Summoning every last ounce of strength, I paddled harder, seeking a break in the rippling chain of flesh. But the serpent had encircled the boat in seconds. My heart banged against my ribs.
“Hand me the jar!”
“What jar?” Liss cried, swinging the lantern around. “I don’t see it!”
The serpent slowly tightened its circle. Huge waves crashed into the monster’s side, glancing off its scales like water against rock. A shrill hissing reached my ears, sending a burst of cold down my spine.
“It’s the only jar on the boat!” I dropped the paddles. There was no use in steering the vessel while only a few feet of water remained between us and the serpent. The jar had vanished—it must have made the splash I heard when the boat nearly overturned.
Panic clouded my vision, but Liss’s quiet sobs kept me from falling to pieces. My sister needed me. If I kept the serpent occupied long enough, perhaps Liss could cling to the boat and drift to safety.
Through a haze, I wrapped my sore hands around the paddle. I wasn’t sure I could kill the monster, or even pierce its scaly hide, but if it showed its ugly head, I would make it hurt.
The hissing grew louder as the serpent’s giant head finally surfaced. The creature shot upward with a rumble as deep as thunder, sending a wave of chill seawater into our faces. It swayed overhead, taller than any tree. There were no cracks in its black, scaly armor, no weak point in which I could thrust the end of my paddle.
Craning my neck, I took a proper look at its head. One murky yellow eye, the size of a dinner plate, watched our boat. The lump where the other eye should have been was a swollen mass of black and purple. Morag’s handiwork.
The serpent opened its mouth, revealing row upon row of needlelike teeth. Most were stained a dull red, as they had been in Mam’s painting. The monster released a deafening screech, but still I clutched the paddle.
A thud sounded behind me. Liss slumped beside the overturned bail bucket, her eyes closed.
With another shriek, the serpent swooped toward us, jaws stretching wider as if it intended to devour the boat in a single mouthful. A blast of the monster’s cold breath pushed my sodden hair off my face.
It was underestimating me. It thought it could make me cower. Good.
I raised the paddle like Sir Gawain’s huge axe, like Manannán’s red javelin, prepared to cram the handle down the serpent’s throat.
The monster lunged. I struck out with my paddle, putting the strength of all my years of chopping wood for Mam behind the swing. The serpent screeched and writhed as the blow landed between its eyes.
I may not have pierced its throat, but any wound was a victory. I raised the paddle again, taking advantage of the monster’s momentary confusion to stab the exposed white flesh on the underside of its neck. I was a knight, and I wouldn’t flee from this dragon. The wooden handle met scales and splintered with the force of my attack.
“That’s for Morag!” I screamed, though I couldn’t hear my words over the ringing in my ears from the serpent’s cries.
My second blow had angered the serpent more than hurt it. The beast glowered at me with its good eye, rearing up to strike. I clutched my paddle-spear, but now I realized it was more than splintered at the end—it was useless, cracked all the way down past the spot where I gripped it.
I barely had time to think of my family, of Fynn, and everyone else I’d miss as the serpent bore down upon us. Its mouth slowly closed over the front of the boat, like someone wanting to savor a delicious supper. I scrambled toward Liss, who clutched the lantern to her chest as though it could somehow shield her, hoping to prolong my final moment.
Crack.
Something large collided with the serpent’s head and knocked it away from the boat before its teeth could sink into the wood. The waves rocked our vessel, nearly capsizing us. I clung to the wooden seat with one hand and Liss with the other, trying to prevent us from spilling into the water.
“Bridey!” a familiar voice shouted. “Hang on, I’m coming!” Da waved from a boat several yards away. The real Da. Water poured off his hair and beard.
“No!” I yelled, my eyes on the serpent’s head and the dark shape repeatedly crashing into it. The impact sent up so much white spray that only the outlines of the two struggling creatures were visible, one much smaller than the other. The great serpent submerged most of its bulk as it fought, leaving plenty of room for me to maneuver the boat.
“It’s too dangerous! We’ll come to you!” I called to Da. Pushing myself upright, I grabbed the lantern and the remaining paddle.
“What happened?” Liss asked groggily.
“You fainted.” Coercing my numb arms into paddling was more difficult than I would have imagined. “But Da found us. I’m taking you to him now.”
As we helped Liss into Da’s boat, he blanched at the sight of her shattered leg.