The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (37 page)

Kade closed his eyes and drew on the Divine, molding it into the Disarm Calling.  The power flowed through him and out just as quickly.  He opened his eyes and looked to see if the use of the Power was noticed by anyone or anything.  Reaching up and gripping the medallion, he hoped and prayed that it worked.  He felt it vibrate as though it had a life of its own.  It also felt cool to the touch.  After a moment, the vibration subsided and then there was only the feel of the medallion again.

Kade closed his eyes and studied the patterns surrounding the tower.  He felt failure start to come crashing down on him when he noticed that at least one of the callings on the far side might have been disarmed.   Hope flared. 

It seems there is a chance this might work after all,
he thought.

“Kade, what are you doing?”

“I tried to disarm the traps,” Kade said quietly as he continued to study the patterns.

“Did it work?” Darcienna asked with optimism in her voice.

“Maybe,” Kade said cautiously.  He directed Rayden to move around the tower. 
There is, indeed, a path about two feet wide where a calling had been disarmed,
Kade thought excitedly.  He smiled in triumph.  “I was able to disable at least one of the traps, but,” he said and then paused, as he studied the ground, “I am not sure it is good enough,” he added, losing some of the excitement.  “I need to watch the traps and see if I can spot anything else.”  He closed his eyes.

“Then, there is a chance we can get her down?” Darcienna asked.

“A chance,” he said.  “But, even if I get her down, I am certain they will notice she is gone.  I won’t make it to my father before we are discovered.”

Darcienna looked up at the woman and then back to where Kade was sitting.  She wanted dearly to come up with a way to help.  She sat for several long moments, giving Kade time to study the traps when an idea came to her.

“What if we create a distraction?” Darcienna asked.

“If we cause a distraction, it will only give away that we are here.” Kade said.

“I am not talking about blasting a building or anything like that.  I mean something simple.  Something to throw them off so they won’t be watching so closely,” Darcienna said.  What she was thinking was causing a commotion in the woods away from town.  But, it was enough to get Kade’s mind working.  And then...it hit him.

“Yes!”  Kade said, excitedly.  “You are amazing!”

“Excellent!”  Darcienna exclaimed.  “So…what did I do?”

“The Transparency Calling,” Kade said as hope grew in him.

“Like the one you used on us?” Darcienna asked, confused.

“Yes,” Kade said.  “Don’t you see?”

“I am not quite sure,” Darcienna said hesitantly.

“What if I just make it look like they are gone?” Kade asked in a rush.  Darcienna sat silently, trying to piece together how this was going to work.  “Okay,” he said, sensing her confusion.  “If I can make them both disappear, then they will think that my parents are gone, right?  They will go searching for them, believing that we are escaping.  They will, most likely, expect us to be fleeing from town, right?”

“Seems to make sense.  But, wouldn’t you need to make them both disappear at the same instant?  Is that possible?” Darcienna asked, causing Kade’s new found hope to fade slightly.  “Do you have to be next to them?”

“I have only done this while being very close to the object.  I don’t need to be touching them, but as for how close I have to be…I am not sure,” Kade said as he turned and mentally measured the distance between the two towers.  “If I can make it up to my mother, then maybe I can try to cast the Transparency Calling on my father, first.  If it works, I can then cast it on my mother right away.”

Darcienna took a deep breath and let it out, knowing that things were about to get deadly.  This was the moment that was going to decide everything.  It was one thing to consider a course of action but entirely something else to put it into motion.  She was glancing around nervously, trying to search for anything he may be missing as her heart started to race.  And then, she felt Kade shift and slide down from the dragon.

“Kade, what are you doing?” she asked urgently.

“I am going to find a way up there,” Kade said as he closed his eyes and performed the Reveal Calling.  “Hold onto this,” he said as he swung the sack of books off his back and up to where he believed her to be.  It thudded against her leg.

“Kade, I thought you said you were just going to look around and then come back later.  Are you sure this is the best idea?” Darcienna asked, ignoring the jolt from the books that she did not see coming.

“We are here.  What good is it going to do for us to go, only to come back and get to this point all over again?  And besides, when they find their man gone, they are going to suspect something.  We may not even be able to sneak into town again.  Yes, this is best,” he said, resolutely.

Kade closed his eyes and used the Reveal Calling to guide him.  He moved to the edge and studied the pattern as it pulsed.   This small path was all he had.  Walking it with his eyes closed was not going to be comfortable.  He was not sure if he had to touch the ground to trigger the calling, or if simply passing his hand through the space above the ground could spring the trap.  Regardless, he was not going to take a chance.  Kade walked heel to toe and found himself wobbling dangerously.  He had to fight from throwing his arms out to the side to keep his balance.  After just three steps, he turned sideways and started to edge his way along the path with his hands pressed firmly against his legs.

Rayden, do not let anything find you.  If you must move, then move, but avoid contact with anything, at all costs.  We must remain undetected until I get my father from the other tower,
Kade thought to the dragon.  He sensed a response from Rayden that he took for acknowledgement.

With his eyes closed, the ground felt like it was starting to rock, causing Kade to go up onto his toes and then back to his heels.  He even opened his eyes once to get his balance just as he was about to take a step.  A knot grew in his stomach as he breathed a sigh of relief.  He fought to keep his arms at his side and succeeded…just barely.  Kade looked and saw that he had moved considerable closer to the tower.  He measured the distance and realized he could almost jump the rest of the way.

Just a few more steps,
Kade thought.  He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and closed his eyes, performing the Reveal Calling once more.  He was able to take four more steps before having to open his eyes again.  This was more nerve racking than he expected.  He closed his eyes and continued edging his way along the narrow path.  This time, he made it without issue.  Kade saw directly under the structure was clear of any traps, so he ducked under a board to stand in the middle.

