Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (42 page)

"She was no charlatan
." Damarius assured them. "She more than proved that to us during our discussion."

"Gwynth brought you a message from
the Serpent Mother?" Sly sounded awestruck.

Damion nodded grimly. "
She sent us a warning. If we fail, and the Dragon God is able to use Leia to fulfill His plans, then this world will be lost."

"That doesn't sound good." The twins muttered in unison.

"Why is it when the gods decide to send us mortals a message, it's always bad news?" Sly asked sarcastically. "It's always destruction and doom. Just once I would like to hear that a god sent down a message saying that everything is fine, and to have a pleasant day."

Damion chuckled in spite of himself. "
I think I can agree with you there." He sighed heavily. "She warned us that if there were no other way to rescue Leia, then we should kill her to prevent the mankind from being obliterated."

The little man jerked his horse to a stop. "What?" He looked outr
aged. "She asked you to murder your own daughter?"

The huge warrior nodded grimly.
"Gwynth was quite adamant that if Draco is able to fulfill His plans, it will bring about the destruction of all mankind."

"Couldn't Estheryal help us?"

"She is bound by oath not to directly interfere with events happening in the world," Damarius reminded the scruffy little man. "just as the other gods are bound."

"Of course, we told her we would never murder our own child," Damion
told them, a slight edge to his voice as the anger at such a thought resurfaced. "which makes our rescuing Leia even more paramount. If we can believe what Gwynth told us, and I'm pretty sure that we can, mankind will be lost if the witch is able to deliver her to Draco."

"Then I guess that makes things simple, doesn't it?" Sly nudged his horse with his heels. "
Let's go get our little Leia back."

They spent the next several
weeks pushing their horses to the brink of exhaustion, rising early every morning, and riding deep into the night in an effort to overtake Leia and her abductors. When they finally reached the border between Alioon and Teirsia, they were all exhausted.

It was early evening when the small group of stone buildings that made up the border finally came into view. A dozen armored soldiers lounged against one of the buildings, each wielding a polished shield and
long pike.

"Will those soldiers give us any problems when we try to cross the border?" Sly asked the twins in a tired voice.

"These men shouldn't," Jacom started in a dubious tone. "but the Teirsians on the other side of the border may prove a bit more difficult."

"They are an obnoxious bunch."
Jarom told them in the same dubious tone. "All they seem to care about is who has bigger muscles, and who has killed more men."

They slowly passed the lounging soldiers,
their eyes wary, and their hands on their weapons, but the men merely watched their arrival with mild curiosity.

Several of the soldiers started to point at Damion, who rode atop Storm with a stern expression, and whisper to their companions in frightened tones
as they watched him pass, an occurrence all too common for the huge warrior. People had been pointing and staring at him his entire life, but he had learned to ignore it, though it still irritated him from time to time.

He grit his teeth
and pressed on, leading the companions passed the staring soldiers, trying valiantly to resist the urge to chase the men down and poke out their eyes with a sharp stick.

"That appears to be a tavern." Sly pointed
to a large stone structure which had a large sign with a crude painting of grapes hanging over the entrance. "Maybe we could stop for a hot meal and a cold drink."

Damion gave the little man a hard look. "We
need to keep moving. We don't have the time to spare."

Raven reached out and touched the
huge warrior's arm. "It may be a good idea to stop for a little while." She told him, her face weary. "We could really use some rest and a good meal, and the horses are nearly played out."

Storm snorted, and tossed his head back in agreement.

"Very well," He gave in, noticing how tired his young wife looked. "but only for a few hours." He looked around at the sky above, and saw Snowfeather gliding high overhead.
"We're going to stop for a few hours to rest the horses and grab a quick meal."

"Very well."
The huge owl replied.
"I'll think I'll go find myself some dinner as well."

"Just keep your eyes open while you do."
Damion reminded his familiar.
"Leia and her abductors may be nearby."
He watched as the snowy owl disappeared into the distance, then led the others towards the livery adjoining the tavern.

A young boy
of about ten, with straw blond hair and a rather vacant look in his eyes, hurried out of the stables, a huge smile on his youthful face. "Good evening, friends," He greeted them in a squeaky voice. "Would you like me to look after your horses?"

"Are you sure you can handle them?" Damion asked in a dubious voice. "Shouldn't your father see to them?"

