The Divine Apprentice (The Divine Series) (42 page)

“By the way, how far can you extend that shield of yours?  We were at least thirty feet from you.”

“I’d say about thirty feet,” Darcienna said with a smile.  “I’ve never tried to use it any further than that.  As it turned out, I was just barely able to get it around you.  If it weren’t for your animal, you would have been dead,” Darcienna said as she moved her hand to brush a hair out of her face.  Kade took that moment to remove his hand from her knee.  “After the first blast, the shield almost failed.  One more hit, and I would have lost it,” she said.

“Well, you did great.  It did not matter when it failed.  You saved my life,” Kade said with a smile.

“I did, didn’t I?” Darcienna said, brightening considerably.

“Yes,” Kade said as he turned to look into her eyes.  He wanted her to see that he meant every word he spoke.  He looked deep into those rivers of blue and felt as if he could lose himself in her loving eyes forever.  “Yes, you really did,” he repeated as she beamed at him.

“Kade,” Judeen said, breaking up the interaction.

Kade colored slightly as he realized his parents had been watching the entire interaction.  Sitting directly in front of him and he missed that they were completely quiet, taking in everything that was going on.  Or, was it that they were just giving him the courtesy of being quiet while he and Darcienna worked out this issue?

“Are you going to introduce us to your girl?” Garig questioned while making a point of chastising him for ill manners.

Kade paused, completely caught off guard by his father’s query.  His mind tried to grasp the implication.   He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but his mind was blank.

Why in the Great Divine would they assume she is my girl?
he wondered, shaking his head to himself.  He considered his father’s words and smiled slightly at the idea.  Before he could fully enjoy the thought, he remembered how she said she was in love with a guy she had met only once, the father of her son.  Darcienna stiffened at the question. 
Was she repulsed by the idea?
he asked himself.  Kade turned cold, feeling as if his heart were being choked.  Jealousy made men do stupid things, and Kade was definitely a man through and through.

“She is not my girl, Father.  She has another man in her heart, a man she has not seen in over a year and a half,” he said bluntly, wanting to hurt her the same way he was hurting.  In the next instant, he regretted striking out at her and wilted.  He cursed himself for being a fool ten times over.  If there ever was a chance to be with her, it was sure not going to happen now.

Darcienna’s head came up with a snap, as she inhaled sharply.  Kade had a sick feeling in his stomach and wanted to throw himself from the dragon.  Nothing was ever going to go right where she was concerned, and now he had just destroyed any chance he had.  It just wasn’t, and he chastised himself for the fool he was.  She dropped her head and Kade got the feeling she was going to cry again.  He tried to ignore it, and even tried to tell himself he really had not said anything that was not true
.  It is what she told me,
he reminded himself.  But, even he knew it was a weak argument and gave up trying to convince himself.

After a moment more, he conceded no matter what he thought, he had blundered horribly.  He took a breath to tell her he was wrong and how sorry he was but could not find the right words and closed his mouth.  He wanted to tell her he only said it because he was hurt and he did not mean it, but when he opened his mouth to try again, he could not get the words to come. 

Why can’t I be this other guy?
  Kade thought desperately.

“I’m sorry, Son. With the way you and she were going on, it sounded like you two were already a…,” Garig was saying when Judeen hit him in the ribs.  He grunted and turned to glare at his wife.  She was not fazed even a little by that glare. 

“You have said enough, dear,” Judeen said easily.

Kade had caught the odd tone in his father’s voice, as though there were more to his words.  If he could have seen the look on his parents’ faces, he would have seen the smiles that slowly grew.  He wallowed in his misery.

“You can still introduce us,” Judeen said.

“You’re right, Kade,” Darcienna said.  There was hurt mixed with fire in her words.  “I did fall in love with a man over a year and a half ago, and I didn’t even know his name.  Is there anything else you want to say?”  She fought to keep from crying.  “How about the fact that the man never even took the time to come back to see me?  How about the fact that the man does not even know about his child?”  Darcienna asked, anger now the dominant emotion.

Kade could not even bring himself to respond.  The hurt in her voice took all the fight out of him.  He had humiliated her.  He had embarrassed her in front of his parents.  Kade hesitated, afraid of how they may now judge her, and it was entirely his fault.  He hated himself for not thinking before he spoke.  He wished he would have just sat without speaking a word until they had reached their destination.  All he had managed to do was upset her and make her cry. 

Not only did I hurt her again,
he reminded himself painfully,
but I have crushed any chance I had to get close to her,
he concluded as he recalled how her hand felt on his just minutes ago.

Kade’s mind struggled to figure out a way to fix this disaster.  How could he make her look better in his parent’s eyes?  It had been only one guy, one time.  That had to be something.  He considered making this point to his parents but something in him knew that he should just stop.  Defeated, he slumped in his seat.

“My name is Darcienna,” she said.

“How long have you two been…,” Judeen started to ask and paused in midsentence, as though she was choosing her words carefully.  “…been traveling together?”

“Just one day.  Kade saved me from some of Morg’s monsters,” Darcienna said.  “They killed my teacher and were trying to kill me when he showed up with his dragon.  If it were not for him, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Kade thought he heard a slight tone of admiration and respect in her voice.  He dismissed it and continued to listen.  He was glad to hear her speaking again.  Judeen always did have the gift of talk.  Darcienna appeared to find conversing with his mother very easy.   Kade wished he had his mother’s talent.

“What were you studying?” Judeen asked.

“I was being taught to use powers gifted to me by Nature.  Those of us with the Gift are connected to nature.  It takes many years of practice and patience, but the rewards are well worth it,” Darcienna said with pride, starting to let the tension in her voice fade.

