"Fire resistant?"

Seth asked. "How about fireproof?"

Tanu shook his head. "Against dragon fire, resistant is the best I can claim."

"Fire is the most common draconic breath weapon," Gavin said. "But the guardians of the Dragon Temple may not be very common."

"Protection against fire is better than nothing," Trask said, accepting a cylinder, uncapping it, and downing the contents. The others followed suit. Seth found that the clear liquid tasted sugary at first, then spicy hot, then cool and tangy.

"Anything else?" Seth asked.

"A gaseous potion for each of us," Tanu said. "As a last resort, chug it and try to drift away. Use it wisely. As a gas, you'll move slowly, and a direct blast of dragon fire would probably sear you into nothing." Tanu handed a small bottle to each of them.

"You have the smoke grenades?" Trask asked.

"I was getting to them." Tanu pulled out small glass bulbs full of purple fluid. "This liquid turns to smoke when exposed to air. The vapors will smell nasty to us but much worse to creatures with more highly developed olfactory senses. Like dragons, for example. The fumes should basically blind their noses. Trask and I will take charge of these grenades."

"Call back Mendigo," Trask prompted Seth.

"Mendigo!" Seth cried. "Return to us!"

"I can turn two of us into giants," Tanu said, holding up a pair of crystal vials. "I vote for Trask and Dougan, our two most tested fighters. Any objections?"

"Makes sense to me," Gavin agreed.

Trask nodded and accepted a vial. Dougan claimed the other. "Let's get ready to move out," Trask said. He picked up his heavy crossbow and a large oval shield that covered more than half of his body.

"Mendigo, take the big sword," Seth ordered as the man-sized puppet joined them.

Mendgio picked it up, staggering for a moment before balancing the preposterous weapon against his wooden shoulder. Tanu pulled on a heavy shirt of overlapping metal rings and strapped on a sword. Dougan seized his battle-ax. Gavin and Mara each lifted a spear. Seth buckled a sword around his waist and claimed a crossbow. He handed Kendra a sizable knife in a sheath.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Kendra asked, pulling the knife out.

"Stab," Seth suggested.

Kendra sheathed the knife and opened the knapsack. "We're going in," she called down.

"Good luck," Warren responded from below, his voice hoarse.

"If we see a dragon, let me try to talk first," Gavin advised. "I may be able to negotiate or trick it. If nothing else, I should be able to calm it."

"You'll get your chance to talk," Trask said. "Meanwhile, I'll be aiming."

As they marched towatd the entrance and the stone dragons, Seth drew his sword. The weight felt comforting in his hand. He envisioned himself slashing a dragon across the snout.

Walking beside him, Kendra leaned over. "We should stay close in case of dragons."

"Right." He had almost let himself forget how Nafia had muddled his mind. He supposed he could cling to Kendra with one hand and wield the sword with the other.

They passed between the granite dragons and into the shadow of the high, arched roof. Several dragonflies flitted through the air. Nothing decorated the ground or the walls but the natural stone and dirt of the ravine. Trask led the way, crossbow held ready. Next came Gavin and Tanu. Mendigo strolled beside Kendra and Seth. Dougan and Mata had the reat.

Up ahead, the ravine curved. Just prior to the curve, the ground fell away almost vertically for roughly thirty feet. The precipice stretched from one wall of the ravine to the other.

"Rope," Trask said.

Gavin disappeared into the knapsack.

Edging forward, Seth peered over the brink. The smooth slope was not quite ninety degrees, but it might have been eighty.

Gavin emerged from the knapsack with a sturdy length of knotted rope. Dougan fastened one end around a tall boulder and tossed the coil off the edge. The rope reached the base of the slope with several feet to spare.

Slinging his crossbow over his shoulder, Trask picked up the rope. "If you lean away from the wall," he instructed Seth and Kendra in a low voice, "you can walk down. Or if you prefer, you can descend from knot to knot with your hands and feet."

Leaning away from the precipice, trusting the rope, Trask began walking backward. Keeping his body perpendicular to the slope, step by step, hand over hand, he walked confidently to the ground. Gavin hurried down next in similar fashion, followed by Tanu.

