Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 9

  "Of course." Snowfeather replied almost immediately. "You'd probably go hungry if I didn't come along."

  "I'm going to go hunt us up some dinner." Damion told the others. "I should be back before too long." He looked to Slither, who was lurking in the shadows cast by their campfire. "Make sure you stick close to Leia and Raven. I don't want anything to happen to them while I'm away."

  "Of courssse." The huge shadowspawn assured him with a nod.

  "We'll be fine." Leia told him with a dismissive wave. "Nothing is going to happen. Sometimes you're just like a mother hen."

  He gave the young girl a kiss on her forehead, then moved off into the darkness with Snowfeather ghosting silently overhead.

  Once he was away from the camp, Damion drew in his magic and shifted into the form of a panther. He paused for a moment, allowing his heightened senses to take in the night, then slipped off through the tall grass in search of prey.

  "There's a fairly large group of wild pigs not far from here." Snowfeather informed him a few minutes later, swooping down from the darkness.

  "Lead the way." He quickly followed the huge owl until he caught the scent of the wild pigs, then instantly slowed his pace so he wouldn't accidentally spook them.

  "They're just ahead." Snowfeather hooted, circling over the wild pigs on silent wings.

  Damion slowly crept through the tall grass until he spotted several fat boars rooting through the dirt for something edible, then prepared himself for the kill.

  Moving faster than the eye could follow, he shot forward, his eyes locked on the largest sow, confident that the meat it would provide would be more than sufficient for their needs. The instant before his outstretched claws sank into the unwary pig, however, there was a unexpected flash, and Damion suddenly found himself hurtling backwards through the air as a massive ball of searing flames completely engulfed him.

  He crashed back down to the soft soil, then quickly scrambled back to his feet, shaking his head in a effort to clear the cobwebs. He looked around in confusion. The entire area for fifty feet in every direction was in ruins. The once tall grass was now nothing more than smoldering ash, and smoke boiled up into the night's sky, blocking out the stars above.

  "Damion?" Snowfeather called out to him in a panicked tone. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine." Damion assured him, shifting back into his own form and surveying the area in confusion.

  "What happened?"

  "I have no idea." He stopped to look at the charred corpse of one of the wild pigs. "It's almost like..."

  An earsplitting roar suddenly ripped through the night, causing Damion to jump in surprise.

  "What was that?" Snowfeather squawked, swooping low over Damion's head.

  Damion didn't reply. Keeping his eyes locked on the sky, he slowly drew the Dragon Sword from its sheath and dropped into a crouch, prepared to react to anything.

  A loud snarl echoed through the darkness, followed by the unmistakable sound of wings whistling through the night's air.

  "Damion," Snowfeather hooted in a uneasy tone. "I think there's something up here with me!"

  "What is it?

  "I'm not sure. I can hear it, but I don't see anything."

  The huge warrior frowned, then continued to peer out into the darkness.

  Another roar broke the silence, and Damion was suddenly engulfed in another blast of searing flames, but this time he was prepared. He calmly allowed the fire to sizzle around him, knowing the dragon's blood in his veins would keep him protected, and concentrated on following the flames back to their source.

  "Damion!"

  "I'm okay," The huge warrior assured his familiar again. "Can you see the source of the flames?"

  "I can't see anything! I don't know where its coming from!"

  The flames suddenly subsided, and Damion quickly began to look around the devastated clearing for any signs of his attacker.

  A guttural snarl drew his attention to the center of the clearing, where he noticed an odd shimmer that was scarcely visible in light cast by the smoldering foliage.

  "Wha..." Damion was suddenly struck in the chest by a tremendous force that sent him hurtling through the air once more. He crashed back to the ground, and scrambled back to his feet, the Dragon Sword held at the ready.

  The strange shimmering appeared once more across the charred clearing, and another growl resounded through the night, sending chills down the huge warrior's spine. He locked his gaze upon the strange shimmering in the air, then drew in his will and focused it upon the charred and smoldering ground, which suddenly exploded upward, engulfing the odd shimmering in soot and embers.

