Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (43 page)

Damion never found out what else the madman had to say since an arrow had suddenly struck the old man in the direct center of his forehead with a meaty thump, sending him toppling backwards
off of the dock into the harbor.

"
Never
call my husband a freak!" Raven snarled after the dead man, lowering her long bow and strolling up to stand beside her husband with an angry expression.

"Nice shot!" Damion laughed despite himself.

"Thank you, dear one." She replied, her eyes still blazing with fury.

They focused their attention on the last few remaining robed men, who had watched their
high priest disappear beneath the dark water of the harbor in utter disbelief.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" Damion murmured, starting forward
, the blazing Dragon Sword held at the ready.

"Enough!" An impossible loud voice
suddenly reverberated through the mountains, stopping them in their tracks. The air before the priests began to waver strangely, then a small figure materialized before them radiating an unearthly power which caused the hair on the backs of their necks to stand on end. "I will
not
allow you to go any further!"

"So," Damion murmured, ignoring the almost overwhelming weight that had suddenly seemed to press down upon him. "You must be Etaz." He stared at the God of the Underworld
, somewhat taken aback by His diminutive size. Etaz was thin, almost to the point of being emaciated, with a long scraggly grey beard, and pale colorless eyes that seem to gaze into one's very soul. He was tiny, barely five feet in height, but the waves of unearthly power that continued to radiated out from Him gave one the impression that He was much, much larger.

"And you must be
the mortal who has been attempting to destroy my plans." Etaz snarled at him in a raspy whisper that seemed to echo unendingly. "You have caused me and my children quite a bit of problems."

"I'm glad to see that my efforts haven't gone unnoticed."
The huge warrior replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, they haven't." Etaz whispered, his wrinkled face angry. "I have been watching you quite closely. It was
you
, after all, that caused Draco to violate the Pact of the Gods, allowing me to return to this world once more." He gave Damion a reluctant look of respect. "I have to say, I would have never expected a mortal to be able to rile the Dragon God badly enough to cause Him to forget about the pact."

"It's a gift." Damion told
Him in a mockingly.

"That it is." The
God of the Underworld agreed with a dark chuckle. His face suddenly took on a cunning look. "I have a proposal for you, Dragon Lord," He whispered, His voice still echoing strangely. "Fall on your knees and worship me. Pledge your unending loyalty unto me, and I shall raise you above all others, and make you the
new
high priest of Etazk. You will be the most powerful man that has ever lived, and together, we shall bring the mortals of this world into our fold."

Damion stared at Etaz with an expression of disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?" He asked the
God of the Underworld in a scathing tone. "Do you
actually
think that I would ever even consider joining with you?" He shook his head firmly. "I will
never
join with you, Etaz. I would give my soul up to Draco before I would join with you."

Etaz drew Himself up, His face angry. "You shall fall on your face and worship me, or you shall die
!"

"I don't think so." A new voice growled in a deep resounding voice. The air above Damion and Raven suddenly shimmered strangely for a moment, then the enormous form of the Dragon God suddenly materialized, His iridescent scales shimmering in the early morning light. "You shall
not
raise your hand against my child, Etaz. Your plans of world domination have come to an end."

"And you're going to stop me, are you?" Etaz snarled, his colorless eyes narrow
ing dangerously. "I think we already know that you alone cannot defeat me."

"Who
ever said that He was alone?" A second voice asked as the Serpent Mother appeared next to the Dragon God, her golden scales gleaming brightly.

"Estheryal
!" Etaz's expression suddenly became less confident. "Surely you're not going to stand with Draco against me! He is your mortal enemy!"

"Draco is
not
my enemy." The Serpent Mother corrected Him in a stern tone. "Granted, we rarely agreed on things, but He is
far
from my enemy."

"Like I said," Draco growled in a dangerously quiet voice. "This ends now. Take what remains of your army, and return to your own lands. If you do not," His eyes flashed. "We will release our children upon yours. Every single Etazk alive in this world will be
hunted down and killed, and we both know that without worshippers, you will be powerless to ever threaten the world again."

"You wouldn't
dare!" Etaz suddenly drew back fearfully. "Such a thing is unthinkable!"

"You had better start thinking about it." Estheryal warned him in an remorseless tone. "Put an end to this madness now, or watch as your children are destroyed."

Etaz stared from the Dragon God to the Serpent Mother, then down at Damion, an expression of unbridled fury on His wrinkled face. Finally, with an inhuman howl of anger and frustration, the God of the Underworld shimmered and disappeared, taking the few remaining survivors of His once massive army with Him as He vanished.

Chapter 19

Sierra's defenders let out an enormous roar of victory as the few remaining Etazk vanished along with their god,
leaving only their dead behind. Many of the men began to dance through the streets, overjoyed to realize that the nightmarish ordeal was finally over.

Damion and Raven turned to look u
p at the pair of dragon deities who had appeared to force Etaz to abandon His conquest and return to His own lands.

"You have done well, my child." Estheryal murmured to Damion, Her voice full of pride.
"The God of the Underworld will be unable raise His armies again for quite some time. He has lost a significant portion of His worshippers, and almost all of his priests in this foolish quest to bring the world under His dominion. It shall be centuries before He even
thinks
of attempting this again."

