Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God

by Barry Gibbons

  "And if we find them?"

  "Just follow them at a safe distance until we can catch up." Damarius told him with a frown. "That witch is capable wielding incredible magic, and only Damion and I would have any chance of countering it."

  "He's right." Damion agreed. "You wouldn't stand a chance against her, and you don't want to endanger Leia. Just remain far enough behind them to remain unseen, and wait for us to catch up."

  "You can count on us." Sly looked to the twins. "Let's get what we need and get moving."

  Damion, Raven, and Damarius watched as they trotted off towards town, then remounted their horses and set off up the scarcely visible trail, moving carefully to avoid injuring their horses.

  After an hour or so, the trail widened a bit, allowing them to nudge the horses into a trot, but it soon grew too dark to travel any further, and they were forced to stop for the evening next to a shallow stream to make camp.

  "How far ahead of us do you think they are?" Raven asked once they had set up camp and looked after the horses. "Do you think Snowfeather may have seen their campfire?"

  Damion shrugged. "It's possible, although I'm sure he would have already let us know if he had located them."

  "Where is Snowfeather anyway? Damarius asked curiously. "I haven't seen him since we arrived at the village."

  "He went hunting. I'm sure he'll be along before too long."

  Just as Damion said, the great snow owl sailed down from the darkness above a few minutes later, a large rabbit clenched tightly in his talons. "Here you are!" He hooted, dropping his prey next to Damion's bedroll. "I found Sly and those two knights still moving along the road, but couldn't find any sign of you."

  "Sorry about that." Damion shrugged. "We discovered that the witch that abducted Leia found a path that led them around Scale, avoiding him and the fires he set altogether. This trail is supposed to eventually rejoin the trade road, so we decided to split up. Sly and the twins are hurrying on ahead in the hopes of cutting down their lead."

  "And if they find them?" Snowfeather asked, ripping into the rabbit's belly voraciously.

  "They're going to follow them until we catch up."

  Raven brought Damion a steaming bowl of stew, and a huge chunk of bread that they purchased while in the village, then nudged him and looked at Snowfeather suggestively.

  Damion smiled. "Once you have finished with your meal," He asked his familiar aloud for Raven's benefit. "Could you go see if you can find any sign of Leia or her abductors?"

  "Of course." The huge owl chirped, ripping a piece of flesh from his prey and swallowing it whole. "This scrawny thing won't be enough to fill me up anyway." He tore another piece of flesh free from the rabbit and gobbled it down.

  Once the huge owl finished his meal, he launched himself into the air, and went to investigate the area.

  "Do you think Leia will still remember me?" Raven asked in a subdued voice, settling down next to Damion, a wistful look in her eyes. "It's been months now since I last saw her, and she's so young. Do you think she may have forgotten me?"

  "Of course not." Damarius told her, trying to wipe away some gravy that had dripped into his beard. "You are her mother. Children have a way of instinctively knowing their mother, even when they've been apart for extended periods."

  "But what if that witch has cast some sort of spell upon her to make her forget?"

  Damion shook his head, "It won't do us any good to start worrying about what the witch may or may not have done to Leia. Let's just concentrate on rescuing..." He stopped, overcome with the sudden feeling that they were being watched. He jumped to his feet, his hand on the hilt of the Dragon Sword.

  "What is it?" Damarius asked, rising to his feet with a concerned expression. "What's wrong?"

  "I don't think we're alone." The huge warrior murmured in a quiet voice, his keen eyes scanning the darkness for any signs of movement.

  Raven grabbed her bow, and rose to her feet. "Where?" She asked in a quiet hiss.

  Damion shook his head. "I don't know, but they're there. I can feel them."

  They stared into the darkness for any hint of an attack, but they saw nothing. An unnatural silence had suddenly fallen over their camp, and the uneasy sensation Damion was feeling soon overtook Raven and Damarius.

  "Do you see anything?" The old wizard hissed, his voice scarcely above a whisper.

  Damion shook his head. "They're out there, though, I can feel them."

  Storm began to snort and paw at the ground aggressively.

  They waited tensely for several more moments, then Damarius finally cursed. "Enough of this!"

  The hair on Damion's arms suddenly stood on end, and he could clearly feel the surge of energy as the old wizard released his magic.

  An explosion of light suddenly lit the sky above, turning night into day, as millions of tiny sparks showered down, lighting everything for thousands of feet in every direction.

  "Damion!" Raven screamed in warning. "Look out!"

  Damion twirled around, the Dragon Sword held at the ready, and was struck dumb by what he saw. Standing before him, made up of a thick filmy black smoke, was a shadowy form in the shape of a man.

  "More of the witch's tricks." Damarius snarled in disgust as two more shadowy forms materialized before them.

  Raven notched an arrow and sent it flying at one of the shadowy forms, but it passed through its insubstantial body without effect. "What are these things?"

