Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series (36 page)

“Now Legon, you wanted to know more about your
father. He was an Elf, obviously, and he held a high place in
society. He was a good man.”

This wasn’t what Legon was looking for. He put the
question to Arkin, knowing the response that it would cause. “Was
he ascended?”

Arkin spluttered for a moment. “Why would you
ask?”

“If I am to be the destroyer of power, I must have
come from good stock, right?”

“You are more than what you were born with.”

“I am aware of that, but there are things that we
are
born with. So tell me, was he ascended?”

“Yes.”

There was a collective gasp that ran through them.
Legon felt oddly saddened by this news. Up to this point he hadn’t
been sure what he thought of this prophecy. It seemed to him that
if his dad was just a regular Venefica then maybe that’s all he
would be after all. But his father was ascended, and that might
mean someday Legon would be as well.

No. His mother was human, and surely that would
prevent him from that change. Sasha gently ran her thumb over the
top of his hand as she held it. She didn’t need the connection to
feel his reaction to this news, no matter how expected it was. The
others were silent, waiting for Legon to talk. The sun was peeking
over the horizon, softening the air. The sky was turning to warm
oranges and reds.

“And what class was he?” Legon asked

“Seven,” Arkin responded.

“And how was he killed?” Legon asked in a calm
voice.

Arkin shifted as he sat. Legon knew that, as he had
earlier, Arkin was attempting to draw strength from the litany.

“His party was ambushed by two dragons and a small
ground force. He was in his Elven form when it happened, and even
though he transformed it was too late.” Arkin hung his head low,
looking at the ground. Sasha and Legon both had the realization at
the same time.

Legon asked another question “You were one of his,
weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And that is why you have taken this matter to heart,
isn’t it?”

“Yes, Un Prosa. I am fulfilling my orders that I was
left with, but also those of my heart.”

Arkin was much more than a carpenter after all. They
were sad for him. He had dedicated his life to a master that was
long dead and he had served with such faith and diligence. What was
the carpenter going to do now?

Legon wanted to know more. “And when we reach safety
and your duties are fulfilled, what will become of you?”

Arkin looked up at him with determination in his face
and a fanatic fervor that, in their combined memories, they had
never seen before.

“Your father was my Lord. And as I belonged to him,
so too shall I belong to you. I am under orders for now, but once
those are fulfilled and you are recognized, I will be under your
command.”

“You are willing to continue giving your life for
us?” Legon asked, for he was giving his life. It was easy to die
for a cause or a leader. It only took a moment of time. But to give
your life was truly hard because it required a constant sacrifice
that few could make.

“Until you have no need for me or I die, yes, I will
give,” Arkin said.

“
Most of our lives we feel as if the weight of the
world is on our shoulders, though we know it is not. Sometimes,
however, it is; so choose wisely.”

The gravity of Arkin’s pronouncement would have to be
considered later. Right now Legon knew that Arkin was in command
and he didn’t care to challenge it, though clarity of his situation
was coming as a result of finding out that he was the one spoken of
in the prophecy. The Queen was going to try and secure herself a
new kind of slave, despite his thought that it was unlikely that
the Iumenta would believe in prophecies. The Queen was intelligent
and would see the threat of having the people who resisted her, not
to mention her subjects, thinking that their time of deliverance
was at hand. But this principle could work in her favor. If she
managed to produce the real Everser Vald then it would solidify her
control in the empire and weaken the resolve and credibility of the
resistance.

Both sides had played a dangerous game. However, the
Queen was right to try and capture or kill him. As for the Elves,
their play was to see what direction he was going in, then, if need
be, take out the threat. With that in mind, he wasn’t sure if Arkin
would have been able to do it.

This was a call to arms. He needed to make a choice
of what he was to be, but the choice had already been made for him.
If he abandoned them to go off on his own, the Queen would gain at
least a small victory in that the resistance would have placed hope
in a false icon. Still, the resistance would make mistakes, and in
so doing would cause suffering and injustice. By standing with them
he would be marked with that blood and the blood of those that died
in his cause.

There was a pit in his stomach. No matter what choice
he made, people would die and there would be suffering. This wasn’t
just his decision, he realized. It was Sasha’s as well, and whether
he liked it or not she was now just as much a part of this future
as he was.

They were getting ready to leave camp. Sasha was busy
but he still brushed against her consciousness, looking for her
counsel. As they conversed, they agreed that he would make the
logical decision and that she would validate its ethics. She hated
to do this, but he knew that Arkin wasn’t lying when he said that
Sasha was the most pure person he’d met. It wasn’t going to be a
choice of whether to join the Iumenta or the Elves, but rather to
join the Elves or hide for the rest of their lives. She saw the
problems in both, but said that the right thing to do for the many
was to join the Elves. Logic said that they would die if they hid
and that many would die if they joined the Elves, but it also said
that the Queen would continue to enslave and kill her own subjects,
as well as try and conquer the resistance. It wasn’t a question of
the short term effects; either way had bloody results in the fairly
near future. The decision needed to be made for the far distant
generations. What choice was best for the unborn? What choice would
secure the lives of those who would not live for hundreds of years
to come? And would it be a world they would want to live in?

Sasha’s voice rang in his head. “This war will happen
with or without us, and even if we are picking the losing side,
this is the right call. It is better for us to have our hands
stained with blood trying to do the right thing than have them
stained with cowardice.”

He agreed with her and finished preparing to leave.
He had no doubt that the empire would be sending more people to
find them; it was just a question of when and who. If it were men
then they might be ok; they only had two days to go. If it were
Iumenta, they were dead, and if it was a Dragon… well, there was
always the hope that he would at least cause the foul creature to
get a stomach ache.

