The Dragon and the Hunter

The dragon and the hunter...

He sat upon his heels on a flat stone outcrop, hands upon knees and cold blue eyes searching, always searching. She's somewhere out there, he thought as he looked out at the forest spread below him, but where? For days he had trailed after her, the last of the great dragons of Nuwe, but always she stayed one step ahead of him. The first step of the hunt began at a backwater village, where the people have not seen the red finery of a royal tax collector in decades, let alone the red mail of the Queens Guard. Walking through the scorched ruins, he could still smell the stink of burnt pork-only he knew it wasn't pork. The first hint that it was the work of a dragon instead of bandits was a great claw imprinted upon the scorched earth of the village green. That and claw marks upon a roofing beam, all that remained of what had once been an inn. Of the bodies-His mind shied away from that thought, but still an image of a little girls doll came unbidden into his thoughts. His hands clenched into tight fists. There had been two other villages after that first. Both had suffered the same fate. No survivors. All the while, she stayed ahead of him. Whether she knew that she was being hunted, he did not know, nor cared. The outcome would remain the same.

His stomach rumbled in hunger, as if to remind him that he was mortal, and that breakfast had been hours ago. Straining his eyes against the glare, he looked up at the sun. Midday, its position told him. The hours had gone by in a blur, and he had not noticed. In one smooth motion he came to his feet. He made as if to jump down from his perch to the rocky slope of the hill, but something made him pause. Turning he ran his gaze to the forest below once more. There! She was a great beast, her reptilian head topping the tree cover, with her wings furled against her back. Between her jaws she held a deer, its blood trailing through her fangs. Before he realized it, he was running halfway down the hill and the wood line was coming up fast. The trunks of great trees were passing by, some of which were as thick as five men. He barely noticed except if it stood directly in his path. His rush broke through a clearing, and there she was, preparing to feed and oblivious to the man in her midst. His sword appeared in his hand as he used the momentum of his rush to leap towards her head, blade forward and ready for one fatal slash.

At the last instant she became aware of his presence, and she sidestepped on all fours. He landed on a boulder. She reared up with a roar, and brought her fore-claws crashing down upon him. But he was not there. Impossible! He was behind her, sword aimed at her hamstring. A metallic clang rang through the air as the bone of her tail spike met his blade. There was a pause as they both backed off, and began circling the other warily.

"You move fast for a human," she said. There was a note of grudging respect in her voice. He ignored her. The predatory grin she sent him said that he was going to be part of her meal. Without warning, she struck out at him with her tail. As he saw the spike coming towards his heart, the world seemed to slow down for him. He moved slightly, and the tail went past him. He saw the satisfaction in her eyes turn into horror as she realized her mistake. It was too late for her as his blade sank into the scales of her chest, and into her heart. He pulled his sword out with a wrench. "You are not a human," she gasped. "Who are you?"

She toppled to the ground, the resultant crash shaking the earth. Reflexively, he flicked the blood from his blade, and sheathed it in the scabbard at his side. The fire in her eyes faded as she stared at his departing back. Who I am, he thought as he walked away, I do not know.