Alizon sat on the middle cold stone stairs of the staircase and stared down at Belch. It wasn’t the dragon she was seeing in her mind, though, but George, telling her he loved her. Telling her that she could have a life with him, if only she were brave enough.
Was she?
She had been too shocked to respond when he confessed his feelings. She had never suspected them, had never thought that what she had felt growing in her own heart might be returned by his. She had not believed it was possible, knowing inside how unlovable she was. How like the dragon.
George was different, and she could not understand him. How could it be that he could love her?
Even after hearing that she had sabotaged his efforts to kill Belch, he had said he loved her. He had not abandoned her after she had put his life at risk and secretly fought against everything he tried to accomplish. She had betrayed his trust, and still he could love her.
He loved her, despite being put through more than anyone should be asked to endure.
He loved her.
And she loved him. That gave her all the courage she needed.
She stood and descended the stairs into the lair. Belch was making his gurgling sound, the noise ominous in the quiet of the cavern. The mist drifted off the water and up the bank of the beach, then was blown back again in swirls by the breath of his nostrils.
Alizon trailed one hand along the stone wall to keep her balance on the slick stones. They were steeper than they had looked from the platform, and she wondered at George’s easy agility on them.
She wondered at George, who might or might not truly be a saint. Against her every expectation he had managed to subdue Belch, showing a physical skill and bravery that one would never expect to be paired with such a kind, gentle, forgiving man.
What had she been thinking to ever put him in danger? Where had her heart been?
She shuddered at the thought of what she had become, during all these years on Devil’s Mount. Thank God for George, who had come to save her from herself.
She reached the bottom step and jumped down onto the beach. Belch’s rumbling vibrated in her chest, shaking her like a reed. She felt another spurt of respect for George, that alone he should be able to bring down such a monster.
God save her, she had been housing a hero without even knowing it.
Keeping a safe distance, she circled around Belch’s snout. The spear was where George had left it, leaning against the side of the beast’s head. Alizon dashed forward and grabbed it, then danced back, heart thumping, staring at the blindfolded monster.
This was her dragon to kill. Her choice to make. George had been right about that.
Would it live, or would it die?
Its death would be her total freedom. Its death meant she could be with George. And its death meant that no other young girl would ever have to worry that her future lay in its jaws.
She made her decision.
In the course of daily living Alizon had slaughtered her share of chickens and sheep, and she was no stranger to the death of animals. She knew that the kindest end was the swift and unexpected one, accomplished before the creature suffered fear or pain. Lowering the spear, she took aim and ran full tilt at Belch. The spear’s head pierced the beast’s hide, Alizon’s weight and momentum pushing its shaft in a full foot. Belch bellowed through his tied jaws, and he started to thrash his tail and head, his body arching.
Alizon felt tears start in her eyes, Belch’s agony her own. She did not want him to suffer, no matter what suffering the monster had caused in the past. She gritted her teeth and took better hold of the moving spear, and she shoved on it with all her might.
“Damn you! Die!” she cried, and pushed again, tears spilling down her cheeks. The spear went in another inch, then stuck. “Die! Please God, die.” Blood poured out of the wound and down the shaft of the spear, coating Alizon’s hands and soaking into her dress.
And then there was another pair of hands added to her own, shoving with greater strength than she could muster. George was beside her. Together, they sent the spear homeward, deep into Belch’s heart.
The dragon gave one last bellow of pain, his head thrown back, and then his head crashed to the ground. He lay still.
Alizon released her hold on the spear and stepped back, shaking. She met George’s eyes. “Is he truly . . . ?” she asked.
George looked at the dragon a long moment, then back at her. He nodded his head.
She closed her eyes and tears spilled anew down her cheeks. George’s arms closed around her, and she let herself sink into the warmth of his embrace.