Adventures In Space And Time

Chapter 9

I peeked over the top of the collapsed pillar Clayton and I had hidden behind. The dragon was massive, easily sixty feet long, and if the cavern ceiling had been tall enough for it to stand up on its back legs, it would have towered over Clayton and I. As it was, it was still a terrifying sight to behold...

At least, it was to me. The look in Clayton's eyes seemed to be more along the lines of "I wonder how many knives I would break before getting through the scales."

I glanced over at him and said "No way."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"No, we are not going to fight the dragon with knives."

"I definitely wasn't thinking that..." he said unconvincingly as he lowered his hand from his knife belts, "Why would I think that...?"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

He crossed his arms in indignation, "Well, do you have a better idea?" I gave him a look that let him know how much of an idiot he was. "Of course you do..." he muttered, rolling his eyes.

My idea was simple. Since the dragon's scales were probably tough enough to resist plain steel, my Excalibur would probably be the only thing we had that could do any damage... This obviously meant that Clayton had to be bait.

"Why me? Why couldn't you be bait? You're the one with the 'indestructible armor'," he muttered, making very obvious air quotes.

"I do have armor, but I don't know how well it would stand up to dragon fire, even if I could activate it. I think your speed would give us an advantage."

Clayton thought for a second, head cocked, but suddenly he grinned. "Oh, I think I've got a little bit more than speed. You'll see," he said to my raised eyebrow. And without further ado, he stood up, dusted off his black leather jacket, shouted "Eat this, fell beast!" and sprinted toward the other side of the room. I sighed, hoping Clayton knew what he was doing. Although I'd barely just met him, and although he was basically a raving psychopath, I hoped he wouldn't get himself killed. Then, knowing it was probably time for me to do my part, I stood, threw off my trench coat, and unsheathed my sword.

I looked down at the gleaming three-foot straight sword, and making a quick decision, pressed a button in the hilt. The blade grew an extra foot in length and another couple of inches in width. That was more like it. I heaved the sword onto my right shoulder and started walking leisurely toward the center of the cavern. Clayton was literally running circles around the dragon, who, despite being blind, seemed like it was still pretty attentive. Clayton rolled, dodged, dipped, and dived away from the fire blasts, always moving, never in the same place for more than a half a second. I was alarmed at this display of acrobatic ability. Clayton hadn't seemed like he was capable of it, even if he did seem somewhat lean.

With another look, my questions were answered. I had noticed a spot of light shining from his wrist. He'd rolled up one sleeve of his jacket and revealed a bracelet that was glowing with a green light, which I guessed was some magical item he had discovered in that apartment of his.

Whatever it was, it helped him pull some amazing moves, but I couldn't keep watching. I had my own problems to deal with. I waited for the dragon to turn its back to me and then swung my new broadsword off my shoulder. Steadying the weight with two hands, I lunged swinging for the dragon's hind leg. On any normal animal, it would have gone straight through, but it just clanged loudly against the scales, sending a shock rocketing up through my arms. I gritted my teeth and adjusted my grip on the hilt. "Alright, new plan then," I muttered to myself.

"Simon, look out!"

I turned halfway around, following Clayton's cry, and then dived to the right, narrowly avoiding a massive blast of fire that singed the hem of my hoodie. I hit the ground hard, sword clattering from my hands, and rolled onto my front. I would've then attempted to climb to my feet, but when I looked up, I found myself staring straight into the eyes of the dragon.