Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (26 page)

"And it actually left?" Raven looked stunned.

The young girl nodded. "It couldn't get away quick enough."

"It appears that you and the veiled dragons are connected, much like Snowfeather and I,
" Damion murmured in a troubled tone. "except you are linked to the dragons by blood instead of magic."

"What does that mean?" Raven asked, glancing over to Snowfeather, who was
attempting to dry his feathers using the heat produced by the forge.

"It means
that when Draco used Leia's blood to create these creatures, he inadvertently created a bond between them. She can feel what they are thinking, and, if I had to guess, communicate with them over distances, if she wanted." The huge warrior frowned. "It also means she can feel their pain." He looked at his daughter with an apologetic expression. "I suspect the pain you felt was from the wound I inflicted upon the first dragon."

"That would explain why I was suddenly overcome with panic." Leia agreed, rubbing her side once more, remembering the intense pain that had
momentarily ravaged her body. "Once the dragon was injured, all it wanted to do was flee to avoid being killed."

"Can you sense what the dragons are feeling now?"

Leia's face became a mask of concentration. "They're frightened. They have a task that Draco has given them to perform, but they are too afraid of confronting me." She gave her father a crooked smile. "They do not wish to anger their mother any further."

"That's a rather disturbing thought." Damion murmured with an inward shudder. The thought that these new dragons looked upon his daughter as their mother made his skin crawl. "What are they going to do next?"

Leia frowned, then shook her head. "They do not have a plan. They have went into hiding until they can decide their next step. They'll probably attempt to contact Draco and report what has transpired."

They all sat in silence for several long minutes, the enormity of their discovery weighing heav
ily on their shoulders.

"Well," Raven sighed finally, her expression a mixture of
worry and amusement. "I guess that means we're grandparents now."

Leia burst out laughing, easing the tension in the room.

"That's an even more disturbing thought!" Damion laughed, relieved to see how well his daughter was handling the situation. "I hope they don't expect us to visit with treats like other grandparents."

They settled back and tried to get some sleep, exhausted from the day's events.
Damion laid awake for several hours, listening to the storm as it continued to pound down on the canvas roof, still disturbed by their encounter with the veiled serpents. Finally, he succumbed to exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 12

"It looks as though word about the Etazk has caused all of the rats to abandon ship." Sly snorted sarcastically as they rode through the deserted streets of Sierra. "I doubt there are enough men here to protect a wheel of cheese, let alone the entire city."

"This is a bit unsettling." Juco murmured, looking around nervously. "We made port here just a few weeks ago, and this place was bustling with people. Where did everyone go?"

"They fled." Sly grunted shortly. "They chose to save their own hides, and leave the city to its fate."

"It's definitely going to make defending the docks a bit more challenging."
Damarius frowned. "We need those reinforcements from Crete worse than ever now."

It had taken them
four days of hard riding to reach the port city of Sierra. When they finally rode down into the sprawling city, they found it almost completely abandoned. The wide cobblestone streets, which were usually crowded with locals and merchants going about their daily business, were empty, save for all of the litter and debris left behind by those fleeing for safety.

They
made their way through the deserted streets until they reached an imposing stone building situated in the center of town, where they found a number of merchants and soldiers gathered together in a small crowd.

"Just face it, Fedrio," One of the soldiers snarled at a
n older man, who stared back at the soldier with a stern expression. "Sierra is lost. As soon as word got around about the Etazk, everyone packed up and fled. We only have a few dozen men left from the city guard, and most of the locals hopped aboard ships heading east or north. We don't stand a chance against an entire army!"

"This doesn't look promising." Sly growled as they led their horses toward the gathering. "Things appear to worse than we first feared."

"So you are going to tuck tail and run away?" The older man demanded, his gaunt face red with anger. "Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying
that it is complete idiocy for us to throw our lives away defending a city that is completely indefensible."

"Indefensible?" Damarius asked, sliding down from his saddle and pushing his way through the crowd. "What do you mean indefensible?"

"It means this city cannot be defended, old man." The soldier told the old wizard condescendingly.

"I know what the word means, you jackass," Damarius snapped at the offending soldier, causing him to flinch
back. "I meant, what makes you think that Sierra cannot be defended?"

