by gmakalani
When the crowd dwindled Robert sat another ale before him. “Your mother always said you would do something great,” he said, raising his glass to him.
“She was disappointed that I wasn’t the twins she expected.”
“But you were in a way,” he said, looking down into the glass.
Iski sighed. “We didn’t believe that she existed,” he said softly. “We didn’t know what you did to keep her going.”
Robert looked up sharply. “That wasn’t what you thought,” he said. “A small sacrifice to keep the rest of us safe.”
“It wasn’t small and all it did was prolong the cruelty. Flare should never have been sacrificed.”
“Well thank God for you; that you could stand up to her,” he said, his head bent over his ale.
“I stood up for Flare, not Muteguard. And she was already lost.”
Robert nodded slowly and stared across the room.
“What other worlds are out there suffering like this?”
Robert shook his head. “Should we worry about them?”
“Flare would have,” he said pushing the chair out and standing slowly, the ale untouched.
Iski came face to face with Billy at the door and his old friend shook his hand fiercely. “Iski the town hero,” he said. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“No thanks,” he said stepping past him into the town square where those in the sunshine stopped to look at him. He put his head down and headed home.
Iski pushed a loaf of bread and some cheese into the small bag. He pulled a clean shirt from the cupboard and the old hat of his father’s fell out onto the floor. It sat comfortably on his head and he left it there as he stuffed more clothes into the bag. Then he lifted his axe onto his shoulder; maybe he could trade it for a better weapon on the road but it would do for now.
“You could have been your father,” his mother whispered as he came face to face with her at the door. “Long before the ale became more important than us.”
He kissed her softly on the cheek and stepped out into the street without a word.
“Iski Wildewick,” she said to his back.
“No,” he said. “It’s Iski Flare now. Maybe you were right. Maybe we were the twins to do this. Two that are one. And if I’m to make anything of myself it will be with Flare beside me.”
He had finally become the man Flare needed him to be. A man that deserved her love. He would make her proud, he would do all he could to undo the cruelty in the world. One day, when they could be together again in the next life, he would hold her in his arms and know that he was where he was meant to be.
As he walked out across the fields towards the path that led over the hills, he felt her hand in his and he walked taller.
“Iski Flare,” she whispered. “My Iski Flare.”
Iski Flare returns in The Red Wolves. You will find an excerpt at the end of this book.
If you enjoyed The Legend Begins, please consider leaving a review on Goodreads or your usual online bookstore.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to all those that have listened to me drag on about Iski.
Thanks to the team at Deranged Doctor Designs for fantastic work on the cover design.
Thanks to readers and your ever-useful comments, Melissa and Yasmin.
Special thanks to my daughter for being a sounding board, nodding when I needed her to and for allowing me the time to write.
About the Author
Georgina Makalani survives life as a servant of the public by hiding in cafes at lunch time with dragons, witches, a laptop and a little bit of magic.
For more about Georgina visit her website at www.theflowofink.com
Also by Georgina Makalani
The Last Dragon Skin Chronicles:
The Empty Crown
The Lost Endeavour
The Magics of Rei-Een:
The Hidden Princess
Hidden Promises
The Hidden Phoenix
The Raven Crown Series:
Raven’s Dawn
The Caged Raven
Raven’s Edge
The Legend of Iski Flare (Novella series):
The Legend Begins
Red Wolves
The Riddle of Daralis
The Last Child
The Tree Maiden
Reflections
The Beast
Circus of Wonders
Other Stories:
The Mark of Oldra
The Heart of Oldra
Short Stories:
Stuffed Frogs and Spinning Teacups
Searcher
The Silence (in Glimpses)
Red Wolves Excerpt
Iski Flare lay back on the hard, narrow bed and turned towards the small window. What he wouldn’t give for a decent bed. A sharp breeze pulled at the curtains and he shivered, but it was comforting to know that he was close to the outside world. He sucked in a breath, pulled the thin blanket up over his shoulders and closed his eyes.
Flare’s dried and broken legs appeared before him and he was on his feet and leaning out into the cool night air. All he had wanted was to prove himself a man and he was quite sure that he hadn’t done that; despite defeating the witch that had held them prisoner for so long. And then he had lost Flare anyway. Her essence drained, leaving nothing but a dried shell he couldn’t recognise.
“You will catch your death,” Flare’s spirit whispered and he reluctantly pulled back into the room and closed the window.
“I like the air.”
“She can’t get to you now,” her gentle voice said.
“Hmm,” he muttered sitting on the edge of the bed. He had lost her; unable to hold her or feel her. Sometimes he thought he could, but he wasn’t sure if that was memory or the fact that her spirit haunted him.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Adventure,” he whispered as he lay back on the bed.
“You are such a boy, Iski Flare.” She laughed but the words hurt more than he thought they could.
“I want to help people. Like I did for Muteguard. There are things out there that we can’t explain and I want the chance to help put them right.”
“I know,” she whispered, her voice softer and calmer.
“I miss you.”
“I am here.”
“But you’re not.”
Silence followed and although there were times he longed for peace, it was harder when she was silent. He pulled the blanket back up and rolled onto his side.
People were keen to talk to him and take his help. But he wasn’t chasing witches, he was saving women from drunken husbands, negotiating between business partners, and helping disgruntled workmen.
Life was not what he had envisaged when he left Muteguard six months ago, and from the stories he heard, he regretted not pulling Flare out of there and far away years before.
“How long since you have been in the forest?” Flare whispered in his ear.
“Any forest in particular?”
“You love the trees, why not go exploring? You may be surprised by what you find.”
“What do you know?”
“Far more than I can tell you.”
“I miss you,” he said again.
“Sleep, my love. And tomorrow you shall find your adventure.”
To read more, get your copy of The Red Wolves today.
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