Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (37 page)

"And you returned to warn me of her plans?"

"Yesss, Massster." It looked at him, its black eyes unreadable.

"Why?"

"My life isss yoursss." It replied simply.

"And you wish to continue to serve me?"

"My life isss yoursss." It repeated.

Damion exchanged glances with the others. "And what can you do for me?" He asked after
they each gave a dubious nod.

"Anything, Massster." It said confidently. "I have much information."

"Such as?"

"T
he Mother hasss ordered the ssspawn to lay wassste to the place in which you dwell."

"Sevria?" He asked in surprise. "They are planning to attack
the town?"

"Yesss, Massster."

He grew quiet for several moments.

"Are you worried?"
Veren asked, his voice tense.

Damion shook his head. "Tempest mentioned that Sly and the others were taking precautions against an attack. If I know Sly, he, Dar, and Damarius probably have a few surprises waiting for anything that may attack." He looked back to the shadowspawn. "Do you have a name? What are you called?"

"I am ssspawn." It told him with a hiss. "SSSpawn have no need of namesss, Massster."

Damion stared at the beast thoughtfully for a moment.
"Very well," He said finally. "but if you wish to serve me, you must have a name."

"How about
Slither?" Raven asked. "Is seems rather fitting for a serpent."

"What do you think?" He asked
the creature, which seemed surprised that it was asked for its opinion.

"SSSlither." It said thoughtfully. "Yesss, Massster. SSSlither." It said its name again, seeming to almost savor the sound. It suddenly dropped to one knee. "What would have me do, Massster?"

He thought about it for a long moment. "Return to the place I dwell." He ordered, an idea suddenly leaping to mind. "Gather as many spawn along the way that will follow you, and destroy any that threaten my home. Be careful not to harm any humans along the way."

"Asss you wisssh, Massster." Slither rose, then turned to leave.

"And make sure you take time to feed along the way!"

"Yess, Massster." It
paused hesitantly. "Beware the Mother." It cautioned in a quiet hiss. "Beware the land of the ssserpentsss. All will not be asss it appearsss." It turned and vanished into the darkness as silently as it appeared.

"Well now,"
Veren commented, scratching his head absently. "At least we know that we are on the right track!"

"What do you mean?" Raven asked in confusion.

"It said that the Mother was waiting for us in the land of the serpents. That's Arleia."

Damion stood staring out into the darkness, his eyes lost in thought.

"Are you sure we can trust that thing to return to defend Sevria?" Veren asked several minutes later, his face worried.

Damion nodded confidently.
"Slither will follow orders. I could see that much. It will gather a few dragonspawn along the way, then return to Sevria."

"Do you think it will make much difference?"

He shrugged. "It couldn't hurt."

"Then I guess we should begin taking special care as we procede. Slither seemed quite serious when he warned us that everything would not be
as it seems."

Damion nodded. "I was pondering that myself."

"Do you have any idea want it meant by that?"

He shook his head. "But I fear we will find out in time."

************

"Another one of the brood has fallen, Mother." Tar whimpered, making sure
she was well out of striking distance as she delivered this news. "The dragon man called upon one of the scarlet dragons, which killed Shade and drove off the spawn. It was last seen heading east towards the fiery islands."

The crippled dragon snarled in fury, lashing out with her tail and shattering a stone column. She had abandoned her lair in
the fiery islands weeks before, and now made her lair in one of the hundreds of ruined temples dedicated to serpents that dotted the overgrown jungles of Arleia, but was she still not happy with having one the scarlet dragons so close to discovering her location.

"The
dragon man seems to be heading in this direction." The smaller dragon continued. "Once he has drawn closer, we'll strike again."

The Mother was quiet for several long moments, then her eyes suddenly narrowed. "I have a better plan." She whipped around to look at the smaller dragon. "Follow him, but don't attack him any further. Inform me when he nears the border."

"As you command, Mother." Tar launched herself into the air, then disappeared into the night.

The crippled dragon watched as
she disappeared, her eyes already lost in thought. This dragon man had proven to be far more powerful than she had ever dreamed! He had somehow managed to survive every encounter with her brood so far, and the spawn had proven all but useless. It was going take more than brute force to see her goals achieved.

She snarled in disgust. She would have to resort to methods that even she found appalling. She
herself
will have to emerge from safety to bring her plans to fruition. In most cases she would send more spawn and several more of the brood to take care of this nuisance, but she knew it would be useless. She must do
whatever
possible to obtain the artifact that controls her mortal enemies, even if that meant doing it herself!

She glanced up at the constellation of Draco, which was glittering brightly overhead. She could feel the gaze of the serpent god as he looked down upon her with calculating eyes. She had felt his almost constant gaze since emerging back into the world she once ruled. The serpent god had taken a special interest in his banished children now that they had returned from their exile, and was watching them expectantly.

She snarled again, then turned and disappeared into the ruined temple to prepare herself for unpleasant task ahead.

