Descendant: The Protector (The Descendant Series)

by Daniel W. Koch

  “Yes, sir!” both Grath and Rose said at once, and they took off at the same time as the Rogues.

  “As for the rest of you,” Alexander spoke again, “follow me immediately and do not stray from the rest of the group.”

  They all pounded their fists to their chests and followed Alexander as he took off into the woods. I calculated my odds in a fight against all of them and quickly decided it wouldn’t be a good idea. Even if I were to take out Alexander and some of the others before I was killed myself, Grath would just take over, and Jason would be killed within a few hours, anyway.

  It was when I jumped from the tree that I realized I had forgotten something. Philip, Simone, James, and Johnathan hadn’t caught up to me, yet. I wasn’t that far from them, and they would have definitely reached me if something hadn’t gotten in their way. I broke into my run without hesitation and didn’t stop until I saw James lying on the ground with half his head torn off and black blood covering most of his body. I didn’t stop to help him because I feared the others were still locked in battle. Seconds after I ran past James, I saw Philip and Johnathan fighting five other Dahmshed. They were trapped in a small circle and were covered with gashes all over their bodies. Other Dahmshed lay on the ground around them with their heads separated from their bodies.

  “Aderes!” Philip yelled in anguish when he saw me. “Find Simone before you help us. She’s…” Two of the Dahmshed jumped at him, and he paused to evade both attacks. “She’s got three on her! Hurry!” All five pounced on the two of them, but I ran, and when I finally found Simone, she was in the process of being thrown into a tree. It cracked behind her, and she fell to the ground. I noticed a small rip on the left side of her neck, and she seemed very weak from the loss of blood. I wrapped my hands around the nearest Dahmshed’s head and tore it off with ease. The other two stopped their advance on Simone and looked at me with wide eyes. One turned and bolted, but I caught her in half a second, and her head bounced to the ground. The last one stood in place without moving. I had no pity for him; He had ganged up on my friend and was ready to kill her in cold blood. Now, he hoped I wouldn’t kill him if he didn’t run or fight. He was dead wrong.

  I jumped from where I stood and slammed into his chest, causing both of us to crash to the ground. Then, I ripped his head free of the rest of his body so fast that not even I knew it was off until I saw it in my hand. I threw it aside and ran back to Philip and Johnathan without talking to Simone, who was still lying on the ground.

  Four of the original five enemy Dahmshed were still standing. Philip was working on another with his arms wrapped around her head, but I felt that it was taking too long, and the other three were about to jump him. It was much harder for a regular Dahmshed to rip off a head, so I helped him. The female’s head flew through the air and crashed into a tree. The other three Dahmshed knew they had lost, so, in a last effort to do damage, they all went for Johnathan. Three sets of hands were at his neck and head; in only a few seconds, he would be dead.

  I ran at them and threw two away from Johnathan instantly. The remaining one looked up at me, and his head rolled across the ground a second later. I went after the other two, who were both trying to escape. I caught them easily, and both were dead soon after.

  “Thanks, Aderes,” Johnathan said quietly, rubbing his neck. I hoped that he would never mess with me again after that one, but it wasn’t the time to think about that. James and Simone were both terribly injured, and we needed to make it back to the marina before Alexander attacked.

  “Johnathan, go help Simone,” I ordered, ignoring his thanks for the time being. “Philip, please come with me. James is seriously hurt.” Everyone did as I said. Philip and I reached James quickly.

  “This is much worse than I thought,” Philip gasped when we found him.

  “You didn’t see this happen to him?” I asked as I knelt down beside James.

  “I saw him go down, but I didn’t know what happened. I was just trying to get the three Jagers that were attacking him.”

  “I really should have been with you guys for this!” However, deep down, I knew that if I had been with them, I wouldn’t have known that Jason was in grave danger, and we would be much worse off than this.

  “Where were you, anyway?” Philip asked as I picked James up in the cradle of my arms.

  “Listening to Alexander. We need to get back to the marina as fast as possible. They’re attacking a lot sooner than we thought.”

