Damsel Knight by Sam Austin Read Free Book Online Page B

back of its throat. Bonnie's eyes widen and she throws herself back on the other side of the pillar, drawing Neven close to her side.
    Flames wrap around them in a torrent of heat and noise. Bonnie feels her skin prickle until it sears with pain. She closes her eyes to the blue and red flames licking past the edges of the pillar either side of them. She tries to ignore the stone boiling against her back.
    When it stops Neven is crouching by her side, tucked behind his shield with his face screwed up like he's trying not to cry. She grabs his arm, cursing herself for bringing her father's sword and not the shield all those years ago. Her father always taught her that on the battlefield, when it came down to it, the shield was a far more important weapon than a sword. Then again, he'd been speaking of battles against men at the time. She doubts he ever thought she'd fight a dragon.
    She pulls him behind another pillar just in time as another barrage of fire surrounds them. The cow stands one pillar to their left. It looks up at them, disinterest in its vacant eyes.
    "How much fire can a dragon breathe before it runs out?" Bonnie yells over the roaring flames.
    "I don't know!" Neven shouts back. "You're the one who decided to come here! You should know!"
    "I didn't think it would be like this!" Bonnie moves her helmet from her eyes. It's hot to the touch.
    "What? You thought it'd roll over and let you kill it?" He glares at her. "You might want to consider learning a little about dragons before you decide to face one down in a battle to the death!"
    "You didn't have to come!" Then she pauses, because suddenly her voice is too loud, the room is too quiet. It hits her, the flames have stopped.
    A face as tall as a house lunges into view on Neven's side of the pillar. He freezes, not even bothering to raise his shield. red scaled lips draw back, revealing jagged teeth as long as a man's arm.
    Then Neven turns his head over his shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. He drops the shield and raises his arms. The metal contraptions around his arms whir, making a high pitched whine that sounds a little like Jack's attempts to sing.
    The dragon narrows its eyes at the metal shooters, giant head cocking to one side like a puppy's. Even the cow looks over to them.
    The whine gets higher and higher until it's all Bonnie can do to not put her hands over her ears. Then with a magnificent bang that pushes Neven back a foot, several metal balls blast out of the shooters. And land harmlessly at the dragon's feet.
    The dragon sniffs them, then starts to growl deep in its throat.
    Without thinking, Bonnie shoves Neven aside. She raises her sword, but it looks so insignificant when faced with row upon row of gleaming teeth.
    Her arm shakes. This is my duty, she tells herself. This is the only way to make things right. This is the only way I'll become a knight. This is the only way I'll be anything other than a woman whose sole worth is determined by who she marries. This is the only way to be me.
    With a fierce cry she runs the short distance to the dragon, her sword swung high over her head. Somewhere behind her she hears Neven shout.
    The dragon huffs, the same way you would if a stray hair happened to fall in your face. The sudden gust of foul smelling wind knocks Bonnie off her feet. She hits the stone floor hard, knocking her sword from her hand. The helmet bounces off her head and goes clattering off into the dragon's castle.
    She looks for the sword but can't find it. She catches a glimpse of Neven standing horror struck metres away. She's defenceless. This is it. No more running away from the fact that this was a terrible plan. No more running from the fact that she's just a woman playing at being a man. Who was she kidding thinking she could do this when real men had failed? She's just a girl. Weak. Nothing more.
    Warm breath rolls over her. She closes her eyes as those rows of sharp teeth descend toward her.
    She tenses in anticipation of the