Free Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell

unceremoniously slid me off his horse to the ground. I caught myself awkwardly with a grunt, but he was too distracted to notice.
    Judith tied the palfrey to a tree, then took a spear from Parz. She stood by his right knee as he drew his sword. Together, they advanced on the tower.
    I held my breath.
    They moved ever more slowly as they approached, as though waiting for something to burst from the empty doorway. Parz’s confusion was visible as no dragon leaped forth—he twitched and moved in the saddle half a dozen times, looking like he was going to step down. He couldn’t take the horse into the tower with him, could he? The tower was too small for that.
    I wondered if I should be taking notes for the Handbook .
    Parz stood in his stirrups, about to dismount, when a sound like an eagle’s shriek combined with a bear’s roar filled the air. The palfrey tied next to me tossed its head, eyes rolling back, ears swiveling anxiously. I backed away from it, afraid of its hooves.
    Balmung remained calm in comparison, merely freezing in his tracks. The horse didn’t move a hair even when a creature the size of a large dog launched itself out of a hole in the roof of the tower and soared overhead.
    â€œGet down here and fight me, dragon!” Parz shouted, waving his sword.
    I squinted into the bright autumn sky. A real dragon! Green-and-brown-patterned scales, a long snaky neck, thick claws, narrow wings—yes, it was a dragon, all right. I’d never seen one in person before. I liked to think that was due to some level of wisdom on the part of my family—Cousin Ivo excepted.
    The dragon circled once, twice, then bent its neck like a goose before giving off another honking, roaring scream and landing right in front of Judith and Parz. The dragon was small next to Balmung, but even a large, friendly hunting hound can be imposing. And this dragon wasn’t friendly.
    Parz screamed something wordless at the dragon as it advanced on them. Judith scrambled backward, staying out of reach of the dragon’s mouth. Another roaring scream emerged from the dragon, and the palfrey beside me lost all control, thrashing against the knots that tied it to the tree. I moved farther away, worried it might trample me, torn between putting distance between me and the palfrey and watching the fight.
    Parz fumbled in a pouch at his belt as Balmung shied from the dragon. Judith threw a spear, but the dragon ducked. The dragon opened its mouth and launched forward. Parz managed to free a lump of pitch and resin from his pouch and tossed the lump into the dragon’s open mouth. The dragon swallowed!
    Now Judith and Parz went into full retreat, getting distance while waiting for the dragon to ignite the pitch with its inner fire.
    But nothing happened. I realized: The dragon hadn’t used any flame in this battle.
    The dragon, slow and ungainly on the ground, took wing again, trumpeting its roar. The thrashing palfrey jerked its head desperately and succeeded in freeing itself from the tree. Before I could even try to catch the reins or say “Whoa!” the horse was gone.
    With all of our belongings.
    I hollered for it to come back. Neither Parz nor Judith seemed to notice me or the palfrey, intent as they were on the circling dragon above. Parz shook his sword skyward.
    The dragon screeched again—and dived toward Balmung.
    Balmung bolted; the last clear image I saw of Parz was the flash of pink from his open, shouting mouth in his pale face as he was carried off by his panicking horse.
    Just when I thought that it might be over for Parz, the dragon slowed and turned.
    â€œJudith!” I screamed. She was already running toward me. She didn’t see the dragon behind her.
    But the dragon wasn’t going for Judith—the dragon was going for the palfrey, who had, in its terror, run around the edge of the clearing and now foolishly ran right at the dragon.
    The dragon went in for the palfrey,