The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll (24 page)

Davin and Radash froze.  Liam turned to Davin and whispered, “Get out of here now or he will gather reinforcements before you make it out of town.  I will stall him.” 

Davin grabbed Radash and they made for the staircase.  But then Davin stopped cold.  Radash gestured for them to continue.  Davin shook his head.  He couldn’t leave Liam like this.  Radash gave up and they stayed and listened. 

To their surprise, Liam spoke with a menace that they had never heard.  “Do it.  Kill me.  I do not matter as they do.”  He inclined his head in the direction of the two young men.  “I have done my duty if I have given my life in their place.”

The soldier cocked his head for a moment as if touched by Liam’s sentiments, and then laughed mockingly.  “That is a brave thing to do, but foolish.  You are only delaying the inevi
table.  Our king will kill his son with his own hand and make the magic users his slaves, once he finds the rest of their kin.” 

Liam did not waver, and ke
pt the soldier talking.  “Your king will not prevail in this task.  There are no others to find.  The boy is the last of them.” 

“So educated, yet so naïve,” the soldier said, disappointedly.  “There
is at least one more, and the king believes that he is not the last either.” 

“If found, they would overpower O’Hara with their skills.  You will not live to see the day.”   

The soldier was beginning to look flustered.  He raised his sword as if to strike.  Liam didn’t move.  “Actually, I’m afraid you will not live to see the day Scholar.” 

Davin tried to rush forward, but he didn’t make it.  The soldier sent the sword clear through the middle of Liam’s body.  Liam crumpled with an agonizing cry. 

At that moment, Egan arrived at the threshold into the library. 

“No!” he yelled and swung at the soldier with all of his might.  The soldier tried to block but the strength of Egan’s swing sent his sword flying into the nearest shelf.  Forgetting all of his inhibitions he brought his sword around again, aiming for the soldier’s neck.  The blow cut through fast and strong and decapitated the man.  The body fell and the head hit the ground with a thump. 

Egan stood silently for a while with his sword at his side, staring down at his friend and the enemy that had killed him.  No one spoke or moved.  Radash called out several times, but Egan did not respond.  Finally, after some time, he snapped out of his trance and addressed Radash and Davin.    

His voice was cracked and broken and his face was solemn.  “We need to leave town.  I was able to procure some pookas for our ride north.  They are waiting by the gate.  Go to them and load them with our packs and supplies.”

Davin walked forward to Egan’s side, paying his respects to Liam.  Then he moved passed him to the headless soldier’s body.  Reaching down, he retrieved the weapon from man’s already cooling hand.  He swung it a few times back and forth.  It was much better made than his last sword.  He decided he would keep it.  Wiping the blood stains off with the soldier’s clothes, he replaced the old with the new in his sheath. 

Egan watched closely.  When Davin was finished he said, “Use it well, Davin.  Let the blood that was split with that blade be avenged by returning the favor in kind.”

“It will,” was all that Davin could say.  He moved back over the stairwell where Radash stood. 

Davin and Radash nodded to one another and started to leave, tears
welling up in their eyes. Neither had known him as well as Egan, but it remained sad that a good man had been taken from them. 

Before they reached the stairs they watched Egan bend down to look at his friend one last time.  “Goodbye, Scholar of the Ancients and friend.  May the stars watch over you and may my ancestors guide you to a restful place.”  He kissed Liam’s forehead and stood up.  After one last moment of respect he turned and followed the others out of the library. 

No one said anything until they were back down stairs and out of sight of their fallen friend.  Egan, still mournful, spoke to Davin and Radash as they stepped into the dining room.  “I will have to stop by Page’s house while you two are loading the pookas.  She will make sure he has a proper burial.  We would do it ourselves, but there is no time.  We need to leave before the rest of the garrison realizes what happened here.”

Davin and Radash acknowledged his words and he left them to it.  Davin secretly hoped that Egan would return with a least a serviceable amount of spirit or this would be a very morbid trip.  He and Radash worked in silence for the most part, each lost in their own sadness. 

Davin realized he was already feeling exhausted from the events of the early morning. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying to put some life into his blood. 

Egan returned with Page at a run, just as the sun was beginning to rise.  Her eyes were puffy and her face flushed, as if she had been crying for some time.  It looked like it was taking all her courage to not break down and wail loudly right in front of them. 

Egan spoke lightly to her as they reached the gate to Egan’s house.  She nodded at everything he had said and started to step through the gate.  She stopped. 

Speaking to Davin and Radash, she said, “I pray you find what you are looking for, young sirs.  And that
your journey leads you to the capital city where you will have our king pay for his soldier’s deeds.  He must be held accountable as we all would be.”  She started to say more, but became too choked up. 

“Good winds to you.”  She blessed them in the tradition of Slainte.  And then she was beyond the gate and into the home of the late Scholar. 

After Page left Egan said, “We need to get moving, there are soldiers headed this way.”

Davin replied with an affirmative, noticing the new resolve in Egan’s tone.  He was happy for it. 

They mounted the pookas and rode to the gate that sat at the boundaries of North Breakwater and North Sea Breeze districts.  As they drew near the gate dread hit Davin and his heart fell at the sight.  Soldiers from a number of streets converged onto them riding great horses, each at least fifteen hands in size.

“Speed up,” Egan said, “Push these beasts as fast as they can go.” 

Davin and Radash did as they were told, but the pookas were no match for the speed of the horses.  As they pulled alongside Egan, Radash and Davin, they raised bows knocked with arrows.  The poise and control of their aim atop the steeds was undoubtedly skillful. 

