Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 19

"These new beasts can shift the colors in their scales to mimic their background." Raven told her, a worried note in her voice. "They can make themselves virtually invisible."

  "Yes," The old woman nodded, her expression grave. "The Dragon God has indeed created new children using your daughter's blood."

  "I told you." Leia looked to her father triumphantly, though her eyes were still haunted. "I told you that Draco used my blood to create those beasts. I could feel it was true."

  "Leia says she can sense when these new beasts are close." Damion murmured unhappily. He had been secretly hoping Leia had been mistaken, or simply overreacted out of fear, but now they knew that these new dragons had indeed been created from his daughter's blood, and he found that knowledge to be deeply disturbing.

  "Really?" Gwynth looked to the young girl. "Is this true?"

  Leia nodded. "Every time one of these new dragons have drawn close, my skin suddenly starts to feel like thousands of tiny little bugs are crawling all over my body. It's quite an unsettling sensation."

  "This is interesting." The old woman murmured thoughtfully. "Estheryal did not mention this, which means Draco is probably also unaware of this ability. It should prove quite useful in the future."

  "That sounds rather ominous." Damion murmured with a frown.

  "Draco created these new serpents with a specific purpose." Gwynth told him seriously. "You disrupted His plans, causing Him to lose control and break the Pact of the Gods. Estheryal has warned Draco not to take a direct hand against you, so He needed another way to dispose of you."

  "Estheryal told Draco not to take action against me?" The huge warrior asked in surprise. "And He actually agreed?"

  "Of course He agreed." The old woman laughed a youthful laugh. "Draco knows Estheryal can be most troublesome if She is displeased, so He'll avoid crossing Her if He can."

  "So that is why the Dragon God created these veiled dragons." Raven said, her expression troubled. "He needs them to kill Damion and gain possession of the Dragon Sword to free the scarlet dragons from Damion's influence."

  "Veiled dragons?" Gwynth looked to Damion curiously.

  "It seemed fitting, given their abilities."

  "How many of these new dragons are there?" Leia asked the legendary old woman.

  "Twenty. Ten males and ten females. Draco wanted to insure the new serpents would breed and spread throughout the world."

  "Well," Damion sighed, holding out his hands helplessly. "we can't just drop everything and go searching for these creatures. We have an army of Etazk preparing to set out from Salastar, and another army running around loose somewhere that we can't locate. I don't know what the Serpent Mother wishes of me, but I cannot focus on the veiled dragons until we have finished with the Etazk."

  "You wouldn't be able to locate them if you went searching for them." Gwynth informed him. "These creatures are far more elusive than the shadow dragons. With their abilities, they can hide literally anywhere."

  "They can't hide from me." Leia stated in a confident tone. "I can feel when they're close, and even get glimpses of what they are thinking." She stared at the elderly old woman with serious eyes. "They won't be able to hide from me."

  "You are just like your father!" Gwynth laughed merrily. "I guess some traits breed true." She patted the young girl on her head gently. "Do not worry, young one. The veiled dragons shall come to you when the time is right. It is up to you and your father to make sure that they are not successful in their quest. You are the only ones who stand between the Dragon God and his goals."

  "So what was this message Estheryal wished you to give me?" Damion asked in a conflicted tone.

  "The Serpent Mother bids you to stay wary. Draco will continue His quest to release the scarlet dragons from your influence, no matter the cost. He cannot continue with His grand scheme without them." She gazed at Damion, her expression grave. "You must remain vigilant."

  "Like I really have any choice in the matter?" The huge warrior snorted humorlessly. "The alternative is death. That doesn't really leave much in the way of choices." He heaved a great sigh of resignation. "Tell the Serpent Mother that we will continue to make every effort to keep the Dragon Sword from falling into the Dragon God's clutches." He was quiet for a moment, then reluctantly added. "And please take Her our thanks."

  "Of course, Dragon Lord," Gwynth smiled and curtsied to the huge warrior. "I would be happy to carry your words."