  "Shadow warriors." The old wizard told her grimly. "The witch summoned them to deal with us. I'm guessing that she's starting to get desperate. Shadow warriors are from the darkest regions of the netherworld. To raise one is unbelievably dangerous."

  "Well," Damion sounded dubious. "We have three here to deal with. Any suggestions?"

  Damarius shook his head. "I've never known anyone who has actually encountered one. I've only read about them in old books."

  "So you don't know how to stop them?" Raven asked, sending another arrow flying harmlessly through one of the smoky forms, which slowly began to advance towards them.

  "Nothing really comes to mind."

  The sparks overhead slowly began to flicker out, casting the camp into darkness once more.

  "I'm not going to let a couple of shadows stop me from saving my Leia!" Damion snarled, drawing in his magic, and sending it flowing down into the Dragon Sword. Flames suddenly leapt from the blade of the mythical sword, lighting up the campsite once again.

  The shadow figures hesitated, cringing back from the light given off by the searing flames.

  "They don't seem to like the light given off by that fire." Raven pointed out quickly.

  Damion lunged forward and lashed out with the fiery Dragon Sword, slicing through one of the smoky figure's upraised arms. The severed arm instantly dissipated, and the figure released an inhuman screech of pain and rage.

  "It certainly didn't like that!" Damarius stumped over and picked up a tree branch which was laying nearby. Drawing in his magic, he made an quick gesture, and the end of the branch suddenly burst into flames. "Let's send these creatures back to the netherworld."

  Damion lunged forward once more, slicing several more large pieces from the shadow warrior, which screeched again, and began to break apart into tiny greasy looking wisps of shadowy smoke. One last blow sliced the unearthly creature in half, and its screeching cry suddenly faded away into nothingness.

  Damarius let out a wild howl and charged another shadow warrior swinging his flaming branch wildly. The insubstantial creature moved with unearthly speed, avoiding the flames with ease, and lashed out at the old wizard with a swipe of an insubstantial sword which suddenly materialized in its hand.

  "Watch yourself!" Damion warned his elderly teacher, charging at the other shadow warrior with his sword held aloft.

  Damarius stumbled back to avoid the attack, then swung the flaming branch at the creature's head, forcing it to retreat several steps. It began to circle the old wizard, its shadowy sword he
ld at the ready.

  A flaming arrow suddenly flashed through the air and shot straight through the chest of the shadow warrior, leaving a large gaping void in its wake.

  The inhuman creature stopped in its tracks and screeched horribly, but the old wizard suddenly leapt forward, bringing his flaming branch down in a powerful overhand blow, striking the living shadow directly on top of its head. The flaming branch passed through the insubstantial creature without resistance, slicing it in two. The shadow warrior's shriek was abruptly silenced, and the two halves evaporated into nothing.

  "Ha!" Damarius shouted in triumph. He turned to look at Raven. "Thanks for that."

  "No problem." She turned her attention to Damion and the remaining shadow warrior, who still were circling one another with deadly intent.

  "Quit playing with it and finish it off." Damarius finally barked impatiently.

  Damion suddenly lunged forward, moving quicker than any normal man ever could, the Dragon Sword poised to strike. The shadow warrior struck out with its insubstantial sword, attempting to block the powerful blow, but the flaming sword passed through the shadowy weapon, showering their campsite with sparks. Another powerful blow severed the shadowy creature in half at the waist, and its earsplitting screech echoed through the night, seeming to go on and on until it finally faded away into an unearthly silence.

  "Well," Damarius sighed heavily, then brushed his long brow lock from his eyes. "that was exciting!"

  Damion chuckled. "Not bad, for an old man, that is."

  The old wizard laughed. "That was exhilarating! I can't remember the last time I did anything like that!"

  "Pretty impressive." Raven smiled at the old man.

  "I think we had probably take turns at watch for now on." Damion commented, willing the flaming Dragon Sword to extinguish, and returning it to its sheath. "We don't need anymore of those things creeping up on us in the night."

  They settled back down around the fire, the adrenaline still pumping through their veins.

  "What are you doing? Damion asked Damarius, who had still not extinguished the fiery branch he had used to battle the shadow warrior.

  "This made a formidable weapon." The old wizard held up the flaming staff proudly. "I thought I would carve it into a walking staff." He drew out his dagger and began stripping the wood of its bark.

  The huge warrior smiled. "Let me see it." He took the flaming staff from his old teacher and looked at it carefully. "It's good heavy oak." He murmured absently. "It should last for ages." He drew in his magic and focused it onto the flaming branch, which began to glow brightly, overwhelming and engulfing the flames.

