Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (23 page)

Veren
grunted, then placed one of the steaks onto a tin plate and handed it to Damion. "At least there is plenty of game here in the forest. Once we cross into Veiria there won't be anything to hunt other than lizards and venomous snakes."

Damion
quickly devoured his meal, then stretched out on his bedroll.

"You
have been awful quiet lately." Veren grunted, still enjoying his dinner. "I know that Raven betraying us that way really hurt you, but I'm sure she was only doing what she thought was best for her people."

"I saved her life!" Damion growled quietly. "She would be dead if not for me!"

"All I'm saying is that she may have had a good reason for doing what she did." Veren sighed heavily. "Let's face the facts here, Damion. Some people that you will encounter will always hate you for releasing the dragons back into this world. It's becoming well known that the stories of the Dragon Lord
are
actually true, and those who have lost loved ones in these attacks are going to hold you responsible."

"B
ut she pretended to be a friend, and then she led us straight into an ambush!"

"That's not true!" A woman's voice spoke from the shadows.

Damion and Veren both leapt to their feet and drew their swords.

A figure slowly stepped from the shadows. "I swear I did not know
they would be waiting for us!" Raven stepped into the firelight, her face apprehensive. "I had hoped to get you out of town before they gathered the forces, but my father moved too quickly!"

Damion stepped forward, towering over the frightened girl. "Why should we believe you?
" He snarled. "Your father made it quite clear that you were in on the plan the whole time!"

"That's because he had me followed!" She protested, staring up at the
trembling warrior with tears in her eyes. "They knew every moved I made! Father had already gathered the warriors when he told me of his intent. He knew I would run straight to warn you! He used me to lure you into the open!"

Veren
resheathed his sword. "How did you find us?"

"I've been following you for days." She shrugged, still staring up at Damion with pleading eyes. "I've been trying to figure out a way to approach you with
out getting myself obliterated!"

Damion turned away as he returned the Dragon Sword to its sheath.

"How far behind is your father's trackers?" Veren asked grimly.

Raven shook her head. "There are no trackers. Every person in my tribe is currently focused on
the rebuilding of River's Pass and the removal of the dragon's carcass." She took a few steps closer to the fire, her eyes still on Damion, who ignored her.

"You should return to your people then."
The one eared man told her firmly.

Raven shook her head. "I cannot return. My father knows by now that I
have left to try and find you." Her face was sad. "He will have had no choice but to banish me from the clan. I will be killed if I return."

"Why did you leave your people if you knew that it would mean you could never return?"
Veren asked in confusion.

The dark haired woman did not reply, but merely stared at Damion, who had turned to watch her
suspiciously.

"Oh, I see." The one eared man murmured.

Raven blushed slightly. "I swear that I never betrayed you! You saved my life! That dragon would have slaughtered me if not for you, not to mention what would have happened to me if Melvik and his men had gotten their way!"

Damon stared at her in silence for several long moments. "You may as well bring in your horse." He murmured finally. "If you
're going to follow us anyway, you may as well travel with us."

Raven smiled gratefully, then disappeared into the forest. She returned a few minutes later guiding her soft footed horse. She tethered the beast with the other horses,
then returned to the fire side.

"So
, how is it that we never noticed you following us?" Veren asked after several long minutes of silence.

Damion's face suddenly grew puzzled. "That's r
ight! How
did
you remain hidden? Snowfeather rarely misses anything on his nightly hunts."

Raven smiled mysteriously. "I grew up in these forests. It is a very easy place to remain hidden, if one knows how. It wasn't too hard as long as I refrained from lighting a fire. I knew that wonderful owl of yours would be able to alert you to my presence, so I did my best to remain unseen."

Damion and Veren looked impressed.

The young woman's face grew troubled. "There was something
else moving through the forest though. I could never get a good view of it, but it was definitely something I have never encountered before. It was almost as though the shadows had come alive."

"Shadowspawn." Damion's face was grim. "Snowfeather mentioned that there had been several of them trailing behind us, but he lost track of them three or four nights ago."

"What are shadowspawn?" The young woman asked uneasily. "Are they anything like dragonspawn?"

Damio
n nodded. "They are much larger and far more intelligent than dragonspawn though. Their scales are as black as night, and they answer directly to the shadow dragons. The dragonspawn look upon them as their leaders, making them far more than just a nuisance. They can raised entire armies of dragonspawn and cause untold havoc!"

Raven's face grew pale. "Where did they come from?"

Damion shrugged. "I'm guessing they have remained hidden these thousands of years, waiting for the shadow dragons to reappear. Once the dark serpents were released back into the world, the shadowspawn reemerged to serve their old masters once again."

