The Divine Path (The Divine Series) (24 page)

             
“We shall stay for a short while, but we must leave tonight,” Kade said as reached up and untied the books.

             
The king and queen buzzed excitedly as they addressed the spiders in the trees.  The clutch erupted, making Kade’s head swim.  They dropped out of the trees in droves.  Kade could not recall seeing so many spiders before. Now, it seemed as if there were hundreds or maybe even a thousand, and they were all excited for him.  They buzzed constantly as every one of them crowded him, trying to get a leg on him.  It took Kade a moment to realize what was going on.  They were mimicking his gesture.  They were putting their “hands” on his shoulder in a show of affection.  He smiled as the last of them touched him.  The spiders filed into the tree to start the feast. 

Kade stood by the dragon until he was the only one outside the tree.  The night was just starting to descend.  He thought back on his experience in the cave
, and his heart ached to see his grandfather again.

“I am sorry I was not w
hat you tried to make me into, Grandfather,” Kade said as he looked off in the distance toward the cave.  “But, I vow to become what you need, and I will make you proud,” he said as he turned to join the celebration.  Before taking one step, he froze.  The amulet was starting to heat up.  Kade placed his hand on it and closed his eyes.  It was continuing to heat more and more by the moment. 

Morg i
s trying to find me again
, Kade thought with trepidation.  The memory of Morg in his dream made him cringe.  For just a moment, he considered grabbing Darcienna and riding off.  He shook his head, afraid he had made the wrong decision to stay, and reluctantly, joined the celebration.

*CH6*

“We should not have stayed the night,” Kade said as he pulled his boots on
, the room growing brighter as the sun rose.

“It was that drink the spiders made out of the fruit.  It had to be the
ir version of ale,” Darcienna said as she winced at the bright light coming through the window.

“Just stop talking so loud,” Kade said as he held his head.

“This is going to be a fun day,” Darcienna said with sarcasm.

“Let’s
try to deal with it the best we can,” Kade said as he slowly got to his feet.

H
e walked to the door and turned, waiting for Darcienna to get out of bed.  He was trying to be patient, but his head ached terribly, and he was not in the mood for any more delays.  Darcienna glanced at him, and even though he had not said a word, the tight lipped expression told her of his irritation.  She sighed as she rose from the bed.  Unlike Kade, her patience was infinite.  She smiled sweetly at him and wrapped her hand around his arm to lead him out.  He melted inside and even felt a bit of a fool for his rudeness.

             
The king and queen met Kade outside as they prepared to see them off.  Rayden was calm as he lay by the tree, waiting for his passengers.  Kade turned to the royal couple and felt a warm spot grow in his heart.  The pounding in his head eased a bit.  Spiders or not, these two had souls that even the Divine would be honored to have.

             
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Kade said as held his hand up to block the light from the sun.  He squinted, barely able to see at all.

             
“We will celebrate in your honor for a week, Chosen,” Rakna said. 

The wind was blowing gently and the queen’s fur floated on the wind.  Kade watched the way
her foot-long hair shifted in the breeze, making it appear as though she were swimming through the air.  The king’s silky, jet black fur mimicked hers.  They were the only spiders to have this majestic fur.  The rest of the clutch had hair that was short, course and bristly.  The royal couple did indeed look amazing as they stood side by side.

“
This day every year will forevermore be deemed a celebration day in your honor for ending our life long feud.  You must come back often, friend and second in line to the throne,” the king said with such pride that Kade forgot his pounding head and smiled widely.

“Again, I am honored.  I will never be able to find the words to convey the joy my heart feels.  Thank you.  We must be on our way.  I fear we may have lost time that was not ours to lose,” Kade said as he turned to Darcienna. 

“We shall keep you no longer,” Rakna said.

Kade readied himself to mount the dragon when he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.  He looked up into the massive tree and saw hundreds of eyes looking back at him.  There, covering the tree and every branch was the entire clutch.  He smiled and turned to the queen for one more translation.  He smiled broadly at her and then turned back to the tree.

“This is not goodbye, but only, until we meet again my soul brothers and sisters,” Kade said as the queen buzzed away.  “I will miss you dearly and look forward to the day I can return.  In some ways, I feel I belong here with you more than I do my own kind.  You have welcomed me into your home and into your hearts.  I shall not soon forget.  Stay safe and may the Divine watch over you,” Kade said, trying to emulate how a king might speak these words.  The spiders cheered loudly.  Kade smiled widely to hide the pain in his head as the buzzing set his nerves on fire.

