The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (23 page)

Kade turned his attention back to the creature and felt sad for it as it looked at him in fear.  It tried to crawl away as it mewed pitifully.  Kade stroked its fur in an attempt to calm it.  It was going to live but it was not going to heal instantly.  It lifted its head and looked longingly at its little hole in the tree.

“Not for you to eat,” Kade said firmly to Rayden.

Calling on the healing once more, Kade placed his hand gently on the animal’s head.  It was hissing between its sad mews but it was recovering quickly.  It attempted to stand but stumbled and fell over. 

Kade glanced at the creature’s hole and then raced for the books.  He reached in and carefully retrieved them.  He did not want to have to go through this all over again.  He looked all the strappings over to make sure none of them had been chewed through and then relaxed, seeing none had been compromised.  Satisfied, he moved out of the way of the opening to allow the creature to go into its little safe haven.

“Just hold on,” Kade said as he scanned the area.  “I think a little water will do you good, also.”

Kade looked up and saw what he was looking for.  He pulled one of the bowl shaped leaves off the tree.  He worked his way back to the water and carefully carried as much of it as he could back to the tree.  He leaned down and saw that the creature was back in its position, hissing violently.

“Gee, why would you not trust me?” Kade asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  He forced himself to keep from chastising the dragon either mentally or verbally.  He knew it had only done what it thought it should.  Slowly, he put the leaf on the ground and pushed it as far forward as he dared.  It tilted to the side, spilling some of the water, but there was still plenty left for the creature.

“You know your chance of surviving after being attacked by a dragon is virtually zero,” Kade stated and then paused.   “Hmmmmm,” he said out loud as he considered the animal.  “Chance.  Yes.  That is a good name for you.  Okay, Chance.  The water should help.  No hard feelings, I hope,” he said as he backed away from the hole.

Kade returned to the other side of the tree and sat down, plunking the books on the ground next to him.  He sat staring at them for several long moments when he came to a decision.  It had to be done sooner or later.

“I must continue to learn,” Kade said as he slowly untied the straps.  He grabbed the large book with the Lightning Calling and after performing the Disarm Calling, opened it and started to look for his next lesson.  He was done looking for the awe inspiring callings and was now looking for something that would be more practical.  Then he saw it; a Sustenance or Food Calling.  He recalled finding this calling the other day and wished he had given it more attention then.

What could be more practical than being able to conjure food whenever it was needed?

Kade looked over the moves and was surprised at how simple they seemed.  The only part that he thought might be tough was visualizing the food. The calling specifically said that the food was created from pure Divine energy, but it needed the person performing the calling to visualize it.

“So much for me calling up a seven course meal,” Kade chuckled to himself.

He got to his feet and mentally prepared himself for his lesson.  It was a simple three step calling.  The only tricky part would be not going too fast.  It clearly stated that each move should take three seconds and have a two second hesitation between each one.

“Well, it seemed easy at first,” Kade said out loud.  “Having to make sure I pay attention to the timing along with visualizing every aspect of the food, may be a bit tougher than I thought.”

Kade practiced the moves and the timing for hours, completely losing track of time.  It seemed simple, but completing the steps, keeping time and visualizing every aspect of the food was going to be more of a challenge than he expected.  Finally, he decided it was time to try.  He closed his eyes and calmed his mind.  He cleared all thoughts except that of the calling.  This was something that Zayle had preached over and over, and Kade was definitely seeing why it was important to follow this rule.  Nothing could be allowed to break your concentration once you started or the outcome could be disastrous. 

After several long moments, Kade opened his eyes, took a deep, slow breath and let it out as he spread his feet and squared his shoulders.  He took another deep breath and opened himself up to the Divine Power.  The sweet caress flowed through his body.  Kade reveled in it momentarily before he brought himself back to the task at hand.  He started the moves, focusing on timing it just right, and just before the end, he tried to visualize a piece of meat.  Something materialized in his hands and he flinched.  He had to force himself to keep from dropping the slimy, cold meat.  Kade brought the food to his nose, and after one whiff, felt his stomach clench tightly.  He gaged to the point of almost getting sick.

             
“What in the Great Divine!” Kade said out loud as he quickly tossed the meat aside with a scowl.  The dragon had the unfortunate experience of believing it was food and caught it in its mouth, almost swallowing.  It opened its mouth and shoved the food out without touching it with its lips.  Rayden slid his tongue in and out of his mouth several times, scraping it against his teeth.

             
“Sorry,” Kade said dismally, not wanting to see the look in the dragon’s eye.  “That was a huge failure.”

             
“Well, I have a pretty good idea what I did wrong,” Kade said, sneaking a glance at Rayden.  The dragon actually looked like it was going to get sick.  It even had small gouts of flames erupting from its mouth in quick succession as it attempted to remove the foul taste.

             
Kade shook his head and tried to visualize the food without doing the calling.  He focused on how the meat should feel in his hands as best as he could.  He thought how it should smell.  He already knew how it was supposed to look as that was the only part of his calling that went right.  After just a few moments of practiced visualizations, he decided to try again.

             
Kade cleared his mind, as before.  He called on the sweet tasting power that always brought a gentle smile to him and performed the calling.  He tried to keep count as he went through the motions while visualizing the food.  He felt it materialize in his hands, and quickly dropped it.  It felt too slimy.  Frustration flooded through him as he realized he had to put thought into the texture, too.  He gritted his teeth hard and pressed his lips together in anger.

             
“Come on Kade.  This is not that hard!” he fumed, stopping just short of using some choice words on himself.  “It’s an easy one,” he said, even though he knew better.  “Okay, okay, focus.  Picture everything,” he chastised, not realizing he was sounding exactly like his mentor.

