The Divine Path (The Divine Series) (31 page)

“Kade?”
  Judeen asked a bit more insistently.  “What is wrong, Son?”

“I…can’t seem to wake him up,” Kade said hesitantly, not wanting to face the difficult decision.  “Mother, I just can’t leave him but if I stay…
” he said and could not finish.

“Kade,” Darcienna said.

“Darcienna, I am trying to think for a moment.  Give me a minute,” Kade said gently but firmly.  He felt stress building by the moment.

“Kade,” Darcienna tried again
, but again, Kade was too focused on his own thoughts.

H
e felt Darcienna brush by him as she let out an exasperated gasp. 
What could she be doing? 
Kade started to ask himself, and then it occurred to him what she was trying to say.  She was going to try Nature’s Gift.  It was more than he had so he waited eagerly.  It was not long before the dragon’s eyes fluttered open.

“The dragon was not injured
you big ox.  Your healing heals damage.  The dragon is not injured.  Mine works to purge the poisons as it did with you.  Next time, you might want to listen to me,” she said as she brushed past him again.  Reminding himself to remember how her abilities worked, Kade stepped up to the dragon that was struggling to escape its dream
. 

Rayden, it’s me
, Kade thought to his friend
.  I’m going to free you in just a moment, but I am going to need your help
. He recalled the Silence Calling he had placed on the dragon previously and let it go.  He wanted to hear his dragon breathing, needed to hear its voice and know that it was ok.

Kade looked at the thick chains attached to the massive stakes that were driven into the ground.  He had his doubts about the dragon’s ability to break free.  Moment by mo
ment, Rayden became more alert.  Within minutes, he was fully awake and furious.  He roared loudly and strained against the chains.  His muscles rippled as he struggled.  His tail thrashed violently as he put everything into fighting for his freedom.  The dragon pushed hard against the ground, its claws digging in deeply.  Kade held his breath, praying for the chains to give.  They strained and creaked, and the stakes in the ground shifted ever so slightly, but they held.  The dragon huffed hard as it continued to put everything it had into gaining its freedom.  Kade raced to the closest stake near the dragon’s shoulders, and with all his might, he pulled.  He put his strength to the test as he strained so hard he thought he might pass out.  His hope started to fade ever so slightly, and then…he felt the stake shift just barely.  This was all he needed to put absolutely everything into it.  He urged Rayden to pull for all he was worth.  It let out another roar even louder than the first and strained fiercely against its shackles, and then it happened; the stake shot out of the ground, sending Kade flying to land on his back side.

Kade breathed a huge sigh of r
elief as the dragon stood a little more.  With better leverage, the chains started to come out of the ground one by one.  It was not long before Rayden was free and flexing his wings.

“My friend, w
e need to get out of here,” Kade said.  Rayden sniffed the air several times where the voice had come from.  Satisfied that he found what he was looking for, he relaxed just a little.

Several towns’ people ducked around a corner only to race for their lives, screaming about the dragon.  It was no surprise, with how loud it
was.  For that matter, he was surprised that more were not coming.

The entire town had to have heard,
Kade thought.  Two men came racing out of the woods.  He recognized them instantly.  Broke-nose skidded to a stop as his eyes went wide with fear.  He turned and ran for his life.  The dragon launched after him and had him before he could take four steps.  Rayden bit down hard and then tore the man in half.

The old man grinned as he watched the fool run for his life.
Cowards never lived long
, he thought to himself as he planted his feet firmly.  A planned retreat was one thing, but to run in fear was another thing altogether.  He knew that there was something ingrained in animals that triggered them to chase after prey that ran, so he faced the dragon with an over-sized, two-handed ax in his hand.  Maybe, just maybe, he could work his way out of this.  It was an animal after all, and it had to be dumb like the rest.  Not that he had ever seen a dragon before, but that did not change the fact that it was still an animal.  For a fleeting moment, he considered making a break for the tavern while the dragon was distracted, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

Kade felt a blackness fill him inside
, and the Divine Power thrummed through him like his own heartbeat.   He snarled, savoring the sweet taste of revenge as he anticipated destroying this man.  He grinned maliciously to himself, and he let the callings surrounding him melt away as he started forward.  He wanted this man to see who was going to end his life. 

The grizzled fighter
visibly flinched hard when Kade appeared out of nowhere, marching purposefully toward him.  Kade moved with confidence as he became the hand of death.  He was focused intensely on the old man as he closed the distance.  It might have even been more accurate to say he hunted his prey as he locked onto his victim.  There was a vague sense of his name being called, but he tuned it out as his hate boiled to overflowing.  He was focused, his bloodlust blinding him.  He wanted this so badly he could taste it.  The power in him swirled faster and faster as it built from a gentle flow to a tsunami.  The man glanced behind himself as if to look for a way out but then held his ground.  He looked down in surprise to see that the ax had slipped from his weakened grip to land on the ground with a thud.  He tried to get himself to pick it up again, but he could not move.  He felt his heart racing wildly. 

I
s this what it’s like to feel fear?
A warmth ran down his leg.

Kade flew
through the moves, and on the thirteenth, he let out a yell as the calling thundered from his outstretched hand to slam into the petrified man.  The explosion was deafening and the blast caused his hair to blow back momentarily before settling back on his head.  Kade barely heard a scream before the man was blown to pieces.  For a second, Kade thought there were more screams than just the man’s.  As he thought back on the last few moments, he recalled hearing several voices calling his name.

The power slowly ebbed from him as the murderous rage faded.  Kade turned to look for his small party, and seeing they were still invisible, let the calling fade.  He was not sure why
, but he needed to see them.  When he did, all he saw were accusing eyes; eyes that looked at him in fear; eyes that looked at him as though they did not recognize who it was they were seeing.

