The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll

by Kurtis Smith

A loud crash rattled the whole jailhouse. It reverberated over the walls in a wave of cacophony. Davin jolted up from the bed in one spastic movement, causing himself momentary dizziness.

  “Hello!” he shouted into the gathering darkness. There was no response. A door slammed in his wing of the building. He didn’t know the building design at all. He merely deduced that it sounded close, which meant that his calculation might be completely off. That thought caused the whole situation to be a bit more frightening than it would have been. He didn’t like being so uncertain about what was happening.

  “Hello! Anyone there! Show yourself!”

  Dusk had set in and it cast a suffocating darkness in his part of the Hold. Nightmare images swam in his head as his eyes began to play tricks on him.

  He now heard creeping footsteps getting closer to his cell. He backed away from the bars, breathing like he’d just run a league. A figure emerged into view and Davin could tell he was staring at him. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an eternity.

  Davin finally found the courage to speak.

  “Who are you?”

  “Come closer and you will see,” said a grave, rough voice. Davin thought he recognized it. He reluctantly approached the bars. Relief and disbelief crossed his face.

  “Wanderer,” he fumbled.

  “Yes, I am that man. My true name is Egan, but I am still a wanderer while I remain a fugitive. We have little time. I must get you out of here.” He began to reach into his cloak.

  “Wait,” Davin stopped him, “you’re the one First Captain Deverell is looking for. You are the other Descendant.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me who you were when we were in that shop?” Davin demanded, all of his many questions returning to this mind at once.

  “Would you really want to talk in front of that stubborn man?” Davin shook his head. “I didn’t think so.”

  Davin waited for him to say more. He didn’t. Instead, he grabbed at the lock with one hand and searched for something in his cloak with the other.

  “So you are a Descendent like me? Are there are only two of us left in this world?”

  “There is no way to tell that for sure,” Egan said impatiently. “I have reason to believe we are not alone, but now isn’t the time for discussion.”

  Davin didn’t care. Answers were needed. “Deverell said you killed the governor of Daust? Is this true?”

  Egan looked away and said softly, “I did. You must understand that I was only defending myself. If I had not, he would have killed me.”

  “What normal man could stand a chance against people like us?” Davin asked.

  Davin started to question him more but Egan grabbed his shoulder through the bars, startling him.

  “Stop,” he commanded, “no more questions. We must leave.”

  He reached back into his cloak and this time pulled out a small, translucent, red-tinted ball. It glowed in their presence. Davin watched Egan concentrate as a small flame erupted in his hand.

  Davin half expected Egan to cry out in pain, but soon realized he was controlling the flame. It bent to his will and did whatever he wanted without causing him injury.

  This was what the Ancients in the dream had been doing, commanding this power. And now someone of his own linage had done it. Excitement surged through him as he realized he would be able to do this as well. The only questions were when and how. He resolved to ask Egan about this first when they were safely away from here.

  “Away from the bars unless you want to get scalded,” Egan said. Davin backed up quickly.

  Egan held the flame to the lock. It turned a bright red glow but nothing else happened for almost a minute. Davin could feel the heat of the flame from the other side of his cell. Egan had begun to sweat and his face contorted into a more strained expression. The process was taking a toll on him. Another minute passed and the lock finally began to melt into a molten goop, falling to the floor in short order. Davin wrenched the door open and met Egan in the corridor.

  “Thanks.”

  “No time,” was all that Egan said. They moved toward the door of that wing.

  They passed through the metal door and into the next corridor. There was no one in sight.

  “How did you get rid of all the guards?” Davin inquired.

  Egan smiled. “I created a diversion in town. The guards went to check it out.”

  Davin was curious to know but he didn’t ask. They trudged along the corridor to where it split. One way led to the exit. The other led to somewhere else in the building.

  Suddenly they heard voices outside the jail. Egan turned quickly to Davin. They both knew what was happening. The guards were coming back.

  “Damn the Ancients,” Egan cursed, “I assumed they would be gone longer.” He spun around and handed Davin a sword. Davin stared at it bewildered. “Take this.”

  Davin reluctantly took grasp of the weapon, uncertainty evident in his face. “I’ve never been in a battle.”

  “Can you wield it, though?” Egan asked.

  “Yes, a friend of mine taught me,” Davin said awkwardly, realizing Egan wouldn’t know Roland.

  “Good.”

  “But I’ve never used it in a real fight before,” Davin reiterated.

  Egan removed his own sheathed blade and ran his hand over its length. The sword’s gleam showed a curving, engraved design extending to the tip on both sides. Egan admired it briefly. “I will try to make sure you don’t have to, but just in case.”

  The next moment, the door to the outside slammed open and six Grand Soldiers stepped through the threshold, their bows drawn sharply. The fading light outside silhouetted them.

  Egan stood ready. Davin’s heart returned to his throat for the umpteenth time in a day as he stepped forward to Egan’s side.

  “Try it,” Egan taunted. Davin noticed a light green sphere in his hand this time.

