Offspring (The Sword of the Dragon) (44 page)

He nodded and passed his sword over her body. “Then rise, my ally. We have work to do.”

The creature stood and shook her tail and then her whole body. “How did you do that? I feel well again.”

He glanced over the weapon in his hand, confused. “I don’t know. It just came to me.”

That same night, beneath the trees, Ilfedo stood at the ready. He did not bother to look at the ground; instead he searched the trees’ branches. At last he spotted his quarry—the winged man perched, as he had been before, in a tree on the edge of the desert. “Ho, up there. Do you dare try me again, this time alone? Where is that human master of yours? Auron I believe his name was.”

The creature dropped on top of him, knocking him to the ground. “The spell was not strong enough last time,” it hissed. “This time I will try it myself.”

“That was,” rumbled a voice from the shadows, “if you got to him before I got to you.” The alligator-like head came into view and snapped its jaws over the creature’s head, picked it up, and growled deep in its throat. Ilfedo cringed as he watched yellow vapors drift from Vectra’s mouth around her struggling victim. Vectra shook her head vigorously and dropped the limp body.

“Well done.” Ilfedo perked his ears and glanced to the east and west where the sand ended and the forest began. Yellow clouds of the megatraths’ poisonous vapors wafted through the tree line.

Vectra picked up her victim with one hand as if he were a doll and stepped out of the forest. Several of the Art’en flitted from the trees and flew in vain toward the desert, but the vapors had robbed them of oxygen. The megatraths plunged into the desert, caught them, and slew them. The ground shook as the creatures roared their victory and beat the sand. A few others chased the surviving vipers into the desert.

“My people will follow the vipers for a couple miles. That should give us a good idea in which direction to look for the perpetrator behind these assaults. However, I doubt the vipers will
ever
return after tonight. And it looks like”—she nudged the dead creature she had dropped—“we killed the last of these.”

Together they examined the creature. His clothes were black, and about his waist a rope had been tied. His face was dark, and his nails were as long as bird claws. Flipping it over, they noted that his feathered wings were dark brown.

Ilfedo scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Before they appeared in these forests several years ago, I had never heard of creatures such as these. Not even in my ancestors’ legends. Have you?”

“No.” She lumbered farther on, and they looked at the next body. “This one’s face is different, and he looks shorter. Other than that, he is almost identical to the first one.” She turned to Ilfedo. “What should we do with the bodies?”

He considered for a moment before indicating the desert. “Pile them over there and burn them.”

Lines of men emerged from the forest. They carried seven Art’en into the desert, and the megatraths picked up another five. The creatures tossed the bodies into a heap, then ringed it and poured flames from their mouths. The bodies smoked, and the clothing blazed.

Using the sword of the dragon, Ilfedo disintegrated the heap with fervent fire shot from the blade. As he finished, the remaining megatraths returned from chasing the vipers and reported to Vectra. She in turn lumbered over to Ilfedo and growled. “The vipers are fleeing to the north. Their lair must lie somewhere in that direction.”

“Then we will need to plan a campaign to hunt them down and discover if there is anything beyond this desert that provokes these attacks.”

“The vipers will perish for what they have done to your people.” Vectra stomped her foot in the sand.

Ilfedo sheathed his sword and gazed back into her dark eyes. “My primary concern is to find the man behind the reins. Who is creating this conflict and why? Someone is masterminding all of this, and I don’t think it was the sorcerer Auron. But how to find that individual I do not know.”

Vectra roared into the night, and the megatraths pivoted to face her. “We are finished here. Return to the place of our lodging.”

The creatures lumbered together, formed a group, and thundered into the forest. The stars shone brilliantly that night as Ilfedo and Vectra returned to Fort North. Every now and again a shooting star burst in the heavens, and they stopped to watch. Once, a fireball blasted from the west and blazed a bold trail in the velvety sky as they passed through a meadow. It exploded without a sound.

“Looks like a good night for stargazing,” Ilfedo said as they passed into the trees on the other side of the meadow.

The megatrath bent a tree to the side so that she could pass without breaking it. “Indeed, it does.”

He frowned, thinking of the campaign he would need to organize into the north desert. “Vectra, it will take a few days for me to assemble my army and prepare it for a campaign through the desert. I don’t want to pack light for this trip. Whatever lies out there, we must be ready to deal with it at first encounter. Supplies must be organized, distributed, and packed. Equipment has to be readied, and I must arrange for matters to be tended to in my absence. By the time I set out to find my enemy, they will be ready and waiting for me. I would prefer to take the offensive and strike before they have time to prepare.”