“Kade,” Darcienna said meekly.  “He was unarmed,” she said in almost a whisper. 

Why did it sound like she was on the verge of tears?
Kade thought. 
The man had tried to kill her.  Hadn’t he?

“Kade did what he had to do,” Garig said
, but even he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than anything else.

Kade looked from face to face and found the same look in every one of them.  It was as if they were looking at someone they did not recognize.
  He was breathing heavily as his eyes moved from person to person.

“It is done with,” Judeen said as she glided up to Kade and wrapped her arms around him.  “You have much to learn.  I have faith that you will make the right choice in the end, my
Son,” Judeen said as she pulled his head down to lie on her shoulder.  Kade was not sure why, but his heart felt heavy.

What did I do that I should feel this way?
  Kade asked himself. 
That was a bad man who would have killed my friends and family if he had the chance, so why care?  Was what I did even wrong?  Wasn’t the world a better place without him?  Then, why does everyone act as though I had burned down a nursery full of babies? 
Kade’s head began to ache with the effort of trying to grasp something that was just barely out of his reach.  Even Dran, the man who had just killed someone himself, was avoiding looking at him.

“I think it’
s time that we get you home,” Kade said as he took a steadying breath and stepped back from his mother.  He smiled, and she relaxed visibly, seeing the Kade that she knew. 

“I hope you don
’t plan on eating there again, Father,” Kade said halfheartedly, trying to lighten the mood.

“I never l
iked those places, anyway,” Garig said.  As much as he tried to hide it, Kade could see there was something still troubling his father.  Was it what he had just done, or was there more to it?  He sighed and decided that now was not the time to ask, so he let it go.  “There is another town that is much nicer in the other direction.  But, I am thinking your mother and I are going to be staying at home for quite a long time.  That much I can promise.”

“Why wasn’t Morg here
if the shapeshifter was back?” Dran asked.

“I don’t
think Vell went to get Morg.  I believe he went to get some of his kind first, because he did not trust those men to do the job right.  He was probably going to have his own kind watch over us.  But, enough talk.  It is time we get moving.  We won’t be safe until we are far from here,” Kade said as the energy continued to drain out of him.  He stopped a moment, feeling empty inside.

“My friend, are you able to carry so many
?” Kade asked the dragon as he waved his hand to indicate the group.  He let out a weak laugh at the unspoken response.  It was not words exactly, but it clearly could be translated into something like, “This is supposed to be a challenge?  Bah.  Twice this would only help even out the load.”

It was a trip that was made in total silence.  Kade found himself replaying the last few moments of the old man’s life
over and over in his mind.  He felt an uneasy feeling spread through his body.  Every time he tried to think about something else, his mind would always return to the old man.  When he looked back through his memory, he saw the man lose his grip on the ax, but at the time, he saw no such thing.

Why can I recall it now but not see it at the time?
he asked himself.

Before they knew it, they were stopping in front of the cabin
, and everyone was sliding down.  Dran hit the ground and stumbled several steps before finding his footing.  Kade landed gracefully and stood as he brushed off his clothes. Dran offered his hand to Darcienna, but she had her eyes on Kade.  The apprentice turned to glare at Dran, and the man held up his hands in surrender, backing away with a smile on his face.

“I thought she was untaken,” Dran said, feigning ignorance.  Kade frowned hard.  What could he say to tha
t?

“
Dran, you and I need to have a talk.  Anyway, I am glad you came back with us,” Judeen said.

“Someone needs to keep your fool husband from trying to fix every town he enters,” Dran chided.  G
arig grunted as he ascended the porch but did not say a word.

Judeen
started for the cabin but turned to look askance at her son, who had not left the dragon’s side.  Kade looked at Darcienna, who looked back at him and nodded.  They had been talking and had come to a decision.  Judeen narrowed her eyes as if to ask, “What?” but she already knew she was not going to like the answer.

“We feel it would be too dangerous for us to stay here,” Kade said as he scratched a spot just below his neck.  Judeen saw the move
, and without taking her eyes off the spot, glided up to Kade. He tried to close his shirt tighter around his neck, but she roughly shoved his hand away and yanked the cloth back.  There was a burn spot in the shape of the medallion.  She looked at her son with the question in her eyes.  Kade sighed, knowing that his mother was not going to be dissuaded.

“It’s the medallion.  It keeps Morg from finding me.  Any Chosen that uses the Divine Power can be sensed by others who are connected to the Divine.  I have yet to acquire this ability as I was not taught how, but Morg can.  The more I use the Divine Power, the more this works to conceal the use of the power,” Kade explained.

“But it’s cool,” Judeen commented.

“I
t was blistering cold earlier, Mother.  For whatever reason, it gets colder and colder every time I use the Divine Power.  It’s like it is absorbing something.  I don’t really understand it, but regardless, I believe we should leave.  I may have pushed its abilities too far.  I am only putting you in danger by staying.”

As Kade watched, her eyes started to fill. 
Judeen turned her head to hide the sadness that was plain to see.  She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to hold back the flow of tears and failed.  She was deathly afraid that this was going to be the last time that she ever saw her son alive.  Kade wrapped his mother in his arms and whispered to her how much he loved her, and she openly cried.  She held on tightly, as if to never let him go.  Every moment she held on was a moment more her precious son was alive.  It broke his heart, and once again, he cursed fate for putting him on this path in life.  The path of the Divine was never a safe path to walk but he had no choice.  It was his path.

“Mother,” Kade said as gently as possible.  “I will come back.  This is not go
odbye.  It is just, I will see you later.  No more tears,” he said as he moved her back and looked upon her.  He gently caressed a tear off her cheek with the back of his fingers and smiled at her like he used to when he was a child.  A short laugh escaped her lips despite herself.