Free Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell Page A

landing on its back. Claws sank into saddle and bags, and the horse screamed. I screamed too.
    Judith ran at me, flailing her arms. “Run!”
    I turned, crutch under my arm, and made for the cover of the trees.
    When Judith caught up with me, she looped her shoulder beneath mine, and we sped through the underbrush, going deeper and deeper into the forest.
    â€œWe should find Parz,” I tried to tell Judith.
    â€œAre there birds in your head? Keep going.”
    â€œI’m slowing you down—you could go back and find Parz without me!”
    â€œ All kinds of birds ,” Judith said through clenched teeth. “Look, leaving you alone is out of the question, but even if it weren’t, there’s no way on earth I’m going anywhere near that dragon. Which is out of sight now. . . .” She slowed us to a walk.
    I frowned. Judith was scared of the dragon, but she wasn’t scared enough to leave Parz behind. But she was too scared to leave me behind, I realized. I was about to order her to go back to find Parz, then the pain in my foot and leg took away my breath.
    My foot should theoretically have been thankful for the slower pace. But even the momentary respite triggered pain where, before, panic had erased it, and now it felt like I walked on daggers.
    Judith was there immediately, trying to help me straighten, asking me where it hurt. I shook my head. Standing upright, I bit my knuckle and forced myself to take a step, then another, and another.
    Once I got back up to a speedy walk, the keening pain flattened out into constant misery. It was better as long as I was moving.
    â€œDo you see Parz behind us?” I asked after a moment. My voice was hoarse and raw from the earlier screaming and the current pain.
    â€œHe’s nowhere to be seen. But don’t worry—Balmung will keep him safe. That horse was running flat out. He’ll be fine. We just have to do what he says, and meet up with him at the next town.”
    â€œWhat if the dragon—”
    â€œHe said he’ll catch up to us in the next town.”
    I just nodded. Judith bit her lip. We kept on.

chapter 8
    I WAS LIMPING FAR WORSE THAN NORMAL BY THE TIME we found a road, but I knew that if I stopped walking, it’d be nearly impossible to start again. I’d overtaxed my foot, and I was going to pay for it later.
    Judith scanned the skies between tree branches as we walked. Eventually, she said, “I don’t think it’s flying after us.”
    â€œI hope Parz and Balmung are all right.”
    â€œI wonder how the palfrey is. Poor Felix.”
    â€œThat was his name?” I asked, and somehow, knowing his name was just awful . I blinked back tears. “That evil, evil dragon.”
    Judith sniffled. “I hope Felix didn’t suffer.”
    â€œI hope not, too,” I said. “But either way, Felix is gone. Along with all of our belongings.” With our clothes, I realized, but more importantly, my writing box, the blank Handbook , and—
    My stomach grumbled.
    â€”and whatever food and coin we’d had among the three of us.
    â€œWhy didn’t the pitch and resin ignite?” Judith moaned.
    â€œThe dragon didn’t use any flame for the whole battle,” I said. “Isn’t that odd?”
    Judith was quiet for a moment. “Odd,” she said, her voice breaking a little on the word. “Why wouldn’t it have fire? It was such a strange little dragon—it wasn’t very good at flying—it didn’t seem quite . . . Oh, Tilda.” Judith’s eyes welled with sudden tears. “I think we tried to kill a baby dragon.”
    â€œOh no,” I said, less out of sympathy for the dragon than for Judith. Judith had to help every baby everywhere, no matter what the circumstance. Human babies. Horse babies. Frog babies. That was how we had ended up with goats tromping on our heads in the middle of the night,