"Are you sure, your majesty?" Ignan asked, his expression hopeful. "We could rest here for a couple of hours while the main force continues to press on."
"Out of the question." The stocky dwarf shook his head firmly. "There is far too much to be done for us to be lounging around. We need to keep moving. The quicker we get to Sierra, the quicker we can get to work."
"I was afraid you were going to say that." The overweight man muttered in a crestfallen tone.
"Then we shall not delay you any longer." Lady Skie curtsied to the dwarven king. "I hope we will see you again soon, and under more pleasant circumstances."
"And I as well, dear lady." Garth bowed to her deeply.
They watched as Ignan, Zayan, and the fiery haired dwarf disappeared into the crowd of passing soldiers, then slowly began to make their way back to the keep in silence.
"A hundred thousand." Dar sighed, finally breaking the silence. "That's far more than we ever expected."
"And Damion has taken most of the forces south to deal with the Etazk that took Kainpre." Shirk frowned. "Let's just hope he can deal with them and make it back to Sierra before the real battle begins."
***********
"Get back!" Damion roared at the Deola, trying to make himself heard over the raging chaos. "Pull back! Get our men back!"
The wild tribesmen reacted instantly, drawing their horses back to the edge of the open plaza, then turning back to face the gathered Etazk, ready to renew their attack at the big warrior's signal.
Damion looked across the sea of Etazk warriors to the raised altar, where the remaining priests had gathered to fend off the raging army that had descended on them out of nowhere. Looking closer, he could see that the robed men all looked exhausted from their efforts to defend themselves, and a couple of them had collapsed unconscious, pushed passed the limit of their endurance.
Two of the unearthly wolves that had been harassing the tribesmen as they retreated suddenly turned and charged directly at the huge warrior, their gnashing teeth bloody from their previous kills.
Damion rolled clear of the charging beasts, who sailed harmlessly passed, then scrambled back to his feet and readied himself as they skidded to a stop and whirled back around to renew their attack.
The two creatures exchanged a glance, then split apart, each circling to attack the huge warrior from opposite sides. They suddenly lunged forward, their oversized jaws snapping viciously, but Damion threw himself clear at the very last instant, and the two beasts collided with bone crushing force. Before they could struggle to their feet, Damion dashed in and cut the unearthly creatures down with two massive blows of the Dragon Sword, eliciting a cheer from the tribesmen.
Damion turned away from the dead beasts and saw a number of the Etazk warriors charging forward, their eyes blazing with fury. He started forward to meet their charge, but paused as a searing bolt of energy suddenly erupted from the fingertips of one of the priests near the altar. He batted it away with the Dragon Sword, causing it bounce back and strike one of the charging Etazk in his chest. The resulting explosion threw several of the Etazk warriors to the ground, and showered the others in bits and pieces of their former kinsman.
Damion looked back to the altar as another flash of searing energy sizzled through the air at him from the fingertips of another priest, and once again used the legendary sword to deflect the blast, then he quickly drew in his magic and focused it onto the Dragon Sword, which instantly leapt into flames. He pointed the blazing sword up at the cloudy night sky, focusing with all his might to control the tremendous force that suddenly filled him, then he released the magic through flaming sword.
Almost instantly, an enormous bolt of lightening suddenly shot down from the dark clouds and struck the center of the raised platform, reducing the altar to rubble, and shredding two of the priests with jagged pieces of debris, reducing them to little more than a few scraps of cloth and flesh. A second bolt of lightening struck down amongst the stunned warriors, enveloping an entire platoon and reducing them to charred pieces, leaving only a massive smoking crater in their place.
One of the surviving priests sent an enormous fireball streaking through the air, where it struck the ground at his feet and exploded, engulfing him in searing flames, but Damion ignored them, knowing the dragon's blood flowing in his veins protected him from the effects of fire, and called down another lightening bolt, and then another, and another, reducing a significant portion of the plaza into smoking ruins.
He was breathing heavily when he finally lowered the Dragon Sword. It took nearly all of his effort to control the staggering power of the legendary blade, leaving him on the verge of exhaustion. He drew himself up and looked around, surveying the results of his handy work.
The Etazk were now in total disarray. Their warriors scurried back and forth in panic, expecting yet another bolt of lightening to come crashing down among them, while the last few priests dove for cover behind the remains of the upraised platform.
A cheer erupted from the Deolan tribesmen, and they suddenly charged back into the plaza, crashing into the remaining Etazk and cutting them down with a brutal efficiency. The remaining priests emerged from their hiding places and attempted to put up a resistance, but the horsemen quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered them before they could cause anymore devastation.
The sounds of battle soon died away, and the tribesmen gave another great cheer as the last Etazk warrior finally fell. Damion watched as they began to celebrate their victory, a heavy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Everywhere he looked he could see the dead and dying, and the screams of agony had that cut through the noise of battle were still fresh in his ears.
The city was now in complete ruins. The few buildings that had remained standing after the Etazk had invaded had somehow been set aflame during the battle, casting an eerie glow up into the night sky that could be seen for miles. Bodies of both the Etazk and the Deola lay scattered among the smoldering ruins, many of them mangled and unrecognizable after falling victim to the unearthly beasts that the Etazk priests had loosed upon their attackers.
