The Divine Path (The Divine Series) (29 page)

“You did not say we could not talk.  And, even if you had, we still would not do as you say,” Judeen said rebelliously.

The man drew his knife and advanced on the cell.  Kade opened his eye just a sliver.  It was clear she was trying to distract him and get his mind off the line of questioning.  Make him mad.  That was all she was trying to do
, but Kade feared it was going to backfire.  He was trying to formulate a plan when his mother continued.

“Yes, that is a great idea,” Judeen said, indicating the knife.  “I am sure Morg would not mind you
killing us.  I am sure he kept us alive when he had us captive in town for no reason.  Oh, wait.  There was a reason.  Because he wanted us alive,” she said as she glared hard at the man.  “So, if you want to kill us, know that your death won’t be far behind,” Judeen said without so much as a touch of fear.

“Bah.  You are not worth it,”
Broke-nose said as he slammed the dagger back home in its sheath and stormed out.

“You might want to have t
hat nose looked at,” Judeen called after the man.  Kade mentally shook his head.  He was sure that there might be a time when his mother was going to push things a little too far.  But, not this time.  The man slammed the door so hard it echoed like thunder.

“My dear, you do have a way with words,” Garig said.  “That could have gone wrong.”

“My dear,” she echoed.  “It went as I wanted,” she said simply.

“Kade,” Garig said, turning his attention back to his son. “Can your dragon help?

“They have him drugged and tied down with chains,” Darcienna said.

Kade rolled
toward the door.  The cells were made of iron bars that were spaced six inches apart, allowing him to look and see his parents.  After two complete rolls, he was at the door.  He lifted his head and found himself staring into Darcienna’s faintly glowing eyes just five feet away.

“We will get out of
here,” Kade said as he felt his strength coming back to him.  He pulled hard on his ropes and felt just a slight little more give, but they still held him fast.

“You should save your strength,” Darcienna said as she watched him strain against his bindings.

“Kade, how were you able to fight off the poison?  The men said you would be out for at least a week.”  Judeen commented.

“I am not sure,” Kade said.

“See.  What would you do without me,” Darcienna said.

“You had something to do with purging the poison out of me,” Kade started to ask
, but then realized as he spoke that she must have healed him and ended it as a statement.

“I was able to touch him just before we were captured.  I tried to heal the poison out of his body
, but they broke the contact between us before I could get all of it out.  It looks like it was enough, though,” she said as she looked at him.

“I did feel your hand on me for just a moment,” Kade said, thinking back.  “Yes, I do rec
all.”

Right then the door at the end of the hall opened
, and Man-boy stalked in to stop in front of Kade’s cell.  His eyes went wide with fear as he looked down at the Chosen, who was looking back at him in defiance.  Kade saw the look of fear in the man’s eyes and decided to bluff.

“I’ll give you one chance to live,” Kade said as he watched the man’s jaw hit the floor.  “If you open this door and help my friends now, I will spare you.  If not, I will destroy you, this place, and all those who were involved with this,” he said in his most intimidating voice.  Kade could see the
sweat start to bead on Man-boy’s forehead.  His composure was quickly crumbling.  He tried to swallow several times, but his throat had closed up in fear.

“Mo
rg will have me killed if I let you out,” Man-boy pleaded.

“Morg is not here right now
, but I am,” Kade said in a snarl as he slowly rose to his feet while keeping eye contact.  His captor quivered visibly.  The fear was wracking him, and Kade could see he was having the effect he wanted.  Man-boy was looking anywhere but at him.  “NOW!” Kade yelled into his face as he took a step right up to the bars.

Man-boy seemed to snap as his eyes whipped around to lock with Kade’s.  They were no longer the eyes of a sane man.  It was t
oo much for Man-boy.  His eyes went wild.

“I’ll do something,” he
said as he frantically reached for the keys on his belt.  A lifetime of being afraid while keeping it hidden had finally pushed him too far.  He was going to prove once and for all that he had nothing to fear, and what better way to do it than to kill a Chosen.

Kade took a step away from the door while looking behind
himself.  He swallowed hard as his mind worked feverishly to find a solution to this problem.  This was not quite the way he had pictured this going in his head. 

“Leave him alone,” Darcienna screamed.  Her eyes blazed bright blue instantly.  He turned and locked eyes with her
, which was a first for him.

“You will be next,” he hissed as spittle flew from his mouth.

“If you come into this cell, I will make you suffer beyond your worst fears,” Kade threatened, trying to regain control of the situation.

It only hastened the man to find the right key.  Soon,
he jammed the jagged piece of metal into the lock, and with a violent turn, the door was unlocked.  He flung it open as he glared at the source of his fear.  Man-boy leered at Kade, feeling brave for the first time in his life.  He felt like he was the one in control and the one with power.  The feeling of not being afraid filled him with strength, and this time when he looked at Kade, his intent was clear.  Nothing meant more to him than killing this Chosen.  With Kade’s death would come the death of his cowardice. 

Man-boy took one step into the room
, and Kade heard a sickening thunk.  The coward, who had turned brave, stumbled as his head twisted at an odd angle.  He hunched his shoulders and clenched his fists, his face screwed up in pain.  At first, Kade was just as confused as Man-boy, and then he saw the reason why his captor had stumbled.  He recognized the hilt of the knife sticking out of Man-boy’s neck.  The point had gone all the way through and was sticking out several inches on the other side.  Man-boy’s hand went to his neck as he tried to pull the knife out, but the life was already ebbing from his body.  For just an instant, Kade could see sanity return to him.  A look flashed in Man-boy’s eyes.  Was it understanding?   Was it the look someone gets when they finally realize something they were not able to figure out for an entire lifetime?  Kade would never know, but at that moment, it was very clear to Man-boy that it was his cowardice and his fears that had kept him alive all these years.  He was now going to die because he had overcome those fears.  He gurgled a laugh and then fell to the floor, never to fear again.

