Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (44 page)

"Snowfeather says there's an abandoned farm
to the west of here." Damion reported to the others, who looked as weary as he felt. "It should be suitable enough for our purposes."

"Thank the gods!" Sly groaned in exhaustion. "I'm not sure how much further I can go."

It was late, and they had been searching for a suitable place to set up camp for several hours since the twins had been reluctant to set up camp in the open, fearing alerting any Teirsian patrols to their presence.

"W
e should not trust those that we encounter in these lands." Jacom had warned them in a quiet voice.

"Any Teirsians that the witch encounters will
surely be ordered to search us out and kill us," Jarom cautioned. "and most of them will obey to avoid angering the spirits."

After hour
s of searching without locating a sight that met the twins' approval, Damion had finally grown tired of looking, and sent the enormous snow owl to scout around for a well secluded site for them to stop for the night.

They quickly followed Snowfeather to the isolated farmstead located a mile or so from the main trade route, and sighed in weary relief when i
t finally appeared through the darkness.

The main farmhouse was constructed from heavy st
one collected from the area, and fit tightly together with mortar. A huge barn stood nearby, constructed from huge timbers that had been painstakingly shaped and fitted together. A corral had been built outside of the barn, and was bordered by a number of smaller outbuildings.

Sly swung down from his saddle and hurried inside.
"It's abandoned," He reported, reappearing a moment later with a troubled look on his face. "but it hasn't been for very long."

The others disappeared inside, while Damion took the horses to the barn and removed their saddles and packs. Once they had been watered and fed, he made his way into the farm house to find the others quickly making themselves at home.

"There's no trace of whoever used to dwell here." Raven told him with a frown. "It's like they just disappeared."

"Or w
ere consumed." Damarius suggested, a knowing look on his face. "We've been hot on the witch's heels, giving her very little time to rest. It also takes a lot of energy to commune with the spirits, especially when you delve into the depths of the underworld, as she has been doing. I have the feeling that the poor souls who once called this place home are no longer among the living."

Damion frowned, then looked around at the interior of the spacious farmhouse. It was little more than a large open room with the different areas of the home separated by large wooden partitions
. One area separated from the others had a number of beautifully carved beds, while another area was obviously used to prepare their meals. The largest area was reserved for the common area, which was centered around a huge fireplace that still had hot coals burning amongst the ashes.

"It's no more than a few hours old." Jarom reported with a tired smile.

"It looks as though we're gaining on our quarry." Jacom agreed with a yawn. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were no more than a few miles ahead of us."

"Where did Sly disappear to?" Raven asked as she began rummaging through the stores in
the kitchen area in search of provisions.

"He said he wanted to check out those outbuildings." Damarius grunted wearily. "I think he's trying to find worth stealing."

The little man came stumping into the house a few minutes later with several dead chickens, and a small barrel under one arm. "I found a chicken coop full of chickens, and a small brewery set up in one of those outbuildings. I thought maybe some roast chicken with something other than water to wash it down with would be a nice change from travel rations."

Raven smiled in delight, quickly cleaning the birds and setting them on spits over the fire. She also found several loafs of bread
, and some freshly churned butter stored in a small cabinet at the back of the kitchen.

They were soon dining on roasted chicken and washing it down with large amounts of the tasty flavored ale.

"This is good stuff." Sly burped, dipping his tankard into the barrel happily.

"Better go easy on that stuff." The twins warned the little man, refilling their own tankards. "There's not much left."

"Nonsense." The scruffy little man waved his hand dismissively. "There are a half a dozen more barrels out in the brewer's shed."

"Just make sure you don't get too drunk." Damion cautioned in a tired voice. "We need to be ready to move first thing in the morning."

"Relax," The little man reassured him. "I'll be ready when it's time to move out."

They all sat back comfortably,
and one by one, fell into a deep sleep, save for Damion, who decided to step back outside and stand watch while the others rested.

Though he was exhausted, Damion knew that sleep would be elusive. His mind was a whirlwind of anger and
frustration knowing that they could be within just a few miles of his daughter and her abductors. He desperately wished to press on and ignore the fact that they were all completely exhausted, but he knew he needed to remain calm. It would do Leia no good if they were to finally locate their quarry, only to be too tired to rescue her.

He sat down with his back against the cool stone of the farmhouse and sighed heavily.
He glanced up into the clear autumn night, his eyes automatically searching out the void which once held the stars making up the constellation of the dragon god.

