Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (37 page)

"No, I just wanted to have a look at this dragon for myself."

The man made a face. "Big brute, isn't it? I'm not looking forward to trying to drive it off."

"Today is your lucky day
, then." Damion told him, taking Storm's reins from his young wife and climbing up into the saddle. "The dragon has departed. I don't think that you and your men will have to worry about it bothering you anymore."

"Thank the gods!" The man exclaimed in relief, swaying back and forth on his feet unsteadily. "I truly thought today would be my last day here
in this world." He smiled happily, then his eyes suddenly rolled up into the back of his head, and he dropped to the cobblestones in an unconscious heap.

Damion looked to Sly, who was staring at the
unconscious soldier in amusement. "Dragon's milk?"

"I just thought
they might enjoy having a drink." The little man grinned impishly.

"It was a good idea. It allowed me
time to get a report from Scale, and find out if he had been able to discover anything useful."

"And?"

The huge warrior shook his head. "He couldn't find any sign of Leia or the witch."

"That doesn't surprise me." Damarius remarke
d, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I'm sure the witch has many ways of concealing her presence."

"Why did the beast start such a large fire?" Jacom asked, looking around at the villagers
, who were still milling around with frightened expressions.

"It nearly burned the entire village to the ground." Jarom added, his expression one of disapproval.

Damion frowned. "That was an accident. When Scale couldn't find any signs of Leia, he decided to try to get ahead of her abductors and create a bit of mayhem in the hopes of slowing them down enough for us to catch up to them. I guess the fire he started grew a bit out of control."

"
So the witch that took Leia hasn't passed this way?" Raven asked, a slight note of panic in her voice.

"It doesn't look that way."

"She may still be here in town somewhere." One of the twin knights suggested shrewdly.

"We should spread out and canvas the area." The other twin added. "
They may be holed up here somewhere. If nothing else, we may find someone who may have seen them."

Damion thought about it for a moment. "
I think that's the best plan." He agreed finally. "Let's split up into pairs and search the village. Speak to every person you see. If we're lucky, one of them may know which way they may have taken to avoid Scale."

"What if we can't find their trail again?" Raven asked fearfully.

"Then we'll continue on towards Teirsia." Damion decided with a sigh. "We're fairly certain they are heading to the highlands, so we'll head there."

"But what if we're too late?" The young woman's eyes were filled with tears.

"Not a chance." Damion assured her confidently. "I had Scale locate another dragon to carry word to Aunt Skie and Shirk, then hurry on ahead to the highlands to prevent the witch from reaching the temples." He smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. The witch will never reach destination with Leia." He looked to the others. "Talk to everyone who will speak with you. Look for anyone who may have seen the witch or her puppet bodyguard. We'll meet back here in an hour."

Chapter 14

"
It's getting close to nightfall, Mistress." Boris pointed out, glancing over at the hooded woman with a questioning expression. "Do you wish to stop and make camp soon?"

As if on cue, the young child the witch carried
in her arms began to wail, her high pitched screaming echoing through the tiny wooded vale.

The hooded
woman sighed in exasperation. "I guess we may as well. This retched little creature won't stop its wailing until it has been fed."

The
bull hide armored warrior took the lead, and soon located a secluded grove that was not far from the road, but would still keep them well hidden from prying eyes. He quickly set up a crude camp, building a tiny fire to provide some light and a source in which to cook their meal, then set about tending to their mounts. Once the horses had been fed and watered, he gathered enough wood to last them the night, then quickly set about preparing the child and himself something to eat.

"How much further is it until we reach the border of
Teirsia?" The hooded witch asked in a tired, raspy tone.

"At least a hundred leagues, Mi
stress." The huge man informed her as he turned a chicken that was sizzling on a spit over the hot coals. "The detour that peasant pointed out to us to avoid the dragon has taken us quite a distance out of our way."

"Accursed dragon!"
The witch hissed spitefully. "The Dragon Lord must have sent it to try and stop us. It will do him no good, however. The elder spirits have given me the task to deliver this child to the temple of the highlands, and that's exactly what I will do."

"Do you think they discovered the hunter's trail
we took to avoid the beast?"