  A roar of outrage erupted from the cloud, and a column of flames blasted out, bathing the clearing in fire once more.

  Damion ignored the flames, and charged forward, but was forced back as a set of soot covered talons suddenly struck out from the cloud. He managed to avoid the worst of the strike, but one razor sharp talon caught him in his arm as he twisted away, leaving a long ragged gash that reached from his shoulder to his elbow.

  He fell back clutching his arm, instinctively drawing in his magic as he fell, and released a shockwave of energy that blasted away the cloud, revealing a huge soot covered beast beneath.

  "What is that thing?" Snowfeather squawked from overhead.

  "I haven't the slightest clue." The huge warrior replied as he rolled to his feet, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his arm and shoulder.

  The beast that emerged from the cloud closely resembled a dragon, though there were a few noticeable differences from the other serpents Damion had encountered. It was huge, almost as big as a scarlet dragon, with a heavily muscled body that was covered in thick scales. Two massive bat-like wings sprouted from its armored back, which was bristling with vicious looking spikes. The creature had the great spiraling horns which the scarlet dragons and the shadow beasts both possessed, but what little of its body that was not covered in soot, continued to shimmer strangely, taking on the look of its surroundings.

  It snarled viciously as it continued to try to shake the soot from its body, then turned back to stare at Damion with great glowing eyes that gleamed with the same keen intelligence Damion had witnessed among the other great serpents.

  "What, in Draco's name, are you?" Damion asked as he prepared himself for another attack.

  The beast merely snarled at him, revealing row after row of serrated teeth. It watched him as he slowly began to circle to one side, forcing it to spin its enormous bulk around to face him, then it suddenly drew a deep breath and began to bathe the warrior in flames once again.

  Damion ignored the flames and charged forward with the Dragon Sword poised to strike, narrowly avoiding the raking talons that suddenly slashed through the billowing flames. He had expected this, however, having encountered this tactic when facing other dragons, and he reacted instantly, lashing out with the Dragon Sword. The legendary blade sliced into the beast's heavily armored wrist and passed cleanly through, severing one of the beast's forepaws cleanly from its body.

  The strange dragon screamed in agony, and stumbled back from the huge warrior, its eyes wide with shock. It spun away with amazing speed, then launched itself into the air, blood pumping profusely from its wound.

  Damion cursed vehemently and started after it, but he quickly realized it was useless as the beast vanished into the night.

  "What was that thing?" Snowfeather asked, swooping low to circle overhead. "I couldn't seem to get a good look at it."

  "It was some kind of dragon," Damion told him, listening as the beast let out another scream of agony while it continued to flee. "but I've never seen one quite like that beast."

  The huge snow owl landed lightly on one of the huge warrior's broad shoulders, then fluffed its feathers in surprise as it noticed the blood flowing freely from the gaping wound on his arm. "You've been injured!"

  Damion glanced down at the ragged wound and shrugged. "It's just a scratch."

  "T
hat's a lot more than a scratch!" Snowfeather hooted worriedly. "You should hurry back to the camp so that crazy old wizard can tend to it."

  "I'll be fine. I still need to hunt us up some dinner so we don't starve."

  "That wound needs to be tended to immediately." The huge owl told him, leaning in to examine the gash closely. "You'll bleed to death if something isn't done to quell the bleeding."

  "What about dinner?"

  "Send Slither out to find something. I've watched him on numerous occasions, and he's quite the skilled hunter."

  Damion sighed heavily. "Very well." He swayed on his feet slightly. "I guess I am getting a little light headed. Let's head back and have Damarius take a look at this gash. He should be able to fix it up in no time." He glanced down at the severed paw. "I'm going to take that with me, though. Perhaps it could help reveal the creature's origins."

  They arrived back at the camp a half an hour later and emerged into the firelight to the collective sigh of relief from the others, who had been impatiently awaiting his return.

  "Where have you been?" Raven asked worriedly, rushing forward with a worried expression. "We heard that strange roar again, and something massive flew over the camp!"

