Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (30 page)

"Enough." Damion told the twins, who
were still grinning at the sick little man. "Leave Sly alone. You can see he's ill." He suddenly smirked. "It's not his fault he can't handle a few drinks."

"That's not funny." Sly grumbled in a rusty voice. "
I've never had anything like that dragon's milk before. I don't remember anything after the second swig!"

"That must be some powerful stuff." Damarius commented, brushing his
brow lock from his eyes absently. "Try to save me a little to test. It may have some hidden properties that may be useful."

"Don't worry about that." The little man raised his wineskin, which
was still nearly full. "There's plenty of it here, and I'm not planning on sampling it again anytime soon. I think I'll just stick with ale."

They continued to follow the twins for several more hours, then the trail they were following abruptly joined a gravel road
, which led across an open expanse of meadow lands which seemed to stretch on forever.

"Th
ese are the Alioon pastures." Jarom told everyone as they pressed on down the well travelled road. "They stretch on for miles in every direction. We should be able to make up a bit of time as we travel through these lands."

"
The Aliono take great pains in maintaining their roads." Jarom elaborated on his brother's thought."We should be able to pick up the pace without fear of the horses injuring themselves in the darkness."

"Why didn't we just follow the road we were on, instead of
using that trail?" Raven asked. "The path you took us on slowed us considerably."

"The road we were following circled the long way around a ridge that
separates the land of the gnomes and Alioon." Jarom explained.

"The trail we took passes between a small gap in the ridge." Jacom added. "It
allows us to avoid fifteen miles worth of twisting and turning."

Raven smiled approvingly. "A few more shortcuts like that and we'll be breathing down that witch's neck!"

They picked up their pace and were soon flying across through the Alioon pastures. They stopped only occasionally to eat and rest the horses, then they would immediately set back off, trying desperately to catch up with Leia's abductors.

Damion finally called for them
halt that evening near a shores of a small lake. They quickly set up camp, then Sly and the twins began gathering firewood, while Raven prepared their dinner, and Damion and Damarius tended to the horses.

"How are you holding up?" Damion asked the old wizard
, who looked rather weary.

"I'm fine, Damion." The old man assured him with a smile. "I'm a little tired, and
calluses are beginning to form on my backside from my saddle, but otherwise, I feel great." He grinned a slightly foolish grin. "I know this isn't some lighthearted adventure that we're on, but this is the most fun I've had in the last half century!" He sighed happily. "I forgot what it was like to be on an adventure. It really gets the blood racing!"

Damion laughed, relieved that his old mentor was holding up under the rigors of their travels. He had been worried early on that the old man may be unable to keep up their demanding pace, but, as
always, the strange old wizard surprised him, keeping pace with them without complaint, and pitching in to help where ever he could.

Snowfeather sailed
in from the darkness on silent wings while Damion was tending to Storm, and landed softly on the warhorse's broad back, where he began to preen his gleaming feathers.
"There is a small settlement on the opposite side of this lake."
The huge owl hooted, carefully arranging a number of feathers that had been dislodged by an errant gust of wind.
"I flew across the lake to investigate, but it appears as though it's only a small fishing village. I counted about twenty people in all, and none of them fit the descriptions of the witch or her bodyguard."

Damion frowned. "They would
probably try and avoid any place that was populated." He murmured aloud. "Is there anyone on this side of the lake?"

"Nay, but there is an abandoned campsite about a mile from here. It looks as though it was used fairly recently."

The huge warrior finished brushing down the Storm, and made sure that the great beast had plenty to eat, then he, Snowfeather, and Damarius, joined the others around their well concealed campfire to enjoy a savory stew the Raven whipped up from their provisions.

"Did the
feather duster see anything unusual nearby?" Sly asked, thrusting his chin at Snowfeather.

Snowfeather squawked in indignation, causing everyone to laugh.

"He said there's a small fishing village on the opposite side of the lake." Damion informed them, still chuckling in amusement. "He checked it out, but didn't find any sign of the witch or her khalkan. He
did
find an abandoned campsite about a mile from here. I thought I would check it out after we eat."

"It's not wise to go wandering around these lands at night." Jacom cautioned him, shoveling a spoonful of stew into his mouth.

"Dire wolves plague these lands, attacking anything that moves." Jarom explained, refilling his bowl with stew. "They run in large packs that have even been known to attack small villages. You definitely don't want to come up against a pack of those beasts in the dark."