Humor aside, he did feel like they would make it. He
could always make the horses run fast again, but was hesitant
because even with magic they could only take so much. But now was
the time to act—of that there was no question. This was bigger than
both of them and he wasn’t going to let those he cared about down.
He had been kneeling over a bag and stood up much faster then he’d
intended, so fast it would have just been a blur to the others.
Arkin held out a hand.

“Sorry, I’m still getting used to this new me. It’s
an odd sensation feeling out of place in your own body.” Legon
said.

This wasn’t a lie. Before, physical things weren’t
hard for him. He was strong, but now if he wanted to do something
it just seemed to happen of its own accord. He had to be careful
when he walked so as not to look like he was running around the
camp. From the minds of the others he was aware that he was…well,
for lack of a better term, graceful. With the new and better sense
of balance and the ability to feel everything, he just moved
easily. Apparently it looked graceful to the others.

There were other differences, too. He could hear all
of their hearts beating, and feel the heat off their bodies. He
even swore he felt energy coming from them when they moved. He
noticed every detail now even to the point of seeing skin flush and
perspiration increase. He had seen some of that before, but not
like this; now he saw it all.

Sara was the oddest. He knew she found him
attractive; with the mental network there weren’t a lot of secrets
and Sasha had a big mouth when she thought she could set someone
up. But that being said, when he locked eyes with Sara he heard her
heart speed up and saw blood rush to her face. Did that always
happen to girls? Maybe it did and he could just see it now, but it
was uncomfortable. Her thoughts about him were…well, she hid them
well, but apparently she was happy with the new him.

He felt his own skin getting warm and focused back on
Arkin. Arkin chuckled a bit, which he was glad to hear. “I imagine
it is uncomfortable getting used to a new body.”

Legon decided to change the subject. “Ok, well I
think we best get a move on. We will have company soon I’m sure.
Arkin, lead the way.”

“With pleasure.”

And with that Arkin began issuing commands, telling
them what to bring and how to pack it. Soon they were loaded up and
ready to go. Arkin then took a few moments to teach Legon a few
blocking wards. They were complex and they used a lot of magic when
tested, but they held off most attacks, leaving Arkin to deal with
the more detailed wards. Sasha stepped up to them timidly. Arkin
looked concernedly at her.

“What is it, Sasha?” he said, not unkindly.

“I have, well, Sara and I have something to show
you.”

Keither stopped what he was doing to look at the two
girls.

“What is that?” Arkin asked

She held out her hand and produced a strong ruby
flame, and then in turn Sara conjured a weaker silver one. They
stood waiting for Arkin’s response.

The ability to see stuff was handy. Legon’s mind flew
now and while the others didn’t see it, he saw three emotions cross
Arkin’s face in a heartbeat. First there was shock, which was
understandable, then concern, and finally confusion. The carpenter
had no clue what was going on, but he recovered fast.

Arkin spoke. “Amazing. When Legon turned you must
have been given the ability to use magic through the mental
network.”

“But what does it mean?” Sasha asked.

“I have no clue. This is way beyond my understanding.
Sasha, you are obviously more powerful, so you will take an
offensive approach with Legon if needed. Sara, you will as well,
but pick your shots with care.”

Legon separated Sasha from the group and gave her a
huge hug. She returned it. He tightened his grip the way their
father used to whenever he gave them bear hugs as kids.

“What was that for?” Sasha asked him.

“I’m just happy that you’re all right. I want to
thank you for being my ‘influencer’. You’re going to make a great
Venefica, I just know it. Think of how many sick people you’ll
help.”

Legon knew how much she enjoyed being a healer. It
was something that she had always wanted to do. Laura had to almost
restrain her from helping sick people in town. He let go of her.
She smiled warmly at him and walked to Murray.

* * * * *

Arkin mounted Phaedra. He was feeling much better now
that everything was out in the open. Sasha was reestablishing the
mental network in preparation for leaving. There were now four
Venefica and one non-user which, provided there wasn’t an Iumenta
Dragon sent, put them in an excellent position. Yet more benefits
of the network made themselves known to him. Even though Sasha and
Sara had no magical training, they felt Legon use spells and, more
important, had both his and Legon’s knowledge if needed. Both of
them could fight and Arkin wouldn’t even need to teach them.

Arkin saw a flicker of purple surround them all,
indicating that Legon had activated his wards; this was followed by
green from his own. Before he had been using more passive
concealment spells, but the ones in place now were meant for
combat. With the network in place, most would be hard pressed to
get past all of them.

He waited for Legon to check that the coast was
clear. He marveled at just how adept Legon was with accessing the
minds of hawks and eagles. They were clear and started to move out.
Legon kept a firm connection with the birds in the area. This would
be a tell-tale sign to other Venefica, but it gave them more time
to run. They had about two days to go, and if they played their
cards right, the army would be unwilling to follow them after about
a day. By that point they would be too close to the border. The
border itself didn’t hold some unseen power over the enemy, but
rather the human and Elven forces that were just beyond it. The
Dragon patrols didn’t hurt either.

They moved quickly from grove to grove. He laid down
a spell to help reduce the dust from the horses. It would have been
nice to do this in the dark, but time wasn’t on their side right
now.

“Besides, we can’t see in the dark,” he told himself.
Then he thought about it some more. “Well, most of us can’t.”

Legon would be able to see clearly in all but the
darkest nights, his night vision even surpassing that of the
horses. Arkin felt Phaedra’s excitement. There was a bond between
them and she always matched how he was feeling.

Soon the sun was high in the sky and he felt his
forehead burn. These southern lands were hot and after his
nineteen-year exile he wasn’t used to them. They would push on
until ten or so tonight and then they would rest for a while and
start back up. With this pace they would be in the clear by
tomorrow night.