by Kurtis Smith
Davin didn’t wait to watch. He had bought them some time. He ran at top speed to catch up with the others, the torch lights a blur as he passed. As he came upon another cross roads, this one with only one other hallway, more soldiers poured out the opening. This time he didn’t stop. He allowed his momentum to bowl them over. They slammed against the walls and ground.
He could see in front of him the rest of his people now. The tunnel was brightening, causing Davin to involuntarily squint. The light was natural, not that of torches. His heart pounded even faster than it already was. He stayed at the rear, looking back often to see how close the soldiers were.
The tunnel curved slightly and the source of the light became apparent. There were two hallways. The one that turned right led into the brightness, and the other returned to the dimness of the torches. The caravan of people continued into the tunnel that led right.
Davin made the turn and bounded up a flight of stairs into the crisp winter air. He looked around. They were in a grand courtyard next to the castle steps, surrounded by soldiers at every turn. First Captain Deverell stood not far from Davin, smiling in his arrogant way. Soldiers poured out behind him and were stopped from attacking by the First Captain’s hand. Davin was pulled to the front of the rebel group.
“It’s good to see you, Davin,” he said, smirking. Davin’s heart sank farther than it ever had before, and fear began to take him over. Egan found his way toward him, looking morose as well. This was surely it for their insurrection.
Chapter 30 The Race to the Throne Room
“Ah, nice of you both to join us,” Deverell said. “Not fleeing like you did that fateful night in Daust.”
Egan didn’t respond to Deverell’s jab. Instead he said, “Where is your master, O’Hara? Or does he let you off the leash to play from time to time?”
A snarl grew on Deverell’s face. “You will address your king as his title requires. He deserves your respect.”
Egan laughed, looking completely at ease. “It is good to know that he has you well trained and under control.”
“Alas, that is where you are wrong. You see it is I who has him under control. If only you knew the kind of power I have.”
Egan nodded slowly, his volume growing lower and more intense. “We know more than you realize. But what we don’t know is how. Why don’t you enlighten us?”
“You may be allowed to know if you surrender and I agree to let you keep your lives. As you have surely learned, your little group has no chance.”
Druce stepped toward the Descendants. “I find it hard to believe you have any power other than that of overconfidence.”
Some rustling sounded behind Davin, Egan and Druce. Aiden and Governor Seamus emerged from their group.
Deverell’s raised his eyebrows in genuine shock. “Well, this is quite a collection you have amassed. Tell me, First Tenant Druce, what was it that you didn’t enjoy about serving your king?”
“You are all mad, the lot of you. I would happily put a sword through you and the king for your treachery,” Druce sneered and spat at Deverell after he finished. Their utter loathing for one another was apparent.
Deverell ignored Druce’s remark and looked to Governor Seamus. “Conn…” he started, shaking his head, disappointedly. “These Descendants even convinced a governor that their cause is noble.”
“I would have never served under such filth, had I known of the corruption,” Governor Seamus retorted in his regal-spoken manner.
“Interesting choice of words, governor,” said Deverell, vaguely.
“Enough of this!” Davin snapped before Deverell could continue. He was finished with all of the fooling around. “Where are the others, what have you done with them?”
“Such an impatient young man,” scolded Deverell. After a pause, he continued, “Lucky for you, I brought them with me to see you die. Bring the captives forward.”
There was some movement behind Deverell in the assembly of Grand Soldiers. No one spoke as they broke through the line into the open. Davin witnessed Niahm, Teague, and Kayleigh being shoved into the center of the open ground, but that wasn’t all that came. Behind Kayleigh, an older man with long, disheveled hair and an oval face followed. He had an unclean appearance that suggested poverty. He must have been Kayleigh’s father, Oeam.
Deverell broke up their reunion conversation. “Once we learned that you had come so willingly into our hands, the execution ceremony was cancelled. It was no trouble. As you have surely guessed, it was simple ploy to persuade you to hurry quicker to us. We did not expect a force behind you, but that only delayed your deaths very slightly.”
