Hector woke her with a light shake. She rolled over and took the toasted
cheese sandwich he held out for her. He set a small skin of Black Rock
water down nearby and left without a word.

She saw he'd removed all of his gear from the cave prior to waking her.
She wolfed and washed down her breakfast before rising to fold up her
blankets. It was obvious they wouldn't be staying much longer.

Emerging from the cave she saw Hector standing next to his monster. He
had his back to her. The moment she stepped from the cave his monster's
gaze flickered in her direction. Hector turned around a moment later.

There was a pause then and Artemis desperately hoped it would end when
Hector crossed the space between them, said something kind, told her she
didn't have to be afraid then took her by the arm and walked her over to
his monster.

When he remained motionless, his expression impassive, she resented his
coldness terribly. Anger rose to her face where she flushed and frowned,
her lips curling in a small snarl.

Putting one foot resolutely in front of the other she crossed the space
between them. All the while she glared at the man who, backed up by his
all-powerful monster, refused to show even the slightest bit of human
kindness and make her trip a little easier.

When she stopped before him he reached out and took the blankets she
carried. Without a word he turned away and placed them in the leather
packs at the monster's side. When they were secure he took his place in
the big saddle on his monster's back, secured himself to it, then reached
down to her extending a calloused hand.

She wrapped her hands around his, wondering at his skin's hard, leathery
surface. Then she felt herself being hoisted into the air without the
slightest strain showing on the man's features.

She kicked a leg over the saddle and settled down behind him. Keeping her
arms out of his way she watched as he fastened several straps to her,
realizing for the first time that she was about to fly.

Hector finished securing her to him and to the saddle and reached down to
lift a huge and complicated-looking weapon from where it hung secure to
the monster's side. Carefully he mounted it on the high horn at the front
of the saddle.

"What's that Hector?" she asked.

"It's a siege arbalest," he said without further explanation.

The words meant nothing to her so she dropped it.

"How do you control your mount?" she asked. "I see no harness."

"Haroc knows where to go," he said. He was cranking the windlass on the
weapon before him and she watched the taunt cables drawing back from the
thick steel bow. When he was able to do so he slipped the cable over a
small catch and then slid a sturdy bolt into position.

"Can that thing really do any damage to a monster?" she had to ask.

"It's better than throwing rocks," he said, removing the windlass and
stowing it away. "Though not by much."

Hector then fastened the weapon to the saddle so it pointed up into the
sky rather than at the back of his monster's head and a moment later the
dragon lifted off the ground.

Artemis watched the earth fall away, amazed by their smooth ascent and
her own total absence of fear. In less than a minute they were higher
than Black Rock. Then, turning away from the morning sun, they started
towards the distant ridge.

"There," Hector said, pointing. Far below her now she saw the pale green
form of one of the three monsters that had destroyed her people the day
before. It lay on the valley floor, it's powerful body still. As they
descended towards it she saw terrible gashes along its side while its
wings hung in ragged strips. The creature clearly wouldn't rise again.

"Seen enough, Daughter of the Moon?"  Hector asked as they swept by the
broken form and again started to climb.

"Yes Hector," she said, wondering at the harshness of his tone. She knew
instinctively it wasn't directed at her. She thought on it as they drew
away from the fallen monster.

Then she had it. Hector was preparing himself to face his next challenge.
Like any hunter, any warrior, he did not want to reflect on the past. No,
his mind must be focused on the next monster he had to face, not on the
remains of one already vanquished.

She felt a rush of gratefulness pass through her, knowing that he'd done
this thing for her benefit alone. It was no surprise that his mind,
already concentrating on his next battle, had tempered the tone of his
voice even as his heart had allowed her the small comfort of seeing the
one of the destroyers of her people lying slain.

That there could be another reason altogether for his harshness never
crossed her mind. She could never have comprehended the grief and
self-hatred H'tor felt at the sight of his own handiwork.

They flew for hours in silence. Winging over the wastes, climbing above
hills and slipping through mountain valleys they flew in ever widening
circles around Black Rock until the huge ridge was a distant speck.

They ate on the wing, stopping only briefly at midday to stretch their
legs and answer nature's call. When she returned from her toilet he
lifted her up and re-attached her to him and to the saddle.

Instead of lifting off however he stretched out a hand and she saw a
well-made if unornamented serrated knife appear. He reversed the blade
and secured it in a iron and leather sheath he'd fished out of one of the
packs. Then he handed it back to her.

Without looking he reached and plucked two of the straps that secured her
to the saddle.

"When we find the second dragon we'll land for a moment and you'll cut
these two lines."

"What of the two holding me to you?"

"I'll see to those."

"Are we close?" she asked.

"Yes," was all he said as his monster rose into the air.

Instead of continuing their circuitous route they started down a deep
valley out of the hills where they'd taken their break. They were, as
near as she could tell, headed directly away from Black Rock.

A massive stone outcropping with towers piercing the sky soon came into
view. Several miles across it rose from the earth like some malevolent
god's fortress home. Dread filled her as they headed directly towards it.

They made it nearly halfway when the monster appeared from behind one of
the gigantic wind-carved towers.

"That's it," she said, recognizing it even at the great distance that
separated them. The black and white markings were unmistakable. This was
the monster that had chased her into the cave, had torn at the walls of
the passageway trying to get at her and finally had fired the air to vent
its fury.

Hector's monster dove towards the earth with terrifying speed. In seconds
they had landed on the small hill and Artemis felt the straps holding her
to Hector come loose even as she slashed the knife through the ones
connecting to her to the saddle.

