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

hurt, or worse,” he
thought. He could just leave them to their own devices. His mind
and emotions jumped wildly from fear of the unknown to anger. He
thought maybe they had the hardship coming anyway. It would have
come sooner if not for him. They were lucky he had been around.
    He stopped and looked around, trying to see if he
recognized his surroundings. He thought he was on top of a hill. He
couldn’t see any landmarks through the mist, but the ground in
front of him looked disturbed, like there had been a struggle there
not more than a few days ago. There was something else that was in
a bush, something small, brown and square. Puzzled, he went to the
bush and bent over. It was a book. He picked it up and thumbed
through the pages. It was handwritten and looked to be a diary. He
knew he shouldn’t look at it, but he couldn’t return it to the
person if he didn’t know whose it was. He stopped at an entry that
was dated three weeks ago and began to read.
    Today was a bad day. I had another one. It was
horrible. I threw up all over the place, and I hit the back of my
head on my brother’s mouth.
    It was Sasha’s! He knew he should stop reading, but
couldn’t seem to bring himself to. He remembered that episode,
Sasha writhing on the ground while he’d tried to hold her. He felt
his lips where the back of her head had hit. He didn’t know he was
bleeding at first; his mother was the one to see. By the end of the
episode his face and chest were covered with his own blood and he’d
cut his face on the ground. He read on:
    I can’t remember what happened. I almost never do,
but he was covered in blood when I came to. Oh I hate this! I’m a
monster! He’s so big and I still hurt him. I feel so bad. If it
wasn’t for my brother I don’t know what I would do. The people in
town are right, I’m cursed, I’m a demon, and when Legon leaves the
queen will take me. I’m so scared. A lady in town told me that they
will make me a whore and give me to the queen’s men for their
pleasure. Maybe I deserve it for being a freak. I mean look at me,
I can’t make a living, I’m a burden on my family… at least when I’m
gone my family can have their lives back again and…
    He stopped reading. The string holding his emotions
broke. Now his problems seemed not to matter. He thought back on
what just crossed his mind, how selfish he’d been, how… he felt an
odd flash of heat and without warning his stomach turned. He tossed
the book aside and began to throw up on the grass. He felt more
heat, saw blue spots, and then nothing.
    Legon’s eyes opened and he felt his head pounding. He
raised himself up on his hands and saw a pool of semi-dry vomit in
front of him. He must have been out for a few hours.
    He wondered what time it was. He got up and walked to
the book and picked it up, but something was off… what was it? He
took an inventory and it hit him - he didn’t have a torch, candle,
or anything else to make light. The sky was still covered in
clouds, so he shouldn’t be able to see the ground at his feet, but
he could.
    Legon swept his gaze out to where the town was. He
gasped. It was there right in front of him. Just a hazy outline,
but it was there. He began to feel uneasy. Maybe there was
something wrong with him. He began back toward his house through
the woods that were dark to all but him.
    He got home in near record time. When he walked in
his family was sitting at the table talking to one another. They
started when he came in and his mother stood up a bit.
    He walked into the now silent room and handed the
book to Sasha.
    “I was on top of the hill and this was in a bush.
When I saw it was hand written I closed it… it’s probably a diary
or something. Maybe you know whose it is?”
    She took it and opened the cover. Her eyes widened a
bit and then relaxed. She got up and hugged him. “Thank you. I was
worried sick looking for this thing. Thank you, Legon!” She kissed
his cheek and dashed up to her