Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (9 page)

"This isn't good."
Veren whispered with a worried look. "If Jaghera declares war on Sevria, it will not stand a chance! Jaghera has thousands of soldiers at their command!"

"What do you suggest we do?"

The dark skinned man's face grew grim. "There's only one thing that we can do. We will have to travel to Livingston and speak with the king and queen! We must make them believe that you have no control over the shadow dragons!"

Damion sighed, then nodded in agreement. "The
only question is how are we going to get in to see them. I don't imagine they'll just allow us to just walk in and have a chat with the royal couple."

Veren
suddenly looked like a man who had been caught stealing chickens. His face turned a bright shade of red, and his eyes began to dart back and forth nervously.

Damion looked at him suspiciously. "What is it? Is there something you haven't been telling me?"

The one eared man coughed uncomfortably. "Do you remember when I told you that I had spent twenty years in the army before retiring and buying my farm?"

Damion nodded.
"I remember."

"What I didn't tell you was I spent ten of those years as a military advisor to
King Atorius, the ruler of Jaghera."

Damion's jaw dropped open in surprise.
"Don't you think that may have been some information that you should have shared before now?" He stared at Veren, who shifted in his seat guiltily.

"I didn't think it mattered!
That life is far behind me now!"

"So can you
get us in to see the king?"

Veren
nodded unhappily. "It won't be a very pleasant visit though, I'm afraid. The royal couple wasn't happy about my decision to retire. They wanted me to remain in Livingston as Commander of their armies."

It was growing late
, and the crowd in the common room had slowly dwindled until only Damion, Snowfeather, Veren, and the serving girl remained.

Damion had decided to order one last drink before heading off to bed, and watched as the dimpled y
oung girl hurried forward with his fresh tankard. On an impulse, he gently took her hand as she placed the foaming ale the table in front of him. "What is your name?"

The girl blushed. "Seli."

He stood from his chair, then guided the girl into his seat and knelt until they were eye to eye. "Can you keep a secret?" He whispered even though it was only the four of them.

Veren
sat forward, his face faintly alarmed. "Damion!"

Damion gestured for him to
remain quiet, then looked back to the girl. "Can you keep a secret?" He repeated.

The cross eyed girl nodded apprehensively. "I can."

"Do you trust me?"

Seli stared at him for a long moment, then nodded again. "I do."

Damion smiled. "Close your eyes." She closed her eyes, then he lightly placed one hand over her eyes. She was trembling slightly under his hand as he drew in his magic, and focused it carefully. His hand suddenly glowed brightly for a instant, then returned to normal.

The girl gasped suddenly
and jumped up from her seat with wide eyes. "What did you just do?"

Damion smiled, noticing with satisfaction that her eyes were no longer crossed. "I just gave you a little gift."

Seli's hand felt at her face in confusion, then she leapt from her seat and scurried over to stare at her reflection in the glass window. She gave a low cry as she slowly touched her hand to her face in wonder. She turned to stare at Damion, tears of joy flowing from her perfectly straight eyes. "Who are you?"

Veren
groaned, then drained his tankard of ale with a single swallow.

Damion smiled. "You can call me Damion."

"How did you do this?" She returned to staring at her reflection in the glass.

Damion shrugged. "Do what?"

Seli turned and rushed over to grab him in a fierce embrace. "Thank you! I will never forget what you have done for me!"

"You really shouldn't have done that
!" Veren whispered to Damion as he returned to his seat and took long drink. "Magic is strictly forbidden in our kingdom! Only Wolff, the royal sorcerer and King Atorius's advisor on everything mystical, is allowed to use magic in Jaghera. If anyone finds out you are a magic user, we'll have soldiers on our heels all the way to Livingston!"

"I thought you said you were a military advisor to the king?" Damion asked. "Wouldn't you be able to convince them to leave us alone?"

Veren shook his head. "Only in the capitol would my name carry any weight. Out here we're on our own."

"Please don't worry about me." The girl assured them,
rushing over to stare at her reflection again. She was really quite pretty now that her eyes had been repaired."I'll never tell anyone what you have done for me, Damion! I'll take it to my grave with me!" She suddenly laughed. "If anyone asks me I'll tell them that I slipped and hit my head and knocked my eyes straight!"

They all burst out laughing, then Damion and
Veren adjourned to their tiny rooms to try and get some rest.

Damion paused
on the way to his room to grab a plain wooden chair from the hallway and carried it into his room, placing it near the head of the cot so Snowfeather would have a place to perch while he slept. He then struggled out of his armor, and tried to lie down on the rough cot, but it was far too small, and after a few moments, he gave up and made his bed on the floor.