As she slid down the hide of the monster the heavy packs thumped to the
ground. Hector was stripping his mount of excess weight by leaving all
his food, water and equipment behind.

When he was finished they rose into the air once more. With the black and
white monster winging ever closer, the man and monster gained altitude
until they were nearly a hundred feet in the air. For several long moment
they hovered while the great head of Hector's mount swept back and forth
across the almost featureless landscape almost as if it were trying to
memorize every detail, every nuance of the place. After what seemed like
too long a time the two suddenly broke off their surveying and darted
towards the oncoming monster.

They met far above the earth in the middle of the sky. Fire lashed out in
greeting as they both came into range. First they sent long lances of
flame to reach through the air at extreme range. Then they issued billowy
clouds of broiling fire rolling towards one another. Finally at close
range great sheets of flame erupted from the bellies of the monsters to
fill the sky and threaten to set the whole of it ablaze.

The black and white was smaller than Hector's mount and moved with
frightening agility. Further it seemed far more willing to breathe fire
than Hector's blood-red. The two monsters thrashing back and forth,
darting this way and that while all the while trying to anticipate the
other's next move.

It became clear to Artemis that Hector was losing after only a minute or
two. Hector was being forced back towards her under the furious attack of
the monster. It seemed that Hector's larger monster just couldn't match
the whip-like maneuvers and volume of fire that the smaller monster
could.

Then fear nearly overwhelmed her as the black and white seemed to become
aware of her. Though it must have seen them land it hadn't considered her
with its attention wholly focused on Hector and his mount. Now, with that
battle soon to be won, it had taken a moment to consider her and realized
that she was the one who had escaped him the day before.

She could feel the pleasure that her available form gave the monster as
they drew ever closer. They were very near now, the two forms darting
through the air less than a quarter mile away and above.

"Why doesn't he respond?" she asked aloud. The other monster was flaming
the air nearly three times as much as Hector's. True, neither appeared
terribly injured but the black and white had clearly seized the
initiative, reducing Hector's mount to spending most of its time avoiding
his attacks.

Then with a fresh blast of fire the black and white forced Hector up and
away. Instead of pursuing them the monster dove towards her.

She stared around for a weapon but Hector had left her nothing that could
serve her against such a foe. She saw Hector turn from his flight but
instead of pursuing he merely climbed for several seconds more before
starting a long dive away from her.

She drew the small blade Hector had given her and began to back away from
the descending monster's terrible dive.

A huge maw expanded and she knew he wouldn't waste any fire on her small
form. She readied herself, praying it would be quick.

Then with the monster less than a hundred feet away Hector and his mount
disappeared from the distant sky and re-appeared an instant later
directly overhead.

Their velocity, transferred from their long dive before their sudden
appearance, drove them into the oncoming black and white with terrible
ferocity. Long and powerful talons sunk into the black and white's head
and neck. Its course checked by the larger dragon's mass, the two beasts
crashed to earth.

The ground shook as Hector's mount drove the monster into the earth. The
shrieking keen, begun at first impact, was suddenly and awfully cut off.

Artemis stood trembling as the dust and sand began to settle. She gazed
at the two entwined monsters and the unmoving form of Hector in horror
and wonder.

Then the larger dragon stirred and as it did so Hector slowly pushed
himself upright. As his monster extricated itself from the corpse of the
other the man began to undo the straps that had held throughout the
battle.

He dismounted as his mount moved to a open area nearby. Hector started
towards her as the blood-red form lay itself out on the earth, its dark
eyes on the still-distant stone outcropping.

Hector was before her and the trembling stopped, to be replaced by anger.

"You used me!" she screamed at him. "I was your bait!"

"Yes," was all he said.

She swung at him in her fury. He caught her wrist as easily as if he'd
decided to do so a week ago. With her hand immobilized by his now
rock-hard grip he carefully removed the bared knife she still held.

Holding the knife with his free hand he turned her painfully under his
grip, moving behind her as he did so. He slipped the knife back into the
sheath at her waist and wrapped the hand around her. Under his grip she
knew there was no way she could escape him. Besides, as angry as she was
she wasn't sure she wanted her freedom.

"Look at him," he said harshly, pointing her at the monster's corpse.
"Look at him Artemis and remember what he did to your people. Remember
what he tried to do to you. Remember how you felt when we crushed him
into the earth. Remember all that and tell me you're still angry."

She did so and realized that the reason she'd been trembling hadn't been
fear or anger, but joy.

She pressed herself back against him.

"You could have told me," she said softly.

"That is not my way," he whispered into her ear. "You were never in any
danger."

"Then why?" she asked. "Why hold back all that time?"

"Daughter of the Moon, I'll tell you a secret about fighting dragons." He
released her, though she wished he hadn't. "A dragon can escape at almost
any time with only a moment's thought. You either have to give them a
reason to fight or take them by surprise."

"So all this was a trap to take it by surprise?"

"Yes," he said.

"What now Hector?"

"Now we finish it," he said, starting towards his mount. "That one was
the mate of the third monster that destroyed your people." He paused and
looked back at her.

"Don't you see Artemis?" he asked as he extended a hand out to her. "I've
given her a reason to fight me..."

********************

"Surprises are fun unless they start shooting at you."

-- Critical Mass (David Hagberg)

********************

Submitted by --

Abe Barker < H'tor and Haroc / Raye and Rache >