"We don't have enough men." The soldier gestured to the small gathering of guards
. "This is our
entire
force. How do you expect us defend the whole city, you senile old coot?"

"Careful." Sly
warned the man, stepping up to stand next to Damarius, a hard expression on his face.

"Watch your tongue, Langsten," Fedrio warned the soldier in a dangerous tone. "You're speaking to Damarius the Sorcerer, advisor
to the Dragon Lord."

"
This
is who the Dragon Lord sends us? A drunkard, a few mercenaries, and an old crackpot who thinks he can use magic?" Langsten stared at Damarius and Sly with disbelief. "The Dragon Lord thinks
they
are going to be able to hold the city against an entire army of blood crazed religious zealots?"

"
I suggest you calm yourself down before something permanent happens to you." Sly growled, his hand casually straying towards the hilt of his sword. "Reinforcements are on their way from Crete, where the rest of our forces are gathering. They should be here soon enough."

"I told you the Dragon Lord would not stand by and leave us all defenseless." Fedrio told Langsten,
clearly relieved at hearing the news that reinforcements were on the way.

The news had a visible effect in raising the re
st of the men's spirits. Many of them had been on the verge of fleeing, knowing there was no hope in saving the city.

"That is the best news we've heard in weeks." Langsten
breathed a sigh of relief. "I honestly believed the Dragon Lord had forgotten us."

"Don't be ridiculous." Damarius scoffed dismissively. "Damion has been busy warning everyone and trying to gather enough forces to face the Etazk
. He hasn't had the time to visit Sierra."

"How many men are left here in the city?" Sly asked, his tone suddenly businesslike.

"We have forty five men left from the city guard, and another handful of locals who refuse to abandon their homes." Langsten replied with a frown. "Not counting Fedrio and the other merchants, of course." He shook his head despairingly. "Everyone else has already fled. Even the Lords of Sierra have abandoned the city to its fate."

"Fear
not, my brave friends," Damarius told them in a grand tone. "The gods have not abandoned you. We are here now, and together, we shall prevail. I know things may seem grim, but with a little hard work, a little ingenuity, and a lot of luck, we'll show these savages that we are
not
going to bow down to their dread god!"

The men let out a great cheer, and thrust their swords into the air in defiance.

"You're getting rather good at these speeches." Sly complimented the old man, who was doing his best imitation of an all powerful, all knowing wizard.

"Not
too bad for spur of the moment." Damarius agreed. "I think we should start by inspecting the docks to see exactly what we'll be dealing with, then we'll move on from there."

They left their horses with a couple of the soldiers, then Damarius, Sly,
Juco, Fedrio, and Langsten made their way through the abandoned city to the waterfront, which appeared to be just as deserted as the rest of the city.

"This is going to be an issue." Sly grumbled as they looked down the dock
. "There is an awful lot of space for the Etazk to land."

Damarius shaded his eyes
against the setting sun with one hand and stared out at the enclosed harbor. "How large is the opening through the breakwater?"

"About
a hundred yards." Fedrio replied. "Large enough to allow two full sized merchant ships to safely pass one another while still avoiding the shoals."

"What are you thinking?" Sly asked the old man.

"I'm thinking it's going to take a lot of work to get this city prepared for a siege." The old wizard frowned. "There are far too many slots open along the docks to make it defensible."

"
What do you suggest?" Fedrio asked respectfully.

"We're going to have to fill in as many as we can with debris, the more jagged the better."

"Where are we going to get all of the material?" Langsten asked with a worried expression.

Damarius looked around at the numerous buildings pointedly.

"You want to tear down the buildings?" Fedrio gasped, his gaunt face growing pale.

"Not all of them, of course," Damarius assured him, staring at the numerous stone buildings appraisingly. "but removing a number of these building
s along the waterfront should provide suitable material, and since the Lords of Sierra were kind enough to flee, we can start with their palaces."

"Now
that
sounds like a good plan." Langsten laughed approvingly.

"Don't look so happy." Sly grunted, watching the soldier with amusement. "You forget that it's going to be you and your men who will have to disassemble the buildings and haul all of the debris."

Langsten's face suddenly fell. "I hadn't considered that." He admitted, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

The scruffy little man turned to Juco, who was snickering in amusement. "What are you laughing at?" He asked the thickly muscled mercenary. "You and your men are going to help them. It's time
that you put those muscles that you're so proud of to good use."

