Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (23 page)

Raven and Sly were helping Damarius to his feet when Damion rushed in, his face concerned. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine." The old wizard assured him, shooing them away irritably. "That was some ride! I haven't done anything that exciting in decades!"

Damion hurried over to Raven's side to make sure that she was uninjured, while Sly went to check on the horses. He returned a few minutes later with an unhappy expression.

"How are the horses?" Raven asked in concern.

"They survived, but still seem a little rattled." Sly reported, his face a thundercloud of anger.

"What's wrong?" Damion asked worriedly.

"One of the barrels of ale slipped loose and broke open." He
told them in a mournful tone, tears shimmering in eyes. "It was a complete loss." He shook his head sadly.

Captain Harper came stumping into their quarters a few moments later. "I've never seen anything like that before in all of my years at sea!" He told them, dropping wearily into
a chair. "That storm appeared out of nowhere! One minute, the skies were clear and the seas were calm; the next, we were being bombarded by rogue waves!" He glanced over at Damion. "Thanks for saving my hide back there, by the way. When that wave swept me overboard, I truly thought that it was the end for me."

"
Don't mention it." Damion grunted dismissively. "Besides, we would have never made it through that maelstrom without you at the helm."

"Is the ship badly damaged?" Damarius asked the captain, taking the seat beside him.

"She been in worse shape than this." Captain Harper shrugged. "The crew is already making the repairs. What we can't fix at sea, we'll repair once we reach Naquia. It shouldn't take too long to set her straight again." He straightened in his chair. "So, are you going to explain to me what just happened, or am I just to be left guessing?" He gave them an arch look. "I know when I'm seeing something unnatural, and
that
was not natural!"

"You're right." The old wizard sighed heavily. "There was nothing natural
about that storm."

"I'm guessing there was magic involved?"

Damion and Damarius exchanged glances.

"If so," Damion's expression was grim. "It was a form of magic that I have never encountered before."

"Nor I." The old wizard agreed with a nod. "It would take an enormous amount of power to perform such an act."

"Could you do something like that?" Raven asked Damion, looking up at him curiously.

He thought about it for a moment. "Probably, but it certainly wouldn't be easy."

"Why is that?" Captain Harper
asked in confusion. "Can't you chant a spell, wriggle your fingers, and make it happen?"

Everyone laughed.

"There's a little more to it than that." Damion chuckled. "Let's just say whoever was behind it has a considerable amount of power at their disposal."

"And they seem to be quite determined to stop us
from rescuing little Leia." Sly added unhappily.

"Could the witch who abducted Leia have done this?" Raven asked, her voice full of concern.

"Only if she had help from the elder spirits." Damarius told her. "A highland witch draws her power from the life force of their victims. Without help from the elder spirits, she would need to feast upon hundreds of victims before she could perform such a display of power."

"How did she know where we were?" Sly asked in confusion. "We could have been anywhere! How could she possibly know we were
here?"

"The
elder spirits, undoubtedly." The old wizard grunted. "The witches commune with the spirits that inhabit the netherworld. There is very little in this world that is hidden from their eyes."

"So
, what you're saying is that there isn't any way to sneak up on them?" Sly asked sourly.

Damarius shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Whenever she stops to commune with the spirits, she'll know
exactly where we are."

"That could prove bothersome
," Damion shook his head. "but there isn't much we can do about it right now. We need to just concentrate on reaching Naquia and picking up their trail."

"Let's just hope that the witch doesn't commune with the spirits again until we reach dry land." Sly mumbled with a worried expression. "I
really
didn't like the spiraling vortex of death during the first ride. I'd rather not have to experience it a second time."

Chapter
10

He
soared high amongst the clouds, idly watching the events below unfold while relishing in the sensation of the winds gently flowing beneath his massive wings. He had decided to look in on this Dragon Lord, still fascinated that a mere mortal could have grown so powerful. A product of both human and dragon, this man had managed to face dozens of the most powerful serpents in the world, and walk away alive! No other man had ever managed such a feat!

His
all-seeing gaze soon located the man on a ship thirty leagues or so behind the ship carrying the witch chosen by the elder spirits to carry out his wishes. He was surprised that the man had managed to close the distance between himself and the witch so quickly. When he had last checked, the Dragon Lord was still wandering the mountains in search of his daughter's abductor, and now, he was less than a day behind, and gaining ground with every second that passed.

