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"Why aren’t you choking?" Siletta asked
"We’re not in the ive us directions to a dragon naon with its head chopped off"
Siletta gave a rattling snarl A purple fog filled the air The particles sain, Seth led the way as they ran to the next pillar Squinting through the purple haze, Kendra could barely on crouched only two pillars away
"What counter spell are you using?" Siletta accused
Seth peeked around the pillar, raised his crossbow, and fired
The dragon roared They could hear her scuttling toward the around the pillar, Kendra saw that instead of cohboring pillar
Seth and Kendra adjusted to keep their pillar between the around," Siletta hissed, her voice thick with irritation
"We’ll stop hiding when you stop being poisonous," Seth called "Seeet our photo and go horeat head of the dragon came around the side of the pillar not ten feet away Kendra had heard no hint of Siletta’s stealthy approach Apparently the dragon could ebackwards Kendra clung desperately to Seth and the horn as they fell The tarlike substance spat and sizzled, vaporizing off of their skin and clothes Kendra used her free hand to wipe the sludge away from her eyes as Seth hauled her to her feet
Sword in hand, Mendigo was hacking at the dragon just behind the head Twisting and snapping, Siletta trapped the li out
Holding the horn out in front of theitating o flopped out onto the floor, but this ti Keeping their footing, Kendra and Seth sloshed forward, the horn outstretched, reaching for the dragon’s snout
As the tip of the horn drew near, Siletta reared away They charged her, but her long body flexed and twisted away from them Dozens of squishy, webbed feet backpedaled Even as the front half of her sinuous body curved out of reach, her tail swung around and whipped Kendra and Seth across the ankles, sweeping their feet out from under therily "Yes, yes, the wicked children brought a nasty thorn to pricktail The front of Siletta went behind a fat pillar up ahead and seemed to disappear, her tail the last part of her to vanish Heedless of the danger, Kendra and Seth raced toward the dragon, co around the pillar in ti the far side Her head and front legs had already reached the top and started across the ceiling Leaping forward, Kendra and Seth raised the unicorn horn and pressed it to the end of the dragon’s tail just before it rose out of reach
The tail froze and went rigid Kendra heard a wet, tearing sound Looking up, she saw splayed feet peeling away fro contact with the tail, Kendra yanked Seth sideways They lunged to the other side of the pillar as Siletta slapped heavily to the floor Co Pouncing toward her rear section, they stabbed the horn against her gu stopped Siletta held very still The horn grew hot in Kendra’s hand As the dragon began to vibrate, the horn beca, but Kendra and Seth kept it firs went limp and her head drooped to the floor Underneath the translucent skin, the black lines of her veins spread into inky clouds The strangely visible organs lost their shape and blurred together Her insides began to boil, and her skin split open, e rank plumes of the deepest blues and purples
Kendra covered her ainst the dragon As Siletta started to shrink and wither, she and Seth adjusted to keep the horn in direct contact After a few ainst a dry, shriveled husk not a tenth of the dragon’s previous size After Siletta had reout of her, Seth said, "I think we’re good"
Keeping their hands on the horn, they stepped back The grotesque dragon husk did not twitch Kendra looked over her shoulder Soround, but she did not see Mendigo
"Where’s our puppet?" Seth asked, voicing her thoughts
Kendra walked to the black pool, crouched, and dipped the tip of the unicorn horn in the foul fluid Bubbling and s, the tarlike puddle turned to vapor On the bare floor rested the sword, a flashlight, and nuolden hooks
"What the heck?" Seth exclaione!"
Kendra considered the evidence "That black sludge must have dissolved the wood"
Seth picked up a hook, exa it closely "Not even a splinter left" Tears shimmered in his eyes "That sort of takes the fun out of everything Think we could rebuild hiather therip on Kendra and the horn, Seth crawled around the area,every hook and clasp he could find Kendra gathered hooks as well She told herself not to cry, that Mendigo was not a person The puppet had no identity, no will; he was just a tool A o had put Kendra and her faer But since his loyalties had been altered by fairies, the puppet had saved Kendra’s lifeto protect them He may have only been a mechanical servant, but he had been reliable and true She and Seth would be less safe without hi moisture off of her cheeks
"Kendra!" a voice hollered froht?" It was Tanu
"Think we got them all?" Kendra asked
Seth scanned the floor "Looks like it We’d better go let theether they walked to the top of the stairs Their companions waited not far from the bottom step
"We killed Siletta," Kendra announced She and Seth started down the stairs
The others cheered and shouted congratulations At the bottom of the steps, she and Seth had to recount all the details Everyone kept hugging the them on the back By the exuberant expressions of relief, Kendra could tell that most of her comrades had doubted that she and her brother would succeed They were all saddened to hear Mendigo had been disintegrated, but no further tears were shed Tanu said that the o had most likely been in the wood, but that he was no expert on such things, and keeping the hooks couldn’t hurt The Samoan used a key to remove the handcuffs
"Do you think the horn sanitized the air in there?" Seth asked
"Touch a unicorn horn to a pond and the whole pond will be purified," Tanu said "I’as The vapors you saw rising froon and the poison pool would be harht still have potency"
"We’ll take no needless risks," Trask said "Three of us will proceed to the treasure room, each with a hand on the horn Kendra should be one, to be certain the horn remains active She should also be there in case Patton left another e"