Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 15

  "I think it's leaving." Dar murmured, sounding immensely relieved.

  "It probably didn't want to face Damion for a second time." Sly grunted, sheathing his sword. "It already lost a paw in its first encounter with him."

  "How do we know it was the same creature?" Raven asked doubtfully. "None of us could see the beast."

  "Can you think of any other reason it didn't attack?" The scruffy little man asked with a shrug.

  "I don't think it ever intended to attack." Damion mumbled with a frown. "I think it wanted to observe us."

  "How could you know that?" Sly demanded in confusion.

  Damion didn't reply, but merely frowned and shook his head.

  "Is it gone?" Leia asked as she and Slither reappeared from the darkness.

  "We think so." Dar told her, still glancing up into the night sky nervously.

  "I don't know what that thing is," The young girl declared in a ringing tone. "but it gives me a really bad feeling. There's something about it that makes my skin crawl!"

  "You're not the only one." Sly snorted, settling back down near the fire to finish his stew.

  "No," Leia told him in a firm tone. "I mean it literally makes my skin crawl. It feels like I have a thousand tiny little bugs beneath my skin crawling around. It's infuriating!"

  "Why would her skin start to crawl whenever that beast is close?" Raven asked Damarius, hurrying to her daughter's side and inspecting the healthy pink flesh of her arms closely.

  "I'm not sure." The old wizard told her, brushing his brow lock from his eyes. "It's probable just a coincidence."

  "No, it's not a coincidence." Leia told them, shaking her head. She looked over to her father, a horrified expression on her face. "It's true, isn't it? Draco used my blood to create that creature! That's why I can feel it when it draws close! It's born of my blood!"

  "I'm sure that's not it." Damion hurried over and took the young girl into his arms. "There has to be another reason that we just haven't discovered yet."

  "No, I know it's true." She disagreed, her eyes haunted by the idea. "I can feel it. Draco used my blood to create that beast, and now He's set it loose to do His bidding." She buried her face into his chest and began to cry uncontrollably.

  Damion wanted to comfort his daughter, but didn't know what to say to make things better. A great anger began to boil inside of the huge warrior, and he vowed that if he ever had the opportunity, he would make the Dragon God pay for what He had done to his daughter.

  **********

  They arrived in Sevria a week later to find the small mountain town an absolute hive of activity. Hundreds of men were busy training in the large grassy clearing that was usually held in reserve for visiting caravans, while nearly a dozen wagons were near the only gate leading in and out of the city, waiting to depart. Dozens of the local laborers hurried to load a number of other wagons full of weapons and supplies under the supervision of several armored riders, who stood waiting nearby ready to escort the caravan of wagons to their destination.

  "Lord Omensent!" One of the soldiers guarding the gates exclaimed in surprise, hurrying up to greet the companions. "We were not expecting you back so soon."

  "We managed to convince the Deola to call in their tribes to aid us in fighting the Etazk, but a few more problems have crept up."

  "Don't they always?" The soldier laughed.

  "I see Shirk and Lady Skie have been busy while we were gone." The huge warrior looked around pointedly.

  "Oh yes," The soldier nodded emphatically. "They've had the entire town helping to prepare for this war ever since you departed for the grasslands. Every able bodied man, woman, and child has been either busy training or making preparations in case there is a siege. It has taken quite a bit of work, but we've managed to make sure all of the castle defenses are in perfect working order, obtain enough food and water to sustain the town during an extended siege, and we even managed to recruit a number of mercenaries who happened to be passing through."

  "Mercenaries?" Damion asked skeptically. "I don't like the sound of that."

  "I felt much the same way myself," The soldier admitted in a frank tone. "but Lord Shirk apparently knew these fellows and he assured us that they could be trusted."

  "We'll see."

  They hurried up to the stables in the courtyard outside of the massive Serpent's Keep and dismounted, leaving the weary mounts in the hands of the castle servants with explicit instruction that they each be given a full rub down.

