Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (40 page)

"Be that as it may," Gwynth laughed. "Mohaad is still someone not to be taken lightly."

"Do
you
believe we will be able to defeat the Etazk?" Leia asked, her tone suddenly timid.

"It will be a tough fight, but I believe you father's army will be victorious
," The old woman patted her on the head. "especially if they get a little help." She gave the young girl a mysterious wink.

**********

"What is delaying our landing?" The shadowy flames demanded of Mohaad the instant he prostrated himself before the alter that had been erected in the ship's captain's quarters.

"The city and harbor have
been heavily fortified." The golden robed man explained in a frightened voice. "The men that spied on the city's defenses made no mention of these fortifications during their reports. The city's defenders have already managed to sink a number of our ships which drew too close to the harbor walls."

"I care nothing for excuses,
Mohaad!" The shadowy flames leapt higher from the altar, licking at the wooden beams of the ship's cabin. "I want this city taken! It shall serve as the foothold for our forces as they go forth to conquer."

"I-It will be as you say, Master." The golden robed man agreed hastily. "
The priests have been busy devising a strategy, and as soon as we are able to get everyone into position, we'll begin our assault on the city."

"And what news is there from our forces in the south?"

"T-There has been no word from them in weeks." Mohaad cringed. "None of the p-priests sent to command the forces are responding when summoned. I-I fear the Dragon Lord and his army may have d-destroyed them." He shrank back fearfully, expecting to be obliterated by the dread god.

"They
have served their purpose then." The raspy voice merely grunted in satisfaction. "They were meant to be nothing more than a distraction that would force the Dragon Lord to split his army in half, and make it easier for our forces to take Sierra. It appears to have worked." The shadowy flames slowly shrank back down until they returned to their former size. "Have there been any reports from our men that were sent to spy upon Sevria?"

"It's been quite some time since we heard from them as well, Master."

"It matters not." The raspy voice of the God of the Underworld said dismissively. "With the Dragon Lord and his forces out of position, the time to strike is now. Prepare our forces to take the city. I do not care what it takes! Just bring this city to its knees!"

"As you wish, Master." The golden robed man
jumped to his feet and hurried from the cabin, his face still deathly pale.

"And soon, Draco," T
he raspy voice continued once it was alone. "you shall witness as your beloved Dragon Lord is sacrificed, and his heart given up to me as tribute. Then, with him dead, I shall use your
own
children to bring this world under my worship." The raspy voice chuckled darkly, and the shadowy flames leapt towards the ceiling of the cabin once more.

**********

"What are they waiting for?" Juco complained, staring out over the water at the Etazk fleet. "It's been almost a week since they last attempted to attack the city."

"I suspect it took them a couple of days to come up with a new plan," Damarius told him, his eyes narrowed in thought. "and another couple of days for the plan to filter through the rest of the fleet. I suspect their next attempt on the city will come soon, and this one will be far more serious."

They had gathered atop one of the harbor towers as they had each day since the Etazk fleet had arrived, and sat watching the gathered ships for any sign of activity.

"I wis
h they would get on with it." The heavily muscled mercenary growled in a surly tone. "I would much rather be fighting, than sitting around waiting for someone to start a fight."

"You can always swim out there and take the fight to them." Sly
snorted in amusement.

"I would if I knew how to swim."
Juco grumbled sourly. "Unfortunately, I start to panic whenever I duck my head under water, so I was never able to learn."

"That explains your hair." Garth m
urmured, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

"Can't you just use your magic to destroy the Etazk?" Ignan asked Damarius in a
anxious tone.

The frightened merchant was not handling the stress of being under siege well. When he was first recruited by Damion to aid with gathering an army to face the invading hoard, he had been grossly overweight. After months of tireless work with little food and even less sleep
as he helped to build their army, much of that weight had melted away. Now that the Etazk had finally arrived, he rarely bothered to take the time to eat at all, but instead, spent nearly all of his time atop one of the harbor towers keeping a constant vigil on the enemy fleet. A few days of this and his face had begun to grow dangerously pale, and his skin had started to hang from his bones in unhealthy folds, forcing the others to take steps by having his meals delivered directly to him at the tower.

"I can't
use my magic against them." The old wizard shook his head, causing his brow lock to fall into his eyes. "The Etazk priests would just counter my attempts with their own magic." He shook his head again. "It's better that I save my strength until it's absolutely necessary."

"The Etazk have hundreds, if not thousands of magic users at their disposal!"
Langsten pointed out with a doubtful expression on his face. "You're only one man!"

"Damarius is more than a match for the Etazk priests." Sly told Langsten, causing the old wizard to puff his chest out proudly. "He'll be able to counter anything that they may throw at us." He looked to Damarius. "Right?"

The old wizard opened his mouth to reply, then stopped, his face conflicted. Finally he held out his hands helplessly. "Maybe." He shrugged, then brushed his brow lock from his eyes absently.

Everyone stared at him for several long seconds
.

"I'm just going to pretend that you said yes." Juco murmured finally, turning
away to look out at the fleet.

It was several hours later
and the sun had just began to set when Ignan, who had been carefully watching the fleet for any sign of activity, suddenly stepped back from the wall, his face an odd shade of grey. "T-They're doing s-something!" He stammered at the others, who hurried forward to look out at the fleet.

"It looks like they're preparing for their next attack
." Captain Harper grumbled. "I guess they've finally decided how they are going to proceed."

