Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series (30 page)

Legon, Sasha and Arkin could use pure logic, too.
Sometimes, when Legon would use magic, he would tap into Sasha’s
mind to figure out wind speed and trajectory, and she in turn would
do that to others when shooting. When this happened, it didn’t have
that much of an effect on him. It was like background noise. But at
any rate, it was changing his view of the world drastically.

Arkin appeared to be done with teaching for the time
being, and Sasha went to work with Keither on the horse. Legon went
to talk to Sara. Arkin came up to Kovos and smiled.

“What’s on your mind?”

Kovos ran a checklist in his head. “Oh crap, do I
have my mind open?”

Arkin smiled again. “No, but your body is, and I can
see that you are thinking. I won’t cross into your mind without
permission unless necessary. Besides, you would be able to feel it
now.”

“That’s good to know.”

Kovos was happy that he was to the point where he
could feel another mind and, if necessary, reach out to someone. It
was also a comfort that his consciousness couldn’t be breached
without him knowing.

“Now, what’s on your mind?” Arkin asked

Kovos thought about lying to Arkin but, mind
protected or not, Arkin knew him too well.

“This stuff is kind of freaking me out a bit.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. It’s just odd seeing Sasha and Legon
sitting silent next to each other and then laughing. Or feeling
other people in my head.”

“Ok.” Arkin sat silent, waiting patiently for Kovos
to say what was really bothering him.

They were moving along a clearing in the trees,
probably close to a co-op. As they went he could see a line in the
landscape. On one side of the road were dense trees and forest. On
the other were open fields. To the right of him where the fields
began was a waist-high stone wall marking the edge of someone’s
property. On the other side of that wall was a wheat field. It
looked as if there had once been a forest where the field was, and
it made him wonder at the dedication of these people. They would
have had to clear cut the land and then pull all the stumps. Not to
mention removing all the stones that would break a plow. That was
probably where the stones from the wall had come from. The wheat
was high now, and as he looked out at the field he noticed a breeze
playing in it. The wheat looked like a sea of giant gold waves
rippling away from them. The contrast between the forest and the
field seemed to be a good analogy for what was happening to
him.

“Do the elves do this a lot—the mental networking? I
mean, I see true benefit in it and all, but… I don’t know what I’m
saying.” He really didn’t know what he was saying. He was having a
hard time keeping track of his thoughts these days. Too much
stress, too much homesickness. Well, more Emma sickness if he was
being truthful.

“Isn’t it nice to know what the other person is
thinking?” Arkin asked.

“Yes, it is, but I don’t know… I think that maybe
I’ve been messing up in life and if I knew what others were
thinking….” He breathed out. “I can’t stop thinking about how much
different my life would be if I knew what, well…”

Arkin helped him. “What Emma was thinking?”

“Yeah, is it bad to want to know that?”

“No, not at all. You know what the dot on Legon’s
Tattoo means, don’t you?” Arkin asked.

“Yes, it’s for when he gets married.”

“Exactly. I haven’t told you about Elven society as
much as I have Legon and Sasha. I should have included you in that.
I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Why does it matter?”

“When elves get married, they stay connected
mentally, and after years of having a perfect insight into their
partners they almost become one mind,” Arkin explained.

“Ok, so that’s why they’re able to stay married
forever. If you understood the other person, really understood
them, it would be hard to split up.”

“Yes, but there is more. They rely on each other to
the point where they are completely dependent on the other person.
That means that when one dies, the other is always quick to
follow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Their bodies do not become frail like ours, but
losing that connection kills their mind and their will to live.
Once that happens, the body follows.”

Kovos sat pondering this new information. It was
amazing to think about people so close to one another that one dies
when the other does. Amazing, but also sad and beautiful.

“I want that,” he said with a surprisingly high
amount of conviction.

“Good. You can have it. You have the ability to
connect with someone if you try. Now remember, you are your
thoughts.”

“So I’d better start being the man I want to be with
the kind of mind that Emma will want to live in,” he said,
smiling.

