The Divine Unleashed (Book 3) (33 page)

“It is time for me to return.  We will talk again.  Just know I am safe,” she said as she gave Darcienna one last hug and then stepped back to the edge of the arch.

“I miss you,” was all Darcienna could say.

“I miss you, too.  Keep him safe,” Jorell said as she cast a glance at Kade.  “Even if it is from himself,” she chided.  The sadness Darcienna felt lifted slightly at her teacher’s joke.  She gave a chirp of a laugh.  “And you take care of her,” Jorell said to him as her smile waivered slightly.  Kade got the feeling there was more in that warning than she was letting on.  He opened his mouth to ask what it could be when Jorell held up a hand, forestalling any more questions.  “Soon, Kade, soon enough you will understand.” 

As she stepped back, her smile faltered.  Kade stopped as his mind captured the look on her face.  It was worry that he saw in her eyes. 
But, why worry?
he thought to himself as he glanced at Darcienna. 
What did she not tell us?
he pondered as he turned slowly to see Darcienna staring after her teacher.  He glanced back, eager to see his grandfather one last time, but the arch was empty.  The vision of Jorell floated back into his mind.

*CH8*

“Thank you, Kade,” Darcienna said as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Had she seen the look in his eye, she would have been concerned and most likely would have forced him to confess his worries, but she didn’t.  His head was on her shoulder as he studied the arch.  He replayed in his mind the last few seconds as Jorell faded from view.  He was certain there was concern there.

Darcienna stepped back, and Kade hoped she would not see the worry.  She smiled broadly as she turned to look at the arch one last time.  Kade was deeply relieved.  He did not want to upset her when she had finally found peace.  This was her time to be happy.  With all that she has gone through, he was not about to ruin it with what had to be just an overactive imagination.

The two walked up the tunnel without saying a word.  Each was in their own thoughts as they pondered their recent interactions.  He replayed Zayle’s words over and over in his head, and his chest swelled by the moment. 

Adept,
he thought to himself as the worry melted from his heart.  I have to be the first Adept in decades.  He could not remove the smile from his face as he exited the cave.

Kade looked around and flinched as a large, winged, black creature popped into existence as it flew directly at him.  Spiders everywhere started to buzz wildly.  His heart pounded hard several times as Ven shifted in the air, changing into the form of a monkey and then dove for him.  The shapeshifter grabbed him around the neck as it landed squarely on his shoulder.  Kade stumbled momentarily before getting his balance.

“Hello to you too, Ven,” Kade said as he gave her a pat on the back with one hand and placed the other over his chest, feeling his pounding heart.

Kade turned to see Morg still trussed up tightly with no sign of his previous arrogance.  Doren was studying the evil Chosen thoughtfully with his chin in his hand.  For just a second, Kade felt a twinge of sympathy for Doren.

How can I blame him for wanting what I also found almost impossible to let go?  Doren did play a huge role in helping us win the war.
He took a breath, knowing he might regret this and then asked his question.

“So, how did you know that Morg would not be a threat?”  Doren’s mood improved slightly as he puffed out his chest.  Kade could swear his head swelled as he watched.

“Would you mind releasing our prisoner?” Doren asked of Rakna.  The white queen glanced at Kade.  Before he could answer, Doren prompted her again.  Kade took an uneasy breath and then shrugged his shoulders.

“As you wish,” Rakna said as she easily bit through the webbing.  

Morg stretched for several long moments as he worked the kinks out of his muscles.  He kept his eyes hidden as a smile crept across his face.  Kade got a sick feeling in his stomach as he took a step back.  The Adept could feel Morg drawing deeply on the Divine, but for some reason that he could not fathom, Doren just stood and calmly stared at the man.

“Now you will pay!” Morg screamed as he spun into action.  His arms flew out and then…he froze. 

Doren smiled that smug smile of superiority as he feigned indifference.  Morg stood for a very long time, unmoving.  Kade felt his heart pounding like mad and realized he was holding the Blue Flame of the Divine in his hand.  He looked from Doren to Morg and then back to Doren again, trying desperately to figure out what was going on. 