  "And what ever it was, it was injured." Sly added. "It rained blood down onto the camp as it passed overhead."

  "It was some sort of dragon. It attacked me as I was attempting to take down a wild pig."

  "One of the shadow dragons?" Dar asked curiously.

  "I'm afraid not." Damion frowned. "This beast was unlike anything I've ever seen before." He tossed the huge severed paw on the ground before them, then looked to Slither, who was hovering near Leia protectively. "Have you ever heard an invisible dragon?"

  "Nay." The shadowspawn shook its head firmly. "The ssspawn have no talesss of invisssible dragonsss. Only of the ssscarlet dragonsss, and the ssshadow beassstsss."

  "An invisible dragon, you say?" Damarius asked with interest, hurrying over to examine Damion's trophy. "Incredible." He murmured after several moments. "The scales seem to be remarkably similar to the skin of a chameleon. It takes on the color of its surroundings, camouflaging it, and rendering it invisible to the observer."

  "It doesn't look exactly like a normal dragon either." The huge warrior told them with a weary sigh. "Its more heavily armored, with dozens of sharp spikes protruding from its back, and it was far more agile than the other dragons."

  It was then that Raven noticed the blood flowing freely down his arm. "You've been injured!" She rushed over to examine his wound.

  "The beast managed to catch me with a lucky swipe." The huge warrior grumbled dismissively, noticing Leia was watching and not wanting to frighten her any further. "I wanted to continue hunting after I drove the beast off, but Snowfeather insisted that I return to have it tended to."

  "It's a good thing you did." Damarius murmured, wandering over to examine the wound. "It needs to be washed and treated before it becomes infected."

  Damion sighed heavily, then walked over and took a seat near the fire while Raven and Damarius began to gather the items they needed to treat his wound.

  "Are you okay?" Leia asked in a timid tone, her eyes full of unshed tears.

  "Of course I am." He assured her with a smile. "This is nothing more than a scratch."

  Her tiny face hardened. "If it's nothing more than a scratch, then where is our dinner?"

  "Not this again." Damion laughed. He looked up at Slither, who continued to hover near Leia protectively. "Do you think I can convince you to go hunt us up some dinner before our little Leia starts declaring that she's going to die from hunger?"

  "Of courssse." The huge shadowspawn agreed immediately. "SSSlither will return sssoon." He turned and quickly disappeared into the night.

  Damion looked back to his daughter and noticed she was staring at her arm with a odd expression. "What's wrong?"

  "My arm suddenly began to hurt while you were gone," The young girl frowned, examining her hand closely. "It went away as quickly as it appeared, but it was still very unpleasant."

  Damion examined her arm closely. "Everything looks okay. Does it still hurt?"

  "It feels fine." Leia shrugged. "I must have just bumped it in all of the excitement."

  By the time Raven and Damarius had finished patching Damion up, Slither had returned carrying a half a dozen plump pheasants, which he proudly presented to the others. They were soon gathered around the fire, eagerly devouring the succulent birds.

  "This pheasant is delicious!" Leia exclaimed, ripping into one of the birds voraciously. "You did a good job, Slither. Next time we need food, we'll just send you out to find it for us so we aren't forced to wait on father to finish playing around to eat." She gave her father an impish smile.

  "Thank you, little one." The huge shadowspawn murmured from the shadows. "SSSlither ssstumbled into their nesssting groundsss and managed to sssnatch a number of them before they flew away. SSSlither plansss to return later to gather the eggsss they left behind."

  "Oh, fresh eggs!" Leia said excitedly. "A cheese omelet sounds wonderful!"

  "How's your arm feeling?" Dar asked Damion curiously.

  "Other than the occasional tinge, it's not too bad." The huge warrior replied, rolling his shoulder absently. "I was lucky. If I hadn't noticed an odd shimmering in the air where the beast was standing, I probably wouldn't be here right now. Once I realized that the shimmering was the creature that was attacking me, I was able to take steps to make it visible."

  "How did you do that?" The childlike sprite asked curiously.