Damion felt a gentle nudge from behind, and turned to see Storm, who had retreated to the edge of the huge plaza to avoid the lightening, standing behind him with a weary, but satisfied look on his face.
"You did good." He told the great beast in a weary voice. "I'm proud of you. You really showed those Etazk who was boss."
Storm nickered happily, then nudged Damion once more, clearly eager to go looking for more victims.
Damion let out a weary sigh, then climbed up into his saddle and slowly began to make his way towards the northern edge of the town, the horrors of the battle still fresh in his mind.
**********
"There goesss the wall." Slither hissed in a quiet voice, watching as the distant walls that surrounded Kainpre slowly began to crumble. He continued to stare through the darkness at the distant city, his keen eyes able to make out things the human eye could not. "And there are the horsssemen." He reported several moments later, watching as the tribesmen converged on the unprotected city.
"It shouldn't be long now." One of the Deolan warriors who had remained behind to help guard Raven and Leia commented in a slightly bored tone. "There isn't an army in this world that can stand against my brothers."
"Maybe any normal army," Raven murmured in a worried tone, wrapping her arms around Leia's shoulders and drawing her closer. "but the Etazk priests are able to use magic. Just one of them could annihilate an entire clan single handedly."
"Can a magic user truly wreak that much havoc?" One of the other tribesmen asked in an awed voice.
"That much and more." The young woman assured him darkly.
As if to emphasize her words, an explosion suddenly echoed in the distance, and they all turned to see a huge ball of flames as it billowed up into the dark sky over the ravaged city.
They continued to watch tensely for the next several minutes as the sounds of more explosions began to
reach their ears, followed closely by the distant screams of the dead and dying.
"I hope Dad's okay." Leia murmured, watching as more flames billowed up into the sky.
The entire sky suddenly turned from night into day as an enormous bolt of lightening erupted from the dark clouds above, striking down into the city with earthshaking force.
"Whoa!" Leia gasped in astonishment, watching as another bolt, and then another, rained down into the city, causing the very earth beneath their feet to tremble.
"I would guess that your father is just fine," Raven murmured, her eyes wide as she watched the incredible display of power that was unfolding before them. "There isn't another man in the world that could do something like that!"
The lightening finally died away, but the sounds of battle could still clearly be heard as they continued to watch the distant city in tense silence.
When the sounds of fighting finally began to die away, the distant sounds of hoof beats could suddenly be heard moving directly towards them from the city.
"Is that father?" Leia asked eagerly, her eyes straining to peer through the darkness at the approaching riders.
They waited impatiently as the sound of horses slowly began to grow louder, then Slither suddenly gave a panicked hiss and thrust both Leia and Raven behind him as three riders materialized from the darkness, followed closely by an enormous beast which closely resembled a hairless wolf with overdeveloped jaws, though it was nearly as large as the horses the men rode.
It scanned the night with huge eyes that were glowing with an unearthly light, then it snarled viciously as it spotted them, its lips peeling back to reveal dozens of razor sharp teeth which were dripping with fresh blood.
After a moment's hesitation, the tribesmen regained their senses and charged forward, their faces showing no fear of the unearthly creature that had burst into their midst.
Two of the three riders spurred themselves forward to meet the charging tribesmen, but suddenly tumbled from their saddles as Raven's arrows whistled through the air with deadly accuracy.
The third rider, an older man in a red hooded robe, threw one of his arms into the air, his expression one of complete madness. A ball of fire suddenly erupted from his upraised palm and streaked through the air, engulfing one of the Deolan warriors and setting the surrounding grass aflame.
The tribesman screamed once in horrifying agony, then crumbled to the ground in a flaming heap.
The hooded man laughed in insane glee, then turned to face Raven, Slither, and Leia, his eyes alight with anticipation. He raised his hand once again, intending to destroying them as he had the tribesman, but the huge shadowspawn suddenly dashed forward with amazing speed and threw himself into both the rider and his horse, sending then all tumbling hard to the ground.
The horse, squealing in pain and terror, trampled both its rider and Slither as it scrambled back to its feet in panic. It finally managed to get its hooves beneath it, and it dashed off into the night, still squealing and bucking in fear.
There was a sudden scream as the monstrous creature that had accompanied the riders suddenly lunged forward and grabbed a hold of one of the tribesmen by the waist, lifting the tribesman completely from his feet. It began shaking him back and forth violently until there was a sudden horrible tearing sound, and the tattooed warrior was literally ripped in half. The beasts tossed remains of the carcass away, then lunged forward at last remaining warrior, its massive paws raking the air before it. It struck the tribesman directly across the face, ripping one of his eyes from its socket, and leaving long ragged gashes with its claws. The tribesman screamed and grabbed at his face in agony, but his screams were suddenly cut short as the beast lunged forward yet again and grabbed a hold of his head, ripping it clean from his shoulders with a powerful wrench.
The beast spat the tribesman's head out and batted crumpled body aside, then turned to focus on Raven and Leia, who had begun to back away in fear.