Had Doren cast some sort of calling?
Kade asked himself.  No.  He had not moved one inch.  Doren turned casually to look at Kade with that condescending look and said, “He knows no callings.  How can he?  He has become so dependent on the staff that he has forgotten all that he has learned.  He is as dangerous as any normal man, but no more.  The only callings he will ever learn, from this point on, are the callings I let him learn,” Doren said as he cocked an eyebrow at the man.  Now, Morg had another crushing revelation bestowed upon him.  He could feel the Divine, and yet, could not use it.  This grown man sank to the ground as his knees buckled.

“You…intend on teaching him?” Kade asked incredulously, the blue flame fading away.

“I do not know what I plan on doing with him, but you can rest assured that he is no longer a threat.  As soon as the staff was taken away, he had nothing to covet.  We are no longer his enemy.  And if we are, he will find his way to the other side quickly,” Doren said in that elitist way of acting that only he had mastered.  Morg’s head came up quickly.  “If he were a smart man,” Doren said as he lorded himself over the broken Chosen, “he would know his best chance to escape the torture that awaits him is to work with us.”

Kade shook his head.  Never did he ever consider that this man would be allowed to do anything other than suffer for what he has done.  Kade just could not wrap his head around this new revelation.  He wanted no part of it.

“Is that wise?” Rakna hissed, clearly displeased with Doren’s plans.

“A dead man cannot atone for his sins.  He must put right that which he has made wrong.  He has decades of work to do.  Morg was once a brilliant man, but he lost his way.  He is still a Chosen,” Doren said as he sighed.

Ven slid through his arms and shifted into her birth form at the same time.  Kade took his hands off her waist and stepped back.  He stopped and watched as she studied the man.  For reasons he could not explain, he waited for her to speak, curious what she may say.

“He would not show you the same mercy, would he?” Ven growled. 

“Might you have books of knowledge, somewhere?” Doren asked, heading this off before it could get to far.  He appeared casual as he asked the question, but Kade knew there was nothing casual about the way he listened for the answer.  Morg stood weakly as he took an unsteady breath.

“All gone.  Burned up,” he said as he cast a glance at Kade.  Doren made a quick fist and then let it go.

“It was all destroyed when we escaped from the mountain,” Kade said.

Doren closed his eyes and tilted his head back, giving off the air that to deal with such inferior people was torture.  Kade rolled his eyes, looked at Darcienna and mouthed the words, “Kill me.”  Her hand shot to her mouth to stifle the laugh, but before it got there, she let out a squeak.  Doren eyed them suspiciously.

“I think we should get back to the Great Hall,” Kade said, changing the subject.

“Yes,” Darcienna said as she turned and pulled him away.

Kade stopped as his eyes came open wide.  There, not more than a hundred yards away, was Rayden…lying next to the green. 
They were getting to know each other quickly,
Kade thought.

“Rayden, we need to get back to the Great Hall,” Kade yelled to his friend. 

The dragon lazily got up, trotted over to Kade and laid down.  The green followed but kept its distance from people and spiders alike.  It appeared that Rayden was the only one it trusted.

“Kade, what about Morg?” Darcienna asked as they approached the dragon.  Kade paused to look back at Doren and Morg.

“He is no longer our concern.  If Doren wants to deal with him, then leave him,” Kade said as he turned to his dragon.  “Let’s go.”

“How is he going to get back to the Great Hall?” Darcienna asked as she glanced back at the two Master Chosen.

“We shall be coming with you,” Doren said.  Kade froze.  He turned slowly to stare at Doren.

“Rakna, could you please secure Morg once again and then help him onto the dragon,” Kade said firmly. 

Doren might be the Master, but if he wanted a ride back to the Great Hall on his dragon, it was going to be under his rules.  Doren sighed loudly, raised his finger in the air and spun it in three or four circles before letting it fall to his side.  What that meant was beyond Kade’s understanding, but he knew he did not like it.  He turned back to Darcienna and she winced, feeling his frustration with the Master Chosen.

Rakna was more than happy to wrap Morg in her webbing once again, and she was none too gentle about it, either.  It might have been a touch too tight, but Rakna was not about to loosen it.  Ven eagerly changed to her monkey form and swung up to hang around Kade’s neck.  The Adept casually wrapped his arms around her without realizing that it had become a habit that took no thought.  Darcienna glared at Ven but did not say a word.