Arkin patted his shoulder. It felt like a great
weight had been taken off him, and he decided that from that point
on, he was going to work his hardest on himself. He was going back
to Salmont to get Emma, just as soon as they got Legon and Sasha to
the border.

* * * * *

Arkin rode separate from the others for a while
trying not to let his fatigue show, when suddenly he felt Legon’s
presence.

“Are you ok?” Legon’s voice said in his mind. It was
followed by energy that coursed through his veins. Arkin told Legon
about the Iumenta searching for them, and almost at once Legon
offered his strength to him. It was rare that Arkin felt the pull
of other magic users on his spells this hard. He pushed it from his
mind knowing the drain wouldn’t last long. Legon inquired about
what kind of spells he could use for protection. Silently, Arkin
explained that wards were passive forms of magical protection. You
could have a ward active and feel no drain until it was needed.
Legon was months away from using the complex magic needed for
masking them, but Arkin could use Legon’s considerable magical
power to do it himself.

Suddenly Arkin felt a huge drain on his wards. There
was thick forest on all sides of the road now. Legon rounded up the
others, bringing them in close to him. It was easier to protect
things that were close to him as magic was affected by space. Arkin
felt his heart race as another huge hit on his wards drained energy
from his magical reserves and his body.

“Dragon,” he said in a hoarse voice.

They all moved off the road and Legon came up next to
Arkin, placing his hand on his shoulder. He felt Legon open the
connection between their minds all the way. The power was amazing.
He felt a deep well of magic in him, but still it was nothing to
the dragon that was coming. They might be able to resist the
seeking spell if the dragon wasn’t looking that hard, but if it
noticed the drain on its own power it would be sure to
investigate.

* * * * *

Legon felt the pull on his magic and now his body. He
rushed to connect his mind with the others and the horses. As he
made the connection, he began to siphon off energy. There was a
dull thud in the far distance. Sweat was forming on Kovos’ brow
from the drain, but he kept his mind open. The thudding was closer
now, much closer. He needed more power. He tapped Sasha, Sara, and
Keither, and saw all of them place their hands on their chests from
the sudden taxation.

THUD… THUD.

More. Where was there more? There were blue dots
popping in his eyes and he saw Arkin slump in his saddle. The
horses. He could use more from the horses.

THUD.

Phantom was starting to shake. Still there was more
needed. He rummaged in the minds of the others, spiking hormones
and endorphins, causing their hearts to race. They were producing a
lot of energy, but not enough. Arkin was almost unconscious now.
They needed more, and the beating of the dragon’s wings was like
thunder. He reached into Keither’s mind and body, forcing the fat
cells to give up their contents, forcing as much energy out as he
could. He looked up through a gap in the trees to see a pale-green
sky. No, not the sky. Wings and a long, snake-like body with four
black-clawed feet. The dragon seemed to be leaching light from the
sky as it passed overhead. The trees blew from the torrent of
downward air but it didn’t look down. Finally, the sound of wings
died down and Legon released the magic.

* * * * *

Sasha took an inventory of herself. She felt like her
whole body was buzzing now that Legon was no longer draining it.
Her heart was pounding and she closed her eyes, breathing deep,
repeating a calming script. The sound of wings was gone, and she
thought that the dragon either hadn’t seen them or didn’t care. The
thing that amazed her was just how strong it was. When it passed
overhead it hadn’t even looked down, so it must not have been
concentrating on whatever spell it was using to find them.

Murray was covered in sweat, along with all the other
horses. Sasha felt like she needed to sleep, but there was
something that seemed off to her. There was something missing in
her mind… Arkin! She got off Murray and rushed over the carpenter,
who was lying across Phaedra’s neck, passed out in his saddle.

“Arkin, Arkin, are you awake?” she said, shaking him
but trying to not to be loud.

“Yes, Sasha, I’m fine. It’s passed now. We will sleep
here tonight.”

