The King's Descendants

by Robin Simmons

  At that moment the clone pushed the table into Andronicus, causing him to fall backwards, off balance. In an instant the clone smashed into him again and they went through the kitchen windows, landing on the back lawn. There, locked together, they wrestled in mortal combat. The clone had Andronicus around the throat, trying to wrench off his head.

  Andronicus could feel the pressure the clone was exerting on the spinal column that carried the circuits that powered his body. He grasped the clone’s hand and began to pull it away, but the clone exerted an equal amount of pressure. Andronicus felt the servo motors in his right arm giving way to the newer, more powerful arm of the clone. Then his right arm failed completely, and the clone once again grabbed Andronicus around the neck. Andronicus reached to the back of the neck with his left hand and began to tap out the code sequence that would power down the clone. He almost had the sequence completed when his body ceased to respond to the commands he was giving it. Realization washed over him and he knew he had lost. A sadness at the revelation of his failure swept over him, and then everything went black.

  The clone yelled in triumph as it stood holding the head, torn from the body of Andronicus. It looked down on the crumpled form of Andronicus laying on the ground and tossed the head next to the body. The clone felt exhilarated at the victory it had achieved and was sorry the challenge was over. It savored the kill and wanted more, but there was no one else around. So it began to explore its surroundings. The clone did not appreciate the beauty that the garden setting provided, and It did not take long for the clone to realize that it was stranded atop the plateau above the falls. The primary thing the clone desired was another challenge and more destruction. With nothing else to do, it returned to the Hall of Wisdom and began to look around. The clone had a thirst for information, but that was only secondary to its lust for killing.

  In one of the rooms of the Hall of Wisdom, the clone found the computing machines. One of the machines was on and the clone approached it and pushed some of the buttons on its keyboard. A voice came from the computer that made the clone jump.

  “Request or input not understood, please restate request.”

  The clone realized the machine posed no threat, and accessing its memory asked, “Give me information about the kingdom of Glenfair.”

  The computer screen filled with information and the clone realized that it could read the words on the screen. How, it did not know, but it slowly began to understand what lay in the valley below. His creator had loved this kingdom and its people. That was enough to make the clone want to destroy Glenfair. The clone now had a purpose for its existence, the destruction of everything Andronicus held dear. There was much the clone did not comprehend, though a basic understanding of the boundaries and the topography of the lands about began to form in its mind. It read a brief history of the kingdom and began to understand the strategic location Glenfair had between the two major kingdoms of its time, the Wickshields to the north and the Sabatol kingdom of the south. He understood why the Wickshields wanted Glenfair as a route to conquer the Sabatol kingdom of the south. Through its reading it realized that things had names.

  The clone asked the computer, “What is my name?”

  “Your name is Andronicus,” the computer answered, recognizing the vocal patterns of Andronicus’ voice.

  The clone flew into a rage and smashed the computer off of the far wall. Bits of glass and plastic landing everywhere.

  “I will not be called by my creator’s name, I am the opposite of him. I will call myself Sucinord. I now have a name and a purpose. I will go now and fulfill my destiny.” The clone laughed and it echoed eerily off of the walls as he headed out of the Hall of Wisdom.

  The Prescott dukeship began to take shape as Lucinda watched. It was an odd feeling traveling through time. It did not last long and she knew her time travel was over when she felt the cool breeze on her face. She stood there a moment looking at the Prescott castle before she realized something was wrong. The castle looked different somehow. Lucinda walked toward the castle and as she neared she noticed that the castle gates had been battered down. She now quickened her pace and entering the castle she saw that it had been burned and destroyed. She called out but there was no answer. All her senses reeled as she realized the castle was deserted. Lucinda went back out of the courtyard to the open land of Glenfair. She scanned the Horizon and finally saw several people walking. She headed toward them warily, planning to travel back to her own time if there was trouble. She walked a ways and the small group saw her and stopped and waited for her to approach.

  Lucinda stopped a short distance away and asked the strangers, “What happened to the Prescott castle and its people?”

  One of the strangers spoke with the accent of the people of the south, “The war has destroyed them all. Mighty Glenfair is no more.”

  Lucinda felt shock, she had to find out what was going on. The king’s castle, Edward and Adriell would know what had happened, or what to do. She concentrated on the king’s castle and her surroundings began to fade once again as she vanished.

  The travelers stared in frightened silence at where Lucinda had stood until one of them spoke: “Twas a ghost of one of the people of Glenfair. Tis known by all that nary one of Glenfair twas left alive, that evil Sucinord saw to that. Let us be a goin’ from this accursed place.” They all agreed as they turned and fled back toward the southern Sabatol kingdom.

  Lucinda stood appalled at the burned castle. Its doors were charred and shattered, hanging at odd angles. she stepped through the ruined doors and called out. There was no answer, only the silence of the empty courtyard. Tentatively she took a few steps into the courtyard of the king’s castle and listened. She could tell the destruction of the castle had been very recent, for she could still smell the smoke from its burning. She had no idea what had happened, or where everyone had gone. An eerie coldness swept over her as she realized she was alone. Lucinda had never felt this way in her whole life and she started to turn and flee when movement at the burned gates caught her eye. A figure clothed in rags, hiding its features approached her.