“Then I and my guard will move out tomorrow morning in advance of your army. There are one hundred megatraths at hand, a significant enough force to follow the vipers and scout out potential hostiles. Besides, desert travel is what we are made for. It will not take us long to track down the serpents, and it will be easier for you to follow our tracks than the viper trails. If we wait even one day, the wind may erase the trail, and we would be unable to follow them.”

Ilfedo thought for a moment. If he refused her offer, she would likely take offense. If he sent her ahead of his army, it would give him the time he needed to prepare a substantial force, but it might also place his new-found ally in great jeopardy. He took one look at her thick, scaled hide and laughed inwardly. What was he thinking? A force of one hundred megatraths could easily deal with a small army and stand a fair chance of victory.

He bowed to her. “Very well, we will do as you suggest.”

Oganna’s eyelids felt heavy. She yawned as someone stroked her brow and grinned when her father’s frowning face came into focus. “Father, you are better?”

“Yes, Oganna. Thanks to you, the spell was broken, and I am myself again.” He took her hand and held it in his larger ones. “I’ve patched up things with Vectra, too. She and the other megatraths have once again driven the vipers into the desert.”

She sat up slowly and put a hand on her head to soothe its ache. “I discovered a presence—an evil presence—that was fighting with me as I sought to release its control of you. He must be very strong with sorceries if he was able to control you from afar.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about him anymore. Vectra killed him, and her companions took care of his partners.”

“No.” She withdrew her hand from his and held it palm up toward the ceiling. “I can sense the presence still. It is no longer in you, and it is far weaker, but whoever our enemy is, he is still a very great threat. I can sense it. He is lying in wait for whoever first searches for him. I am certain of it.”

He shifted in the chair by her bedside. “The megatraths are leaving in the morning to track the vipers. I need a couple days to ready the army, so it will be a little while before I catch up with them.”

“Then I will go with the megatraths.”

“I don’t know, Oganna. You look weak.”

She squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes. “Father, please do not try to stop me. Vectra will need me, and have you heard how I slew Loos?”

He nodded. “Caritha informed me a little while ago.”

“Then you know that I can do this.”

He rose from the chair, kissed her forehead, and smoothed back her hair. “Your mother would be so proud of you.” He walked to the door, and she saw him shift his shoulders before he answered her. “All right, my daughter. I will not stop you. But be careful. I will follow with the army as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Instead of going back to sleep, she threw on a robe and strode to the council chamber where the prisoner lay in its cage. She lifted the viper out. The creature offered no resistance. She brought it to her room, closed the door, and laid it on the bed. Gently she placed her hands on its skin. “Do not be afraid. I am not going to hurt you.”

As she began to heal its wounds, she felt resistance. At first she didn’t know what it was, then she recognized an oppressive darkness. Some kind of spell was eating at the creature’s free will, in the same way that Ilfedo had been ruined. “Oh no, you don’t!” she cried as the presence attacked her.

Forcing her will to concentrate, she sought to cast out the presence. But, though it could not overcome her, she could not overcome it. She brought the Avenger, laid it against the creature and, adding its power to her own, surrounded the evil seed and killed it. Weakened, she slumped over in a faint.

“Psst! Mistress?”

Oganna rubbed her eyes. Who had called her?

The viper slithered to her arm and raised its venomous head. At first she cringed, believing that it would strike her, but she saw that its mouth framed a rather cute grin. “Mistress?”

She pointed at her chest. “Me? You are talking to me.”

“Psst! Who else?” The snake coiled its tail around her arm.

She stood and smiled back at it. “You have changed.”

The viper rubbed its head against her skin. “Psst! Mistress, you saved my life. That makes me your lifetime friend. Do you know what that means?”

Oganna laughed inwardly. She felt funny talking to a serpent. “No, what does it mean?”

“I will be with you until the day I die. I am called Neneila, and I will protect you with my life and offer advice if you want it.” The creature curled the remaining couple feet of its length around her arm and tasted her sleeve with its forked tongue. “Mistresssss you are very pretty.”

Suppressing a giggle, Oganna left her room with the viper wrapped around her arm. This arrangement suited her. She could imagine it would be nice to have a constant companion to share her thoughts with. She left the fort and found her father, the Warrioresses, Ombre, and Vectra conferring by a stand of trees. The members of Ilfedo’s council stood nearby. The megatraths lumbered into line behind Vectra.