She looked around. This was not a great place to camp
for the night. They were off the road, which was good, but they
were in thick trees. Still, the brush could be good in case
anything else flew over head. Kovos still had his head cocked up to
the sky, looking, waiting for the dragon to come swooping down on
them. Legon looked fine, though; he wasn’t breathing hard and he
looked calm, his eyes closed and body still. She poked him with her
mind. His voice came reverberating back into hers.

“I’m fine. I’m trying to see if the coast is
clear.”

As he said this to her she became aware of the minds
of other animals. There was a deer that was about fifty yards away
sniffing the air and looking for whatever had caused the trees to
move. Further was an eagle that was surveying the forest with
shrewd eyes. This was new to her; she had never thought of using
the animals in an area to do reconnaissance, but it was smart.
Legon was taking advantage of all of their senses and using his
mind to gently nudge them to look and go where he wanted. He wasn’t
doing much; he was letting the animals’ survival instincts do most
of the work. Also smart. He opened his eyes.

“Are you all ok?” he said. Sasha sensed that he knew
exactly how much energy he had taken from all of them, but this was
the polite thing to do.

“Legon, I’ve seen that one before,” Sara said,
sounding terrified. “He’s from Salez. We need to get to the border
soon.”

Arkin spoke. “He was looking for us. There’s no
denying that, but we have about two weeks until we reach the border
towns and safety. Now we need to rest.”

“Arkin, are you going to be alright?” Sara asked.

“I’m fine, just very tired, as are all of you and the
horses. That was a lot of energy we needed to use.” He looked up at
Legon with a look of new-found respect.

“Using the fat in our bodies along with hormones and
endorphins was very wise of you. I am impressed.”

“Thank you,” Legon said

Legon was thinking hard; Sasha could feel it. She
felt him tapping into the logical part of her mind. He was using
the information from the animals to figure out the best place to
rest for a day or so, and the best ways into the hiding spots and
out of them.

“There is a good place about one hundred yards over
there,” he said, pointing into some dense brush.

“But that’s thick wood,” Kovos said, looking
cynical.

“Only for a little way, then it opens. The forest
canopy is high there,” Sasha said.

“And how do you know this?” Keither asked.

“The minds of the animals in this area. They have
been hiding from threats for years. Now let’s move,” she said with
a bit more force than she was planning. Arkin looked at Legon again
and smiled.

They worked their way through the thick underbrush,
and sure enough it cleared to a perfectly secluded place. The
ground was bare except for some twigs and leaves. It was round with
more than enough room for all of them and the horses. Twenty feet
above them the trees became so dense that there was barely light to
see. Not even the dragon could see them from overhead now. Legon
instructed everyone to place their bedrolls on the ground; there
wasn’t room for a tent or a fire. Everyone agreed. They might need
to leave in a hurry. The tents would slow things down and a fire
could attract attention.

It was mid-day when they made camp, but within a few
hours the clearing was already dark. They lay on their bedrolls in
a circle with their heads to the center, trying to rest.

“How are we going to see?” Keither asked. He always
forgot about magic.

“Lumanaighty,” Legon said. And with that, a violet
orb of light bloomed in his palm. It floated about four feet off
the ground to the center of the circle, hovering. The light was
sufficient for their immediate area but ended within ten feet, the
way only magical light could. The light was taking almost no energy
from Legon, so Sasha wasn’t concerned. Everyone looked odd in the
violet glow, their faces washed of color. It made the colored parts
of their eyes look like dark gray stone. Sara and Arkin’s fair hair
glowed in the light, making them both look otherworldly. There was
blackness where the light ended. The thick woods did not allow any
sound or light to penetrate them. They were a dot of light in a sea
of nothingness.

Arkin stirred. “I have protections still in place,
but what are you doing Legon?”

“I have a weak connection with animals in the area; I
used the information from an eagle to find a nice place for deer to
lie down for the night nearby. Also, there is an owl in the area.
If they see anything out of the ordinary, or if they get
frightened, I will feel it and broaden my connection with
them.”