Damion didn't replied, but merely stood staring up at Draco with furious eyes, his hand
still gripping the hilt of the Dragon Sword tightly.

"I see you are still angry with me." Draco grumbled with a heavy sigh, settling down before Damion
with a neutral expression. "I was hoping your fury may have dampened somewhat."

"You tried to steal our daughter!" Damion snarled, his entire body trembling with anger.

"I did," The Dragon God admitted with another sigh. "I tried to take your daughter so I could use her to advance my plans." He gave Damion a plaintive look. "This world was once ruled by dragons, and now our children on the brink of extinction. It was my wish to change that, to bring our children back from the brink, and insure that they continue flourish for eons to come."

"I understand your reasons," Damion growled at him, still seething with anger. "I just have a serious problem with your methods."

"Estheryal has made me see the errors in my plans." Draco told him reluctantly. "She has also assured me that to continue with my plans would insure our children's demise."

"Is that why you intervened when Etaz appeared?" Raven asked, still wary of the massive beast
s before them. "To make sure that the Etazk couldn't endanger the dragons once they took over the world?"

"I
n part," He rumbled with a nod.

Estheryal
suddenly snorted in amusement, sending twin curls of smoke drifting up from Her nostrils. "Draco also rarely misses the chance to foil any plans that Etaz has. They've hated one another since the beginning of time!"

"He started it." Draco grumbled, scowling the Serpent Mother.

Raven couldn't help but giggle. "He sounds a lot like you." She murmured to her husband, who ignored her and continued to stare up at the Dragon God with angry eyes.

"My
main
reason for intervening," The iridescent dragon continued. "was to protect our children,
all
of them." He looked at the huge warrior meaningfully.

"I am
not
your child!" Damion bellowed, barely able to contain his fury.

"You
are
one of our children." Estheryal told him in a gentle voice. "Like it or not, the blood of dragons runs in you
and
your daughter's veins."

"I'm not thrilled with the idea either," Draco grumbled with a sigh. "but it is what it is, and neither of us can change it, so we
had just better get used to it."

They stared at one another for several long moments, then Damion finally placed the Dragon Sword back into sheath. "So I'm guessing you sent the veiled dragons to help us as a peace offering?" He asked the Dragon God finally, a note of anger still in his voice.

"Actually, no, I didn't." Draco murmured, glancing up at the dragons who were still circling high overhead. "Someone else is responsible for that."

"If you didn't send them, who did?"

The Dragon God didn't reply, but instead gestured to a pair of dragons who were slowly beginning to descend.

"That looks like Tempest!" Raven exclaimed in surprise as the beasts dropped low enough to be
clearly seen. "What is she doing with the veiled dragons?"

"I have no idea
," Damion murmured with a frown. "but I have the feeling I'm not going to like the reason."

"It is time for us to return to our places in the heavens," Estheryal told him as they watched the dragons touched down gently near the gaping hole in the battlements. "but know that I shall be watching over you. You have done well, Dragonkin." The form of the enormous golden dragon wavered for a long moment, then slowly vanished.

"I daresay that shall meet again soon, Dragon Lord." Draco growled to Damion, obviously forcing Himself to remain cordial with the huge warrior. "I hope that when we do, we shall being fighting for the same cause, instead of against one another." He stared at the huge warrior for a long moment, then also slowly faded into thin air.

"Damion," Raven suddenly clutched his arm. "Tha-That's Leia!" She pointed to a tiny figure that scrambled down from
the shoulders of the veiled dragon.

They hurried towards the young girl, who was quickly joined by Slither, Shirk, and Dar as they quickly scrambled down from their seats atop the dragons.

"I will never do that again!" Shirk declared as they approached, dropping to his knees and kissing the stones beneath his feet. "I was certain that I was going to plummet to my death! I don't know how I managed to hang on!"

"I thought it was rather fun." Dar disagreed, laughing at the dumbfounded look on Damion and Raven's faces. "It definitely got the adrenaline pumping!"

"Wha..." Damion started, looking up at the veiled dragon, which stared back at him with apprehensive eyes, then to Tempest, who merely gave him a shrug. He looked down to his daughter. "What is going on here? What are you doing here with these beasts?" He couldn't seem to comprehend what he was seeing.

"We thought you may need a little help convincing the Etazk to leave
," Leia told him innocently. "so we came see what we could do to help."

"But... But
... How did you get them to help you?" Raven asked, staring at the veiled dragons with a confused expression.

"It was something that Gwynth said to me before we reached S
evria." Leia told her. "When I asked her if father's army would succeed in defeating the Etazk, she told me she believed that they would, especially if they got a little help." She looked to Damion. "I had the oddest feeling that she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't figure out what, until Tempest arrived." She looked to the scarlet dragon. "She told us about those flying creatures that the Etazk priests had summoned, and how they were wreaking havoc with the army. We knew she would probably be killed if she tried to intervene, but we also knew Sierra didn't stand a chance with help." She smiled. "That's when I thought of the veiled dragons, and what Gwynth had told me."

"You mean..." Damion looked stunned
.