  The soldiers released their volley and quicker than the arrows could reach them, a sharp burst of air batted the arrows aside. Davin again stood speechless, as did the soldiers. They drew their weapons and charged toward the Descendants. Davin jumped out of the way of a swing at the last second and fell to the floor, dropping his sword.

  Egan had blocked two strikes and rounded on one soldier. He stuck the soldier in the stomach and he fell. The others had tried to surround him in the meantime, but he kept backing toward the exit.

  Davin, realizing they had forgotten about him, leaped to his feet. Sword in hand, he ran toward the nearest soldier and stabbed him hard in the back. He couldn’t take the time to think he’d just killed a man for the first time. It would cost him his own life. At least two of them were down now. The odds were fairer.

  Davin looked up from the downed soldier to see Egan receive a blow to the forearm. It didn’t break the skin, but Egan lost his balance. Stumbling, he fell away as one of them nearly removed his head. He blocked the sideways swing just in time.

  Two of the remaining soldiers turned to Davin.

  “Oh, this isn’t good,” he said. They came at him with overhead swings, but he was too quick for them. He slipped in between them as their swords fell. Their swords impaled parts of the other’s body. They dropped, crying out and grabbing their injured bodies. Davin took this chance to help Egan. He pushed into one of the soldiers fighting Egan, knocking Egan and that soldier to floor.

  Three of the soldiers were out of the fight. Davin scrambled through the outside door and looked around. His heart sunk. Nearly twenty-five more soldiers were heading their direction from over the next hill.

  Egan began trying to hold off the first of them a few feet away.

  “Davin,” he yelled over the fighting, “we can’t win here. We have to go. We must run and hide in the foothills. It’s our only chance.”

  “But-,” Davin hesitated. He knew they couldn’t stay here any longer. His home town was no longer safe for him.

  “Go!” Egan screamed, “Go now!”

 
Davin obeyed and sprinted away from the fighting as quickly as he could. Egan managed to take down one more soldier before fleeing as well.

  In a few seconds he passed Davin, running twice as fast as he’d ever seen anyone run.

  “Stop wasting time. Speed up.”

  Davin started to ask how, but he knew the answer. He forced his legs to move faster. They did not resist. The frequency of his strides increased, causing him to feel off balance as he sped up. However, this past in a few short seconds as his rate began to match Egan’s. It was all practically sub-conscious, just like his other abilities. He didn’t even really have to try and there seemed to be no extra strain exerted on his body.

  The soldiers gave chase until the surrounding wilderness became absolute. Davin risked a look back every few minutes and saw fewer and fewer lowmen. Only the lowest rank in the army would be required to perform such menial tasks as chasing fugitives for miles.

  His fear began to abate, but they continued running further into the wilderness and unfamiliar territory, leaving Lemirre far behind.

  Chapter 7 The Ancients’ War

  He knew they were getting deeper when rivers and trees he’d never seen before began springing up. A couple of times he thought he caught a glimpses of the gigantic Ercinee nests he always heard about.

  After an hour had passed, Davin noticed Egan began to decelerate, like he was looking for a place to stop. They had a specific direction. This was good because Davin was completely lost.

  “Ah, here it is,” he said to himself and they took off again, but only for a minute. Egan slowed and walked up to what seemed like the edge of a grassy cliff. Davin joined him and realized they were on the edge of small gorge. The cliff didn’t go straight down. It sloped like a bowl on both sides with a moderately sized river directly in bottom of the gorge.

  Neither of them spoke as they started down the slope. Davin noticed that he and Egan were out of breath from their long run. Clearly they weren’t completely inhuman.

  When they were under the protection of the valley, Egan sat. Davin followed suite. The next several minutes of silence never became awkward. They merely stayed in their thoughts and caught their breath.

  At last, Davin broke the silence.

  “This is not what I had imagined would ever happen to me. In the matter of a day I’ve turned into the kingdom’s number one fugitive.”

  “Number two,” Egan said, smirking, “I’m number one.”

  Davin shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Egan was quiet for a long moment as if digesting what Davin had said.

  “You can’t possibly think you weren’t meant for something when you started developing your gifts. There is no such thing as a normal life for us.”

  Davin nodded. “But I can fight it. I don’t have to accept that.”

  “If you want to go back don’t let me stop you.”

  Davin didn’t say anything else. He tried thinking about what Egan said, but it made his head hurt. He sat in a stupor as the night dragged on; staring at the dying embers of the fire Egan had built. No more thinking for tonight, he decided, as he let the warmth from the fire’s remains carry him off to sleep.

  ***

  “Time to go, we need to move on,” Egan said.

  Davin looked around; silently wishing sun hadn’t fully risen yet. With the stars still present, he could still sleep and not think about his troubled situation. But that was not the case.

  He got up stiffly, still sleepy from restlessness. Once firmly on his feet, he helped Egan kick dirt over the fire to prevent an abundance of smoke. Then they quickly gathered up their cloaks and two small packs that Egan had brought with him. Davin guess they carried extra clothes or food, for which he was grateful. He handed one to Davin.

  While he waited for them to continue on their way, he fiddled with the sword and sheath he had been given by Egan. It was a weak blade from what he could tell through his years of learning from Roland, but it wasn’t like it was the right time to be picky. A weak sword was better than no sword in a fight. He vowed to look for a better one once they got where they were going.