  "They've haven't had much chance to rest lately, and we still have a long way to go." Damion explained to the stable hands, who were all eyeing Storm warily. "I think they could use a bit of pampering before we set off again."

  They quickly made their way to Damion's office, where they found Shirk and Lady Skie having a meeting with the Captain of the Guard, an older, silver haired man who had taken the place of Veren several years before when the one-eared Jaghern was murdered while trying to protect Leia from her abductors.

  "I understand that the men are tired, Captain Repheth," Shirk was saying in a weary tone. "We're all tired. I haven't slept more than three hours straight since Damion left to go to meet with the Deolan Council, but we're all going to just have to deal with it. My father always told me that there would be plenty of time to sleep when we're dead."

  "The men won't be fit to fight any battles if they are passing out from exhaustion at their posts!" The silver haired man protested in exasperation. "If the men aren't busy watching the wall or patrolling the roads, they're training in the yard, or aiding the locals with all the preparations. There's not enough time left for them to rest!"

  "The preparations are nearly complete. Once all the city defenses are in place, the men should have a bit more time to rest. Besides, I..." The bearded thief stopped as he noticed Damion and the others enter the room. "Damion! You're back already?"

  "For the moment." The huge warrior smiled as he watched Leia hurry over to Lady Skie and climb up into her lap with a happy squeal. "There's still a lot to be done before we're ready to take on the Etazk."

  "Were you able to convince to Deolan Council to call in the tribes?" Lady Skie asked through the swarm of kisses the young girl continued to shower upon her.

  "It took a bit of persuading," Damarius sighed wearily, dropping into a nearby chair. "but they finally agreed to help us. The tribes are being assembled as we speak, and will travel to Crete where we have the rest of our forces gathering. Once Bativa has handled his affairs, he's going to join them and take command of the army until we're ready."

  "It sounds like you've been busy." Shirk's yawned. "We've been fairly busy here ourselves, in case you hadn't noticed."

  "Oh, I noticed." Damion assured him with an approving nod. "It looks as though you and Aunt Skie have things well in hand."

  "This isn't the first time we've done this." Lady Skie reminded him, cradling Leia in her arms gently. "I seem to remember waking up one morning to find a horde of angry dragonspawn at our gates and several shadow dragons circling overhead, and we managed to defend ourselves just fine. Oh wait, I forgot," She murmured in a flat tone. "You weren't here for that one."

  "Okay, okay!" The huge warrior laughed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "I surrender! I admit it. You know exactly what you're doing. I shouldn't have said anything."

  "Why, thank you for noticing, dear one."

  "We have nearly a dozen wagons full of weapons and supplies ready to move whenever you're ready for them," Captain Repheth reported to Damion in a respectful tone. "and the blacksmiths are working overtime to make more, but it takes time to forge a decent weapon."

  "Where did they get the material to make the weapons?" Sly asked curiously. "There couldn't have been enough steel in town to forge enough weapons to fill an entire wagon."

  "Or so you thought." The bearded thief grinned. "Remember all of those gnomish made weapons we confiscated a few years ago?"

  "Of course I remember them, but they were useless."


  "Not completely. The blacksmiths in town melted those weapons down and used them to create new ones. They've managed to produce several hundred swords and axes, and thousands of arrowheads which their apprentices are using to make arrows and crossbow bolts."

  "That's good news." Dar chirped, climbing up into a chair next to Damarius. "We're desperately short on weapons and armor. We were able to convince some of the local outlaw gangs to... donate what supplies they had hidden away, but it wasn't nearly enough equipment to outfit an entire army."

  "Donate?" Shirk looked skeptical. "I've never heard of an outlaw gang donating anything to anyone."

  "Well, these outlaws were happy to part with whatever they could," Sly laughed. "especially after Damion beat one of their leaders senseless, with a little help from Leia, of course." He quickly went on to tell them about their encounter with Brutus, and how little Leia had taken offense to the outlaw insulting her mother. "You should have seen the look in his eyes when her little boot caught him square in the..."

