Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (52 page)

"I am."
Damion nodded.

"Disappointing, huh?" Sly murmured in a surly tone.

The huge warrior gave him a questioning look.

"You could have at least
considered
giving the crown to me." The little man whined, a pouty look on his face. "I would make a great king!"

"You?" Damion snorted in amusement
. "You would drink the country's supply of ale dry within a week."

The twins burst out laughing in glee at the expression of disappointment
that crossed Sly's face.

Grediff ordered a servant
to lead Damion and the others to suitable quarters so they could rest, and to provide them with plenty of food and drink. "I'll need to confer with my generals and send out runners to have gates to the city sealed," He informed them, his expression very business-like. "then we can begin an organized search of the city without the fear of the witch escaping from beneath our noses." He smiled at Damion reassuringly. "Don't worry, my friends, if the witch that has your daughter is here in Teir, we'll find her." The newly crowned monarch hurried off to work, his gruff face determined.

The companions followed a
young serving girl deeper into the massive complex until they reached a large, richly appointed set of chambers, complete with a bathing pool and sleeping chambers separate from the main chamber.

"I shall return with food and drink
momentarily." She told them in a respectful tone. "Is there anything else that you may require?"

"Please make
see that someone tends to our horses." Raven asked him in a tired sounding voice. "They were left with the soldiers outside of the combatant's entrance."

"Of course, milady.
Is there anything else you may require?"

"Ale
." Sly grumbled, plopping down into a chair, a sour look on his face. "Lots and lots of ale."

"Don't overdo it." Damion warned him. "We won't
be here long. If we can't locate my daughter anywhere here in the city, we'll need to hurry on to the highlands. We can't let that witch reach the temples and hand over Leia to Draco."

"How long will we stay here in the palace? Damarius asked,
collapsing into a chair next to Sly.

"A
few days at most." The huge warrior decided after a moment's thought. "It will probably take that long for them to search the city, even with most of the people of Teir aiding in the search."

"We're going to remain here?" Raven looked faintly alarmed. "Shouldn't we move on towards the northern gates?"

Damion thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I don't think so. The palace is the ideal place to stop while they conduct a search of the city. If they are hidden here somewhere, it may take us a bit of time to arrive at their hideout once it's been located. Since Teir is so large, it makes sense for us to remain here so we can respond quickly, no matter where they may be found."

The young woman didn't look entirely convinced, but chose not to argue.

They each took turns taking advantage of the bathing pool, then gathered together in the common room to enjoy a lavish feast of roasted goose with stuffing, potatoes swimming in a delectable butter sauce, steamed vegetables, and freshly baked bread.

After they had all eaten far more than was good for them, they all retired for some badly needed rest. When they
finally awoke, they were treated to a sumptuous breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausages, fresh fruit, assorted pastries, and a delicious spiced wine.

They had just finished their meal when King Grediff came stumping into the
ir chambers, followed closely by several robed priests. He walked directly up to Damion, a surly expression on his scarred old face. "What have you done to me?" He asked in a harassed tone. He suddenly noticed the robed priests trailing along behind him. "I thought I told you that I would deal with those details later." He growled at them, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

The priests all gulped fearfully, then turned and hurried from the room.

He turned back to Damion, whose eyes were dancing in mirth. "And what do you look so happy about?" He gave the huge warrior a disgusted look. "This is all your fault, you know. I've haven't had a second of peace since you placed this damned crown on my head!"

"Why, whatever do you mean, your Majesty?"
Damion asked in exaggerated innocence.

"You knew that it would be like this, didn't you?" The Grediff growled accusingly. "That's why you didn't want the crown
! You knew what would come with it, didn't you?"

"I already have my own responsibilities back in Sevria. They
're already more than I can handle. I wasn't even going to attempt to take on running a country as well."

"But did you have to drop it all into my lap
? There are all of these functionaries, and priests, and generals, and toadies, and lapdogs, and there're all following me around, tripping over themselves to try to get in my good graces. It's unbearable!"

"Welcome to the joys of command." Damion snorted in amusement. "You now have a huge responsibility to your fellow Teirsians to do your very best to lead them."

"But why me? Wasn't there anyone else your could have saddled this anchor with?" He grasped the heavy crown and tossed it onto the table.