"It appears so, yes." The young girl nodded.

"What are you talking about?" Raven demanded, still looking confused. "Will somebody please explain what's going on?"

"It appears our little Leia has more than a little influence with the veiled dragons." Dar told her with a smile. "They
were
created with her blood, after all."

"You mean that they..." She looked back to her daughter with wide eyes.

"How does it feel to know that your a grandmother?" Shirk laughed, still looking a bit peaked from his ride atop Tempest.

"I've told you that I could occasionally sense what they were feeling or thinking," Leia continued. "
and when I realized what Gwynth had been trying to tell me, I tried to reach out to them, asking them to come to me in Sierra." She suddenly grinned. "There was quite the commotion when they materialized in the courtyard an hour or so later. Once I explained to them what I wanted them to do, they were more than willing to help us." She glanced up at the veiled dragon, whose skin shifted colors eerily for a moment, then returned to a dull shade of grey.

Damion stared at the others in disbelief. "And you just let her run off to go join in a battle?"

"Of course not!" Shirk objected with a scowl. "She and Slither scampered up that beast's back and took off before we could stop them! If we hadn't caught a ride with Tempest, she would have left us behind!"

Damion turned back to Leia, his eyes blazing. "What in the world were you thinking?" He turned Raven. "Did you drop her on her head when she was a baby?"

"Hey!" Leia exclaimed indignantly, causing the others to laugh.

"Leia?" Sly exclaimed as he, Damarius, and the
others hurried up to join them. "What are you doing with this beast?" He suddenly spotted Slither, Shirk, and Dar, who were watching him with amused expressions. "Wh... What's going on here?"

"Leia used her influence over the veiled dragons to convince them into helping us destroy Etaz's army." Dar explained to him with a grin. "They took care of those flying creatures, then decided to go ahead and take care of the fleet that was still waiting to offload their soldiers."

"I really didn't want them to," Leia suddenly frowned. "but I didn't see any other choice. They had you dangerously outnumbered. I finally realized that there wasn't any other way." She sighed regretfully, then shrugged. "Oh well. It was either them or us."

"Well,
I, for one, am quite happy that you decided to intervene when you did." Damarius told her in an weary voice. "I don't know how much longer we could have held out without your help."

Damion noticed how exhausted the old wizard and the others appeared, and quickly decided they should all retreat
somewhere to rest.

Leia turned to look up at
the huge veiled dragon. "You can go now, Xaxis. Thank you for all your help."

"Call upon
us whenever you have the need." The huge beast rumbled, lowering his head down to nuzzle the young girl like a puppy for a moment, then it turned and leapt back into the air, instantly disappearing from sight as its natural camouflage mimicked its background, allowing it to vanish without a trace.

They
slowly began to make their way through the carnage to the tavern Sly and the others had been using as a headquarters, leaving their men to continue celebrating their hard fought victory.

"I am so glad that's finally over
!" Damarius groaned, collapsing into a chair with a loud sigh. "I can't remember the last time I was so tired!"

"I'm not surprised." Sly grumbled, filling a tankard full of ale and taking it to the old wizard, who drained it dry with pausing for a breath.
"You were the hero of the war. If it hadn't been for you and your magic, we wouldn't have even had a chance." The scruffy little man refilled the tankard for the weary old man, then stumped over and dropped into his own chair with a exhausted sigh.

"
It appears that you were able to get the city prepared in time." Raven commented, quickly pouring drinks for everyone else and passing them around. "You were able to hold out just long enough to allow the rest of the forces to arrive."

"That's mostly due to the Damarius and dwarves." Sly grumbled, taking a long drink from his tankard. "Between his contraptions, and the new battlements the dwarves constructed, we were able to keep the Etazk at bay." He frowned. "At least until
the priests conjured up those damn flying beasts. Once they appeared, everything began to go downhill."

"It looks as though we won!" Bativa
roared as he, Captain Harper, and Ignan suddenly entered the tavern, followed closely by Zayan, Langsten, and Fedrio. "I knew those zealots wouldn't be able to stand against us!"

"It also helped that Leia showed up with her pet dragons." Sly snorted, giving the young girl a wink.

"Aye," The huge tribesman agreed with a broad smile. "That definitely made things a bit easier."

"So it's finally over?" Ignan asked in disbelief. "The Etazk are gone?"
His ill fitting armor was splashed with blood, and he had a ragged cut on one cheek, but otherwise appeared to be unharmed.

"They're gone," Damion nodded, causing the merchant to nearly collapse to the floor in relief. "and it will be centuries before the ever try something like this again."

"That's good," Fedrio frowned, his gaunt face sad. "because we lost thousands of men in this battle to save Sierra, many of them the farmers and laborers who produce the food and goods that keep many of us from starving. Without them to bring in the crops and transport them to the various markets, many people will starve. It will be decades before we finally recover from what has transpired here."

That definitely put a damper on their spirits.

"How many men does it look like we've lost?" Leia asked in a subdued voice.

"Too many. We won't be
certain for a few days, but I would guess at least half of our men were killed or injured during the battle. Add those to the men we lost in Kainpre, and are losses are pretty staggering."