Vedra and Krimon the Twin Dragons by Adam Blade Read Free Book Online Page B

shield. He stumbled down onto his side in the snow, just managing to keep his shield up. Over to one side, he could see Vedra and Krimon engaged in their own ferocious fight.
    Seth straddled Tom, his sword rising and falling.
    Tom felt his arm muscles weakening under the relentless assault. He could not think properly and despair and defeat were filling his mind.
    Then he heard a high-pitched yell and above the rim of his shield he saw Elenna attacking Seth from the side, wielding Tom’s own sword, beating Seth back, trading attacks as she forced him away from Tom.
    But even as Tom tried to get to his feet, he saw that Elenna’s attack was failing. Seth was too strong for her. He fought back with hard and fast strikes. Using all his strength, Tom hurled the shield, skimming it just above the ground. It caught Seth below the knees, sending him crashing.
    Elenna was quick to take advantage of their enemy’s fall. She brought her foot down on his wrist, stooping to snatch the bronze sword from his fingers.
    â€œWell done, Elenna!” Tom shouted, scrambling to his feet.
    â€œI’ve got him,” Elenna called. “Take this — help Krimon!” She threw Tom his sword, transferring Seth’s weapon to her right hand and aiming the point squarely at the sprawling boy’s throat. Seth glared up at her but didn’t try to move.
    The noise of the fighting twin dragons was terrifying. Their roars filled the clearing as tails lashed and flame spurted and claws lunged. Vedra was winning the fight, the evil inside him making him fight more fiercely. As Tom ran forward, he saw Krimon tumble onto his back with a howl.
    Vedra pounced on his twin with a blast of fire. The snow turned to spurting steam all around them. If it weren’t for Krimon’s scales, he would have been scorched to death by the blast of flame.
    The fact that Vedra’s attention was focused on his brother was Tom’s only advantage. He knew what he had to do and with the moon high in the sky he had only a few seconds left to do it. He remembered Aduro’s words. He had to score Vedra’s underbelly with the tip of his sword, marking him with the sign of Good. And he had to do it before the possessed Beast noticed him.
    He ran in close, looking for a way to get in under the green dragon’s scaly sides. It was impossible! The soft underparts were too well protected.
    The moon was a handbreadth from the top of the sky. Tom stared up at the silver disc for a moment, a plan forming in his mind. He hadn’t come so far to give up now.
    â€œHey!” he shouted above the roaring of the dragons. He struck Vedra’s foreleg with his sword. The metal rang uselessly on the emerald scales, but the green dragon’s fiery eyes turned toward him.
    He leaped aside as a blast of flame burned the ground where he had been standing. He had to act quickly. He angled his shield, tilting it just so — holding its burnished face up to the sky so that the reflection of the full moon was caught on its shining surface.
    He tilted it just a little more, seeing a flash of brilliant silver light strike Vedra in the eyes. Dazzled and blinded, the Beast reared up, his wings stretching wide. His jaws opened to spew a fountain of flame into the night sky.
    Tom did not hesitate. He sprang forward, seeing the soft belly of the dragon revealed. He used the very tip of his sword, carefully scoring the sign of Good into the yielding flesh.
    â€œNo!” He heard Seth howling, but in an instant his voice was swallowed by a whirling sound like a thousand hurricanes. Tom stood firm, his eyes blinded by the racing winds that blasted across the clearing, his ears filled with the noise.
    And then there was a long, deep silence. Tom opened his eyes. The maze of towering holly bushes was gone. He was standing on a plateau of deep, smooth snow. Vedra and Krimon were beside him, blinking and shaking their heads in confusion. Elenna was