Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (31 page)

He was surprised to find that only a single dire wolf remained out of the four that emerged from the night. The other two lay dead nearby
with Raven's arrows protruding from their throats.

The last beast, the largest of the four, snarled in rage, then charged forward, its teeth gnashing.

Damion easily ducked beneath its snapping jaws, and lashed out with razor sharp claws which ripped into the wolf's side, leaving several long ragged gashes in their wake.

The dire wolf seemed not to even feel
the blow, and instead, whirled to renew its attack with surprising speed. It lunged forward, trying to use its massive body to knock him from his feet, but Damion met its lunge with a powerful blow which caught the beast across the muzzle, momentarily stunning it.

Moving quicker than the eye could follow, he dashed in and latched onto its throat, sinking his fangs deep into the
dire wolf's neck. With an almost contemptible growl, he ripped the wolf's throat out and spat it out onto the ground.

The dire wolf continued to stand for several seconds as it tried to gasp for air through hole in its neck. Its legs began to tremble uncontrollably as
blood poured from the terrible wound, forming a large puddle on the ground. It finally collapsed, kicking and twitching feebly, then fell still.

Damion took several moments to catch his breath, then turned and looked up at his young wife, who was carefully lowering herself to the ground.

"That's was exciting!" She hurried over to retrieve her arrows, then she returned to her place on top of his back. "Let's get moving before anymore of those creatures show up!"

They reached the
abandoned campsite a few minutes later, and found it had been constructed in a small secluded clearing, well hidden from prying eyes. There was the remains of a campfire in the center of the small clearing, and much of the brush and grass had been trampled down by someone large and heavy.

Raven slid
down from Damion's back, and the huge warrior shifted back into his own form.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, her expression concerned.
"Those wolves came out of nowhere!"

"I
'm fine." He assured her with a dismissive wave. "It'll take more than a couple of mangy wolves to take me down."

They quickly began to search the campsite for any sign of who
may have been staying there. After a few moments of searching, Damion found several sets of clear footprints in the soft soil. "There was at least two adults, and one child staying here." He commented, not allowing himself to get his hopes too high.

Raven
suddenly gave out a low cry, then dropped to her knees weeping.

"What is it?" Damion asked in concern, rushing over to her side.

The young woman handed him a tiny child's smock which she had found discarded in the brush. "This was Leia's favorite smock. Lady Skie and I had the castle seamstress make it for her a few months ago." She buried her face in her hands.

Damion
stared at the smock, both elated to know that they were still on their trail, yet furious his only child was still being held by lunatics.

"How far behind them do you think we are?" Raven asked once her weeping had subsided.

"Three or four days, judging by the state of things. This site is still fairly fresh." He breathed a silent sigh of relief. "I'm glad to see that we're still on their trail. I was half afraid we had lost them, or they set off in another direction to throw us off."

They finished searching the abandoned camp, but didn't find anything else
of note. With a regretful sigh, Damion once again shifted into the form of a panther and waited as Raven took her place on his back, then he quickly set off through the darkness.

They made it back to their campsite without any furthers encounters, and emerged into the light of their small campfire, causing everyone to jump fearfully.

The twins leapt to their feet and drew their swords, their eyes wide with fear as they stared at the massive panther, but Damarius and Sly merely returned to their seats, their expressions calm.

One of the twin knights suddenly spotted Raven, who was still perched atop Damion's shoulders, and lowered his sword in confusion. "Raven? What are you doing on that beast?"

"Where's Damion?" The other knight's expression was just as confused.

The young woman laughed as she slid down from the huge panther's shoulder
s. "He's right here." She giggled, running a caressing hand down Damion's side.

The knights continued to stare at her in confusion until Damion suddenly
shifted back into his own form, causing the men to stumble backward in stunned surprise. "What sorcery is this?" They exclaimed in unison.

Damion laughed. "
It's just a little trick I picked up somewhere." He told the twins, winking at the others, who watched on in amusement.

But the twins would not take that as an explanation.
They stared at one another for several long moments, then slowly returned to their seats. "We think it's time we had a talk." They told the companions, their expressions serious.

