‘But it isn’t enough! With that power, they could change the world!’
Both fell silent as neither found they could say anymore. It had been the first time they had raised their voices to one another in an argument, and the innocence they had both held onto fondly felt lost. The next moments gave birth to an awkwardness that was new to them as the sacred connection was lost. Jaden sat down where he was as his grandfather turned to the wall, refusing to look at him, but he was the first to break the silence.
‘I am afraid,’ he started slowly, ‘that you may not have a choice.’
Jaden took his time before saying anything in return. ‘Why not?’
‘The Daijuar may be your only hope to survive.’
Jaden paused again in thought. ‘Then I will die.’
‘Come now, child,’ said Vennoss warmly, ‘you cannot mean that. You are young and your wounds are fresh. Do not be so quick to judge. Besides, I have another solution.’
Jaden looked up as his grandfather walked to him and offered him a helping hand.
‘Let us go to the temple. I will explain on the way.’
Jaden stared at the hand for some time, thinking of what his grandfather had in mind. When he could not think of anything, he took the hand and stood up, and they began their walk back down the slope.
‘Do you like it here?’ asked Vennoss, pushing the trees aside again.
‘It is not Callibra,’ said Jaden.
‘No,’ said Vennoss, ‘but do you like it?’
Jaden shrugged. ‘It’s peaceful.’
‘How would you like to stay here for two, maybe three years? There is plenty of food and water, and you will be sheltered from the wars and elements.’
‘I’m going to join the Resistance,’ said Jaden simply.
Vennoss chuckled. ‘The Resistance, or someone else fighting the Alliance, will be there in the years to come. Another soldier is not going to make much difference, and you will not do them much good with your illness.’
‘Then what do you want me to do, Grandfather?’
‘I want you to get better. Accept the help of the Daijuar, and I will see if I can request that you remain here for some years while you recover.’
Jaden said nothing. Despite his decision to stay clear of the Daijuar, it seemed an attractive offer, and his grandfather was right, he wouldn’t be much help to the Resistance if he were at the mercy of the sickness. It had subsided a little since being inside the hollow, but he could remember clearly how he had felt when he was trying to keep up with Raquel. When he was unable to rest, it felt as if his entire body was failing, just as it would during battle. He would die a pointless death, not even fighting those who had taken his home, and so there would be no use in him being there. He would be a hindrance, not an asset.
His grandfather seemed to have guessed the answer, as without turning, he entered the temple doors with Jaden close behind him. They followed a small corridor leading to a brightly lit hexagonal room. There were stands in each corner, holding small spheres in their tops that were miniature versions of the one out in the hollow. The floor was tiled with the same stone as there had been at the benches, and in the centre was a highly decorated stone block of three layers, Daijuarn symbols inscribed on its base. Tarsha was lying upon it with Adonis and Blair standing on either side of her. As Jaden approached, he could see a light shining between Blair and Tarsha’s injured side. It was a white glow, accented with golden flares as they sparked from Blair’s hand in a steady rhythm and floated gradually into Tarsha’s wound.
Jaden was captivated by what he saw and almost hadn’t heard his grandfather call out next to him.
‘Adonis, he has agreed.’
Adonis nodded calmly and signalled for Jaden to follow him into one of the two separate doors behind him. Jaden looked once more to his grandfather for reassurance, and then followed the tall, dark-featured man into the next corridor. The corridor led to a tight stairway that descended deep into the mountain, winding around a single column with no more than a faint blue glow in the rocks to light their way. When the stairway did not seem that it would end, Jaden began to think more about the situation than where he was going, and he suddenly realised that he was walking behind an actual Daijuarn being. This could have perhaps been his first encounter, if Raquel was not Daijuarn. Strangely, he felt no different to normal. While this man was most likely very powerful, it had little to no effect on Jaden, unlike his encounter with Raquel. She may not have had any power at all, and yet she somehow seemed more powerful than this Daijuarn man. Whatever the case, it was nothing like he had expected, and he concluded that he may have had the Daijuar all wrong. Perhaps now he could get some answers.