Fenix heaved a sigh as he watched Cinderella. She was alone on the ship's bow, pitching bread crumbs to a small bird. The last time he saw her, she was on the starboard side of the ship, and she fled as soon as she saw him. Terra was upset with him, but unlike Cinda, she wasn't going to great lengths to avoid him.
“Why won't she speak to me?” Fenix complained to Terra, who had accepted his request for a stroll around the deck. “She talks to Rank... but she won't talk to me? It doesn't make sense. Isn't Rank worse?”
“He is. He's a lot worse,” Terra agreed. “As for Cinda, I think she was just... disappointed? She thought she found a gentleman, but you were nothing of the sort. She has zero tolerance for dishonesty.” A misty rain tickled her cheeks, but Terra didn't mind. Earlier, they had sailed through a storm. After that, a slight rain was barely a burden.
“But I am a gentleman!” Fenix cried. Across the way, a few sailors were shouting in a foreign language, but he paid little attention to them. “I want to be a good guy, but I can't. Don't you understand? The curse won't allow it.”
“So, you're forced to do this witch's bidding? What happens if you defy her?”
“I can't,” Fenix explained. “It's like... I have no free will of my own. My body reacts to her commands. I'm basically Donnabella's puppet.”
Terra's crutches thumped against the wood as they made their way around the deck. “That sounds awful.”
“It is awful!” Fenix whined. “Once, about a year ago, Donnabella asked me to capture one of my friends. I didn't want to do it. For a brief moment—a very brief moment—I actually resisted the curse. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and I retched until my stomach was empty.”
“That's terrible.” Terra stuck out her lower lip. “And... speaking of retching, I wonder if Cinda's feeling better?” Earlier, when their ship was plowing through the storm, the vessel's tossing put Cinderella on her knees. Terra pitied her, but there was nothing she could do to help.
“According to Rank, she's feeling better now. He gave her some ginger, and--”
Fenix's reply was interrupted by an unearthly, high-pitched shriek. His stomach dropped as his eyes turned skyward.
Cinda must have heard it too, because she came rushing toward them. “What was that?” she gasped. “Another dragon?”
Cinda's body was paralyzed by fear when she heard the brisk beating of bat-like wings. When she looked up, she spotted the monster. Sunlight glistened on the beast's silver scales. It's small, yellow eyes were watching the ship with interest, and as its jaws parted, she braced herself for the worst.
A spray of blue fire poured from the dragon's mouth, wrapping one of the ship's masts in a mantle of flame. When she saw Rank heading in their direction, Cinda was shocked to see a smile on his face.
“Hello, mates!” Rank greeted them. “I guess you've spotted the dragon, eh? Isn't that a lovely wee beast?”
“Wee?” Terra laughed at his word. “That's a Tiamat, if anyone's wondering. It's smaller than the Bronze Belcher, but I would hardly call it wee. Oh... and it's also twice as fast, so we should all brace ourselves.”
“Why are there so many dragons?” Cinderella whined. “We never saw dragons in Bramble! Our village was absolutely safe. I didn't realize dragons were such a problem.”
When Rank laid an arm on Cinda's shoulder, she knocked him off with a shrug. “Dragons don't waste their time on tiny hamlets like yours,” he told her. “There aren't enough fat, old cows for the beasts to feast on.”
“Oh? And are there cows in the sea, Mr. Rank?”
“Mr. Rank?” His body was shaken by a fit of giggles as he repeated the name. Rank was so amused, he was wiping tears from his eyes. “Ohhhh, Mister Rank. I can't believe you called me that. That's hilarious.”
“How can you laugh at a time like this?” The question was asked by Terra, whose face paled as she watched the dragon circle their ship.
“And what time is this, I wonder?” asked a grinning Rank. “I think it's a wonderful time. It's a beautiful time. I love dragons.”
The Tiamat suddenly swooped down and captured a sailor in its mouth. They could hear the man screaming as the dragon's teeth ground his flesh and snapped his bones.
“Oh god, that's horrid!” Cinda shrieked. “It just... ate a man!”
“Aye. And I bet she's still hungry,” Rank said. Even as he watched the dragon's spiny tail plow into a pair of screaming sailors, the grin never left his lips.
“Cinda... Terra... get below deck.” The suggestion was made by Fenix, who lightly pushed them in the direction of the stairs. “I don't think you want to be out here right now.”
Terra was defiant. She sat on a barrel and propped her crutches against her hip. “No. Get me a bow and arrows. I want to help drive it away!”
“Are you serious?” Fenix asked. “You do realize you could get eaten if you stay out here?”
Terra pointed at a pair of sailors who were releasing arrows and repeatedly missing. “I'm better than them,” she declared. “Get me a bow. I'd rather fight.”
As Fenix hurried off to find a weapon for Terra, Rank pointed his walking stick at the ship's flaming mast.
“What are you doing?” asked Cinda. She could feel her eyes swelling as the Tiamat drifted closer. When the beast changed directions, a relieved sigh poured from her lungs.
“I'm trying to put out the fire, love.” As soon as he finished speaking, a weak stream of water rushed from the tip of Rank's walking stick. When the water reached the flaming mast, it splattered into a useless puddle. “Damn. That wasn't enough. I must be having a bad day.”
“Is that... some kind of wand?” Cinda asked, pointing at his stick.
“It is, darling. It is,” Rank replied. “Now... would you mind if I borrowed your fear? I need it to cast a stronger spell.”
Cinda's expression was twisted by confusion. “Borrow my fear? What on earth does that mean?”
Rank yawned. He was the only man who had the audacity to yawn in the middle of a dragon attack. “I'm a reaver mage,” he explained, sounding a bit bored. “I can draw on the emotions of others to strengthen my spells. Since you look proper panicked right now, I thought I'd borrow your fear.”