  When the glowing finally subsided, Raven and Damarius saw that the rough tree branch had been transformed into a sleek staff which seemed to twist and intertwine with itself in a complex weave that dazzled the eye. The fire which had been burning fiercely at one end of the branch, now burned inside of a solid piece of crystal that was in the shape of a flame.

  Damion looked the staff over critically, then drew the Dragon Sword from its sheath, and gently placed the Dragon Gem against the flaming crystal. The flames, which continued to burn inside of the crystal, instantly turned bright red, taking on the exact same shade of the mythical stone. He nodded in satisfaction, and handed it back to Damarius.

  The old wizard took the staff, and looked it over critically. "This is very nice." He murmured, examining the piece of burning crystal mounted to the end. "Very, very nice. " He looked to Damion. "Thank you, young one. It's perfect."

  "I'm glad you like it." The huge warrior smiled. "I used the Dragon Sword to enchant the crystal. If you focus your magic through it, the crystal will amplify your power ten fold."

  The old wizard looked impressed. "That should come in useful."

  "It looks stylish too." Raven told him, trying valiantly not to start laughing. "Every mighty wizard needs his staff of power."

  "Snicker if you will," Damarius told her in a lofty tone, brushing his brow lock from his eyes absently. "but I think it makes me look rather formidable."

  The rustle of feathers drew their attention to Snowfeather, who sailed in from the darkness on silent wings with another hare clutched in his talons. "I'm sorry." He hooted regretfully. "I couldn't find any sign of anyone camped out along this trail."

  Damion sighed, then looked to his wife and shook his head. His heart nearly broke at the look of despair that flickered across her beautiful face, and he walked over and drew her close, his anger once again flaring up.

  ************

  "There's a group of riders heading this way." One of the twin knights warned, reining in his horse.

  They had been moving quickly, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the village before it grew too dark, and they were forced to stop for the evening.

  "They appear to be another Aliono patrol." The other knight added, pulling his horse along side his brother's stead. "Reinforcements, perhaps?"

  "Let's hope not." Sly snorted. "I don't there's enough dragon's milk left to deal with another patrol."

  They waited as the riders slowed to a stop. There was ten hard faced men dressed in armor similar to the armor worn by the soldiers back in the village. Many of the men carried torches in a futile effort to ward off the growing darkness.

  "You men," One of the soldiers, a surprisingly short man with a pock marked face, commanded in an arrogant tone. "You will answer some questions."

  The twins' faces grew stony.

  "I think I'd better handle this." Sly muttered to the knights, nudging his horse forward before either man could object. "What questions do you have, neighbor?"

  "We have heard some disturbing reports coming out of this area," The man told him contemptuously. "What news do you know of what's been happening?"

  "Disturbances? You must mean the dragon. Massive beast, it was." The little man shook his head. "It set several fields aflame, and nearly burned half a farm village to the ground. It blocked the road for a couple of days, then flew off. I guess it wanted to go look for something else to set on fire."

  The man rolled his eyes, clearly not believing a word of the little man's story. "A dragon? You expect me to believe it was a dragon that's been causing all of the disturbances in the area? You must be daft."

  "He speaks the truth." Jacom growled in a hostile voice.

  "And you do well to watch your tone when addressing your betters." Jarom added, his expression stern.

  The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And what are Knights of Sarath doing so far away from home? Shouldn't you be selling your swords to some fat merchant worried about protecting his wagons of turnips?"

  The twins' faces fell flat, but neither man replied.

  "I have told you the truth, neighbor." Sly told the offending man, trying to salvage the situation. "If you don't believe me, you can go have a look for yourselves."

  "We will," The man snarled. "and I think that you, and these two... knights, will be joining us until we can confirm your story."

  "I'm afraid that's not going to happen, neighbor." The little man told him regretfully. "I would like nothing more than to return to the village for a nice tankard of ale, but, alas, we have a pressing issue that we need to attend to. You'll just have to carry on in our absence."

  "Your pressing issue will just have to wait." The man sneered, putting his hand on his sword aggressively. "You and those two brigands will do as your ordered, or..." He gestured to the soldiers at his back.

  Sly sighed heavily. "Neighbor," He gave the man a serious look. "You and your friends are beginning to test my patience. I have already told you everything that we know. Now," He slowly straightened in the saddle. "I would suggest that you and your friends continue on your way, and leave us to our business."

  "I care nothing for your suggestions." The man spat, his voice full of contempt. "You and your friends will be going no further. You will return with us to the village to confirm your wild story."

  The littl
e man sighed again, shaking his head in resignation, then, quicker than the eye could follow, he whipped his sword from its sheath and lashed out, sending the offensive little man's head spinning off into the underbrush.

  The man's body stiffened horrible, pumping massive amounts of blood onto the road, then slowly toppled from the saddle.

  The remaining soldiers stared at their dead companion in shock, then looked to Sly and the twin knights, who stared back at the men, their swords held at the ready.