Iron Axe by Steven Harper Read Free Book Online Page B

idiotic. As long as they had enough to eat and other cows to moo at, they were happy. Sometimes Danr envied them that.
    â€œIt doesn’t seem to bother you very much,” Danr said. “Living without memories.”
    â€œWhat should I do, mope? I’ll figure something eventually.” Talfi dug around in the sack Ruta had given him and came up with a chicken leg. “Have something to eat.”
    Danr accepted it. “Thank you. It feels like I’m always hungry.”
    Talfi grinned. “I’ll bet you eat like a . . . like a . . .”
    â€œTroll?”
    â€œI was going to say
giant.
” Talfi sniffed.
    â€œSure you were,” Danr said, and realized he was grinning, too.
    â€œAnyway, I don’t talk about my memory problems.” Talfi took out a chicken leg for himself. “Not even with Uncle Orvandel. People would think it odd.”
    â€œThat I understand.” A cold idea stole over Danr as he finished off the chicken leg. He narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t talk much about your memory, then why are you talking about it with me?”
    Talfi cocked his head. “I don’t know. In your way, you’re as strange as I am, so that makes you easy to talk to. It feels good to say it aloud.” He raised the half-eaten chicken leg to the sky like a tiny sword and shouted, “My name is Talfi and I have no memories! Fuck to the Nine! Fuck to the entire damn world!”
    Now Danr halted. Behind him, the steer halted as well. “You aren’t trying to play me for a fool, are you?”
    Talfi brought the chicken leg down. “No. It’s truth.”
    â€œBecause sometimes people think a stupid troll will believe anything,” Danr continued. “That he’s as stupid as he looks.”
    â€œOh.” Talfi gnawed the meat with a thoughtful expression. “Do people think you’re a monster?”
    â€œDon’t you?” Danr countered, and braced himself for the answer. But in response, Talfi only shrugged.
    â€œI don’t know you very well,” was all he said. “Do you
want
to be a monster?”
    â€œI don’t have much of a choice.”
    â€œLiar,” Talfi said cheerfully. He tossed the bone away.
    The monster rumbled. Danr rounded on Talfi, teeth bared. “You think I’d be like this if I had a choice?”
    To Danr’s surprise, however, Talfi didn’t shrink back. “Everyone has choices. Are you cruel to animals?”
    â€œWhat?” Danr said, feeling suddenly off balance. “No!”
    â€œDo you scare children? Eat people? Steal? Wreck things on purpose?”
    â€œNo!”
    Talfi spread his hands. “That’s everything on my monster list. Doesn’t sound like you qualify.”
    A breeze stirred the leaves overhead. Danr licked his lips, still off balance. He could hardly believe he was standing on an ordinary road having this extraordinary conversation. He had never talked like this in his life, not even to his mother or Aisa. But something about Talfi made him want to talk, say whatever came to mind. And Talfi was right—it felt good to say things aloud. Did this mean he truly had a friend? Danr wasn’t sure. How long did you have to know someone before he became a friend?
    A cow from a nearby pasture bawled, and Danr’s little steer bawled back. “You changed the subject,” Danr said.
    â€œI did?”
    â€œYou were talking about not remembering anything, and somehow the talk came back to me.”
    â€œOh yeah.” Talfi laughed again. “Funny, that. There is something else.”
    Danr started walking again. The steer followed. “What’s that?”
    â€œWait.” Talfi flung up a hand and Danr stopped near a small boulder. The steer yanked at the rope, but Danr held fast. “Do you hear that?”
    Danr listened. All he heard was the gentle sighing of the spring wind. A half-uprooted