Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (43 page)

"But those are shadow dragons hidden amongst those temples!" Raven objected in confusion. "Didn't your people notice that they
weren't any shade of red?"

"It does not matter."
The pale skinned woman answered simply. "They are dragons, and therefore, they are worshipped."

"Does that mean your people worship the dragon
god, Draco?" Damion inquired, thinking of the constellation that stared down from the heavens.

"Most are general in their worship of serpents. They will give praise to a snake or lizard just as quickly as a dragon
, but there
are
some Arleians that worship Draco as their sole god." She admitted. "They are considered to be extremists in most quarters. Our queen discourages the practice, but she has not yet banned it outright."

"You are ruled by a queen?" Raven
asked, seeming intrigued by the idea.

"The Serpent Queen has ruled over us for
over a thousand years now. It is through her that all laws are issued."

"She's over a thousand years old?"
Veren asked incredulously. "She's an immortal?"

Tara nodded. "The story goes t
hat she was befriended as a child by an elder spirit. She agreed it to allow it to inhabit her body in exchange for wealth and power. After a few years though, her soul and the spirit inhabiting her body became so intertwined that they merged together to become one. She is now known only as the Serpent Queen, and those who live under her rule obey her every command."

"And what does your queen have to say about the shadow dragons?"

"I doubt that she would even concern herself with such information. Our queen is very much like the serpent. She is ruled by her whims and her appetites. She spends much of her time indulging in any number of strange obsessions. The news of the release of the scarlet dragons failed to arouse her interest. The news of the shadow dragons would probably illicit the same response."

"So why have you chosen to open up to us?" Susa asked, a suspicious expression on her tiny face.

"This little one is made of steel!" The scar faced woman laughed. "My queen may not find the destruction of the rest of the world distressing, but
I
do. If this continues, it won't be long until entire armies descend upon our land in search of the shadow dragons." She fixed Damion with a look. "When I realized who you were, I seized the opportunity to join you in hopes of learning your plans."

Damion,
Veren, and Raven exchanged glances. "Our plan," Damion explained with a shrug. "is to locate the brood mother, the matriarch of the shadow dragons."

"And then?"

"Well, we don't think she'll listen if we ask her nicely to return to where ever her and her brood came from." Veren snorted sarcastically.

Tara frowned. "You plan to destroy her then?" She stared at Damion
with accusing eyes.

Damion raised his hands helplessly. "The shadow dragons are wreaking havoc all over the world! We have to bring it to an end!"

"But how can you hope to defeat her brood? They'll fight to the death to protect their mother!"

He drew the Dragon Sword from its sheath. "I'll use the Dragon Sword to summon the scarlet dragons. They'll deal with the shadow dragons!"

Tara's eyes grew wide as she stared at the mythical sword. "That is the legendary sword which controls the scarlet dragons?"

Damion
nodded. "I released them back into the world, but I could not destroy the connection that was forged between them and the gem."

She watched as he returned the sword to its sheath, a hungry gleam in her black eyes.

The sudden flutter of feathers drew their attention to Snowfeather, who materialized from the rain with a large hare clutched tightly in each of his talons.

Tara swore
and grasped the hilt of her sword, but Damion calmly held out his arm to allow the huge owl a place to settle.

"Your friend is a little jumpy
!"
Snowfeather chirped, dropping the rabbits at his feet and landing on his arm.
"That's good, considering we're surrounded by dragonspawn!"

Damion snarled, then drew the Dragon Sword once again and moved toward the front of the cave.
"How far are they from us?"
He asked, trying to peer through the rain and darkness.

"Less than a hundred yards."
The huge owl hooted. He had been forced to find a new perch when Damion leapt to his feet, and now sat preening himself on Storm's broad back.
"They know we're here, but they are only watching us right now."

Veren
and Raven reacted to Damion's reaction wordlessly, jumping to their feet and grabbing their weapons, but Tara only stared at them in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"How many?"
Veren asked, ignoring her and focusing on the darkness beyond the cave.

"Over a hundred. They're only watching us right now."
Damion continued to peer through the rain for any hint of movement. He turned to look at the one eared man with a grim expression.

"
Don't even think about it!" Veren exclaimed suddenly. "I'm not going to let you go running off again!"

"Will someone please explain to me what is going on?" There was a note of exasperation in Tara's voice.

"Dragonspawn." Raven told her shortly, her voice tense. "Over a hundred of them. They have us surrounded."

Damion took one last look out into the darknes
s, and made his decision. "Keep watch out over the camp, while I try and draw them away." Without another word, he slipped off into the darkness.

"Dammit!"
Veren snarled vehemently. "I hate when he does that!"

"What's he planning to do?" Tara asked
, her expression confused.

"
I'm guessing we'll know before too long." The one eared man stated sourly. "In fact, everything in a twenty mile radius will probably know."

