Totentanz

Book 3 Chapter VII: Endlich

ENDLICH
German, "finally; at last"

Good doesn't triumph over evil. There's just random chance and death. -- Ethan Cross, The Shepherd

At first the skrýszel was too confused to react. If it had a human-like face it would have watched the dragon statue with furrowed brows. As the dragon sprang it stayed motionless and stared.

The dragon's teeth sank into its shoulder.

The skrýszel roared and lashed out with one massive paw. It missed. The dragon was much smaller and could hang on more easily. It bit a chunk out of the skrýszel's shoulder, darted out of reach, then sprang onto the skrýszel's back.

Blood rained down on the courtyard. The stone sizzled as the blood turned into acid.

The dragon's claws sank into the skrýszel's back. The skrýszel reared up in a desperate attempt to throw it off. It rolled over. The dragon was faster. It jumped off its back before it could be crushed.

Back and forth across the courtyard the fight raged. Diarnlan and Karandren waited on the other side of the gate. If the skrýszel charged towards them it would have nowhere to go but through the concealed doorway.

But it didn't. It levelled half of the outer walls with its tail. Every time its tail struck something, lightning sparked from the spines that covered them. Karandren pressed his hand to his chest with a grimace. He remembered only too well the pain of being electrocuted by that thing -- or by one with a tail just like it. They all blurred together after a while.

The dragon couldn't feel pain like a living thing. But it could be damaged. Its teeth and claws were coated in the skrýszel's blood. And skrýszel blood turned to acid when it was spilled.

Before long the dragon had begun to melt. Its movements were much slower than before. It couldn't climb out of the skrýszel's reach.

The skrýszel struck it with its tail. A blaze of light, the crackle of electricity, and the dragon was reduced to a heap of scrap metal.

Karandren had already lost his life to this thing once. Now he'd lost his pet too. He forgot the plan, forgot common sense, forgot basic survival.

All he felt was rage.

He charged at the skrýszel. Diarnlan tried to grab him, tried to pull him back, but he yanked his sleeve out of her grip.

"You idiot, you won't come back this time!" she yelled.

He didn't hear. The skrýszel was distracted by sniffing suspiciously at the melted dragon. If it had much of a brain it would probably had been wondering how something could die without bleeding. It didn't notice Karandren run up behind it.

When fully grown he was strong enough to break a stone pillar with a single blow. For a minute he forgot his body was only fourteen. He brought his sword down on the skrýszel's tail with all his might.

The blade sliced half-way down through skin and muscle. It sank into bone and lodged there. Karandren couldn't pull it free. He didn't get much of a chance to try. The skrýszel bellowed in agony and lashed out with its tail.

Its lightning no longer worked, but it still gave him a blow to the chest that left him stunned on the ground.

Diarnlan watched in dismay as the skrýszel rounded on him. It raised one of its huge paws to tread on him. He couldn't move out of the way. Even from here Diarnlan could tell his breathing was irregular and pained.

She gritted her teeth. The old Diarnlan made one final effort to come back. Why should she risk her life to save Karandren of all people?

Time slowed down.