Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (5 page)

"Shadow dragons!"
Dar exclaimed suddenly, snapping his fingers. "I knew something sounded familiar about that man's story!"

"Shadow d
ragons?" Sly asked in confusion.

The boy nodded. "I remember hearing a story many years ago. There were once
two
races of dragons that ruled our skies, fighting a great war that engulfed the entire world." His voice was grave, and he had a slightly haunted look in his eyes. "Abominations rose from the earth and laid siege to all, man, elf, and dwarf alike, commanded by the shadow dragons. Many innocents died in their wake."

"What finally happened to them?" Lady Skie asked
, her face pale.

"The
mightiest of the scarlet dragons defeated the matriarch of the shadow beasts. Instead of killing it, the scarlet dragon forced an oath from it. In exchange for its life, the shadow dragon swore an oath to Draco, the god of serpents, that it would take its brood and depart from this world, never to return."

"When did all of this occur?" Damion asked.

"Over four thousand years ago, or so the story went."

A servant entered the room carrying a tray of food and a small keg
of ale.

"I'll take that!" Sly told the servant, relieving the man of the keg.
"You may want to bring another."

The servant shot him a dirty look, then placed the tray down on
the table, and hurried off to retrieve another keg.

"Tempest
definitely found this news disturbing. She said she needed to investigate further. The last I saw of her, she was heading north in a hurry."

"Sounds serious." Dar said worriedly.

"Where is that man that attacked me right now?" Damion asked, sliding the tray of food in front of him and digging in hungrily.

"Downstairs in the
vaults." Sly replied, smiling at the servant who had bustled back into the room carrying another small cask of ale. The man shot him another dirty look, then hurried from the room. "We cleared out a room with thick walls and a stout door, threw in a cot and a bucket, then tossed him inside and put a pair of guards outside the door."

"I think he and I should talk.
" Damion decided, spearing a thick slice of beef with his dagger.

Sly nodded. "I'll have him brought up."

Two guards escorted the failed assassin into Damion's office about twenty minutes later. He was wearing shackles on his wrists and ankles that were attached to one another with a short chain. The man shuffled over to stand before Damion and the others, his head bowed in defeat.

"Remove his shackles." Damion commanded the guards, who still stood behind the prisoner, their weapons at the ready.

The dark skinned man looked up in confusion. "You're not going to kill me?" He stared at Damion in disbelief. One of the guards began to remove his restraints, but the other still stood with his weapon at the ready.

"Do you think that's really wise
?" Sly asked doubtfully. "He's already tried to kill you once!"

"He th
ought that I was responsible for the death of his family." Damion shrugged. "It was understandable." He looked at his attacker, who was now free from his bonds. He gestured to the food and ale on the table. "Have a seat. You must be hungry." He waved the guards off, who reluctantly left the room.

The man cautiously
lowered himself into a chair, his eyes suspicious. He stared hungrily at the food for a long moment, but made no move to eat.

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned." Sly reassured him. He demonstrated his words by pouring himself a tankard of ale, and helping himself to a
slab of cheese.

The man
seemed to accept his words as true, and quickly snatched up a turkey leg and began to devour it, though he continued to watch them suspiciously.

Damion
looked at the man, his eyes serious. "I was
not
responsible for the deaths of your wife and children, and I can assure you the dragons under the control of this sword," He put his hand on the hilt Dragon Sword.  "were also
not
responsible."

The man's face clouded with anger. "I know what I saw! It was a dragon! It was as black as the night, its scales seem
ing to absorb the light around it! It materialized from the darkness breathing fire, then after it destroyed everything, it disappeared, leaving only carnage behind!"

"I
do not doubt your story." He assured the man, nodding his head. "I believe it was a shadow dragon that killed your family." He went on to explain everything that he had discovered, including his encounter with the shadowspawn.

"Why should I believe you?" The dark skinn
ed man's face had grown uncertain.

"Because it's the truth." Damion stated firmly.

The man stared at him for a number of long agonizing moments, then broke down and started to cry. "I thought this was the end! I thought by killing the Dragon Lord, my family would be avenged and I could die in peace!" He dropped his head into his hands and continued to weep. "I thought I could avenge them, but I was wrong!" His shoulders trembled as he wept. After several more moments, he composed himself and raised his head. "What is to happen to me now? Will I be imprisoned?"

Damion shook his head. "
I don't think there will be any need for that. You were only doing what you thought was right. I probably would have done the same thing."

Sly snorted. "You
did
do the same thing, remember? Only difference is that you never actually hurt this man's family. Kaviel, on the other hand, murdered your father, and destroyed Sevria."

The man star
ed at him with disbelief. "You're not going to see me punished? But I tried to kill you!" He trembled as he suddenly realized he was free. "I had never expected to survive our meeting, Dragon Lord. How may I repay your mercy?"

