Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series (29 page)

The last two and a half months had been some of the
most intense and wonderful in Legon’s life. He was growing stronger
with magic. Now he could heal small wounds, light fires without
shooting flames everywhere, and do a myriad of other things. Also,
the connection between him and Sasha was stronger. They could
communicate with their minds fully and had access to each other’s
knowledge. To their amazement and Keither’s disappointment, they
were able to handle all of Arkin’s questions now. When they asked
why they could suddenly handle all his questions, Arkin explained
to them that he’d been training them their whole lives with only
half the pieces, and now that they were able to combine their
knowledge, the training was made complete. Arkin called it mental
networking, explaining that it was how most parts of the Elven and
Iumenta governments were run—by literally putting their heads
together.

Arkin would talk to them now in their minds, so their
learning was progressing faster and faster. It was amazing what you
learned when you saw exactly what the teacher was trying to tell
you. With their increasing knowledge of the Mahann and Jezeer,
Legon was able to use the Jezeer to target and affect his and
other’s muscles or other biological things. Sasha’s development was
similar. Legon and Sasha had gotten to the point where their minds
never truly left each other. They may not have been able to see
exactly what the other was thinking, but they were always aware of
the other. This came in handy with Sasha’s episodes.

Legon and Sasha also found that not only could magic
enhance the people and animals around them, but hinder them as
well. When Sasha would slip into an episode Legon was able to keep
her body from hurting itself. The energy involved was great and he
couldn’t stop all of her convulsions, but she no longer sustained
injuries and didn’t need hours to recover after them. She still
lost visible consciousness, but she was awake and active in his
mind. That was, unfortunately, the bad part. Now Sasha was aware of
each episode and, more important, the pain of them. Before she
hadn’t been awake and had no recollection, but now she was keenly
aware of her body fighting itself, and Legon felt all of it.

He dipped a rag in the stream next to their camp. The
water was cool and refreshing as it ran over his fingers. They were
still heading south in a meandering path. Summer was in full force
and this part of the empire was hot and, to his distaste, humid.
The wet heat was oppressing, the air seemed to weigh down their
lungs and they were always covered in sweat. The land was flat now,
but they were in a dense forest and the scent of moss and earth
became more apparent.

There weren’t a lot of major waterways in this area,
so towns and villages were sparse. On occasion, there would be
large clearings or they would approach a co-op farming community.
The co-ops usually had no town center and the people in the area
tried to support one another. They were seldom bothered by bands of
robbers because the people really only had the food they grew and
tried to sell. Because of their meager belongings, these people
fought hard for their property. At any rate, many robbers at some
point in time, usually when they hit bottom, had worked for one of
these people. All in all, Legon liked most of the people in the
co-ops. They were usually kind and they banded together.

It was also rare for people to go into the Queen’s
care from these communities. The empire was in control of these
areas, but just barely. The openness of everything gave people
places to hide anything, like family members. In addition, the cost
of harassing the people in remote places like this was too high,
thus they were left alone for the most part.

Legon pulled the rag out and wiped down his face,
neck, and upper body. He felt a week’s worth of trail debris and
filth rub from him. They had been passing creeks for the last week,
but none of them were clean so they weren’t able to bathe at all.
This was one of the major discomforts of the road. Back home,
working with his father as a butcher, and Sasha working with his
mother as a healer, there had been strict laws about cleanliness.
Breaking those laws was expensive, so every day they cleaned
everything, from their workspaces to themselves. He normally did
this at the end of the day as a means of washing off the death of
his job, but still he washed his hands before work and after lunch.
On the other hand, as healers, Sasha and Laura washed after every
patient. Kovos also had grown into the habit of regular bathing,
not due to any laws but rather the desire to not look like he was
constantly rolling around in soot. Keither, on the other hand,
hated it, and Arkin had to force him to do it. It was as if the boy
thought that by getting rid of the grime from the road he was
somehow more susceptible to the elements.

Keither slipped on some moss and landed on his side.
Legon looked up at him.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“I cut my elbow! Dang it! I look like a moron,”
Keither said, exasperated.

He understood what Keither meant; it hadn’t taken a
genius to notice that Keither harbored feelings for Sara. This was
actually good. He wanted to prove himself and so he tried harder
with everything to impress her.

“Here, let me look at it.” Legon said.