"Ready the men," Sly ordered Langsten and Juco. "and make sure all of the siege machines are prepared to fire upon the fleet once they're in range."

"It looks like most their planning on throwing everything they have at us." Garth murmured, standing on a crate so he could watch the fleet without standing on his tiptoes. "Almost all of the ships are raising their sails."

"I guess we've run out of time." Ignan sank down into a chair with a defeated expression. "We're doomed."

"What are you talking about?" Captain Harper asked, a look of excitement in his eyes. "This is when all of the fun actually starts!" He grasped the frightened looking merchant by the arm and dragged him to his feet. "Come with me. We'll get you outfitted with some weapons and armor."

"I-I can't f-fight!" Ignan stammered
in terror. "I've n-never so much as h-held a sword, let alone k-killed a man!"

"There's a first time for everything." The extravagant old captain laughed, dragging Ignan towards the stairs.

"Some men just aren't cut out for this type of work." Juco grunted, watching as they disappeared down the stairs.

"He's actually been far more useful than I would have believed." Sly defended the
frightened merchant. "He is one of the most efficient man that I have ever met. It's too bad that he doesn't have any experience in battle. I bet he'd make a great strategist."

The sun finished dropping behind the horizon as
they continued to watch the Etazk prepare to attack. Damarius stepped forward when it finally grew too dark to see the fleet and once again used his magic to created a blazing ball of light, which flew out to hover high above the churning sea, illuminating the enemy fleet.

"Here they come!" Garth warned, watching as the distant ships slowly began to move towards the harbor's opening.

The trebuchets suddenly lashed out, sending a dozen bundles of flaming pots hurling towards the fleet. The bundles suddenly burst open, raining the burning containers down onto the ships below and setting several ablaze.

Everyone suddenly stopped in place
as an ear splitting shriek shattered the night, and every single set of eyes turned to stare at the incoming fleet. Another shriek pierced the air, and then another, and another, until an entire chorus of shrieks was echoing through the night, sending chills running down their spines.

"What is that?" Garth asked Damarius, yelling at the top of his lungs
in order to be heard over the strange sound.

"I have no idea," The old wizard watched the incoming fleet intently. "but we'll soon find out."

Another volley of bundles was fired at the fleet, spreading out to rain down and set dozens of ships aflame, then the shrieks suddenly fell silent, and for a long moment, everyone was left staring in confusion.

A sudden pulse seemed to vibrate out from the Etazk ships, and
a fierce wind began to blow in from the sea bringing with it the sickly smell of burning flesh.

"Th
is can't be good." Juco grumbled as dozens of huge bat-winged creatures launched themselves into the sky from the decks of the incoming ships. They immediately started towards the city emitting the same shrieking cries that had pierced the night moments before. "What are those things?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea." Damarius shrugged, squinting to get a better look at the strange beasts. "They must be something conjured up by the priests."

As the beasts drew closer, the companions were able to get a better look at the beasts. They were huge, standing at least ten feet tall, with immense leathery wings and heavily muscled bodies the color of stone. Their faces were the stuff of nightmares, with long tapering snouts that were bristling with wicked looked teeth. Their eyes burned with a fiery orange light as they stared down at the defenders on the harbor wall, sending chills up their spines, and causing many of the men to cry out in terror.

"Archers to the ready!" Garth roared, grabbing his heavy battleaxe from a nearby table.

The archers quickly took aim and loosed a barrage of arrows at the creatures, but the beasts merely ignored them as they bounced harmlessly off their hide.

"Any ideas?" Sly asked, watching as the beast
s started to swoop down from the sky towards the city wall.

A bolt of pure energy suddenly
leapt from Damarius's staff and struck one of the creatures full in the chest, exploding with tremendous force. "They're gargoyles!" He exclaimed in surprise. "They're made of stone!"

"Stone?" Sly stared at the beasts in shock. "I've never seen stone fly like that!"

Another volley of bundles fell among the fleet as the catapults suddenly leapt to life, hurling dozens of flaming pots down at them Etazk ships. The screams of the dying joined the chorus of shrieks from winged creatures as the men packed aboard the burning ships threw themselves into the churning sea in order to quench the flames.

"Watch out!" Garth roared as
one of the winged beasts crashed down onto the top of the wall and began ripping through their men, who fought valiantly to drive the beast back.

Damarius rushed over to look down at the rampaging beast, then leveled his staff and sent another bolt of energy sizzling at the beast, blasting it to bits, and showering
the nearest soldiers with chunks of stone.

The entire sky was now alight as the burning ships
began to drift aimlessly. The churning sea sent several of them careening into other ships, setting them alight, while others merely broke apart, sending their occupants to the depths. The rest of the Etazk ships continued forward towards the harbor's entrance, the men crowded on their decks roaring in fury.

The archers
positioned inside the towers began to shower them with wave after wave of arrows, mowing down hundreds of men, and sending several of the ships careening into the shoals around the harbor walls. The pounding waves quickly took control of the helpless vessels and bashed them to pieces against the submerged coral.

"Prepare to activate the defenses
!" Damarius roared, blasting another winged beast into rubble as it swooped in towards the catapult, its glowing eyes locked on the huge siege machine.

Garth rushed down the stairs and yanked back one of the levers, releasing the combustible fluids to rain down on any incoming ships.