Cinda exchanged worried glances with her stepsister. “Will it... hurt?” Cinderella asked.
“Nah. You'll barely feel it,” Rank assured her as he reached for her hand. The next time he wagged his wand, a tidal wave rushed from the tip. When the water reached the scorched mast, the dragon's fire was extinguished. There was a piercing hiss as the flames were squelched.
“Wow!” Cinda exclaimed. “That was impressive.”
“Aye. And you helped.” Rank winked at her. “I couldn't have done it without you, love. Now, if you don't mind, I'm slipping away for a bit. I need to find a weapon that'll take down our little beasty. I'll be right back.”
As soon as Rank was gone, Fenix returned with a bow and quiver. He handed the weapon to Terra and slid backward, away from the girls. If he was going to shift shapes, he needed space.
Fenix's skin was wrapped in golden light as his body prepared to shift. When she saw him glowing, Cinderella asked, “What are you doing?”
It was too late to answer her question. When Fenix tried to speak, a eagle-like screech erupted from his throat. A few seconds later, flesh was replaced by feather, and his arms had morphed into wings. As he shot into the sky, Terra gasped.
“Oh my god! He really is a shapeshifter!” Terra exclaimed. “I had my doubts, you know.”
Cinda held her breath as Fenix ascended. He was a large bird, much larger than an eagle. Even so, the dragon was at least ten times larger than he was. Cinda had no idea how he planned to take it on.
Fenix extended his talons and clamped down on the Tiamat's back. The dragon announced its pain with a tiny roar, but it continued to hunt the sailors. When it tried to dip down and find its next meal, Terra released an arrow, landing a direct hit on the dragon's neck. The Tiamat shrieked as the arrow pierced through its scales. The beast temporarily retreated, turning sharply.
“Well done, Terra!” Cinda praised her stepsister. “I didn't realize you were such a proficient archer.”
“Until recently, I was a bit of a homebody,” Terra said as she nocked another arrow. “I had a lot of time to practice random skills.”
As the Tiamat drifted, Fenix used his beak to pluck the dragon's scales. It was barely effective. He tried to breathe fire, but the dragon was impervious to blaze. When the Tiamat started rolling through the sky, spinning in circles, Fenix couldn't hang on. The dragon threw him off, spun around, and captured the large bird in his mouth.
As the dragon chewed, Fenix's pain was excruciating. The scaled monster's teeth penetrated his feathered body at least a dozen times before it spat him on the ship's deck.
“Oh my god! Fenix!” Cinda's spite momentarily dissipated as she rushed to his side. “Are you alright?”
Fenix groaned. As blood flowed from his body, he was forced back into human form. “I'm... alright,” he croaked. It was a lie, of course. Getting chomped on by a dragon was easily one of the most agonizing experiences of his life.
Cinda lifted the hem of her dress and staggered backward. Pools of Fenix's blood were forming at her feet. “Are you going to die?” she asked with a gasp.
“No.” When Fenix tried to sit up, he collapsed on his chest. His billowy white shirt was soaked in blood. “I can't die... remember?”
“Oh. Right. I'd forgotten about that.” Cinda winced as she watched him struggle. “Are you in a lot of pain?”
“Yes...” he groaned. He couldn't bring himself to lie. “Oh, yes.”
But Fenix couldn't feel sorry for himself—others had it worse. The dragon spiraled downward, breathing blue-black fire as it descended. As the blaze roasted an unsuspecting sailor, Fenix's self-pity and pain subsided.
“Oh no!” Cinda squealed, covering her eyes. “This is awful. What are we going to do?”
A moment later, her question was answered by Rank's return. He was pushing an enormous harpoon on wheels, and his grin was madder than ever.
Cinda's eyes narrowed as she studied the odd weapon. “What's that?”
“It's the answer to your prayers, girl,” Rank replied. He turned a crank, which raised the harpoon until it was pointing at the sky. “Now we just need to get the beasty's attention. Can you help me do that?”
Cinda's eyebrows snapped together. “You want me to... what? Call it over?”
“Aye.”
“Are you mad?”
“Aye,” Rank repeated. His lips stretched into a wider grin as the dragon drew closer. “Never mind, love. It seems like we've already got her attention. Brace yourself.”
The Tiamat's long shadow stretched across the deck as it drifted overhead. When the dragon was within range, Rank kicked a lever on his apparatus. The harpoon shot into the sky, piercing the beast's belly. Rank's weapon was lodged in the dragon's stomach.
The Tiamat thrashed wildly, screeching in agony as it ascended again. There was a rope attached to the harpoon's end, and it was wrapped around Rank's wrist. As the dragon flew up, Rank went with it. He howled with mad laughter as the beast carried him into the sky.
“What is he doing?” Cinda cried as she watched her mad captor climb the rope. Despite the dragon's flailing, Rank never stopped climbing—or cackling. “He really is crazy, isn't he?”
“Uh huh,” Fenix agreed. He finally found the strength to sit up. “There's no one crazier.”
When Rank reached the top of the rope, he started slinking up the dragon's body. He clung to the Tiamat's scales like rungs on a ladder. Upon reaching the dragon's back, Rank celebrated with a wild howl. The dragon tried to spin, so Rank grabbed its wing, forcing the beast to steady itself.
“I can't believe he's riding a dragon...” Cinda whispered as she watched the spectacle. “This is insane.”
As he crawled up the dragon's back, Rank drew his sword. It took him very little time to reach the Tiamat's neck, and when he did, his blade plunged downward. He stabbed the dragon's neck, again and again, and he didn't stop until the beast was thoroughly slayed. As the dragon went down, Rank was inspired by the sailors' roar of applause, so he stood up and took a bow.
Before the Tiamat's corpse splashed into the sea, the strange dragon slayer leapt into the water.