The Divine Unleashed (Book 3)

by Allen J Johnston

  Darcienna’s shield popped into existence right before Kade’s eyes. He turned to see an earth creature swing something heavy at them. The shield took one hit and was gone. Darcienna was in no shape to keep this up but she had made the difference. She was exhausted, but Kade was another story. He grinned eagerly. It might even be accurate to say he grinned evilly.

  “You are going up into the tree where it is safe,” Kade said as he put his hands on her hips and propelled her up into the tree. She landed with an “Umph” on a branch and latched on.

  Kade quickly back peddled to avoid the next attack and tripped over a root. He fell and then rolled just as the creature’s club slammed into the spot he was just occupying. He came up with the piece of wood in his hand and blocked the next swing. The ancient artifact showed no signs of breaking and Kade easily had the strength to absorb the hit. That was it. That was the best chance this creature had of prevailing, and now, it was his turn. His blood boiled as he spun in a circle and swung the staff with all his might. The creature shattered, breaking in two. The staff hardly slowed as it passed through the Alluvium. Had the creature taken on the rock form it was capable of, it may have survived, but it had not reacted quickly enough to Kade’s counterattack.

  “So, it does hit as hard as a house,” Kade said as he spared a glance for Darcienna. He spun to face the bulk of the army and let his hate explode. “You will all die!” Kade screamed, eager to kill as he raised the staff and let lightning after lightning explode into the air. The first several bolts were just to get their attention. He wanted them to see who was going to end their miserable lives. The next were to maim, kill and destroy. Blood flew everywhere as he alternated between calling on the Divine and flat out crushing skulls with the deadly piece of wood. Kade preferred crushing skulls so he could physically feel the life being ended through the staff. He was careful not to hurt the dragon, Ven, Doren, if he still lived, or any spiders, but beyond that, anything that moved died.

  Kade was soaked with blood of many different colors. The lizard’s blood was blue, while the bird-like creatures was red. The earth creatures had dark, brown blood that was like mud. It did not matter. They were going to die, whatever the color. The ground was going to flow with it. The staff was coated with the liquid life force, but Kade continued to swing.

  The spiders renewed their attack. For any creature that got too close to a tree, it would be quickly ensnared and lifted into the branches. Shortly after, it would fall to the ground, dead. The trees were alive with spiders. Every tree in the area had spiders. Kade instantly understood why his clutch was still in this fight. The spiders on the ground would engage and then back up to the tree as if they were cornered. Their clutch mates would then pull them up. It was simple and effective. But, even with this clever ploy, had Kade not returned, they would have been beaten. But, he did return, and the spider’s morale shot through the roof as they fought with a vengeance. Their savior was there and this alone was enough to erase any fear as they fully engaged the enemy.

  Kade stopped for a moment, panting hard. There was nothing but dead creatures surrounding him. Some were smoking from the lightning but most were in pieces with crushed skulls. When Kade wanted to see them suffer, he would call on the Blue Fire of the Divine and let them burn to death. He basked in their screams as they died in droves. He was pure rage as hate filled him.

  Kade turned to see the dragon flanking the grimalkin, lunging in and back out again. The creature was struggling to turn with its opponent. Its hind end was smoking and its right, back leg struggled to work. It cried out pitifully but there was nothing close enough to come to its rescue. At least…nothing that Kade saw.

  The body of Morg was hanging off the dragon’s back now as the cocoon swung wildly. Kade watched in horror as a massive creature emerged from around the mountain. It oriented on his dragon and charged. Kade screamed a warning through the link. Rayden leapt out of reach of the grimalkin as he whirled to meet the new challenge.

  “Kade!” Darcienna yelled as she pointed at the huge beast bearing down on Rayden. “Another dragon!”

  Kade’s eyes went wide with panic and his heart raced out of control. He quickly raised the Ancient staff, and just as he was sending a blast at the massive, green and black dragon, Rayden leapt in the way. The bolt was already firing. Kade twisted slightly and the blast sizzled through the air just over both dragons’ heads.