“Stop, or we will shoot,” one of them shouted.  But Egan had already released the wind orb’s power.   He channeled it into ten separate blasts that exploded around him like fireworks.  The bows were ripped from the soldiers’ hands.  They thrashed in surprise, trying to maintain their balance.  A handful fell onto the street, dazed from the impact. 

“It will take more than riding archers to stop us.  Let your King know that!” Egan yelled in anger. 

One of the soldiers who had remained horsed swung at Davin.  Davin shifted backward and the swipe met air.  Holding on with one hand, he pushed the rider hard away from him.  The horse neighed as it was pulled against his momentum.

Davin took the opportunity to grab his sword and swing it across the soldier’s chest.  The soldier yelped and fell from the horse’s back.

Ahead of Davin several horse lengths, Egan swung wide with one hand, meeting with a soldier’s forearm.  The man grabbed his arm, forgetting to hold on to his reigns.  He fell, skidding along the street. 

Another charged at Egan.  Egan’s swing missed the man’s neck by inches.  The force of the swing was too powerful.  He tried to stop himself, but his body began to draw toward the ground. 

Suddenly, he was hanging on with all his might to the pooka’s side, trying not to meet the brick below him head on.  He flapped his arms wildly in attempt regain his seat.

Radash sped up to Egan’s side and reached out his arm.  “Take it,” he said, struggling to remain steady. 

In another moment Egan was upright again.  The second to last rider slipped in between Egan and Radash.  Egan accessed the Driocht and put his hand to man’s chest.  The air shot straight through the man’s body, leaving a smoking hole. 

Davin watched the dead soldier in front of him lose his grip.  The dethroned man nearly took out Davin’s pooka as he rolled away.  Davin swerved at the last minute, narrowly avoiding a crash himself. 

The last soldier, realizing he was all alone now against Descendants, pulled away from them and rode back to his fallen comrades.

As they passed the North Gate, no City Guards gave them any trouble.  Driving hard into the rural outskirts, none of them spoke.  Egan wore a blank, distant expression.  Davin and Radash displayed determined looks.  They knew they had to put some distance behind them.  In minutes, they were passed the farmland outskirts and into the wide wilderness that took them north to the Greenlands, north to the answers they sought. 

Chapter 14 The Lord of Trial

“Are you alright?” Davin asked, as he drew up beside Egan.  Dusk had begun to fall after a long day of riding. 

Egan looked at him as if he didn’t recognize him.  And then he frowned and faced forward again.  “I will be fine,” was all he said at first. 
“We waited too long.”  After a few moments, when Davin was ready to leave him alone again, he continued. 

“The k
ing has made this personal for me now.  Whatever good he did in the past is irrelevant now.  He does not mean well for us or his people.  Whether or not he is in his right mind, he will be held accountable for his actions.”  He stopped speaking and looked at Davin.  “We can’t allow him to complete the Scroll before we do.” 

But he knew that he was no longer the only person that O’Hara had made things personal for.  Egan and Davin both shared that same grief and anger now.  This made Davin feel strangely bonded to Egan
more than he ever was before. 

It was this thought that reminded him
he’d never apologized to his kin.  He couldn’t guarantee that he might not need to make that choice again.  The two of them still had separate goals, but Egan’s company was becoming more welcome.  Also, he couldn’t deny that his desire to strike out on his own and do things on his terms had caused a serious consequence.     

Liam
actually thought that my life was more important than his. 

But
Davin didn’t deserve that.  And he knew it. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “for Liam.  For
trying to leave.” 

Egan nodded but didn’t look at Davin.  “You had your reasons.  Nothing I do or say
will convince you one way or the other.”  And as if forgetting about the first comment he added, “Liam was not your fault.  He chose to do what he did.” 

Yes, for me of all people.  It doesn’t make sense. 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Davin said. 

“It’s not supposed to.  It’s simply the truth.” 

They spoke no more after that. 

They rode hard again the following day, only stopping for a short interval to eat as the sun went down beyond the hills in the west.  Egan explained that they
were as close to the Keenan Road that he wanted to come.  Any closer and they would risk running into an entire regiment of Grand Soldiers.  The army was sure to have their sketches and descriptions by now and there would be no way to disguise who they were for an extended period of time. 

Instead, Egan took them on a mostly unused path that ran along the side of the foothills.  He explained that they would hold to that way until it gave way into the Golden Plains.  Once there, they would veer northeast toward the heart of the kingdom. 

Davin kept playing the image of Liam standing in the library, taking the fatal stab to the abdomen. 

I could have taken that man for him.  He didn’t have to die. 

Looking at Egan, he could tell something along those lines was running though his head as well. 

A man Davin hardly knew had been killed on their behalf, not knowing what good it would do in the long run, just knowing he would do anything to help.  It did tend to make one feel selfish in comparison.  This combined with the guilt over not acting sooner weighed heavy on him. 

The following night, they were only a few leagues from the plains.  Egan immediately began a fire to dull the chilly air.  They ate with little conversation. 

Davin finally snapped out of his mood as he lay back on the soft grass.  It had been awhile since he had been under the open sky.  For most of his life he had either been surrounded by mountains and trees, or more recently, stuck cooped up in a house for weeks on end.  Seeing a full view of stars was a welcome change.  It was calming and he lay down staring up at them for a long time, thinking of nothing but the way they formed odd shapes above him.   

When his gaze came back to rest on their camp some time later, he eyed Radash.  His concerns came back to him in a rush.  His temper flared as Radash’s deception came to mind.  Had he had been lying to them, just as Davin had guessed all this time? 

He jumped to his feet and walked over to Radash with determination in his step.  Without any ado he raised his fist and punched the man in the face.  Radash fell back and touched his hand to his lip.  Davin had cut him.