Read How to Slay a Dragon for Free Online

about dead heroes from time to time, but aside from that they got little attention. Unless they managed to get a holiday named after them. Even then, it’s not like they got to enjoy the day off.
    By the time both boys finished eating, their stomachs ached. Greg used a squirming branch to leverage himself to his feet while Lucky somehow pushed the remaining half of watermelon and the sword back into his pack and slung it over his shoulder, and then the two were off again.
    Already Greg’s joints were nearly as stiff as the surrounding bone. As reluctant as he was to reach the dragon’s lair, he hoped it wasn’t too much farther. After all, what difference did it make if a dragon was waiting for him at the end of this journey if he marched himself to death before he got there?
    “How much farther is it?” he asked.
    “To the dragon’s lair?” said Lucky. “Oh, a very long way. We’ve hardly started.”
    “But it can’t be too far. You said we’d be out of this forest before nightfall.”
    “Out of the forest, yes, but still a long way from the lair.”
    Greg groaned. He considered arguing again about turning back, but knew it would do no good. Besides, he could barely talk under the exertion of the pace Lucky set for them. Instead, Greg pondered his case silently, so he would be ready to argue next time they stopped to rest.
    He pondered a good while.
    Noon came and went long before Lucky took another break, and then it seemed he only stopped because the trail had come to an abrupt halt in the middle of the forest. Greg wouldn’t have minded so much, except that the woods once again swallowed up the trail behind, and he was fairly certain that what little clearing remained was gradually growing littler. Thick vines snaked down from the trees to block out the sun, until Greg could barely make out Lucky’s face.
    “Uh, Lucky?”
    “Yeah, Greg?”
    “What happened to the trail?”
    “Oh that. It’s gone. We’ve reached the center of the forest.”
    “What do you mean, ‘ It’s gone’ ?”
    “Do you see a trail?”
    Greg shot him a look.
    “Relax, Greg, this is the Enchanted Forest, remember? It has some . . . tendencies . . . you might not be aware of.”
    “What kind of tendencies ?” Greg asked, mimicking the way Lucky emphasized the last word.
    “If you must know, it likes to open up clear paths to its center to lure in travelers.”
    “Lure in? Wait, likes to ?”
    “Yeah. The paths close after you pass, and once you reach the center they end altogether. Then you’ve got two choices.” Lucky set down his pack and dug around inside until he found the sword he’d used before to cut the watermelon.
    Greg found Lucky’s calm demeanor more maddening with each passing second. “What two choices?”
    “Well, you could try cutting your way out. That’s one reason I brought this magic sword . . . .”
    “I thought the sword was for fighting Ruuan.”
    Lucky chuckled. “No, the sword is for you to feel better when you fight Ruuan. Dragons are covered with layers of dense, leathery scales that not even the sharpest of arrows can penetrate. Besides, even if you did break through, what good would a short blade like this do? Ruuan’s easily three hundred feet tall.”
    “Three hundred feet? Give me that!” Greg snatched the sword from Lucky’s hand and whirled toward the nearest vine. The blade buried itself halfway and lodged so tight it took Greg two full minutes of diligent puffing to wiggle it free. “I thought you said this was a magic sword.”
    Lucky shrugged. “It’s also a magic vine.”
    A dozen chops later the vine finally severed. The loose ends swung down and swayed to a stop, then lifted up again like the heads of two serpents and wound around each other, braiding together to form a barrier more impenetrable than before. Greg couldn’t tear his eyes from the sight. “How are we supposed to cut through that?”
    “We can’t,” admitted Lucky, “but remember, I