Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (19 page)

Melv
ik slowly struggled to his feet and snarled in defiance. "My men and I will die before we will run from a freak sorcerer and his whore!"

His men, on the other hand, began to
slowly back away dragging their injured with them.

The dark haired Deirian didn'
t seem to notice as he scrambled to find the sword he dropped when he crashed into his men. He finally located his fallen weapon, then charged once more, howling insanely.

Storm suddenly whirled in place
and lashed out with a steel clad hoof, catching the charging man directly in the crotch with an audible crunch. Melvik was lifted several feet into the air before he crashed back to the ground where he lay groaning, unable to move.

"Oh, that had to hurt!"
Veren commented, wincing in sympathy. "Right in the clackers!"

"I shall...
kill you... Freak!" He gasped, rolling on the ground in agony. "I..." He began to retch uncontrollably.

"Why don't you just turn him into a toad so we can continue our way?"
Veren suggested with a snort of amusement.

"Do your worst!" Melvik screamed in defiance
, still holding his crotch with both hands. "I will die protecting my homeland from evil!"

Damion rolled hi
s eyes, then slid from his saddle and grabbed the man by his throat. "You wish to protect your lands from evil?" He asked angrily. "Very well! Protect this land you shall!" He drew in his magic and gestured to a spot at one side of the trade road, which began to glow brightly. He then turned and gestured to a spot on the other side of the road, which also began to glow.

The remaining Deirian warriors
watched in horrid fascination as several bright green sprouts suddenly appeared from the dark soil, quickly snaking up towards the forest canopy above.

Damion lifted Melvik higher into the air, and the writhing vines suddenly arched over and wrapped themselves around the thrashing man's arms. He screamed in terror as the vines slowly began to engulf his body
even as it lifted him higher into the air above the trade road.

The vines con
tinued to intertwine and thicken as they enveloped the Deirian, forming a large arch over the road. Melvik continued to scream as he struggled to free himself until the vines finally consumed him completely. What remained of the Deirian warrior when the vines finally fell dormant was the oddly formed outline of a human form which hung suspended from the highest point of the huge arch.

The remaining warriors broke and ran after
witnessing their leaders fate, disappearing into the forest in terror.

"Is he dead?" Raven asked
in a slightly fearful voice as she and Veren rejoined him.

Damion shook his head
, then climbed back up onto Storm's broad back. "I just gave him what he wanted. He wished to protect his home from evil. Now, he will do just that. Anytime that evil tries to pass beneath this arch he will come alive to fulfill his duty."

"How long will he live like this?
"

Damion shrugged. "
Forever."

Veren
rode forward leading their pack horses. "At least he will do something good for this land, instead of running around picking fights."

Raven continued to stare
up at the strangely altered form above her for several long moments, then turned to look at Damion, her eyes wide in disbelief. "You really
are
the Dragon Lord, aren't you?"

Damion sighed wearily. "I really wish people would
stop calling me that."

"And you
are a sorcerer?"

Damion nodded. "
I am."

"Interesting."
She continued to stare at him, her expression growing speculative, then with one last look at the towering arch, they continued their way north, deeper into the heart of the forest.

Chapter 8

It was two days later when Raven led them up a well traveled path that led away from the trade road and deeper into the dark forest. After several hours they emerged into a surprisingly large town that had been built on the banks of a wide river. The houses and buildings had all been built from the natural river stone gathered from the river's banks and held together with mortar. An extensive shipyard lined the riverbank and a number of large ships and barges were tied off to the docks.

"This is River Pass." Raven told them as she quickly guided them through town. "This is the main camp of
the Black Feather clan. We have a number of others camps, but this is the largest." She gestured to the docks as they passed. "The revenue generated by merchants traveling on the river is the primary source of income for my people."

They followed the dark haired woman through the bustling town
, ignoring the startled looks that they drew from the people they passed. After several minutes, they finally arrived at a large imposing building guarded by several Deirian warriors.

Raven dismounted and led the way inside, ignoring the greetings from her fellow clansmen. Damion and
Veren followed her closely as she made her way up a set of stairs, then through a set of double doors guarded by another pair of  warriors dressed in black leather similar to the kind that Raven wore.

T
hey emerged into a large chamber that appeared to be some sort of library. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with shelving stuffed with books and scrolls.

"This is my father's
study." Raven quickly explained. "He spends most of his time here."

A large desk of carved oak
had been positioned in the center of the room behind which sat an older heavy set man with silver hair and a closely cropped beard.

"Raven?"
The man exclaimed in surprise, rising to embrace his daughter. "I had thought you were out patrolling the trade road. What has happened?" He motioned to Damion and Veren. "Who are these foreigners who follow you?"

