Slayers by C. J. Hill Page B

dragon would weigh between twenty and forty tons, depending on whether dragons, like birds and some dinosaurs, have hollow bones. Once dragons near their maximum size, their appetites taper off, and like their reptilian cousins the snakes, they go weeks between eating and sustain themselves on smaller portions. Their diet includes large mammals, including humans.

    Humans. Tori’s stomach turned. This wasn’t new information. All the old stories said dragons killed people. But seeing it written in present tense made it more gruesome.
    Maybe she should write her report on methods of defeat. That was bound to make her feel better. After all, if knights could kill dragons using weapons from the Middle Ages, what did she have to worry about?
    She flipped to that section.

    Dragons are built as formidable killing machines. In addition to their claws and fire-breathing ability, their size, strength, thick armorlike skin, flight, speed, and
maneuverability make them almost unstoppable. It is doubtful that weapons from the modern day would be successful in destroying a dragon.

    Dr. B didn’t explain why he doubted this, which annoyed Tori. She’d been happily thinking about combat helicopters.

    So how did the medieval population deal with this threat? Some records indicate that people didn’t try to defeat dragons. Rulers simply found ways to appease dragons with cattle or other sacrifices. Often these sacrifices were young maidens, as medieval society didn’t place a high value on women. The fact that dragons ate humans accounts in part for the low population numbers during the Middle Ages.
    Since dragons are solitary and territorial by nature, villagers were at least assured that they only had to feed one dragon. If another dragon tried to move in, the first would challenge it. Dragon fights must have been a fierce and spectacular sight for villagers to watch.

    “Spectacular sight.” Great. Where was the part about killing them? She skimmed farther down the page.

    Kings offered huge bounties for slain dragons. People had little success in this endeavor until the alchemists invented gold. Not the precious metal, but an elixir which would change people’s DNA, giving them the powers they needed to defeat the dragons. These powers included flight, the ability to douse fire, heal burns, and throw shields up.
    With these skills in place, the dragon population dwindled. It was no doubt the work of these specially endowed knights which caused the few remaining dragons to choose a hibernation period for their eggs.

    Tori stopped reading and flipped through the pages, scanning the headings. Where did it say how to make the elixir? That information had to be in the book. Dr. B wouldn’t go to the trouble of studying the elixir and then not tell people how to make it.
    She didn’t see anything with a recipe or an ingredients list. No headings about the elixir. The frustration nearly made her rip out pages. She had to find it. She had to …
    She put the book down in her lap and rubbed her forehead. It was only a story, a fairy tale. In all probability, one of the camp events would entail Dr. B making a big batch of root beer and calling it elixir. He’d have the entire camp drink it, and then proclaim them knights of the realm.
    Tori let out a long sigh. Maybe that counselor with the jangly bracelets was right about her. Maybe she was transferring some deep-seated fear into the form of a dragon. This wasn’t healthy, what she was doing to herself.
    Tori stood up and put the book firmly back on the shelf. She would write her paper on the similarities of dragon lore from different countries. She could type that one right now, and it wouldn’t get her worked up in the process.
    She spent the next hour writing the paper, then drove a cart back to the advanced camp.
    Cabin 27 was empty when Tori reached it. Which was fine. The day still had some sunlight left, so she changed into exercise clothes. She needed to unwind, and