The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (44 page)

“I did not see hope in his eyes, Kade,” Garig said and then paused as if he might stop there.  After several long seconds of contemplation, he continued.  “I saw fear,” Garig said as he looked his son in the eyes.  “Fear,” he repeated.

Kade felt like everything was moving too fast.  His head was starting to spin.  He felt a pain begin to grow in his chest as a profound sadness descended on him.

Why would he say that?
Kade thought. 
Why fear?  Who looks at a baby and sees fear?  I thought I was supposed to be a savior
.  Kade found he was looking at the ground and lifted his eyes to find his father watching him.

“Why would there be fear in Zayle’s eyes, Son?  For someone as powerful as Zayle to show fear…,” Garig said and then left it unfinished.

“I don’t know,” Kade said and broke eye contact with his father.  “Is that why you reacted the way you did when we were on the tower?” he asked, as he kicked a rock around with his foot.  Kade looked up, and for just a brief moment, he thought he saw an accusation in those eyes.  It was gone instantly as if it had never been.  Kade saw nothing but a loving man looking back at his son.  Garig looked off into the distance again. 

There is more?
Kade thought to himself incredulously.  He waited.

“I don’t know everything,” Garig said, still studying the horizon.  “Zayle and your mother talked about it.  Your mother was reluctant to tell me, and I did not want to hear any more so I did not push.”

“What else?” Kade asked quietly, afraid to know.  Garig continued staring off into the distance for a long time.  Kade did not look at his father, but instead, stood looking off into the same horizon.  Garig could have stood there for hours, and still, Kade would not have moved one inch.  “What else?” Kade asked and then added one word almost too soft for Garig to hear.  “Father?”

Garig sighed and his shoulders slumped, as if in resignation.  Kade could feel…something from his father, but he could not quite figure out what it was.  It was not fear.  What was it?  And then Kade realized what it was.  It was uncertainty.

“He stood holding you for so long, Kade.  He looked at you as if he were holding the fate of the world in his hands.  He stood for so long,” Garig said as he relived the memory.  “He did not know I was watching from the hall.  I stood completely still, afraid, hardly breathing.  Zayle scared me.  He still scares me,” he said as he swallowed hard.

Kade knew there was more, and he felt his father trying to work up the courage to say what it was.  The suspense combined with the dread of what his father was trying to say was making his head spin faster.  Kade was not sure if he wanted to hear it or not. 

His mind wandered back to a lesson Zayle had given him about knowledge.  At the time, it was just babble, but now it hit home hard.  “Knowledge is power, Kade,” Zayle used to assert.  “Just one single thought can change the world.  Just one small piece of information could change the course of history.  An idea can save lives or take them,” Zayle would preach, but to Kade, it was always just talk.  It was the next part that Kade thought was nothing more than the ranting of an old man, but now, it made more sense than ever.  “Sometimes not knowing something can make more of a difference in a positive way than knowing something,” Zayle would say.  Kade recognized that this was one of those moments and stepped forward, turned his father toward him and hugged him tightly.  When he stepped back he looked his father in the eye and said, “I love you, Father.  I always will.  I think it’s time to get back to the women.”

Kade could see all the tension and stress melt out of the man he had not seen for ten years, as relief flooded out of him.  Kade smiled at his father and Garig saw only his son standing before him once more.  He reached up with his hands, squeezed Kade’s arms in affection and then turned to go.

“I take it you two had a good talk?” Judeen asked, as she barely gave Kade a look, her eyes locking with Garig’s.  He hesitated for just a moment as he glanced at his son.  Kade smiled at his father with admiration, respect and love.  Garig eased a bit more.  That seemed to quell any concerns Garig was having…for the time being.

“Yes,” Garig said as he clapped his son on the shoulder.  “We talked,” he said with a smile.  He nodded once while looking at Kade.

“Good,” Judeen said, but she did not take her eyes off her husband.  She did not even blink.  He sighed as he sat next to his wife and patted her hands.  Kade could swear he heard him whisper, “It’s ok,” but was not sure.