"That was a very nice thing you did for that girl."
Snowfeather noted, preening his snow white feathers.
"One wonders why you did it though?"

Damion laid his head back
on one of his packs. "I understood exactly how she felt." He murmured aloud. "People stared at her and ridiculed her because she was different. She couldn't do anything about her condition, but
I
could." He yawned sleepily.

"I see."
The huge owl continued to preen his feathers.
"But one wonders, would you change yourself if you could?"

Damion chuckled. "I can, remember?"

"You know what I mean."
Snowfeather chirped in annoyance.
"Would you permanently change your appearance to blend in with the other humans, or would you choose to remain as you are?"

"It doesn't really matter."
He answered in a tired voice. "I just thought I would help Seli out a little bit."

"You need to keep in mind that just because you can do something, doesn't
necessarily mean you should do something."

Damion grunted in agreement. "If I had never joined the Dragon Gem with the Dragon Sword, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

"Knowing what you know now, would you have still released the scarlet dragons?"

He didn't answer, but instead
, lay there awake long into the night pondering the answer to Snowfeather's question.

It took them
three weeks to reach the capitol city of Livingston, which was located in the exact center of the orderly country. The roads that traveled through the countryside were straight and well maintained, and the people they encountered seemed sober and industrious. They stopped each evening at various villages and farmsteads that they passed along the way, or simply camped out under the stars along the roadside, but encountered no one with any direct knowledge of the shadow dragon attacks.

They arrived in the area where
Veren's farm had once stood two weeks after leaving Whilhom and the one eared man reined in his horse, his face sad. "My farm used to lie at the end of this road." He gestured to the road that had diverged from the main trade route. "I'd really prefer not to go any closer."

Damion nodded understandingly. "Let's just keep moving. I don't think there's anything
more to be learned here anyways."

They finally
arrived at Livingston late one evening, long after the sun had set. They rode freely through the gates of the city, which was being watched closely by a detachment of soldiers.

O
ne of the guards suddenly ran forward, his eyes wide. "Commander Veren!" He exclaimed in surprised.

Veren
reined in his horse. "
Former
commander, sergeant." He replied. "I'm afraid I left that title behind long ago." He gave the man a curious look. "Tell me, how has the royal family faired since I left?"

The sergeant's face fell. "Not well. Since you left, Sorsos has managed to
weasel himself into becoming the Royal Sorcerer and King's Atorius's head advisor. Nothing is done in the kingdom without it first having his approval. And he's been giving the king some
very
bad advise! He actually suggested we form an alliance with the Deirians!"

"To what end?"

The soldier shrugged. "I think Sorsos wants to go to war with the western continent. He's heard stories of the man they are calling the Dragon Lord. He's convinced the king that the Dragon Lord has released his dragons so he can take over the world." He suddenly dropped his voice. "Personally, I think Sorsos covets the Dragon Sword for himself."

"And he would be willing to join forces with the Deirians to
achieve his goals?" The one eared man exclaimed, his expression appalled. "Has that man lost his mind?"

"Who are the Deirians?" Damion asked curiously.

"Deiria is a neighboring kingdom to the north." Veren explained, a look of distaste on his face. "A state of war has existed between us for over a thousand years."

The sergeant nodded. "Even the king choked when Sorsos suggested an alliance. The sorcerer has been locked up in the castle
for weeks now trying to convince the king to send the army to war against the Dragon Lord!"

Damion and
Veren exchanged a worried look.

"It seems that we should hurry along to see the king
then." Veren suggested. "If Sorsos succeeds in convincing the king into mobilizing the army, it could throw the entire continent into chaos!"

They thanked the soldier for the news, then quickly made their way deeper into the city. After discussing it for several moments, they decided to find some rooms for the evening, and attempt to gain admittance with the king first thing the next morning.

When dawn broke over the city the following day, they quickly saddled up and began making their way towards the center of town. The city was beginning to come alive as they made their way through the streets. The merchants of the city were just opening their shops to begin their day, and many called out to them in passing in the hopes of starting the morning out with an early sale.

Veren
led Damion through the streets confidently, and after a couple of hours the fortress the Jaghern royal castle finally loomed into view. When they reached the main gates, the one eared man slipped down from his horse and approached the soldiers who were standing guard.

After several m
oments, he returned to his horse with a relieved look on his face. "We're in luck! The coronel in charge is an old friend. They won't bar us from entering."

They
proceeded at a walk into the fortress courtyard, then left the horses in the care of the castle livery. Damion drew a number of frightened stares as he followed Veren through the marble sheathed hallway, but he ignored them and moved on, eager to resolve their problem.