Beauty in the Beast Read Online Free Page B

How dare you suggest such a thing? I will crush you, dragon-blooded or not!’
    “‘Good. Then it is settled. We will duel.’
    “The dragon grinned with its sharp teeth and bared its claws, which glittered like knives in the morning light. ‘Yes, we shall. And I shall tear you apart to prove my strength.’
    “‘Ah! But what will that prove? Being part dragon myself, I know that a dragon’s true strength is not in his claws.’
    “‘Oh? And where would our true strength be?’
    “‘In your stomach! What use is tearing people apart if you do not have a strong stomach with which to eat them?’
    “The dragon sat back, curling its claws and frowning. It sat and it thought, and finally it spoke. ‘You are right. Let us see who can eat the most men.’
    “‘A good idea. But you have been eating men all day and all night. Eating men is easy for you. I have a better idea, one that will test the true strength of your stomach.’
    “‘Oh?’ The dragon began to grow a slight bit suspicious. ‘What would you have us eat? Horses? Cows?’
    “‘No. The four elements. To men, it is a sign of greatness if one can consume all four elements. No man has been able to eat all four.’
    “‘Pah! Men are weak and do not have the strength to handle the raw power of the elements! I will eat all four and prove myself greater than a man.’
    “‘Good. Then it is settled. We shall start with water.’ Sir Coal held out two bottles. Uncorking one, he poured clear, clean water into his visor.
    “The dragon leaped into the air. ‘Give me! Give me!’ It snatched the remaining bottle from the knight. The liquid that poured out of this one was black and thick and smelled like lamp fuel. But the dragon, which had been asleep for four hundred years, had never smelled oil before and drank it down greedily.
    “‘Very good! Now, earth.’ Sir Coal produced two lumpy bags. He opened one and tossed its contents through his visor. Rocks clanked down his hollow armor.
    “‘Give me!’ The dragon took the other bag and threw it into its mouth, whole. The burlap of the bag hid the taste of metal and gunpowder from the shells inside…
    “‘Water, earth. Now air.’ Sir Coal held aloft two sealed bladder bags and shoved the first through his visor.
    “‘Give me!’ The dragon took the other bag and gobbled it down, and its stomach rumbled slightly as the hydrogen inside the bag began to leak.
    “‘Finally, the element that kills all men. I am beginning to feel ill. Are you sure you can continue?’
    “‘Puny man! What is this last element? We will eat it, you will die, and I will roast your body and use your bones to pick my teeth!’
    “‘The last element is fire!’ The knight held up two Lucifers, both unlit.
    “‘Fire!’ The dragon laughed. ‘I breathe fire! Little man, you are done. Where is your fire? I will eat it!’
    “‘I will make it. But first, before I do, I must ask of you this: we shall count to five and fly away from each other before eating the fire.’
    “‘Ha! What is this? Do you try to trick me, puny man?’
    “‘Not at all… It is simply a human ritual during a duel to count to five before firing.’
    “‘You men have such strange customs! Fine. Make your fire and I shall count to five!’
    “Sir Coal struck the Lucifers. He handed one to the dragon and flew very fast in the opposite direction with the other while the dragon counted.
    “‘One…two…three…four…five!’
    “The knight crushed his Lucifer against his visor, extinguishing the flame. But the dragon tossed its Lucifer down its throat and clacked its mouth shut. It smiled, as if in victory—
    “Its stomach gurgled loudly.
    “And it exploded in a huge ball of fire and smoke!
    “The dragon was gone.
    “The knight returned to the palace and set himself down on the steps. There, the queen and the House all waited for him. The explosion had been so big that all of London could see it, and when they saw him, they let up great