Kanin drifted over the walls of the West Bank, startling some of the defenders. They shouted in surprise and flinched away from the dragon. Khollo paid them no attention though, focused as he was on his wounded friend.
Kanin deposited Sermas in the courtyard and waited for him to scramble out of the way. Then the dragon landed heavily, shaking the earth and whimpering slightly. Hern slowly clambered down from Kanin’s back, shaking from head to toe, dragging the remains of his harness with him.
Khollo dismounted and ran to where the arrows had entered Kanin’s flesh. The dragon was twitching and growling irritably, clearly in pain.
It took him no time at all to locate the two crossbow bolts. One had entered just above Kanin’s knee, the other was solidly embedded in his thigh.
I’ll have to remove these, Khollo warned Kanin. It will probably hurt for a moment.
Hurts now.
Khollo drew his dagger and studied the two wounds. The arrow near Kanin’s knee was barely hanging on. He could see the arrowhead through the rent in the green scales. Carefully, Khollo used his dagger to pull Kanin’s flesh back from the arrowhead and withdrew the weapon slowly to avoid additional tearing. Bright red blood began to well from the wound and Kanin shuddered all along his length.
That was not a pleasant feeling, he announced. But the hurt is less now.
One arrow to go, Khollo told him. He frowned. The second arrowhead was much deeper in Kanin’s flesh, so deep Khollo could not see where it was. He would have to go by feel.
This one will definitely hurt, Khollo muttered.
Just get on with it, Kanin growled.
Khollo inserted his dagger again, sliding it along the shaft of the arrow, hoping it would not snag on Kanin’s flesh. Every time he encountered resistance he stopped, holding his breath, pressed the dagger harder against the bolt and kept going. Kanin whimpered and growled occasionally but stood rock steady.
Finally, Khollo’s dagger struck the head of the crossbow bolt. Khollo carefully pushed back Kanin’s flesh and pulled slowly, working the dagger around all sides of the bolt to keep it from catching and tearing. Kanin growled in pain constantly.
When the bolt was out, Khollo hurled it away from him with distaste, sending it skidding across the courtyard. Kanin growled and snapped bad temperedly.
There, it’s gone, Khollo murmured, standing. His dagger and hands were covered in blood. How do you feel?
Exhausted, Kanin replied, his head drooping a little.
At least you’re alive and you weren’t hurt too badly, Khollo replied. Slowly, he was becoming aware of the battle around them once more. Shouts, screams, and ugly thuds and crashes echoed through the courtyard. He looked up at the walls and saw a scattering of vertaga there, but the defenders seemed to be holding for the moment.
“Khollo!” Hern shouted. “The gate!”
The young warrior dropped his gaze to the fortress gate. The wooden portal was splintered and smashed in places. He could see vertaga through the holes, waving huge clubs studded with iron. The locking beam was still holding for the moment, but how much longer would it last?
“They’re breaking through,” Sermas called to Khollo, looking at the young warrior fearfully. “What do we do? If they get in, we’re done for.”
“Not hardly,” Khollo growled. “Certainly not while Kanin and I have anything to say about it.” He laid a hand on Kanin’s side protectively.
Do you have strength enough to fight?
Kanin rustled his wings and shifted his weight, setting himself firmly, facing the gate. Let them come.
“Clear the courtyard in front of us,” Khollo ordered. “Get to either side and behind, between us and the walls. Let nothing past you, and don’t let them flank us.”
“Are you sure that – ?”
“Just do as I say!” Khollo snapped.
Sermas and Hern hurried off, shoving soldiers back from the gate, telling them to take up positions behind Kanin. The dragon eyed the gate steadily, ignoring the humans scurrying past him.
Mind the tail, Kanin, Khollo reminded him.
I know.
Khollo drew his Sen-teel, attaching the two halves. The vertaga had nearly created a man-sized hole in the left-hand side of the gate. Those soldiers still defending the portal turned and ran as one, falling back behind Kanin and Khollo. On the battlements above, soldiers continued battling furiously against the monsters trying to gain a foothold on the wall. Khollo could see the tops of three ladders amid the chaos, but even as he watched Ondus smashed one to pieces with an axe.
A terrible crash brought his attention back to the gate in time to see the left half of the portal collapse altogether. A pair of vertaga stumbled through, dropping their clubs and drawing swords. Kanin roared a challenge and the vertaga bellowed in reply, charging forward.
“Hold your ground!” Khollo shouted. “Let them come to us.”
The vertaga made straight for Kanin, determined to turn the tide of the battle by silencing the dragon. But Kanin had other plans. He torched one vertag with a controlled burst of flame, then knocked the other monster to one side with his massive head. The vertag stumbled and fell, and was quickly set upon by Hern and two other soldiers. The beast went down without causing a single casualty among the defenders.
More vertaga clambered through the breach. Had they waited for their fellows to join them, the attackers may have managed to defeat Kanin and the small force defending the courtyard. But they came in an undisciplined rush, grouped in twos and threes, strung out over several meters. Kanin blasted some with fire and sent others flying. He clamped down on the sword arms of a few and threw them into the air. Others he shouldered aside as
