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.
Setting up camp that night consisted of rolling out bed rolls, Legon killing some rabbits with magic, and Sasha and Sara doing their best to cook them in a way that was appetizing. All in all, Keither thought sarcastically, this was shaping up to be a night of luxury and enjoyment. This whole trip had been that. He lay back on his bed roll, not going inside his tent. It was too hot out, but at least clouds were starting to fill the sky. They might just get a break tomorrow.
The others fell asleep quickly. The only ones still awake were Legon and himself. Legon was scanning the area for danger, but this land was barren, which would make playing lookout easy if there were owls or any other wildlife in the area.
Keither rested his hands on his belly, noticing that despite his perceived hardships, he was the only person not to lose weight. Thoughts about what his brother had said right before he died came to mind. He really was worthless when he thought about it. But still, that’s who he was; why try to change? He was uncomfortable and sat up, turning his torso and causing his back to crack and pop soothingly. Legon glanced over at him.
“Why aren’t you asleep, Keither?”
He was sure Legon would take the big brother role to heart.
“One could ask the same of you,” he said, trying to sound insightful.
“True, but then who would be keeping a lookout, you?”
He felt uneasy. That had been a dumb thing to say.
“Point taken. But aren’t you tired of doing this every night? I mean, you just changed. You have to be worn out.”
He thought he heard a small chuckle come from Legon. He answered in a calm voice.
“I am very tired, yes. But I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“What doesn’t it have to do with? Don’t you want to quit or stop or anything?”
“Of course I do, Keither, but it’s not that simple, now is it?” There was a firmness in his voice that told Keither to step lightly.
“Well, I guess I don’t see your point. If you’re tired, rest.”
“And if danger comes, should we just wait to find out when they get here? Or would you tell them to take a load off for awhile, too?” Legon looked away. There was a point here; Keither was sure. Some lesson he was to learn.
“When you put it that way I see your point. I didn’t think about that.”
“You rarely think very far down the road, Keither,” Legon said.
Ah, the point was here, but for once he was going to listen to it. In a way, Legon was like his brother, Kovos. He had tried to drive home something to Keither, too, but he never got it.
“I know, I’m lazy and I don’t think ahead, yeah I get it.” Well, he thought he understood it but didn’t get it. He was starting to see now that there was a difference between the two.
Legon turned to him. “Do you get it? If so, why not change your behavior? You’re not dumb, Keither. Surely you see that if it was you that we followed the whole lot of us would be long since dead by now.”