Normally, a pouncing hellhound is a terrifying sight, but next to the drakon,

Mrs. O'Leary looked like a child's night-night doll.

 

Her claws raked harmlessly off the drakon's scales. She bit the monster's throat

but couldn't make a dent. Her weight, however, was enough to knock the drakon

off the side of the building. It flailed awkwardly and crashed to the sidewalk,

hellhound and serpent twisting and thrashing. The drakon tried to bite Mrs.

O'Leary, but she was too close to the serpent's mouth. Poison spewed everywhere,

melting centaurs into dust along with quite a few monsters, but Mrs. O'Leary

weaved around the serpent's head, scratching and biting.

 

"YAAAH!" I plunged Riptide deep into the monster's left eye. The spotlight went

dark. The drakon hissed and reared back to strike, but I rolled aside.

 

It bit a swimming-pool-size chunk out of the pavement. It turned toward me with

its good eye, and I focused on its teeth so I wouldn't get paralyzed. Mrs.

O'Leary did her best to cause a distraction. She leaped onto the serpent's head

and scratched and growled like a really angry black wig.

 

The rest of the battle wasn't going well. The centaurs had panicked under the

onslaught of giants and demons. An occasional orange camp T-shirt appeared in

the sea of fighting, but quickly disappeared.

 

Arrows screamed. Fire exploded in waves across both armies, but the action was

moving across the street to the entrance of the Empire State Building. We were