Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) (48 page)

"You seem to forget why you and the other gods fear me so much." Damion reminded the emaciated elf. "I have no destiny. Not only that, but I can change the fabric of fate, even for those around me."

"That is true," Hetris whispered, his expression thoughtful. "but you are still mortal. One day you will die. Who will protect the Dragon Sword then?"

"I don't know who will wield the Dragon Sword once I die." The huge warrior admitted calmly. "Perhaps, in time, I will surrender it to the scarlet dragons themselves. They should have the right to decide their fate for themselves."

"But the dragons would merely surrender it up to the Dragon God!" The emaciated elf protested in a panicked tone. "Then the world would truly be lost!"

"Not necessarily. They might surrender it to the Serpent Mother." Damion pointed out with a shrug. "She would insure that Her children remained safe, without endangering the mortal world."

"So you may believe." Hetris murmured darkly. "You may
think
that Estheryal would leave the mortals be, but what you fail to realize is that the Serpent Mother hates the mortals of this world even more than Draco, and She is far, far more ruthless. Even now, as we stand here arguing, She is plotting to destroy the mortals of this world, and believe me when I say that Estheryal is far more dangerous than the Dragon God. When She finally strikes, there will be little that can stop Her." He slowly backed into the shadows. "But I can stop Her, Dragon Lord. If you surrender the Dragon Sword to me, I will cast Estheryal and Draco, along with the other gods, from our world, insuring that mankind, and elvenkind, will continue to flourish." His frail form merged with the darkness, leaving only His pale eyes visible. "Consider my proposal carefully, Dragon Lord. The fate of the mortal world rests with your decision."

The pale eyes blinked out as Hetris disappeared, leaving them alone once more.

"He's gone." Damion murmured after stepping into the shadows and finding nothing.

"Why did He come here in the first place?" Shirk asked with a confused expression. "He couldn't have believed that Damion would actually hand the Dragon Sword over to him, could He?"

"It's hard to say." Brody murmured, still staring into the shadows with a troubled expression. "Hetris has very little experience with humans. I don't think that He understands how different they are from elves. He may have thought that His mere presence would be enough to overwhelm or frighten Damion into giving up the sword. Any elf, whether they were a blood elf, or one of Petra's faithful, would have immediately given up the Dragon Sword out of fear of displeasing one of the gods. They would have never stood up to Hetris like that."

"But
you
stood up to Him." Raven pointed out to the elven ambassador, whose mouth suddenly dropped open in surprise.

"I did, didn't I?" Brody mumbled, his eyes slightly panicked as he realized that he had refused to consent to the elven god's wishes, and had even spat at Hetris's feet. "Associating with the Dragon Lord appears to have had some unexpected consequences."

"What do you mean?" Shirk asked curiously as he returned to his bedroll near the fire.

"Before Ava Delilah and I left the island to find you, I never would have been brave enough to face Hetris without trembling in fear." The elf snorted in bemusement. "But now, after spending a bit of time around Damion, I'm spitting at the very gods themselves!" He suddenly frowned. "Which, now that I think about it, may have not been the wisest of ideas."

"And what of His claims that you were used to bring me here under false circumstances?" Damion asked, watching the elven ambassador closely. "Was I really brought here to help Petra's children track down the blood elves?"

"I-I don't know." Brody shrugged helplessly after a long moment. "I think so, but it's hard to say." His expression was troubled. "Normally I would say that Hetris was lying in the hopes of casting doubt and suspicion, but..." He frowned and shook his head.

"But?"

"Well," The elf started reluctantly. "To be honest, I never really understood the reasoning behind asking you and your companions to come aid us in our struggle. We have never looked to an outsider to solve our problems for us before, even after our people were chased from our ancestral land by the Etazk." He shook his head again. "It didn't make any sense. Even with Dar pushing the queen to open our ports to the outside world, the idea of bringing in an outsider for aid should have never been suggested, let alone acted upon."

