Descendant: The Protector (The Descendant Series)

by Daniel W. Koch

  “I guess if you trust them, then so do I,” I decided, swallowing hard.

  “Okay, then.” He took my right arm in his open hand and held the dagger close to my elbow with his other hand. “Aderes, if you would please.” Aderes brought her hands from behind her back. She was holding a large golden grail lined with red rubies. In it was red liquid so dark that it looked black. She held the cup just under where Elliot was holding the dagger.

  “In this cup are a few drops of Dahmshed blood from everyone in the Peacekeepers,” Aderes said. “Yours will be the first human blood to enter this cup.”

  “Are you ready, Jason?” Elliot asked me. I took a deep breath.

  “Yes.” A sharp pain jagged my arm as Elliot cut into me and drew the dagger a few inches across my skin. Blood poured out fairly quickly, but Aderes caught it in the grail. I looked into the crowd and saw a few of the Dahmshed shifting uneasily in their seats. I prayed silently that they wouldn’t try to kill me.

  As my blood fell into the grail, Elliot left in a flash and returned only a second later with a large towel. He wrapped my arm with it as Aderes took the grail away. She held it up high for everyone to see, and they began to clap wildly. Elliot told me to hold the towel where it was, and he turned to the others.

  “Everyone, please welcome Jason to De Vredestichters!” he shouted. Everyone clapped harder and cheered. Elliot was clapping as well, until Aderes showed him the grail. They both looked at it while the rest of the room kept cheering. I even heard cheers from behind me and when I looked, I saw all of the twelve High Members sitting in chairs. When I looked back at Aderes and Elliot, they both turned to me. Elliot’s face was very straight and serious. When they looked back at each other, I heard Elliot mumble something to Aderes that I couldn’t understand, then, they both walked out of the room through a large wooden door behind the High Members’ chairs.

  The other Dahmshed in front of me still seemed very happy as they cleared out through another door at the other end of the room. I stood up, and Peter was by my side in a flash.

  “Congratulations, Jason,” he said as he eyed the door where Elliot and Aderes had exited. “Come with me, and we’ll get you cleaned up. The others will be waiting for you at the party.” He led me over to the door behind the High Members’ chairs and we entered.

  “No, Elliot. Both of us have seen human blood touch Dahmshed blood, and this has never…” Aderes stopped speaking when she saw us.

  “What happened?” I asked quickly.

  “Nothing, Jason,” Aderes said coldly.

  “I’m sorry guys, I was just taking Jason to clean up his wound,” Peter apologized. “I’ll knock next time.”

  “That’s okay, Peter,” Elliot said. “But go quickly because I would like to talk to you.” Peter walked me across the room, and we went through another door. This room contained cabinets filled with medicine and other medical equipment.

  “What do Dahmshed need this stuff for?” I asked Peter as he sat me down on a long piece of wood that sat in the middle of the room.

  “We’ve healed humans before. We bring them down here and patch them up if they’re seriously injured by another Dahmshed. Our healer, Althea, usually handles these things, but she’s going over to the party right now. Don’t worry, though; I’m perfectly capable.” He grabbed a few things from the cabinets and set them down next to me on the wooden table. My arm was burning with pain, and I hoped he had something to make it stop. Peter unwrapped the towel from my arm, revealing the still-bleeding gash. “Damn it, Elliot,” he cursed to himself. “Sorry, Jason, but I think Elliot cut you a little too deep. I may have to give you stitches.”

  “Great,” I said sarcastically as Peter grabbed some more things from the cabinets. He gave me some pills to stop the pain, but it still hurt slightly as he sewed the gash in my arm. After the stitches, he wrapped my arm with medical tape.

  “All set, I think,” Peter said, admiring his job. “Just wait here for a second.” He shot across the room and knocked on the door. I heard Elliot tell him to come in, so he motioned for me to follow him. I hopped off the table and entered the other room right behind him. Aderes and Elliot were both still there, but remained quiet as Peter and I walked through to the next room where Taddi was still sitting in her chair looking at her nails. She jumped up when she saw us enter.