Kade smiled, despite himself.  He felt proud of her without even knowing why.  After a moment, he realized that she had worked as hard toward her studies as he had with his.  He admired her for her efforts and found himself wanting to tell her, but he did not want to interrupt the conversation.  Darcienna was sounding better and better by the moment.  He was not going to take the chance and bumble into a good thing, messing it all up as he was so good at doing lately.  Suddenly, Kade realized what his mother was doing and smiled.  She was trying to get Darcienna’s mind off what had just happened, and it was working.  He took a deep breath and let it out, grateful for his mother’s own special gift.

“Wouldn’t you say, Kade?” Judeen asked, waking Kade up from his thoughts.

“What?  I am sorry.  I wasn’t listening.”

“I was saying that all the work Darcienna has done is impressive, don’t you think?” Judeen said, drawing Kade into the conversation.

Kade was surprised and impressed with his mother’s tactics.  Never the less, it was working.  He decided to thank her later.

“Yes, she has put a lot of work into her studies.  You should see all she had to go through to become…” Kade paused as he searched for the word.

“An Essence Guardian,” Darcienna added.

“An Essence Guardian,” Kade repeated. “She can make things happen by just wanting them to happen,” Kade said excitedly.

“Yes, but you should see Kade!  What he can do is much more impressive than my few abilities.  The way he used lightning to kill the creature that attacked me was amazing.  He destroyed it easily,” Darcienna said with enthusiasm.

“Yes, but it was your shield that saved your life and your boys life, not to mention mine and my parents,” Kade said, enjoying the exchange.

“Yes, but without you, I would have been killed,” Darcienna said, truly trying to give him the credit.

“But, without you, I would have been killed by that blast from Morg.”

There was a moment of silence as Kade realized he was turned, facing her.  She looked down at her hands and a small smile quirked at the edges of her mouth, happy that most of the tension between her and Kade had evaporated.  Darcienna and Kade paused as they realized that Garig and Judeen were deep into a conversation of their own.

“They are a lot further along than I would have guessed for just meeting each other,” Judeen whispered.

“They fight like they are a couple and they don’t even know it,” Garig said as he chuckled.  “Were we like that when we first met?”

“I don’t remember.  I do remember that you were pretty feisty in those days,” Judeen said with a sly look in her eyes.

“Me?  I think it was you that was the feisty one,” Garig said as he laughed.

“You are the one who used to follow me around like a puppy dog, every time I would come to town,” Judeen said teasingly.

“Don’t flatter yourself.  You always wanted me to follow you,” Garig said and grinned at her.  “Well, you can’t blame me with the way you swung those hips every time you walked by.”

“No, of course not,” Judeen said with a little laugh.  “But then, I did know we were destined to get married after our first night alone,” she said as she blushed furiously.

Garig and Judeen stopped talking at the same moment, both noticing the silence.  They looked at each other and then quickly turned to see Kade and Darcienna hanging on their every word.  Kade grinned widely at them.

“Oh, don’t stop on our account,” Kade said as he laughed loudly.

“Yes.  I was rather enjoying this,” Darcienna said as she gave out a musical laugh of her own.

Garig smiled a genuine smile as he looked upon the face of his son.  It always made his heart sing to see Kade happy.  He joined in with the laughter, and pretty soon, all the passengers on the dragon were laughing to the point of tears.  After several long, sidesplitting moments, the group finally fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.  It was almost an hour later before anyone spoke.

“Kade, I would really appreciate it if we could stop.  My back and legs are killing me, and I am hungry.  Would you mind?” Darcienna asked.  The boy started to fidget and whine a little to support her request.

“I would agree.  I think my parents would like a chance to stretch their legs.”

“Yes,” Garig said.

“Please,” Judeen added.

Rayden was more than happy to stop.  He was breathing heavily but not to the point of exhaustion.  Kade smiled as he knew what would make this worth it for the dragon.  He turned to watch his parents from the corner of his eye as he addressed his oversized companion.

“Would you be hungry, by any chance?” Kade asked.  The dragon perked up instantly and Kade started to laugh.  He worked the Food Calling and tossed the chunk of meat to his friend.  Kade was ready for the dragon’s lightning quick reflexes as it launched itself at the food.  His parents were not.  Kade grinned to himself.  Garig flinched hard and almost fell on his butt as he scrambled back, while his mother gave a squeak and did fall on her backside.  The loud clash of teeth as it snapped up the meat made him smile.  Garig glared at Kade, knowing his son knew what to expect but conveniently forgetting to inform them.  Kade chuckled despite himself but tried to give them an innocent look.

“Kade, those are your parents.  That was not nice,” Darcienna scolded. 

“You never change, Son,” Judeen said as she shook her head, but there was a glint in her eye.  Kade knew she may not say it, but his sense of humor kept things interesting, if not fun.  It was never boring with him around.

Darcienna looked back and forth between Kade and his parents, trying to figure out the mood.  It did not take her long to see that this was something Kade’s parents were used to.  After seeing no real harm had come from this, and seeing that his parents were truly not angry, she grinned despite herself.

“Now, what was that?” Garig asked in awe as he pointed between Kade and the dragon.

“The food?” Kade asked casually.

“Yes.  What was that?” Judeen asked a little wide-eyed, also.

Darcienna seemed confused as she glanced from the apprentice to his parents.  Kade saw the look on her face and took a long breath and let it out, considering how much he should tell her.  She glanced questioningly at him and raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story.  I will explain later,” Kade said.

“Well, how about you sum it up for me right now?  If you don’t, I am sure you will conveniently forget to tell me,” Darcienna said. 

“Okay, okay,” Kade said as he held his hands up in surrender.

“The short story of it is that I was taken from my home at around the age of ten and I have not seen my parents since.”  He turned back to Judeen and Garig, who were waiting for him to answer.  Darcienna’s eyes widened at this news, and she realized that there was, indeed, too much story for him to tell right then.