I thought you wanted Egan and I alive,” said Davin, angry but curious.
Deverell hesitated, as if deciding to answer or not. He began to pace back and forth in front of them. “When I learned that there were still Scholars who studied your people, we searched out this Oeam. We brought him here and forced him to give up the Scroll locations. I sent my army out to find it. For years we combed the desert and found nothing.” He smirked. “Finding Egan was an accident or pure luck, whichever you prefer. But I knew what he was right away.”
“This is information we already-,” Davin started.
Deverell interrupted Davin with a flash of hatred so strong Davin felt involuntarily silenced. But it quickly faded and Deverell continued in a conversational tone. “Egan’s killing of Gradis was inconsequential. Gradis became too outspoken about matters concerning the Scroll and your race anyway. Egan’s escape appeared to be a bit more unfortunate. But we managed. We let him go with minimal pursuit, only informing the king as to the fact that Descendants did exist. This, I knew, would serve to strengthen his resolve to find the Scroll.”
Davin found his voice again. “This is when you devised your plan for searching the Ancient Forest without notice.”
Deverell only gave the slightest indication that Davin’s knowledge of his actions surprised him. “I had my Dous Captains and First Xerals ask about the blacksmith of Lemirre, to give a huge order to the Blacksmith’s Guild and request that it be given to this particular blacksmith. And I announced the coming of a full regiment to the town to create a distraction, while my men were sent into the forest. That piece of Scroll was our only purpose there. And we succeeded in acquiring it.” He grinned with vigor and ambition.
“So then you realized you no longer needed us, once you saw the Scroll with your own eyes,” Davin said through gritted teeth.
“Exactly, Davin. You are a smart boy aren’t you?” Deverell oozed, as if thoroughly enjoying their banter. “After your escape from Lemirre, I knew the two of you would never help us. We decided then to simply make sure you didn’t get in our way.” He chuckled to himself. “As it turns out, you began to look for the Scroll not long after, and we realized you had no better idea where other Descendants resided than us.”
“How did Governor Gradis and those other men gain our powers?” Egan spoke up.
Deverell didn’t have time to answer because a horn blew above them. The crowd of citizens and soldiers flung their heads about, searching for the source of the noise.
Without ado, a handful of arrows rained down into the courtyard. Several of them bounced harmlessly off of the statues of Kings of Old, but many hit their marks. Soldiers dropped at random from the half-circle around the rebel group.
Everyone shot looks to the source of the arrows coming from above. Archers had situated themselves on the roofs of the buildings all around the courtyard. Davin couldn’t get a good look at them, but they appeared to be wearing civilian armor and clothing.
Deverell yelled, “Grand archers, ready!” There was a short pause, then, “Fire!”
Davin didn’t waste any more time. He turned to the soldiers whose attentions were completely focused away from him. Moving in a better position, Davin recognized the archers on the rooftops, and now understood why Niahm, Teague, and Kayleigh had been captured. They sacrificed their hiding to let the others get into p
lace. It worked.
Sensing the opportunity, he called out loudly, “Charge forward, friends, now! Let none of them live!” The mob behind him snapped their heads back to the ground and yelled out in unison.
The civilian fighters charged just as Davin had commanded. Egan, Druce, Aiden, and Governor Seamus kept in stride with Davin as they collided with the distracted soldiers.
Swords, axes, spears, and whatever other weapons the civilians had chosen, banged against the armor of the soldiers. Davin watched the soldiers realize too late what was happening. Many tried to raise their weapons, but were killed before they could form a proper block. The limbs and bodies of the front line soldiers flooded the courtyard quickly.
More arrows fell from above and many of them made contact with soldiers. The initial shock of the charge wore off the soldiers quickly. Davin and the others found themselves locked in intense combat once again.
