Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series by Nicholas Taylor Page A

am now. I
mean, before, I was a butcher in Salmont, and in a few months I was
going to be a butcher somewhere else, but now…”
    “You’re my son, like you have always been and always
will be. It’s not your blood that matters; it’s what you make of
yourself.” His father spoke with just the right blend of warmth and
sternness. Legon began to talk but was cut off. “You are not a
trade. You are a person. You are a person, and a good one at that.
You cannot look at your life as just the work you do. If you do you
will lose your mind. This life is about the relationships you have
and lives you touch. So what if you might be part Elf? That’s
nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you should be proud.”
    “Yeah, but the queen hates the Elves…”
    His father gave a hoarse laugh. “What, and you think
she likes humans? We’re animals to the Iumenta, that’s it. The
Elves are kind and I wish it was them that we served, not the
Iumenta. All they are is a drain on the land.”
    Edis walked over to Legon and placed his hands on his
shoulders. “You are my son.” His tone had finality in it, a tone
that made it clear that there was no greater thing in the world
than to be Edis’s son.
    Legon felt himself relax a bit. He hadn’t noticed it
but his whole body had become rigid.
    “What is going to happen to me?” he asked.
    “What do you mean?” asked Edis concernedly.
    “My body - what’s going to happen to it if I am part
Elf? Something will happen, right?” He didn’t say anything about
last night, but after that, Arkin’s theory seemed pretty likely to
him.
    “I don’t know. Elves are much different than humans.
Truth be told, I didn’t even know we could have children with each
other. Its Arkin’s theory—he has lots of those. He may know, but I
doubt it.”
    “Dad,” Legon began, “how does Arkin know so much? You
have to admit his theories tend to prove accurate.” Edis’s brow
furrowed and Legon could almost see his mind working.
    “Honestly, I don’t know, and I don’t want to. Some
things are better left a mystery, in my mind.”
    After that they got on with their day. They didn’t
talk much. Legon got the impression that his father was somehow a
little embarrassed by the boldness of his speech. Legon spent most
of the morning away from the front counter as he wasn’t in a mood
to talk to people, but he was happy by the time they went in for
lunch. He had gotten a lot done and wouldn’t need to come back
after lunch, which freed him to go to Arkin’s. When they got in,
Sasha was sitting at the table. She looked surprised to see them
back so early. She got up quickly.
    “Is everything ok?”
    “Yes, we just got a lot done today,” their father
said, taking a seat.
    “Oh, well are you hungry? Do you want something?” she
began to get up and move to the kitchen.
    “No Sash, I’m not hungry yet,” Legon said.
    His father was looking around the room. “Neither am
I. Where is your mother?”
    “Shopping. She said she needed something, I didn’t
ask what.” She paused and looked at Legon. “Are you still going to
see Arkin today?”
    “Yeah. Are you still up for going?”
    “Yes, if you’re ok with it.”
    “You’re more than welcome. I think it would be nice
to have you there. Let me change and we can go,” he said as he got
up and walked to the stairs.
    Soon he was out of sight and Sasha looked at her
father. “Is he ok?”
    He took his time answering. “I don’t know. I think
so, but I think he just needs understanding and answers right now.
I can give him the understanding, at least.”
    Legon came back downstairs in a pair of brown pants
and an off-white shirt. He walked up to the table. “Are you
ready?”
    She got up and started to walk to the door. He joined
her and waved to Edis. When they got outside the air was dank. The
previous day’s moisture still clung to the streets and shady part
of buildings. There was activity everywhere. They saw Margaret
walking,