H
e put his hand on Darcienna’s shoulder and turned her toward the dragon, wanting to be underway.  Rayden was already lying down.  Cupping his hands, Kade boosted Darcienna onto the dragon’s back.  He picked up the sack containing the books and leaped up smoothly.  He turned and tied them securely between the wings.  The dragon rose majestically.  The spiders hissed and buzzed excitedly.  Kade grinned, enjoying the feeling as so many looked upon him in awe as he sat proudly on the magnificent dragon.

“Thank you again, and if you
are ever in need, find me and I will come.  I will be back sometime for the arch.  It is my destiny.  Thank you Rakna, Crayken.  Stay safe,” Kade said as he urged the dragon to move out.

“I shall
remember our talk,” Darcienna said while grinning at the queen.  Kade glanced at her to ask what he had missed, but she avoided his eyes.  His suspicions about some type of female conspiracy sparked.  He watched her a little longer, waiting for something.  “The queen and I had a nice chat.  Not for you to worry about,” she said as she waved to the king, queen and all the spiders.  It was clear this was all he was going to get so he faced forward and signaled the dragon to go.

Rayden started at a slow
, rolling lope.  Kade cast a last glance over his shoulder and then settled in for the ride.  Darcienna watched the black and white spider until they were just specks in the distance.  The king and queen did not move from that spot until the dragon was well out of sight.

“Did we have to leave before having something to eat
?” Darcienna asked.

“Yes.  If we stayed
for morning food, we would have stayed for half the day.  Then, it would be time for dinner, and we would have been there for another night.  Darcienna, we really did need to get moving.  I shall feed us shortly, but for now, we just needed to cover some ground,” Kade said, not gently but not too firmly.  Darcienna sighed, knowing he was right and let the subject drop, even though her stomach rumbled.

Time passed slowly
as both riders sank into their own thoughts.  Kade worried deeply about what Zayle was trying to tell him.  He knew he needed to stop soon, but he was already worried he had lost too much precious time.  The black book flashed in his mind, and then something occurred to him. 

What if Doren
is not in the book?  How will we find him?
Maybe he would need more information from the king.  With this last concern, Kade decided this line of thinking was going to do him no good and decided to focus on food.  His stomach was rumbling and hunger flowed through the link from the dragon continuously.

“What are we doing
?” Darcienna asked as the dragon came to a stop.

“I thought it would be
a good time to stop for food,” Kade said as he reached back, untied the sack of books and then slid down.

“I was hoping you would say that,” Darcienna said as she swung her leg over the dragon’s neck and slid down on her belly.  Kade caught her as she landed.

“Maybe a three course meal?” Darcienna asked.

“Sur
e, but first I have to feed this eating machine,” Kade said as he looked at Rayden, who was wide-eyed and eager to eat.  “I am surprised you were able to wait this long,” he chided while patting the dragon on the neck.

Kade cleared his head
, ignoring the throbbing and focused on the calling. 
Even a simple conjuring like this needs attention
, he told himself.  He was starting to get complacent about the callings and reminded himself he needed to be vigilant; even with the easy ones.  Zayle’s warning that complacency has brought many Chosen to an early grave, rang through his head.  He focused as best as he could, but after five times of creating meat, his mind started to wander back to the image that had formed in the arch.  He was performing the calling for the eighth time, not remembering the sixth or seventh, when he forced himself to focus.  He had too much on his mind, and it was definitely very distracting. 

With the dragon finally fed, it was time to cook for himself and Darcienna.   Creating the cheese and bread was a good break from making the meat.  Changing things up made it easier for
him to focus.  Unfortunately, once again, he had forgotten to bring something to drink.  He shook his head at his forgetfulness and swore he would get a canteen at the first possible chance.  He paused, seeming to recall having already made that declaration.

“May I ask you
something?” Darcienna inquired in a quiet voice, afraid she may be touching on a sensitive area.  Kade took a breath and then let it out in a long sigh.

“You may ask.”

“Back in the cave,” Darcienna began as she watched his reaction closely.  Kade winced slightly but then did his best to hide it by taking a bite of meat.  “What…what happened?”