"Then Hetris could have been telling the truth?" Raven asked, her expression hardening. "All of this mess with the blood elves may have been nothing more than a ruse to draw us to the island?"

Brody held out his hands helplessly.

"Did anyone else notice that Hetris seemed nervous that Damion may attack Him with the Dragon Sword?" Shirk asked, his expression thoughtful. "He nearly leapt out of His skin when Damion raised the sword to strike."

"He did, didn't He?" Raven nodded in agreement. "Why would a god fear being struck down by the Dragon Sword? He's a god. Gods can't be killed." Her expression suddenly became uncertain. "Can they?"

Everyone turned to look at Damion.

"From what I understand, even the gods can die." The huge warrior murmured grimly, his eyes lost in thought. "The gods attain their powers through their worshippers. The more worshippers they have, the more powerful they are."

"And if all of their worshippers are killed?" Raven asked, though her expression revealed that she already knew the answer.

"They fade away into nothing." Damion sighed heavily. "The gods are dependent on their followers to survive. The more followers they have, the more powerful the god becomes. If all of their faithful are killed, they become weaker and weaker, until..." He shrugged, then shook his head.

"That still doesn't explain why Hetris was so fearful of Damion attacking Him with the Dragon Sword." Shirk persisted, his expression confused.

"I have the feeling that Hetris doesn't have that many followers left." Damion told him. "I've encountered a number of gods over the years, and it has always taken everything that I have in me,
and
the power of the Dragon Sword, just to face them. I felt no such power coming from Hetris, which means that He is weak. The power of the Dragon Sword may be enough to finish Him off."

"That also explains why He so desperately wants the Dragon Sword." Brody murmured shrewdly. "Without followers, He is almost powerless. If He were to somehow get His hands on the Dragon Sword, He wouldn't need to depend on His followers for His strength anymore. He would be able to draw it directly from the sword."

The winds outside had picked up significantly, and a loud crash of thunder, followed by a bright flash of lightening, announced the imminent arrival of the storm.

"It sounds like that storm is going to be pretty serious." Shirk murmured worriedly. "I hope this old barn can stand up to the winds."

"There are no worries there." Brody assured him, patting the solid stone walls. "These walls were built to withstand this type of weather."

Snowfeather sailed in from the darkness with a large rat clenched tightly in his talons.
"The wind is really beginning to pick up out there!"
He hooted as he landed on Damion's knee and dropped the rat into the big warrior's lap.
"That storm promises to be fairly fierce."

"Any sign of Yrinn and his blood elves?"

"I didn't see anything close by,"
The huge owl chirped dubiously.
"but I
did
see a campfire a few miles to the southwest. I was going to investigate, but the winds were beginning to pick up, and I was afraid that the storm would hit before I could reach the camp. If it is Yrinn and his blood elves, then they're in for a very miserable night!"

The storm finally passed by in the early hours of the morning, and after a quick breakfast of dried fruit and nuts, they set off down the muddy trail towards the trade road.

"It looks like the storm was more intense than we realized." Raven said as they passed an elm tree which had been uprooted from the ground by the force of the fierce winds. She looked to Brody. "Are such powerful storms common here on the island?"

"Fairly common, yes." Brody nodded absently. "They're more common in the spring and summer months. It's one of the few drawbacks to living on an island."

They soon reached the cobblestone trade road and set off towards the southwest at a brisk trot. They had only been on the road for a couple of hours, when Damion called for everyone to halt.

"Look there." The huge warrior pointed to a makeshift campsite made from tree limbs and canvas, which had had been blown down in the storm. A dead horse lay nearby partially covered in debris.

"It looks like Yrinn and his blood elves weren't able to find shelter before the storm made landfall." Shirk snorted in amusement.

"I can't imagine trying to ride that storm out in the open." Raven commented with a wry grin. "That must been one miserable night!"

"They're down one horse, at least." Damion murmured. "They probably attempted to press on through the storm until one of their horses finally died from exhaustion, forcing them to set up camp for the night."

