Zebulun could hold no longer. The serpent compressed his arms, his legs, and his chest. He couldn’t breathe.
The dragon loosened its grip ever so slightly. Zebulun gasped for air. The creature brought its eye right up to Zebulun’s face.
I can feel your bones crack, it said, with a hint of glee. Where is your god now?
The dragon’s eye exploded in a shower of blood. It recoiled in shock and pain and let loose a deep bass hiss that shook the building.
The shock had loosened the serpent’s grip. Zebulun managed to free his sword arm.
The dragon turned his other eye to look at Quinn. It hissed into his mind, You DARE? Still coiled around Zebulun, the dragon lunged at Quinn behind him. As its head passed by, Zebulun drove his sword through its jaw and into its brain. The serpent fell dead, taking his sword with it to the cold, hard stone. Zebulun pulled himself out of the coils, wincing at the pain.
"You okay?" asked Quinn.
"Fine," said Zebulun. "Bruised and battered."
Zebulun retrieved his sword and gouged out the dragon’s other eye. "Let that be a lesson to dragons everywhere."
"Yeah," said Quinn. "Sic semper tyrannosaurus!"
Zebulun looked at Quinn.
Quinn blushed and said, "It’s something I heard Davion say, once. Is from some old, dead language." Quinn’s expression changed to concern. "What’s wrong with Davion, anyway?"
Zebulun looked. Davion sat huddled by the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees, rocking back and forth. Zebulun went over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Davion recoiled in fear.
"The dragon hit him with powerful sorcery," said Zebulun. "He has battle fatigue."
"Can you fix him?" asked Quinn.
"My well has run dry," said Zebulun. "I need to rest before I can heal him completely. In the meantime, I can give him some of my strength."
Zebulun placed a hand on Davion, who squirmed but then relented. He had no spiritual energy left to channel, so he gave Davion a portion of his own spirit. Davion’s breathing slowed. He looked around, then at Zebulun.
"Zeb?" he asked.
Zebulun nodded.
"Are we alive?"
"We are."
"Did we win?"
"We did."
Davion was shaking. "Good. Good. Can we go now?"
Zebulun nodded. He took out sacks and handed one to each of them. "Take as much gold and silver as you can carry."