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* CHAPTER FOURTEEN *
Conor fell from the top of the fingers of the forest, taking with him a sharp branch in both hands. He closed the distance between the trees and Drazian in seconds. He screamed as loudly and as horribly as any ten year old could under the circumstances. Although he shuddered at the thought of attacking the giant mutant, he could think of only one thing more frightening – not helping Purugama and living with that for the rest of his life. So he had concealed himself within the protective covering of the fingers, waiting for the outcome of the battle. When it looked as though Drazian might indeed destroy his mentor, Conor, without hesitation, twisted his hands around the broken branch he brought with him into the fingers of the forest and launched himself from his hiding place. As he fell from the safety of the trees, he whispered a short summons to the creators. After asking for the courage to confront his enemy, he bellowed a battle cry worthy of a crossworlds champion.
When Drazian finally looked up to see exactly what hovered above his head, he could barely believe his eyes. He had time only to blink once before Conor landed smack on his shoulders. The boy wrapped his legs around the scaly neck with an iron grip born entirely out of fear and adrenaline. Before he could do anything to thwart his actions, the young boy drove the sharp end of the stick deep into Drazian’s left eye.
He felt terrified of the giant lizard-man, but he would never allow Purugama to be tortured and killed by such a monster. Conor flew into a frenzy as he jabbed his stick repeatedly into the mutant’s eye, damaging it beyond Drazian’s ability to magically repair it. He held his legs in a death grip around Drazian's neck; he felt too frightened to do anything else. As the mutant howled in agonizing pain, the boy concentrated on one thing only. He wanted to inflict as much damage as he could before his foe could get his hands on him. Understanding what would happen after Drazian reacted to the attack, Conor stabbed at the mutant’s face and eyes with a manic fury that shocked his enemy speechless.
The mutant staggered around the mesa, flailing away at the pest on his neck. He cursed at the insect that dared interfere with his plans for Purugama. He frantically waved both of his arms and his tail trying to knock the boy from his shoulders. Now blind in one eye and carefully protecting the other, he had to spend the bulk of his efforts on defense should the boy decide to blind him completely with his stinger. He could not lose his vision entirely or the battle with Purugama would be lost. Finally, in a furious rage, he scraped the boy from his neck and flung him with all of his might across the mesa. He wheeled around, hissing at Conor, spitting all the curses of the shadow world in his direction. He advanced in the boy’s direction with only one thought in mind. Everything else would have to wait while he dealt with this impetuous little creature.
Conor lay in a heap thirty or forty feet away from Drazian. Without moving, he knew that at least one leg and one arm were broken, and his body felt strange on the inside as well. He could not move without experiencing a biting pain in his limbs. Even so, he desperately tried to slither away more than once. He could see Drazian coming toward him with murder in the one good eye that remained. He felt sad that he might perish, but glad nonetheless that he had risked his life to aid his big friend. After all, did he not do the same for him? Fighting back a chilling fear as Drazian came closer, he stared defiantly at the massive mutant. He wanted his enemy to know that young boys from earth faced their fears courageously. He winced as he heard Drazian’s huge tail slamming against the ground as he approached.
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