  “It’s best if we get moving,” Egan continued. “Over night we are safer to rest because the army doesn’t travel at the same speed. But they will continue to hunt us, especially with a man like Deverell giving the orders. Getting as far into the wilderness as possible is the best way to lose them.”

  “Can’t we out run them. They can’t cover half the distance we can in a day.”

  Egan stopped and raised his finger in contradiction. “Over a short period like last night, yes. But over a more extended length of time they could catch us.”

  “So you’re saying that our power doesn’t work to our advantage?” Davin argued.

  “That’s not what I am saying at all. If we use our power wisely it works greatly for us. Consider how winded we were when we arrived here. We can achieve greater speeds, but we also wear out just as normal man when we access our powers. If were to use it continually without rest we would feel no different than a man who had just run a leagues. We’re not invincible.”

  “It would be easier if we were,” Davin grunted, as he started after Egan and headed further into the gorge.

  The morning smelled fresh and there was mist hanging in the air from the rushing river that kept his skin cool. It was hard to be too upset at the moment.

  “If you want to kill over from exhaustion, that’s fine. We don’t have to rest anymore,” Egan said.

  “That’s not what I-,”

  Egan raised his hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t push you that hard yet.”

  “Yet?”

  Egan ignored the question.

  They cleared the river with relative ease. It wasn’t deep, only wide and slippery and carrying a swift current. Davin fell over a couple of times, but that was the worst of their problems.

  As they stood atop the other side, they stared back the way they’d just come. The gorge itself was full of sharp variations of green, gray, yellow, and brown colors and a great panoramic view from its highest point. It was a sight to be held, but they didn’t have time to linger.

  As trudged deeper into the mountains, the temperature continued to fall. This wasn’t as bad as it could have been. They were travelling hard.

  The land had changed too. The farther south they traveled the terrain was less green and hilly. Instead, it had become more rocky and full of sharp cliffs and crags, which made traversing through it gradually slower. The trees were sparser. This caused Davin to become aware that they were nowhere near familiar territory for him. He only had a man whom he hardly knew to rely on and who was not being too forthcoming with information.

  But still they carried on, talking only when Davin would try to find out more about where they were going, or when they passed something of visual interest, like giant redwoods. Davin’s first reaction to seeing one of these enormous trees was nothing short of awe.

  Near sundown on their third day since escaping Lemirre, they had traveled high enough that Davin had started to notice patches of snow on the rock-strewn landscape. They had clearly passed into the upper mountain region. This finally made him realize it was time he finally demanded to know what Egan’s plans were. He had been subtle long enough.

  “Are we going to go much higher?” Davin asked wearily.

  Egan stopped and turned to stare and him. Davin felt uncomfortable under such a gaze. It was as if Egan was deciding how much to tell him.

  “No, there are caves in this area where we can rest tonight.”

  Davin stared at Egan for a moment, deciding if he wanted to start a possible fight.

  “So you are going to eventually tell me where we are going, right?” he asked, as irritably as he felt.

  Egan seemed taken aback for a moment, but he couldn’t have been that unaware that their final destination was still in question. And that Davin might want to know what that was.

  Recovering quickly, he said, “I w
ill when I have decided where we are going. I promise you, you’ll know when I know.”

  Davin didn’t like this. It sounded like he was lying.

  “And what if I don’t want to go where you decide?” Davin asked.

  “In all honesty, I don’t think you have much of a choice. We are deep in the mountains and you don’t know your way out.”

  “I know what I’m doing out here. Besides, the only thing I care about is finding Roland and getting the army off my back.”

  “He is no doubt well on his way to the Capital by now. You’re telling me you want to take on the entire army yourself? You have lost your mind.”

  Davin didn’t take kindly to insults from a man he barely knew. He also wouldn’t admit that Egan was right. He had no power to fight the entire Grand Army.

  “It’s better than wandering in the hills until we die.” Davin threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.

  “Calm yourself. These mountains are wide and tall. We are not wandering aimlessly as you will see,” Egan said.

  “Ok, then tell me what you do know. Why do you need to be so shut off about it? I can handle whatever news you have to tell me, good or bad. You are treating me like a child.”

  “And you are doing such a great job of convincing me otherwise,” Egan said smugly.

  They stopped at the top of a short but steep cliff precipice. Egan pointed straight ahead into the next hillside. Hidden favorably by the veil of twilight, a small cave entrance stood. It seemed to be only a few feet in circumference, and most of the entrance was hidden by large boulders.

  Egan took this opportunity to change the subject.

  He pointed at the cave. “See that. There are many well hidden just like it along this way.”

  Davin nodded approvingly, but still hadn’t forgotten about their argument. “Good hiding spot.”

  “Yes it is,” Egan answered, still staring off toward the cave. “And as far as where we are going, you’re just going to have to trust me.”

  Egan said nothing more and left Davin standing there in disbelief. Egan couldn’t continue keeping secrets and expect Davin to stick around. The next city they reached, Davin was going his own way.