Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (17 page)

"You're not supposed to think! You're supposed to follow orders! Our forests are burning and our settlements are being attacked!" She backhanded him across the mouth once more. "Yet here you are picking a fight with a couple of innocent travelers!" She backhanded him a third time and he finally slid unconscious from the saddle.

"I think I'm going to like her!
" Veren murmured to Damion.

"Pick him up and get
him out of my sight," The woman snarled to the man's companions. "and return to you assigned duties! I do not wish to return and find you harassing any more travelers!"

Several men scrambled
down from their horses and helped their dazed leader to his feet. He somehow managed to make it back into his saddle, then he and his men sullenly disappeared back into the forest.

The dark haired woman turned her flashing eyes on Damion and
Veren. "And now, you
will
tell me what your business is in our lands!"

"We're just passing through."
Veren said assuringly, moving his horse back along side Storm, who stood pawing the ground aggressively.

She looked at Damion in sudden interest. "And your destination?" She stared at
him, her eyes calculating.

Veren
responded before Damion could even open his mouth. "We're heading to Arleia."

"Arleia?" She exclaimed in surprise. "You don't look much like slavers."

"We're not." Damion said firmly.

"Yet you still
claim to be traveling to Arleia? Interesting." The dark haired woman continued to watch him closely.

Damion sighed. "We are investigating these attacks that are happening all over the continent."
He explained, noticing absently that the young woman was quite attractive. "We had heard rumors that the attacks first began there."

The woman's face suddenly grew cautious. "And what do you know of these attacks?"

Damion shook his head. "Not enough. That's why we are journeying to Arleia. We were hoping to find the cause of all this destruction."

"I
have
heard rumors that the attacks originated in Arleia." She admitted, twisting a lock of her dark hair around one finger unconsciously. She looked to Veren. "And you, Jaghern? Why do you wish to find the source of these attacks?"

"Because my family was killed
and my farm destroyed in one of those attacks." Veren answered her in a carefully controlled voice.

A flash of sympathy
crossed her face. "I'm sorry for your loss. We have also lost many in these attacks."

Damion looked at her curiously. "
Have you heard anything that would be useful to our search?"

The raven haired woman ignored
the question, and glanced up into the evening sky. "Night is coming. Unless you plan to travel through the darkness, which is inadvisable, I'd suggest you make camp soon. You may return with us to our campsite, if you wish. It's a few miles into the forest."

Damion glanced to
Veren, who shrugged. "We may as well. We're not going to make it much farther before nightfall."

"Very well." The young woman wheeled her horse around and led them into the forest, her men
following close behind.

They followed the trade road deep into the forest for
nearly an hour, then the young woman suddenly reined in her horse and guided the beast up a nearly invisible game trail that led deep into the forest interior.

After about ten minutes
of carefully picking their way along the scarcely visible trail, they emerged into a large well established campsite that had been constructed in a natural clearing. A large stone lined fire pit had been built in the center of the clearing, surrounded by a number of crudely made wooden benches, and a small stream ran alongside providing an ample supply of fresh water. A half dozen heavy canvas tents had been erected on one side of the camp, while a small corral had been constructed from fallen timber next to the stream for the horses.

"This is a well prepared camp."
Veren commented approvingly as he slid down from his horse and led it and their pack horse to the corral.

"We have been using this campsite
fairly often in the recent months." The young woman stated, dismounting and handing the reins of her horse over to one of her men. "We have also been investigating these attacks for quite some time now. Our ruling council has ordered every available warrior to look into these disturbances, but so far, no one has been able to discover anything."

Damion slid to the ground,
and removed the saddle and bags from Storm's back, then led the shaggy warhorse to the stream to drink.

Several of the Deirian warriors stared in
astonishment at Damion, who stood two feet taller than their tallest warrior, but he ignored them and continued to groom Storm's smoky grey coat.

When he was
finished, he led Storm to the corral and made sure the huge brute was well fed, then joined Veren and the Deirian warriors near the fire.

"I never caught your names." The young woman stated as she walked up to join them.

"I am Veren Verilian of Jaghera." Veren replied with the nod of his head.

She nodded, then looked to
Damion. "And you?"

"
I am Damion Omensent. I am from Sevria, on the southern continent."

"And I am Raven Nightshade, daughter of
Evien Nightshade, Chief of the Black Feather clan." She gestured to her men. "We are only one of many groups that guard our lands from attacks."

"How many clans are there in
Deiria?" Damion asked curiously.

"Twelve. The
ir leaders combine to make the Council of Deiria."

"Twelve?"
Veren exclaimed in surprise. "I thought there was fifteen clans here in Deiria?"

She nodded sadly. "There were, but three clans have been completely wiped out by these mysterious attacks
!"