  Rayden and the new dragon that was half again as large came together and tangled. Kade could not get a shot off as the dragons spun. He feared for his friend. He expected, at any moment, that the larger dragon would tear into Rayden easily, but it did not happen. They spun around each other in some sort of dance, but neither attacked. After four or five rotations, the giant dragon started to back away as Rayden pursued. Rayden was furious. Kade could feel the rage through the link. Never before had he felt this much anger from his dragon. Rayden was directing the fury at the larger dragon, who was looking left and right for escape. Kade glanced at Darcienna who appeared to be just as mystified.

  “Kade?” Darcienna asked, still trying to make heads or tails of the situation.

  The apprentice just shrugged his shoulders and stared in awe. Darcienna’s shield popped into existence right in front of his face, startling him. He jumped back and then turned to see a creature backing away quickly. It turned to run. The shield disappeared and Kade raised the staff and fired. He did not care if it was retreating. He would not have cared if it was down on its knees begging for its life. Enough was enough. If they wanted to continue to attack him after knowing who he was and what he could do, then so be it. He felt no remorse as the fire enveloped its target. They tried to take his life and that meant they forfeit theirs. He was sure Darcienna was going to have a chat with him about not killing when it was running, but the time for being compassionate was past. The creature screamed in agony.

  Kade dispatched several more creatures that were not smart enough to run for their lives. Morg’s army was thinning by the moment. The spiders from the trees descended like death from above. There were only a scattering of creatures now. The spiders hunted then quickly, driving them to the ground and filling them with venom.

  Several spiders ran up to Rayden, happy to see the dragon. The larger dragon flared its wings and prepared to attack. Rayden placed himself between the spiders and the larger dragon, snapping at the green with a crashing of teeth. It shook its head as it looked between the spiders and Rayden. The beautiful, silver dragon circled the larger dragon once more while the green tried to retreat. Rayden gave a continual stream of guttural grunts, growls and hisses. The green became agitated as it fought to understand what was happening. Rayden gave several more vehement guttural sounds and then returned to Kade’s side. The green slowly turned and looked at the grimalkin. Green looked back at Rayden one more time and shot back in the language of dragons. Rayden took a couple of steps toward Green, responding to it, and then the large dragon rounded on the grimalkin with a vengeance.

  Rayden turned his back on the green dragon and trotted toward Kade with Morg hanging sideways off his back. The webbing was coming loose. The grimalkin wailed in fear as the green and black dragon started to stalk it. Rayden and the grimalkin might be an even match but this was obviously not. Even the grimalkin knew this was the end for it as it tried to turn and run for its life. The green dragon leapt into the air with a mighty roar, its wings expanding to blot out the sun, and then it came down on the grimalkin’s back with its claws extended, driving it into the ground. The cat-like creature turned, desperately fighting for its life, but the dragon drove its teeth deep into the grimalkin’s throat and tore. And with that, it was over before it even began.

  “It is about time you made yourself useful,” the dry voice of Doren said from the direction of the cave.

  Kade slowly turned to see Doren walking toward them. There was blood down the front of his clothes and his left arm hung limp at his side with an ugly gash that ran from his shoulder
to his elbow. Kade ran up to Doren and let a flood of healing fill the Chosen. Doren closed his eyes and soaked up the relief as the pain evaporated. Every wound closed up instantly and Doren gave a deep sigh of relief. He opened his eyes and locked onto the staff. Before he could demand that the apprentice hand it over, Kade spoke quickly.

  “We should seek the Ancients’ wisdom on what to do next,” Kade said as he turned away from Doren.

  The Master Chosen grunted but did not pursue the matter further. Kade was certain that the only reason Doren let it go was because the Master Chosen expected to have the staff shortly. Kade walked up to the tree with Doren close behind. He leaned the staff against his shoulder and held his hands up toward Darcienna. She hesitated a moment and then slid off the branch to be caught in his arms. The staff started to fall but Kade grabbed it. Although he did not see it, he was certain that Doren had started to move.

  The Master Chosen saw Morg hanging off the side of the dragon and grunted again. Kade was not sure if it was in contempt for the injured man all trussed up in webbing, or for Kade’s careless manner in which he treated the evil Chosen. Either way, he just did not care.