  "Sly!" Lady Skie exclaimed in a shocked tone, while everyone else laughed uncontrollably. She look down at Leia, who was giggling merrily. "You didn't really..."

  "Oh yes she did!" Raven stared at her daughter proudly. "She definitely took the wind out of his sails. He wanted no part of us once she had finished with him. As a mother, I've never been more proud!"

  "How many men have you managed to recruit so far?" Captain Repheth asked, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes.

  "A few thousand, at best." Damion's face was still red with laughter. "But more men are arriving everyday."

  "How many warriors can the Deola muster?"

  "Twenty thousand, give or take a few hundred."

  "The Etazk are still going to outnumber us two to one." The silver haired man frowned. "If we don't find some reinforcements soon, we may be in trouble."

  "If Bativa is able to persuade the lords in Kainpre that they need to assemble their men to aid in the war, then that should add ten or twelve more thousand men." Raven pointed out. "That should bring us a bit closer to an even fight."

  "Even fight?" Damarius snorted in derision. "You seem to forget that the Etazk priests can all manipulate magic. All we have is Damion and myself. Even with the Dragon Sword, we're still at a severe disadvantage."

  "Speaking of warriors," Damion started, looking over to Shirk curiously. "Who are these mercenaries I heard about from the guard at the gate?"

  "You heard about that, did you?" The bearded bandit looked away innocently.

  "I did." Damion watched his old friend began to squirm uncomfortably. "I was told that you personally vouched for them."

  "You were?" Shirk continued to squirm for another moment, then he heaved a great sigh of surrender. "Listen, I was going to tell you about it when you didn't have so much on your mind."

  "Tell me about what?"

  "A while back, I got word from some old... acquaintances of mine, stating that they were looking for somewhere else to settle down and... uh... go into business."

  "And naturally you invited them here." The huge warrior stated in a flat tone.

  "Of course not!" Shirk objected indignantly. "I explained to them that I was no longer in that... line of business."

  Sly snorted in amusement, causing the old bandit to scowl.

  "As I was saying," He continued, still staring at the scruffy little man aggressively. "I explained to them that I was no longer in that line of business, and I couldn't help them, then forgot all about them, until they showed up at our gates a couple of weeks ago."

  "So you invited them in to stay a while and prey upon our locals?" Raven looked shocked.

  "Of course not." Shirk objected again. "I only allowed them to enter Sevria after warning them what would happen to them if they were caught causing any problems." He noticed Damion still wore an expression of disapproval. "Look, these are a good bunch of boys. I've known them for years. They've fought next to me in battle. I couldn't just turn them away." His expression grew shrewd. "And we can use them to help fight the Etazk."

  "How many are there?" Damarius asked curiously.

  "About forty of them."

  "Forty men?" Sly scoffed. "Do you really think that forty men are really going to make much of a difference?"

  "It depends on the forty men." Shirk smiled sadistically. "These men were known in Arleia as the Silent Shadows. Each man is an expert in stealth. They're trained to fight in the shadows, and are ideal for quick forays into enemy territory. I've seen these men pick an entire village clean of valuables without ever once being seen."

  "But we're looking to kill the Etazk, not rob them."

  "They're trained killers." Shirk assured the little man. "They've been known to pick up the occasional assassination job when their purses were empty."

  "But can we trust them?" Captain Repheth asked plainly. "They are a bunch of thieves and cutthroats, after all."

  "We can trust them." Shirk nodded. "I give you my word on that."

  "If you say we can trust them, then they can stay and help us," Damion agreed finally. "but I think I should probably still meet these fellows, and make sure that they understand the rules."

  "That would probably be prudent." The old bandit agreed with a nod. "I'll take you down to meet them a little later."

  Captain Repheth quickly finished giving his report, then hurried off to return to his duties, his face still etched with worry.

  Damion flagged down a passing servant and ordered him to bring everyone food and drink, then settled down at the enormous table that dominated his office.