             
He smiled warmly at his mother and was only able to keep that smile until he turned away.  He walked over to his dragon with a heavy heart.  He felt his head swimming as he tried to grasp what had just happened.  He felt lost and more confused than he had ever felt at any other time in his life.  He put his hand on the top of Rayden’s head and stroked his ridges absentmindedly.  Rayden lazily looked up at Kade and then settled back down to sleep.

             
Why do I feel like I am a piece in some game that others are playing?
Kade thought to himself. 
And, what could terrify my father so much that it scared him to death to tell me?  What is all this?
  The world was spinning out of control and he had no way to stop it.

             
Kade was deep in thought when he heard a commotion behind him.  It took a moment for him to realize that Darcienna was calling his name.  He turned around, and froze, staring at the silky, black creature that was lying in the clearing, panting heavily with its tongue lolling out in the dirt.  He shook his head as he came completely out of his thoughts, and his eyes widened at what he was seeing.

             
“Chance!” Kade exclaimed in surprise. 

“He needs water,” Darcienna said, her voice thick with concern. 

              “He just barely made it right there and then collapsed,” Judeen said.

The animal must have been running hard to catch up.  Its eyes were rolling back in its head from exhaustion as its chest heaved hard, trying to catch its breath.  Kade knelt down and ran his hand over its head.  Chance did not respond.  Kade looked up to see Rayden watching with curiosity.

“Rayden, water.  Can you find water?” Kade asked in a rush.  Rayden tilted his head back and forth, and then he lifted his nose to the air, inhaling.  Kade closed his eyes and merged his mind with the dragon.  He found he was so strongly linked he could have been the dragon.  There was water.  It was close.  “Rayden, take me to it,” Kade said as he scooped up the silky creature and quickly climbed onto the dragon’s back.

“I will return soon,” Kade said as he gave the dragon the signal to go.

Rayden whipped around to the north, almost dislodging his rider.  Kade would not have had it any other way.  He owed his life to this little, black creature and he was not going to let it die.  The dragon was moving so quickly that when they burst into the opening at the edge of the river, they splashed right in.  The water came up to Kade’s legs.  The dragon turned, trudged back to shore and knelt down, already sensing Kade’s intent.

Kade leapt down and laid Chance at the edge of the water.  He cupped his hands in the life saving liquid and let it drizzle over the creature’s nose.  Chance’s tongue came out weakly to lap up the water.  Kade scooped up as much as his hand would hold and to let it drizzle over the creature’s tongue.  He performed the Healing Calling, which seemed to help revive it.  Its eyes cleared and soon, its nose was working furiously.  Kade leaned back and sat on his haunches as he watched the creature roll over to get its legs under itself.  It shuffled forward to the water and dropped down, drinking deeply.  Kade smiled and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Kade reached out and ran his hand down the silky, black creature’s back.  He performed the Healing Calling again and Chance appeared to respond quickly.  He looked at Kade and then went back to his drink.

Kade stood as he watched the strength return quickly to this magnificent creature.  It did not take Chance long to get his fill.  Kade reached for Chance, expecting to take him back the way they had come but the creature moved away. 

“Someday, my little friend,” Kade said as he let his hands fall to his sides.  “Okay then, you will need to walk, but I would have thought that you would have appreciated a ride,” he said as he looked over his shoulder at the dragon.  Kade froze as he noticed that Rayden was locked onto his little friend.   Rayden moved forward slowly as he approached the creature.  Chance turned toward the dragon and the two were nose to nose.  Kade was on the verge of yelling at Rayden when he stopped with the words still in his throat.  They were learning each other’s scent.  After just a few moments, they separated and Kade breathed a sigh of relief as the tension melted from his body.  The dragon moved back a ways and slumped to the ground.