             
Kade spent several long moments trying his best to visualize the meat.  Absolutely sure he had it fixed firmly in his mind, he decided to try again.  He took several long, deep breaths to help clear out his frustration and calm himself.  It took longer than he had hoped, but soon, he was ready to try again.

             
Kade squared his shoulders and called to the Divine Power.  Focusing hard on the vision in his mind, he completed the moves to the calling and opened his eyes just as the power popped and fizzled, not producing anything.  He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth again.  Through tight lips, he muttered, “Too fast.”  He had rushed the calling.

             
Kade could not help but to feel the exasperation building in him.  He desperately hated to fail at something he considered simple.  He was absolutely certain this was an easy calling and he knew he should have been able to complete it without so many failed attempts.

Failure was not an option; not with a calling this easy
, he thought fiercely.

Kade realized he was clenching and unclenching his fists.  He forced himself to relax, or tried to, but his mind kept returning to his failed attempts.  He could feel his anger boiling like a volcano wanting to erupt.  He sought something to take his frustration out on and turned to the tree as fury blinded his sense.  Before he knew it, the moves to the Lightning Calling were forming in his mind and the sweet scent of the Divine Power was coursing through every part of his being.  Kade let out a hard grunt of frustration that bordered on a yell.  He flexed his muscles hard and relaxed them to keep from losing his very last shred of control.  Some part deep in him knew it was wrong to be this angry, but he could not help feeling frustration at failure that should not have been.  He had to wrestle control back.  Realizing what he had almost done, he felt shame, knowing his master would deeply disapprove.  The anger receded, but not completely.  He recalled the creature and realized how close he had come to blowing it and the tree to pieces.

After pacing for several long minutes, Kade returned to his spot and worked at calming his mind and clearing it of any negative thoughts.  It was not easy, but after some positive self-assurance, he was ready to try again.   With his mind clear, he focused on the food while keeping an easy, steady pace.  The feel of the food, the smell of the food, the salty taste of the food along with how it looked all came to him as he performed each step. 

Kade focused on visualizing everything during the calling, not just at the end.  Getting a perfect pace going and thinking of the food during the entire ritual was the key.  He glided smoothly through the three moves and felt the meat materialize in his hands.  His eyes popped open.  Surprisingly, it smelled right.  It smelled more than right, it smelled great.  It was the perfect feel with the exception of being too light.  It appeared that the sense of touch was going to be tougher than he thought, but this was serious progress.  He smiled as he raised the meat to his lips and took a hesitant bite.  His mouth puckered as he spat out the meat.

“Well, I definitely know how too much salt tastes.  Wow, this is way more difficult than I expected,” Kade said surprisingly without anger.  The fact that he knew he was making progress with the calling, a calling that turned out not to be as simple as he originally thought, helped keep him focused and calm.

Kade could imagine how his master would be lecturing him now.  “You have to be the smart one here.  The Divine Power is just a tool waiting for you to mold it.  If there is a mistake to be made, it will not be because of the power.  It will be due to your unskilled use of it.”

Kade paced as he considered the deeper meaning to his masters wise words.  He needed to visualize each sense individually, but he needed to bring them together to visualize them at the same time.  He was eager to have the ability to feed his dragon, and he wanted it to be sooner than later.
 

Touch had to have the right weight, feel and even temperature,
Kade thought as he recalled the lack of heat in a previous calling.  Smell was not as difficult and the way it looked was not proving to be a challenge, either.  Taste was another task that needed more focus put into it.  Not only was there a slight bit of salt needed, but there were also other flavors. 
The tangy taste of the juice from the meat along with the slight, and I mean slight, taste of salt,
Kade thought to himself sarcastically.  He considered how the texture of the meat was supposed to feel when bitten into.  He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes and relived the experience.  His smile widened and he knew he had found the solution to this dilemma.  He did not need to visualize it per-se.  He only needed to remember every aspect of it as he performed the calling.  Or, more accurately, relive it.

Kade moved back to his spot with excitement, eager to try his new approach.  He cleared his mind and did his relaxation exercises, the smile never leaving his lips.  He glanced at the dragon, certain Rayden was about to enjoy this calling very much.

Kade called on the Divine Power and started the three simple moves.  With barely a conscious thought to the timing, he relived the memory of his last meal.  When he finished, he almost dropped the steaming piece of meat that materialized solid and heavy in his hands.  It smelled amazing.  Kade could feel his mouth watering and was eager to taste his creation. 

Before Kade could even lift the food to his lips, he heard a grunt to his right and saw Rayden eagerly eyeing the newest conjuring.  The dragon looked intently at the Divine creation and then cast a quick glance at Kade in anticipation, fidgeting slightly.  Kade recognized a begging animal when he saw one and laughed a deep victorious laugh.  This could not be more perfect if it were straight from the boar itself.

“Oh no.  I am not going to take the chance of giving you something that might not be right,” Kade said with a grin as he brought the steaming, hot meat to his lips and took a huge bite.  He burned his mouth but he did not care.  He closed his eyes, experiencing every nuance of the taste and could not help but revel in this small victory.

After tearing off a good size chunk with his teeth, Kade tossed the food in the air and was not surprised in the least as the dragon lashed out with lightning quick speed to snatch the food in midair.  A sense of pride filled Kade, but before he could enjoy the sensation too much, his master’s voice came into his head, saying, “Too much pride is not good, my young student.  Be careful that pride does not turn to arrogance.  Hubris has no positive aspects to it.  Pride alone has brought down many a powerful Chosen.  You must learn to temper pride with just the right amount of humility.”