Davin scanned the courtyard for Deverell, but it was too crowded. Several soldiers blocked his line of vision. Two young men from Swift River stepped beside Davin. Davin nodded his appreciation for the help and met blades with one of the soldiers.
A strike to Davin’s left, blocked. Another attempted between his legs headed toward the groin, swept upward in a smooth motion. The soldier was left vulnerable. Davin made for the inner thigh and drew blood from it. The soldier grabbed his leg, blood pouring through his fingers.
Two more soldiers, having handily disposed of the slightly older and taller of the boys from Swift River, rounded on Davin and the other boy.
“Quickly, use your Driocht. I will distract them,” said the twenty year old sandy haired swordsman. “My name is Tom, by the way.”
Davin protested, “Pleasure, but I don’t -,” The soldiers broke their conversation.
Davin ran to the side while the other boy taunted the soldiers, dodging around other people fighting their own skirmishes. The soldiers must not have realized who Davin was or they wouldn’t have left him alone.
Davin rounded back behind the soldiers facing Tom. Each of their bodies flung into the air. Tom ran forward and collected a fallen sword as they came back down. He sliced cleanly into their backs, leaving huge gashes.
Governor Seamus emerged into sight somewhere near Davin, exchanging blows with two different soldiers. The governor sliced at the one of the men horizontally. It was blocked. He spun around and stabbed upward toward the other man but the soldier stepped out of the way at the last second. The governor tumbled and received a slice that crossed his left shoulder blade. He cried out in pain.
Davin ran at the soldiers, kicking up the governor’s dropped weapon from the ground as he reached them. Two swords in hand, he swept under one of the soldiers, causing the man to jump. With the other sword, he stabbed the man through the abdomen as he landed. The other soldier had already advanced on him, but he was quicker. In a smooth spinning motion, he turned on the soldier. Davin’s momentum carried his sword powerfully across the man’s front, cutting through the flesh at his belly.
Egan now had found his way toward the others, downing a soldier in front of him with an elbow to the chest and a sword to the stomach. The battle quickly grew fiercer and Davin saw no end to the Grand Soldiers.
They continued to advance, but the numbers were failing quickly. Their fighters tried to hold their own, but they knew exhaustion would soon set in. Where ever a soldier fell, another returned in his place. Many were simply beginning to give up and accept their deaths. Davin started yelling out encouragement, hoping it would stir the will to continue in them again.
Sporadic battle cries and grunts issued out from around courtyard, louder than a minute before. Davin smiled shortly when saw several of his neighbors charge back against the line of soldiers with renewed vigor. Several of the current frontline soldiers exchanged glances of exasperation as the clashing of metal weapons echoed around the city stronger than ever.
Two men from Lemirre and Druce and Aiden stood near one another, facing off against foes on all sides. One of the men from Davin’s home blocked a strike so skillfully at the last second that the soldier was shocked. Noticing the opportunity, Aiden swung around, taking his and his comrade’s soldier out in succession. Aiden whooped wordlessly afterward.
Druce and the other man were working in similar fashion. Davin only hoped that all of their strength would hold out.
From quite a distance away, Davin heard Deverell yell, “They will not retreat! They all wish to die so we will strike them until none are left! No quarter!”
More arrows poured from the sky, taking a small batch of new soldiers out. Davin risked a glance upward, but the shooters had disappeared again. He praised their skills silently.
Egan finished his current fight and appeared by Davin’s side. “You need to release Niahm and the other captives. They will be killed if they aren’t freed, and we need all the help we can get,” Egan shouted, trying to dodge the fighting for long enough to speak. “Trade orbs with me.”
Davin threw Egan the light green Driocht orb and in return received the dark red one. The earth orb would do them no good in the stone covered city.
Immediately, Davin turned toward the middle of the courtyard. He didn’t realize the distance he had traveled from where they had started.
As Davin shot towards the captives standing nervously by the tall statues, a powerful thud echoed all around them. It had sounded from outside the city wall, but the gate was some ways away from where they were. Davin was amazed that they heard it, which meant it had been loud. The fighting stalled momentarily.
