Listen to the audiobook of this chapter:

  I dreamed.

  I slowly stalk up to the cave, my shield in one hand, my fireball spell ready in the other. The entrance is huge, big enough for a dragon to fit through. Which is, of course, why I’m going in. Twice, I’ve already tried taking on the ice dragon that lives here, but with no success. I am determined to finish the job this time, with the help of my new magic-resistant shield and more powerful spells.

  I step through the doorway and I feel, more than hear, the ground and air shake. The dragon knows I’m here. And…. I swear it’s laughing at me. I grind my teeth together and glare at the darkness as I stride forward. Its mockery just makes me that much more determined to kill it.

  I ignite a fireball in my hand and look up. And up. And up. The dragon is staring at me with what I swear is amusement in its eyes. It huffs at me, and a freezing wind escapes its mouth. My body gets heavy with cold and I can’t feel my feet anymore. I growl at the dragon, and it huffs some more, laughing.

  My anger at its smugness breaks me free of the paralysis, and I shout, throwing my fireball at its body. There’s not enough room for it to dodge, and I hit it directly in the chest. It roars and swipes a massive silver claw at me. I roll to the side, dodging, and throw another fireball at it. It rears up on its back legs, and lunges toward me with its head, its mouth wide open. I dodge again as a cone of ice pours from it. I unleash a series of magic missiles in response.

  The missiles hit the ice, and the resulting explosions knock me off my feet. I recover fast, but not fast enough to avoid the claws coming at me. I attempt to get my shield up, but they slice through my leg, and I scream in pain and fury as my vision starts going red. I’m not going to let it beat me so easily this time!

  I roll to my feet and race to the side of the cave, pulling a flask out of my belt and chugging it in one gulp. I feel the rips in my leg start to mend, and I turn, readying another spell. It spits another cold blast at me, disrupting my concentration, but I block the attack with my shield, the enchantments absorbing and redirecting the freezing ice away from me. I reach into another slot on my belt and pull out some darts.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  With rapid flicks of my wrist, I throw three poisoned needles into the dragon’s hide. It roars again and suddenly falls over.

  I stand unmoving behind my shield with another fire spell alight in my hand and stare at it, not willing to believe I killed it so easily this time. After nothing happens for a couple minutes, I slowly step forward. It doesn’t appear to be breathing. I take another cautious step forward, and another, the fire still ready to go at a moment’s notice.

  The dragon’s head suddenly whips off the floor and towards my head. I try to raise my shield and throw the fire at it wildly, but it’s moving too fast.

  Then, I’m just standing there, staring at my body as it falls over, headless. I look up, and the dragon appears to be swallowing something. I groan. My gear disappears from my body, going to whatever magical other dimension it always goes to when this happens.

  The dragon idly scratches at the place where the darts hit, and I see them fall to the floor. I won’t be getting those back. It pokes at my body, and I roll my eyes and turn away. Maybe I really do need someone else to help me with this beast. I close my eyes and recall the shrine where I bound my soul. As I feel myself fading away, I hear a crunch, and I shudder.

  The inn is loud, with many large groups of people sitting around drinking and talking, while a bard plays his lute and tells a story of a grand adventurer who crossed all five oceans and twelve seas to find his lost love. A few people turn to look at me as I enter, and I grimace and shrug. Some of them laugh, while others just shake their heads. We all know how it goes, and I don’t take offence to anything they say or do. I wave to the innkeeper and take a seat at my usual table.

  “So it killed you again?” one of my table companions asks.

  “Obviously,” I half-sigh as a hostess sets an ale down in front of me. I take a big drink. “Damn thing is smarter than I gave it credit for. Who knew dragons could play dead?”

  That makes everyone in hearing distance laugh. The person on my right slaps my back. “Ol’ Smokey is a tricky one. Only a few people have ever defeated it.”

  I take another drink. “How’d they do it?”

  Another guy laughs. “With help, of course. We told you that before you left, but you wouldn’t listen to us.”

  I grumble something into my mug about being independent and not needing anyone’s help. They all laugh again.