The Anvil (97 page)

Chapter
26

Tom
looked
back
up
and
saw
the
sudden
doubt
in
the
General
’
s
eyes
.
He
smiled
and
leaped
forward
just
as
the
dragon
did
.
The
two
met
in
mid
air
,
tumbling
down
with
Gontal
almost
getting
crushed
.

Tom
swiped
his
paw
at
the
dragon
,
creating
deep
gashes
in
its
side
.
He
changed
into
a
Ronto
,
a
breed
of
giant
wolves
.
He
clamped
his
teeth
on
the
dragon
’
s
neck
.
He
struggled
to
keep
the
dragon
down
,
slowly
twisting
its
neck
.

Suddenly
he
heard
a
loud
crack
and
the
dragon
was
still
.
Gontal
jumped
at
him
,
flail
swinging
at
Tom
’
s
head
.
Tom
quickly
dodged
the
attack
and
thought
what
to
change
into
.

Suddenly
he
had
a
thought
.
He
changed
himself
into
a
full
dragon
.
His
black
scales
glistening
in
the
sunlight
,
he
blew
a
column
of
fire
at
the
General
,
but
was
blocked
.
He
changed
slightly
and
became
a
wyvern
,
he
spit
acid
all
around
the
General
and
tried
to
hit
him
,
but
again
was
blocked
.

Gontal
ran
at
him
and
swung
his
flail
at
Tom
tried
to
step
back
but
was
unused
to
the
wyvern
’
s
four
legs
and
couldn
’
t
get
totally
out
of
the
way
of
Gontal
’
s
swing
.
The
spiked
head
hit
the
tip
of
Tom
’
s
snout
.

Tom
swung
his
head
back
at
Gontal
and
sent
him
flying
into
a
rock
.
Tom
spit
acid
at
the
dazed
general
and
hit
his
left
leg
slightly
.

Gontal
stood
again
and
threw
an
axe
at
Tom
,
who
flapped
his
wings
and
began
flying
to
dodge
it
.
Tom
flew
over
to
Gontal
and
slashed
at
him
with
his
claws
,
but
Gontal
dodged
and
Tom
got
a
handful
of
dirt
.

Tom
stayed
in
the
air
as
he
battle
Gontal
.
Each
time
Tom
flapped
Gontal
was
buffeted
slightly
by
the
wind
.
Tom
swung
his
tail
at
Gontal
who
tried
to
step
to
the
side
,
but
was
still
hit
in
the
side
.

Gontal
swung
his
flail
at
Tom
as
Tom
swiped
at
him
with
a
back
claw
.
The
two
strikes
hit
each
other
and
Tom
felt
the
bones
in
the
leg
break
.
He
roared
in
pain
and
bit
at
Gontal
,
but
missed
.

He
spat
acid
and
flew
backwards
.
He
changed
into
a
cranto
and
slithered
quickly
at
Gontal
.
He
bit
at
the
general
again
then
wrapped
around
him
and
began
squeezing
.
For
a
few
moments
Tom
thought
he
might
defeat
him
then
but
Gontal
sent
him
flying
with
a
burst
of
air
magic
.

He
became
human
again
and
smiled
.
He
took
a
throwing
axe
from
his
belt
threw
it
at
Gontal
.
The
General
deflected
the
axe
easily
with
his
flail
handle
.
But
in
the
moment
the
General
was
distracted
Tom
changed
once
more
.

He
became
a
hummingbird
and
flew
towards
the
General
,
who
was
looking
around
suspiciously
.
Tom
landed
on
the
flail
handle
and
looked
at
the
General
,
who
,
too
late
,
noticed
him
.
Tom
turned
into
a
human
and
just
as
he
did
he
swung
his
axe
into
the
General
’
s
head
.

Gontal
’
s
flail
was
knocked
from
his
hands
as
Tom
suddenly
grew
,
so
he
couldn
'
t
block
it
.
The
General
,
out
of
a
spirit
of
defiance
and
hate
,
slid
his
dagger
from
its
sheath
and
stabbed
Tom
once
in
the
shoulder
.

Both
fell
,
the
General
was
dead
as
he
hit
the
ground
.
After
the
Ilemite
troops
saw
their
General
and
his
dragon
dead
,
began
to
run
.
Leaderless
and
confused
they
began
to
flee
,
slowly
at
first
but
soon
the
enemy
troops
flooded
away
.

Later
,
as
a
Arstanian
man
from
the
Anvil
searched
for
survivors
he
came
upon
the
acid
covered
ground
.
He
carefully
walked
through
the
acid
and
found
Tom
,
laying
with
the
dagger
still
in
his
shoulder
barely
breathing
.