  "Do you have to leave immediately?" Leia asked with large hopeful eyes. "Can you stay for a bit and visit?"

  "I guess I can stay for a bit." The old woman smiled down at the young girl. "Especially if you were to offer me a bit of that leftover chicken."

  **********

  "Master," The golden robed man fell to his knees before the altar and pressed his face to the cold stone, anxiously waiting for the shadowy flames that burned atop the altar to acknowledge his presence.

  "Is everything in readiness?" The raspy whisper asked from the flames, its voice seeming to echo endlessly.

  "It is, Master." The golden robed man nodded, his head still pressed to the stone. "Our men are gathered and prepared to strike at your command."

  "How many men?"

  "Around ten thousand seasoned men, and a dozen or so priests. They already have a number of warriors inside of the city ready to disable the guards and raise the gates to allow the rest of our forces passed their defenses."

  "And what of the fleet?"

  "We have been seizing every ship that enters into our harbor, and preparing them to carry our forces south. We have nearly a hundred so far, and we have another hundred that are nearing completion. Add those to the ships that we've gathered from the other costal cities, and we have enough ships to carry our entire army."

  "Good, Mohaad," The shadowy flames writhed restlessly. "Very good."

  "What should we do now, Master?"

  The raspy voice that emerged from the flames didn't reply for several long moments. "Send word to our men to take the city. Tell them to show no mercy. I want every single man, woman, and child turned to my worship, or I want their hearts sizzling in tribute."

  "W-Won't that draw the Dragon Lord's forces straight to our men?" Mohaad asked in confusion. "Shouldn't we hold them in reserve, and then have them attack from behind once we lay siege to Sierra?"

  "No!" The raspy voice bellowed, causing the ground to quake. "The Dragon Lord doesn't suspect we already have men in place ready to strike! We're going to use that to our advantage, and strike a crippling blow to his army! Once we have taken the city, he'll have no choice but to split his forces, leaving him at a severe disadvantage. That's when the rest of our forces shall strike!" The raspy voice sounded pleased. "And once the Dragon Lord is dead, and the Dragon Sword in my possession, nothing in this world will be able to stop the Etazk from taking the rightful place as rulers of this world!" A cold laugh suddenly emitted from the shadowy flames, sending chills up the High Priest's spine. "I cannot wait to see the look on Draco's face once He realizes that I control His precious children!"

  "I shall send word to have our men take the city immediately, Master." The golden robed man promised, jumping to his feet and hurrying from the dark chamber, followed closely by the cold laughter that continued to emit from the writhing flames.

  **********

  The enormous dragon lounged lazily upon the cliff side, high up on one of the massive peaks of the Godstear mountains, staring down at the tiny lights of the human settlement below. His plans were slowly beginning to take shape, and soon He would release His new children upon the unsuspecting mortals who infested the world.

  His iridescent scales shifted colors eerily in the moonlight as He slowly rose and stretched His great sail-like wings, savoring the sensation of the cool night breeze.

  "Father," A deep guttural growl suddenly broke the silence as a strange shimmering appeared in the air above the cliff side, then settled down next to the massive dragon. "We have done as you commanded and located
the dragon man."

  "Have you been successful in obtaining the Dragon Sword he carries?" Draco's eyes narrowed as He turn to stare at the strange shimmering in the air.

  "The dragon man was somehow able to fight off the attack." The guttural voice growled, a note of fear in its tone. "Stykx struck him when he was at his most vulnerable, but the human still somehow managed to fight him off, though he was injured in the process."

  "How badly?"

  "Nothing life threatening, unfortunately. Stykx managed to lay open one of his arms before he severed Stykx's forepaw. Stykx was forced to flee to avoid being injured any further."

  "And where is the dragon man now?"

  "He has retreated to his keep in the mountains. One of the scarlet serpents appeared not long after he arrived, and they spoke for a short time, and then it flew off towards the west. It appears that other humans are gathering in another land for war, and the dragon man is responding by gathering a force of his own."

