The Divine Path (The Divine Series) (12 page)

Was there no getting them to see?  What had they done that made these spiders believe him to be allied with that absolutely corrupt being?
Kade asked himself as he tried to force his logical mind to work quickly.

             
The shield waivered and then reformed.  One of the spiders fell to the ground and charged.  Kade knew that if they were to survive, it was going to be by facing the white spider.  The majestic creature buzzed once at the black spider just when it was about to spring on Darcienna.  It turned to look at the white spider and then shrank back in agitation.

             
“Why do you think I would ally myself with such an evil man?” Kade asked as he stepped to the very edge of the shield to look deep into the green eyes.  He vowed he was not going to flinch, even if the shield gave way.

This was his only chance, and he knew he had to do this carefully.  The more he thought on this, the more he was certain how this must be handled.  Something of what the white spider was thinking slipped through when it had communicated with him.  No fear, for he had nothing to fear.  If they saw fear, then it was as much an admittance of guilt in their eyes as if he
had confessed.  If he was not guilty, then he should have nothing to fear.  However, there was something else.  What could it be?

“You have not answered my question.  If you plan on taking our lives, then admit to yourself that you do so without knowing the truth.  You say you are going to kill us because we are servants of Morg.  Are you ready to turn your back on those that might be allies instead?”

The black spider chittered furiously and moved toward Darcienna, venom dripping from its fangs.  The white spider let out an ear-splitting, high-pitched sound that made Kade’s head hurt furiously as it lunged right to the edge of the shield.  But it was not for Kade that it threatened.  The black spider recoiled as if it had been struck.  The glowing, green eyes refocused on Kade as they moved back slightly.

Darcienna was panting
as her nose continued to bleed from the exertion.  The blood was coming in drips as it hit the ground.  Kade spared her a glance and then locked his gaze with the white spider once again.  The shield faded and then returned but a few more spiders had fallen in.  Kade turned quickly toward the dragon.

“Do not harm them.  Not even one,” Kade sent to the dragon as he yelled.  The whi
te spider was clearly in charge but no society, spiders or humans, would follow a leader that allowed its kind to be killed.  No, the dragon had to stand down. 

Rayden
froze as the link between him and Kade exploded with confusion.  The dragon’s desire to rend these spiders into pieces tore at him furiously.  Kade forced the dragon to understand trust as best he could.  Rayden had to trust him if they had any hopes of surviving.  Their lives depended on this killing machine fighting its natural instinct.

“Again, you have not answered my question,” Kade said firmly, fighting the panic as the image of Darcienna blazed in his mind.  No fear.

Besides sensing the presence of Morg?
the spider communicated in disgust. 
The dragon,
it added a bit more cautiously and curiously at the same time.  The spiders were still poised to attack, eager to feed, craved to sink their fangs into flesh and bring death.  The only reason the three of them were not dead already was because of the one white spider that was face to face with Kade, and he knew it.

H
e realized that he had missed the obvious.  Morg and his minions were probably the only humans that commanded creatures as powerful and dangerous as dragons.  Now, he had the final piece of the puzzle.  It was so clear and he had thought nothing of it.

“Darcienna, drop the shield,” Kade said. 

It was obvious the barrier was going to fail, but being the one to bring it down had to count for something.  No fear.  There was no reason to fear so there was no reason to have the shield.  No fear.

Darcienna collapsed to the ground.  Her eyes rolled back in her head as she breathed in ragged gasps.  The blood
that ran from her nose came in a trickle now.  The shield evaporated.  He was not sure if she dropped the shield because he told her to, or if she dropped it because she could not hold it for even one more second, but he was willing to bet on the latter.

The spiders fell like death from above.  Kade fought his instinct to cringe from these hairy eight-legged creatures.  They were spiders and that was all that needed to be said.  He could not react to them no matter his distaste for their kind.  If he
did, it would appear to be fear and fear was not acceptable; not if he wanted to save Darcienna and the dragon, much less himself.

The dragon was covered with spiders to the point that Kade thought the sheer weight of them alone would drive it to the ground.  In an act of defiance, the dragon stood.  Kade, once again, asked the dragon for trust.  Rayden quivered, but he did not attack.  His lips pulled back hard, showing every inch of his fangs.   He continuously emitted a deep rumble as heat wafted from his nostrils.  The battle the dragon fought within itself to keep from tearing the spiders to pieces was fierce, but the dragon held…for now.

Explain,
the leader communicated.  For the moment, they were surviving, but it was still very clear that any misstep would mean a swift end.  Kade forced his mind to calm as Zayle had taught him during his lessons.  It helped build confidence, also.  No fear.

“I came across the dragon after one of Morg’s monsters tried to kill it,” Kade said as he watched the spider sway slightly while it considered his words.  The wind caught its
foot-long fur and it looked like it was floating in the air.  “The dragon was injured when I found it and I decided to help it.  Rayden is not under my command,” Kade said as he leveled his gaze at the spider.  No reason to fear.  No reason to look away.

Rayden?
the white spider asked.

“Yes.  His name is Rayden.  At least, that is what I call him.  He follows my instructions only because he trusts me.  He
has become attached to me and I to him,” Kade said calmly and confidently, but never once did he look away.  Not even for an instant did he break eye contact.  Not challenging but not submissive either.  No fear.

Where did you come from?
the white spider asked.

“A town called Dresben.”

