Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (54 page)

"Mistress!" Boris hissed in panic.
"You'll be seen!"

"It doesn't matter." She declared, her fiery violet eyes burning with fury as she drew upon the powers bestowed to her by the elder spirits. "I'll not be stopped now! Not when I'm this close to fulfilling my
destiny!" She turned towards the startled looking soldiers guarding the sealed gate, and released the torrent of magical energy, raining death down upon anyone nearby.

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

"The search has reached the coliseum." King Grediff told Damion and the others as they finished loading their belongings onto their horses. "I ordered them to continue with the search, and report anything they find directly to you and your friends."

"Thank you, your Majesty." Damion told the gruff old man, grasping his hand in gratitude. "You have been a tremendous help. I hope that someday I'll be able to repay you and your people fo
r everything you have done."

"You already have!" Grediff laughed. "You removed Mika
from our midst." He made a face. "As for your dropping this burden in my lap," He gestured to the heavy crown perched on his brow. "I'm sure you'll make it up to me someday."

Raven rushed forward and threw her arms around the gruff old battle master
. "Thank you, Grediff." She said simply, her voice full of emotion.

"Don't worry
," He told her in a grandfatherly tone. "You'll soon be reunited with your little girl, and all will be set right again." He smiled lightly. "And once you have her, you must make sure you bring her back to the palace so I can see the little face that even the gods desire to possess."

"We will
," She promised, kissing him on his scarred cheek.

The gruff old king watched
as they all mounted their horses, then raised his hand in farewell. "I've ordered the soldiers to clear the streets to hurry your passage. If your daughter if found, news will be sent directly to you." He smiled in genuine fondness. "Be safe, my friends, and good luck."

They all raised their hands in farewell, then set off towards the northern gate
.

Storm began to prance outrageously as they made their way through the streets, obviously quite pleased by the Teirsian soldiers who rode a mile or so ahead of them, clearing the people from the streets for their passage.

Many of the people began to cheer as they passed by, and their passage soon seemed more like a parade than a desperate race to locate Leia.

They
continued to hurry passed the cheering crowds all day and most of the evening, until Damion finally called for them to halt at a set of crossroads, where they were met by a group of hard faced Tersians who had been waiting for their arrival.

"Greetings, Dragon Lord,"
One of the men greeted the big warrior with a nod. "It is an honor to meet you and your companions. I'm Lucius, commander of the street patrols."

"Well met, Lucius," Damion greeted him pleasantly.
"How goes the search?"

"
It's going better than expected. There's nearly nine thousand square leagues to investigate, and it's taken quite a bit of coordination to insure that every inch is thoroughly searched, but so far, we have ran into very little trouble, aside from a few prohibited items that were uncovered during our search. We haven't located the witch who abducted your child as of yet," The older man told him with a frown. "but we located serving girl who claims that a woman and child fitting their descriptions had been staying at a small inn where she worked, near the coliseum. We investigated, but they had already disappeared by the time we arrived."

"It's likely they found out about Damion challenging and defeating Mika for the crown."
Damarius murmured, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "The witch probably knew that the city would no longer be safe, and fled towards the highlands with Leia."

"Well, she won't get very far." The hard faced Teirsian
stated firmly. "The city has been completely sealed. No one can get in or out until the king declares otherwise."

"How far has the search progressed so far?"
Raven asked anxiously.

"The search should reach this point
by midnight, milady. I took the liberty of reserving rooms for you at the Lion's Head Inn. It's about a mile or so to the north."

"Very good, Commander." Damion nodded approvingly. "How much further is it until we reach the north gate?"

"Another day's hard riding." Lucius answered respectfully. "It would take much longer, but the soldiers clearing the road for your passage should hasten things quite a bit."

"Excellent. It's sounds like you and your men have everything well in hand." The huge warrior nodded approvingly.

"Thank you, milord." The hard faced man looked pleased. "Will you be taking advantage of the rooms I had reserved for you at the Lion's Head Inn? They have some of the finest cooks on staff there, and their brewers make a delicious ale that's famous throughout Teirsia."

Damion considered it for a moment.
"I guess we may as well. We don't want to get too far ahead of the search, and be forced to back track if the searchers manage to discover where the witch has taken Leia."

