Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [53]
Ignoring the corner of his consciousness that begged him to hurl his puny sword to the street and flee in terror, Abdel moved within striking distance. Too lucky or too insignificant to have even been noticed by his gargantuan foe, Abdel rushed in unseen and slashed at the dragon's hind leg just above the heel. Most weapons would merely bounce harmlessly off the beast's scales, but Abdel's sword was propelled by a strength unequalled by any other mortal.
A geyser of steaming blood erupted from the wound, though Abdel's weapon was shattered by the impact. The dragon howled in pain, kicking out with its wounded leg and twisting its head around on its long, sinuous neck to snap at the unseen enemy.
Abdel leaped back, avoiding both the kicking leg and the lethal jaws even as he ducked beneath the wing that swept over his head. He didn't avoid the heavy tail whipping around to slam into him from behind. It hurled Abdel through the air into one of the few stone walls still standing on the street. The wall disintegrated when Abdel smashed face first into it, breaking his ribs, cracking the vertebrae in his neck, shattering every bone in his face, and rupturing several internal organs.
It took Abdel nearly ten seconds to recover enough from the horrendous injuries to stand on his feet again. Luckily, the inexperienced dragon hadn't bothered to finish him off. Assuming the hero had been pulverized by its lashing tail, the creature returned its attention to the building where Imoen, Jaheira, and the others had sought shelter before being cloaked with the spell of invisibility.
Raising up onto its hind legs the beast let loose with a roar that shook the ground. The reverberating echo of the battle cry drowned out all other sound. Abdel couldn't even hear his own scream as the beast slammed its entire body down on the building's roof, collapsing the entire structure in a roiling cloud of dust that quickly mingled with the heavy smoke hanging like a curtain in the air.
Nothing inside the mashed building larger than a roach could have survived the destruction.
Abdel howled to the blackened sky in grief over his lover's certain death.
"Jaheira!"
Abdel's eyes welled up as he ran his hand across the mix of blood and dirt on bis face. He took in a great deep breath to give voice to his rage and sorrow once again when he abruptly stopped. Abdel noticed footsteps in the dirt and soot that covered the city streets. Footsteps leading away from the building, churning up tiny puffs of dust as they scampered away. From the number of footprints left behind and the amount of broiling dust in their wake, Abdel guessed there were maybe half a dozen people on the run. He couldn't see them. Whatever spell had caused Imoen, Jaheira and the others to vanish from sight when Abdel had first noticed them huddled inside the threshold of the now-destroyed doorway was still keeping them hidden from view. Imoen and Jaheira were alive. Abdel released his breath, and his anguished cries became relieved laughter.
As the dragon turned back toward the big sellsword, Abdel's laughing stopped. The wyrm tilted its head back slightly and took a deep breath. As the beast inhaled, its enormous chest expanded ever farther, and Abdel realized it was gathering itself to unleash a blast of fire that would incinerate him where he stood.
The big man spun on his heel and ran. Behind him, Abdel heard a deep rumble and a sizzling hiss. He dived for the cover of an open doorway,