“I bet you would like a little of this,” Kade said as he molded the Divine into a hot, steaming, juicy piece of meat.  The creature’s whiskers twitched furiously as it locked its eyes on the food.  Kade tossed the meat to Chance and watched as he laid down to his meal.  It used its paws like hands as it twisted and turned the meat over and over as it ate.  “You will never get that anywhere else my little friend,” Kade said as he smiled.  “I bet that is why you keep following me, eh?”

Kade stooped and took a long drink of the fresh, clean water.  He closed his eyes and enjoyed the taste of it as it slid down his throat.  It helped to clear his head.

He sat down as close to the creature as it would allow.  He did not blame it for still being cautious, since it was his dragon that almost ate it.  But, sooner or later, it was going to trust him.  He stayed right there until it had finished its meal.  Kade looked up at the sky and decided it was time to get back to the group.  He was sure they would be worrying.  He walked over to the dragon that was still lying down and vaulted onto its back.  He looked at the creature and marveled at how fast it seemed to recover.  It showed no signs of ever being anything other than a healthy animal.  Kade could not help but to ask himself if there were such things as creatures with powers, with how fast it seemed to recover. 

“You sure you don’t want a ride?” Kade asked.  The creature just kept its distance as it watched.  “Have it your way,” he said as he urged the dragon to stand.

Rayden heaved himself up lazily and turned back toward the they had come.  He started at a slow, lazy lope.  Kade looked over to see Chance attempting to keep pace with them. 

Those healings must have really done the job
, Kade thought.  The dragon sniffed the air several times and then turned to look at the creature.  Rayden increased his speed to a smoother gait and casually swung his head forward again.  Kade looked over, surprised to see that Chance was now actually keeping pace.  Rayden lazily swung his head around toward the creature and added yet more speed.  Kade felt the wind in his hair with the increase of their pace.  Smiling, he looked over to see the creature gracefully running along as it stretched out to keep up with the dragon, yet again.  It flowed as it covered ground easily.  The dragon swung its head around, again, to look at the creature.  Kade grinned furiously, leaning close to the dragon’s neck and grabbed hold of the ridges tightly, knowing what was coming.  And, it did.  The dragon’s muscles turned rock hard and it launched.

Kade felt the exhilaration race through him and turned to see how far behind the creature was.  He flinched hard as his eyes landed on Chance, right next to them.  He watched in astonishment as the animal raced along next to them at the breakneck speed.  The cat-like grace and agility of the animal left Kade speechless.  Chance’s claws raked the ground, giving him the traction needed to propel his slender body forward and keep pace with the mighty Rayden.  Kade laughed hard at the game and knew he would never have to worry about the dragon eating his silky, little friend ever again.  Although the creature was most definitely fast, Kade was sure, sooner or later, it would have to back off, and he was correct.  Looking off to his right, he was surprised to see that Chance was no longer beside them.

He urged Rayden to slow and give the creature a chance to catch them.  The dragon continued to reduce its speed in stages, and still, there was no sign of the black creature.   They were almost at a walk when they entered the clearing.

“I think it is about time we continue,” Kade said, giving up on finding his fast, little friend.

“I think you are right,” Judeen agreed.

It was not long before they were on the dragon, moving along smoothly once more.  Kade was quiet as his mind kept replaying the conversation with his father.  Nothing made sense. 

It was almost as if my own father believes that I...,
Kade started to think, but he could not continue the thought.  It would have hurt too much to know his own father looked at him as an aberration.  It just could not be.  He did not feel like a bad person.  He was good.  He was. He had to be.

They all sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts.  Darcienna laid her head against Kade’s back.  He started to wonder if she had fallen asleep but then she would shift.  The boy was sleeping again.  He was sure it was the rolling motion of the dragon that soothed the child, and he thanked the Divine for it.  Because of his chat with his father, his nerves were on edge and a crying boy would have definitely made things tense.

Garig continued to give directions as they moved through the countryside.  Kade felt his mind start to relax as the beauty of his surroundings made him feel more at peace.  It was not long before they could see a cabin in the distance.  Garig leaned back and pointed to it.  Kade nodded his head, and before he knew it, they were stopping in front of the home.