The small group mounted and soon found themselves soaring into the air.  Kade looked back and saw the green close behind.  He tapped Darcienna on the knee and motioned to the massive, flying beast.  She turned and looked at it in surprise.

“You are the one who fed him,” Darcienna said accusingly.

“By the great Divine,” Kade said, as he thought about how much cooking he was going to have to do.  He flexed his hand around the staff that was no longer there.  He firmly resolved to figure out how to remove the block so he did not have to suffer through so much cooking.  He glanced back at the green and wondered how much it would take to keep that one fed.  Yes, he was definitely going to figure out how to remove the bock, even if it killed him.

They landed at the huge tree that the spiders called home.  Each rider dismounted and worked their way into the Great Hall, looking forward to the feast.  Kade and Darcienna continued through the expansive cavern and down the tunnel to their room.  The Adept walked in and fell onto the bed as he let his mind slow.  The room was quiet with the only sound being the babble of the spring just down the hall and around the corner.

Kade and Darcienna laid arm and arm for a while as they talked about the task of performing the last rights for Valdry or learning what had become of him.  Kade was not particularly comfortable with going to the Master Chosen’s home, but it had to be done.  He was just going to have to be smart about it and watch for any traps
.

Besides, there may be some books of knowledge there,
he told himself.  He froze, realizing he was thinking just like Doren.  No, this would not do.  He was not going to be hungry for knowledge to the point that it was all he thought about. 

Look what happened to Morg with all the power he had,
Kade thought critically. 
No, there was more to life than the search for knowledge and power.

After both felt they had had enough time to unwind, they got up, surveyed each other, seeming to notice how dirty they were for the first time and glanced around the room, hoping for a new set of clothes.  Sure enough, there in the corner on a mat were freshly made outfits.  They both picked up their shirts with matching pants and made their way to the spring, eager to be clean.  Kade stopped as he studied the water, dreading the cold.

“Just get in,” Darcienna said as her clothes started to hit the floor.

“Fine,” Kade said, but it was clear he was not pleased.  He was in and out of the water quickly.

The rest of the night was uneventful as they enjoyed the meal and the friendly interaction with the clutch.  The other kings and queens had returned to their own trees with their own clutches.  The night was relaxing, for the most part, with the exception of watching the queen suffer through her sorrow.

“Rakna is still upset with the loss of the king,” Darcienna said as she urged Kade in her direction.  The two approached the queen as she sat in her chair with the king’s empty chair next to her.

“Can we help?” Darcienna asked gently.

“I do miss Crayken dearly,” Rakna hissed softly as she looked at the throne to her left.  “But…there is more.  The link remains open.  I will not be able to stop other kings from sensing me and coming,” the queen said sadly.  “Maybe our custom should be observed,” she said with sincerity.

Darcienna gasped.  She looked at Kade and tilted her head in the queen’s direction, prompting him to say or do something to help.  Kade racked his brain, trying to figure out a solution to this and failed.  A sound off to his right caught his attention.  He turned, and there sat Morg surrounded by six spiders.  He was staring at the ground, his shoulders slumped.  Kade glared, but Morg did not notice.

“Bond with her,” Morg said again, almost too quietly to hear.

Darcienna turned to stare at Morg, gaping like a fish.  She slowly closed her mouth and turned to look at Kade.  The Adept was just as shocked, but the glare faded from his eyes as he turned to look at the queen.

“How?” Darcienna asked as she took a step toward the man.  Morg breathed in and then raised his head to make eye contact with her.  He was still a broken man with no spark.

“He can bond with her and close the link,” Morg said, still deeply depressed from his crushing defeat.  No one spoke for a long time.  Morg took another breath and then continued.  “I was trapped in that bloody mountain for decades,” he said as he attempted to cast a glare at Doren, but failed, empty of emotion.  “I had plenty of time to do a lot of reading.  One of the books I read was about the spiders.  Forgive me,” Morg said to the queen, “but it is how I knew that killing the king would destroy the clutch.  I learned that in a book.  I also learned that all she needs to do is bond again, and the link will close,” he said as he turned his attention back to Darcienna.