Alana was on her back. Eric was stunned and weak. He could barely move. He’d missed his shot. He’d blown the one chance they had.

This was it. It was time to die. Just at Merlin prophesied. He’d give his life in the final battle with Colchester.

But no one had ever told him that it wouldn’t be enough, that evil would win anyway.

Dark energy gathered between Colchester’s hands. He was about to strike them down.

Something pushed its way through the Well, parting the surface like it was breaking through tar.

It grabbed Colchester from behind and locked its arms around him, breaking his concentration, breaking his spell.

Alana sat up in time to see it.

There was a woman, dressed in armor and leather, drops of dark ichor still clinging to her long hair as the Well tried to pull her back down, while she, in turn, held onto Colchester with all her strength.

Eric heard Alana gasp as if she was in pain. He’d never heard that sound from her before.

She only said one word before she locked her jaws shut again, but Eric heard it, even over the driving rain.

Alana said, “Mom?”

Danny fired, and fired, and fired. The ray gun began to overheat, burning his hands. He kept pulling the trigger, sending more and more energy into the black dragon above.

The dragon finally deigned to notice him. It roared and began to bear down on Danny, moving slowly toward the gym.

Danny had managed to piss it off.

Great job, he thought, and kept firing.

The ray gun punched holes in the darkness of its skin, burning through the wings in places. Danny wondered why his aim was so terrible, then understood it was because his hands were shaking.

Because he was scared. He felt scared.

It was almost on top of him. It was going to kill him. Eat him. Swallow him whole.

He hesitated, took a deep breath, and sighted down the barrel of his ray gun.

The dragon’s claws seized the roof like prey. It lowered itself down and glared at Danny as it tightened its grip.

Danny fired, directly into its chest. The light burst through and out the other side, like a spear lancing through its heart.

The dragon screamed, and Danny, for a moment, saw his mother again, the night that she died. He heard his father’s sobs by the hospital bed, the only time he’d ever seen his dad cry.

The dragon collapsed, landing heavily on the gym, still screaming, as it began to die.

The roof cracked and split under Danny’s feet. He felt like he was flying. But only for a second before he dropped straight down, surrounded on all sides by the wreckage of concrete and gravel and steel.