Chapter 14

The instant Damion stepped into the darkness, he drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a panther. The rain continued to pour down from the heavens as he made his way through the shadows, instinctively avoiding the deeper pools of stagnant water as he searched for the dragonspawn.

Snowfeather soared
silently overhead, leading him to the place where the creatures were hidden. They quickly located the creatures hidden amongst the trees on the far side of the clearing, gathered in two separate groups, each led by a pair shadowspawn. The creatures, which were pacing restlessly through the shadows, appeared to be preparing to launch an attack on their campsite inside of the shallow cave.

Damion's mind raced as he searched for a quick way to dispose of the
dragonspawn, then a sudden flash of lightening lit the sky, and gave him a simple answer to his dilemma. He drew in his magic, and focused it onto the center of the closest group of dragonspawn. Another bolt of lightening lit the sky, but this time, it sizzled down to strike the ground among the unsuspecting dragonspawn.

The resulting explosion shook the earth beneath Damion's feet as over a dozen of the beasts were blasted into tiny chunks, showering the stunned survivors with bits of their comrades.
Another bolt sizzled down from the heavens and struck the earth among the second group, vaporizing fully half of the creatures as they stood staring in disbelief at the smoking crater that had replaced their companions.

Bolt after bolt
continued to strike down and explode among the dragonspawn, completely decimating their ranks, until only a handful remained.

Damion returned to his own form
and drew the Dragon Sword, then calmly strolled forward to meet the last few creatures, which were stumbling around, dazed by the multiple explosions. The first two dragonspawn failed to even notice as he approached, so he was able to cut them down without any resistance. The remaining six had managed to recover enough of their wits to defend themselves from his advance, but one by one, they succumbed to his prowess as a warrior.

Only two of t
he shadowspawn remained alive when a piercing shriek of terror suddenly echoed through the night. He whipped around to look towards to cave opening, but at that moment, one of the shadowspawn lunged forward, its razor sharp talons aimed for his jugular. He instinctively dropped to the ground, allowing the beast to pass over him, then lashed out with the Dragon Sword, slicing the snarling creature's belly wide open. It crashed to the ground in a tangled mess of its own intestines.

He
rolled to his feet and whirled to face the last shadowspawn, which was already moving in for the kill. As he danced clear of its lethal claws, he thought he could hear the sound of hoof beats receding in the distance, but the battle crazed creature demanded his full attention, so he was unable to investigate. He avoided another wild swipe, then removed the creature's head, sending it spinning off into the darkness.

After a quick look around to make sure there
were no other survivors, Damion raced back across the clearing to the cave, his heart pounding with fear. As soon as he entered the shallow cave, his eyes fell upon the crumpled forms of Raven and Veren laying a few feet from the fire. He hurried over to their side, even as he finished scanning the cave, noticing immediately that there was no sign of Tara or Susa, and the scar faced woman's horse and belongings were missing.

He
quickly checked Veren for a pulse and was relieved to find his friend alive, but unconscious. He turned his attention to Raven, gently lifting her into his arms, fearing the worse, but he found that she too was alive, but unconscious. He cradled her in his arms for several moments, then her eyes suddenly fluttered open, and she stared up at him in obvious confusion.

"Damion?" She asked weakly, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure." He filled his canteen with water from one of the casks, then gave it to her to help clear her head. "You were both unconscious when I returned."

"O
w! My head!" Veren groaned, rolling over onto his back, grasping the sides of his head. "What happened?"

Damion glanced over at his friend. "It seems I can't leave you alone
, for even a second. When I returned from dealing with the dragonspawn, I found you both unconscious, and there was no sign of Tara or Susa. Tara's horse and belongings are both missing, but the pony Susa was riding is still with the others."

"The last thing I remember is standing in the entrance of the cave with Ra
ven waiting for you to return. The next thing I know, I'm laying here on the ground with a throbbing headache!"

"I seem to remember
seeing you fall to the ground before everything went black." Raven mumbled, gingerly touching a large knot that had formed behind one ear. "When I awoke, I was in Damion's arms."

"I guess Tara must have snuck up from behind and knocked us out, then grabbed Susa and her horse and took off while you were busy dealing with
those dragonspawn." Veren rose unsteadily to his feet. "I guess Susa was right when she said were shouldn't trust that scar faced hag!"

"But why would Tara want to abduct a common slave girl?" Damion asked in bewilderment.

"She's a slave chaser." Veren reasoned with a shrug. "They can get good gold for the slaves that they catch. She probably saw the opportunity to make some quick gold and took advantage of it."

"I thought I heard a scream wh
en I was dealing with the dragonspawn," Damion told them with a frown. "then the sound of a horse retreating in the distance, but I was too busy at the time to investigate." He cursed. "It must have been Tara! She must have snatched Susa up and made a run for it!" He was furious, and his eyes flashed dangerously.