"One does not hunt only to eat."

"We will be glad of your company then."

"What did she say?" Zakath asked.

"She wants to go along. "

"Did you warn her that it's going to be dangerous?"

"I think she already knows."

"It's up to her." Belgarath shrugged. "Trying to tell a wolf what to do is an exercise in futility."

They passed out through the city gate and took the road to which one of the grooms had directed Garion. "He said it's about eight miles," Garion said.

Belgarath squinted up at the night sky. "Good," he said, "there's a full moon. Let's try a gallop until we get to about a mile from that village."

"How will we know when we're that close?" Zakath asked.

"We'll know," Belgarath replied bleakly. "There'll be all kinds of fire.”

"They don't really breathe fire, do they?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they do. You're both wearing armor, so that makes it a little safer. Her sides and belly are a bit softer than her back. Try to get your lances into her, then finish her off with your swords. Let's not drag this out. I want to get back to the palace and get my hands on that map. Let's ride."

It was about an hour later when they saw the red glow of fire just ahead. Belgarath reined in. "Let's go carefully," he said. "We'll want to pinpoint her location before we go charging in there."

"One will go look," the she-wolf said, and loped off into the darkness.

"I'm glad she came along," Belgarath said. "For some reason it's comforting to have her around."

Garion's visor concealed his smile.

The village of Dal Esta was perched on a hilltop, and they could see the sooty red flames shooting up out of burning bams and houses. They rode up the hill a ways and found the wolf waiting for them. "One has seen the creature we seek," she advised. "It is feeding just now on the other side of that hill where the dens of the man-things are."

"What's it feeding on?" Garion asked apprehensively.

"A beast such as the one upon which you sit."

"Well?" Zakath asked.

"The dragon's on the other side of the village," Belgarath told him. "She's eating a horse just now."

"A horse! Belgarath, this isn't a good time for surprises. Just how big is that thing?”

"About the size of a house that's not counting the wings, of course."

Zakath swallowed hard. "Could we perhaps reconsider this? I haven't taken much joy in my life until recently. I 'd sort of like to savor it a little longer."

"I'm afraid we're committed now," Garion told him. "She doesn't fly very fast, and it takes her quite a while to get off the ground. If we can surprise her while she's eating, we might be able to kill her before she attacks."