Copying their technique, Seth grabbed the rope and leaned out over the drop. Part of him wanted to embrace the rope and descend knot to knot, but once he started walking backwards, he could feel how his grip on the rope kept his feet planted against the slope, and realized that this way was superior.

When Seth reached the bottom, he glanced over at Gavin, eying the silver chain around his neck. It would be a shame to let such a remarkable object go to waste.

Seth pulled Gavin aside. "Level with me. Are you interested in my sister?"

"I'm not sute this is the t-t-time to get into that," Gavin responded, eyes straying to the top of the steep slope.

Seth fingered his own silver collar. "Seems like the pet-feet time."

"Since when are you a matchmaker?"

"I'm just curious."

Gavin flushed a little. "If you must know, yes, I am very interested in Kendra. I can't wait to see where our relationship goes."

"I thought so," Seth replied smugly. "For the record, I think she likes you, too."

Growing tedder, Gavin statted distancing himself. "She'll come down any minute. We can talk more later."

Seth looked up, waiting for Kendra. Mendigo descended one-handed, clutching the enotmous sword in the other, releasing and grabbing the rope at such a pace that he was practically running backwards. Mara came down next with the knapsack. While Dougan worked his way down, Kendra emerged from the knapsack.

"You cheated," Seth whispered.

"Dragons and hydras are stressful enough," she replied. "I think somebody has a crush on you," Seth mentioned casually.

Kendra's eyes widened. "You didn't say anything to him?"

Seth shrugged. "He didn't get strangled. I think he's got it bad."

Kendra grabbed Seth's arm tightly. Was there a flicker of excitement in her gaze? It took her a moment to find words. "Don't talk to boys about me. Ever. For any reason."

"I was just trying to ease your stress."

Her grip tightened more. "I sort of appreciate the intention, but it does not make me less stressed."

"You should just kiss him and get it over with."

Kendra released him in disgust. Seth suppressed a laugh.

As they came around the first significant bend in the ravine, the daylight from the entrance grew dim. Glowing white stones set in the walls and distant ceiling provided sufficient illumination to see, although the uneven radiance left the cavernous room cloaked in pockets of shadow.

Ahead of them, a lake covered the floor of the ravine, the light from the luminous stones reflecting off the dark, glassy surface. Shaped like a trapezoid, the far side of the lake was much narrower than the near side. Just beyond the lake, the ravine tapered to a tall, narrow passage not unlike the Sidestep Cleft. A ledge running for hundreds of yards along the left wall of the ravine provided the only route around the lake.

"I don't like it," Trask murmured. "We're going to get ambushed. We'll be trapped on that ledge over the water with no way to maneuver."

"We should cross the lake in groups of two," Dougan recommended. "That way at least we can cover one another."

"And avoid getting everyone wiped out by a single blast of dragon breath," Trask agreed. "Okay, me and Gavin first. Then Mara and Seth. Then Kendra and Tanu. Then Mendigo and Dougan."

Seth wrung his fingers as Trask set out along the ledge with Gavin, moving in a low crouch, treading lightly and quickly.

"Keep that crossbow handy," Dougan murmured in Seth's ear. Nodding, Seth unslung his crossbow and made sure it was ready to fire.

When Trask waved his crossbow over his head at the far side of the lake, Mara and Seth set out. They descended near to the water to boost themselves onto the ledge. The stone shelf angled upward, so they were soon a good ten or fifteen feet above the dark and silent lake. In places, the ledge narrowed to only a few feet wide, but most of the way falling was not a concern. They moved swiftly, trying to step lightly. Seth winced whenever dirt or pebbles crunched grittily underfoot.

The last section of the ledge descended like a ramp to deposit them at the far side of the lake. When they arrived, Trask signaled with his crossbow again and Kendra started across with Tanu. Seth watched the murky lake and listened, but detected nothing threatening.

Finally Dougan and Mendigo started across at a brisk pace. Seth and the others had backed away toward the narrow passage that led deeper into the roofed ravine. Trask remained nearer to the water, a pair of adamant-tipped quarrels ready in his oversized crossbow.

Seth began to relax as soon as Dougan and Mendigo reached the near shore. And then shrieking heads came boiling up out of the water.

