Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) Read online

  A huge reptilian creature, with dull black scales that seemed to absorb the surrounding shadows, entered the antechamber deep beneath the Serpent's Keep, where Leia and her father commonly gathered when Leia practiced her magic.

  "Did you know that my father follows me and Xaxis every evening when we go for our nightly flights?" The young girl demanded of the huge beast, her expression still outraged.

  "Of courssse," The shadowy creature hissed. "It wasss the only way that your mother would allow you to go."

  "You knew, and you didn't tell me?" Leia looked even more outraged.

  "Your mother sssaid that ssshe would tie SSSlither'sss tail to SSSlither'sss head, and dangle SSSlither from the battlementsss if SSSlither uttered a sssingle word." The beast shrugged helplessly. "SSSlither wasssn't sssure if ssshe wasss ssseriousss or not, but decided not to take any chancesss."

  "Prudent decision." Sly nodded to the shadowspawn. "Raven isn't someone that you'd want to cross, especially when it comes to Leia."

  "Did you need something, Slither?" Damion asked curiously.

  "Damariusss hasss asssked that you meet him in the courtyard outssside of the cassstle. SSSlither thinksss that he hasss ssset up another one of hisss ssstrange contraptionsss, and wissshesss to ssshow it off." The shadowspawn shook its head. "Hopefully thisss one won't explode."

  "Didn't you tell that crazy old wizard that he had to stop building those infernal machines?" Sly asked Damion with a scowl. "He nearly destroyed the stables with the last one!"

  "He promised that he'd keep all of his future inventions non-lethal." The huge warrior assured him. "I couldn't force him to give up his tinkering altogether. Aunt Skie already forbid him from creating anymore of his potion formulas after the last batch blew up and caught that stone statue on fire. Who knows what he would get into if he wasn't allowed to tinker with his contraptions?"

  "I guess we'd better go and see what he's been up to." The scruffy little man sighed in submission. "I just hope I still have all my fingers and toes after he's done."

  "Finally!" Leia flopped back into her chair in mock exhaustion. "I was getting really tired of playing with apples."

  "Don't think that you're done practicing, young lady." Damion told his daughter. "You're still not concentrating hard enough. If you allow your focus to wander at the wrong moment, it could have catastrophic consequences." He gave her a stern look. "We'll pick this up again a little later, and I will expect you to be more focused. Otherwise, we may need to increase the amount of time that you're spending on your training."

  Leia groaned wearily, then scowled as Sly began to chuckle again. Her eyes suddenly narrowed, and the apple that she had been using during her practice suddenly floated up into the air and shot across the chamber, where it stuck the scruffy little man firmly in the side of his head.

  "Hey!" Sly exclaimed, wiping the juicy pulp away with one hand. "That wasn't very nice!"

  "It wasn't meant to be." The young girl told him in a hard tone.

  They quickly made their way up to the courtyard outside of the Serpent's Keep, and found Lady Skie and Shirk already waiting with Damarius, who was busy fiddling with an object which he had hidden beneath a large tarp.

  "It's about time you got here!" The old wizard exclaimed, his face alight with excitement. "I wanted to show everyone my newest creation!"

  "It's not going to explode or anything, right?" Sly asked suspiciously, keeping a safe distance between himself and the old wizard. "I remember the last time you wanted to show off one of your new creations. It took two weeks to repair all of the damage to the stables."

  "Of course it won't explode." Damarius responded in an offended tone. "It is completely harmless."

  "What is it?" Damion asked curiously. "You've been hidden away in the Vaults for weeks now, and wouldn't even give us a hint on what you were working on."

  "I was working on this!" The old wizard said extravagantly, pulling back the tarp to reveal an elaborate suit of armor, complete with helmet and veil, all created from hundreds of overlapping black scales that seemed to absorb the surrounding shadows.

  "Is that what I think it is?" Shirk asked in surprise.

