Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (10 page)

Damion examined her arm closely. "Everything looks okay. Does it still hurt?"

"It feels fine." Leia shrugged. "I must have just bumped it in all of the excitement."

By the time Raven and Damarius had finished patching Damion up, Slither had returned carrying a half
a dozen plump pheasants, which he proudly presented to the others. They were soon gathered around the fire, eagerly devouring the succulent birds.

"This
pheasant is delicious!" Leia exclaimed, ripping into one of the birds voraciously. "You did a good job, Slither. Next time we need food, we'll just send you out to find it for us so we aren't forced to wait on father to finish playing around to eat." She gave her father an impish smile.

"Thank you, little one." The huge shadowspawn murmured from the shadows. "SSSlither ssstumbled into their nesssting groundsss and managed to sssnatch a number of them before they flew away. SSSlither plansss to return later to gather the eggsss they left behind."

"Oh, fresh eggs!" Leia said excitedly. "A cheese omelet sounds wonderful!"

"How's your arm feeling?" Dar asked Damion curiously.

"Other than the occasional tinge, it's not too bad." The huge warrior replied, rolling his shoulder absently. "I was lucky. If I hadn't noticed an odd shimmering in the air where the beast was standing, I probably wouldn't be here right now. Once I realized that the shimmering was the creature that was attacking me, I was able to take steps to make it visible."

"How did you do that?"
The childlike sprite asked curiously.

"I used my magic to raise a cloud of soot, which
covered the beast, making it visible. That allowed me to wound it badly enough that it fled to avoid being killed."

"That was quick thinking." Damarius nodded approvingly. He turned to stare into the shadows where Slither crouched silently. "Have you ever heard
of any tales of other dragons, besides the scarlet dragons and the shadow beasts?"

"
Nay." Slither hissed quietly. "There
are
no other dragonsss."

"You mean
there
were
no other dragons." Sly grunted sourly, gesturing to the severed paw of the dragon Damion had battled, which was still twitching unnervingly. "I'd say that's fairly conclusive prove that there is another species of dragon running around loose in the world."

"Where do you think it came from?" Raven asked Damion with a worried expression.

"I don't know." The huge warrior answered truthfully. "But if there's one, there are sure to be more."

"Tempest would be able to answer that question," Dar murmured with a frown. "but she's busy keeping an eye on the Etazk right now."

"So what's the plan?" Sly asked Damion, tossing the remaining bones from his pheasant into the fire. "Are we going to continue on to Mercedia, or are we going to attempt to hunt down the beast that attacked you?"

"We
going to press on towards Mercedia. The Council needs to be informed about the Etazk immediately. That beast will just have to wait."

"Let's hope that you injured it badly enough that it won't show itself again for a good long while." Sly grumbled fervently. "The last thing we need right now is a rogue dragon adding to the chaos!"

Chapter 7

They arrived at the stone bridge that led across the
White River and into the fortress city of Mercedia the following afternoon, after rising early that morning and setting off before the sun had even started peeking over the horizon. They brought their horses to a halt outside of one of the guardhouses that watched over the bridge and waited as several men hurried out to block their passage.

"Halt!" One of the soldiers ordered in a commanding tone. "You will go no further." He stared at them with a contemptuous expression.

"Why are you delaying us?" Raven asked the tattooed warrior with a scowl. "We have urgent business with the Council, and do not have time to be delayed."

"The Spring Council is closed to all outsiders." The warrior sneered
darkly. "You'll just have to take your business elsewhere."

"He looks rather familiar, doesn't he?" Sly commented to Damion, squinting to get a better look at the offending fellow. "Isn't he the tribesman who Storm kicked in the chest during our first visit to Mercedia?"

Damion looked a little closer at the warrior. "I believe you're right!" He replied with a laugh. "I see his manners haven't improved very much."

The warrior, overhearing their conversation, suddenly froze, and stared a bit closer at the companions. "
Dragon Lord!" He gasped in a weak voice, the color suddenly draining from his face. He dropped to his knees before them, while his fellow warriors quickly backed away, clearly believing Damion was preparing to destroy the offensive little fellow. "P-Please f-forgive me! I-I didn't realize to whom I was s-speaking!"

"Just go ahead and turn him into a turnip, Damion."
Sly snickered.

"Oh god!" The tribesman fell on his face and began to grovel in fear. "Please, m-milord! Please don't t-turn me into a turnip! I swear I shall never make this m-mistake again!"