  “Hey, Peter!” she said brightly. “Elliot told me he wanted to talk to you, so I’m taking Jason to the party.” She turned to me and smiled.

  “Okay.” Peter winked at me. “I’ll see you both a little later, then.” He turned and walked back into the previous room. Taddi grabbed my hand and pulled me through the other door. We walked down a short tunnel and ended up in the main tunnel. Taddi navigated us through the maze of tunnels to a new room. Inside, I could see the other Peacekeepers dancing to a slow song in a large room with a stone floor. Half the room was filled with tables, some with a few Dahmshed, and the other half looked like a dance floor. Taddi led me over to a table where Andi and Matt sat talking. They both waved to me as I sat down, and Matt kissed Taddi when she sat next to him.

  “Congrats!” Andi said, smiling at me.

  “Thanks. Where’s the music coming from?” I asked, looking around the room for the source.

  “We have a battery powered boom box in the corner over there.” Andi pointed to the back of the room.

  “A boom box? I haven’t seen one of those things in years.”

  “Well, I’m sorry if we don’t meet up with your view of technology, Jason, but it’s the best we could do,” Andi said defensively. “It’s not like we use it much. I don’t think we’ve had a new member in over thirty years.”

  “So, this is a pretty special thing?”

  “Yes it is,” Matt nodded.

  No one talked for a while as we listened to the slow song end and a rock song come on. “Do you want to dance, Jason?” Andi asked me.

  “Sure, I guess. I’m not very good, though.” She got up and pulled me out of my chair and onto the dance floor.

  “Don’t worry, neither am I,” she laughed. We danced for two songs, then I was out of breath. None of the others had taken a break yet, but none of the others were human. I took a seat with Matt and Taddi, who were now sitting close together, whispering to each other. I was only sitting for a few seconds when Peter appeared and sat in the chair next to me.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey, Peter. What was all of that about?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about right now.”

  “You know you keep telling me that, right? When will I have to worry about all of this?”

  “We don’t want you to have to worry about these things right now. You’ve had a lot going on lately, and there’s some stuff that may not be true. Just let us figure it out, and when the time comes, you will learn everything.” I was beginning to get a little angry. Elliot came and sat on the other side of me.

  “How are we all doing here?” he asked.

  “Great. This is all really awesome. Thank you.”

  He smiled and said, “Don’t thank me. Aderes has been setting this up since she brought you back this afternoon.”

  “Speaking of which, where is Aderes?” I asked him.

  “I think she said that she wasn’t coming. She’s a bit distressed.”

  “About what?” I asked, ignoring Peter, who was rolling his eyes.

  “You’ll find out soon enough, Jason. For tonight, just relax.” Elliot got up and went out onto the dance floor. Another slow song came on, and I saw him ask Andi to dance; she seemed delighted to accept. Matt and Taddi left Peter and me as they went to dance as well.

  “Listen, Jason,” Peter said once we were alone again. “You just need to understand that we want what’s best for you. And if that means keeping you in the dark for a little while, then you have to understand.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry. I won’t say another word about it,” I lied, knowing full well that I probably would.

  �
��Sure you won’t.” Peter winked at me. “I’ll be back in a few minutes; I’d like to get a dance or two in before the night is over.” He got up and left me alone at the table. I sat happily, watching everyone dance for a few songs. No one bothered me, and I was glad. I needed some time to myself without having to think about anything. Peter and Simone emerged from the crowd of Dahmshed dancing together, and I watched them for a little while. They gracefully flowed across the coarse stone, twisting and swirling in perfect unison with the other Dahmshed on the dance floor.