A loud buzzing sound started as the spiders readied for the massacre.  The white spider reared up instantly and emitted that ear splitting sound once more.  The mass of poison-fanged creatures seemed to quell their eagerness but only for the moment.  One of the black spiders screeched and it was clearly a sign of defiance.  It leapt at the dragon, and in one smooth move, the white spider launched over Kade’s head to grab it in its fangs.  It tore the smaller black one off the dragon and slammed it to the ground while landing gracefully.  The buzzing ceased and there was a silence that was so profound that Kade rubbed his ears to ensure he could still hear.

The black spider tried to hold its ground, but it was not long before it was emitting a pitiful wailing that was hardly audible.  The white spider hissed violently as it slowly lowered its blazing green eyes to stare
directly into the black eyes of its prey.  If there was ever any question of who the leader was, there was none now, and there was none for the spider on its back, either. Kade did not need to know what was being said to understand that to act again as it had would mean death for the black spider.  Without moving its body even one inch, the white spider turned to look at Kade as it communicated.

Dresben?
the white spider asked again, cautiously.  Kade knew he was still walking on ice that could crack beneath his feet at any moment.

“My parents…
,” he said and then regretted bringing his mother and father into this.  He desperately did not want to drag his parents into another dangerous situation, but it was too late.  Kade mentally sighed.  To change his story now would appear as though he were trying to hide something, which, of course, he would be, but unfortunately, it would also make him look guilty of whatever it was they suspected.  He knew more than anything that the white spider was locked onto him, waiting for the next words to be spoken.  “My parents live in a cabin just north of Dresben.  We were on our way to see the Chosen, Valdry.”

“Valdry?
  What do you know of the Chosen, Valdry?” the white spider hissed audibly.  Kade flinched, expecting all communication with this creature to continue in his mind.

Kade took a moment to compose his thoughts as he studied the beautiful creature that stood only one short stride from him.  It was four feet high and a little over seven feet long. When it spoke in a hiss, it reminded Kade of silk rubbing against silk.  When it would buzz at the other spiders, the sound was more like that of a cat purring than an insect as he might expect.

“I was on my way to see him in hopes that he would help me fight this Morg that you so desperately hate,” Kade said, hiding his shock that this creature could actually communicate with words.

The white spider seemed to be considering something as it stood regarding him.  It turned to look back at the spider still pinned to the ground.  The black spider started its ever so subtle wailing again.  With a violent hiss directly into the face of the
black spider, the white spider rose majestically and stalked around to glare at all the other spiders.  They shrank back and put their faces to the ground as they swayed their heads back and forth.  Yes, clearly this spider was their royalty.

“
Valdry was killed.  We attempted to help him for all he has done for us, but we were handed a crushing defeat.  I lost almost half my clutch before we had to retreat,” the white spider hissed.

Kade felt anger explode in him, and with a deep breath, screamed his rage at the sky, needing to vent his frustration.  At every turn,
Morg was there, always one step ahead of him.  Kade clenched his fists in fury and the Divine rushed in.  He raised his fists in anger, and without thinking, allowed the Divine to flow forth from his hands, creating light.  The spiders shrank back.  Fear came at him in waves.  Hate and anger swirled in him, and the area lit up like it was day.  The spiders keened in terror and fell from the dragon as if stunned.  None could look on the blazing light that pulsed from Kade’s hand.  The dragon added its rage to Kade’s and roared viciously as it swung its head back and forth, shrugging off any of the remaining spiders.

“How?”
Kade demanded as he stalked up to the white spider and leaned forward to peer into its eyes as it had done to the black spider.  Kade did not notice the slight flinch.  “How did Morg find him?” he demanded, forgetting that he was the hunted.

“
I don’t know.  The Chosen Valdry called to us for help, but by the time we got to his mansion, he was under attack from beasts of long lost times.  But, even without the creatures, Morg wielded so much power that he alone could have wiped us out if we had stayed,” the white spider said as it spared a glance at Kade’s glowing hand.

“The time has come to decide,” Kade said dangerously.  He saw his opening and he knew to take it.  “Either you are truly against Morg and with me, or you stand in my way to bringing Morg to justice, and t
hat is not a safe place to be.  Decide,” Kade said ominously as he fed the light with more of the raging Divine.  He turned to Darcienna as if he had nothing to fear from the white spider.

Kneeling d
own, Kade felt for her breath.  It was very shallow, but it was there.  There was a fair amount of blood in a small pool around her face.  Kade used his free hand and brought the Healing Calling forth, sending it into her.  Her breathing steadied.  With the next healing, her eyes fluttered opened.  She looked into his eyes and smiled at him.  A mere moment later, she shrieked at the glowing, green eyes of the white spider that was looking over his shoulder.

“For the love o
f the Divine, woman, please don’t do that again,” Kade said, trying to regain some of the hearing he had just lost.

“But…,” Darcienna said as she fought the urge to scoot back.

“You are safe,” Kade said as he looked at the white spider.  “They are on our side,” he added as he turned to look questioningly at the arachnid. 

“
We are with you,” it responded.  And with that, Kade let the light fade considerably.

“Human, we need to talk,” the white spider said and
then turned to find itself nose to nose with Rayden.  The shift in power was overwhelming.  Rayden’s lips were twitching as he fought the urge to rend this creature to pieces.  Kade could feel it through the link so strongly that he found it hard to think.

“Rayden, no.
  He is an ally.  Peace, my friend,” Kade said as he placed his hand on the dragon’s head and pushed it to the side while caressing it.

Morg does not heal
, the spider communicated as it contemplated the woman. 
He brings only chaos, suffering, death and destruction,
the voice said in his head.  “Yes human, we are allies in this fight against evil,” it said as it gave a graceful bow.  “I need to hear more of what is happening, but first, I believe introductions are in order.  My name is Rakna.  I am the queen of my clutch.  At least…as long as the king lives.”