Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (29 page)

"Did he find any sign of Leia?" Raven asked hopefully,
recognizing the blank look that always came into her husband's eyes when he was communicating with his familiar.

Damion frowned, and shook his head
.

The young woman buried her face in her hands
, and began to quietly weep.

H
e drew her close, his heart breaking. He feared for his daughter, and hated seeing his wife in such pain, and each day that passed, he became more and more furious and impatient. Unable to bear it anymore, he gently disengaged her embrace, and stood, his face determined.

"Where do you think you're going?"
Damarius asked in a sleepy tone.

"Snowfeather mentioned
that there was a scarlet dragon nearby." He murmured in a quiet voice, glancing at the twins, who were still watching Sly in amusement. "I thought maybe I would pay it a visit and see if it can help us in some way." He looked to his wife. "I'll return as quickly as I can. Try and get some rest."

He turned to leave, but stopped as Sly suddenly lurched to his feet, his eyes glazed. "I'll go with you
." He volunteered, his voice heavily slurred. He took a step towards the huge warrior, then his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and he collapsed to the ground with a resounding snore.

The twin knights burst out laughing, then rose
from their seats, and dragged the little man back to his bedroll.

Damion shook his head in resignation. "Keep a watch over the camp while I'm gone." He told them as they returned to their
places near the fire, still giggling like school children. "I'll return soon." He turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Snowfeather quickly gobbled down the remainder of his rabbit, then leapt into the air
, and followed him into the night.

The twin knights turned and looked at Damarius, their eyes curious. "Where is he going?" They asked the old wizard in unison.

Damarius chuckled and shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

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

As soon as he was away from their campsite, Damion drew in his magic, and slipped into the form of a panther. He shot off through the darkness, his keen eyes turning the night into day.

Snowfeather swooped down to glide just over his head, guiding him towards the last place the huge owl saw the scarlet
dragon.

It took the nearly an hour, but they finally located the great beast's lair
nestled deep within a cavern whose entrance was concealed by several conveniently placed boulders.

"Head on back to camp, and keep an eye on things."
He told Snowfeather, shifting back into his normal form.
"I shouldn't be too long."

"What are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to see if we can recruit a little help."
He slipped into the concealed opening, then carefully made his way through the darkness towards the rear of the cavern. He found the enormous scarlet dragon lounging at the back of the cavern feasting on a freshly killed ox.

It only took a moment for his scent to reach the beast's sensitive
nostrils, and its head instantly snapped up from its meal, its eyes narrowed in fury.

"Easy, big guy." Damion told the massive dragon fearlessly, knowing the power of the Dragon Gem would
keep the beast from attacking.

The dragon's eyes suddenly widened in surprised recognition. "Dragon
Lord! I'm surprised to see you here! You are a long way from your home at the Serpent's Keep!"

"We have followed my daughter's abductors to this land.
" He told the beast in a grim voice. "They may have passed through here on their way towards the Teirsian highlands."

The great beast pushed the remains of its meal away absently. "I had heard your child had been stolen, but never realized they could be here in my territory." His eyes narrowed in thought. "You said that they were heading towards the highlands, correct?"

"We discovered that one of Leia's abductors is a highland witch. We suspect she is taking my daughter back to her homeland."

"What possible reason
would a highland witch have for abducting your child?" The scarlet serpent asked in bafflement. "They usually spend most of their time in a daze, mumbling nonsense to the spirits."

Damion hesitated. "
I believe it may have something to do with the disappearance of the dragon god's constellation. There have been numerous rumors that Draco has returned to this world once more. We are not sure why He would choose to use a witch to achieve His plans, though."

"
Because His children are under the influence of the Dragon Gem, and the dragonspawn are far too unreliable." The great serpent rumbled knowingly. "He would never take a direct hand in influencing the events in the world. That is the agreement between the gods. They can only use mortals to carry out their wishes."

Damion frowned. "We have heard the same thing, but that still doesn't explain why
He chose a highland witch to carry out His plans."