"That means they can't be too far ahead of us." Brody said, an eager note in his voice.

"How much further is it until we reach Celestia?" Shirk asked with a frown.

"About thirty miles. We should reach the city by this evening."

"Then we had better get moving if we want to catch Yrinn and his blood elves before they reach the queen." Damion told them, nudging Storm with his heels.

They continued on towards the elven capital at a brisk, mile eating trot, with Snowfeather circling high overhead to keep an eye out for any dangers.

It was nearly noon when the huge owl suddenly dropped down from above to swoop in front of them, causing them to slow to a stop.
"There are a half a dozen elves armed with long bows hiding in a small grove of trees just ahead."
He warned Damion with a hoot.
"I think they're planning an ambush."

The huge warrior quickly informed the others.

"Is there any way to surprise them, or sneak around them so we can strike from behind?" Shirk asked with a frown.

Damion shook his head. "Snowfeather says that there isn't enough cover. They would spot us before we got close enough to strike."

"What are we going to do?" Brody frowned. "We can't let them stop us from reaching Celestia!"

"They won't." The huge warrior assured him, his expression grim.

"What are you going to do?" Raven asked, recognizing the look on her husband's face.

"I'm going to go take care of these ambushers." Damion slipped down from his saddle and handed her Storm's reins.

"How are you going to do that?" Brody asked, his expression anxious.

Damion didn't reply, but continued on ahead on foot for another few hundred yards, until he spotted Snowfeather circling over a grove of trees which bordered the road. He slowed to a stop a hundred or so yards away, and stood staring at the trees, his keen eyes easily picking out the elven warriors who hid among the branches.

"They're taking aim."
The huge owl warned him silently.
"I think that they're waiting for you to get a little closer."
He sailed over and began to circle over Damion.
"How are you going to take them prisoner when you can't even get close to them?"

"I'm not going to take them prisoner."
Damion informed his familiar as he drew in his magic and focused on the trees bordering the road. He made a quick gesture, and released his magic, then sat back and watched with a grim expression as the trunks of the trees suddenly erupted in searing flames that quickly climbed the dry branches and engulfed the hidden elves, causing them to fall screaming to the ground, where they writhed in agony for several moments before falling still.

"Wow!"
Snowfeather chirped in surprise as Damion turned around and began to make his way back to the others.
"A little brutal, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm getting tired of these games."
Damion growled aloud as the huge snow owl settled on one of his broad shoulders. "We were never brought here to help aid the elves in their fight against Yrinn and his blood elves. This entire conflict was devised to lure me here so I would bring the Dragon Sword to the island." He cursed in frustration. "And I was foolish enough to fall for it."

"Are you sure?"
Snowfeather asked in stunned surprise.
"Why would the elves want you to bring the Dragon Sword to their island?"

"So they could kill me and take it for themselves, of course." Damion grumbled angrily. "And I blindly fell for their story." He shook his head in disgust. "They played upon my willingness to help others, knowing that I would rush to lend them aid. I should have known better!"

"You don't think that Dar would have betrayed us, do you?"
Snowfeather asked with a worried hoot.
"He
was
the one who suggested that the elves ask you for aid, after all."

Damion shook his head. "Dar can't be in on their plans. He would never betray us. He helped us recover the sword, remember?"

"Then who is behind it all?"

The huge warrior shook his head again. "I don't know, but we're going to find out."

They hurried back to where they had left the others.

"What happened?" Brody asked as the grim faced warrior climbed back atop his prancing warhorse. "Were they blood elves?"

"I don't know." Damion said in a brusque tone, his expression still angry. "I didn't bother to ask." He nudged Storm with his heels and set off down the cobblestone road once again.

"What now?" Raven asked, pulling her mare alongside Damion's enormous stallion.

"We hurry back to Celestia." The huge warrior told her in a grim tone. "We find Yrinn and his blood elves, and drag them all before the elven queen."