"Quit picking on the poor man." Leia, who was riding atop Storm with her father, chided Sly, who was laughing so hard he nearly fell from his saddle. She looked down at the groveling warrior with a disgusted expression. "Oh, do get up. You look ridiculous down there!"

The tribesman scrambled to his feet
, but looked as though he still expected to be struck down by the massive warrior.

"Do you know if
Chieftain Bativa is still in the city?" Raven asked the cringing man curiously.

"
I-I believe he is, milady." The man answered quickly, his tone noticeably more respectful than before. "He is most likely in the council chambers with the rest of the chieftains."

"Do you think the messengers have reached him yet?" Sly asked Damion, his face still red from laughter.

"I would think so. I guess we'll find out once we enter the city."

"I would be happy to send a man ahead to alert him to you arrival, milord, I..." He suddenly yelped as his eyes fell upon Slither, who was doing his best to remain in the shadow cast by Storm. "Dragonspawn!"
His fellow warriors reached for their weapons, their eyes wide with fright.

"Calm yourselves," Damion told them in a firm tone. "
This one is with us."

"B-But... milord!" The tribesman protested fearfully. "We-We can't allow that creature into the city! The Council will have our heads on spikes by nightfall!"

Damion merely stared at the man, who seemed to gain a bit of his courage back and steadfastly refused to move.

"Okay," Leia snapped with an impatient sigh, glancing up at her father. "Go ahead and turn him into a radish."

"Turnip." Sly corrected, falling into another fit of helpless laughter.

"Right. Go ahead and turn him into a turnip." The young girl commanded with a scowl. "I'm getting a little tired of sitting here."

"Please, milord!" The man wailed once more, dropping back to his knees.

Damion glanced to the other tribesmen, who were trying desperately to hold back their
own laughter, then looked back down to the groveling warrior. "Don't worry about the Council. I'll see to it that they do not hold you responsible for allowing Slither into the city."

"Y-You will?"

"I give you my word." The huge warrior assured him sincerely.

The tribesman slowly returned to his feet, then gestured
for the other warriors to allow them to pass.

Without another word, Damion
nudged Storm ahead and led the others onto the enormous bridge that led the into the fortress city.

Once they out of earshot,
Leia looked up at her father. "How'd I do?"

"You were perfect." Damion chuckled proudly. "You're growing quite skilled at
the art of manipulation. You really take after your mother."

"Hey!" Raven exclaimed in mock outrage, causing both Leia and Damion to laugh.

It took them nearly three hours to cross the massive bridge leading across the raging White River. The Deolan tribes had been driving their herds across the bridge to sell at the markets in the fortress city for thousands of years, and the ancient structure bore the scars from the millions of hooves that had pounded across its span.

When t
hey finally reached the massive gates which led into the great city, they found Bativa waiting for them with an enormous smile on his face.

"Damion!" The huge tattooed chieftain laughed, hurrying forward to greet them as they approached. "I'm delighted to see you my old friend!"

"It's good to see you too, old friend." Damion replied, slipping down from his saddle and embracing the tribesman, who stood nearly as tall as the massive warrior. "We've been looking all over the grasslands for you. When we finally located your tribe, they informed us that you were here."

"I've been here in the city for the last month." Bativa explained with a shrug. "
It's the time of year that we hold our Spring Council." He looked over to Leia, then broke into a wide grin. "Greetings, little one. It is wonderful to see you."

"Hello, Bativa," Leia smiled back
. "It's nice to see you too. Father has had us looking all over for you."

"Is that right?" The Deolan chieftain turned to give Damion a questioning look.

"Did the messenger reach you?"

"He did." Bativa confirmed with a nod. "He told me that you were hurrying here to speak with me, and that it was urgent, but wasn't able to elaborate any further."

"It's best if we talked about it somewhere private." The huge warrior frowned.

"Is it that serious?"

"It's worse." Sly grunted in a weary voice.

"Very well. Follow me and I'll lead you to the inn where I'
m staying. I took the liberty of reserving several rooms for you, and ordered the cooks to prepare a feast for your arrival." He started to led the way inside, then stopped in his tracks as his eyes fell upon Slither, who was eyeing the crowd around them nervously. "I don't know if it was the wisest decision to bring Slither to Mercedia. The people are sure to get upset having one of the spawn in their midst." He looked over to the huge shadowspawn. "No offense, Slither."

"None taken." The shadowy beast replied back with a nervous hiss.

"He's here to help protect Leia." Damion explained with a serious expression. "The people will just have to get over it."

"If you say so." The tribesman shrugged. "
Just don't blame me if we end up with a blood thirsty mob carrying torches and pitchforks trailing along behind us."

