The Scions

Chapter Two

I couldn't help but feel fear clutch at my heart, afraid that my classmates would betray me, but, out of nobleness or fear I wasn't sure, nobody said a word to him. But they didn't have to. When the man said my name, the teacher glanced my way, inadvertently giving me up.

The man stalked over to me, gun pointed right at my head. Just as he pulled the trigger, I heard Aleyn shout, "NO!" And prepared to die. Instead, I threw my hands up, and something stopped the bullet right before it touched my hands.

There was purple like substance, with swirling patterns almost like fire in front of me. Looking at it, I felt nothing but power, and couldn't help but wonder where it had been all this time.

It felt like I had been missing something my whole life, some piece of the puzzle, and was just now managing to put it all together. It felt like I was whole, for the first time in a very long time.

I looked at the man's face, and saw the anger curled there. He was furious. I forced my way toward the exit, and the man screamed as if burned any time the purple substance touched him.

Aleyn was by my side in an instant. "This will be a fight," I said, not knowing what exactly was going on but knowing that there was no way anyone was getting out of this unscathed.

Aleyn nodded. "I know. I was sent here to protect you, not the other way around. I know what I'm doing."

I nodded. The man suddenly seemed to grow more confident. "Merlyn Elmore," He said. "Drop the shield now or I'm going to start shooting your classmates."

Fury, red hot now, burned through my veins. I didn't even know the name of the girl he grabbed, but I still felt an irresistible desire to protect her. Nobody would be hurt on my behalf. Not today, not any day. Not if I could help it.

I dropped the shield, and Aleyn raised his fists. I could tell he felt the same way I did, even if we didn't get along on a lot of things.

The man grabbed me, and I glanced at Aleyn, who instantly engaged the other two men. Before long, he had one down and the other in a headlock.

"Let her go, and I'll let him go." Aleyn said, but he didn't have to. I could feel the power coming back, but it was somehow different this time.

My whole body glowed purple, and the man screamed in agony. I couldn't help but feel satisfied as he dropped me. Aleyn gestured for me to run out of the room, and I did, amazed at what I had done. Aleyn shoved the other guy forward and sprinted out of the room, me on his heels.

"We will find you!" I heard one of the men yell after us as he tried to take care of his fallen comrades. "Mark my words! You will pay for what you did!"

I ignored him and kept running, side by side with Aleyn until we burst out the door. But we didn't stop then either. Aleyn didn't stop moving until we were at least a mile from the school, and I couldn't help but be impressed with him. He wasn't even breathing hard.

"What.....was......that?" I asked in between pants.

"They came after you. I thought that we would have more time, but I was wrong. We need to speed things up a little.

"Speed what up a little?" I demanded, exasperated.

"We can't talk here." Aleyn said. "I've set up a meeting point for us just outside of town. They should meet us there and help us get to where we need to be."

"Who's they? Where do we need to be?" But Aleyn was running again.

I followed.

It was only when we were out in the country, far from prying eyes, that Aleyn stopped to let me breathe. He still seemed to be only a little winded.

"Okay. Now tell me."

"Alright. I guess we have a little time to kill." And he told the story.

"You know the old stories right? About King Arthur and Merlin, the original Merlin?" Aleyn asked. I nodded.

"You know how they were made up?" He asked, and I nodded again, wondering where he was going with this.

"They weren't. Thousands of years ago, Merlin and King Arthur lived and prospered. Arthur ran the kingdom of Camelot, protecting it and ensuring it's survival. But, Merlin's last act, on his deathbed, was to hide Camelot from the world. You see, Camelot turned into a world with magic, where people with magic were able to live without fear, where they could practice their abilities in public.

"But the world was changing, too quickly, in Merlin's opinion, so he used the last of his strength to hide Camelot away from the rest of the world, and put the people in place to ensure that the future would believe Camelot and all of it's secrets a myth. They turned it into a children's story, just so that it would be safe.

"And people still live there. But there are people in this world who still know the secret, who know, and want to destroy Camelot and everyone in it. It's people like us that keep the peace. The Scions."

I was about to ask what a Scion was when I realized the definition of the word. It meant descendants.

"So you're telling me that I'm a.... a Scion?" I asked, completely confused.

"Yes." Aleyn said. "I am too."

"So who are you descended from?" I asked.

"King Arthur. And I think you already know the answer to your next question." He said right as I was about to open my mouth.

I was going to ask who my ancestor was. But I thought the answer pretty obvious.

"You're the only one we know of who retained any of his powers." Aleyn said. "And I don't know why you, after all of these generations, got anything at all. Many believe that his great power died out long ago. But I think that they were wrong, and you can be just as great, if not greater, than Merlin himself."