“Oh, you don’t have to. I mean, it’s not that
bad.”

Legon chuckled. “I know you’re tough, but Arkin wants
me to fix everything with magic so I get better.”

* * * * *

Across camp, Sasha paused for a moment as she felt
Legon accessing information in her mind. This wasn’t uncommon for
either of them to do. Arkin wanted Legon to use magic to check
every injury and then heal it. While he had a detailed knowledge of
anatomy, he didn’t have knowledge of the healing arts like Sasha
did. Legon’s memory was perfect like her own, but there still was
no reason keeping all the information the other knew. Sure, they
would retain memories from each other that were basic and common,
but if they weren’t then why waste the space?

She went back to preparing some eggs in a cast-iron
skillet. Sara was humming to her left. Sasha smiled at her. The
last couple of months had been the best in her life. She knew that
it was odd to think that; they were on the run, living in tents,
and not talking to the rest of the world, but it was true. She
missed her parents and the valley, but other than that she
missed…well, nothing. People in Salmont had treated her like an
outcast and wished her harm, but not here, not these people. She
was with her best friend Sara, who was now free and happy, her
brother Legon, Arkin, who she thought was amazing, Kovos, and
Keither. Even Kovos treated her differently than before. He was
always nice, but the other day he came up to her and apologized for
thinking less of her for so many years. It took her off guard. She
knew that he was always a little nervous around her, but not
anymore.

Legon was inspecting an elbow. She broadened the
connection, but not to the point of seeing out of his eyes. She had
done that once and only once. It was last week when Legon and Kovos
had been bathing. Legon had been discreet about it and didn’t tell
anyone, but it still was a little awkward for her for the next few
days whenever Kovos touched her. S
till, Emma is a lucky
woman,
she thought. Her face flushed at the memory. Sara looked
at her and smiled.

“See anything good?” Sara winked. Of course Sasha had
told Sara.

“No, I’m not looking.”

“Ah, remembering, I see.”

“Oh shut it. Keither hurt himself and I was just
wondering.”

Sara tried to take an unconcerned tone. “Oh, what
happened?”

“Nothing, really. Legon thinks it’s just a
laceration. The humerus looks good and so does the
subcutaneous…”

“English, please.”

“Oh, sorry. He cut himself.”

“See, that was not hard at all, was it?”

Sasha stuck her tongue out and went back to the
eggs.

“We need to get you a man, Sash.”

“Yeah, because there’s a lot of great ones out here,”
she said, gesturing with her hands around them. “But you, on the
other hand…there’s Keither, or Legon.”

Sara laughed. “You’re not going to try and hook me up
with your bother again, are you?”

“Why not? He’s got a good trade, he’s part Elf, and I
may be biased, but he’s good looking too.”

“Yes, he is all those things, but no; I’ve had my
fill for a while. But you… let’s see, who is there?” Sara smiled.
“Kovos is taken, but… Arkin? Come on, the older man.”

“Yuck, Sara! He’s cute for his age I guess, but he’s
like my dad. So is this the part where you tell me that men age
like fine wine?”

Sara walked by her to get something out of the tent.
“Well, not everything ages well.” She winked at her.

“Oh that’s nice, Sara.” Sasha paused again feeling an
odd, amused feeling. She stomped on the ground.

Sara looked concerned. “What is it?”

“Dang it, dang it, dang it!”

Sara was alarmed in a flash. “What Sasha, what is
it?”

“I’m a moron. I didn’t close my connection with Legon
at all.” She was so mad at herself. She always did stuff like
this.

Sara paused for a moment. “He’s been listening?”

Oh course he was. How could he not? If she wasn’t
being a dunderhead she would have noticed the men talking as
well.

She huffed. “How could he not?”

Sara considered this for a moment and then she asked,
“Is he still there?”

“Yes.”

Sara raised her voice. “Bring back firewood.” She
smiled. “Nice Sash, very nice.”

