Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 18

  Damion and Raven exchanged a glance, the pride that they felt for their brave little girl nearly overwhelming them both.

  "And I still want to learn how to wield a sword." The young girl reminded her parents. "I had better get started soon if I want to be able to defend myself efficiently."

  "We'll find a skilled blacksmith as soon as we can, and have him forge a sword suitable for someone of your size." Damion promised her, taking a roasted chicken off of the spit and deftly slicing it in two with his dagger. He tossed half to Slither, who caught it with an eager hiss, then took a huge bite out of the remaining half.

  "I want armor too." Leia stated flatly. "I may as well get use to it now. It's fairly obvious I'll being wearing it a lot when I grow up."

  "What makes you say that?" Damion asked curiously.

  "Well, I am the daughter of the Dragon Lord," She reminded him, rolling her eyes. "That's a dangerous occupation, you know?"

  "We'll see what we can find," Raven told her with a motherly smile. "but it's going to be rather difficult finding something that will fit you. They don't make a lot of warriors in your size."

  The sudden rustle of feathers drew their attention to Snowfeather, who drifted in from the darkness on silent wings.

  "We have company." The huge snow owl hooted in warning as he settled down on a overhanging branch. "There is a group of about a dozen warriors moving this way."

  "Bandits?" Damion tossed the remains of his meal into the fire, then rose to his feet.

  "It appears that way. They're less than a mile from here, moving this way on foot. They're taking great pains in remaining hidden from view, so I assume they already know we're here."

  "What is it?" Raven asked, noticing the grim expression on Damion's face.

  "It appears there are some bandits moving this way." The huge warrior told her, trying to keep his tone calm so he wouldn't alarm Leia. "Probably deserters from Crete. Most of the outlaw gangs in the foothills agreed to join the war in the hopes of robbing the Etazk of whatever valuables they may have, but I'm certain many of them don't have the stomach for real combat. They probably deserted the instant they realized they would actually be expected to fight."

  "Let's go take care of them." Raven quickly reached for her bow, but Damion stopped her with a shake of his head.

  "You and Slither stay here and look after Leia. I'll take care of these bandits."

  "Very well," The young woman looked slightly disappointed. "Just make it quick, and be careful."

  "Of course, my love." Damion drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a panther, then disappeared into the darkness with Snowfeather ghosting low overhead as a guide.

  "They should be just ahead." Snowfeather hooted after a few tense moments.

  They hurried ahead a few hundreds yards, then Damion froze mid step as a whispered voice suddenly reached his sensitive ears.

  "We should be getting close to their camp." A gravelly voice murmured in a breathless tone. "I think they're some merchants from Sierra."

  "They should be good for some gold." Another voice grumbled. "At the very least, we can take their horses."

  "We're not out here to rob random groups of travelers." Yet another voiced whispered harshly. "Our orders are to learn everything we can about the Dragon Lord and his city. We need to know what defenses they have in place, and how many men they have ready to respond to an attack. The priests need to know all they can before they decide on how to proceed."

  "If we're going to pose as travelers looking for refuge, we're going to need gold." The first man said reasonably. "These merchants should provide us with everything we'll need to help us appear legitimate."

  "Stop making excuses. Let's just get this finished so we can concentrate on our orders."

  Damion silently shifted back into his normal form, and watched from the shadows as a group of men dressed in common clothing slinked passed, then he slipped out from the darkness and hurried to march along with the rear of the group.

  "Let's hope we can take the woman alive." One of the dark figures murmured eagerly. "We can have a little fun with her before we kill her."

  "Is that all you think about?" One of the other figures hissed scornfully. "Didn't you have enough fun with that farmer's wife back in the foothills?"

  "That was nearly two weeks ago. Besides, she was screaming so loud that I had to cut her throat before I could have any real fun. Let's hope this one is a bit quieter."

