The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (18 page)

             
Kade could hear muffled sounds, and surprisingly, his mind was just barely clear enough for him to remember some of what had transpired.  He fought to drag himself out of the dream world and into the waking world.  He wanted to leave the nightmares of monsters and burning buildings behind.

             
Kade forced his eyes to open just a sliver.  The light helped fade the dreams, but exhaustion and pain throughout his body made it difficult to want to wake fully.  Through blurred vision, he was able to barely make out a huge mound not more than ten feet away.  It rocked slightly as it reached to scratch at its back.  For some reason he could not quite put his finger on, seeing this caused immense satisfaction.  His body was starting to let him know just how badly it was injured when blackness called out for him once again.  He let it come, eager to escape the pain that was steadily building.  A single tear leaked out of the corner of his eye and slid down his face to drop onto the dry, dusty ground.  The nothingness took him away.

             
The sound of crickets chirping near his ear slowly dragged Kade from sleep.  The air was cool and crisp with none of the feel of the heat that he remembered.  His mind felt like it was wading through molasses, as it slowly fought to organize itself.  A cool breeze blew across his face, and he welcomed it.

             
Forcing his eyes open just a crack, he could not see much as it was a very dark night without one of the two moons to light the sky.  He tried to get his vision to clear, but it was a losing battle.  His mind started to fall back into the abyss, but just before he crossed over into the world of dreams, he felt the ground thud, as though something large had dropped down almost right on top of him.  His mouth quirked ever so slightly in what might have been the faintest of smiles, as he eagerly went with the dark once again.

             
A slight nudging on his shoulder brought Kade back to the waking world once more.  It was every few seconds and would be followed by rapid breathing, as though something large were trying to catch a scent.  Every so often it would huff in frustration and the process would start again.  The nudge would send pain shooting into his brain, dragging him further and further from that comforting abyss.  Opening his eyes, he stared directly into a huge, golden disc that blinked back at him.

             
“My friend,” Kade tried to say, but no sound came out.  His mouth was as dry as a desert.  He tried to swallow but his throat was not able to work up enough moisture.  He did his best to wet his lips, but his swollen tongue felt like leather.  His cracked lips were not much better.

             
Breathing in slowly and deeply, he refocused on the dragon and smiled the best he could.  Unfortunately, it only served to show how much torment he had been through.  The emaciated image did not instill comfort.  The dragon let out a quiet whine as it continued to check over its friend.  Kade slowly lifted his hand and brought it to the dragon’s muzzle.  He might not be able to talk, but he knew this would communicate what he needed.  He felt an odd sensation on the lower half of his body.  It was cool.  He looked down at his legs, surprised to see that they were half submerged in a shallow stream.

             
With a considerable amount of effort, Kade turned so he was facing the water.  He attempted to cup his hand and bring it to his mouth, but most of the life giving liquid ran out.  Still, he was able to moisten his lips enough to soften the skin.  He did this several times until his throat was not so dry and his tongue moved without sticking to the roof of his mouth.  Wiping his face with water also helped him wake a little faster.

             
Kade put his lips into the water, drinking deeply.  At that moment, the water was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted in his entire life and he could not resist gulping, but unfortunately, his stomach retched hard, rejecting most of what he had drank.  He took a few seconds while staring at his reflection to compose himself.  He wiped his mouth and drank again, but this time, more slowly.  He fought the urge to gulp.  As the liquid worked its way down his throat and into the pit of his stomach, he was able to trace its path every inch of the way.  He closed his eyes and savored the clean, cool flavor.  He could feel the life in him returning by the second.

             
Submerging his face completely in the water, he sat there for several long moments, allowing the cold to wash over him.  The burns on his face and hands were not as bad as he remembered, but still, the cooling water felt good.  He lifted his head, took a deep breath and then plunged it beneath the surface, swishing back and forth to clean the soot from his face and hair.  Almost losing his balance, he decided he had had enough.  Just as he was moving back from the water, he saw his reflection again and froze.  If he did not know it was his image staring back at him, he would not have recognized the person in the water.  The growth of hair, the shallow cheeks and the sunken eyes sent a chill through him.  The burnt hair did not help the image either.  He wondered how much soot and ash, along with blood, had been on his face before he had plunged it into the water.  His eyebrows were just starting to grow back.  His skin was pasty white from severe malnourishment.  Not wanting to see the image any longer, he splashed it away into ripples.

             
A grunt caught his attention, and he turned to see the dragon watching him anxiously.  Getting to his knees slowly and carefully, he felt for any injuries on his body that he had not noticed already.  His hips pulsed with pain, and the rest of his body protested against any movement, but it did not appear that anything was broken.

             
“You are the most beautiful sight I could ever hope to see,” Kade said in a whisper while looking up at Rayden.  Still on his hands and knees, his head slumped toward the ground once again.  He pulled one foot up and leaned back slightly, testing his balance.  He slowly rose but waivered dangerously.  After taking a few seconds to get his balance, he shuffled forward, wrapping his arms around his quivering dragon.  He let his head fall onto his friend’s chest and heard a quiet rumbling that reminded him of a cat purring.  It brought a smile to his face.  He was grateful to be alive, and he had his dragon to thank for it.

             
Looking around to get his bearings, Kade recognized this as the stream that ran behind his cabin.  He took just a few more seconds and then started in the direction of the burnt dwelling.  His legs hurt furiously, and every step made him clench his teeth, but he kept moving, taking one small, shuffling step after the next.  He looked over his arms and legs as he walked, seeing enough cuts and bruises to make him wonder why he was still alive.