  "I used my magic to raise a cloud of soot, which covered the beast, making it visible. That allowed me to wound it badly enough that it fled to avoid being killed."

  "That was quick thinking." Damarius nodded approvingly. He turned to stare into the shadows where Slither crouched silently. "Have you ever heard of any tales of other dragons, besides the scarlet dragons and the shadow beasts?"

  "Nay." Slither hissed quietly. "There are no other dragonsss."

  "You mean there were no other dragons." Sly grunted sourly, gesturing to the severed paw of the dragon Damion had battled, which was still twitching unnervingly. "I'd say that's fairly conclusive prove that there is another species of dragon running around loose in the world."

  "Where do you think it came from?" Raven asked Damion with a worried expression.

  "I don't know." The huge warrior answered truthfully. "But if there's one, there are sure to be more."

  "Tempest would be able to answer that question," Dar murmured with a frown. "but she's busy keeping an eye on the Etazk right now."

  "So what's the plan?" Sly asked Damion, tossing the remaining bones from his pheasant into the fire. "Are we going to continue on to Mercedia, or are we going to attempt to hunt down the beast that attacked you?"

  "We going to press on towards Mercedia. The Council needs to be informed about the Etazk immediately. That beast will just have to wait."

  "Let's hope that you injured it badly enough that it won't show itself again for a good long while." Sly grumbled fervently. "The last thing we need right now is a rogue dragon adding to the chaos!"

  Chapter 7

  They arrived at the stone bridge that led across the White River and into the fortress city of Mercedia the following afternoon, after rising early that morning and setting off before the sun had even started peeking over the horizon. They brought their horses to a halt outside of one of the guardhouses that watched over the bridge and waited as several men hurried out to block their passage.

  "Halt!" One of the soldiers ordered in a commanding tone. "You will go no further." He stared at them with a contemptuous expression.

  "Why are you delaying us?" Raven asked the tattooed warrior with a scowl. "We have urgent business with the Council, and do not have time to be delayed."

  "The Spring Council is closed to all outsiders." The warrior sneered darkly. "You'll just have to take your business elsewhere."

 
; "He looks rather familiar, doesn't he?" Sly commented to Damion, squinting to get a better look at the offending fellow. "Isn't he the tribesman who Storm kicked in the chest during our first visit to Mercedia?"

  Damion looked a little closer at the warrior. "I believe you're right!" He replied with a laugh. "I see his manners haven't improved very much."

  The warrior, overhearing their conversation, suddenly froze, and stared a bit closer at the companions. "Dragon Lord!" He gasped in a weak voice, the color suddenly draining from his face. He dropped to his knees before them, while his fellow warriors quickly backed away, clearly believing Damion was preparing to destroy the offensive little fellow. "P-Please f-forgive me! I-I didn't realize to whom I was s-speaking!"

  "Just go ahead and turn him into a turnip, Damion." Sly snickered.

  "Oh god!" The tribesman fell on his face and began to grovel in fear. "Please, m-milord! Please don't t-turn me into a turnip! I swear I shall never make this m-mistake again!"

  "Quit picking on the poor man." Leia, who was riding atop Storm with her father, chided Sly, who was laughing so hard he nearly fell from his saddle. She looked down at the groveling warrior with a disgusted expression. "Oh, do get up. You look ridiculous down there!"

  The tribesman scrambled to his feet, but looked as though he still expected to be struck down by the massive warrior.

  "Do you know if Chieftain Bativa is still in the city?" Raven asked the cringing man curiously.

  "I-I believe he is, milady." The man answered quickly, his tone noticeably more respectful than before. "He is most likely in the council chambers with the rest of the chieftains."

  "Do you think the messengers have reached him yet?" Sly asked Damion, his face still red from laughter.

  "I would think so. I guess we'll find out once we enter the city."

  "I would be happy to send a man ahead to alert him to you arrival, milord, I..." He suddenly yelped as his eyes fell upon Slither, who was doing his best to remain in the shadow cast by Storm. "Dragonspawn!" His fellow warriors reached for their weapons, their eyes wide with fright.