  Damion had heard enough. "I don't think you need to worry about how loud she may be." He growled in an angry voice. "You're never going to get the chance to find out." Before any of the men could react, he tore the Dragon Sword from its sheath and removed the head of the closest bandit, then launched himself forward and landed well placed kick that sent another flying backwards into the darkness, where he slammed into a tree with bone jarring force.

  The other men stopped in their tracks, then turned around to see Damion's enormous form towering over them, his eyes glowing red with anger.

  Two more heads went spinning off into the darkness before any of the remaining men reacted, then they finally responded by drawing their own swords and spreading out to surround the dark figure that had materialized from the night.

  Damion easily parried a hasty thrust and drove the point of the Dragon Sword directly into one the men's eye sockets with a meaty crunch. The man stiffened horribly for a long second, then the huge warrior ripped the blade clear and allowed him to fall twitching to the ground. Two more men charged in from opposite sides, their swords poised to deliver killing blows, but Damion nimbly skipped backward out of harm's way, leaving the men to crash into one another with violent force. They cursed viciously as they tried to untangle themselves and scramble back to their feet, but the huge warrior quickly cut them down with two massive blows.

  "Get this freak!" One of the figures snarled, gesturing to his comrades.

  The remaining men spread out and surrounded the enormous warrior, then started forward, their swords poised to strike, but Damion instantly drew in his magic and focused it onto the legendary sword, which he suddenly drove blade first into the ground.

  The resulting shockwave left a huge crater in the center of the trade road, and hurled the remaining five men from their feet. They crashed back down to the ground, then slowly tried to struggle back to their feet, but Damion quickly cut four of them down before they could react.

  The last man had reached his feet, and was looking dazedly around at his dead companions when Damion stepped up to face him, his eyes still blazing with fury. "What are you?" He asked in frightened amazement.

  "I'm the Dragon Lord." He sent the bandit's head spinning off into the darkness, then stood there for a long moment breathing heavily.

  "That's a few less bandits that we'll have to worry about." Snowfeather hooted, dropping down from the darkness to land on a nearby tree branch.

  "I don't think they were ordinary bandits." Damion kicked one of the bandits onto their back, then knelt to examine the corpse. "They look like they're Etazk, but how did they get here?"

  "More importantly, what are they doing here?"

  "I heard one of them say that their orders were to scout Sevria, and try to discover what defenses we have in place to defend the city."

  "That's not good." The huge owl hooted worriedly. "That pretty much confirms we are their first target."

  "It also means we could have hundreds of these spies drifting among the locals." Damion frowned. "We're going to have to get word to Sevria to be on the lookout for any suspicious travelers. The last thing they need is a bunch of Etazk in the city creating havoc." He grabbed one of the headless corpses by its clothing, then dragged it towards the edge of the road.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I don't want Leia to see these bodies when we pass through here tomorrow." He explained, heaving the body into the tall brush.

  "Good thinking." The huge owl hooted approvingly.

  It only took him
a few minutes to dispose of the bodies, then, once he tossed the remaining two heads off into the darkness, he turned to leave, but stopped as a groan suddenly drew his attention to the Etazk bandit who he had sent crashing into the tree.

  The man had finally regained consciousness and had staggered out into the middle of the road in a daze, looking around for some sign of his companions "Where'd everybody go?" He mumbled in confusion.

  "They're dead." Damion leapt forward and grasped the man by his throat before he could attempt to flee. "Don't worry, you'll be joining them soon enough." He lifted the man off of his feet effortlessly, and slowly began to tighten his grip.

  The bandit pounded at Damion's wrists in a feeble attempt to break his grip, and began kicking his feet ineffectually, but the huge warrior ignored his thrashings and continued to tighten his grip.

  "Don't kill him!" Snowfeather warned him suddenly. "You can't question a dead man."

  "That's true, isn't it?" Damion released his grip on the bandit's throat, dropping him into a gasping pile in the center of the road.

  The man lay there wheezing and coughing for several long moments, then he looked up at Damion with hate filled his eyes. "Why didn't you finish the job and kill me along with my brothers?"

