White Stag (Permafrost #1)(52)

“It’s no use.” Seppo materialized beside me. “You need something stronger to pierce through the scales.”

I grunted. “Thank you for the information. Now if you’ll kindly excuse me,” I said, lunging forward. The blue dragon was after Soren, who agilely jumped like a hunting cat between the rocks that burst from the ground. We shared a glance and understanding flashed through his eyes. The lindworm’s scales would stop any blade, but they didn’t adorn the dragon’s belly, throat, or forehead. All we needed to do was take advantage of the weak spots.

My blood roared in my ears. My arrows really were useless, but there had to be something I could do. From the corner of my eye, the red dragon was ripping into the body of one of Lydian’s goblins, tearing hungrily into the meat. Bile rose in my throat at the screams of the dying male. Evil or not, I couldn’t help but pity the goblin as he was eaten alive.

Soren was still hopping across the rocks, the blue lindworm swerving back and forth as she tried to get to him. The lindworm’s snake-like body rose, then crashed down again on the floor with every grab. One claw snagged at his tunic and Soren brought his sword down, cutting the claw clean off and taking part of his tunic with it. Blood dripped steadily from his side. The claw rested on the floor across from me, where the dragon, now enraged, was shrieking loud enough to wake the dead.

I had an idea. It was absurd and probably more than a little foolish, but each swipe of her claws and each gnash of her teeth were closer and closer to where Soren was before. Blood dripped from a gash in his side, soaking his tunic. If he kept this up by himself, then the dragon would catch him. I had no choice. I took a deep breath, hooked my bow and quiver across my back, and sprinted toward the lindworm.

I dropped to the ground and skidded underneath the dragon’s belly as she rose for another swipe. Frantically, I grabbed her missing claw. One second too late and she would smash me to bits. As the dragon crashed back down I stabbed her underbelly. There was a screech of rage and the weight of the dragon pressed down against my body, forcing me onto my back. The monster rose to crush me.

She didn’t get the chance.

Seppo was there, his feather staff cutting thick slices into the dragon’s underbelly. He sighed in relief, then grinned at me. “Told ya you needed something sharper.” The lindworm roared and ripped herself from Seppo’s blades, stumbling away to regain her bearings.

I gripped the claw in my hand. “Come on!”

The dragon turned, her fangs dripping with venom, saliva pooling at her lips. Her eyes burned with the fury of a thousand Hels, the hate in them almost palpable. Soren stood atop an ice-and-rock ledge, looking down at me with horror in his eyes as she charged forward.

Seppo eyed the dragon’s oncoming fangs. He cupped his hands out before me. “Give me your foot, I’ll boost you up.”

“Onto what?”

“Her back, of course,” he said, as if it were completely obvious. It struck me that Soren might not be the oddest goblin in the Permafrost. The lindworm coiled as she prepared to strike. Her claws made furrows in the stone, five on one side, four on another.

“Are you insane?” I hissed.

“Yes,” Seppo said. “Unless you have a better idea?”

I scowled but put my foot into Seppo’s cupped hands, and braced myself for the dragon’s strike. It would be close, so close. Seppo was with Lydian, and Lydian wouldn’t stop until he killed me. For all I knew, he would plunge me directly into the lindworm’s mouth.

“Also,” Seppo said, “before I forget anything, here.” He thrust something sharp into my hand, just as the gaping jaws of the lindworm came for us. With his leverage, I sprang up into the air and onto the monster, stepping on her elongated snout and running across the flat of her head toward her neck.

The dragon swung her head around to throw me off. I tumbled to her spine as she curled beneath me, shaking with monstrous force. Compared to this, the battle on the cliffside was child’s play. The sharp spines of the lindworm threatened to skewer me if I fell on them wrong, but I wrapped my arm around one and hung on.

Balling my hands into fists, I yelped when a blade cut into my palm. Seppo had placed a stiletto knife in my hand. The blade was small and slender, but the dark metal had a wicked gleam to it. I hoped to the gods it wasn’t poisoned.

With blood dripping from my hand, I clutched one of the dragon’s spines as it reared up to claw at Soren. He jumped to a higher ledge as a claw pierced his calf and pulled him back down. Somewhere else the red dragon screeched with fury, and another goblin screamed as it was ripped apart. A dark, dark part of me prayed that it was Lydian.

Soren lay still, the wind knocked out of him. “Get up!” I screamed. “Go!” He pulled himself to his feet, blood flowing from a deep puncture in his calf. His eyes widened at the sight of me on the dragon’s back.

“Don’t just ogle like an idiot!” I screamed. “Go!”

The dragon reared to strike, and I tumbled down her back. Before I hit the ground, I wrapped my arm against one of her spines and caught myself. Her neck was far away but the soft flesh between her eyes sparkled with silvery skin. I can do this.

Seppo danced back and forth around the lindworm, weaving in and out of her legs, darting underneath her for quick stabs to her belly, then skipping back to avoid being caught in her claws. Blood ran down from a cut on his forehead, and sweat glistened on his face. The dragon managed to back him against the far side of the cave, away from her mate, her eggs, and the other goblins. He narrowed his eyes as the monster descended for the kill.