  “James!” Johnathan exclaimed when he saw us. He was holding Simone in his arms just like I was holding James.

  “We have to get back to the marina, Johnathan,” Philip said, walking over to him. “Aderes will meet us there with James. The two of us should get a head start with Simone.”

  “I can run it, Philip,” Simone said weakly, trying to lift her head.

  “You may be able to, but we’ll go faster carrying you. We can’t be slowed. Let’s go.” They ran off, leaving me alone with James. I stood up and began to run on only two legs. It felt very awkward after running on all fours, but I needed to make sure I didn’t damage James’s head further. I was still faster than the others, and I caught up with them quickly. I ran at their speed for the rest of the trek home, which seemed as if it took twice as long as it had to follow the Rogues’ trail.

  ***

  Jason-

  The sun had been up for about two hours when Peter came into the building. He seemed very surprised to see me awake, since he had left me so that I could sleep when the movie ended.

  “What are you doing up?” he asked as he sat on the couch.

  “Do you have to ask?”

  “No, I guess I don’t. But you’re really getting on my nerves. You will need sleep eventually.”

  “I’ll sleep when I know she’s okay.” The front door blasted open, and Matt stood there with a worried expression.

  Peter leaped from the couch. “What’s wrong?”

  “They’re back,” Matt said. “But James is close to death, and Simone is pretty badly hurt as well.”

  “How’s Aderes?” I asked without thinking. I was almost annoying myself with how obsessed I had become.

  “She’s fine. If it weren’t for her, all the others would have been lost.” Peter turned and lifted an eyebrow in an “I told you so” sort of way.

  Then, he and Matt ran from the building towards the tunnels. I got up from the couch and ran after them, knowing full well that I wouldn’t make it in time to get inside the door. I just really wanted to see Aderes.

  Before I could even reach the bottom of the stairwell, Taddi jumped in front of me.

  “No, no, Jason. We all just spent hours removing your scent from around the tunnels. I’m not going to let you go over there just because you need to get to Aderes.” She turned me around and pushed me up the stairs. I felt a sudden hate for her because she wouldn’t let me see Aderes, but I held back my anger knowing that it was just because of the “spell.” When we got back inside the house, she dragged me over to the couch and sat me down. “Wow, Jason, I’m surprised you didn’t put up more of a fight.”

  “I’ve been trying to hold back. And besides, if I tried to hit you, I’d probably only hurt myself.”

  “Still, not even I had this much restraint the first day I saw her face. I almost killed Matt when he held me back.” She held back a laugh. “But he did the same a few days later when it was his turn to see her, so I guess we’re even.”

  “You took turns?”

  “Yes. I really don’t think it would have been a good idea to have twelve Dahmshed all trying to take Aderes for themselves. We would have torn each other apart.”

  “Twelve? What about Elliot?” She looked away in thought.

  “Now that I think about it, he never really had a problem. He saw her first when we found her, and he gave her the sweatshirt with the hood so none of us could see her face. I suppose it had to have affected him, or he wouldn’t have known to do that for us.” She shook her head
and looked at me again. “Have I distracted you?”

  “I guess you did, but now I’m thinking about her again.” I gave her a sarcastic smile, but she just nodded at the door.

  “That’s okay, she’s here.” Aderes walked in the door just after Taddi finished her sentence. I stood quickly, running my hands down my jacket to smooth out the wrinkles.

  “Hi, Jason,” she said in her mesmerizing voice. I couldn’t speak; I just wanted her to take the hood off so that I could see her face again.

  “I’d say he’s just peaked in his need for you,” Taddi laughed. “He can’t even talk.”

  “Taddi, please,” Aderes said seriously. “James is hurt, and so is Simone. This is not a time to be joking around.”

  “What happened?” I asked, snapping out of my daze for the moment. Taddi turned to me and lifted an eyebrow, obviously impressed that I had managed to speak.

  “Half of James’s neck was torn off in battle. It’s going to take a long time to heal, and he’s very delicate right now. He was also supposed to be going to Vermont with us.”