  "Because I have some questions." Damion told him in a cold voice. "If you want to continue breathing, I suggest you answer them all."

  "I care nothing about continuing to breathe," The man spat, slowly pushing himself to his knees. "I am Etazk. We fear nothing, not even death. I am prepared to give my life for my god, so I may be welcomed into His embrace."

  "So Etaz has returned?"

  The man clamped his mouth shut, refusing to answer.

  "How were you and your brothers able to make it this far?" The huge warrior asked curiously. "It couldn't have been easy."

  "So you think." The bandit laughed spitefully. "It was simple for my brothers and I to move around unnoticed."

  "Where are the rest of your brothers?"

  The man laughed again. "You're wasting your time, freak. I'm never going to reveal anything to you."

  "Oh, you're going to tell me." Damion growled, drawing in his magic and allowing the gathered energy to sizzle back and forth like miniature lightening bolts between his outstretched hands.

  The bandit cried out fearfully, and suddenly drew a long curved dagger from his belt. Damion quickly moved to disarm him before he could attack, but, to the huge warrior's surprise, instead of attacking, the man placed the blade against his own neck, and drew it across, slicing his own throat.

  "Aw, damn it!" Damion snarled, jumping back to avoid the fountain of blood that sprayed out from the huge gaping gash in the bandit's neck, then he watched in disgust as the Etazk collapsed dead at his feet.

  "That was unfortunate." Snowfeather hooted, gliding down to land on one of Damion's shoulders. "He won't be telling us anything now."

  "I wasn't expecting that." The huge warrior admitted ruefully. "I guess his devotion to Etaz was absolute. He would rather die than to even give me slightest bit of information."

  "What now?"

  "We get rid of this corpse and head back to camp." The huge warrior sighed in resignation, then grasped the bandit's corpse by the collar. "There's really nothing else we can do."

  "How do you think they were able to make it this far?"

  "I don't know," Damion grunted, casually tossing the corpse into the brush at the side of the road. "but we need to get word back to Sevria. They need to know that the Etazk are sending out spies to scout out our defenses."

  They hurried back to their campsite where they found Raven, Leia, and Slither eagerly awaiting their return.

  "It's about time!" Raven hurried over to embrace the huge warrior. "We were getting worried! A few more minutes and we would have sent Slither out to find you."

  "I'm fine, dear one. I just discovered a few things that I wasn't expecting."

  "Did you kill the bandits?" Leia asked, a slightly savage note in her voice.

  "They weren't bandits. They were Etazk."

  "Etazk?" Raven exclaimed in surprise. "What were Etazk doing here in the mountains?"

  "It appears they were sent to spy on Sevria's defenses." Damion informed her with a frown. "I managed to overhear them as they were arguing. Their orders were to disguise themselves as travelers, and slip into Sevria to determine our defensive capabilities."

  "That's not good." The young woman looked worried. "We need to get warning back to Sevria."

  "I know," The huge warrior frowned. "but we don't have the time to turn around and head back to the city."

  "SSSlither can carry word back to SSSevria." The huge shadowspawn volunteered immediately.

  "Out of the question." Damion told the huge beast, shaking his head firmly. "We need you here to help protect Leia, especially if there are Etazk in the area."

  "What about Snowfeather?" Leia suggested, gesturing to the huge snow owl, who was busy preening his gleaming white feathers. "He can carry a message to Sevria for us. It shouldn't take him more than a couple of hours."

  "That's a good idea." Damion congratulated his daughter. He turned to Snowfeather. "What do you think?"

  "I don't mind delivering your message." The huge snow owl chirped in agreement. "We're not far from the castle. I can drop it off while I'm out hunting."

  Damion rummaged through their packs for a quill, ink, and parchment, then quickly scribbled out a warning about the Etazk spies. "Take this straight to Dar, Shirk, or Lady Skie as quickly as you can, then get back here. I want you close to help keep an eye out for any more Etazk." He rolled the parchment up and held it out to Snowfeather, who grasped it tightly in his sharp talons and leapt into the air, quickly vanishing into the darkness.