  Kade walked up to Rayden and patted him on the side as he approached Morg. Doren fallowed closely. The evil Chosen had sick covering his face. Kade grinned, feeling not even one bit of sympathy. He glanced at Doren and did a double take as the Master Chosen glared hard at him.

  “You find this amusing?” Doren asked dryly.

  “And I am supposed to feel sympathy?” Kade growled, pushing his luck.

  Darcienna walked up and put her hands around Kade’s arm. Her nails dug in hard. Kade cast a glance at her, wondering what he might have done wrong and flinched. She had daggers in her eyes as she glared death at the Master Chosen. Kade realized that she was digging in her nails in an attempt to control her temper, but it was failing miserably. He cringed, seeing another verbal lashing coming for Doren. He may be powerless as an apprentice but she was Darcienna and nothing got in her way, if it knew what was good for it.

  “He may have committed evil acts, but he is a Master Chosen,” Doren said much more civilly. “He will have to atone for his crimes,” he said as he kept from making eye contact with Darcienna. His arrogance was still there, but he made sure not to direct any of it at Kade as he spoke. “Remove him from the dragon.”

  Kade tried to pull the webbing free and failed. It was firmly affixed to the dragon’s side. Doren barely hid an eager grin as Kade grabbed just a small strand with one hand, and with considerable effort, was able to break it. Kade turned toward the white queen who had just joined them.

  “Can you free him from the dragon?” Kade asked.

  “It will be no difficulty at all,” Rakna said as she bit down on the webbing. It easily parted. The grin faded from Doren’s eyes.

  Morg was awake and glaring at any and all who dared look at him. He stopped looking around and his eyes affixed to the one thing he desired more than life itself. Kade did not need to see to know the man was locked onto the staff. His expression was of longing and desire. This staff was everything to the Chosen. Kade felt a slight twinge of pity for Morg and hated himself for it. The evil man deserved nothing but torture for the suffering he had caused.

  “It will do you no good to hold onto the hate,” Doren said as he saw the look in Kade’s eyes.

  “So many have died at his hands,” Kade shot back.

  “Yes,” Doren said. He offered no more.

  Before Kade could say another word, Darcienna turned pale and closed her eyes. She turned and got sick again. Kade put his hand on her, but before he could call on the healing, she pushed him away and stood up.

  “Darcienna?” Kade asked.

  “I don’t know,” Darcienna said as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Maybe I am still not fully recovered from that travel,” she said as she shook her head. The color returned to her cheeks.

  The green dragon finished tearing the grimalkin to shreds and cautiously approached the group. All turned to see the massive dragon as it slowly slid closer. If Kade did not know better, he would have thought that the dragon was stalking them. But, after seeing the interaction between Rayden and the green, it was clear that it was just approaching with uncertainty.

  Rayden turned and trotted over to the dragon. They exchanged several hisses and guttural sounds and then Rayden returned to Kade’s side. The green edged closer, clearly not comfortable and stopped almost a hundred feet away. Kade stared in awe. Two dragons in one month and both of them were right here.

  Kade glanced at the tunnel as he considered his next move when he got the light touch on his mind that he was all too familiar with. He looked at Rayden and rolled his eyes. He was shocked that the dragon wanted food at that moment. It was even fair to say he was speechless as he shook his head in wonder. But, Rayden had earned his right to make this small request after all he had done.

  Kade was readying himself to call on the food when he remembered the staff. Would it have this symbol carved into it? he asked himself. Kade grinned and closed his eyes. Sure enough, the food materialized instantly. Kade smiled from ear to ear. No more cooking, he thought with immense relief.

  Rayden eagerly snapped up the steaming, hot meat. Kade smiled, visualizing a massive chunk of food. The Divine fizzled and was gone. Shocked, Kade closed his eyes and called on the Divine only to find that he was still unable to draw on the vast, unlimited amount. Fine, he thought to himself as he conjured piece after piece of meat in rapid succession. It was a much appreciated improvement compared with how he used to cook. Kade had well over twenty pieces of meat lying in a pile within seconds. Rayden was drooling, eagerness flooding the link. Kade stepped back and nodded his head. It was more the mental command to eat than the nod, but it still looked impressive to any who watched.