  "Was it difficult to convince the Council to call in the tribes?" Shirk asked a few minutes later as the servants arrived carrying several trays of food and drink.

  "It could have been worse, I guess." Damion shrugged, spearing a sausage with the tip of his dagger and shoving it into his mouth greedily. "A few of the chieftains wanted to pull the tribes back into the city and try to wait the Etazk out, but we managed to convince them that it would be a mistake." He frowned, remembering how infuriated he had become with Krel.

  "The Deola hide from a battle?" Lady Skie asked, her eyes wide in disbelief. "The very thought is laughable!"

  "The chieftain who voiced the idea suggested it more out of his hatred for me, than for his desire to avoid a battle. He would like nothing more than to see me destroyed by the Etazk, but he soon realized that would be his people's undoing."

  "I'm relieved to hear he came around." Lady Skie murmured in relief, gently placing Leia into the chair next to her so the young girl could eat.

  "Krel only came around because father used his magic to persuade him." The young girl informed her as she began piling sausages onto her plate.

  Both Shirk and Lady Skie looked to Damion curiously.

  "I was getting a little tired of Krel's insults, so I gave him a little something to remember me by." The huge warrior murmured in an evasive tone.

  "Father gave the man boils on his backside!" Leia squealed with laughter.

  "Damion!" Lady Skie exclaimed in a reproving tone. "I can't believe you would do something like that!" She thought about it for a moment. "Well, maybe I can believe it, but you still shouldn't have done it."

  "He's deserved it." Sly took a long drink from his tankard, then belched thunderously. "Krel's an insufferable ass."

  "Have you heard anything from Tempest?" Shirk inquired.

  "Not yet." Damion frowned. "That reminds me, I need to speak with her. We encountered something rather strange on our way to Mercedia."

  "What's that?"

  "I was attacked by a dragon while out hunting with Snowfeather. It appeared out of nowhere and attacked me, even though I was in the form of a panther."

  "A shadow dragon out in search of a meal, perhaps?" Shirk scratched his beard thoughtfully.

  "I'm afraid not. This beast was unlike anything I have ever seen before." He quickly went on to describe his battle with the strange dragon. "The strangest thin
g about this creature was its scales. They changed color to mimic the beast's surroundings, rendering it nearly invisible."

  "And you've never heard of such a dragon before?" Shirk asked, his eyes strangely haunted. He had been in Arleia during the battle that Damion and the scarlet dragons had with the shadow dragons, and it was something the bearded old bandit would never forget.

  "No one has." Damarius murmured absently, dabbing at some gravy that had dribbled into his beard with the hem of his robe. "It seems to be an entirely new breed of serpent. A type of veiled dragon, as it were."

  "That's what Snowfeather called it." Damion murmured thoughtfully. "It's a rather fitting name, if you think about it."

  "That's just what we need," Shirk tossed his hands up in disgust. "Another race of dragons out to destroy us, and this one is invisible!"

  "It's not invisible," Damarius corrected in a scholarly tone. "It just has an amazingly efficient camouflage reflex that makes it extremely difficult to detect."

  "Where could it have come from?" Lady Skie looked concerned.

  "It came from me." Leia's expression was a mixture of both sadness, disgust, and towering anger. "The Dragon God used my blood to create it."

  "How could you possibly know that, child?"

  "Because I can feel it whenever the beast is close." She stared down at her plate with unseeing eyes. "My skin, it begins to crawl, like thousands of tiny bugs are crawling around, and a strange feeling seems to come over me." She turned to look at Lady Skie with serious eyes. "I know it's true. That creature was created with my blood, and now Draco has set it loose upon the world to wreak havoc." She stabbed at one of the sausages on her plate vehemently.

  "Can this be true?" Lady Skie looked horrified.

  "We're not really certain, but Leia believes it to be true," Damion's heart nearly broke seeing his only daughter struggle with such a horrible concept. If anyone alive could understand how she must be feeling, it was him. "and I trust Leia's instincts. If she says that she can feel when the beast is close, then I believe her."