The woman's eyes grew wide with surprise, then she frowned. "My apologies, Dragon Lord." She turned out to stare into the rain.
"Do you have a name?" Veren asked her as he began to rummage through their supplies.
She slowly turned away from the rain. "I am Tara. I am a slave chaser from Hthiss. It is my job to track down runaway slaves and bring them back to the market." She glanced to Susa, who was still trying to remain out of her view, then rolled her eyes impatiently. "It will do you no good to try and hide from me." She told the little girl, a note of exasperation in her voice. "I saw you long ago."
Susa gulped audibly, then stepped from the shadows. "I was kind of hoping you had missed me." She laughed nervously.
"Not likely." The armored woman turned to Damion. "You allow your slave to roam loose? Are you not afraid that it may escape?"
Damion slowly rose to his full height, then turned to face her, a dangerous expression on his face. "Susa is no longer a slave." He delivered this in a firm growl.
Tara gave him a slightly confused look, then shrugged. "As you wish."
Susa gave Damion a weak smile, and he gave her a quick wink in return.
"How much father is Hthiss from here?" Veren asked, passing the last of the beef amongst them all. "Our supplies are running rather low."
"Less than five miles. Unfortunately, you may be stuck here for a while. The weather can be quite violent in this region, not to mention the serpents." She suddenly smiled a loving, motherly smile that looked quite out of place on the large woman, then pointed to a growing mass of writhing serpents about twenty yards away from their camp. "They love the rain!"
"Ugh!" Veren shuddered. "Snakes make my skin crawl."
"They are wonderful, majestic creatures." The muscular woman disagreed, still watching the writhing mass in fascination. "The serpent has been revered by my people for thousands of years now. There are some of the most magnificent temples you could ever lay eyes on, built in their honor!"
"Have you heard of anything... unusual happening within your lands?" Damion asked in a quiet voice, watching the woman closely to gauge her reaction.
Tara shrugged indifferently. "Nothing that I have heard, although there are some that a few of your dragons been reaping havoc upon the kingdoms." She began to remove her armor.
"Have you heard any rumors of dragons in your land?"
She shook her head as she tossed her armor to one side with obvious relief. "Although," She conceded suddenly. "There were rumors that several temples had been taken over by strange looking creatures in the last few years."
"Strange creatures?" Raven asked curiously. "What are the witnesses describing?"
"Basically, they are describing a dragonspawn, only far larger and black in color. We ignored the reports at first, but more and more reports began to flow in. They have never caused any problems, and we never bother them, except to make them the occasional offering." She slipped out of her stained undershirt, then tossed it next to her armor and walked shamelessly out into the pouring rain, allowing it to wash away the grime and dirt from her armor. She returned a few moments later completely soaked, but much cleaner than before. "What do you know of the creatures?" She asked, moving towards to fire.
"They're called shadowspawn." Damion supplied helpfully, noticing the scars were not only on her face. She had one partially disfiguring scar that started at the back of her neck and ran to just above her hip. He looked away. "They are minions of the shadow dragons."
"Shadow dragons?" She asked with a curious expression, although Damion thought he could detect a slight note of panic rise up in her voice for a moment. "I thought all of the dragons were some shade of red?"
"The shadow dragons were banished from this world thousands of years ago. It was only when the scarlet dragons were released from the Dragon Gem that they were able to return to this world." As he told her this, he carefully gauged her reaction.
Tara stared at him in disbelief for several long moments, but she refrained from pursuing the subject. Instead, her eyes suddenly took on a rather predatory look, and she turned to face Damion, her breasts still bare. "Tell me, Dragon Lord," She licked her lips hungrily. "have you a mate?"
"He's spoken for, Arleian!" Raven exclaimed suddenly, stepping in front of Damion protectively. "So you can just put them away, sister!"
Veren burst out laughing, and Susa squealed in amused disbelief as Tara turned and fixed Raven with a hateful scowl. She stomped over to reluctantly pull on her undershirt, a sulky look on her face.