"Just Sly," The huge warrior laughed,
gesturing to the scruffy little man, who had dozed off after stuffing himself with sausages and eggs and downing an entire cask of spiced wine, and was now sleeping face down in a plate of eggs. "and believe me, he wanted the job!"

Sly suddenly sat up with a snort, and looked around with bleary eyes. "Huh?"

Grediff stared at the semi-conscious man for a long moment, then sighed heavily and retrieved his crown. "I still blame you for all this." He grumbled sourly.

"What news is there
of the search?" Raven asked anxiously.

"Riders have went out with orders to seal the city." Grediff sighed, dropping into an empty chair. "It will take them t
wo days to reach the gates, then the soldiers will fan out and start searching each and every building in a grid pattern."

"But that'll take weeks!" The young woman protested, looking to Damion with an anguished expression.

"It shouldn't take nearly so long." The gruff old king disagreed. "There are thousands of soldiers here in Teir, and every single one is being assembled to aid with the hunt. It shouldn't take more than three days to search the city. I also ordered that patrols be sent out to watch the roads in case the witch somehow manages to slip away. You can never be too careful when dealing with a highland witch."

"Thank you, my friend." Damion told him gratefully. "I can't tell you how much your help means to us, and to my daughter."

"So," Grediff asked, his expression confused. "why did the witch kidnap your daughter in the first place?"

Damion glanced over at Damarius, who shrugged. "We suspect she
abducted Leia on the orders of the elder spirits, and is now fleeing with her to the highland temples to hand our daughter over to the dragon god, Draco."

The gruff old man turned pale. "And what will happen to her if the witch succeeds in hand
ing her over?"

Damion frowned
and shook his head. "My daughter will be lost, and possibly, the rest of mankind as well."

"We were paid a visit several weeks ago by
Gwynth of the Gods." Damarius told him, brushing his brow lock from his eyes absently. "She informed us that if the witch succeeded in handing little Leia over to the dragon god, mankind would be doomed."

"Gwynth of the Gods?" Grediff asked in disbelief.
"The immortal appointed by the gods to carry their messages to mortal ears?"

"The very same." The old wizard nodded emphatically, causing his brow lock to fall back across his eyes. "There was no doubting who she was, I assure you."

The Teirsian king stared at them in shock. He slowly turned to looked at the twin knights, who were staring at Sly in delighted glee as the little man began to nod off once more. "And how did you end up with a pair of Knights of Sarath in your company? There aren't many of them fellows around anymore."

"The Dragon Lord and his honorable companions needed someone to help guide them through the lands of the east." Jacom answered, drawing himself up proudly.

"Who better to guide them than the Knights of Sarath?" Jarom's expression mirrored his brother's pride.

"And they paid you well, I take it?" The gruff old man asked with a laugh.

"Very well." The twins smiled, unabashed.

A pair of
functionaries suddenly appeared at the doors to their chamber and stopped, staring at their king with anxious eyes.

"I told you leeches that I didn't care what family you descend from," Grediff roared at them, snatching up an empty goblet and hurling it at the two men, who scampered back out the door. "
I'll make my decision on who gets what appointments when I decide to make them, and not a second sooner!" He gave Damion another disgusted look. "Thanks again." He snarled sarcastically.

Everyone laughed.

A sudden tapping sound came from one of the windows, and everyone turned to see Snowfeather perched outside on the windowsill.

"What an odd looking bird." The gruff old man murmured as Damion hurried over to pop open the window
to allow the huge snow owl to hop inside. "Is it trained?"

Damion shook his head. "He is my familiar. We are linked by magic.
He has been my closest friend since I was a child." He looked at Snowfeather, who sailed across the room and landed on the back of one of the chairs
. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in days! I was beginning to get worried."

"I've been searching the city for any sign of Leia
, or the witch that took her."
The huge owl hooted, sounding exhausted.
"There's quite a bit of real estate to cover. It also took me a while to find you again. I just happened to be chasing a pigeon when I passed by the window and noticed you inside."

"
We had something come up."
Damion apologized with a shrug.
"Did you see anything while searching?"

"The Teirsians seem to be assembling
for some reason. There are thousands of them gathering together in various areas of the city. I'm not sure what's happening, but virtually every able bodied man is mobilizing for action."

"They're preparing to search the city for Leia and the witch. We managed to convince the Teirsians to help us."