The Descendants Book One: The Broken Scroll (2 page)

“I do believe you are mistaken as to where the authority falls
here,” Deverell said in a warning tone.  “And even if you did command my respect, O’Hara would take my side.  I am not without my own influence on the king.” 

Gradis inched closer to Deverell.  “Tell me or you and your men will not be resting here tonight.” 

“Now is not the time for this, governor.”  He grabbed Gradis’ arm with force and squeezed.  “For your best interest, I suggest you leave this matter alone.” 

“Get your hand off of me,” Gradis said through clenched teeth. 

Egan let out a frustrated sigh.
Great, both of them are hot heads. This won’t end well.   

Facing the c
ollection of weary prisoners, Gradis addressed them. “Line up, all of you, or you will not be fed tonight.” 

At Gradis’ words they sprang upright and formed a single line.  The chill from the wind made it nearly impossible to stand in one place.  Most of the prisoners were shivering, but they did their best not to move.  Egan had to admit that it was cold tonight, but he had a thicker skin than the average man. 

“Another oversight on your part, governor,” Deverell shouted, his voice raised for the first time.  “These men are not within your authority either.”

Gradis raised his arms into the air, palms out.  In one was a reddish-orange ball of flawless, glass-like material, only a couple of inches in diameter.  The inside of the ball held a foggy liquid sub
stance.  “If you won’t show me, I will find him myself.”

“Where did you find a Driocht orb?” 

“It is not relevant, First Captain.” 

“You,” Gradis said to Egan.  

Egan looked up at him quickly and stared.  His face was dirty, unshaven, and rough.  He wore tattered, old clothing and had a ratted mess of hair.  Although, despite his disheveled appearance, anyone could see he was extremely muscular and a not entirely unhandsome.      

“Yes, sir,” he answered, his voice low and gravelly.

“What is your name?” Gradis asked.

“Egan, sir.”

“Come with me,” he grabbed Egan’s arm and dragged him to the front of the line where Governor Gradis was waiting. 

Driocht orb.
This changes things.

The orb began to glow when the governor was within a few feet the prisoner.  Gradis’ grin widened.  Gradis stared Egan up and down and then looked at the First Captain with bewilderment. 

“So you have found one them?”

“We caught him just outside one of the abandon towers in the Blind Desert,” said Deverell.  “He said he was looking for a woman he was traveling with, though he seemed barely coherent at the time.” 

“Did you find anything there?” Gradis asked Deverell, his chest beginning to heave with nervous energy.

“We did an extensive search of the area and found this.” 

Deverell reached into a pack on one of the horses and pulled out a small sphere.  This one was light green and it was of the same flawless glass-like material.  Both were only a few inches in diameter. 

Gradis looked at Egan, “How did you find Driocht orbs? Surely you know that they are very rare and valuable as collector items.  Few have ever come across them.” 

“I’ve never seen that before in my life.  I don’t know what it is.”

The first part is true, at least.

“You are lying.  Why should we believe you?” 

“Look at me,” Egan gestured at himself, “I have nothing.  I figured a life in prison and a meal in my stomach was bet
ter than nothing.”

“Pitiful,
” Gradis said. 

He began pacing back and forth.  The wind howled around them as if intentionally masking their conversation from the townsfolk.  If Egan was who the Gradis thought he was, the king would be most pleased.

The governor spoke again, “I will ask you this once and I expect a truthful answer.  Are you or are you not a Descendant?”

“You would like to know, wouldn’t you?
”

“Don’t play with me.  He held up the glass sphere.  “If this orb
glows in your presence than you are connected to them.  So tell me the truth.  Are you one of them?”

I am tired of this man already. 

“No idea what you’re talking about.  And I would not tell you if I did.”

Gradis sneered and looked murderous.  “I think we should have a special punishment for this one.”

“Whatever you say,” Egan growled. 

Gradis held the dark red, dimly glowing sphere out at arm’s length until it almost touched Egan’s chest.  The sphere began to glow brighter until it lit up the majority of the town square.  

“You would be wise to do nothing else,” the First Captain shouted, now sounding nervous.  “Clearly you do not understand the power he has with that orb.” 

             
Gradis drew a surprised breath.  “So you admit it now, Deverell.  He isn’t a normal man.”  Gradis turned back to the prisoner.  “You are surely overreacting, though.  I want to see what he can do,” Gradis spoke, shaking with excitement.

They both looked at Egan, whose face was strained as he was pulled against his restraints.

This had better work. 

“Yes, show us.”   He laughed at Egan mockingly.  “You are one of them, aren’t you?  This is most excellent.” 

Deverell drew his sword and placed it raised it to Gradis’ throat.  The governor drew a sharp breath and stiffened, the laughter dying from his face.  “Stop this or I will take your life.” 

Egan looked up at the governor with a grimace, his face turning redder as the seconds past.   

And then he spoke with a confident calmness. “You should have listened to the First Captain.”

“You don’t scare me.  I know how this power works.”  Gradis held the orb up to his face and the glow of it made his thin face become ghostly. 

“I wouldn’t give him a reason to hurt you, governor.  You don’t know what kind of abilities he may have,” Deverell said.

“What do you know about it?” Gradis snapped,
and then turned back to Egan.

“Don’t
underestimate him.”

Gradis wasn’t listening anymore.  “I want him taken to the king tonight.  He will be most pleased by this discovery.”

“I won’t warn you again
,” Deverell ordered, pushing the sword further into the governor’s neck.  “Put that away before it’s too late.”