He looked up and studied the build of the tower.  Reaching up as carefully as possible, he grabbed ahold of one of the boards that looked the strongest and slowly pulled himself onto it.  Tearing one of the boards off would be a great way to give away their position, and he was not about to do that.  The tower was solid and did not move but the board groaned quietly.  In the dead of the night, without another sound anywhere, the creak must have been heard for miles…or so Kade thought.  He froze.  He held his breath as he scanned the area.  Nothing moved.  Why would they?
 

The tower might creak from mother’s movements, right?
he asked himself, trying to relieve his trepidation.  He continued his climb, moving as slowly as possible.  It was exhausting, and after what felt like forever, his head hit the underside of the platform.  He climbed through the slats to stand on the ladder and then pulled himself up to stand next to his mother.

Kade turned to look at Judeen and froze.  She was looking at him as though she could see him.  Kade moved forward slowly, watching the look on her face.  He stopped directly in front of her and wondered if this was another trap.  He considered turning and going back down, suspecting that he was being deceived, but decided he had come too far to just leave before knowing for sure.  And besides, if she was a trap, he would have already been caught.

Closing his eyes, Kade used the Reveal Calling to check for anything that did not look right.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.  There was only his mother.  He reached out and put his hand on her arm.  It was taut with tension as she hung from the beam, but she still managed a weak smile.

“Mother?” Kade whispered, but she did not answer.  “Mother,” he repeated and then remembered the Silence Calling.  He dismissed the calling from just himself while keeping it intact for the dragon and its riders.

Kade moved close to his mother and whispered in her ear, “Mother.”  Before she could respond, he whispered, almost too quietly for her to hear, even though she was just inches from his mouth.  “Shhhhh.  Don’t talk yet.”  With that, Kade performed the Silence Calling for him and his mother.  As soon as he felt the calling take hold, he relaxed and breathed a deep sigh.  “Hello Mother.”

“Hello Son.  I knew you would come,” she barely croaked, but there was something in her voice.  Hope?  Maybe even a touch of amusement, and of course, a fair share of defiance.  It made his heart feel good to hear this much life still in her.

“We cannot be heard, Mother.  You may speak without fear of discovery.”

“My son,” she said, still staying quiet.  There was deep affection in her voice.

“I’ve come to get you out of here,” Kade said as he studied the ropes binding her wrists.

“You can’t.  There is a very evil man by the name of Morg that is waiting for you to try.  He has men all over town, watching like hawks.”  She made a sound that most likely was a chuckle and then continued on.  “It sounds like you have stirred things up,” she said with a lisp through a split lip.  Kade gasped, recalling his grandfather’s note.

“Morg?  That is who is behind this?” Kade asked, feeling his heart pound like mad.  “Don’t worry mother.  I am going to do more than stir things up when I am done,” Kade said as he performed the Healing Calling.  He let it flow and she sighed.

“You have been busy learning I see,” she said in approval.  Kade smiled despite the situation.

“I have a plan,” Kade said, excited to have a name to put to the evil.

“There is no room for mistakes, Kade.  I fear what he will do if he catches you.”

“Then we shall make no mistakes,” Kade said with confidence.  There was a growl in his voice.

“Morg has been here for a day, waiting for you.  You have him…worried is best how to put it.  He even has a healthy fear of you, if that makes any sense.  But I do not think he wants you dead.  He needs you for something.”

“He has good reason to fear me, Mother.  He killed Zayle and I am going to make him pay for that.  She gasped and Kade could feel the sadness come off her in waves.  He chastised himself for being such a fool.  This was not the right time for that kind of information.  “I am sorry Mother, but we must focus.  Please,” he said, feeling her pain.  The last part of what she said had his mind whirling.

Need me for what?
he asked himself.  He dismissed the thought completely and refocused on their situation.

“He told us that he killed Zayle, but we did not believe him.  It did not make sense to us that he would kill Zayle and not be able to handle an apprentice.  We believed he was just trying to scare us, but now I see that he spoke the truth,” she said, sounding on the verge of tears.  “He kept asking us where you were, but we would not tell him.  We could not tell him, even if we wanted,” Judeen said and paused.  After a moment’s hesitation, she continued.  “Zayle made it very clear that it was imperative that no one know where you were,” she said, her voice gaining a small amount of control.  She swallowed the tears and forced herself to be strong.  There would be time enough for grieving later.  That was the mother he knew.  Her personality was one like a mountain.  When she needed to be strong, there was no moving her.

Kade could tell she was trying to hide her fear and the sadness, but he could see it in her eyes.  He was always able to see the truth in those windows to her soul no matter what she said.  He smiled a reassuring smile, forgetting that she couldn’t see him.

“Here is the plan.  I am going to use a Transparency Calling to hide you from sight.  No one will be able to see or hear you.  It will look like you are gone.  I have to be able to make both you and Father disappear at the same moment, or they will know I am here.  When they start to search for you, I will free you and Father.”

Kade looked up at the ropes and desperately wanted to remove them.  She was just inches off the platform but inches or feet did not matter.  The ropes were cutting into her wrist, causing her to bleed.  After a few seconds of consideration, he decided a few more moments of discomfort were worth the price of her freedom.

“Mother, how did you know I was here?” Kade asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.

“That was easy,” she said with a slight smile.  “Look down there.” 

At first, Kade did not know what he was supposed to see, and then it made sense.  He was able to see right where the dragon was standing, even in the dark.  There were tracks in the street where the dragon’s claws had scraped the ground, making them visible, especially from up on the tower.