They rode carefully around the hill, noting the trampled crops and the carcasses of half-eaten cows. There were a few other dead things, as well things at which Garion carefully avoided looking.

And then they saw it. "Torak's teeth!" Zakath swore. "It's bigger than an elephant!”

The dragon was holding down the carcass of a horse with its front claws, and she was not so much feeding as she was ravening.

"Give it a try," Belgarath said. "She's usually a bit unwary when she's eating. Be careful, though. Get clear of her as soon as you sink your lances into her. And don't let your horses go down. She'll kill them if they do, and a man on foot is at a serious disadvantage when he's fighting a dragon. Our little sister and I will slip around to the rear and attack her tail. She's sensitive there, and a few bites might distract her." He dismounted, walked some distance away from the horses, and blurred into the shape of the great silver wolf.

"That still unnerves me," Zakath admitted.

Garion had been looking carefully at the feeding dragon. "Notice that she has her wings raised," he said quietly. "With her head down like that, they block her vision toward the rear. You go around to that side, and I'll go to this one. When we both get into position, I'll whistle. That's when we'll charge. Go in as fast as you can and try to stay behind that upraised wing. Sink your lance as deep into her as you can and leave it stuck in. A couple of lances hanging out of her should impede her movements a bit. Once you get the lance in, wheel and get out of there."

"You're awfully cold-blooded about this, Garion."

"In this kind of situation you almost have to be. If you stop to think about it, you'll never do it. This isn't the most rational thing we’ve ever done, you know. Good luck."

"You, too."

They separated and moved out slowly at some distance from the feeding dragon until they had flanked her on either side.

Zakath dipped his lance twice to indicate that he was in position. Garion drew in a deep breath. He noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. He shook off all thought and concentrated on a spot just behind the dragon's front shoulder. Then he whistled shrilly.

They charged.

As far as it went, Garion’s strategy worked quite well. The dragon's scaly hide, however, was much tougher than he had expected, and their lances did not penetrate as deeply as he might have wished. He wheeled Chretienne and rode away at a dead run.