The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (24 page)

“I understand,” Kade said out loud, as if he were actually answering his master. 

Ignoring the twinge of sadness, he glanced at the dragon and chuckled, sensing its craving for the meat.  “You will never again go hungry from this point on,” Kade said as he prepared to conjure more food for his endless eating machine.  It took virtually no thought when reliving a memory. As a matter of fact, he suspected he was imagining it better than it was the first time.  A moment later, he was tossing Rayden another piece of meat and the dragon was happy to snatch that one from the air as well.

“I know another creature that might appreciate some,” Kade said as he conjured more of the juicy meat.  Rayden danced eagerly but this was not to be his next bite.  Kade moved over to the tree and knelt down while craning his neck to look in at those eerie, white, glowing eyes.  The silky, black creature was sniffing the air as Kade stretched out his hand to offer the food.  He knew there was no way it was going to trust him enough to come out, but this was about making up for how it had been treated.  Kade smiled and set the meat down on the ground just inside the entrance.  He stepped back, and in the blink of an eye, the meat disappeared.  In that instant, he noticed that the animal had a bent ear now, whereas before, it was straight.  His healing was clearly not perfect but it was enough to save this beautiful animal’s life.

“That should help,” Kade said, pleased with himself.

Kade could hear the creature sniffing furiously as it checked over this delicacy.  It did not take long for it to start tearing into the meat.  Feeling incredibly satisfied, Kade went back to the dragon.

He made another piece of meat and tossed it to Rayden.  Before he could swallow, his head came up sharply and swung around to the right.  Kade paused, shocked, certain he could tell what the dragon was sensing.  This surprised him because he was sure he was not using his own senses, but instead, using the dragon’s.  This went further than being able to communicate simple thoughts with Rayden.  This was using the dragon’s senses as if they were his own.

Rayden seemed to go into a silent hunting mode as it stalked in the direction of whatever had gotten its attention.  It swallowed the food and focused on the woods.  Kade listened closely, trying to make out what had put the dragon on edge, but it was not quite clear, yet.

There was a hint of a lightly traveled path where the dragon had stopped.  It had a sharp bend a short distance from Rayden that wound around a large tree.  He froze like a statue as he straddled the path, waiting, ready to pounce.  Kade watched, impressed, certain it had used this technique in the past to ambush unsuspecting prey.

Kade cocked his head as he listened.  For a moment, he thought he could sense what had gotten Rayden’s attention.  He was not sure if it was the wind he was hearing or…possibly…a woman’s voice.  Yes, he was sure of it.  It was a woman’s voice.  He felt the urge to run out and meet another human but sensed danger from the dragon.  The voices continued to move closer and he could almost make out what was being said.  He could even swear that he heard the voice of a child.

“Torvod, try to be quiet,” Kade heard a woman hiss.  “There are probably bad men in these woods,” she added.  Kade could feel the fear as her voice broke at the end.  She gave a quiet sob and then Kade heard a child.

“I am trying mom.  Why are we running from our home?” the boy asked in a pleading voice.

“Because, there are men trying to hurt us.  I am sorry, but we must.  We have to leave for at least a little while,” the mother said as she fought back the sadness that threatened to send her into more sobs. 

Kade stood rock still as they continued to approach.  He could see flashes of movement through the shrubbery on their left as something moved along the path toward them.  His eyes slowly drifted down to the path to where he was standing and then back up to where he heard the voices.  After a moment of consideration, he decided to wait.  He was betting his life that they were what they appeared to be, but the dragon was not.  At any moment, he would know, and hopefully, they could answer some questions.

Kade watched as the family rounded the corner.  There was a man who appeared to be lost in his own thoughts.  He ducked under a branch, stepped over a root and then offered his hand to his wife to help her.  The child eagerly scampered over the root and then froze as his eyes grew as wide as saucers.  The parents were still too focused on their woes to see what was right before their eyes.  Kade smiled to himself as the awe took hold of the child, who appeared to be around the age of nine.