They followed the huge tribesman through the massive gates and into the fortress city of
Mercedia, leading their horses by the reins to make it easier to weave their way through the milling crowds of merchants and travelers who had journeyed for hundreds of leagues in the hopes of making their fortunes. The horses and cattle bred by the Deola were prized around the world, and deals involving vast sums of gold were taking place all around them as they pushed their way through the streets, a task made much easier as those nearby caught sight of Slither and stopped in their tracks, their expressions fearful.

Slither appeared to be handling the experience far better than the people
that he passed. His reptilian eyes were wide and full of wonder as he took in the amazing sights of the massive fortress. He seemed amazed by the sheer number of merchant booths that lined the wide streets, going as far as to wander over to several to stare at the assorted trinkets with curiosity, causing a number of merchants to nearly faint dead away from fright.

"It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" Bativa asked the shadowy beast with a chuckle, making sure he stayed close to
Slither's side to help avoid any misunderstandings by passersby.

"SSSlither hasss never
ssseen sssuch a place before!" The shadowspawn hissed in amazement. "SSSlither hasss ssseen many citiesss before, but nothing sssuch asss thisss!"

"And this is just the first level." The tribesman laughed. "Wait until you see the rest of the
fortress!"

They
continued to follow Bativa deeper into the fortress for several hours until they finally reached a large well appointed building which had a pair of elaborately carved stallions stationed on either side of polished wooden doors.

"This is the Charging Stallion." Bativa told them, motioning t
o a pair of stable hands who immediately hurried forward to tend to their horses. "It's the finest establishment in this sector of the city. We'll stay here tonight, then move on to my personal quarters near the center of the city tomorrow."

They fo
llowed the tattooed warrior into the richly appointed building, then stopped as the innkeeper hurried forward to greet them.

"Good evening, my lords and ladies.
" The bald little man welcomed them with a graceful bow. "Welcome to the Charging Stallion. My people will make sure your belongings are taken to your rooms. Would you care to make use of our bathing facilities before you dine?"

"Oh, yes."
Raven and Leia exclaimed in unison, causing everyone to laugh.

"I think everyone could stand to bathe." Leia
murmured, giving her father a pointed look. "Some of you have grown quite fragrant over the last couple of weeks."

"I think we had better do what she says." Damion murmured to the others. "She'll never shut up about it if we don't."

"Very good. If you'll just foll..." He suddenly stopped mid-sentence as his eyes fell upon Slither, who was busy sniffing at the air with a hungry expression. "What is that... that...
creature
doing here?"

"He's with us." Damion informed him shortly.

"I'm sorry, but that savage cannot stay here. It will have to leave immediately."

Damion started to open his mouth to respond, but Slither suddenly stepped forward and leaned down until he and the innkeeper were face to face. "SSSlither isss
not
a sssavage. SSSlither is of SSSevria."

The innkeeper turned pale as he stared into the shadowspawn's reptilian eyes.

"SSSlither will
not
leave little Leia'sss ssside." The great beast placed a protective hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Enough foolishness!
" Bativa snapped at the innkeeper impatiently. "These people are here as
my
guests. I will not have you insulting them.
Any
of them."

The
innkeeper swallowed hard, still staring at Slither with wide eyes, then he finally nodded. "V-Very well. If you will follow me, I'll take you to the bathing facilities."

After they had scrubbed away the layers of dust and grime, they
assembled in the enormous dining hall to enjoy the lavish feast Bativa had prepared for their arrival.

"Finally!"
Leia sighed happily, snatching up a chicken leg and devouring it with relish.

"You act as though you haven't eaten in days, little one." Bativa commented, his eyebrow arched questioningly.

"I've just gotten a little tired of sitting around waiting for father to return from hunting up our dinner." The young girl shrugged, tossing aside the bone and grabbing another chicken leg. "He likes to go off into the wild to get our meals instead of stopping off to get supplies like any normal person."

"We were
in a hurry." Damion said defensively. "We didn't have the time to detour off to visit any villages. Besides, we'd never have gotten Sly out of the local taverns." He gestured to the scruffy little man, who had a tankard ale in each hand, and a blissful expression on his scruffy face.

"
So what was so urgent that you would come rushing all the way to Mercedia?" Bativa asked the huge warrior curiously.

"Where should I start?" Damion sighed heavily. "Have you ever heard of the Etazk?"

The tattooed chieftain's face fell. "I have. They are a race of religious zealots. The Deola still tell tales of the atrocities the Etazk committed during the War of the Gods, usually to scare the children into behaving."