"You can start by not calling me that. My name is Damion."

"I am Veren Verilian. I am a Jaghern. Our kingdom lies many leagues to the north, across the sea."

"I've been
to Jaghera." Sly commented. "Mostly farmers."

Veren
nodded. "There isn't much work for a man in Jaghera other than laboring on a farm and joining the king's army." He filled a tankard of ale, and took a long drink. "I was raised on a farm until I was fifteen, then I served in the army for twenty years. When I finally retired from service, I purchased my own farm and settled down with my wife and children."

"How long ag
o was this attack on your farm?" Lady Skie asked, taking a small sip from her tea.

"Six months ago,
milady." The dark skinned man replied respectfully. "There had been talk of other attacks on isolated villages and farms for the last three years, but I never paid them any heed. That was the biggest mistake I ever made!" He shook his head, then took another long drink. "I searched for the dragon for weeks, then I gave up and decided to search out the man rumored to control the beasts." He looked at Damion with profound respect. "I had heard tales of your exploits from various travelers. I had thought you were nothing more than a fairy tale, but I figured if the dragons were real, you had to be too. I booked passage on a merchant's ship bound for Sierria, then travelled with a caravan here. I only arrived here yesterday. I was trying to figure out a way to get into the castle without being detected when I spotted you and your friends returning." He smiled nervously. "The stories described you in a fair amount of detail, so I knew it had to be you." He shrugged. "I figured it was probably the best chance I would have at getting close enough to strike, so I stepped out from the shadows, and tried to take my revenge!"

"It's been three years since Damion released the
scarlet dragons back into the world." Lady Skie reminded. "Perhaps when he released the scarlet dragons, it somehow allowed the shadow dragons to return."

"When will Tempest return?" Dar asked, his face concerned.

Damion shrugged. "She didn't say."

"Then I guess we'll have to wait until she returns to get anymore answers." Sly
said, rising to his feet, and tossing aside his empty tankard. "I'm going to find something else to drink." He gestured to Veren. "You want me to return his weapons to him and send him on his way?"

Veren
's strangely slanted eyes widened, and he quickly leapt from his chair and dropped to one knee in front of Damion. "I beg you, milord! Let me stay and serve you! Allow me to repay your mercy!"

"There's nothing to
repay." Damion replied firmly.

"But there is!" The man argued. "I tried to kill you
, yet you still show me mercy! My life is yours until I redeem myself!" He looked up at him helplessly. "Besides, I have nowhere else to go!"

Damion looked to Lady Skie
, who continued to sip her tea unconcernedly, then back to Veren, who remained on one knee. "Get up, man! You look ridiculous down there!

Veren
jumped to his feet, then stood staring at Damion apprehensively.

Damion placed a huge hand on the man's shoulder. "You are welcome to
stay, Veren, though you owe no life debt to me. We can find you a room somewhere here in the castle."

The
one eared man smiled for the first time since they had met, then he looked back to the food. "If you don't mind, I think I'll have just a bit more of that turkey." He returned to his seat, and continued to eat ravenously.

*******
******

It
was three weeks before Tempest finally reappeared, dropping from the night sky on silent wings, and settling in the enormous courtyard of the castle. It was not an uncommon occurrence for the great scarlet dragon to visit Serpent's Keep, but her appearance still elicited a few screams from the people, and caused a bit of general panic.

Damion came out from the castle with the others following closely. They had
all been patiently awaiting for her return, eager to find out what she had discovered while she was gone.

Veren
trembled as he emerged into the courtyard, his hand on his sword's hilt. He stared up at the crimson dragon, his face twisted with anger and fear, but he made no move to attack as he followed the others towards the great serpent.

The dark skinned man
had only been there for a few days, when he boldly told Damion that the castle soldiers were a disgrace. From that day forward, he took command of the soldiers and quickly whipped them into shape. His experience in the Jaghern Army proved invaluable, and men who had grown lax in their grooming and manner of dress quickly moved to correct their mistakes. The castle guard was soon running more efficiently than ever, and Damion moved quickly to officially promote him to Captain of the Guard.

Tempest gracefully settled herself onto the cobblestones and waited as they approached.

Dar reached her before anyone, scampering up her leg and onto her broad shoulders, laughing with joy. He then shimmied up her long neck where he stopped to perch between her two large spiraling horns. "Hello, my great scaly friend!"

Tempest chuckled as she reached up and plucked the red haired boy from the top of her head, then deposited him on the ground before her.
"My oldest friend! It does my heart good to see you!"

Damion and the others caught up to Dar
and gathered around to hear what she had discovered.

"Much has transpired since we we last spoke, Dragonkin." She rumbled gravely. "
I have spoke with many of our brethren, and none have encountered a shadow dragon. But there
are
stories of a black serpent attacking isolated areas, though none have actually seen one first hand."