“Be still, First Captain.  I am in control now,” Gradis shouted, recovering his confidence and attempting to push th
e sword away from his throat. 

Egan raised his arm.  The Driocht orb flew out of Gradis’ hands into his own.  Both men stood stunned, not quite sure what had happened. 

It’s too soon for this, but I have no choice
. 
They know what I am. 

In an instant Deverell grabbed Gradis by the head, lingered there for a moment as if in a trance, and pushed him off.  Then he retreated away from the square, calling his men to follow suit. 

Egan closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.  He let his mind open to the power within the orb. 

A luminous fire erupted from his hand.  For a moment the town square stood shocked, expecting him t
o scream out in pain.  On the contrary, he smiled and looked directly into Gradis’ eyes.   

H
e had to do something drastic. 

Before
anyone could make a move he thrust a ball of fire the size of his head towards the nearest building.  The top of the building erupted into flames as the ball hit it.  The blaze was a singular bright and effervescent presence on the moonless night, causing everything surrounding it to become distorted.  The sudden light made the scene seem like a dream. 

Every single person in town was frozen in awe.  Next moment, the crowd was a frantic whirl of people.  There were screams and shouts and doors slamming as the townsfolk scrambled back inside their homes
or ran from the square.  Egan nodded to himself, happy that the reaction had been what he had hoped for.  He did nothing else while waiting for the stragglers to leave.  This was not something that he wanted them involved in. 

Gradis drew a sword strapped to the horse nearest him and swung it at Egan.  Egan ducked and grabbed the sword on its return stroke, careful not to slice his hand.  Gradis was not strong enough to pull it out of his grasp.  Egan took Gradis’ weight on the sword and threw him to the ground, then sprinted towards the nearest soldier’s steed and grabbed the long sword from its side. 

With a grunt he swung it over his head and met Gradis’ blade.  He allowed the momentum to spin him around the governor’s opposite side.  He dropped the sword purposefully and ran toward the edge of the town square.  There would be no death tonight if he could help it.  

“Get him!” Deverell shouted in the distance. 

Egan risked a glance back and saw that the First Captain was hiding in the shadows with his men.  Deverell had hailed the Governor to deal with him. 

Coward, catch me yourself
.
 

As Egan passed the last building in the square he heard a loud wind behind him.  He clutched the Driocht orb tightly in his hand and looked behind him just as his body was involuntarily thrust into the air.  He flew up twenty feet, flailing wildly, and landed hard on the steps in front of the butcher’s shop.

He grimaced as the pain from the fall came over him.  He forced himself up off the ground spitting out the blood he tasted in his mouth. 

“Bless the Ancients,” the butcher spoke, “you are a Descendent.  I thought your kind had died out a thousand years ago,” he stated in awe. 

“That remains to be seen,” Egan said, smiling darkly. 

He felt the wind rush towards him again just as he finished his comment, but this time he was ready.  He rolled out of the way and shot another fireball toward the governor, missing by only inches.  He took the chance to glance quickly around him.

“Surely, you didn’t think you were the only one left of your kind,” Gradis said.

“If you really are one of my kin, why have you turned against me?” Egan yelled trying to be heard over the wind.  “Whatever this power that has a hold on you, let it go.”

Egan couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  The only beings that had this kind of power were Descendants of the Ancients, but he was the only one left that he knew of.  And how could the governor be one of them? 

“You speak in riddles, Egan of nowhere.  I’m afraid surrender isn’t an option, at least for me.  I will take my orb back now,” Gradis said as he approached his opponent.  Egan could see the light green orb in Gradis hand and fully understood now his power over the wind.
             

“Actually, I think I’ll keep it, “Egan said, smirking. 

Before Gradis could utter another word Egan was on the move.  He sprinted at Gradis at top speed and was halfway across the square when his entire body began to change hue. 

Gradis sent a compact blast of wind toward Egan this time, sharp enough to cut like a knife.   Egan anticipated it, knowing that another attack had been eminent.  He stayed planted on the spot until wind nearly reached him, and then dropped flat onto the ground.  The whip of air rolled over him harmlessly. 

In a second he was back on his feet and charging forward again. 

The power within him and the orb surged.  His body started to smolder and glow the color of ember.  Then tiny flames began to come forth from beneath his skin. 

He sprinted onward at top speed, set to collide with Gradis. 

Gradis clenched his teeth and braced for the impact from the man running towards him.  Egan’s mind reeled quickly as the governor prepared to counter.  Ten feet away from Gradis, he shot a bolt of his flame off to the left, narrowly missing another building.  It wasn’t much, but it was enough to distract Gradis and make him look away.  Egan rammed into him at full speed and felt the ribs of the governor’s chest crack beneath t
he strength of the blow.  They both flew back several feet and lay still. 

Egan
rose and waited for movement.  There was none. 

The silence that followed was unnerving.  The only sound was the light breeze whispering through town and the cackling fire of the remains of the court house. 

Egan edged up to the governor’s side and kicked him.  There was no reaction.

The governor of Daust was dead.  His charred, broken body was lying in the middle of the square. 

Immediately, questions filled Egan’s head.  The Descendants would never attack one of their own.  Had one of his own kin survived and turned corrupt, just as many of his ancestors had?  And did the King know that one of his governors had powers like this?  He had to find answers, as well as a place to hide so he could think more clearly. 

Snapping out of his thoughts he became aware of First Captain Deverell and his men running towards him.  There wasn’t much time.  Egan reached down and pried the light green orb out of Gradis’ hand.  Turning, he faced them.

Foolish
, he thought,
but
they are just doing their job
.