Kade moved to the open door and looked down the hall from where the knife came.  There was a shadow closing the wooden door slowly, obviously trying to be quiet. 
It slipped down the hall toward the cell where Kade was waiting.  He looked back at the knife in the man’s neck and knew who was going to step into the light.

“I knew you were going to
be needing me sometime,” Dran said matter-of-factly.

“You could not have timed that better,” Kade said as he breathed a sigh of relief.  “Quickly, untie me
.”

“First, let me get m
y knife back from the man who borrowed it,” Dran said, as he smiled at his own joke.  He put his foot against the man’s head for leverage and pulled the knife free.

“You know this person,” Darcienna said
, more as a statement than a question.

“Yes.  I ran across him in the woods just before I came upon you.  He was leaving the town where my parents were captured,” Kade said and then turned back to Dran.  “How did you find us?”

“I saw that black animal of yours heading toward this dungeon.  From there it was only a guess but a good one I see,” Dran said with a smirk.

“Yes, but how did you come to this town
?” Kade asked, suspicious.  He was not ready to trust anyone to be who they say they are with a shapeshifter around.

“Who do you think helped your parents build that beautiful cabin?  And of course
, it did not take a genius to know they would come here.  It is the closest town.  Once I got here, I kept seeing a silky, black creature with a bent ear.  At first, I could not place it, but then it hit me; I saw him when we first met and knew it was not just a coincidence.  I realized it was trying to lead me to you, so here I am.”

“I didn’t know it was here,” Kade said, turning his back t
o Dran, waiting for the man to cut his ropes.

“Dran, is that you
?” Garig asked.

“Garig?”
Dran responded, surprised at the voice he heard coming from the dark cell at the end.

“Yes, it’s me,” Garig said.  “Why are you here?”

“I ran into your son.  He told me what he was doing, and I decided I was going to help,” Dran said as he cut the ropes binding Kade.  “So, I was right when I told Kade you were too stubborn to leave town?” Dran asked.

“Someone had to stay and try to get rid of that monst
er,” Garig growled.

“You two can talk later.  Right now we have to get out of here,” Kade said as he reached for the ring of keys.

Kade pried them from the dead man’s grip and quickly opened Darcienna’s cell.  Dran cut the ropes from her wrists.  She breathed a sigh of relief as she rubbed her arms to help the circulation.  Dran eyed her with deep appreciation at that intake of breath.  Next, they freed Garig and Judeen.  Darcienna raced over to her son and took him into her arms, looking him over for any injuries. 

Kade stopped and looked at the knife in Dran’s hand, grateful it never left its sheath when they first met.  The man knew how to use a blade almost too well.
  He had to remind himself that any man could still be deadly, even those that did not use the Divine.

“You’re pretty good with that thing,” Kade said, motioning to the knife.  “That was at least a fifty foot throw.”

“Well, a man has to be good at something,” Dran said as he flipped the blade over and over in his hands.  It was almost as if he was doing this without having to think about it.  It was as if it was an extension of his body.

“Well, who is this?”
Dran asked while staring at Darcienna.  She slid closer to Kade and put her hand on his arm, not liking the attention she was getting.

Kade longed to introduce her as his intended but instead said, “This is Darcienna.  I met her the same day I left you.  Look, we need to get out of here before the other
men come back,” Kade said, not liking the way Dran was looking at Darcienna.  Without thinking, he put his arm around her protectively.  Dran shrugged his shoulders casually and pretended to check over his knife for any damage.

“You’re right,” Judeen said
as she smiled a hello to Dran.  She made a point to ask him later if he and Tracella were split up again as she took in the way he eyed Darcienna.

“There should have been two other
s,” Darcienna said.  “How did you get by?” she asked of Dran as she glanced at Kade with worry.

Dran started to laugh as he said, “they took off after your little pet.”

“Well, we should have no trouble getting out,” Kade said as he flowed through the moves for the Transparency Calling.  Everyone disappeared from view.  Just before they faded out, Kade saw a look of awe on his father’s face.  He could not help but enjoy seeing his father impressed with his ability instead of the disgust he expected.  At least, he hoped that was what it was he was seeing.  Next, Kade quickly completed the Silence Calling and breathed a sigh of relief.  “Okay, we can leave now,” Kade said, happy with himself.

“What just happened?”
Dran asked in awe.

“I am a Chosen,” Kade said, feeling
that that was all the explanation needed.  He neglected to use the word apprentice.  “I just made everyone invisible.  We need to stay close or we could lose contact.  I also have a calling in place that will allow us to hear each other, but no one else can hear us.  We still need to be careful.  Someone could see us disturbing the ground, so keep that in mind.”

“Well, Chosen, it looks like you have found what you’re good at.  My knife is nothing compared to this.  This is incredible,” Dran said, overly impressed.

“Kade,” Darcienna said, trying to get his attention.

“Yes?”
Kade responded, hearing worry in her voice.

Just then the door at the end of the hall opened
, and Vell entered.  Kade felt a cold chill run down his back as he noticed that there were two others with him.  He closed his eyes as his heart started to pound.  He completed the Reveal Calling and inhaled sharply at what he saw.

“Three shape
shifters,” Kade hissed.

Vell was
, once again, in the shape of Garig.  This was obviously a game to him.  Kade could not wait to see his reaction when he saw the empty cell with the dead man lying on the floor.  Vell sent the other two shapeshifters forward with instructions to retrieve the Chosen.  Kade felt the urge to blast them with his lightning but decided that caution was a more prudent course.  Getting them all out safely was much more important than revenge…barely.