  "Indeed it is." Damarius smiled proudly. "I used the last few shadow dragon scales that I possessed to construct a suit of armor. The scales are as light as a feather, yet incredibly tough, making it the perfect material for protecting someone in battle. They're also fire resistant. You could toss the armor into the fire and leave it for a week, and it would survive without a scratch. The scales also retain their ability to absorb the shadows, allowing the wearer to move undetected through the darkness."

  "Now this is more like it!" Sly started, moving closer to examine the armor. He suddenly frowned in disappointment. "You made it too small. It'll never fit a full grown man."

  "That's because it wasn't meant for a man." Damarius winked at Leia slyly.

  "Is that for me?" The young girl suddenly broke into a grin.

  Damarius nodded, his eyes dancing in delight. "I heard you complaining that your armor no longer fit correctly, so I set about designing some new armor for you. Do you like it?"

  "I love it!" She hurried over and threw her arms around the old wizard.

  "Very nice." Damion complimented Damarius, who smiled happily as he watched Leia hurry over to examine her new armor. "It was kind of you to sacrifice your last few shadow dragon scales to create new armor for Leia."

  "Well, I knew that she needed new armor, and her twelfth birthday is tomorrow, so..." The old wizard shrugged. "I always knew that the scales would make wonderful armor, if I could only figure out a way of shaping them into more manageable pieces." He shook his head wearily. "They were almost impossible to cut."

  "How did you finally manage to cut them?"

  "I used a diamond. Nothing else would even leave a scratch. Even using a diamond, it took weeks to slice them into smaller pieces, but, in the end, it was worth it. It came out even better than I had hoped!"

  A sudden whooshing sound caused everyone to look around in surprise and confusion.

  "Look there." Sly grunted, pointing to a dark, bulky shape which was sailing jerkily through the air towards them.

  "What is that?" Shirk asked in a baffled tone, squinting to get a better look at the approaching figure.

  "It's just Xaxis returning with his dinner." Leia told them after a single glance.

  The strange bulky object suddenly dropped lifelessly to the courtyard below, revealing itself to be a large buck whose neck had been snapped clean in two. A huge plume of dust momentarily obscured the buck's body as a shimmering mass dropped from the evening sky to settle before them.

  "Really?" Sly asked sarcastically, waving the dust away with one hand.

  "Sorry about that." A deep rumbling voice grumbled out of the shimmering mass, which slowly began to fade away to reveal a massive dragon who was staring down at them with a apologetic expression. The beast was enormous, with a heavily muscled body that was covered in thick dull grey scales which had the amazing ability to instantly shift colors to mimic their surroundings. Two massive bat-like wings sprouted from its armored back, which was bristling with vicious looking spikes, and two great spiraling horns sprouted from the back of its massive armor plated head.

  "How was your hunt?" Damion asked the great serpent politely.

  "Productive." Xaxis gestured to the dead buck with one razor sharp claw. "These mountains are absolutely teeming with deer. It only took me a few minutes to take this one down." He bit the head off of the carcass with a horrid crunch.

  "Agh!" Lady Skie looked faintly nauseated. "I think I've seen enough. Was there anything else, father?"

  "No, no," The old wizard waved her off absently. "Go on ahead." He hurried over to assist Leia into her new armor.

  "We'll see you all inside then." Lady Skie and Shirk quickly disappeared back into the castle.

  "What do you have there, little mother?" The huge veiled dragon asked Leia in a respectfu
l tone after he had finished gulping down his mouthful of deer.

  "Damarius has made me some new armor." The young girl quickly finished slipping into the strange suit of armor. "What do you think?"

  "What is it made of?" The huge beast leaned in close, his expression suspicious.

  "It's made from the scales of a shadow dragon." Damarius informed him absently, standing back to admire his handy work.

  "Dragon scales?" Xaxis recoiled in revulsion. "That's disgusting!" He glanced down at the remainder of his meal, then brushed it aside with a nauseated expression.

  "I thought it was rather brilliant." Sly growled, staring up at the dragon with dislike.

  "You would." Xaxis retorted, sticking his long forked tongue out at the scruffy little man childishly.

  "Knock it off, you two." Leia snapped suddenly, causing them both Sly and Xaxis to jump nervously.