They bid Lucius
and the other officers farewell, then hurried on until they reached the substantial looking Lion's Head Inn. After leaving their horses at the adjoining livery, they made their way inside, and was immediately greeted by the innkeeper, who led them to a set of tables already laid out with a sumptuous feast.

They fell into the meal
, ravenous from their long day's ride, then once they had all eaten their fill, they settled in for a good night's rest.

Damion and Raven had been asleep for
less than an hour, when there was a sudden pounding at the door to their chamber. Damion quickly rolled from the bed and opened the door to find a young Teirsian soldier trembling before him, his eyes wide with apprehension.

"I-I'm s-sorry for disturbing you, milord," The soldier stammered fearfully. "I w-was told to report to you d-directly."

"It's okay," The huge warrior assured him with a yawn. "What do you have to report?"

"There's been an incident at the northern gate. Dozens of people were killed, and the gates were literally blown to pieces.
No one's really sure exactly what happened. Some witnesses swear that the shadows suddenly came to life and began slaughtering anyone nearby, while others swear they witnessed the witch herself using magic to kill everyone and destroy the gates."

Damion cursed,
then glanced to Raven, who was already scrambling to gather their belongings. "Alert the others, and have them meet us in the common room, then go to the livery next door and have them ready our horses."

"As you command." The young Teirsian hurried off to rouse the others.

They met up in the common room a few minutes later, still exhausted from lack of rest.

"What's happened?" Damarius asked
anxiously.

"There's been an incident at the gates." Damion told them quickly, eager to be off. "Apparently several dozen soldiers were killed, and the northern gates blown to pieces. Witnesses claim that the shadows came alive and slaughtered the soldiers standing guard, then the witch appeared and used magic to destroy th
e gates. We need to hurry before they are able to get too far ahead."

They hurried outside to find their horses saddled and ready
to go. They set off immediately, pounding through the dark deserted streets as fast as their horses could carry them.

At Damion's request, Snowfeather hurried ahead to search the area for any
sign of Leia and the witch. He returned an hour or so before dawn, swooping down from the darkness to settle lightly on the huge warrior's shoulder.
"The gate is less than a mile ahead. The witch did quite a number on it. There isn't much left other than a few scraps of steel."

"Did you see any sign of the witch?"

"Nay,"
The huge owl chirped regretfully.
"Once you make it a few miles out of the city, the landscape drastically begins to change. There are thousands of granite formations that form a kind of natural maze. There are countless places for them to hide."

"They won't try to hide."
Damion told him confidently.
"They're too close to their goal for them to stop and take the chance that we might discover them. They'll keep moving, and hope that we get lost or turned around long enough for them to reach the temple and deliver Leia to the dragon god."

"No chance there."
Snowfeather assured him with a hoot.
"I can guide you and the others through the maze quite easily. I'll make sure you don't waste time floundering around trying to find your way."

"What's the feather duster have to report?" Sly asked, bringing his gelding along side Storm.

"The northern gate is just ahead." Damion told him absently. "Snowfeather says the highlands are little more than a labyrinth of granite formations that form a natural maze. He assures me that he'll be able to lead us through, though."

They hurried on
through the deserted streets, and arrived at the remains of the northern gates just as the sun was peeking over the horizon.

"What have you been able to learn?" Damion asked as they rode up to a group of Teirsian soldiers
, who were blocking the gaping hole where the northern gate once stood.

"It looks as though
a highland witch used her magic to force her way through the gates, killing almost thirty of our men in the process." One of the men informed him respectfully. "Once the way was clear, the witch grabbed a small child from the back of a wagon, then she and an Oroni warrior stole a pair of horses and took off for the highlands."

"Has anyone been sent after them?" The twins asked in unison.

"We sent several patrols after them," The soldier nodded. "but we have yet to hear back from them."

"I'll be surprised if you ever do." Damarius informed him grimly. "The witch almost certainly destroyed them to keep them from pointing Damion in the right direction."

"How far is it from Teir to the highland temples?" The huge warrior asked, eager to be off.

"No one really knows." The man shrugged helplessly. "Very few Teirsians venture into the highlands in search of the temples, and even fewer actually locate it. The highlands can be a very confusing place to travel through. I've heard stories of people wandering through the endless
labyrinth of granite formations for years without ever locating the temples. Some say the witches use their magic to conceal it from being discovered by outsiders."