Clara didn't like the weight of battle-axes. Wielding them made her feel like she had to commit to every single attack, with no room for flexibility. But at this moment, with the dragon having doubled in size since its arrival, Clara found herself not caring about 'being smart'.
Her dress was in tatters, and she was protecting Svarm of all people! No third issue was needed. Clara was starting to see red again.
They didn't need to ask each other if they were ready. Clara could feel Petra's confidence with a powerful earth crystal in hand. No words were needed at all.
Clara thought, Let's go!!
Clara charged and jumped on instinct, feeling the ground erupt beneath her and fling her up towards the rearing dragon. With a full throated roar, Clara spun and buried the ax in the monster's soft underbelly. The axe bit in, digging through the dragon scale with a hard grating sound like soft stone.
Clara braced her feet against the dragon and ripped herself away, backflipping through the air just as Petra's barrage of stone drilled into the opened wound. The dragon screamed and fell down, hunching protectively over the bleeding hole. Its blood poured in great gushes, sizzling as it flowed through the cracks and into the lower levels of the castle.
Someone screamed from down below, and Clara staggered, turning to the sound. Distracted.
"Keep going!" Petra shouted, "We can't-"
The dragon turned around, hiding it's exposed chest as it whipped its tail. Clara turned sluggishly, torn, struggling to get back in the zone-
Wham!
Clara soared across the courtyard and exploded into the stone. Pain lanced across her arms as she wrestled herself free. Landing on the ground, rubble crashing around her. She heard someone 'eek' beside her, and turned to the noise. Svarm was huddled up against the wall with his hands on a door handle, covered in a harmless amount of rubble.
Clara said, "Go inside already. You're in the way, Svarm."
Svarm straightened and said, "If you really feel that way, then fine!"
Svarm hauled the door open, and Clara realized that it was Harriett's room beyond. The butler, Trenador, looked up from his cleaning and raised an eyebrow at Clara.
"He's a guest, Trenador." Clara said, "I've got to get back to battle. Keep him safe in Har- in Calendula's room."
"It does sound like such a ruckus out there," Trenador said, "Unfortunately, dragons are not my specialty. Enjoy yourselves. I will tend to your dress after."
The phrase stabbed Clara in the heart. Her old serving maid had said similar things before…everything.
Clara nodded and turned, then scooped the ax from where it had fallen in the debris. As the door shut, Clara slung the ax across her shoulders with a casual hand and looked back at Svarm. Then she flipped him off.
"Took you long enough," Petra said as Clara rushed back into battle. With a casual touch of a healing crystal, Petra healed Clara, and she was ready to go. Blood already boiling. Why had that jerk been watching? The room wasn't even locked.
"The Dragon's wound has healed," Petra said, pointing, "It's scabbed over now. See?"
As they watched, the dragon grew larger again, and the angry wound faded into deep scarred ridging.
"It looks old," Clara said, "What does it mean?"
Scott, who was suddenly standing on the other side of Petra, said, "It means that time is flowing differently from this beast. Some kind of tenth magic. Like the opposite of the Stubborn Dead. It's getting older quickly. In another ten minutes, it will be a full adult dragon. In another hour, it will be dead."
Petra said, "But before it dies, it will become an ancient dragon."
They all nodded.
"Not a chance," Clara said, stepping forward, "I know your wood magic isn't good here, but defend Petra the best you can, Scott. We have work to do."
Clara pointed her ax at the scar, and the dragon huddled around it protectively.
"We have one shot," Clara said, "Hit it hard enough to kill. Right where it's weakest."
Clara charged forward, and Petra sent the ground skittering beneath her feet, enhancing Clara's movements. She ducked a swiping claw and parried another, the heat of anger dissipating as she planned. Clara dodged and swung up, landing a strike as hard as she could on the wound. The scarred scales tore like old paper, and Clara felt her ax tug away as it got caught on the bone.
Clara let go of the ax and leapt back, just as Petra hammered the ax with a chunk of the wall. The rock split on the steel, and the ax was knocked free.
"Why didn't you pull the ax out," Petra shouted, "It got in the way of my attack."
"I couldn't," Clara heaved, feeling herself heat up again, "The dragon freaking dodged. I didn't have any footing. You should have waited!"
Scott shot out a wooden clamp and caught the axe by the handle, then yanked it free. He pulled it spinning towards them.
Scott said, "That was beautiful fighting, Clara. But-"
"But what?!" Clara caught the ax and stomped, snarling, "What?!"
Scott held up his hands and said, "But maybe focus on hitting it harder. Look, it's going to grow soon. No time to waste."
"Focus on-" Clara gaped, then turned and said, "Those words better have been on purpose."
Then Clara charged into battle again. Her vision was turning red, making it hard to see. She'd show him how hard she could hit!
Clara screamed, and the dragon huddled down, protecting the vulnerable spot and taking a deep, glowing breath. Clara leapt, Petra boosting her jump, sending Clara flying high. The dragon raised its head to follow, forcing it to rise to avoid losing sight of Clara.
Petra sent a spike into the dragon's now exposed wound, which drilled in deep. Then, with a flick of Petra's hand, the condensed spike of stone exploded. The wound tore open, exposing the bone of the chest and the lungs behind.
The dragon broke away from following Clara and sent a great gout of fire toward Petra as it screamed. A wooden wall formed around Petra, which burned away only to reveal Petra's defensive sphere. A dense shield of stone that sheltered Petra and Scott from the fury of flame. The sphere started to glow red.
Clara didn't see any of this. She was kicking at the air, raw rage wrestling speed from the world itself.
How dare it attack?! Tonight?! Her! HERE!
She needed every ounce of power to communicate the gut-wrenching rage inside of her.
The dragon huddled protectively at its chest, a wise decision. But it left the neck exposed.
With a sound like shattering trees, Clara roared and ripped through the stone-like defensive spines. Shrapnel shattered and tore through her, pieces skewering though her arms and face. She pushed harder, throwing every mote of her strength into this one attack. The scales shattered like crushed stone.
Then beneath it Clara's blade stuck a foot deep in white steel. Dragon bone.
"Get off!" Petra shouted.
Clara let go, and felt herself whipped away on a sudden Scott-made cart. The dragon snapped at her, but wooden tresses sprung up and held the mouth open as the cart retreated. Then Clara saw it. Petra had broken off one of the castle's towers. It soared, whistling with speed, toward the back of the Dragon's neck. Toward the axe still buried there.
Clara turned, looking at Scott and Petra. Scott raised his arms, and a wall erupted around them. Leaving a gap for Petra to see. Petra fell, screaming as she clawed at the air and blood dripped from her nose.
BOOM!
The sound was like a rock slide channeled and aimed into a single point so that every stone crashed together at once. It deafened even Clara. In the city below, tens of thousands of people and monsters turned to look at the sound. The world rocked and, save for the occasional clatter, settled.
Scott bent over and took Petra's med crystal from her collapsed form, then healed her with a red flash. Clara struggled to her feet and made her way over, gratefully taking some healing as well.
"There we go," Scott said as he healed himself, "I can hear again."
"Good," Clara said, bending to brush Petra's hair away, "Let's-"
The sound of rocks falling sent shivers up Clara's spine, and she whirled, climbing up the wall that Scott had made. She wasn't armed anymore, but if it was getting up again she had to-
There it was. A head and neck, severed and lying against the wall. The body lay beyond, covered in rubble. And the whole thing was disintegrating into dust, causing the rubble piled on top to tumble and make the noise she had heard.
As Clara watched, the whole nightmare fell apart. Leaving only bones.
"Aww," Clara groaned, "I was wanting to eat some dragon meat."