Legon looked down at his hands, still trying to figure out what he had done back at the tavern. The scariest thing was that he hadn’t really done anything. He had just wanted it to happen and it did. He was having a hard time looking over at Sara. In a way he felt like he’d violated her by taking on memories that weren’t his. At the same time he felt for her and cared for her in a way he never had before. He was also confused because she didn’t seem to be mad at him for delving into her mind. Maybe it was because he had freed her and now she felt obligated. At any rate, he needed to apologize for what he had done. He steered Phantom up next to her.
“Sara?”
She looked over at him.
“I’m sor- sorry for going into your head like that. I shouldn’t have.”
“Why are you sorry?” she asked, looking perplexed.
“Aren’t you mad at me? That was private stuff I saw and felt.”
Sara reached out and placed her hand gently, almost lovingly, on his arm and looked him in the eyes. “You took my pain from me. You gave me relief from my suffering. You should never feel sorry for doing that for someone.”
“I guess I don’t understand.”
She paused, gathering her thoughts. “Ok, when you saw all those things that happened to me, you felt it, right?”
“Yes, everything. It was horrible.”
“Yes, it was, but when you were in my head suffering those things, I couldn’t feel them anymore. I only felt the compassion that you had for me. Now you are truly the only person on earth that can completely understand that part of my life and who I am.”
“Ok, but don’t you still have the pain? And aren’t you upset with me for invading your feelings?”
“Not at all. I can remember the pain, but I can also remember the compassion that you have for me. And if I ever want to talk about it I know I can go to you and you’ll understand perfectly. Have you ever truly felt love from someone? Actually felt what they were feeling?”
“Well, no, I guess not.”
She smiled. “Exactly. I have now, and I will always remember that. I can say that I truly know that someone does care about me and that I’m not alone. Do you realize what a gift that is?”
She gave his arm a squeeze, trying to emphasize her point. He felt himself begin to smile. He hadn’t thought about it like that. When she put it that way he realized that perhaps he had done something kind for her. There was something noble about taking on another’s burden. He was willing to do it again, too. In fact, he was willing to do anything for Sara’s wellbeing. He would pay whatever price he needed to.
“I guess it hadn’t occurred to me to look at it that way. Thanks.” Legon paused. “Oh, I almost forgot. What was that word you called me back at the shop?”
“I called you a Venefica.”
“What does that mean?”
Arkin spoke from behind him. “It means ‘user’.”
“‘User’?” Legon asked.
“Of magic,” Sara clarified.
“Good. Sara, I take it living in a city close to Iumenta has taught you a thing or two?” Arkin said.
“That’s one way of putting it,” she said with a bit of a grimace.
Arkin’s voice took on the teacher’s tone that was becoming the norm. “What you did today was magic obviously, and people who use magic are called Venefica. They practice the art of Imperia.”
The word was foreign to Legon. “Imperia?”
“Yes. That is what it is called when you use magic. The word is Elfish. All magic is done in that language.”
Trepidation started to creep into Legon’s mind. “Arkin, do you know magic?”
Arkin paused for a while. He then held up his hand and clicked his fingers saying, “Flamma.”
From his fingers a jet of green flame shot up about six inches.
Legon reared back. “What kind of…”
“The color is different for every Venefica, but the more magic is infused in the flame, the stronger the color will appear. We’ll talk more after we set up camp somewhere.” Arkin didn’t seem surprised by this development in the least bit. If anything, it seemed to be what he’d expected.
The sun was still relatively high in the sky. They had a few hours before dark, plenty of time to move away from Salez, which was good. Sooner or later Sara’s former owner would realize that he was a person short. There was a lot to worry about, but nothing that Legon could do at the moment so there was no point dwelling on it. In his mind Legon recited a script that Arkin taught him.
Fear is the blinder. I am the light and master of sight. I will master my fear and never again see night.
As he repeated the script, he took deep breaths through his nose, each time letting tension out of his body. As he calmed, more things brought themselves to his attention. He focused on his sense of smell. With each breath he inhaled the scent of grass and trees. Next to his ears was the sound of the horses, Sasha and Sara talking, the creak of leather, and the buzz of a fly. Now he concentrated on touch, feeling the soft breeze as it cooled, telling him the sun was on its way down. The northern breeze was moist and dense. It would rain tonight. He had better take extra care setting up his tent.
“What the hell was going on? Legon could do magic?” Keither wondered what he had gotten himself into. He shifted himself in Murray’s Saddle. Kovos slowed his horse and fell back in step with him.
“What do you think?” Kovos asked.
“I don’t know. We’re in over our heads, I’ll tell you that much,” replied Keither.
“Why is that? What do you know about magic?”
The others couldn’t hear him, but he still kept quiet. People who used magic were rare, and magic itself was treated with respect and care. People were also scared of it because, frankly, not that much was known about it-at least not by the common person.
“I don’t know much about it, but it may explain why Arkin was able to hide in Salmont without detection,” Keither answered.
“Do we need to worry about getting taken over or something?”
This was an odd turn of the tables. Kovos was coming to him asking for advice. He never did that. Kovos had always treated him like a helpless little boy, but not now.
“Well, if Arkin wanted to hurt us he could have done it a long time ago. And I don’t think that magic users can take you over, but I’m not sure.”
“Ok, thanks.”
Kovos righted himself in his saddle and resumed a normal pace. Keither should probably be worrying about magic right now, but that wasn’t what was on his mind. Sara was on his mind, and also what he thought of the empire and the queen which, just hours before, he had thought weren’t that bad.
In general, the whole of society was well taken care of, but at what cost? What Sara had gone through was appalling, but it sounded like it wasn’t common. Sara was a prostitute, sure, but not everyone had to be that, most were probably labor of some sort. A chill ran down his back. How many luxuries did he have due to slavery?
Arkin was right. The queen was evil. That was the only word for it. How much of what Arkin told them was true? Also, how much of the propaganda about the resistance was true? There were a lot of questions running through his mind, and a lot of his previous views were changing rapidly. If Kovos had asked him a week ago about magic users, he would have said that they were bad news unless controlled by the government, but after what Legon did… “Maybe having people who know magic free of the government’s control is a good thing,” he thought.
Then it dawned on him. This whole thing was about magic and controlling it. What Legon had done was proof that if enough people in the empire knew about magic then the government could be held in check. Or could it? People knew magic and yet they still allowed horrible things to happen.
It felt good to be thinking. It was his element, his weapon. He leaned back in the saddle, finally comfortable on the horse. He tilted his head from side to side feeling his neck pop. Up ahead, Sara was doing the same as she talked to Legon and Sasha. It was good to see her again.
