle Ages,” Hunter said.
“But that doesn’t mean they didn’t have the ingredients,” I said. “What’s dynamite made out of? Or gunpowder?”
Tristan tilted his head back, his eyes narrowed in concentration. “She’s right. Gunpowder was made from natural components. Fertilizer is one of them and they have plenty of that here. What are the other ingredients?” 305/431
Hunter leaned forward. He snapped his fingers trying to remember. “Saltpeter. The colonials made it during the Revolutionary War. It’s part potassium nitrate and you mix it with something . . .” I looked at Jane to see if she knew the answer, but she was turning pages in her history book. “Black powder,” she said. “Developed in China in the ninth century . . .
spread to Europe between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.”
Tristan’s brows furrowed with concentration. “But what are the ingredients?”
Hunter picked up his chemistry book and flipped through the pages. To himself he said, “What reacts with potassium nitrate?”
Black powder. I never even remembered hearing about it in history class, but I had plenty of practice guessing for tests. “It’s got to be something black,” I said.
Tristan’s gaze shot over to mine and he smiled. “Charcoal. It’s mixed with charcoal.”
“And sulfur,” Hunter said. He turned the book around and pointed to a bunch of letters, numbers, and arrows that meant nothing to me but made the other two say,
“Ahhh.”
Now everyone leaned together, making a semicircle around Tristan. “What about the ratios?” Hunter asked.
306/431
“We’ll have to experiment,” Tristan said. “I’ll see how much charcoal and sulfur I can buy from the castle alchemists.”
“Do we know how to make saltpeter?” Jane asked.
The guys looked at each other and laughed.
“What?” I said.
“That’s the fertilizer part,” Tristan said. “It’s basically what happens when you combine a decaying material and urine. Your basic dung heap.” I sat up straighter. “How do you guys know this sort of thing?”
Tristan shrugged. “You hear it once and you never forget it.”
“Gross,” I said.
“Yeah, but you’ll never forget it now,” Tristan said.
I held up one hand. “For the record, I refuse to be in charge of the saltpeter.”
Which is how I was put in charge of buying a pig.
Tristan figured we could tie bags of black powder to a pig and put it near the dragon’s lair.
We talked long into the night about who was going to do what, and what supplies we’d have to buy, and the fact that we needed to buy more horses for Hunter and Jane. It grew very late and even the villagers downstairs went home. Then Hunter went to Tristan’s room and 307/431
Jane stayed in mine. I scooted over so she had room on the bed to sleep.
I thought it would be awkward being in the room alone with her. We hadn’t really talked, not normally anyway, since Hunter broke up with me, but I fell asleep before she even climbed into bed.
• • •
I slept in past sunrise and Jane slept even longer. She didn’t even blink her eyes open as I walked around the room dressing. I put on the first dress I’d brought since my Snow White one had gotten dirty while I’d been dragged around the forest by the cyclops. I gave it to the innkeeper’s wife to wash. Hopefully I’d be able to find something for Jane before she got up.
I had wanted to see Tristan before he left, but the innkeeper told me he’d gone at first light. I wondered if he’d gotten any sleep at all last night. I hadn’t been able to tell him good-bye, which bothered me more than it should have.
He’d be gone all morning long, telling his story at the castle and being knighted by the king. At least I knew he wouldn’t be spending much time with Princess Margaret. He wanted to get back to the inn and get things ready as soon as possible so he could go to the dragon’s lair.
308/431
Celebrating aside, everyone figured it would be best to try and kill the dragon today instead of giving Sir William a chance to exhibit his archery prowess and shoot it first. Or as Jane had put it last night, “Anyone ever heard of William Tell?”
Sir William had said he was going up to the castle to pay his respects to the king and Princess Margaret today, but after that, it only made sense that he’d go after the dragon. Both he and Tristan needed the reward money that would enable them to challenge the Black Knight.
I hadn’t said much about the Black Knight to the others last night, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t thought about him. I’d been so frightened when I’d gone to fight the cyclops and the enchantment hadn’t worked. Had the Black Knight already figured out that his enchantment was gone? Did he realize I was the one who had taken it?
The thought made my insides tighten. What if my dream was right and he and I were meant for each other? Could we be?
Then I felt horrible for thinking things like that while Tristan was going off risking his life in order to undo the wish I’d made. And he’d nearly kissed me last night, and what’s more, I’d wanted him to.
309/431
So which one of them did I have feelings for—the tall, powerful, mysterious one who was also a fantastic kisser, or the one who’d held me so tenderly last night told me that everything would be okay, and then stood up to Jane for me?