"And your people have
n't any clue on what could be causing the destruction?" Veren asked.

The young woman
shook her head. "Just rumors and speculation. I've heard stories of large forces of dragonspawn, but nothing that could wipe out an entire clan,
unless
you believe in fairy tales about dragons."

Damion and
Veren exchanged glances, but said nothing.

Two warriors
hustled forward and conferred with their leader for a moment, then disappeared into the dark forest surrounding the clearing.

"
Our scouts have spotted a pack of wild pigs not far from here." She said told them with a smile. "We'll be dining on pork tonight!"

Within the hour, the two warriors returned with a pair of freshly killed boars over their shoulders. The other warriors quickly joined in
to help gut and butcher the beasts, and it wasn't long before the smell of roasting pig was wafting through the air.

Veren
had a broad smile on his face as he retrieved a small cask of ale from their provisions and returned to Damion and Raven's side. "I grabbed this before we left the border town. I don't have enough for everyone, but at least we three can have a drink with dinner."

The young woman shook her head. "Most Deirians do not drink ale. We prefer wine."

Veren shrugged. "Your loss." He poured some ale into a dinted mug and handed it to Damion, then poured some for himself. He took a long drink, then sighed. "Nectar of the gods!" He smiled dreamily.

Damion snorted in amusement. "You
're beginning to sound a little like Sly!"

They had just finished eating when Snowfeather ghosted in from the darkness and landed gently
on Damion's shoulder, a dead pigeon clutched tightly in his beak.

"What an unusual bi
rd!" Raven exclaimed in astonishment. "I've never seen such a creature in our forests before!"

"This is
Snowfeather." Damion smiled. "He is a snow owl. They live mostly in mountainous regions."

She stared at Snowfeather with
wonder, then looked to Damion. "So what is your story exactly?" She gestured to Veren, who had stretched out on one the benches with another mug of ale. "Your friend has explained his reasons for being here. What are yours?"

Damion sighe
d heavily. "Do my reasons really matter?"

The young woman started to reply, but was cut off by an earsplitting shriek that echoed through the forest.

"By the gods!" One of the Deirian warriors exclaimed in fear. "What kind of beast makes that kind of sound?" He and his fellow warriors stared into the darkness surrounding them.

"You really don't want to know." Damion answered
grimly. Both he and Veren drew their swords and began to stare up into the dark sky above.

"What is it?" Raven asked
, drawing her bow and notching an arrow nervously.

Her question was answered as an enormous black form
suddenly dropped from the night sky and landed on two of her warriors, crushing them like bugs. The shadowy creature whirled on the other warriors before they could react, breathing flames which instantly engulfed the helpless men.

Raven stood
watching in horror and disbelief as her clansmen were slaughtered, then screamed in terror as the black serpent turned its gaze on her.

It drew a deep breath, preparing to breathe more flames, but Damion suddenly rushed fo
rward, Dragon Sword in hand. Its blade suddenly burst into flames as he called upon its power, combining it with his own magic. The shadow dragon screeched in pain and fear as he released a blast of energy that struck the beast in its side, hurling it backward it off its feet. It crashed to the ground near the edge of the forest, still shrieking in pain and fury.

Veren
rushed forward and snatched Raven by one arm, then dragged her off to the safety of the forest, leaving Damion behind to deal with the massive beast.

The shadow dragon
belched a wave of flames across the clearing as it struggled to regain its feet, but Damion ignored it and rushed forward, swinging the Dragon Sword with all of his strength. The flaming sword sliced through the shadow dragon's armored hide with ease as he slashed it across it's massive breast.

It roared an ear splitting roar as he continued to cho
p away, leaving deep gashes in the thick armor-like scales, then it lashed out wildly, knocking him back across the clearing where he crashed into the shallow stream.

The shadow dragon scrambled to its feet, bleeding freely from the horrendous gashes across its chest, then launched itself into the air, seeming to almost melt into the
dark sky. It roared one last roar that trailed off into a pitiful whimper as disappeared into the night.

Damion was cursing vehemently as he struggled his way from the stream, water dripping from his face. The clothing beneath his armor was in charred tatters,
and he was bleeding from a gash over one eye, but he was otherwise unharmed.

Veren
and Raven emerged from the edge of the forest and slowly made their way to Damion's side. The young woman seemed to be in a state of shock as she surveyed the carnage. Her camp was destroyed within the blink of an eye, and all of her men lay dead, their bodies mangled and charred beyond recognition.

"Do you think it was mo
rtally injured?" Veren asked, his voice shaken.

Damion shook his h
ead. "Not a chance." He cursed again. He made his way over to where the horses were corralled. A number of them had jumped the rough timber logs that kept them corralled and disappeared into the forest, but Storm and several others still remained and appeared uninjured.