  "Sorry, little mother." The huge dragon murmured in a slightly sulky tone.

  "Yeah, sorry, little mother." Sly repeated in the same sulky tone, though he had a playful grin dancing about his scruffy face.

  "Shut up, Sly!" The young girl snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously.

  "Now, now, Leia," A new voice said reproachfully. "Is that any way for a young lady to behave?"

  Everyone turned to see a ravishingly beautiful young woman with long flowing black hair hurrying towards them with an amused expression.

  "Hello, my love." Damion greeted his young wife, who smiled and winked at him, a mischievous look on her face.

  "Hi, mom." Leia greeted her mother with a sigh, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation.

  "What did I tell you about yelling at Sly like that?"

  "You said that it's not ladylike." The young girl sighed again. "You said instead of yelling at Sly, I should just turn him into a garden slug."

  "Hey!" Sly exclaimed, turning to stare at Raven angrily. "Don't tell her things like that! She may take you seriously!"

  "So how does your new armor feel?" Damarius asked expectantly.

  "It's perfect!" Leia told him in genuine delight. "It's so light that I can hardly tell I'm wearing it!"

  "And there isn't a weapon on this planet that can penetrate the scales," The old wizard smiled proudly. "other than the Dragon Sword, of course."

  "Look what it can do, Slither!" Leia said excitedly, stepping into some nearby shadows, where she seemingly vanished. "I can hide in the shadows, just like a shadowspawn!"

  "Not bad," Slither hissed in an appraising tone. "but there isss much more to being a ssshadowssspawn than jussst hiding in the ssshadowsss."

  "Like what?" Leia stepped out from the shadows with a curious expression.

  "Like being able to move in complete sssilence, no matter your sssuroundingsss, and being able to sssneak up on your victimsss without them ever being aware of your presssence. It isss far more difficult than you may believe it to be."

  "Can you teach me?"

  "SSSlither can try," The huge shadowspawn held out its hands. "but it will take practice. Lotsss of practice."

  "Speaking of practice," Damion gave his daughter a pointed look.

  "But dad," Leia whined in her most wheedling tone. "Can't we just pick it up again tomorrow? It's almost dark, and I still want to take my evening flight with Xaxis."

  "I guess it can wait until tomorrow," The huge warrior agreed with a chuckle. "but we're going to pick it up again right where we left off."

  "Thank you, daddy!" She exclaimed happily, hurrying over to the massive dragon and scampering up onto his shoulders.

  "Thank you, grandfather!" Xaxis rumbled to Damion playfully, waiting for Leia to settle herself down, and then launching himself into the air with a single beat of his powerful wings.

  "Do you think that she likes her new armor?" Damarius asked with a note of uncertainty in his voice.

  "Are you kidding?" Sly asked, his expression sulky. "She loved it!" His expression suddenly brightened. "If I can locate a few more shadow dragon scales, can you make another suit for me?" He asked the old wizard eagerly.

  "There aren't any more shadow dragon scales, remember?" Damarius reminded him. "I used the last few collected in Arleia to create Leia's armor."

  "That's right," The scruffy little man frowned again. "and the rest I sold off to various merchants to cover the cost of shipping all of the dragon bone to Sevria to be used in Axel's carvings."

  "Is Axel still using dragon bone in his carvings?" Damion asked in surprise. "I would have thought that his supply had run out long ago."

  "Axel used up all of the large pieces years ago," Sly admitted with a frown. "but he still had quite a bit of scrap pieces left over that he has been using as an inlay. Some of his newest creations are quite elaborate. You should stop by his chambers and see for yourself." The little man's eyes suddenly narrowed shrewdly. "You know, we can make ourselves quite a bit of gold if we were to hunt down one of the shadow dragons that survived the massacre in Arleia. Axel can use the bones for his carvings, Damarius could use the scales to make more armor, and I even have buyers lined up that would buy the meat."

  "Dragon meat?" Slither asked in disgust. "Humansss would eat actually feassst upon the flesssh of a dragon?"

