Dev was looking at Fifer and the joy on her face. But then his gaze moved beyond her through the window, and he saw a spot of red. A really, really big spot of red. Heading from the front of the property straight for the deer. Dev turned and glanced at the back of the property and saw the dragon at the back coming too. “Oh no,” he said softly. “You might not want to watch this.”

But Fifer caught sight of them as well. “Yikes,” she said, looking away and turning toward Dev. Their faces were inches apart. And for some reason, the thought of kissing someone Fifer had become such close friends with didn’t seem quite as weird as it had felt before. But this was not the right time for thoughts like that. Because the two red dragons were standing really close together, paying attention to something that wasn’t them. “Grab your spears, Dev,” said Fifer. “It’s time to go.”

Danger, Danger

The two friends ran for the stairs. Dev grabbed his long spears, and on the way down, Fifer pulled the obliterate spell from her vest. She held it tightly until she had a moment to pause at the bottom of the steps to open the little box. While she did so, the dragons rushed in to devour the herd of deer. Fifer cringed, trying not to listen to the sounds the deer made. She removed the innocuous-looking pebble from its safety box and pinched it between her fingers. “Stay behind me,” she told Dev.

Dev nodded. “Be careful.”

“I will.” They moved toward the action.

The dragons were enjoying their rare feast. Fifer rolled the pebble between her thumb and forefinger, trying to get a sense of its weight and power. Trying to decide where to place it. Should she aim between the dragons? Or closer to one to ensure eliminating at least one of them? She decided on that. “Be ready to run for the library if I mess this up,” Fifer said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“You don’t worry about me,” Dev said, more defiantly than he’d intended. But he didn’t exactly like Fifer telling him to run and hide if he didn’t feel like doing that. Or if he felt like sticking by her… just in case. He kept moving and hid his eyes from the deer carnage.

Fifer crept forward, concentrating. She kept her eye on the nearest dragon, who was fully invested in its meal. Then, signaling Dev, she stood up straight, took aim, and threw the pebble straight and true at the near dragon’s head. “Obliterate!” she cried.