Kade stopped chewing as he looked out over the ho
rizon.  He thought back on the face that had drifted toward him from the darkness and the sound of the voice he had heard in his head.  The memory of the smell of old, leather-bound books came to him.

“I’m sorry,” Darcienna said, interpreting his silence as a refusal to answer.  “I should not have asked.”

“It was Zayle,” Kade said as he swallowed his bite while still looking off into the distance.  “It was he who gave me the message.”  Darcienna sat quietly, not knowing what to say.  “He was the one who was trying to communicate with me the whole time.”

“He was the one that I pushed out of you
?” Darcienna asked in shock.

“Oh no,” Kade said as he turned to look at her.  “No.  That was something else.  You did well with that.  I have a guess as to what was going on
, but it would only be a guess.”

“I don’t even have a guess so feel free to give me yours,” Darcienna said,
the food in her hand completely forgotten.

“I think that arch is a doorway.  Or maybe it is just a thinning of the veil between the world of the dead and the living.  But, my guess is that something on the other side tried to get out
through me.  It got inside me, and I could feel it pushing me to the back of my mind.  It was as if it was pushing me out of the way.  You saved me,” Kade said, offering her a smile.  She smiled back, pleased at the praise.

“See.  You do need me,” Darcienna said.  Kade expected to see the playful look in her eyes
, or that, I-told-you-so look, but it was not there.  It was just a statement of fact.  She was right.  He had needed her many times already, and he had no doubt he would need her many more times to come before this was over.

“Yes,” Kade said simply and then took a bite of his food.  It was more than Darcienna could have hoped for. 
That one simple word meant more to her than he could know.  He needed her.

They continued to eat the rest of their food in silent thought.  Kade could not get the image of the face in the dark out of his mind.  Over and over again it would float
toward him, and then it would be gone.  Several times it had tried to reach out to him only to have him reject it.  He was grateful that he had finally realized what it was.

“Any idea where Doren lives
?” Darcienna asked, rescuing him from his mind.

“I am hoping that information is in the black book,” Kade said as he finishe
d his last bite and looked at the sack of books.  Darcienna saw the look and cringed.  If she had not insisted he leave it behind, he would not have to retrieve it.

They finished their meal in relative silence, each retreating to their own thoughts.  Kade closed his eyes several times as he studied the image in the dark as though it were right before his face.  He opened his eyes to vanquish the image before his heart could ache too much.  He desperately wished he could hear his master’s voice, even if it was to chastise him hotly.

The two finished their food and quickly mounted.  Darcienna rubbed her backside to try to keep from getting sores but she feared it was not going to do any good.  Kade just sat and stared straight ahead, trying his best not to fear the worst.  Doren just had to be in that book.

Kade could sense the dragon’s desire to stop and rest but he urged it on with the promise of more food shortly.  There was still much daylight left when they came to a stop in front of his parents’ cabin.  Judeen came out the front door with a look of shock and dismay on her face.  She was holding Marcole in her arms.  She quickly descended the steps, handed the boy to Darcienna and gathered her son into her arms, hugging him tightly for several long moments.  When she
stepped back, she looked him all over, checking for injuries.  Seeing none, she looked into his eyes and then narrowed her vision at the new look she saw there.

“You are different,” Judeen said in as neutral a voice as she could muster.

“Much has happened in the few days we have been gone.  I do not have time to explain.  I have come back for the black book.  It has information that I need.  At least, I am hoping it does.”

“I am certain it is still where you left it."

“I do not mean to rush things mother but I must do this quickly.  I will explain when I have time,” Kade said as he disengaged from his mother and headed for the entrance.  “Sorry, I almost forgot,” he said by way of apology for the dragon, who was watching him with anticipation.

Kade stretched and worked out the kinks in his muscles before performing the calling.  He did his best to calm his mind as he found it spinning from the race to retrieve the book.  He stood and closed his eyes, trying desperately to focus on the calling, but with the knowledge he needed so close, it was almost impossible.  He had to know if the information he desperately sought was in the book.  It was torture but he finished the calling ten times and then turned for the house.  He scooped up the sack of books and walked straight to the kitchen, plunking them on the table.  He probably should have been more cautious but the knot in his stomach would not go away until he had what he came for.  The girls both waited for him in the kitchen, knowing he was going to return to the same seat where he had sat when he previously opened the book.