  "Stupid humans." The huge dragon rumbled in a scathing tone. "They are constantly waging their meaningless wars, hoping to force the rest of mankind into glorifying one pathetic god above the rest."

  "The humans gathering in the west have a god walking among them." The guttural voice growled worriedly.

  "That would be Etaz." Draco snarled, His lips curling back in distaste. "He has always desired the world be brought under His rule. He has been waiting for thousands of years for His chance to renew His war, and I inadvertently gave it to Him when I took action against the Dragon Lord."

  "Why haven't you just eliminated the dragon man yourself?" The odd shimmering hissed in confusion.

  "Because Estheryal will not allow it." The iridescent dragon growled, casting his gaze towards a small cluster of stars which were twinkling brightly in the night sky. "The Serpent Mother has disapproved of my plans since the very beginning, and will not tolerate any further direct actions against the mortal." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I believe She has taken a special interest in the Dragon Lord, and seeks to protect him. I will not risk angering Her by defying Her wishes."

  "Surely you do not fear Her?"

  Draco snorted in amusement, sending twin curls of smoke drifting up from his nostrils. "I do not fear the Serpent Mother, but I do realize it will be much easier to carry out my plans without Her disrupting me at every turn. If I were to ignore Her wishes, She would undoubtedly turn all Her attention to countering my every move. As long as I do not take direct action against the Dragon Lord, She will not even notice what I am doing until it's already too late." He turned His gaze back to the odd shimmering. "That's why I created you and your brethren. You must destroy the Dragon Lord and retrieve the Dragon Sword before I can move forward with the next step in my plans. I don't care what it takes! Destroy anything that gets in your way! Just bring me that sword!"

  "What about Etaz and His armies?"

  "Allow His armies to go unscathed, for now." Draco murmured after a moment's thought. "You can use them as a distraction. If the Dragon Lord has all his attention focused on Etaz and His followers, you may be able to strike him when he least suspects it. But do not underestimate him. He is one of the most powerful humans in the world. I doubt even he realizes just how much power resides within him. Just eliminate him, and bring me that sword. I do not care what the cost."

  "It will be as you say, Father."

  The shimmering quickly disappeared into the night, leaving the iridescent dragon to stare down at the twinkling lights below, His eyes already lost in thought.

  Chapter 1 1

  "We have finished with all of the preparations." Captain Repheth reported in a tired voice, running a weary hand across his brow. "I think we're as prepared for the Etazk as we can get."

  "That's good," Shirk yawned. "How many men do we have ready to defend the city?"

  "Five hundred or so, not counting the locals. Many of them wish to help defend the city like they did when the dragonspawn laid siege to Sevria."

  "That doesn't surprise me one bit." Lady Skie told them, a note of pride in her voice. "They have been forced to rebuild their city twice now, and they'll lay down their lives to defend it from being destroyed again."

  "How much food do we have in store?" Shirk asked, a slightly worried note in his voice.

  "Enough to last at least six months, not including the livestock."

  "I hope that will be enough." The old bandit frowned. "I think I would feel better if we doubled that amount."

  "I'll see what can be done." Captain Repheth promised. "Now that all of the preparations are complete, it shouldn't be too great a task to collect more provisions."

  "Send some warriors out hunting." Lady Skie suggested. "These mountains are absolutely teeming with wildlife. There are plenty of deer, rabbit, and wild boar in the area."

  "And pheasant." Shirk added with an eager tone. "Make sure they bring back pheasant." He glanced over to Dar, who had an amused look on his face. "What? I love pheasant."

  "I'll see what can be done." Captain Repheth chuckled, then hurried from the room.

  "Do you think all of the city defenses will be enough to keep the Etazk at bay?" Lady Skie asked, a worried frown suddenly crossing her face.

  "Of course." The old bandit snorted in amusement. "Your father designed the city's defenses himself, and he is, by far, the wisest man I have ever known." He frowned. "Even if he is completely mad."