  Then they moved away into the crowd, and I saw someone standing alone on the dance floor. Her back was to me, but I could see she was wearing a white tank top and black leather pants. Her hair was thin and short, reaching a little lower than the bottom of her neck, but it was very noticeable with its jet-black coloring. When she turned around to face me, I was completely shocked at her stunning beauty. Her face was pale like the others, but it was perfect in almost every possible way. Her skin looked smooth as velvet; she was utterly gorgeous. The structure of her face was accented by the torch light in the room, bouncing off certain areas to cast shadows on others.

  Then, I saw her eyes. Never had I seen eyes like hers on a human or a Dahmshed. They were black, all black. Not a single speck of white could be found. They were so dark I was almost lost in them. My mouth dropped as I sat staring at her, but when she saw me, she turned and fled into the crowd of people, disappearing completely. I got up from my chair and ran onto the dance floor in search of the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, but she was nowhere to be found.

  Chapter 6

  Sterk

  I spent the night in my bed in the house. Elliot had set up most of the High Members around the building for my protection, and he and Aderes guarded the door. I slept fairly well because I was so tired from everything that had been happening, but I couldn’t stop thinking about my family and my friends. My dreams were plagued with visions of bloodthirsty Dahmshed killing everyone I knew, even some of the Peacekeepers.

  I was happy to see Aderes’s hood-covered figure standing over me when I awoke. There were no windows in my room, but I could see light flooding in through the door. It wasn’t from the sun, though. Unlike last night, it was cloudy again, and I could hear a faint drizzling of rain on the roof.

  “Hi, Jason,” Aderes said when she saw I was awake. “Did you sleep well?”

  “I’ve had better nights. But I guess I did.” I got out of bed, still dressed in my clothes from the day before, and grabbed a fresh set from the floor.

  “I’ll let you get dressed.” Aderes walked to the door. “Andi and I are watching a movie. There’s some cereal and milk for you when you’re ready to come out.”

  “Thanks,” I said, and she left. I put on a pair of blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and a flannel jacket. The weather was getting colder, and pretty soon I would need a coat and snow boots. If it kept raining like it had been, then there’d be three feet of snow every day once it got cold enough.

  When I walked into the other room, Aderes and Andi were sitting on the couch watching TV. On the side of the couch nearest Andi stood a small coffee table with a box of Cheerios, a carton of milk, a bowl, and a spoon. I made my cereal, sat on the couch next to Andi, and began eating.

  “So, guys,” I broke the silence after taking a few spoonfuls of Cheerios, “what’s going on today?” They both looked at me, and Andi raised an eyebrow.

  “Hate to break it to you, Jason, but last night was the most exciting thing that’s gone on here in a really long time. This is mostly what we do unless Elliot sends us out. Sometimes I feel like we spend so much time together that our personalities are blending. Dahmshed don’t have as glamorous a life as you humans make it out to be.”

  “We don’t think you have a good life,” I retaliated. “Most humans would rather die than become a Dahmshed.” Aderes leapt from the couch and disappeared through the front door before I could blink. “What did I say?”

  “Aderes is pretty touchy when it comes to being altered,” Andi explained. “When she was altered, it was really terrible, and she hates to relive the memories.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “I’m sorry, Jason, but that’s not my story to tell,” Andi said, repeating Taddi’s words.

  “Awesome.” I rolled my eyes and went back to watching TV and eating my cereal. We sat for a while without talking as I finished off the bowl by slurping up the extra milk, then I got up from the couch and walked outside into the cold air. It had stopped raining, so I took a quick walk over to the docks by the water. They were old and broken, so I wasn’t sure if walking on them was a good idea, but I did it anyway. As I walked a little further, I saw Aderes sitting at the end of a dock a few feet ahead of me. Her legs were dangling close to the water, and she was staring out at the Long Island Sound.

  “Can I have some time to myself?” she asked without turning around.

  “Yes, you can.”

  “Thank you.” She waited for me to leave, but I stood where I was. “I meant now, you know.”

  “I know. I just want some answers first.”

  “What answers?” She stood up and turned.