"What would you like to talk about?"
Damion asked innocently.

The twins stared at him with flat expressions.

"Enough with the evasive answers and feigned innocence." Jarom snapped in an angry tone.

"We wish to know exactly who you people are." Jacom demanded in the same tone.

The companions exchanged amused glances, then Damion and Raven settled down across the fire from the two knights, who continued to wait expectantly.

"We are who we said we are." Damion told the knights with a s
hrug.

"Normal folk cannot light up the sky," Jarom stated blandly, looking over at Damarius.

"Nor can they transform themselves into giant panthers, or speak with animals." Jacom added, gesturing towards Snowfeather, who glided in from the darkness carrying a large field rat in his talons.

"True enough
," Damion conceded with a chuckle. "but we never claimed to be normal."

"Quit tormenting the poor fellows." Raven chided gently. "They have been quite helpful."

"Though they
have
been a bit of a pain." Sly pointed out.

Damion laughed. "Okay, okay." He gave in finally. "My name is Damion Omensent, but most folk call me the Dragon Lord." He couldn't help but laugh at the looks of dumbfounded astonishment that overtook the
twins' faces.

"You're the Dragon Lord?" They asked in unison. "The man who released the dragons from the Dragon Gem?"

"Yes, I'm
that
lunatic." Damion chuckled, throwing the twins earlier words back in their faces.

The twin
knights looked as though they weren't sure he was serious.

"He speaks the truth." Damarius assured the knights, absently brushing his brow lock from
his eyes. "He is the Dragon Lord, the man who united the Dragon Sword and the Dragon Gem, releasing the dragons back into the world once more."

"A bit of a let down, huh?" Sly snorted in amusement. "The stories always make him sound
so much more impressive."

Damion threw
the little man a sour look.

"And who are you people?" The twins looked to the others.

"We are his family." Damarius stated with a shrug.

The knights stared at them few several long minutes. "So you are the Dragon Lord." They stated finally, their tones finally convinced.

Damion nodded. "It wasn't exactly my idea." He told them ruefully. "It just kind of ended up that way."

"
Are the stories about you all true?" Jarom asked, his expression slightly dubious.

"Were you actually born from a dragon's egg, and raised by dragonspawn?" Jacom inquired, his expression
questioning.

Everyone laughed at that.

"Now that's a new one!" Sly chortled, pounding his knee in glee.

Damion shook his head. "No, my mother and father were human. My
size, magic, and my brow scales, were all the result of an attack on my mother by dragonspawn while I was still in her womb. That attack left its mark upon me."

"And the people that you are pursuing
?" The twins asked in unison.

"As we told you," Damion shrugged. "from what we have learned, it appears they are a highland witch and her khalkan."

"And the child?"

Damion frowned. "Our only daughter Leia. The witch and her puppet
perpetrated a diversion that drew us away from the Serpent's Keep, then they abducted Leia, murdered a close friend of ours that attempted to stop them, and escaped before we returned. We've been on their trail ever since."

"What would a highland witch want with your daughter?"
Jarom asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You are leaving something out, aren't you?" Jacom asked suspicio
usly.

Damion sighed. "Have you noticed
anything unusual in the heavens lately?" He stared up at the glittering stars above.

"Do you mean the missing constellation?" One of the twins asked, glancing up at the heavens.

"The stars that formed the constellation of Draco, the Father of Dragons?" The other twin inquired. "What about it?"

"We bel
ieve Draco has returned to this world." Damarius told them in a serious voice. "We think He may be who is behind Leia's abduction."

"
Why would a god use a highland witch?" Jacom asked in confusion.

"Why not just come for her
Himself." Jarom queried. "Draco
is
a god, after all."

Damarius shook his head.
"The gods have an agreement to never take a direct hand in the affairs of mortals. They can only use intermediaries to carry out their wishes. We think that the dragon god decided to use the elder spirits to carry out His plans, knowing His children could not be trusted to carry them out for Him. The scarlet dragons are still under the control of the Dragon Gem, and the dragonspawn are far too unreliable. We believe He enlisted the help of the elder spirits, and
they
were the ones who decided to use a highland witch to abduct Leia."