The dragon held completely still, not even blinking.  Kade took the dragon’s lead and waited for the man and woman to notice.  He felt a twinge of guilt for waiting to see their reaction but it was only a twinge.  The woman had a boy about the age of six on her back.  As soon as the man turned to continue, his eyes landed on the leg of the dragon and froze.  Slowly, his eyes traveled up until he was looking directly into the dragon’s eyes.  His face turned white, and he crumpled to the ground.

“Dran, what is it?” his wife asked in alarm, looking at him in surprise and worry.  She turned to see what had him speechless and froze.  The boy on her back yelped.

The man stood up very slowly, as if to move too fast would send the dragon into action.  He and the woman stared in shock, frozen, unable to even breathe. 
What a sight it must be,
Kade thought as he pondered how he wanted to approach the family.  He could step out and introduce himself, but that would mean someone would know who he is and where he is. 
Or, maybe I should retreat, but they might have information I can use.
  Kade went back and forth with his thoughts while the family stood completely still, as if moving might cause the dragon to pounce. 
The less people that know of me, the less danger I will be in.
  The boy’s next words changed his mind and he smiled a broad, wide grin.

“WOW!  A real live dragon!” the nine year old said as he raced up to Rayden.  The parents both turned white as a sheet.

Kade sensed the dragon’s intention to swat the boy aside and quickly sent it the mental thought to be patient and leave the boy alone.  The dragon looked askance at Kade.  Patting Rayden affectionately, he just smiled.  The boy wrapped his arms around the dragon’s legs.  The mom and dad both gave a squeak but neither was able to move.

“Easy, Rayden,” Kade said as he stepped out from behind the massive bulk of his friend.  This seemed to break the mother out of her trance and she screamed.

“No, Torvod!  Get away from that beast!”

The man came to what senses he could muster and grabbed his wife while hissing in her ear, “No Tracella.  Do not move.  It may attack if you make any sudden movements!”

Kade held up his hands as if to placate the parents.  He smiled and then looked down on the boy who was still clamped tightly to the dragon’s leg.  The child was absolutely beaming like he had just found the most wondrous thing in the land.  He knew how the child felt and instantly liked him.

“It’s okay.  Rayden will not hurt the boy.  He is my dragon,” Kade said, still sensing the dragon’s strong urge to shake the child from his leg.  The parents focused on Kade and were back to being speechless.  This was way too much for them.  The boy, on the other hand, was far from speechless and proceeded to babble excitedly.

“Is this really your dragon?  WOW!  How do I get a dragon?  Where did you find him?  How many are there?”

“You can’t just get a dragon,” Kade said as he slowly unwrapped Torvod’s arms from Rayden’s leg.  Kade chucked at his friend as a flood of relief came rushing through the connection.  “As a matter of fact, you should never do what you just did.  Any other dragon would have eaten you.  He is the only one that is tame,” Kade said to the parents as much as he did to the kid.  “If I was not here, it may have hurt the boy.”

Tracella and Dran looked at him in awe.  They still seemed to be frozen, so Kade tried once more.  He did not hold out hope that he was going to be able to calm them anytime soon, as they were still ashen, but he had to try.  He thought back on his first encounter with this fearsome creature and knew how they felt.

“It is alright,” Kade said, trying to make eye contact and get them to understand.  “You are not in danger.  Rayden will not hurt you,” he said slowly.

The man blinked.  His gaze shifted back and forth between the dragon and Kade as he tried to comprehend what was happening.  After a moment, his eyes seemed to focus on Kade and stay there.  He relaxed slightly as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“This is your dragon?” Dran asked incredulously, waving a hand toward Rayden.

“Yes.  Well…he is not really mine,” Kade said, emphasizing the last word.  “But, he does listen to me and mostly does what I say.”

The woman seemed to break out of her trance and see Kade for the first time.  She flinched as her eyes focused on him.  After a moment, she broke into a run and wrapped her arms around the boy, and not too gently, dragged him away.

