The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll (12 page)

“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 will 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.   

They hiked up uneven ground to the nearest cave in the area, which looked unsurprisingly just like all the others.  Even for an Ancient, they had covered a lot of ground today.  Davin noted that he was worn out.  Oddly enough, this didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would.  It reminded him he was still human
.

At the cave entrance Davin waited.  It was pitch black inside and he couldn’t tell how deep it went.  Egan gave him a sideway smile. 

“Don’t worry.  It looks ominous but none of these caves go more than around twenty feet deep.  And there are no large animals in these parts.”

They ducked inside the entrance and stood still, waiting for their eyes to adjust.  It really was the perfect size for hiding out.  It was about the length Egan had said and was just tall enough to stand in. 

Davin took a seat in cave on the wall opposite Egan.  He watched as Egan took the strange red orb out and started a fire with wood they had collected on the way over.  It was roaring within seconds. 

Egan took both the dark red and the light green orbs and stared at them momentarily, then he put them back into his pack.  Davin gazed fixedly at them. 

“I had dream where Ancients were commanding elements like you, only they weren’t using circular glass things.”               

“They are called Driocht orbs.  Through them we can access the magic of our ancestors.”

Davin was shocked that Egan had actually given him an answer. 

“So I will be able to use them as well?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, with proper training,” Egan said, “but that is all we will talk about tonight.  It is a long story and I’m tired.”

The swell of excitement that had grown in Davin’s chest died quickly.  He was excited
about learning to use those orbs, but once again Egan shut him out and he didn’t want to continue that argument any more.  

“Why should I continue to travel with you and trust you?  What have you done to help me?” 

“I saved your life,” Egan said. 

Davin stood up and paced back and forth.  “How do I know you aren’t just going to leave me in the wilderness somewhere?  Or aren’t working for the King yourself and leading me into a trap.” 

Despite the tension, Egan smiled.  “I do not think you actually believe those things.” 

Davin tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, but did nothing else to indicate his foul mood.  He didn’t want Egan to use his attitude as an excuse to keep things from him again. 

“I need some air,” he growled after a minute. 

He marched out of the cave and instantly felt foolish.  He knew Egan had done nothing but help him since they escape from Lemirre.  It was only his ego that thought he deserved to know everything that was going on. 

As he grabbed a small branch near him to whittle on, he heard something like nothing he’d ever experienced before.  It was a fail voice on the air.  He looked up momentarily, but figured his ears had simply been ringing.  Almost instantly, it sounded again.  This time he paid more attention.  It resembled the painful scream of someone far in the distance.  Immediately his body tensed.  This was not the kind of thing you heard way out in the wilderness.  He thought of calling out at first, but changed his mind.

He turned and backed slowly to the cave, determined not to be caught off guard.  Keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword, he tried to peer out through the haze.   He saw nothing.  It wasn’t time to panic yet.  His ears still could have been playing tricks on him. 

Then he heard it a third time.  But this time it was a different voice.  It was the same pained, distant scream, but higher pitched.  He didn’t sense anyone around him, but his hairs stood on end anyway.  The palms of his hands became sweaty and his heart started pounding hard against his chest. 

A fourth time his hearing picked far away wails.  But now there were more than one at once.  They had grown louder as well.  It almost sounded like they were communicating, though Davin had never heard of a language that consisted of tortured screaming.  The voices overlapped one another, each with different pitches.  Then they died out again. 

What kind of creatures made that kind of sound? 

Fearing that they were getting closer, Davin didn’t hesitate this time.  He reached Egan within seconds and pulled to a stop inches in front of the fire. 

Egan looked up concernedly.  “What is it?”

“What did I hear out there?  What were those screams?”

Egan pondered his answer for too long in Davin’s eyes.  His patience was definitely being tried.  Davin had begun to open his mouth to complain when Egan answered. 

“They are called the Auki Spirits of the Southern Passage.  They haunt the roads through the Aukish Mountains, allowing no one to pass.  No one who has ever gone that way has ever returned.”

Davin found this hard to believe.  “I’ve never known those mountains to be called that.”

“Well, not many know their true name anymore.  In the past, most thought that a horrible curse would befall you if you spoke the mountains’ true name, so they were renamed the Asnine,” said Egan. 

“So not one has ever made it past?” asked Davin. 

“Not that I am aware.”

“And we are completely safe from them here?”

“Yes,” Egan confirmed, “they don’t come
down, we don’t go up.  There is a chasm that keeps us separated.  It acts as a sort of barrier between safe passages and certain death.” 

His legs felt weak.  He needed to sit.  There was so much in this world he didn’t know about.  But it was his fault.  He was to blame for not caring.  He still wasn’t sure if he cared.  But right now what was important was surviving to rescue Roland and face Deverell again.  If that entailed pretending to care for a little while, that’s what he would do. 

Egan’s voice broke through his thoughts.   “We have enough to worry about already.  There’s a long way to go yet.  I’d like to make it down the mountains and to the Wading Pools within the next two days.”

***

Two days after the caves, they were traveling downhill more efficiently.  The snow under foot was becoming thinner and the air less crisp.  The few high range wolves and birds were joined once more by the grazing animals.  The rocky, cliff filled landscape gave way gradually to the greener hills.  The giant redwoods were their constant companion once again.  Travel was much easier going downhill.  Davin felt like they were making incredible time. 

At dusk, Egan pointed down into the distance and said, “There they are.” 

Davin rubbed the tears out of his eyes and looked directly down below them to a flat plateau of thick trees.  They stretched out for in the distance for several leagues. 

But what was more interesting was what was in between them.  Tiny ponds, each one, from where they were, looked no wider than a small one room cabin. They lay freckled among the foliage.  In fact, they littered as far out as their vision would let them see.  

Egan blew out a breath loudly.  “This is the land of the Wading Pools, also known as the Pools of Confusion,” he explained.

“Why are they called that?” Davin asked curiously. 

“They look harmless, but it’s easy to get lost down there.  Nearly died down there myself once.”  Egan paused for dramatic effect.  Davin stared at him, almost not wanting to know how. 

This is where we’re staying tonight?  Sounds like a right good time,” said Davin sarcastically. 

“Indeed,” Egan added sourly. 

They trudged down the mountain side that led into the trees.  Just as with everything else, it proved a longer journey than it looked.  The sky was completely dark when they eventually steered through the first of the ponds.