"Perhaps
He didn't wish to have any contact with a mortal, so He chose to use the elder spirits to carry out His plans.
They
would have been the ones who decided to use a highland witch to carry out the abduction."

Damion
thought this over carefully. "That
would
explain her involvement." He said finally. "It would also explain why she is taking Leia back to the highlands. That must be where she is to sacrifice her to the dragon god."

The dragon shook his head in
disagreement. "Draco doesn't demand sacrifices." It assured him in a knowing tone. "He may have plans for your daughter, but they will
not
include her sacrifice."

Damion felt slightly better at these words. "I truly hope you are right, my friend." He sighed heavily. "I must hurry back to my friends so we may continue our search, but I came here to request a boon."

"Of course, Dragon Lord." The great beast drew itself up formally. "You released my brethren and myself from our prison within the Dragon Gem. We shall always be at your service."

"Thank you, my friend. What are you called?"

"I'm known as Scale, Dragon Lord." It replied proudly. "I was born of the same clutch as your close friend, Tempest. I was the first to emerge from the egg, actually." He added rather smugly.

Damion smiled. "I am proud to have her among my closest friends and advisors."

"What would you have me do for you, Dragon Lord?"

"Please," He asked in a pained tone. "
call me Damion. The title of Dragon Lord still makes me uncomfortable."

Scale nodded approvingly. "It seems Tempest was correct in believing
that your honor was above reproach."

"I would ask you to travel toward the north and east, and search for my daughter and her abductors. If you cannot locate them, st
art raising as much of a fuss as you can, without harming anyone, of course. Perhaps you can slow them down enough for us to overtake them."

"I would be honored to aid you in recovering your daughter." The great scarlet serpent agreed immediately.

"Thank you, my friend. If you do locate them, find me immediately."

"Of course. I shall do my upmost to
help you free your daughter."

After thanking him once more, Damion shifted back into the form of a panther
, and quickly made his way from Scale's cavern.

When he finally made it back to their campsite, he found the twin
s nervously awaiting his return, while the others slept peacefully near the fire.

"We think we saw a dragon!" They warned him as he sauntered in from the darkness. "It flew directly over our camp
. We would have never even seen it if it hadn't swooped in low to get a better look at us."

"Don't worry," He assured the knights in a calm tone. "It won't bother you
, if you don't bother it."

The twins looked at him in disbelief. "We don't think that
really applies to dragons!"

Damion laughed. "Trust me. It has more important things to do than nibbling on a couple of scrawny knights."

"Hey!" Jarom exclaimed in protest. "We're not scrawny!"

"We're just lean!" Jacom t
old him in the same outraged tone.

They
all stared at one another for a long moment, then they burst out laughing in amusement.

"So you're not worried that dragon may return for an easy meal?" One of the twins asked once their laughter
had faded.

Damion
shook his head. "It won't bother us." He assured them again. "Dragons do not feed upon humans, no matter what you may have heard in fairy tales. The scarlet dragons are some of the most honorable creatures in the world." He made a face. "The shadow dragons can be a bit of a nuisance, but there are not very many of them left now. The scarlet dragons have made sure of that."

"I would
have still preferred if that madman they call the Dragon Lord had left them sealed up in that magic stone of his." The one of the knights told him in a rueful tone.

"The world already had enough monsters lurking in the shadows." The other knight agreed fervently.
"That lunatic must have been completely unhinged to release those beasts back into the world."

Damion smiled, but chose to remain silent.

They set off the next morning after a breakfast of leftover beans and pork. Sly looked terrible as he drug himself up from his bedroll, and he spent a good portion of the morning heaving his guts into a small bush a few dozen feet from camp. The twins were merciless in their needling, seeming to take great pleasure in reminding the little man of his boastful words, and the fact that they had warned him repeatedly against sampling the strange concoction that the gnomes brewed.

"Would you two
please
just shut up?" Sly asked miserably as they trotted down a scarcely visible trail that the knights assured them would cut a half day's travel from their journey. "I get it! I should have listened to your warnings, but I didn't. Now, will you kindly shut your traps?"