Raven began to sending arrow after arrow whistling at the monstrous wolf, but cursed viciously as they merely bounced off of the beast's unusually tough skin. She turned to scoop Leia up into her arms so they could flee, but her foot caught on a hidden snarl in the grass and both she and her daughter went tumbling to the ground.
The unearthly beast let out a sudden howl of victory, then charged forward, its teeth bared for the kill.
Leia screamed in terror as she saw the monstrous creature hurtling toward them, and instinctively threw up her hands to ward off the blow. Everything around her seemed to slow down as she was suddenly overwhelmed by the sensation of being filled with a powerful energy, which seemed to flow into her from everything around her. As quickly as the sensation appeared, it seemed to release through her open hands, erupting into an enormous blast of energy that struck the lunging beast full in the chest and exploded with unimaginable force.
Both Leia and Raven were thrown backwards several feet by the force of the explosion, and it took them several moments to their wits to clear. They finally scrambled back to their back to their feet and looked around, then stopped, stunned by the carnage that lay before them. The beast that had emerged from the darkness with the Etazk warriors was nothing more than a huge smoking carcass, and a huge area of the grassland had been completely burned away, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.
"What did you do?" Raven asked her daughter in amazement.
"I'm not sure," Leia murmured in astonishment, holding a hand over her mouth to avoid breathing in any of the noxious fumes emanating from the smoking carcass. "I felt a sudden surge of power, and then this happened." She continued to look around the carnage, and spotted the crumpled form of Slither, who still lay unmoving after being trampled under by the Etazk's horse. "Slither!" She dashed over to the shadowy creature's side, her tiny face worried. "Slither! Wake up! You have to wake up!" She struggled, trying with all her might to roll him onto his back.
Raven hurried over and helped her daughter heave the shadowspawn onto his back, then Leia gave a cry of relief as the great beast gave a sudden groan and his eyes fluttered open.
"Are you okay?" The young girl asked, her eyes full of tears.
"SSSlither thinksss ssso." The shadowspawn hissed, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting positions and looking around. "What happened?"
"You tackled the Etazk priest's horse, sending all three of you crashing in a tangle of arms, legs, and hooves." Raven informed him, carefully examining a large gash on the shadowspawn's brow. "The horse panicked as it broke free, and trampled both you and the priest in its haste to escape." She gestured to the dead priest who lay nearby, his chest crushed. "If you hadn't stepped in when you did, we would all be dead right now."
"That'sss why SSSlither'sss here." He turned to look at Leia, who was still watching him with unshed tears standing in her eyes. "Are you okay, little one?"
"I thought you were hurt! I was so worried!" She threw herself into his arms with a wail.
"Do not worry," Slither reassured her, patting her shoulder gently. "SSSlither isss okay." He took the young girl into his arms, then slowly stood, wincing slightly as he placed his full weight onto his right leg. He looked around and spotted the charred and mangled carcass of the massive creature that had been accompanying the riders. "What happened to that thing?" He hissed with a baffled look on his scaly face.
"Leia happened to it." Raven gestured to her daughter.
The huge shadowspawn turned to look at the young girl in his arms, his eyes wide with surprise.
"I'm not sure what happened," Leia told him with a shrug. "It was coming at us, and I suddenly felt a rush of power, and then..." She shrugged again, then gestured to the dead creature.
"SSSlither had wondered when you would ssstart usssing your magic." The shadowy beast growled in an impressed tone.
"You knew that I could use magic?" Leia looked startled.
"Of courssse," Slither chuckled in amusement. "You are the daughter of the Dragon Lord."
"Why d
idn't you say something to me about it then?" The girl asked in an accusatory tone.
It was the shadowspawn's turn to shrug. "SSSlither thought you knew."
"Well, I'm glad you chose that moment to finally reveal your powers." Raven told her, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she waved away the smoke that continued to pour from the creature's carcass. "Otherwise, we'd all be dead right now."
"Your welcome." Leia smiled happily, then her eyes suddenly widened, and the smiled crumbled from her face. "What do you think father's going to say when he finds out? You don't think he'll send me to live with Damarius while I learn to control it, do you?"
"Not unless he wants to eat boiled hay for the next several years!"
Chapter 15
"How are things progressing?" Sly asked Langsten as he and Juco came stumping into the waterfront tavern, Sly's unofficial headquarters while they reinforced the city.
"It's not." Juco growled in a tired voice, stumping over to grab a tankard off of a nearby table. "The men are all resting. We've been working day and night for the last couple of weeks with hardly any rest. The men can't go any further without sleep." He dipped his tankard into the barrel of ale that Sly had dragged out from the back room, then drained it in three huge gulps.
"How far have they come filling in the slots along the docks?" Damarius asked curiously, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"We've managed to fill in most of the slots." Langsten dropped heavily into an empty chair, then rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Any ships that attempt to draw close to the docks will have their bottoms shredded by all the debris. We've also managed to stockpile a large supply of granite to start reinforcing the harbor walls. Unfortunately, none of our men are stone masons. They were adequate when it came to the destruction phase, but they're not going to be much help when it comes to construction."
Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 28