Juco scowled at the little man, then sighed in resignation.

"What else can we do?" Sly asked the old sorcerer curiously. "Just making it difficult to make it to shore is not going to be enough to convince the Etazk to retreat."

"I
have a few other ideas we can put into action." The old wizard assured him. He turned to Fedrio. "Are there any blacksmiths left in the city?"

"I think there is one left over on the east side of the city." Langsten volunteered.
"His name is Stephan, if I remember correctly."

"Oh
yes, Stephan," Fedrio chuckled. "I'm not surprised to hear he's still here. I don't think he's ever been more than a mile outside of the city his entire life. He's not going to leave just because there's an army heading this way."

"I'll need to speak with him." Damarius told them. "I have a few designs that should be quite useful on defending the city, but I'll need his help."

"I'll take you to see him as soon as I've shown you to suitable quarters." Fedrio promised, leading them away from the docks.

"Are any of the inns
or taverns still open?" Sly asked with a hopeful note in his voice.

"I'm afraid not." Langsten shook his head mournfully. "Once everyone decided to evacuate the city
, there wasn't much reason for them to stay." He sighed heavily, then shrugged. "At least they left a dozen or so barrels of ale behind."

Damarius laughed at the sudden expression of happiness that crossed
Sly's face.

"I hope my own humble estate will provide
you with adequate accommodations during this crisis." Fedrio told them, gesturing to a sprawling palace at the end of the deserted street.

"Impressive place." Damarius complimented the old merchant, who gave the enormous manor a dismissive wave.

"It's nothing more than an eyesore, but being a member of the Merchant's Guild, it's expected of me to own such a ridiculously grand estate. I guess it's supposed to prove to everyone that we are better than they are, or some such nonsense."

"We would be honored to accept your kind invitation, Fedrio." Damarius told the gaunt f
aced merchant respectfully.

"Go on ahead." Sly told them, his face alight with anticipation. "I'll catch up with you a little later."

"Where are you going?" Fedrio asked in confusion.

"He's going to find that ale Langsten mentioned." Damarius informed him, rolling his eyes. He fixed the little man with a stern gaze. "Don't overdo it. We have a great deal of work ahead of us, and don't have the time to wait for you to sober up."

"Relax." Sly told him with a dismissive wave. "I'm just going to go have a few drinks. It's been a long ride."

"That's the problem." The old wizard told him. "You never stop at just a few drinks. A few barrels, maybe."

"Just try to leave a little for me and my men." Juco snorted, trying desperately not to laugh at the scruffy little man. "Langsten said there were only a dozen or so barrels left."

Sly stared at the
mercenary for several long moments with a flat expression. "Don't you and you men have some work to do?"

Juco's
face suddenly fell. He cast the little man a sour look, then with a heavy sigh, he and Langsten hurried off to gather their men.

**********

"Damion!" Bativa roared happily, hurrying forward to greet them as they carefully made their way through the busy city. "It's about time you arrived!"

"It took me a while to locate the city amidst all of this chaos." Damion laughed, gesturing to the makeshift camp that had been constructed outside of the city.

They had been amazed by what they found when they finally reached Crete. The encampment outside of the city had swelled to colossal proportions, and thousands of tents and makeshift shelters had been erected to house the growing army. A massive corral had been constructed on one side of the encampment to enclose the horses brought by the Deola, and thousands of the domed wagons which the tribesmen used for mobile shelters had been arranged in neat rows around the corral, providing the comforts of home to the savage warriors.

"
Twenty thousand men take up a lot of room." The huge chieftain shrugged. "Not to mention the room needed to corral all of the horses." He gave them a curious look. "What news is there on the Etazk?"

Damion's face fell. "It's doesn't look good, I'm afraid." He looked around the busy camp.
"Where is Ignan and Zayan? They should probably hear this too."

"I think I saw them near the center of town taking inventory of the supplies. You know,"
Bativa scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "I've never been very fond of merchants, but this Ignan fellow is different. He has an amazing talent for calculating what it will take to feed our men."

"Did you expect a man his size
not
to be concerned with his stomach?" Leia asked, causing them all to chuckle.