The Divine Path (The Divine Series) by Allen J Johnston

did he think he felt it? 
    Kade twisted and the counter pressure that had been pressing down on the amulet was gone instantly.  He let it dangle from his neck as he panted while on his hands and knees.  He looked at Morg and saw that the man was shaking with immense effort, but why?  What was he doing?  And again, there was another sliver of logic.  His anger faded and then things clicked into place.  He slowly stood, and after spitting a good amount of blood, laughed.
                  “This is not real, is it?” Kade asked, taunting the evil Chosen.  “This is my dream, or a trance, or something other than the real world, isn’t it?”  He was very conscious of the amulet, but now he knew he needed to keep it around his neck.  “You are not really here.  That is why you keep asking where I am and how I got here,” Kade said, filled with confidence as he walked up to Morg, looking him in the eye.  The Master Chosen shook with rage as he glared back.  “You have no idea,” Kade said as he threw his head back and laughed in Morg’s face.  Kade knew he might regret it, but he just could not help himself.  He had figured out Morg’s game, and he wanted him to feel the sting of being defeated in this battle of wits.  The pain might feel real, but he won this round.
                  “Oh, I can still make you suffer,” Morg said as he snarled and swung the staff.  The pain was excruciating.  The last thing Kade saw was the twisted smile on Morg’s face that was mixed with rage and hate.  The man was beaten this round but not before he inflicted his fair share of suffering.
                  Kade ground his teeth, trying to withstand the agony.  It racked his body for what seemed like forever but was closer to mere seconds.  It slowly faded to be replaced by the sound of Darcienna’s voice.  His vision returned, and with that, she came into focus.  She had tears streaming down her face.  Her eyes were blazing bright blue but rimmed in red.  He looked up at her weakly and gave a slight smile.  She hugged him fiercely and sobbed.
    “Kade,” Darcienna cried as she held him tight ly.  There was fear and terror in her voice.  He winced at the pain that should have been in his ribs.  But, there was none.  The more he awoke, the further the pain faded.  “Can you hear me?” she asked as she moved back only far enough to look him in the eyes.
                  “Yes,” Kade said as he took a deep breath and reached up, putting his arms around her.  He needed to feel her, to know she was there, to know this was the real world.  Her eyes started to quickly fade to their natural color.
                  The dragon shoved between them with his nose and huffed at Kade worriedly.  Rayden was not going to be put off a second longer.  The connection between him and the dragon slammed into place and everything was back to normal.  Deep concern flooded through the link.  Kade let go of Darcienna and patted Rayden on the muzzle to reassure him.  Darcienna wiped the sweat from his brow with her sleeve as she checked him over for injuries.
                  “What happened?” Darcienna asked through the tears as her sobs started to slow.
                  “I am not really sure,” Kade said as he sat up and looked around.  “I was lying here next to the fire, or I thought I was,” he said as he scratched his head, “when Morg appeared out of…,” Kade was saying when Darcienna cut him off.
                  “You saw him?” she asked in a rush.
                  “Yes.  He appeared out of nowhere and started to question me as to where we were.  He hit me several times, and it hurt.  It hurt badly.  It felt so real.  The pain was so intense,” Kade said as he ran his hand over his head to feel for lumps.  There weren’t any.  “I thought that Morg had taken