  “He won’t be healed in four days?” I knew it took a while for a neck injury to heal on a Dahmshed, but I didn’t think even a severe one would take that long.

  “Oh, he should be fine in four days. Unfortunately, we’re leaving in an hour,” Aderes said.

  “When did you decide this?” Taddi asked. She seemed as shocked as I was.

  “When I heard Alexander saying they were attacking very shortly.”

  “You saw him?” I questioned her further.

  “The trail led us straight to him, but enough about that now. I need you ready to leave in an hour.”

  “I’m ready to go right now. My bag is already packed,” I said proudly.

  “Good.” Aderes turned to Taddi. “And I was hoping you would take James’s place.”

  “Of course,” Taddi answered with a smile. I couldn’t see this fifteen-year-old-looking girl in a battle against Grath, but Aderes knew what she was talking about when it came to fighting. “But, who else is coming?”

  “You, me, and Peter,” Aderes said, and Taddi’s mouth dropped open.

  “Only the three of us? Are you crazy?! You guys were almost killed out there, and they’re better fighters then I am!”

  “I wasn’t with them when they got attacked, Taddi. I won’t leave your side unless the situation demands it, and even then I won’t leave unless I know you’re safe.”

  “Why me, though? Matt’s a better fighter then I am.”

  “Elliot and I talked it over, Taddi. We both agreed on who needs to stay and who needs to be with Jason.” Taddi looked from me to Aderes a few times, her red hair bouncing back and forth.

  “Okay. I guess if you guys think it’s a good idea, I won’t argue with you.”

  “Thank you,” Aderes said nicely. “Now, please come with me. Simone wants to say goodbye to both of us. I’m sorry, Jason, but she’s lost a lot of blood and is very weak, so you won’t be able to see her until you come back.” They began to walk out, but Taddi turned around with a last thought.

  “Oh, and Jason,” she said. “If you try to leave this building, I swear I’ll kill you.”

  Chapter 8

  Escape

  I grabbed the backpack that held my clothes and waited for Aderes, Taddi, and Peter in the main room. Ten minutes later, they all arrived together with Elliot behind them.

  “Are you ready, Jason?” Elliot asked me. He looked very upset, but his black eyes were steady.

  “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, trying to force a smile. Peter gave me a reassuring wink and left the building with Taddi and Aderes. I started to follow, but Elliot stopped me at the door, putting both of his hands on my shoulders. He was at least half a foot taller than me, so I had to look up at him as he spoke.

  “I promise you that those three will take great care of you. The only reason I’m a little anxious right now is because of the preparation we still need to do. I don’t want you thinking that you’ll be in danger.”

  “Thanks. I am a bit nervous about all this,” I said. He smiled, gave me a pat on the back, and led me out the front door. We walked down the front stairwell and were greeted by Peter, Taddi, and Aderes. They all said their goodbyes to Elliot, and then we were off. Aderes carried me on her back, but we kept to the same speed as the other two.

  The run was long and hard, even with our short breaks every half hour. My legs and arms were burning from having to hold on for so many hours, and without Aderes’s full speed I felt we would be running for days before we reached Vermont. By the fourth hour of running, I was tired, cold and very hungry. It was the most miserable experience I’d had since meeting Aderes, but I didn’t want to complain. The others needed to get me as far from the marina as possible, and I didn’t want to slow them down with my human weaknesses. Then, as if they had read my mind, all three Dahmshed slowed and stopped just outside of a very large cave built into the side of a large hill.

  “I’m so sorry, Jason,” Aderes apologized as she flipped me off her back and stood up. “We really shouldn’t have gone that long. Are you okay?” I nearly fell over when I put my weight on my legs but Aderes caught me. I could barely move my arms.

  “I’m a little hungry,” I said as Aderes set me down inside the cave.

  “Taddi,” Peter started, “set up a fire, and I’ll go catch Jason something to eat.” He disappeared into the woods. Taddi left also to get firewood, leaving me alone with Aderes.

  “Are you cold?” she asked as she retrieved a sweater from my bag.