“Do not worry about that noise. Finish off these irritants!” commanded a tall soldier that held a Dous Xeral’s rank near where Davin stood. His voice was acknowledged throughout the Grand Soldiers. No one made any move toward the gate. They continued their push.
Davin fought through two more soldier’s before reaching the captives. Arriving at where they stood, he commanded a flame from the orb to melt the bindings on Niahm.
“He is releasing the prisoners,” a soldier yelled. Only a minute passed before Davin saw the First Captain himself respond to the call.
Deverell met eyes with Davin through the fray and marched purposefully toward him. Davin continued his task. If he didn’t free them now, Deverell would surely kill them on the spot.
He began work intently on Niahm’s restraints, the metal bending from the heat. Deverell became distracted by one of the rebels for a short fight. Davin hoped that it would buy him more time, but Deverell struck the man down in a matter of seconds.
“Thank you, Davin,” Niahm told him as her arms became free. She immediately joined the battle with an ownerless axe on the ground. Davin began to work on Teague. He pushed hard with his mind to make the fire hotter. It worked, as Teague’s restraints fell away quicker.
Kayleigh was next, and then her father. The heat of the battle had caused his attraction to hibernate, which was an appreciated gift. “Hurry, Davin. This is my fight as much as it is yours,” said Kayleigh, fiercely. Davin had never seen so much fire in her eyes.
“Here, take this sword,” Davin replied, placing the extra sword in Kayleigh’s free hand. “Fight well with it.” The other chain had yet to be destroyed. Davin worked quickly, knowing he only had seconds left. She smiled warmly at him once they fell away.
Touching his arm lightly in thanks, she said, “Protect my father, will you?” Davin nodded his answer. In the back of his mind, he grew sick thinking about what she would feel if her father died.
***
Across the courtyard, Egan did what he could to stave off the continual attack of the soldiers.
Calling to Druce and Aiden, he said, “Hold them off me a few seconds.”
Using the power of the wind orb, he pulled at the side of a tall building towering above the battle. The entire side was ripped from its place. It fell in what looked like slow motion. He watched it land precisely in the middle of where a large majority of the Grand Soldiers were assembled,
smashing at least half of their current numbers in its wake. The brick crumbled apart and pieces of the wall formed a pile, creating a slight lull in the action. Dust obscured everyone’s view. Egan smiled to Druce briefly. Druce looked at him as if he’d never seen the Descendent before.
“That should help a little,” Egan spoke.
“I never realized the power the Ancients had,” said Druce, in awe. “I’ll be sure to never underestimate them again.”
“Don’t be too quick to say that. The energy from this orb is depleted. It’s up to our resolve and our swordplay now. And they will continue to come until we are all dead.” Egan stared around at their numbers, noticing that barely a third of their group remained. But considering the inequality of their numbers, that wasn’t terrible.
The soldiers began to find their way across the rubble, their bright blue and silver armor gleaming proudly.
“Then we fight until our strength gives out or we win,” commanded Druce strongly. The battle reignited itself and Egan and Druce threw themselves into mix again.
Egan swung at one of the first soldiers to cross the rubble so hard that the man’s helmet was hewn cleanly in half. Egan’s sword sunk into the head and he had to pull it sickeningly back out again. Druce took down two at once with a giant axe and his sword as they both attacked him over head. He blocked and kicked outward into another with both legs hitting the man squarely in the chest, pulling into a sloppy roll as his back slammed into the ground. He groaned from the impact.
“Is that something they teach you at the Acadeem?” Egan asked playfully.
“Came up with that one on my own.” Druce looked uncharacteristically sheepish for a second.
The formal voice of a commanding officer rang out through the clearing haze of dust. “Reinforcements, arriving from the Gate of the South! Be prepared to engage!” the man yelled all through the courtyard.