  The green looked on curiously as its nose worked rapidly, inhaling the scent. Kade watched as it started to drool. He created a piece of meat and tossed it to the dragon. It flinched back and let the food fall to the ground. Cautiously, it put its muzzle close to the tasty morsel and inhaled the scent. It gingerly picked it up in its teeth as it watched Kade, uncertainty in its eyes. It chewed the food slowly, tasting the flavor and then swallowed. Kade grinned as he called another piece of meat into existence. He tossed it, and again, the dragon let it hit the ground. But this time, it did not take long for Green to pick it up and chew several times before swallowing.

  Kade found himself enjoying this, especially since he was not worried about this dragon eating him. Well…he believed it would not eat him, but the way Rayden was acting.... He had to remind himself that this dragon was wild, but with his dragon close by and the staff in his hands, he did feel considerably safer than he would have otherwise. He called on another piece of meat and tossed it in the air. The green caught it, held it in its mouth for a moment and then hungrily swallowed it. Kade called another piece and tossed it, but this time, he tossed and it landed short. The green took a step closer, picked up the meat and swallowed, barely chewing. Kade called another and tossed it even closer. The green took another step and snapped up the meat. Kade called another one and held it out.

  “Kade,” Darcienna hissed. “That’s enough. You don’t know what it will do,” she said as she eyed the dragon cautiously. It reeked of power. Its presence was overwhelming as it loomed over them. Bats started to flutter in her stomach.

  “She speaks wise words, Apprentice,” Doren added, but the way he said it was…not convincing. It was almost as if he had ulterior motives for being okay with this foolishness.

  Kade could not resist as he extended the food. The dragon’s nose worked furiously. It took a step as it waited for Kade to toss the meat. The apprentice held it out with no intentions of throwing. The dragon took another hesitant step as it eyed the tasty morsel. Rayden stopped chewing. The beautiful, silver dragon was ahead and to Kade’s right with just a few pieces of meat left. Its back had been to the green as the large dragon approac
hed, but now, Rayden turned to watch the massive killing machine intently. Kade held out his hand as far as he could without taking a step. The dragon stretched its neck, but it was not close enough. It took another step as it stretched toward the food. Rayden turned to stone as every muscle in his body tensed. He eyed the green hard, the food in his mouth all but forgotten. The dragon stretched even more. It almost appeared that if it leaned any further forward than it was, it would topple from being overbalanced.

  “Kade,” Darcienna hissed in warning.

  The apprentice grinned to himself as he continued to hold onto the meat. The green huffed and pulled its head back, but its eyes never left the food. It moved closer and then stretched its neck out once more. Its wings unfurled slightly and quivered. Kade was certain it was an instinctual habit for dragons when they readied themselves for action. He was betting that it was an action that would not end with him losing a hand, but…it would be a lie to say he was not at least a little nervous. He held the meat by the very end, and the dragon, once again, reached out inch by inch as it closed on the food. The chunk of meat was just short of two feet long, so Kade knew this was a bad idea, but he just could not help himself. If that green lunged, it could take his entire arm off with just one snap.

  “Apprentice, you have had your fun. Now feed it and let it go,” Doren said as the Master Chosen stepped back from the massive form that was casting a shadow so large that it covered them all. This time, the master sounded like he meant it.

  Kade heard the stern words given by Doren, but again, just could not resist. Morg grinned, hoping the unheeded warnings would prove to be a disaster. The green stretched closer, yet. Rayden flexed his leg muscles, and his wings fluttered slightly. The closer the green got, the more Rayden’s lips started to twitch. The silver dragon slowly edged toward the green as it inched closer to the meat. Rayden let out a deep rumble as he continued to close in on the green, but the massive dragon seemed to not hear the threat as it put its nose on the meat. It inhaled rapidly and then its lips started working as it tried to take the food. Kade loosened his grip. The green pulled the piece of meat into its mouth and backed up rapidly. It swallowed while barely chewing.