  “Kind of.” The words were broken by the chattering of my teeth. She threw me the extra sweater, and I put it on under my coat.

  “I realize you’re trying to be Mr. Tough Guy and all, but we don’t want you to freeze to death.” I opened my mouth to retaliate, but she interrupted me. “And don’t tell me you’re not cold, I can feel how slow your heart rate is.”

  “I was only going to say thanks,” I lied.

  “Sure you were.” A few seconds later, Peter arrived holding a dead deer in his arms.

  “I hope you don’t mind, Jason, but I drained the blood out of it.” I gave him a disgusted look, and he laughed. “I guess you weren’t exactly hoping to drink it yourself.”

  “No, not really.”

  “When was the last time you drank from a living creature?” Aderes asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.

  “I think I’ve been sober for about two hundred years,” he said proudly. “The second highest record besides Elliot.”

  “You don’t drink from living creatures?” I asked him.

  “Nope.”

  “Then, where do you get your blood from?”

  “Slaughterhouses. They’ve got more unused animal blood then you can imagine.” Again, I gave him a disgusted look. “Well, if you don’t like it, maybe I should just have some of your blood,” he said sarcastically.

  “No, that’s okay. You keep on going to the slaughterhouse.” He laughed and placed the deer on the ground.

  “Aderes, you’re going to have to hold me back for a few days. Fresh blood is very appetizing, and I don’t want to have a relapse.”

  “Okay,” Aderes said. “But, I don’t see why you and the others insist on this. Human blood is exquisite.”

  “Too much information, Aderes,” I said, looking away from her and out of the cave. I saw Taddi emerge from the trees with a very large stack of firewood.

  “You’d better get started, Jason,” she said, dropping the wood close to the entrance of the cave.

  “Excuse me?” I asked her. She flipped her hair from in front of her face and gave me a funny look.

  “Do you really think a Dahmshed should light a fire?”

  “Yes, I do!” I almost laughed. “You’d do it twice as fast as I would. Plus, I can get burned just as easily as you can.”

  “Come on, guys!” Aderes pulled her sleeves back. “I’ll do it.” She got to work as Peter
pulled the deer into the back of the cave to prepare it for cooking. In only a few seconds, I could see smoke rising from the circle of leaves she had set up, and five minutes after that, we had a blazing fire before us. Peter came out of the cave with some small pieces of meat. Once they were cooked, I ate them faster than I would have thought possible.

  “You want more?” Peter asked when I finished.

  “No thanks, I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll get some sleep.”

  “Are you sure? It’s only around five, I think.”

  “I’ll wake up early, and we can get a faster start in the morning.”

  “Okay, then,” Aderes said. I set up my sleeping bag and fell right to sleep, with my three guardians protecting me. Unfortunately, they couldn’t help me in my dreams as a Dahmshed, dressed all in black, with eyes like Aderes, hunted me down and killed me.

  ***

  “This could end badly, JD,” was the first thing I heard when I woke up. I lifted my head to see Aderes, Taddi, and Peter at the entrance of the cave talking to JD, another of the High Members. His bald head made him look even paler than the other Dahmshed standing beside him. The white t-shirt and shorts he was wearing didn’t help the matter. JD was the brightest dressed Dahmshed I had ever seen. It almost made him look human.

  “The Jagers are everywhere at the marina. It was a miracle I was able to escape to come here. If they find the tunnels, there will be a battle, and we need everyone we can get. Elliot agrees that one of you should stay here with Jason, but we need the other two back at home,” JD spoke in a deep, scratchy voice.

  “If it has to be this way, then I’ll stay with him,” Taddi said. The worried expression on her face showed her stress.

  “No!” Aderes almost yelled. “I will not leave his side, and I’d like to see any of you try to make me.”

  “You would be the most helpful back there, Aderes,” JD tried to convince her.

  “I would be if it turned into a battle, but the fact is, it most likely won’t. We’ve hidden everything and made it look like we all packed up and left. Jason needs me here with him more then you need me at the marina.” JD looked angry with her but didn’t argue further.