"You two aren't afraid of
a few little wolves, now are you?" Sly snorted in derision, still irritated by their needling.

"Dire wolves aren't like other wolves." Jarom told him in a serious tone. "They're as big as a pony, and far more intelligent
than normal wolves."

"They've been known to lead organized raids on the smaller villages and farmsteads in the area, specifically targeting the children
." Jacom added, his expression grim. "They seem to prefer the taste of the young. They'll rip an entire village apart to find a single child."

"That's horrible!" Raven cried in disgust. "Why hasn't anyone done something about it?"

"The locals do their best to fight them off, but dire wolves are wily creatures."

"Dire wolves or not, I'm still going to go check out th
at campsite." Damion told them firmly. "Snowfeather said it looks as though someone stayed there recently."

"I'll go with you." Raven told him, her eyes slightly haunted. The stories of the dire wolves
snatching children from villages had clearly rattled her.

Damion started to argue that she should stay, but stopped, seeing the expression of fear in her eyes. He nodded in agreement, then looked to the others. "Keep an eye on everything while we're gone. We should return in a couple of hours."

"Aren't you going to take the horses?" The twins asked in confusion as he, his young wife, and Snowfeather, started off into the darkness.

Damion shook his head. "We'll be able to move faster
without them." They disappeared into the night without another word.

The twins looked at one another for a long moment, then turned to stare at Damarius with questioning expressions.

Damarius waved his hand, and shook his head. "It's just easier to smile, and not ask questions. Besides," He laughed. "like I said before, you'd never believe me!"

Chapter
12

Damion led Raven to a spot a hundred yards or so from the camp, then stopped.

"What is your plan?" Raven asked curiously as she gazed out into the surrounding darkness, her hand firmly on her bow.

"I thought we would just run there on foot real quick, check it out
, then run back." He smiled at her innocently. "It shouldn't take us too long."

"Be serious." She told him, ro
lling her eyes. "There's no way I'm going to run."

Damion scratched his head thoughtfully. "How about you just ride then?"

Raven smiled in spite of herself. "That would be fine, but what will I ride? We left the horses back at camp."

Damion smiled mischievously, then drew in his magic and shifted into the form of an enormous black panther.
He circled her slowly for a long moment, his large golden eyes watching her every movement, then he suddenly ducked between her legs and stood, easily lifting her from her feet.

The young woman laughed in delight, and shifted around until she found a firm perch, then
she gently leaned forward, and wrapped her arms around his thickly muscled shoulders. "Let's move." She whispered softly into his ear, sending a wave of shivers down his spine.

Damion started off, slowly at first, but quickly building speed as they dashed through the darkness, his keen eyes easil
y guiding him through the gloom. Snowfeather soared high overhead, silently guiding the huge warrior towards the abandoned campsite he had spotted while scouting the area.

The
y had only traveled a half mile or so, when an unfamiliar scent suddenly assaulted Damion's senses, causing him to slow cautiously, his eyes alert for any movement.

Raven, sensing the danger, silently notched an arrow
, her body tense and ready to react at a moment's notice.

"Watch out!"
Snowfeather hooted in warning, swooping low over their heads.
"There are several huge wolves directly ahead!"

A
guttural growl suddenly broke the silence as a huge dire wolf slinked out of a nearby grove of bushes, its glowing eyes locked on them with dreadful intent. A second dire wolf, and then a third, appeared from the night, silently circling to opposite sides to cut off any retreat.

Damion snarled viciously, then swiftly looked around, his mind trying to work out a quick escape. He soon saw th
at escape was impossible, however, finding the way they came blocked by yet another dire wolf, which had somehow slipped through the underbrush and emerged behind them, its teeth bared in a bestial snarl.

Looking
above them, Damion noticed the branch of an old oak tree, which hung low over their heads. Coiling his muscles, he sprang straight up into the air. At the exact same instant, one of the dire wolves sprang forward, its lethal jaws snapping at the empty air where they had just been standing an instant before.

Raven let out a squeal of surprise as he shouldered her free from his back, and she grasped a hold of the tree branch and pulled herself up to safety, leaving the dire wolves to howl and snarl in frustration.

Damion landed on top of the attacking dire wolf, his teeth and claws slashing and ripping. The dire wolf yelped in pain and fury as it desperately tried to dislodge him from its back, but he held on, latching onto the injured beast's neck with his powerful jaws. With a sickening wrench, he snapped the wolf's neck, then jumped free, allowing the carcass to fall twitching to the ground.