             
Soon, the charred cabin came into view.  It was almost burnt to the ground.  Kade looked hard and saw not even a wisp of smoke.  The fire appeared to have been out for days.  A pang of sadness welled up in him as he recalled his incompetence that brought the home he loved to an end so quickly after becoming its owner.  He chastised himself harshly.  He closed his eyes and could see the bright bolt of lightning that had shot out of his outstretched hand.  That image was burned into his memory, as was every step of the calling.

             
The pungent smell of smoke was still strong as he worked his way through the wreckage.  Heavy of heart, he moved things with his foot in hopes that something of importance had survived.  Everywhere he looked, he was reminded of his folly and it hurt.  Despair overtook him as he stood where the den used to be.  He cleared a spot where the chair previously sat and then slowly sank to the ground and wept.  Tears dripped to the floor, making a small puddle.  After a while, Kade stopped weeping and sat staring at the boards that made up the floor.  His eyes traced the lines in the wood where his tears had landed.  As the time passed, so did his sadness.  He sat in the same spot for over an hour as he pictured the den as it had been.

             
As Kade prepared to stand, something caught his eye. 
What do we have here?
he thought as he brushed away some of the soot.  Rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand, he focused on the floor.  One of the boards was not the same as the rest.  It was slightly raised and half the length as those surrounding it.  Kade brushed away the rest of the ash, and gripping the edges, pulled it up easily.  Beneath was a small enclosure.  Kade sat there and stared at its contents, wondering what new thing was about to turn his world upside down.  So far, nothing good had come of anything he had found here in the den.

             
Kade took a deep breath and reached for the scroll.  When he held it, he could feel the Divine Power pulsing through it and almost dropped it as if he had grabbed ahold of a deadly viper.  He unclenched his jaw and slowly set the parchment down on the floor.  The simple looking scroll, tied with one very bright, red ribbon looked harmless as it lay there on the ground, but Kade knew better.  He shook his head at his folly for even touching it before using his Divine sight to check for traps.  Angry at himself, he got to his feet and stalked from the cabin.

             
“Am I going to constantly bungle everything?” he raged as he walked away from the charred remains of his home.  “Again!” he screamed with his damaged voice.  “I could be dead.  What did you see in me that I was worth putting up with?” Kade asked as he looked toward his master’s grave.  “I know better, and yet, here I am, making the same incompetent mistakes over and over again!”

Kade yelled several more times to the heavens with his dragon nudging him as if to ask, “What?” 

“I should have known to check for the Divine Power,” Kade said as he rounded on the dragon.  “I am a buffoon.  A complete and utter buffoon.  If you knew what was good for you, you would run from me as fast as you can,” Kade said.  The dragon stood still, patiently waiting for Kade to do what it was he was doing.  After several long moments to give the dragon its chance to flee, Kade stalked back into the cabin.

             
Making his way to where he left the scroll, he stood looking down at it.  Everything looked the same, no thanks to him.  He took a deep breath and forced his mind to think. 

“Now, use your head.  Think,” Kade said out loud.   “No more stupid mistakes.”

              He leaned down slowly and called on the Divine.  He closed his eyes and let the power guide his site.  The scroll did not appear to have any traps.  Looking very closely, he saw that the paper had some type of calling on it but nothing that looked deadly.  He reached out with his eyes still closed and gripped the scroll.  The power pulsing in the paper did not change.  Kade let out the breath he had been holding but continued to keep his eyes closed, watching.  Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled the ribbon from the scroll.  The paper unrolled slightly, but still, nothing.

             
Kade breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes.  The scroll was not as old as he had first thought.  The more he examined it, the more certain he was that it was actually very recently made.  He handled it gently, feeling his nerves on edge again.  He had had enough of this and would have loved nothing more than to throw the scroll away from himself, but he was absolutely certain that it was too important to ignore.  He rolled his head around his shoulders to loosen some of the tension and refocused on the parchment.  Carefully, he opened it and recognized it for what it was; a simple message of sorts.  It had just one symbol on the page.  Only Kade knew what it meant.  It was Zayle’s true name.

             
Kade saw a tear hit the paper and roll off the edge.  He knew what this was, and at the same time, he was hesitant to proceed.  He had had enough of sadness and danger for a lifetime, but something told him that it was just the beginning.  Kade let his head sag against his chest as even more tears dropped onto the parchment.  After several long moments, Kade took a deep breath, brought his head up and opened his eyes to take in the symbol again.  This was one of the simplest callings to activate.  It was a calling needing only the Divine Power to work.  Kade had no doubt this was meant for him.

             
Closing his eyes again, he felt for the Divine.  He beckoned to it, and it came to him with just a little effort.  He directed it down to his hand and infused the paper with it.  The symbol shifted and faded to be replaced with the image of his beloved teacher.

             
“I am sorry, Master.  I am so sorry I failed you,” Kade said to the face that floated in front of him.  Sadness threatened to crush his heart as he looked into the eyes of his cherished teacher.  It was only more torture for him, as he looked on through his blurred vision.

             
“If you have found this, then things have started sooner than I feared.  I should have prepared you more adequately, but I believed I had time,” Zayle said as he appeared to be looking Kade in the eyes.  “For the sake of our kind, you must discover what hunts us.  There is a danger far worse than I could have ever imagined.  You must discover what it is.  I wish I could have prepared you better but time was not on my side.  You need to seek out your parents.  Your path leads there.  I do not know why or how it matters but you must return to them.” Zayle said and then paused.  He took a moment to compose what he wanted to say and then seemed to refocus on Kade.  The apprentice waited with apprehension, sensing that his master was about to say something important.  “I want you to know that I am very proud of you.  What you should also know is, you are not just my apprentice, but you are my one and only grandson.  We hid this from you because your life depended on it.”