"I'm spoken for, you say?" Damion asked in a murmur only Raven could hear.
The young woman froze in place, then slowly turned to face him, her usually fair skin suddenly flushed in embarrassment. "You heard that, did you?" She whispered back, her face growing even more red. "I don't suppose we can talk about this later, could we?"
He started laughing quietly, his mind momentarily flashing to the memory of his first love, Kariah. "You remind me of someone I used to know, many years ago." He told her, a note of regretful fondness in his voice.
"Can we please just drop the subject?"
"Yes, dear." He said with an exaggerated sigh.
They settled in for the night as the rain continued to pour down. After laying out their bedrolls, they gathered near the fire to discuss their next move.
"Does she seem a little... odd to any of you?" Veren asked in a half whisper, glancing over at the female warrior, who was standing near the entrance of the cave staring out into the night.
"She is a bit strange." Damion agreed quietly. "She doesn't seem too concerned about what's happening in the world outside her country's borders." He frowned. "And I'm almost positive that she knows more about the shadow dragons than she is telling us."
"She's a slave chaser." Susa hissed. "They cannot be trusted! That's why she won't tell you what she knows!"
"Or perhaps she doesn't want to discuss such things with outsiders." Tara commented in a loud voice. She turned and fixed Susa with a stern glare. "And just so you know, little one, such talk from a slave is usually punished by having your tongue cut out. You may wish to keep that in mind once we have reached Hthiss."
"She did raise a valid point." Damion spoke before Susa could retort. "Why should we trust you? It's pretty obvious that you know more about the shadow dragons than you are telling us."
"You may not have any reason to trust me, but I also have very little reason to trust you." The scar faced woman scowled. She sighed heavily, then stumped over to join them near the fire. "You are correct, though. I do, in fact, know more about the shadow dragons than I have told you."
They all waited expectantly for her to continue.
"A few years ago, many of the shrines in the more uninhabited regions of Arleia were suddenly taken over by enormous beasts that seemed to just materialize from the darkness. They appeared out of nowhere, and took up residence in a number of our temples, driving out what few humans that resided nearby."
"What did your people do about them?" Veren asked.
"We withdrew from the areas surrounding the temples to insure that they were not disturbed, and moved elsewhere." Tara explained with a shrug.
"You didn't attempt to drive them off?" The one eared man exclaimed in surprise.
The large woman shook her head. "Arleians worship the dragons. We would never attempt to drive away one of the great serpents."
"They appeared a few years ago, you say?" Damion's face grew thoughtful. "When they were released back into the world, they must have hid here in the marshes, taking advantage of your temples to remain hidden from view."
"A few months after the shadow dragons appeared, the shadowspawn began to gather." Tara continued. "It wasn't much later that word reached us that a warrior somewhere in the south had released the scarlet dragons from the Dragon Gem."
"But those are shadow dragons hidden amongst those temples!" Raven objected in confusion. "Didn't your people notice that they weren't any shade of
red?"
"It does not matter." The pale skinned woman answered simply. "They are dragons, and therefore, they are worshipped."
"Does that mean your people worship the dragon god, Draco?" Damion inquired, thinking of the constellation that stared down from the heavens.
"Most are general in their worship of serpents. They will give praise to a snake or lizard just as quickly as a dragon, but there are some Arleians that worship Draco as their sole god." She admitted. "They are considered to be extremists in most quarters. Our queen discourages the practice, but she has not yet banned it outright."
"You are ruled by a queen?" Raven asked, seeming intrigued by the idea.
"The Serpent Queen has ruled over us for over a thousand years now. It is through her that all laws are issued."
"She's over a thousand years old?" Veren asked incredulously. "She's an immortal?"