  “So, you are searching for the inhabitants of this castle. They are gone, dead, destroyed. The whole kingdom is destroyed.” Then he began to laugh wickedly. He came closer and paused. Lucinda could tell whomever he might be was observing her with interest. Then he spoke again: “I thought I had killed you. No matter, this time I shall make sure you are thoroughly dead!”

  Lucinda almost panicked at that moment, but was able to concentrate on the past she knew so well. She could see the stranger reaching out for her as the surroundings began to shimmer and change, and heard him scream with rage as she vanished from his grasp. At that moment the courtyard of the king’s castle began to take shape, only this courtyard was full of life and noise. She saw the astonished face of Master Rollins, and she tried to take a step toward him, but every thing went black.

  Lucinda faintly heard someone calling her name. As her head began to clear she could make out the face of Master Rollins staring down at her. Then she saw Edward and Adriell were there too. She sat up quickly and saw the great hall of the king’s castle and she began to cry. Master Rollins knelt down beside her and hugged her close.

  “You will be fine. You have become a time shifter like your mother, has the time shift frightened you?” Somehow Master Rollins' words settled and comforted Lucinda.

  “How do you know that?” Lucinda asked.

  Edward smiled, “Master Rollins watched you appear out of thin air in the courtyard. I think it has frightened him much more than it has you. You could only do that if you had shifted time.” Actually, Master Rollins was not as shaken as Edward expected him to be at such an unexpected event. He had explained the time shift in such a calm and rational matter it surprised Edward. The way he had comforted Lucinda was unusual as well. There seemed to be more than Edward could see under the surface. He would have to ask Master Rollins about this sometime.

/>   Lucinda exclaimed, “The time shift did not frighten me at all, it was what I saw there that did. When I felt the change come upon me I could not resist traveling in time. Father warned me this would happen, and I should have consulted Jason and the rest of you. Instead I decided to travel alone, two years into the future. The Prescott castle and this castle were empty and burned. There was no sign of any one in the king’s castle except the stranger I met.” Lucinda shuddered as she remembered that evil laugh. “He said that the whole kingdom was destroyed and that you were all dead. He said he would make sure I was really dead this time. As he started toward me I concentrated on the courtyard in this time, it was all I could think of.”

  “What did this stranger look like?” Edward asked.

  “I did not see his face, for it was covered. But the voice sounded like that of Andronicus. I know beyond any doubt it was not Andronicus, because, whomever it was, he was completely evil.”

  Edward now felt the pressures of being King and having to decide what was best for the whole kingdom. He had learned this from his father, Raven, the greatest King Glenfair had ever had. Why did he feel so helpless, inadequate for the task that lay before him. Had his father ever felt this way when faced with a terrible crisis? It seemed the whole world was upon his shoulders, a dark cloud of evil on the horizon that he could feel, yet neither see nor touch. If what Lucinda said was true, the whole kingdom was in danger of being destroyed, pillaged and burned. Adriell, Lucinda, and Master Rollins waited anxiously for Edward to decide on a course of action. Finally he turned to them and said; “We must go to Andronicus and ask his advice on what we should do to stop Glenfair from being destroyed. Adriell, contact Andronicus and inform him we will be coming.”

  Adriell, concentrated her mental powers and spoke out for Andronicus to hear but there was no answer. She tried again and still there was no answer. With her face turning pale she said to the rest: “Andronicus does not answer, neither can I feel his presence at all, it is as if he has vanished.”

  “Then we must go and find him,” Edward replied. “Lucinda, travel back home to the same time you left and prepare Jason for our arrival. Tell him we will be there as soon as we can come. Then all of us will go and find Andronicus.”

  Lucinda nodded, concentrated her thoughts and vanished. It still left Edward with a strange feeling seeing her vanish, even though he expected it. He looked at Master Rollins and could see the man was not as troubled as Edward expected.

  Turning to Adriell he said, “Go find Pi and bring her here. She must go with us on this trip. It is too important not to have her along.”

  As Adriell left he turned to face Master Rollins, “I can tell you are not as shaken by these events as you could be. Is there something you know that the rest of us do not?”

  Master Rollins cleared his throat; “Master Fields, after he had completed my training felt that I needed to know certain things about the Crestlaws and the Kallestors, and the retreat above the falls. He told me of Andronicus and the time travel, and the whole business. Some of it I believed, the rest I attributed to an old man embellishing the story. I have seen Lucinda Crestlaw appear out of thin air before. Since that time I knew the stories he told me were true.”

  “Believe me,” Edward said, “Master Fields told you the truth about everything.”

  “Then I shall go with you to this place, and see it for myself.”

  Edward started to ask Master Rollins what he meant about Lucinda appearing to him before, but was distracted as he heard the footsteps of Adriell and Pi enter the room.

  “We must leave immediately to find Andronicus, the whole kingdom is in danger of being destroyed.”

  Pi looked at Edward and saw the fear in his eyes and asked, “Do you think it is related to the enemy of the ancients, Layton Teal? Your father killed him many years ago.”