"My father is dead, milord," The boy told him, his smile faltering. "He was thrown from a horse a year or so ago, and broke his neck. My mother is too ill to look after the livery, so..." He shrugged. "It's not so bad. Father taught me everything he knew about the business, and I love horses. It's been working out well. We're making more now than when father was alive." He made a face. "Of course my mother says that's just because father isn't drinking it away in the tavern." He smiled again. "I'm Michail, by the way."

Damion slid down from Storm's back and withdrew several coins from the pouch on his belt. "In that case,
Michail, see that the horses are fed and watered, then give them each a good rub down. They've had a tough journey, and it's not over yet."

The boy
's smile quickly returned as he took the handful of coins. "Very good, milord. I'll see that they are all well cared for."

"Make sure to be wary around the big one. He can be a little aggressive." The huge warrior handed over Storm's reins, then took the warhorse firmly by the bridle. "Be nice."

The stallion sighed heavily, then began walking to towards the stable, dragging the boy along behind by the reins.

They entered the
tavern, and made their way over to a table near the corner of the room. There was several more Aliono soldiers seated near the bar who watched the companions with suspicious eyes, but after a moment, they seemed to lose interest, and returned to their conversation.

"Are we going to take rooms for the evening?" Damarius asked, lowering himself into a chair with a groan.

Damion stared at the old man appraisingly. "I guess we could all do with a few hours of sleep in a soft bed." He conceded after a moment's thought. "We need to be off by dawn though."

"Oh, thank the gods!" The old wizard sighed in relief. "I was dreading another night on the hard ground." He smiled. "These old bones of mine aren't quite what they used to be."

"But you do look much more fit." Raven told him.

Damion looked closer at his old teacher and had to agree with his wife. The old wizard had never looked better. His
overhanging gut had disappeared, and the sun had given his pale skin a healthy glow.

"I feel better than I have in years," Damarius agreed. "
but that doesn't mean I enjoy sleeping on the cold hard ground."

They ordered food and drinks, then sat back to enjoy their first hot meal in days.

"Perhaps we should ask a few of the locals if the witch was seen passing through." Jacom suggested, devouring a sizzling chicken leg between words.

"It would be a good idea to find out if she crossed the border here, or located another place to slip into
Teirsia unseen." Jarom agreed, stuffing his mouth full of boiled potatoes.

"I'll make some
discreet inquiries once we have finished eating." Sly volunteered, waving his empty tankard in the air to get the serving girl's attention. "It shouldn't take long. I doubt there are more than a dozen locals here."

They finished their meal, then lingered over their tankards with a contented a
ir, while the little man wandered off to ask after the witch. He returned a few minutes later with a frown.

"Any luck?" Raven asked hopefully.

Sly shook his head. "I couldn't even find anyone who would talk with me. They seem to be a little standoffish around here."

"That's not surprising." Jarom
yawned sleepily. "They live right on the border of Teirsia."

"Living that close to such a warlike people would make anyone
nervous." Jacom reasoned in a tired voice.

"We'll just have to press on
and hope that we haven't lost their trail." Damion sighed unhappily.

They rented several rooms from the grouchy looking innkeeper
, and settled down for a few hours of rest. They rose an hour or so before before dawn, and returned to the common room to enjoy a hot breakfast before setting off.

Once they had stuffed themselves
with more eggs, sausage, and fruit than was good for them, they reluctantly pushed themselves away from the table, and made their way to the livery to retrieve their horses.

They found
Michail sleeping comfortably upon a soft bale of fresh hay just outside of the livery's entrance. His eyes instantly popped open when they approached, and he rolled from his makeshift bed and stretched. "Good morning, friends. I trust you slept well?"

"Not well enough." Sly grumbled sleepily, leaning up against the stable door and closing his eyes.
"I can use a few more hours."

"Do you always sleep here at the livery?" Raven asked curiously
, glancing at Sly, then rolling her eyes.

The boy made a face, and shook his head. "I usually have a helper
, Udo, that looks after the livery during the night, but I had some travelers stop in yesterday morning and ask for someone to help guiding them through the area, so I sent him to help. He still hasn't returned." He made a face. "He probably got lost. He isn't the smartest person in the world, you know. He was kicked in the head by a mule as a child, and he never quite recovered. He sometimes gets lost for a day or two, but he always manages to find his way home eventually."

The companions exchanged glances. "What did these
travelers look like?" Damion asked, trying not to sound too interested.