He stared with boiling
fury at the void which once held the deity that was responsible for his only daughter's abduction, but was soon distracted by a new group of stars that twinkled on the horizon, stars that he had never seen before. He stared at them for several long moments, puzzled by their strange appearance. He knew every constellation in the sky, having learned the art of astronomy from Damarius as a child, and he knew for certain that he had never seen these stars before.

After several moments of quiet though
t, he suddenly realized that he
did
know these stars. This was the constellation of Estheryal, the Serpent Mother. He could suddenly feel Her gaze as She looked down from Her place in the heavens. Her chilling warning ran through his mind, sending his pulse racing. If he couldn't save Leia from the dragon god, he must sacrifice her to save the rest of mankind. The thought of such an act brought tears to his eyes, and he knew without a doubt that he could never bring himself to murder his only child. He would rather see the world around him destroyed, than to allow her to be killed.

"I will
not
kill my only child," Damion growled at the twinkling constellation, knowing his quiet words would be carried on the wind up to the deity above. "I would rather see the world destroyed, than murder my own daughter! I
will
save Leia, and destroy the witch who dared to abduct her. With the witch dead, and Leia safe, this world will have nothing to fear from Draco!" His eyes flashed red with fury.

The sudden soft rustle of feathers drew his attention to Snowfeather, who came gliding in from the darkness on silent wings,
and landed on a nearby branch, a rat dangling from his beak.
"Shouldn't you be trying to get some rest?"
He chirped, gulping the rodent down whole.

"I can't sleep knowing we're so close to overtaking the witch that has my daughter." Damion murmured aloud, tearing his gaze from the heavens. "Did you see any sign of them?"

"Nay,"
The huge owl hooted, drifting down to land lightly on his knee.
"but there are numerous farms in the area. They could be hiding in any one of them."

"They're close,"
Damion grumbled, feeling his frustration growing once more. "and the witch knows we're right behind her. I can almost feel her desperation, and smell her fear. She's close, and she knows we're right on her heels."

"I'll continue to search while I'm out hunting."
The huge owl promised, launching himself back into the air, and disappearing into the darkness.
"Just calm down, and try to get a little rest."

The huge warrior watched as his friend glided off into the darkness, then, with one last glance at the constellation of
Estheryal, he slowly made his way back inside of the farmhouse to try to get some rest.

He awoke the next morning to the smell of sizzling bacon and
freshly cooked eggs. After eating as much as they could, and taking as many provisions that they could carry from the abandoned farmhouse, they gathered in the corral outside of the barn.

"I finally found the former residents
' stash of coin." Sly reported happily, holding up a large pouch in one hand. "They had it hidden in a small compartment in the floor near the rear of the farmhouse."

"Have you no shame?" Raven asked in disgust, staring at the little man with disbelief in her eyes.

"What?" He asked defensively. "The people who used to live here won't be returning for it. We may as well put it to good use."

The young woman
didn't reply, but merely stared at him in disapproval.

"We need to be cautious as we continue towards Teir." Jacom reminded everyone as they started
off towards the trade road. "We'll be encountering more Teirsian patrols as we draw closer to Teir."

"The witch will surely send every patrol that she encounters after us," Jarom added, his tone worried. "and they will obey to avoid displeasing the spirits."

They arrived back at the trade road a few minutes later, then immediately set off at a brisk trot, with Snowfeather drifting high overhead on the lookout for danger.

The first two Teirsian patrols they encountered that morning passed them by without a second glance
, much to the companions' relief. Each patrol consisted of forty heavily armored warriors, grim faced, and armed to the teeth. The companions followed the twins' example and moved their horses off of the road to allow the patrols to pass, all the while, preparing themselves for an attack.

The third patrol, however, took a single glance at the companions and attacked, spreading out
to insure they had no chance of escape.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened." Damion growled, drawing the Dragon Sword from its sheath.

An arrow suddenly whizzed through their midst, narrowly missing Sly as he readied himself for the violence to come.

"Several of them have crossbows!" Raven warned, sending an arrow into their attackers' midst, killing a Teirsian who was struggling to reload his crossbow.

"I'll take care of this." Damarius declared, drawing in his magic and leveling his staff at the charging patrol. The blast of energy that was suddenly released caused the hair on their arms to stand on end.

The Teirsians, who had been
charging forward, their eyes alight with battle-lust, were all suddenly blasted by an invisible source that knocked them all from their feet, hurling those closest back into their companions with bone crushing force.