He
had briefly thought about intervening to insure the witch's escape, but the witch took matters into her own hands, unleashing magic that no mortal was ever meant to wield. The force should have destroyed her the instant that she unleashed it, but it was soon apparent that that elder spirits had granted this witch additional gifts, not to mention nearly unlimited power, in order to carry out his plans.

He
sneered distastefully, wondering if it had been a mistake to involve the elder spirits. It was clear that they would go to any lengths to achieve their ends, including granting nearly limitless power to a mortal, if it meant it would help them accomplish their goals.
He had been reluctant to enlist their assistance, knowing that the elder spirits would never do anything that did not benefit themselves, but to
his surprise, they readily agreed to lend
him their aid, asking nothing in return for their assistance.

Knowing that
he
may end up regretting his decision, he told the elder spirits of his desire for the only child born to the Dragon Lord, then left them to carry out his wishes.

Now, as he watched the witch
manipulate the powers granted to her by the elder spirits, he regretted his decision to involve them. Sensing what was to come, he continued to stare down through the churning storm clouds, knowing there was little chance of survival for the man he was so fascinated by.

A monstrous whirlpool suddenly began to form in front of the Dragon Lord's ship
, which was being bombarded with massive waves that were threatening to swamp the entire vessel. It quickly began to pick up speed as it was drawn toward the seething maelstrom, fatally caught in the vortex's grip.

But then, something happened that forced him to reevaluate his opinion of th
e Dragon Lord. Instead of panicking, and trying to fight the current that was dragging them to their deaths, the ship suddenly turned into the current, racing towards the maelstrom with break neck speed. The sleek ship skimmed the edge of the vortex, circling it several times as it gathered speed, then abruptly turned away from the swirling whirlpool, breaking free of its inescapable current.

Once again, this man had somehow cheated death, surviving the raging
maelstrom brought down upon him by the witch he was pursuing. It was obvious that there was far more to this man than what was on the surface.

He watched as the ship continued to flounder its way towards the east, noticing absently that the distance between the ships had now widened considerably.
There was very little chance of the ship on which the Dragon Lord sailed being repaired quickly enough to allow them to overtake the witch now. It limped along at half the speed that it had prior to the storm, and was listing slightly to one side. It wasn't in danger of sinking, but was still badly damaged, which would slow them down considerably.

Confident that he had seen enough, he tipped his wing
, and flew off towards the east to await the witch's arrival at the temple. He was actually relieved that the man had survived the witch's attempt to kill him. With a little luck, this Dragon Lord may even live long enough to meet him, face to face.

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

They arrived at Naquia three weeks later, just as the sun was setting on the horizon. The Fearless Lady was still listing slightly to one side as they pulled into port, and the main sail was leaning dangerously forward, but Captain Harper managed to skillfully guide the crippled vessel into the harbor, and up to the crowded docks.

Once they were safely moored to the
wharf, they quickly unloaded the horses, who seemed quite happy to finally be free of the confines of the ship, then went to join Captain Harper, who was looking over the damage to his ship with an expert eye.

"How bad is it?" Sly asked curiously, noticing the sour look on the old sea captain's face.

"It's not so bad, though it'll still take the crew several weeks of hard work to get her sea worthy again."

After he finished his inspection,
Captain Harper led them to a nearby inn which they could use as a base of operations during their search for Leia's abductors.

True to his word,
the second they had touched dry land, the captain had ordered half of his crew to begin scouring the docks in search of anyone that may fit the description of Leia's abductors. It wasn't long before one of the men returned with news.

"I think I may have found the ship that was carrying the people they're searching for, Captain." A sailor
, an evil looking fellow with only one eye, told Captain Harper, rushing towards the table the old sea captain shared with Damion and the others. "It arrived a few nights ago with only a single man and a woman aboard. They took a room at an inn near the end of the pier."

"Are they still there?" Raven asked, jumping to her feet excitedly.

The sailor shook his head. "They set off a few hours after arriving. The innkeeper mentioned that the hooded one was carrying a child which wouldn't stop wailing."

"Leia!" The young woman's hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes instantly filled with tears.