They heard the
rustle of feathers as Snowfeather drifted in from the darkness with a rabbit clamped tightly in beak.

"Everything seems quiet."
The huge owl drifted over to land on the rotten stump of an of elm tree.
"But it's a little difficult to see much with all the underbrush."
He dropped the rabbit onto the stump, then fluffed his feathers in surprise as he noticed Raven.
"Where did she come from?"

"She has been following us for days now."
Damion told him, giving him a dirty look.
"Apparently she found it quite easy to stay hidden from your keen, all seeing eyes. Perhaps we should get a watch dog to help pick up your slack."

"Ha ha ha."
Snowfeather hooted sarcastically.
"I told you that I had the feeling we were still being followed, but I could not find any trace of who or what it was."
He looked back at the dark haired girl.
"She is very skilled if she was able to evade my sight."

"She wasn't the
only thing to evade your sight. There is a number of moving shadows she spotted in the forest. I'm certain that the shadowspawn are still following us."

"Damn creatures!"
Snowfeather squawked angrily.
"They seem to melt into the darkness, but I was almost certain that we had managed to outdistance them!"

Damion shook his head.
"Not quite yet."

"Is something wrong?" Raven asked hesitantly
, her voice worried.

"Just congratulating our watcher here for doing such a great job
." He grumbled shortly.

Snowfeather ignored him, and began tearing into his prey.

"So exactly how much farther is it to the edge of the forest?" Veren asked, hoping to ease the sudden tension in the air.

"Three days hard riding." Raven answered, her eyes never leaving Dam
ion, who was staring intently into the fire, trying hard to ignore her. "Most of the clans have went west to Willowton, so I doubt we'll encounter anyone along the way. My father has called for a gathering of the council, no doubt to declare us all outlaws." Her face was slightly worried. "Once he has spoken to the council, half of Deiria will be looking to kill us!"

"Your father would be willing to kill his own daughter?" The one eared man exclaimed
in surprise.

Raven shrugged sadly. "Why not? He has seven other daughters
. and twelve sons. He wouldn't miss me if I were killed."

"But didn't the fact that Damion killed one of the shadow dragons prove to them that he was trying to stop them?"

She shook her head. "They still hold him responsible for releasing them in the first place. They wish to take the Dragon Sword from him, then execute him. They believe that once he is dead and they possess the sword, they will be safe from any further attacks."

"Then they are fools." Damion murmured.

"Never the less," She continued. "I would suggest that we get an early start tomorrow. Once all of the clans have been alerted, these roads will be swarming with men!"

"Are you sure that this is what you want?"
Veren asked, watching her closely. "You can still return to your people before it's too late."

Raven shook her head firmly. "I will never return. My father betrayed
me
as well as you. He told me that he would not hesitate to order me killed along side of you and Damion. That is one of the reasons I tried to help you escape." Her eyes were filled with tears. "There is no going back for me now."

Damion and
Veren exchanged a look as the young girl turned away and began to weep.

"You can stay with us." Damion murmured in a softer tone. "I believe
you when you say that you did not betray us."

Raven looked to Damion, a grateful sm
ile appearing on her face. "I appreciate that. I know that you have no real reason to trust me, but I promise that I will
never
betray you!"

They awoke early the next morning, and after
a quick breakfast of quail eggs and wild mushrooms that Raven gathered from the forest in a surprisingly short amount of time, they broke camp and continued east down the trade road.

"Is the border of Veiria guarded very heavily?" Damion asked
, pulling Storm along side of Raven's much smaller mare.

"Not usually,
" She replied. "but with all of the attacks, I wouldn't be surprised to find it swarming with clansmen."

"Do you know of any
other paths that cross into Veiria?"

The dark haired woman nodded. "
Several, but they will also be guarded. Once we emerge from the forest, the land gradually turns to desert. There are several rocky outcroppings that over look the area, but most of the time those watching will not bother to stop travelers." Her face grew hard. "There are not many who attempt to cross into Veiria anyway, other than slavers. The Veirians have little to trade, other than the gems that they bring back from their hidden deposits. They will often buy slaves to work in their mines, which are said to be endless. No one really seems to know where any of those mines are located, but it is said that they have entire mountains of gems hidden away in vast underground chambers."

"Sounds like a fairy tale to me."
Veren commented with a snort.

Raven shrugged. "
The gems that they use to purchase slaves are real enough, and of the finest quality, but they only allow a small amount of the stones to be used. The rest are apparently used as offerings in their rituals to their ancestors." She suddenly reined in her horse, her face worried.