The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (17 page)

             
As carefully as possible, he got down on his knees and performed the Disarm Calling.  It only required him to hold his hands over the object.  Not having to move his hands was a relief, but he knew it was short lived.  He slowly reached out and turned the pages, hoping desperately to find a calling that would save his precious friend.  He tried his best to keep from smearing blood on the pages, but it could not be helped. 

Something to dissolve wood.  Something to transport wood away.  Anything at all,
he thought desperately.

             
The calling for changing shape was no help.  The calling for charming animals was no help.  His mind flashed back to the clearing with the grimalkin and all the animals before continuing on.  The Strength Calling was no help.  The dragon needed healing not strength. 

             
Maybe a Greater Healing Calling that might push the wood out,
Kade thought hopefully as he turned the page.  The next calling was the Illusion Calling.  For a second, he wondered why he had not considered learning this one, but even before he finished asking himself the question, he already knew the answer
.

I was too eager to learn the almighty Lightning Calling,
he thought, chastising himself.

             
Kade fought despair as he found himself at the last page. 
Nothing
, he started to think and then paused as he remembered a calling that just might help.  He quickly returned to the Strength Calling, reading it carefully.  It was not a calling to enhance others strength but a calling to enhance his strength. 

I am such a fool for not realizing this right off,
he thought.  With the amount of pain he was in, it was a miracle that he was even able to read.  But, he had no choice.  At least, he had no choice if he wanted the dragon to live.

Kade looked at his hands and gave a slight whimper. 
How am I going to complete such a complex calling with hands like these?
he asked himself as he clenched his jaw tightly against the pain.  The blood on his hands had mostly dried now, but he knew all he needed to do was flex his fingers and the liquid would begin to seep out again.  There were only nine moves, but they were not easy, and he feared his hands were far too damaged to work properly.

             
Kade shook in fear and agony as he slowly stood.  He blinked away the tears as he searched the area for something to put the book on.  He spied a barrel a little ways to his left, and with considerable effort, was able to retrieve it by pushed it with his elbows.  He moved it closer to the dragon and set it upright.  He laid the book on it and read through the first move.  He gritted his teeth and ignored the lump in his throat. 

Focus,
he told himself fiercely. 
Focus!  You did this, now you need to fix it so FOCUS!
  He thought fiercely. 

He narrowed his eyes and forced his hands to move through the first step, ignoring the tears that were brought on by the pain from inflamed nerves.  His clothes had saved most of his skin from being burned to the degree his hands and face were, but anything not covered had taken a lot of damage.  Kade did not even want to see what he looked like.  He reached for more of the Divine and was rewarded as it flowed through him like a torrent.  To his amazement and relief, a good amount of the pain had faded.  Not all, but enough that he felt he had a chance to perform the calling.

              Kade returned to the book and read through the moves, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure the dragon was still breathing.  After focusing on the page and learning the first step, he returned to the dragon to perform the Healing Calling.  The bleeding that had begun to flow again, stopped immediately.  The healing was much more effective than normal, but Kade’s mind was too focused on the Strength Calling to notice.  He learned the second move and then it was back to the dragon.  Although the bleeding had not started again, he performed the healing just to make sure.  He moved back and forth between the book and the dragon in a rhythm, as his mind continually went over the steps of the calling.  As long as he Divine flowed through his body, the pain was not overwhelming. 

Kade was dimly aware of blood dripping from his finger as he finished practicing the third step.  When he read over the forth move, he cringed, and again, felt a lump form in his throat.  A simple move but…  Kade held his hands out wide, then, through gritted teeth, made tight fists, lunged forward and brought his arms directly in front of himself.  He finished with a motion that made it appear as if he were giving himself a hug.

              The pain lanced up his arms, making him jerk and flinch.  He ground his teeth and firmly planted his feet, getting ready to perform the move again.  If he flinched like that during the calling, things could go disastrously wrong, and he knew it. 