"It is doubtful. The peasant that showed it to us mentioned that few others knew about its
existence, and he will not be showing it to anybody else now." She frowned. "He wasn't enough to provide me with all of the energy I required, but his children," She shivered in delight. "They provided me with all that I require to speak with the spirits. They shall continue to guide our steps."

The young girl, who had been watching
Boris as he tended to their dinner, suddenly turned and fixed the witch with a hateful stare.

"Look at her," The witch sneered. "The little beast is just waiting for me to attempt to contact the spirits so she can try to interrupt me with her wailing."

Boris shrugged. "She is just a child. I sure she isn't doing it intentionally."

"Don't be so sure. This is no ordinary child
. She is the daughter of the Dragon Lord, which means she
also
has the blood of dragons flowing in her veins. She carries a power within her that has even made the gods take notice. She may even have more power than her father, who is one of the most powerful sorcerers to ever live."

"Is that why the elder
spirits commanded you to bring her to the temples?"

"The elder
spirits have no interest in the girl. They have commanded the little beast be taken to the temples and surrendered to a god."

"A god?" Boris looked surprised. "Which
deity could command so much respect that the elder spirits would agree to aid them?"

The witch shrugged. "The dragon god, Draco, of course. Who else would be interested in that
annoying little beast?" She returned the hateful stare that the young girl was still leveling at her. "I guess the dragon god has plans for her, though for what reason He wants her, I have no idea. The reason and meaning behind the things the gods do are often obscure. Personally, I would have just consumed her and been done with it, if the elder spirits hadn't commanded me otherwise."

The huge man removed the chicken from the spit, then ripped it in half with his bare hands
and handed one part to the girl, who took it from him eagerly.

"I shall
go and attempt to contact the spirits while she is preoccupied with her meal." The young woman decided, rising to her feet. "They will show us our path." She disappeared into the darkness, leaving Boris and the child to finish their meal.

The huge warrior and the tiny child ate
together in silence, staring across the fire at one another as they waited for the hooded woman to return.

When the witch finally returned, she seemed shaken, and had a anxious, almost panicked expression on her face. "Ready the horses." She snarled angrily. "The Dragon Lord has somehow gained ground on us. He's less than
two day's behind us."

"How was he able to catch up with us?" The huge warrior had jumped to his feet, and was quickly tending to their mounts.

The young woman shook her head. "I don't know, but he will not being going any further." She lowered her hood, revealing the twin fires of violet which burned deep within her eyes. "Take the child, and go apart some way. I'm going to deal with this Dragon Lord once and for all!"

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

"There it is, milord, just as I said." The young boy pointed out the scarcely visible game trail which branched off to the north. "I saw Herbert and his two sons disappear with that man and woman up this trail. They haven't been seen since."

Damion
and the others stood at the edge of the trade road, looking at the scarcely visible game trail with the young boy Sly and Damarius had located during their search of the village.

"And you're sure it's the people we are looking for?" Sly asked, giving the boy a skeptical look
.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm sure, milord. Our village isn't exactly what you would call a metropolis, you know? They arrived here two days past, just after sundown, and left at sunrise yesterday morning. The man was huge, and smelled really bad, and the woman kept herself hidden beneath a hooded cloak." He smiled. "My father runs the local inn, and I'm the
stable hand, but sometimes I'll help out in the kitchens. I served food to the man and the child that was with them, but the woman had already retired to their room before I was able to get a good look at her."

"The child," Raven asked the young boy, her voice desperate. "H-How did she look? Did she seems to be in good condition."

The boy nodded. "She look fine to me, and her lungs are functioning perfectly. She wailed the entire time the woman was with her. She quieted down once the hooded woman disappeared into their room."

"And you say they left at sunrise
, two days ago?" Damion asked the boy, who stared up at him with slightly frightened eyes. "You're sure that it wasn't the day before that?"

The boy nodded again. "I
'm sure, milord. I saw them as I was running to get supplies for the kitchens. Herbert and his sons, Gren and Grom, were leading them up this path, probably showing them a way around that dragon that you chased off." He stared at Damion in awe.

"Where does the trail lead?"

"North." The boy shrugged. "I followed it once for a couple a miles last summer, but finally had to turn back. I asked Herbert where it led, and he said it eventually joined back up with the trade route."