* * * * *

Sara busied herself with breakfast. When the men
returned, she placed the new firewood in the pit. She looked over
at Keither, who looked away quickly. He obviously had a thing for
her. The thought of trusting a man was odd to her now. She knew how
to say what they wanted to hear and how to make them think they
were in love with her, but she had done that with lies. She hadn’t
cared about a single client. In fact, she hated each and every one.
They knew she was a slave, and for some reason they liked it. They
treated her horribly. Like that prick in Salez who had tried to
stop her from leaving. Oh, she remembered him. He was cruel and got
a discount because he was one of the Queen’s. The thing that
disgusted her about him was that he too was in the care, but had
shown aptitude at fighting so was placed in a special regiment. He
would get his someday. Those were the front-line men; most did not
make it long. Sara had needed to be good at what she did. If she
made the owner good money then she didn’t go to the barracks—to the
soldiers in the care and the others. She shivered on the inside
remembering them. Avoiding the barracks was worth talking a man out
of a week’s pay any day of the week.

She looked at Keither. There was nothing that was
physically appealing about him. He was young with no social skills
and also in need of a diet. At the same time, he wasn’t like most
men. Kovos and Legon weren’t either, but they were strong and
looked it. Keither was just a mind, and that was it. He was
harmless. He was also the type that would probably follow a woman
with puppy-like devotion, not because he was a romantic, but rather
because he suffered from low self-esteem. He would be simple to
manipulate, but due to his lack of status, money, or appearance it
was unlikely that anybody with a malignant disposition would fall
for him. But, that knowledge aside, there was a part of her that
wanted to protect him, to safeguard his innocence. It wasn’t
attraction she felt, but compassion. Could that change to something
more? She didn’t think so. She didn’t want to have to take care of
a man for the rest of her life, and unless Keither changed, that’s
what she would have to do.

Still, the thought of what Sasha said about her and
Legon…the Everser Vald.
“Don’t think that name,”
she said to
herself. Arkin would be angry if he knew she was dwelling on it.
She looked at Legon. What would it be like being with an Elf? He
was going to turn, that much was obvious. This wasn’t something she
knew much about, but Arkin had filled in some gaps. She pushed the
thought from her mind. It would be a horrible existence when she
thought about it. One would grow old, weak, and die while the other
would be left behind, young forever. At the same time, she was more
connected to him than anyone else in the world. He knew and
understood her, and in a sense she understood him as well.

He wasn’t hard on the eyes, either. She had a crush
on him as a kid. Well, if she was being honest, she still did, but
it wasn’t worth her friendship with Sasha. Plus, what would the
Everser Vald think of her? She knew that he loved her. She couldn’t
ever deny that and she could trust him to care and protect her…
“
Stop, Sara. It’s not going to happen,”
she thought.

She was so thankful for everyone in their little
party. Every night she prayed to the White Dragon to protect them.
She wondered if they believed in him. Or did they think that he was
merely mythical? Sasha knew; she had to. But Legon?

She handed a plate of eggs and cheese to Kovos.

“Thanks, Sara.”

“You’re welcome.”

Kovos was changing as well. He was more tempered now.
He was going to make a great husband for Emma. Now that he was
sharing thoughts with Sasha, she was changing them all, making them
better.

* * * * *

Kovos followed Legon and Arkin back to camp with
Keither close behind. Legon gave Sasha a funny look when he passed
her and she flushed a bit. Kovos figured she was still feeling
awkward from the day he had said that he was sorry for the way he
had thought of her his whole life.

As they rode he became lost in thought. He was
questioning a lot about himself lately, and he wondered what kind
of man he was going to turn into. Legon and Sasha were up front
with Arkin, learning who knew what. That stuff made him uneasy.
Lately, Legon had taken to joining the minds of all those around
him for training. The idea was simple. If they got into trouble,
Legon and Arkin would use magic to fortify themselves and those
around them. When his mind was connected with Legon’s he was privy
to the other minds he was connected to as well. Sasha was an
excellent shot with a bow, so if a fight ensued she would stay back
with Sara and Keither firing arrows into the fray. With all their
minds “networked,” as Arkin put it, she knew where everyone was
going to step and they knew where she was shooting. Her accuracy
was scary. In a small farming co-op, Arkin bought Sasha a
hundred-pound bow that she could shoot when Legon used magic. It
was an odd sensation having an arrow streak past your ear and not
be worried about it at all. Also, with all their perspectives being
taken into account, the group became hyper-aware of their
surroundings. In a way, they gained the experience and perspective
of those in the network. It made everyone a better fighter when
they would practice three on three. Knowing each other’s fighting
styles in detail helped as well.