Page 92 of Cultivating Caden
An invisible force grabbed Caden and slowly, inexorably started drawing him out of the tree.
Ten? What… what are you doing?
The tree needs immense energy to survive. It doesn’t matter where it comes from.
A moment later, Caden was on his knees several yards from the tree. The spot he’d once occupied had been filled by his son!
“Ten, don’t do this,” Caden pleaded.
“It’s done, Poppa.” Ten grinned. “For the first time, I can’t see what’s coming. It’s kind of exciting.”
“No, Ten!” A’kosh hurled himself at the tree, slicing into it with claw and tooth. “Ten not do this!”
“Trust me, I’m doing what needs to be done.” He smiled at A’kosh. “Have a little faith in me, okay?”
Tears fell like crystals from A’kosh’s eyes as he put his hands on the tree. “Ten….”
The big demon rose from the ground, a wicked smile on his face. “It doesn’t matter who feeds the tree, only that it lives long enough for me to kill it.”
“That’s never going to happen.”
That voice. God, it washed over Caden, filling him with hope. He twisted toward it to find something… impossible. It was Quade, but not the one Caden knew. His wolf-human-hybrid form was verdant, a deep green not unlike the plants of Caden’s dreams. It jumped high into the air. It was a graceful leap that culminated in an amazing arc before Quade slammed down on top of the demon, smashing it into the ground. Quade bent over and held his brother tight.
“Unhand me, you filthy beast,” the demon snarled, doing its best to fight Quade off. But this Quade wasn’t the one the demon had bested. This new Quade was Caden’s half soul. No matter what the demon did, it wasn’t going to be enough.
Quade snarled as he slashed the demon over and over, the black blood spurting out onto the ground and sizzling the remaining scrubs of vegetation. He fought like a man possessed. When he drove his claws into the demon’s chest, Quade howled his fury to the skies.
“You threatened my family. My home. Now you’re going to find out what a mistake that was.”
The demon struggled, but against whatever it was Quade had become, it was a losing battle. It would die, but so would Ten. Caden reached out with all his senses until he touched the tree. He pleaded with it to turn Ten loose and take him, as they were meant to be together. With a cry, Ten was expelled from the tree, and Caden was wrapped in vines and drawn toward it.
“Now, Dad! It has to be now!” Ten cried out.
Quade rose to his feet and drove his claws into the demon’s face. He dragged him toward the tree, kicking and screaming.
“A thousand lifetimes ago, you killed someone I cared about. You were intent on doing the same thing to the man I love and the son I hold most dear. For what? Power? If that’s what you wanted, all you had to do was ask.”
With those words, Quade thrust the demon’s head into the vortex of the tree. The demon screamed, pleading for its life, but Quade stood emotionless as the swirling energies began to draw the demon in.
“A’kosh, do it!” Quade shouted.
A’kosh leaped forward, his claws driving into the vines that held Caden, slicing through them like so much paper.
“Your turn, Ten.”
Ten stood and held out his arms. Energy cascaded around him as the tree drew the last bit of the shrieking demon into itself.
“Poppa, think about what it is you want more than anything.”
And trusting his son, Caden did just that. His thoughts drifted, intent on undoing the damage that had been done by the demon. Where the grass and plants in the area had burned away, new sprouts bloomed, the colors unlike anything he’d ever seen on Earth. The air, poisoned by the death of A’kosh’s people cleared, with the sky once again becoming a deep russet color. He wasn’t done, though. They’d made a promise to A’kosh, and Caden was going to make sure it was honored. He pushed his powers even farther, as the people shimmered back into existence. There was still one thing that Caden wanted with his whole heart, and that was what he would do next.
“Wait. What are you doing?” Ten cried out. “Poppa, stop. You need to fix everything else. Fix your life.”
“Stupid kid,” Caden mumbled. “You are my life.”
Ten’s features softened, the bits of A’kosh he’d borrowed peeling away like sunburned skin, leaving Ten as Caden loved him. The twelve-year-old-boy who was not yet a man but had incredible powers and insights. The one who’d helped so many others and now needed a little help himself.
The son Caden had always wanted.