  “I just want to know what happened to you. No one else will give me any insight.”

  “It’s not their story to tell.”

  I laughed. “I’ve heard that plenty of times. That’s why I’m coming to you now. I want you to tell me.” She ran so fast down the dock that my brain couldn’t register that she was now standing directly in front of me.

  “Why don’t you mind your own business?” she whispered angrily. Then she walked past me, bumping into my shoulder as she passed. I was caught off balance and fell to the ground from her strength. When I finally regained my senses and stood up, she was gone. I stood at the end of the dock for a while hoping that she would come back, but when the rain began to pick up, I ran back inside. Andi was gone from the couch, and I couldn’t find anyone else.

  Outside, the storm was intensifying, and I could see lightning in the distance. Rain was pounding down on the roof, and I was alone. If no one knew where I was, then they couldn’t be guarding me. The only way for me to get to safety was to make it into the tunnels, but there would be some major obstacles. I didn’t know the padlock combination, and I couldn’t lift the door to get to the main tunnels, but I had to try and get down there.

  Just as I was about to push open the door and run for it, I saw two flashes coming toward the building. I ran from the door and locked myself in my room, knowing full well that a lock would be useless. I stood with my back to the door and tried to control my heavy breathing. There was a knock behind me. I moved from the door as silently as possible and hid behind my bed. I took a peek at the door and saw the lock twist and the door knob turn. The door opened very slowly, but stopped before I could see who was there.

  “Jason?” Peter’s voice came from the door. I felt so relieved at that moment that I could have cried. I also felt stupid for thinking that forty Dahmshed couldn’t watch out for one human. “Are you okay? I can feel your heart pounding.”

  “I’m fine,” I said, standing quickly. “It’s just that storms really get my adrenaline pumping. You can come in if you want.”

  “Actually,” he opened the door the rest of the way, “you should come out here.”

  “Why?” I looked at him curiously.

  “It’s time for you to finally learn something.” He winked at me. “But keep in mind, this is going to be a lot to take in, and it’s not even the half of it.” I didn’t hesitate to walk into the next room. I had to find out some of the secrets that were being kept from me.

  The sight in the room was so shocking that my heart skipped a beat. Sitting on the couch was a Dahmshed with jet-black hair and completely black eyes. It was the very same Dahmshed that I had seen at the party. She was wearing her white tank top, but she had a pair of ripped jeans instead of leather pants. Her enchanting face made the dark room light up. My legs almost bu
ckled, but I stood my ground. When Peter spoke, my heart skipped another beat.

  “Jason, I’d like you to finally meet the true Aderes.”

  “It was you?” I asked so quietly I didn’t think she could hear me.

  “Yes,” she said with a smile. That’s when I saw her teeth. Her canines were much different from all of the other Dahmshed. They were longer and thicker, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of them until she closed her mouth.

  “Sit down, Jason,” Peter said, pushing me gently toward the couch. “There’s more to tell, and you look like you’re going to faint already.” I hadn’t realized it, but I was getting a little lightheaded. Aderes looked so intimidating without her hood that I found it hard to approach her, but Peter shoved me onto the couch. He stood in front of us and seemed to be waiting for Aderes to talk.

  “First of all,” she finally said, “I want you to know I’m sorry about before.” I looked away from her as she spoke so I wouldn’t get lost in her black eyes. “I get a little annoyed when I get pushed too far past my limits.”

  “It’s okay; I understand,” I said, wanting her to go on.

  “Good. Now, I also want you to know that this is my story, no one else’s, and I won’t give you anyone else’s unless it’s important to my own. So, don’t even ask. Got that?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “And Peter,” she turned to him, “I know you haven’t heard my full story, and I also know that your story is intertwined with mine, but I would like you to…keep your big mouth shut.”

  “Hey. When have I ever interrupted you before?” She looked at him and lifted one of her perfect eyebrows. “Okay, I won’t talk,” he said, and they both laughed.