  They watched as the huge owl disappeared, then Damion stumped over and grabbed one of the roasted chickens that was left over from their dinner, and settled down next to the fire.

  "What do we do while we're waiting for Snowfeather to return?" Leia asked curiously, wandering over to sit next to her father. "Isn't there something we can do?"

  The huge warrior stared at his daughter for a moment, then tore off a leg of chicken and offered it to his daughter with a grin.

  "I meant about the Etazk." The young girl told him primly. "Surely there is something we can do about them."

  "Got any suggestions?"

  She stared at him helplessly.

  "Don't worry about the Etazk, little one," He scooped his daughter into his arms. "I won't let them hurt you."

  "I'm not worried about myself," She told him, a serious expression on her face. "I don't want them to hurt anybody else. They're such horrible people! And their god!" Her eyes looked haunted. "What kind of a monster commands His people to sacrifice one another?"

  "Etaz has always been blood thirsty." A new voice told the young girl from the shadows cast by their fire. "He has always desired the world be brought under His dominion, and to see those who oppose Him slaughtered. Out of all of the gods that plague mankind, Etaz is, by far, the most disturbing."

  Slither hissed in alarm and dropped into a crouch, ready to attack at the slightest hint of aggression, while Raven reacted by instantly drawing her bow, notching an arrow, and then leveling it onto the shadows where the voice emerged.

  Damion gently sat Leia aside, then turned to face to shadows. "Step into the light with your hands where we can see you." He commanded, stepping in front of his daughter protectively.

  "Of course, Dragon Lord," An elderly woman stepped from the shadows with a amused expression on her wizened old face. "but there's no need to be so jumpy. I just wished to say hello to some old friends."

  "Gwynth!" Leia laughed happily, then hurried over to hug the old woman.

  "Gwynth of the Gods," Damion bowed to the elderly woman respectfully. "It's been a while since your last visit."

  "I've been rather busy as of late." Gwynth explained in an apologetic tone. "Ever since the gods began to return to the worl
d, they have had me on the move almost constantly."

  Gwynth of the Gods was a legendary figure known throughout the world as one of the immortals chosen by the gods to deliver their words unto mortal ears. She wore a long satin robe that had been trimmed in a rich silver fur, and her long white hair had been carefully arranged into a neat bun. Her weathered old face was a mass of wrinkles, making it nearly impossible to determine her true age or origins.

  "I'm surprised you're so busy." Raven commented, laying her bow aside, and hurrying over to embrace their old friend. "Now that the gods are free to return, I would have thought they would prefer to deliver their commands themselves."

  "Some do. Some still prefer to remain apart from the world." She wandered closer to the fire and extended her hands to warm them. "It's a bit cool for this late in the spring, isn't it?"

  "This is about normal for this time of year in the mountains." Damion shrugged, watching the old woman closely. He had the oddest feeling that this was not just a social visit.

  "I sometimes forget how cold it can get this high in the mountains." Gwynth admitted with a smile. "I rarely have the leisure to stop and enjoy the sights."

  "What brings you here to see us?" Raven asked curiously.

  "I have brought the Dragon Lord a message from the Serpent Mother, Estheryal." The elderly old woman turned her gaze to Damion.

  "Another message?" Damion frowned. "I don't think I want to hear it. The last time I received a message from the Serpent Mother, She advised me to murder my own daughter."

  "You know why Estheryal advised such drastic measures." Gwynth told him in an unyielding tone. "If Draco had managed to spirit Leia away, mankind would have been doomed. By denying Him His prize, you forced Him to alter His plans."

  "We didn't thwart the Dragon God's plans," The huge warrior disagreed with a shake of his head. "Draco has created a new breed of dragon with, we suspect, the blood He took when He pierced Leia's throat with His talon."