Tara nodded. "The story goes that she was befriended as a child by an elder spirit. She agreed it to allow it to inhabit her body in exchange for wealth and power. After a few years though, her soul and the spirit inhabiting her body became so intertwined that they merged together to become one. She is now known only as the Serpent Queen, and those who live under her rule obey her every command."
"And what does your queen have to say about the shadow dragons?"
"I doubt that she would even concern herself with such information. Our queen is very much like the serpent. She is ruled by her whims and her appetites. She spends much of her time indulging in any number of strange obsessions. The news of the release of the scarlet dragons failed to arouse her interest. The news of the shadow dragons would probably illicit the same response."
"So why have you chosen to open up to us?" Susa asked, a suspicious expression on her tiny face.
"This little one is made of steel!" The scar faced woman laughed. "My queen may not find the destruction of the rest of the world distressing, but I do. If this continues, it won't be long until entire armies descend upon our land in search of the shadow dragons." She fixed Damion with a look. "When I realized who you were, I seized the opportunity to join you in hopes of learning your plans."
Damion, Veren, and Raven exchanged glances. "Our plan," Damion explained with a shrug. "is to locate the brood mother, the matriarch of the shadow dragons."
"And then?"
"Well, we don't think she'll listen if we ask her nicely to return to where ever her and her brood came from." Veren snorted sarcastically.
Tara frowned. "You plan to destroy her then?" She stared at Damion with accusing eyes.
Damion raised his hands helplessly. "The shadow dragons are wreaking havoc all over the world! We have to bring it to an end!"
"But how can you hope to defeat her brood? They'll fight to the death to protect their mother!"
He drew the Dragon Sword from its sheath. "I'll use the Dragon Sword to summon the scarlet dragons. They'll deal with the shadow dragons!"
Tara's eyes grew wide as she stared at the mythical sword. "That is the legendary sword which controls the scarlet dragons?"
Damion nodded. "I released them back into the world, but I could not destroy the connection that was forged between them and the gem."
She watched as he returned the sword to its sheath, a hungry gleam in her black eyes.
The sudden flutter of feathers drew their attention to Snowfeather, who materialized from the rain with a large hare clutched tightly in each of his talons.
Tara swore and grasped the hilt of her sword, but Damion calmly held out his arm to allow the huge owl a place to settle.
"Your friend is a little jumpy!" Snowfeather chirped, dropping the rabbits at his feet and landing on his arm. "That's good, considering we're surrounded by dragonspawn!"
Damion snarled, then drew the Dragon Sword once again and moved toward the front of the cave. "How far are they from us?" He asked, trying to peer through the rain and darkness.
"Less than a hundred yards." The huge owl hooted. He had been forced to find a new perch when Damion leapt to his feet, and now sat preening himself on Storm's broad back. "They know we're here, but they are only watching us right now."
Veren and Raven reacted to Damion's reaction wordlessly, jumping to their feet and grabbing their weapons, but Tara only stared at them in confusion. "Is something wrong?"
"How many?" Veren asked, ignoring her and focusing on the darkness beyond the cave.
"Over a hundred. They're only watching us right now." Damion continued to peer through the rain for any hint of movement. He turned to look at the one eared man with a grim expression.
"Don't even think about it!" Veren exclaimed suddenly. "I'm not going to let you go running off again!"
"Will someone please explain to me what is going on?" There was a note of exasperation in Tara's voice.
"Dragonspawn." Raven told her shortly, her voice tense. "Over a hundred of them. They have us surrounded."
Damion took one last look out into the darkness, and made his decision. "Keep watch out over the camp, while I try and draw them away." Without another word, he slipped off into the darkness.
"Dammit!" Veren snarled vehemently. "I hate when he does that!"
"What's he planning to do?" Tara asked, her expression confused.
"I'm guessing we'll know before too long." The one eared man stated sourly. "In fact, everything in a twenty mile radius will probably know."
Chapter 14
The instant Damion stepped into the darkness, he drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a panther. The rain continued to pour down from the heavens as he made his way through the shadows, instinctively avoiding the deeper pools of stagnant water as he searched for the dragonspawn.