Again, he reached out, made his fists and lunged.  And again, he could not help cringing from the pain.  Not only were his hands sending crushing pulses of pain up his arms, but his legs and hips were threatening to give out each time he took a step.  He recalled slamming into the table as he went through the door to the den and knew where the injury had come from.  Or maybe it was from the roof…or maybe the dragon.  All he knew was that it hurt, and it was impossible to ignore.  Every time he thought he might not make it, all he needed to do was glance at his dragon, and he would firmly plant his feet, preparing to perform the move again.

              The next step was open handed, making it more tolerable, but it started with feet together and then a sideways step.  This was the first calling that he was aware of that required the movement of his legs and feet along with his hands and arms.  He found new aches and pains as he struggled to add this next move.  The next three steps were relatively easy to learn and memorize.  Kade had the sixth, seventh and eighth practiced and memorized smoothly.  The sun slid across the sky considerably as he closed in on the ninth move.  The dragon was not getting any worse, but it was clear that it was not going to survive if this did not work.  If this failed, he was out of ideas.

             
Kade planted his feet and readied himself for the final step.  The last and final move posed no difficulty.  He worked this over and over until he was sure he could do it in his sleep.  Now, it was time to practice the moves without calling on the Divine that would be needed to activate the calling.  He worked slowly through the first eight moves and then added the ninth, forcing himself to ignore the pain as much as possible.  He completed the first run through of all nine steps without a mistake.  Although a little of the Divine was drawn on during the calling, it was not until the very last move that one drew on the full power and completed the calling by intoning the word for strength.  If he made a mistake during the calling, he may escape with a minor injury or setback.  One never knew until it happened, but generally, the more Divine that was involved, the more disastrous the consequence. 

             
Kade wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, leaving a streak of black.  He calmed himself as much as possible and tuned out everything except the calling, just like Zayle had taught him.  His beloved teacher had always told him that his focus was his greatest strength, yet at the same time, it was one of his greatest weaknesses.  Kade paused, thinking on this.  He shook his head, not seeing how it could be both good and bad.  Chastising himself for letting his mind wander, he turned his attention completely on the calling.

             
Kade called on the small amount of Divine Power he would need to activate each move and let it flow through him gently.  He swallowed hard and began the calling.  The first couple of moves were not too difficult and the golden trails left through the air were flawless as the symbols took shape.  He slowed slightly for the third move but performed it perfectly while dreading the next.  Sliding into the forth step, he spread his arms, and then, in an act of defiance against the pain, clenched his hands so tightly that his nails dug into the burnt flesh of his palms.  More blood dripped from his fingers.  So much so, that the drips were on the verge of turning into a trickle.  He ignored it and focused on the next.  The Divine was paying close attention to his movements as it eager awaited the Chosen’s command.

             
He opened his hand, and when he needed to step, he stepped hard, forcing his muscles to do what he wanted them to do instead of the slight cringe or the temptation to collapse that they preferred.  The sixth step was a relief as the movement was fairly easy.  Sliding into the seventh, he forced himself not to rush.  Pivoting, he turned slightly and moved his hands in opposite directions as though he were stretching a band.  The eighth move was smooth, but as he glided into the ninth move, sweat started to drip into his eyes, causing them to sting from the soot.  His focused waivered slightly but he quickly recovered, called on the Divine Power fiercely and intoned the word strength…or attempted to intone the word, but instead, rasped the word out in a croak.  He panicked, realizing his error.  He had not practiced speaking. Was it enough?  His throat was raw from the heat and the soot he had inhaled.

             
Kade felt the power pulsing slowly…at first.  And then, within seconds, it increased dramatically, making Kade feel as if a hundred electric eels were shocking each and every muscle.  He threw his head back and howled in pain.  Every ache in his body felt like it was magnified tenfold.  He clenched his jaw against the torment, praying desperately that the pain would either relent or kill him.  His teeth clenched so tightly, he feared they would crack and fall from his mouth.  His chest constricted, threatening to suffocate him.  The world spun, and just when everything was starting to fade, the torture ended.