With water raining down on them, Dougan and Mendigo broke into a run. Fumbling the giant sword, the limberjack dragged the tip behind him, the metal scraping and clanging against rocks. Unflinching, Trask took a step closer to the lake, aiming his crossbow. Tanu shepherded Kendra, Seth, and Mara deeper into the passage. Gavin dashed toward the lake, waving one arm, shaking his spear, and screeching the dragon language.

As the dark green hydra scooted its bulky body onto the shore, Seth gawked in amazement. The massive creature had no fewer than fifteen heads swaying at the end of as many serpentine necks. Three shorter necks ended in charred stumps. The draconic heads were roughly the size of coffins, varying somewhat one from another in size and shape. Several bore scars.

As Gavin continued to wave his arm and shriek, all the heads gradually fixated on him, malevolent eyes glittering. Breathing heavily, Dougan reached Seth and the others at the mouth of the narrow passage. Mendigo arrived behind him.

"We don't care who you are," the heads spat together, harsh voices ringing in unison. "All who enter this temple must die."

"We're not after the g-g-g-gauntlets," Gavin called, switching to English. Seth wondered if Gavin also stuttered when speaking the dragon tongue.

"You think we care what you're after?" the heads cried. "We have killed since the dawn of time, and we shall kill well into the dusk."

The hydra looked old to Seth. Compared to Nafia, the heads and necks seemed wasted, more skeletal. One was missing an eye. Another lacked a lower jaw. One head dangled listlessly at the end of its neck, either dead or unconscious. Missing patches of scales left bare spots on the scarred necks. Lank scarves of scum glistened wetly.

"You call yourself a killer?" Gavin taunted. "I name you a slave! A broken-down old watchdog!"

The heads screamed. Seth covered his ears, and even so the wails resounded with tremendous volume. "We are Hespera! We guard sacred treasures!"

"You cower in a muddy pit reeking of slime," Gavin laughed. "Elsewhere in this same sanctuary a younger hydra roams a glorious swamp, hunting fat prey as it pleases!"

"Liar!" the heads snarled together.

"Oh, these dragons really pulled one over on you. Listen to yourselves! So many sad voices singing the same sorry tune." Gavin pointed to one head. "Say something on your own." He gestured to the head missing an eye. "How about you, cyclops?" Gavin shook his head. "Your minds are further gone than your body! Pathetic!"

Two of the heads on the right began to hiss at each other. Another head began to squeal. A head on the left stretched toward Gavin, fangs bared, but he skipped out of reach.

"Silence," demanded a single head toward the center, yellower than the others.

Gavin pointed at the speaker. "That one."

Trask loosed a quarrel at the yellow head, and one of its eyes went dark. The head reared up, jaws opening, and Trask launched a second quarrel into the mouth. Using undersized forelegs and semicircular fins, the hydra scooted farther out of the lake. Trask tossed his crossbow to Gavin, who caught it as he sprinted away from the lake. Sevetal heads lashed toward Trask. Casting aside his shield, he drew a pair of swords, and the blades rang against tooth and scale as he whirled and slashed, moving generally away from the water.

Seth fired his crossbow, but could not tell where the arrow landed. Tanu threw glass bulbs that began to fill the ait with smoke. The hydra flopped farther onto the shore. After hacking off part of a tongue, Trask turned and tan. Everyone stampeded deeper into the passage. Behind them the hydra flailed and bellowed. The echoing wails seemed to come from all directions.

"Slow down," Trask panted. "Don't rush, we're out of danger."

"We should stop here," Tanu suggested in a stage whisper. "The passage widens again not much farther on. We could stumble unprepared into an equally deadly foe."

"The creature is too big to reach us here," Trask said, leaning against a wall. "Anyone hurt?"

Nobody responded.

"Could have been worse," Dougan said.

"The hydra isn't there to keep us out," Seth said. "It's there to trap us inside."

"It would appear that way," Trask agreed. "The creature didn't show itself until all of us were past."

"Between the narrow approach and the vulnerable ledge, we'll have a tough exit ahead of us," Gavin lamented, handing Trask back his crossbow.