“Dran!” Tracella exclaimed as she took a step back, ready to turn and flee.

“Tracella,” Dran said in as soothing a voice as possible.  “I believe this man and his dragon,” he said, darting a cautious glance at the Rayden and then back to his wife, “mean us no harm,” he finished.  After a moment’s consideration, she seemed to calm and then her mood went dark as she locked an accusing eye on Kade.

“Then you are not more of the evil men who have come to our town, taking what they want and killing our men?” she asked, snapping from too much stress and fear over the last few days.

“What evil men?” Kade asked as his sense of danger grew.  He tried to keep calm, afraid that he would lose the progress he had already made, but the hairs on the back of his neck went up.  “What evil men?” he asked again with force as he spoke each word slowly.  He needed to know.  Dran stiffened, and the smile slowly faded from his face, his keen sense of danger kicking in.  Kade was, after all, one of the Chosen, and if Dran learned of this, he was certain to mistrust the Divine user.

The man and woman looked at each other and something passed between them.  The woman whispered something and the man seemed to agree, relaxing again.  They both turned back to Kade, appearing to ease a little more, but not dropping their guard completely. 

“You did not come from town?” Dran asked, casually dropping his hand to land on the knife at his side.  Kade, feeling overly confident that he was in no danger, did not see the move.

“No.  I came from the west,” Kade said.

The man looked to the west as he tightened his grip on the hilt.  He looked at the ground as if he were thinking and slowly shuffled forward.  Kade took the move as one of trust and relaxed. 

“So you say you came from the west, eh?  Where from in the west?  I don’t recall any towns in that direction,” Dran said calmly.  His hand tightened and his muscles flexed slightly.  Kade was oblivious to the move.  Unfortunately for Dran, the dragon was more alert.  Rayden, sensing danger, slowly moved forward as his lips parted and his mouth came open to display his deadly fangs.  The dragon continued moving toward Dran until its mouth was mere inches from the side of Dran’s head.

Before Kade could ask what in the great Divine had gotten into Rayden, he sensed danger through the link and froze.  His eyes narrowing, he saw what had the dragon on edge.  Locking eyes with Dran, he held his hand out as if he knew the entire time what was happening.

“You were about to show me your dagger?” Kade asked casually, cocking an eyebrow, as he had seen his master do so many times.  Dran gripped the dagger and his muscles flexed.  The smile left Kade’s lips and any hint of kindness faded from his eyes.  He gave Dran a hard stare that promised death if he did anything other than what was asked of him.  Dran exhaled shakily as he slowly changed his grip on the dagger to one of just finger and thumb and drew it out, handing it to Kade.

“It is okay, my friend,” Kade said as he patted the dragon on the neck.  “He just wanted to show me this fine weapon?” he said to the dragon as much as asking the question to Dran.  The man muttered something that was supposed to be assurance and took a step back with his hands raised.

“I know of no town to the west,” Dran said meekly but with a tone that indicated he still did not believe.

Kade sighed and took a step forward.  He put his hand on the man’s shoulders while looking over at his wife who was starting to sob, and then he glanced at the boy.  With a smile, he held out the dagger to the man.

“He was only trying to defend his family,” Kade said to Rayden.

Dran stood in stunned disbelief, looking at the proffered blade.  He glanced at his wife, who wilted and gave a shrug as if surrendering.  He slowly accepted the weapon and sheathed it.  He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get one word out, Kade held up a hand.

“I did not come from a town.  I was in training with a man named Zayle,” Kade said before he could stop himself.  He held his breath, knowing he had said too much. 

The man’s eyes opened wide.  He glanced at his wife and then back the way they had come as if watching for someone.  He narrowed his eye, his mind working furiously as if he were trying to come to a decision.  His wife grabbed him firmly by the arm, making the decision for him and whispered, “Tell him.”

“The men that came to town mentioned that name,” Dran said in resignation.  “Said he was one of the Chosen, but no one knew what he was talking about.  That would be you?” he asked apprehensively.