             
Kade fell to the ground on all fours with a gasp, panting hard with specks of blood spraying the ground.  He felt at any second he was going to pass out from the exertion, but he knew he could not allow it.  He forced his vision to clear.  As he turned his head to look at the dragon, blood dripped from his mouth to splash the ground.  He must have bit his tongue, but it just did not matter. 

Just a little longer and then fate could do what she wants with me,
Kade thought.

             
He forced one knee up, planting his foot flat on the ground.  He leaned back, preparing to stand and almost toppled over backwards.  He grabbed the edge of the barrel and pulled himself up, wavering slightly.  He took several ragged breaths and waited until his vision cleared.  When he felt more stable, he stumbled over to the dragon.  Through the pain, a twinge of hope made its way to the surface; a ray of sun after weeks of thunderstorms.  It was something to grab ahold of.

             
Kade looked at the dragon, but something did not feel right.  He listened for breathing and felt anguish for just a moment until the dragon took a shallow breath and then let it out again.  He completed the calling for healing, and even though he winced at the pain, he was immensely grateful it was not as harsh as the last calling.  The dragon breathed a little easier, but it was not much.

             
Kade worked his way over to the wooden shaft and gripped it with his blood soaked hands.  When he pulled, his hands slid effortlessly along the shaft. 
No!
he thought in despair, as he picked up a few splinters. 
This has to work.
He bit down on one of the larger splinters and pulled it out with his teeth. 

He grabbed the beam once more, but again, his hands just did not have the strength to grasp it tightly enough.  He felt on the verge of weeping with exhaustion, frustration and desperation.  He latched onto the desperation, ignoring the exhaustion completely, and grabbed the wood for all he was worth.  Not noticing, his fingers sank into the wood with a crunch.  Kade put his foot on the side of the dragon, and with all the might and will he could muster, sent a burst of strength, forcing his leg to straighten as he let out a yell.

Kade felt as though he were flying and then floating.  He hit the ground hard and rolled, not putting any effort into stopping his tumble.  The wind was knocked out of him as he landed with the piece of wood still in his grip.  His ribs protested as he breathed.  He spit blood and chuckled slightly, thinking,
what are a few broken ribs to add to the rest.
  He felt a sense of giddiness as the world spun.  The ground felt odd against his cheek as he sucked in dust.

             
Kade rolled onto his back to get his mouth out of the dirt and stared up at the sky.  His mind cleared, and he smiled slightly as he thought to himself,
see fate, I can beat your odds
.  He chuckled again and quickly stopped, overwhelmed with the pain in his chest.  He turned his head and saw that he had landed at least thirty feet from the dragon.  Rayden was bleeding freely from his wound now that the spear was removed.

             
“Oh no you don’t,” Kade croaked as he tried to get onto his knees.  The first attempt caused him to roll onto his back, but his next attempt put him up on all fours.  He tried to stand but pain lanced through his hips.  He was afraid he may have broken his pelvic bone.

             
Kade put his head down and started to crawl, focusing on making sure to keep moving forward.  The dry ground, mixed with his blood, caused mud to cake on his hands.  Soon, he felt a bump on his head and looked up to see a flow of crimson liquid running down the dragon’s side.  He placed his hand on Rayden and slid up, putting most his weight on the leg that hurt the least.  He stood and called on the Divine Power.  He could not feel the dragon breathing, but he knew the spark of life was still there.  It had to be.  He let the healing flow, and it sank into the dragon’s flesh.  It seemed to take hold.  He performed it again and could have sworn the blood had stopped flowing, but everything was a blur as the world began to spin.  He called on the Divine Power over and over, fighting to keep from passing out.  By now, he was performing almost blind, as blackness crept over him.  Desperation threatened to overwhelm him as he called on the Divine Power….or tried to call on it as he hit the ground and was out.