Raxtus sprang forward and used his teeth to tear the webbing away from her head. Cyllia gasped with relief and Raxtus took flight, hurtling toward Velrog. This time Velrog breathed a silvery mist that coalesced around Raxtus, promptly leaving him tangled in a messy net of webs. Wings stuck to his sides, Raxtus fell to the floor. Flying overhead, Velrog fired a gray sphere from his mouth that exploded into a jumble of webs when it hit the fallen dragon.
Hoping the extended wings in flight made Velrog more vulnerable, Kendra aimed her bow and cried, “Eighty!” As the arrows launched, Velrog tucked his wings. The projectiles connected to his thick scales as he plummeted to the floor.
After Velrog landed, legs splayed beneath him, Kendra hauled back the bowstring again and called, “Fifty!” When she released, no arrows flew. Pulling the string again, she frantically tried to calculate how many arrows she had used so far. Was the bow empty? Or had fifty exceeded the balance of her remaining arrows?
Raxtus snapped at the constraining webs with his teeth and raked with his claws, finally cutting himself free enough to scramble behind the cover of some of the heavier web curtains. Glancing over her shoulder, Kendra saw Tanu expanding into a giant version of himself as he tossed aside an empty bottle. Warren ran to Cyllia and started sawing at her bindings with a dagger.
“Ten,” Kendra said, and ten arrows sped to thunk against Velrog. She at least wanted to provide a distraction. Was it too much to hope she might hit an eye?
“Ten,” she repeated, and after she released the string, Velrog looked even more like a pincushion.
“Ten,” she said again, but no arrows launched.
“One,” Kendra tried, but the empty string twanged without a result.
Velrog shook off the arrows as Tanu stomped past Kendra, his knees level with her shoulders. The enlarged Samoan rushed the dragon, but Velrog took flight and began spraying a stream of web matter. Powering forward, Tanu swiped at the spreading webs with minor success at first, but as Velrog kept the stream trained on him, webs multiplied until Tanu became hopelessly entangled. Staggering sideways, the potion master fell against a tall, webby drapery and stuck there as Velrog piled on more bindings.
Tossing her bow aside, Kendra pulled out the sack of gales. Aiming the mouth at the flying dragon, she opened the bag.
“No!” Raxtus cried from his hiding place behind the webs as a torrent of wind gushed from the sack, flinging Velrog back against the wall. Velrog folded his wings and dropped to the ground as veils of web around the room flapped and billowed wildly, sticky cords whipping like manic tentacles in the flood of wind swirling through the cylindrical chamber.
Kendra hurriedly closed the sack, but the damage was done. Raxtus hung like a trapped bug, wings askew, sandwiched between layers of sticky curtains. Warren had become ensnared by sheets of web as well, and Cyllia remained bound in her snug cocoon. Tanu flopped and wriggled, but the restraining webs held him fast.
Only three ropes of web had adhered to Kendra—one on her right shoulder and two against her left leg. Kendra grabbed the cord on her shoulder to yank it off but found her hand instantly affixed. Her most desperate tugging did nothing to separate the gluey line from her shoulder or her palm.
Velrog scuttled through snarled strands and enmeshed draperies as if they had no adhesive properties. He shot a spurt of gray web stream at Kendra that left her wrapped from shoulders to knees in warm, soft matter that proved frustratingly resilient when she struggled.
“I have not feasted like this in ages,” Velrog gloated, approaching Cyllia. “This one is a singular prize, long and trim, brimming with vitality. I have almost forgotten the robust flavor of a tree maiden.”
“I’m meatier,” Tanu invited.
“No, me,” Warren insisted, lunging against the webs that held him. “His aftertaste is gamey.”
“I shall wait until you return to your actual size, potion man,” Velrog said. “Magically augmented meat reduces unpleasantly after ingestion. None of you should fret. You will all get your turn. I have long subscribed to the policy of beginning with the ripest fruit.”
“I am not afraid,” Cyllia said.
“Excellent,” Velrog enthused. “For your bravery, I award you a final chance.” Leaning forward, the dragon breathed pink fluid onto Cyllia that melted away her bindings. The hamadryad reclaimed her swords and assumed a fighting stance. Stepping carefully, weapons ready, she moved to the portion of the room least festooned with webs.
“Evil fogs your judgment,” Cyllia said. “I am no typical tree maiden. I am Kendra’s guardian and your executioner.”
Cyllia threw one of her swords. It embedded in Velrog beside the neck, and he snarled as she raced forward, her other sword ready to strike. Hissing fiercely, Velrog dodged her swing, then lunged at her. Cyllia sidestepped the bite, pulled her embedded sword from the dragon, and nimbly ducked a swipe from the tail.
“Enough,” Velrog declared, blowing a puff of mist at the agile warrior. The cloud condensed into hundreds of entwined strands, and the more Cyllia moved, the more fully entangled she became.
Velrog pounced, and Kendra looked away as the dragon noisily devoured the hamadryad. Kendra strained against the webs girdling her, weeping with frustration as her muscles failed the test. She fell over, and the webs binding her stuck to the floor.
“That was rash,” Velrog admitted after his last swallow. “Luscious, satisfying, but overly indulgent. How could I resist? It has been so long. Having slaked my appetite, I
