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By Root 1093 0

his life only moments ago, and that was just one time of many. This thing would not be the end of his friend. His anger pulled him forward, and as Pierce struggled to hold the dragon at bay Daine reversed his grip on his dagger and slammed it into one of the creature’s eyes. This dagger was no ordinary blade; forged by a mad smith of House Cannith, it could carve through steel as easily as cloth, and no mundane metal could match its edge. The blade sunk deep into the dragon’s head, with no more resistance than he would have felt from a block of soft cheese, but the dragon had no brain within its skull. It twisted its head, and pure anger gave Daine the strength to hold onto the dagger and pull the blade from the creature’s head. Its left eye was a ruin, but it didn’t seem to be affected in any way; Daine leapt back just in time to avoid the snapping jaws.

Status, Pierce, he thought.

The warforged was on his feet, but he gave no response. The beast was continuing to tear at Pierce with its hind claws, and Daine could see the shredded cords at his waist. Were Pierce a creature of flesh and blood, his entrails would be dripping from the dragon’s talons, but the warforged wasn’t down yet. He lacked the strength to push the beast away, but he twisted to the side, using its weight against it. As the dragon fell to the floor Pierce brought his flail down, wrapping the long chain around one of its hind legs. The copper beast tumbled to the floor, scattering coffers with its wild thrashing. Pierce dropped to one knee—clearly his injuries were taking a toll on him, and he still hadn’t responded to Daine’s telepathic query.

Anger gave way to concern, but there was no time for either. Daine darted forward, slashing with his dagger. Slivers of copper fell to the floor. It was clear that the creature did not possess any sort of vital organs: if Daine was going to do anything, he’d have to take it apart piece by piece. It might not use its eyes, but perhaps the loss of its head would prove more of a handicap.

It was easier to devise such plans than to put them into practice. In an instant the dragon was fully facing him. It lashed out with its tail, catching Pierce directly in his injured midsection; the warforged soldier crashed into the wall and lay still. Now the dragon glared at Daine with its ruined gaze. Daine crossed his blades before his chest. Perhaps if he caught it in mid-leap, he could use its force against it, drag the dagger across its neck …

In the end, it wasn’t the dragon that leapt. There was a flash of motion and then Lei was on the creature’s back, clinging to its neck. Her mouth was twisted in a terrible grimace, and Daine could see the air rippling around her hands; for a moment he remembered the battle at Keldan Ridge and a warforged soldier exploding at her touch. The dragon thrashed around, trying to reach her, but she held on with grim determination; Daine was afraid to strike at the beast for fear of hitting Lei in the melee.

He needn’t have worried. The creature gave no howl, no cry of pain. It simply froze in place, becoming dead metal once again. Lei slumped against its neck, breathing hard.

“Lei!” Without even thinking about it, Daine reached out for her. She fell into his arms, still gasping for breath.

“I’ve got … scale,” she said, her head pressed against his shoulder. It took a moment for Daine to remember the purpose of the battle. “Let me … Pierce.”

Daine steadied her on her feet, and for a moment he just held her as she caught her breath. All thought was lost in a maelstrom of emotion, anger and concern wrapped together with something deeper. Then he let her go and they ran to Pierce. The warforged lay against the wall, seemingly as inert as the dragon statue. His waist was a gaping ruin of shredded cords coated with a translucent, sticky fluid, but Lei just knelt beside him and ran her hands over the torn ligaments. Daine had seen her work with warforged before, and he knew there was still hope.

Lakashtai, what’s going on? He thought.

Nothing. Suddenly he remembered Pierce’s failure to