*************

"What do you think they are waiting for?" Dar asked as they continued to watch the army of dragonspawn as they remained just out of reach of their arrows. "They are still just sitting there! Why haven't they attacked?"

They had gathered once again in the main guard house above the gate just as the sun began to peek over the mountains. They had spent a great deal of their time gathered there since the dragonspawn hoard had descended on Sevria several weeks before. The creatures
had stopped just out of distance of the city archers and had remained there without attacking, effectively sealing off any escape from the fortified city.

"If I had to guess," Damariu
s muttered, scratching his head, causing his scalp lock to fall across his face and obscure his eyes. "I'd say they are waiting for reinforcements."

"Reinforcements?" Lady Skie's face was concerned. "There are already thousands of them!"

Sly stared out at the hoard with impatient eyes. "They could just be awaiting orders." He turned around to look at the others. "Let's face the facts, these creatures have never shown much intelligence before now. It wasn't until the shadow dragons and the shadowspawn appeared that they began to behave with any real purpose!"

"That
would
explain why they are waiting." The old wizard agreed. "The shadowspawn may very well be awaiting orders from the shadow dragons."

"Then
do we just continue to wait?" Lady Skie asked. "Shouldn't we attack them, perhaps try to drive them off before their orders arrive?"

Sly shook his head. "I would
n't risk sending any men outside these walls. It would be a suicide mission!" He suddenly grinned. "But I have an idea that may goad them into doing something foolish." He motioned to them to follow him outside.

Lady Skie, Dar, and Damarius exchanged dubious looks, then followed the little man outside to one of Damarius's siege machines which had been placed atop the wall.

Sly paused to shoo one of the guards from the machine's controls, then climbed into the seat. He took careful aim at the mass of dragonspawn, zeroing in on a group shadowspawn that milled near the front of the hoard. There was a heavy twang as he released the trigger, launching the huge projectile faster than the eye could follow.

The little man's aim was true as the oversized arrow shot through the air,
traveling the half mile or so between the wall an the hoard in a flash, striking one shadowspawn square in the back of the head. The creature's head vanished as the projectile continued on its deadly path, passing through two other shadowspawn before finally coming to a halt in a dragonspawn's chest. The beast stared at the projectile sticking from its chest for a long moment, then collapsed to the ground dead.

A cheer went up from the
men manning the wall, who had been watching with great deal of anticipation.

Sly laughed an evil laugh as he climbed down from the machine. "All we have to do is continue trying to take out the shadowspawn
!" He gestured to the hoard, who were still staring at their dead comrades in confusion and disbelief. "They'll eventually lose control and attack. Then we can see what we can do about reducing their population!"

Word quickly spread through the town that they were about to begin provoking the hoard into attacking, and the townsfolk immediately responded by rushing to their posts, ready to face death in order to protect their homes and families.

"Let's start targeting those shadowspawn." The little man told them when they finished preparing for their assault. "Take out as many as you can. They're the one's controlling the main hoard. Kill them, and there will be nothing left to keep the dragonspawn in check!"

"Ten gold says I can take down the most shadowspawn in one shot!" Dar challenged, scampering down the wall to one of the machines.

"I'll take a piece of that!" Damarius accepted with a laugh.

"As will I!" Lady Skie declared.

Sly laughed. "It sounds like we have a wager!" He climbed back into the seat of his siege machine. "Winner takes all!"

They each took one of the machines and took
careful aim at the shadowspawn.

Lady Skie was the first to fire her machine, aiming for a small group of shadowspawn near the edge of the hoard. The deadly projectile struck one shadowspawn in
the upper shoulder, cleaving its arm and a large chunk of its upper torso from its body, then continued several more yards, and through several dragonspawn, before finally coming to a quivering stop in the chest of a second shadowspawn. "That two for me!" She shouted with a laugh. She glanced down at one of the guards who stood nearby, watching with a savage delight. "Be sure to keep a running tally for me, would you?"

Dar was the next to fire, choosing a group shadowspawn near the center of the hoard. His shot shredded a number of dragonspawn before ripping the legs off of a shadowspawn, and imbedding itself deep into the ground. "Got one!" His freckled face was flushed with excitement.

Not to be outdone, Sly's shot tore through three shadowspawn, and three more dragonspawn before finally coming to a rest. "That gold's as good as mine!" He hooted happily. He looked down the wall to the next machine, and saw Damarius loading it with, what seemed to the little man, overly cautious care. "C'mon, Old Man!" He shouted. "Take your shot!"

The old wizard ignored him
and continued to load his machine, then he calmly climbed into his seat. He carefully arranged his robes, and brushed his scalp lock from his eyes, then took what seemed to be an almost nonchalant aim at the hoard, and pulled the trigger. The projectile struck the ground in the center of a group of shadowspawn that were standing close together in the center mass of creatures, unaware that they were under attack. It suddenly exploded, vaporizing the shadowspawn and dozens of dragonspawn, and showering the hoard with bits and chunks of their bodies.