"These are my new friends, Damion of the town of Sevria on the
southern continent, and Veren Verilian of Jaghera." She gestured to the shocked looking old man behind the desk. "This is my father," She declared proudly. "Evien Nightshade, Chief of the Black Feather clan!"

The old man stared at his daughter
in confusion. "What has happened?"

Her face
clouded. "Our camp was attacked and my men killed. We were the only survivors."

The older man's face grew grim. "Who attacked you?"

Raven stared at her father helplessly. "It was a dragon!" She saw her father's look of disbelief, and rushed on. "I know it sounds insane, but it's true! I saw the beast with my own eyes! It fell from the sky, breathing fire over the camp! It was as large as a house and its scales were as black as night! It killed my men, then turned on me!" She gestured to Damion, who was watching the old man as he slowly began to realize that his daughter was not jesting. "I would not be alive if it were not for Damion driving the beast off!"

The clan chief
finally took a good look at Damion and his eyes grew wide at the sight of the huge warrior. He looked back to his daughter. "Are.. Are you sure it was a dragon? All the stories I have heard said that dragons were always some shade of red."

"It was a dragon. " Damion assured the old man, who jumped
nervously when he spoke. "They are called shadow dragons. They are the source of all of the destruction throughout the land."

The old man's face was shocked. "
And you fought this beast? Was you able to kill it?"

Damion shook his head. "It was injured, but it still lives."

"Where did it come from?" The old man asked, still in trying to absorb everything he was hearing. "I have heard some stories coming out of the south of some madman releasing the dragons back into the world, but I had thought them to just be fairy tales!"

Veren
coughed uncomfortably. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to drink handy, would you?" He asked Raven's father. "Believe me when I say that it's much easier to accept when you have a drink in your hand."

The old man nodded to several bottles of wine on a tray nearby, and the one eared man poured them each a large
goblet. He took one from Veren with shaking hands, then drained it dry in one long drink.

Veren
laughed, then refilled his glass. "That's a brave one!"

The
clan chief looked back to Damion. "Who are you? How is it you know all of this?"

Damion groaned. He was growing rather tired of repeating
this story. "Three years ago I joined the Dragon Sword with the Dragon Gem, releasing the scarlet dragons back into this world."

"
You
were the one that released them?" The old man asked in disbelief. He stared at Damion for a long moment, then drained his glass of wine once again. He gestured to Veren for a refill, his face still pale with shock.

"When I released the
scarlet dragons," Damion continued, his face sad. "the shadow dragons were also released from a banishment thousands of years old. The Dragon Sword only controls the scarlet dragons, it does not have any power over the shadow dragons. So we are searching for a way to stop them before the attacks grow worse."

"They are journeying to Arleia
where the disturbances first occurred." Raven explained to her father, who was staring at Damion with frightened eyes. "They are trying to stop these beasts!"

"Beasts?" The old man asked, his hands trembling slightly. "You mean there is more than one?"

"There's no way of telling how many of these damned creatures there are!" Veren snorted.

Raven's father
shook his head dazedly, his face pale with shock. "Can this all be true?"

Damion nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so. I'm hoping I can find some way to stop the shadow dragons, even if that
means I have to hunt them down one by one."

"
And you think you can defeat a dragon?"

"He already has!
" Raven told him. "When the shadow dragon attacked our camp, Damion was the one who drove it off! That beast would have killed me if he hadn't attacked it!" She went to her father's side. "Damion is the one that the stories speak of! He is the Dragon Lord!"

The old man passed a weary hand across his forehead, then looked to Damion and
Veren. "I think I may need a little time to absorb everything that I have heard." He looked to his daughter. "Please take our guests to suitable quarters. We can continue this discussion once you have had a chance rest and refresh yourselves."

Raven embraced her father briefly, then led them
back to their horses outside.

"He seemed to take the news well."
Veren commented sarcastically.

"It is a lot to take in!"
Raven said, defending her father fiercely. "To hear that a dragon is the cause of these attacks would be hard for anyone to swallow!"

"Well, unfortunately
, we do not have the time to wait for him to catch up." Damion murmured regretfully as he climbed atop Storm's broad. "We need to continue our way towards Arleia. We have to find a way to stop these creatures before they begin attacking larger settlements. Too many lives have already been lost."

"You can at least stay overnight!" Raven objected, her face determined. "A fine meal
and a good night's rest will not slow your progress too much." Her tone spoke loudly that she would hear no furthers arguments on the subject.

They followed the dark haired woman
through the crowded streets to another large stone structure, then after leaving their horses with a stable hand, they followed Raven inside.