  “No,” Edward said. “I believe it is some other threat. It sounded as if the person Lucinda encountered was evil, but different than Layton.”

  “Lets just hope whoever it is, they do not have the genius of Layton Teal,” Pi stated.

  “We do not even know if this evil person is responsible for the destruction of Glenfair,” Edward remarked. “If Lucinda is right, we have less than two years to prevent Glenfair from being completely destroyed. Maybe the events we need to prevent are months, weeks or days away, we do not know. That is why we must leave immediately to find Andronicus and decide what to do.”

  Coming to the top of Brickens’ Falls, the clone looked at the valley below. Sucinord knew nothing of the secret lift and passage beneath the falls, nor of the door hidden in the rock a few feet away. The clone stood for a moment viewing the valley below and then began climbing down the cliff face. No human could have done what the clone now attempted, for the cliff was sheer with little footing or hand holds. A short distance down the cliff face the clone ran out of places to step or hang on to. Far to the right near the plunging water was another small ledge. The clone looked for a moment and then leaped sideways for the small ledge. Any human would have felt this was suicide, but the clone felt no fear and was sure of its abilities. The leap was sure and the landing good save one small miscalculation by the clone. The ledge was dampened by the mist of the falls cascading nearby. The wet ledge caused Sucinord to overshoot the landing and slide into the crushing force of the falling water. In the next instant the clone was plunging down the cliff face, hurled at a tremendous speed by the crushing force of Brickens’ Falls.

  The merchants had stopped next to the Halfstaff River just below the falls for lunch. They had done business with the people of the Crestlaw lands and were on their way to the Rollins dukeship. To their astonishment a man walked out of the pool below the falls towards them. He did not seem to shiver at the cold, nor take notice of his wet clothes. He came strait to the them and stopped looking them over.

  “My name is Sucinord, you will tell me what I want to know.”

  The manner and demeanor of the man frightened the merchants a little, and some drew back. At last a Burly big man stepped forward.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked.

  “Are you people from the kingdom of Glenfair?” the clone asked.

  “No,” the burly man answered, “we are from the Wickshield kingdom to the north. I do not think we want to answer any more of your questions.”

  The clone looked at the man with steely eyes and said, “You will do what I want or I will destroy you all.”

  With that statement the merchants behind the big man began unobtrusively to ready the weapons they all carried on their person.

  The big man laughed, “I do not think you are in any position to make demands with six of us here against you. We will overlook your insolence since we have an aversion to injuring a citizen of Glenfair. None of us here wants to answer to the king of this land. Now he is one to be feared.”

  “I am no citizen of Glenfair or anywhere else. I have come to destroy Glenfair and all its people.”

  “In that case,” the big man started to say as he swung a big right hand to face of the clone. It merely turned the clone’s head and caused him to take a step back. The big man was surprised, being used to his blows having an effect on others. The clone took advantage of the man’s surprise and delivered a crushing blow to the chest of the big man that sent him flying backwards to land at his companions feet. The big man sat up, tried to say something as blood flowed from his mouth. He slowly slid back to the earth, then died from the trauma to his lungs and heart. The others drew their weapons and circled the clone. They could see a wicked smile of glee on the face of the stranger as they moved in.

  The clone did not maneuver for position, it just let the remaining people make the first move. They attacked and the clone sent crushing blows to the ones in front and to the sides. In a matter of seconds the battle was over, save for the lone man who had put a knife deep in the back of the clone. Without turning around, the clone reached back and wit
hdrew the knife from its back and turned to face the lone survivor of the attack. The man started to run and the clone threw the knife into the back of the man’s leg causing him to go down. The clone came to the remaining merchant and picked him up off the ground, squeezing him so hard the man screamed in pain.

  “I am Sucinord, now tell me what I want to know.”

  “Yes, yes, anything you want,” the man squealed.

  “How do I find the ruler of this land?” the clone asked.

  “Follow the river to the lake, the king’s castle is there,” the man said fearfully.

  The clone then broke the man almost in half and threw him to the side as he walked down river. These humans, the clone mused, are pitiful frail creatures. So easily destroyed that there is little challenge to them. Nevertheless, I shall destroy all of them in this kingdom.

  While the clone was battling the merchants, Edward and the others were just arriving at the Crestlaw’s castle. Jason was waiting for them as they rode into the courtyard. He greeted Edward as they dismounted.

  “Come into the hall, we have much to discuss. As you can probably guess, I was quite shocked by Lucinda’s tale, but more so that Andronicus could not be contacted.” After they were all seated in the large hall Jason began the meeting.

  “If a real threat to our kingdom exists, we must find out what that is and try to stop it as our parents did many years ago. After we have rested, tomorrow we should go to the Hall of Wisdom and find Andronicus.”

  “Yes,” Edward agreed, “that is our only option for now.”

  “Do you think a threat to the very existence of Glenfair really exists?” Adriell asked.

  Edward cleared his throat and began: “Yes, I do believe Glenfair is in mortal danger, and not based solely on Lucinda’s experience. Before your father died, Jason, he came to me before the coronation. What he told me troubled me greatly, but I have had time to consider what he told me and now I believe he was right. He asked me to consider why we have the gifts of our parents?”