Snowfeather soared silently overhead, leading him to the place where the creatures were hidden. They quickly located the creatures hidden amongst the trees on the far side of the clearing, gathered in two separate groups, each led by a pair shadowspawn. The creatures, which were pacing restlessly through the shadows, appeared to be preparing to launch an attack on their campsite inside of the shallow cave.
Damion's mind raced as he searched for a quick way to dispose of the dragonspawn, then a sudden flash of lightening lit the sky, and gave him a simple answer to his dilemma. He drew in his magic, and focused it onto the center of the closest group of dragonspawn. Another bolt of lightening lit the sky, but this time, it sizzled down to strike the ground among the unsuspecting dragonspawn.
The resulting explosion shook the earth beneath Damion's feet as over a dozen of the beasts were blasted into tiny chunks, showering the stunned survivors with bits of their comrades. Another bolt sizzled down from the heavens and struck the earth among the second group, vaporizing fully half of the creatures as they stood staring in disbelief at the smoking crater that had replaced their companions.
Bolt after bolt continued to strike down and explode among the dragonspawn, completely decimating their ranks, until only a handful remained.
Damion returned to his own form and drew the Dragon Sword, then calmly strolled forward to meet the last few creatures, which were stumbling around, dazed by the multiple explosions. The first two dragonspawn failed to even notice as he approached, so he was able to cut them down without any resistance. The remaining six had managed to recover enough of their wits to defend themselves from his advance, but one by one, they succumbed to his prowess as a warrior.
Only two of the shadowspawn remained alive when a piercing shriek of terror suddenly echoed through the night. He whipped around to look towards to cave opening, but at that moment, one of the shadowspawn lunged forward, its razor sharp talons aimed for his jugular. He instinctively dropped to the ground, allowing the beast to pass over him, then lashed out with the Dragon Sword, slicing the snarling creature's belly wide open. It crashed to the ground in a tangled mess of its own intestines.
He rolled to his feet and whirled to face the last shadowspawn, which was already moving in for the kill. As he danced clear of its let
hal claws, he thought he could hear the sound of hoof beats receding in the distance, but the battle crazed creature demanded his full attention, so he was unable to investigate. He avoided another wild swipe, then removed the creature's head, sending it spinning off into the darkness.
After a quick look around to make sure there were no other survivors, Damion raced back across the clearing to the cave, his heart pounding with fear. As soon as he entered the shallow cave, his eyes fell upon the crumpled forms of Raven and Veren laying a few feet from the fire. He hurried over to their side, even as he finished scanning the cave, noticing immediately that there was no sign of Tara or Susa, and the scar faced woman's horse and belongings were missing.
He quickly checked Veren for a pulse and was relieved to find his friend alive, but unconscious. He turned his attention to Raven, gently lifting her into his arms, fearing the worse, but he found that she too was alive, but unconscious. He cradled her in his arms for several moments, then her eyes suddenly fluttered open, and she stared up at him in obvious confusion.
"Damion?" She asked weakly, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure." He filled his canteen with water from one of the casks, then gave it to her to help clear her head. "You were both unconscious when I returned."
"Ow! My head!" Veren groaned, rolling over onto his back, grasping the sides of his head. "What happened?"
Damion glanced over at his friend. "It seems I can't leave you alone, for even a second. When I returned from dealing with the dragonspawn, I found you both unconscious, and there was no sign of Tara or Susa. Tara's horse and belongings are both missing, but the pony Susa was riding is still with the others."
"The last thing I remember is standing in the entrance of the cave with Raven waiting for you to return. The next thing I know, I'm laying here on the ground with a throbbing headache!"
"I seem to remember seeing you fall to the ground before everything went black." Raven mumbled, gingerly touching a large knot that had formed behind one ear. "When I awoke, I was in Damion's arms."
Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons Page 26