  "Oh yes." Sly nodded emphatically. "We were forced to butcher the shadow dragons that were killed attacking Sevria to remove their bodies, and a number of daring fellows decided to test out the meat's flavor. There has been a huge demand for it ever since."

  "Forget it, Sly," Raven started, turning to stare up at Damion with an expectant expression. "Damion doesn't have the time to hunt down any shadow dragons. He already has something important that he needs to do."

  "I do?" Damion asked blankly, staring down at his young wife in confusion.

  "You have a daughter out flying around on a dragon that you are supposed to be following." The young woman reminded him in a pointed tone. "Or would you rather something happen to her again?"

  "Oh, of course." The huge warrior nodded, pretending to scratch his upper lip to conceal his smile. "I don't know what I was thinking."

  "You know that you're eventually going to have to let Leia go off on her own, right?" Sly asked, wandering over to examine the remains of the buck that Xaxis had brought back for his evening meal.

  "Says who?" Raven asked challengingly, her dark eyes flashing.

  "She's going to grow up eventually, you know?" The little man shrugged, not noticing the dangerous expression on the young woman's face. "Someday you're just going to have to let her go off on her own, and trust in the fact that you did everything that you could to prepare her for what she may face."

  "What do you know?" Raven asked in an irritated tone. "You don't even have any children."

  "I did help raise Damion, though," Sly pointed out reasonably. "and he turned out reasonably well, for the most part." He gave Damion an impish grin.

  "The time may come that we have to let Leia go off on her own, and trust that she will remember everything that we have taught her," Raven conceded, her expression still dangerous. "but that day is not today." She whirled around to face her husband. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go find our daughter!"

  Chapter 2

  "Hey, Snowfeather," Damion silently cast his thought out into the evening sky. "I'm going to go and try to find Leia and Xaxis. Do you want to come along?"

  "Of course." Came the silent reply. "I always enjoy our nightly flights." A huge white owl suddenly appeared from the upper battlements of the castle, and quickly dropped down to land on the huge warrior's shoulder. "Have they already departed?"

  "About five minutes ago." Damion informed his familiar absently, watching as Slither, Sly, and Raven disappeared into the castle. "I thought I would give them a bit of a head start so they could attempt to hide. Leia found out that we have been following her and Xaxis on their nightly outings, and was a little angry. I thought giving her a chance to avoid us might make up for her feeling so violated."

  "How did she find out?"
r />   "It kind of slipped out while we were talking." Damion shrugged. "This will make their nightly flights a little more exciting for them as they try to avoid being located. Now that she knows that she's being followed, she's certain to try and avoid being found."

  "How do you know that they will try and hide?"

  The huge warrior shrugged again. "It's what I would do if I were her."

  "We'd better get moving then." The huge owl hooted, launching itself back into the air.

  Damion drew in his magic, using all of his concentration to control the energy that was building around him, then focused the energy inward on himself, allowing his massive frame to slip into the much smaller form of an owl.

  "Are you coming or not?" Snowfeather squawked impatiently from overhead.

  "I'm just making sure that everything is in its proper place." The huge warrior told his familiar, stretching out his wings and examining them critically.

  "You look fine. Let's get moving. They already have a considerable head start."

  "You're not worried about her, are you?" Damion asked, launching himself into the air. "You're starting to sound a little like Raven."

  "Of course I worry about her. I've spent the last twelve years watching over her. She's just as unpredictable as you were at that age! Who knows what she is capable of getting herself into?"

  "Xaxis will not let her get herself into too much trouble." Damion replied confidently. "He's fiercely protective of her. He will make sure that she's safe."

  "Xaxis is little more than a child himself." Snowfeather reminded him as they sailed higher and higher on the cool mountain breeze. "He's just as apt to get into trouble as Leia is. Put them together and they're a catastrophe just waiting to happen!"

  They spent the next hour gliding high above the peaks and valleys that made up the Godstear Mountains before finally spotting Leia and Xaxis flying along in the distance.

  "There they are." Snowfeather said with some relief, tilting one wing to start after them.

  "Don't get too close." Damion warned. "We don't want them to see us."