  "I remember the stories my father used to tell me when was young about the Etazk, and the war that nearly consumed the entire world. The atrocities committed by Etazk were indescribable. The horrors unleashed upon mankind by their priests drove hardened warriors insane with fear. Millions were killed and sacrificed to their dread god, Etaz, before they were finally driven back to the west."

  "They didn't have Damion to contend with." Dar pointed out reasonably. "That young man is a walking natural disaster. I've had the misfortune of witnessing him when he was angry." He shuddered. "The Etazk don't stand a chance against him."

  "Damion is a bit... overzealous, at times." Lady Skie smiled fondly. "He has always been that way. Once, when he was a child, he was sleeping in his bed when a servant girl accidentally dropped a tray of food. The crash scared Damion awake, and caused him release a blast of magic that blew the door from its hinges, shaking the entire castle like a leaf! That was when we knew it was time for him to begin learning how to control his powers, before he mistakenly killed someone."

  "That sounds like Damion." Shirk chuckled. "Subtlety has never been one of his traits."

  They both looked towards the office door as Axel hurried into the room with a massive snow owl perched on one of his shoulders, its gleaming white feathers fluffed in agitation.

  "What's Snowfeather doing here?" Lady Skie asked in confusion. "I thought he left with Damion and the others."

  "He showed up a few minutes ago." The young man flinched as the huge owl launched itself across the room, where it settled on the table before Shirk and Lady Skie. "He was circling outside the main door to the keep when I returned from the village. As soon as he saw me, he landed on my shoulder and began pecking me on top of my head until I finally brought him inside." He rubbed his head gingerly. "I figured he wanted to see you. I think he's brought a message."

  They looked down and saw the snow owl had a piece of rolled up parchment clutched in its talons, which it immediately relinquished to Lady Skie.

  "It's from Damion." She murmured as she unrolled the parchment and quickly read the note. "They encountered a group of Etazk on the trade road who were posing as travelers. Apparently, they were on their way here to Sevria to spy on our defensive capabilities."

  "That's not good." Shirk scowled. "If they encountered Etazk on the trade road, then there's no telling how many may already be in the city."

  "There have been several of groups of travelers show up in the city as of late." Axel told them, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Most of them are merchants, but a few of them claimed to just b
e passing through. I wouldn't have thought anything unusual about it, except they were asking all sorts of questions."

  "What kind of questions?" The old bandit's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  "Well," The young man scratched his head. "I was down at the tavern having a drink when several men came in and started ordering drinks for everyone. After a time, they began to circulate among the crowd asking questions about the usual things, like were the dragon skulls mounted on the outer fortifications real, and did dragons really carve the Serpent's Keep from the very mountain itself." He frowned. "Then they started asking questions about the siege machines, and what kind of defenses had been built into the fortifications. Luckily, most of the locals know better than to give away the city's secrets."

  "We need to locate these men immediately." Dar murmured in a worried tone. "They cannot be allowed to report back to their superiors."

  "Would you be able to identify these men again if you saw them?" Shirk asked Axel, jumping up from his seat.

  "I believe so, yes." The young man nodded.

  "Then let's go find Captain Repheth. Once he's been informed, we'll have him gather a detachment of soldiers, and we'll sweep the city. We have to make sure we don't miss any of them. Even a single Etazk within our walls during a siege could cause all sorts of trouble for us."

  They started to leave the room, but stopped as Snowfeather suddenly let out a loud hoot, then leapt into the air and sailed over to land on Axel's shoulder once more.

  "I think he's ready to leave." Lady Skie commented, watching the young man wince as the huge owl buried its talons deep into his shoulder. "He wants you to take him back outside."

  "Sure," Axel gasped, his face pale with pain. "I'd be happy to." He turned and hurried from the room with Shirk following close behind.

  They quickly made their way down the huge sweeping staircase to the main floor of the castle, and out the main doors that led to the outer courtyard. The instant they stepped outside, Snowfeather leapt into the air, and with a final hoot of thanks, the huge owl disappeared into the night on silent wings.