Taming the Elements: Elwin Escari Chronicles: Volume 1 Read online

  “Eventually he would find us,” her voice cracked. “Do you really want to be hunted? And I do not even want to think about what he would do to you. You should just do as Bain commands. Even this conversation is treason.”

  “Treason? After all that Bain has done … forced us to do? You would call my son’s salvation treason?”

  “Bain will rule the world. He will remember those who stood at his side.”

  “At what cost?” Athina said. “Bain is losing his soul. Can you not see he is not the same man I married?”

  “He is not yet Death bound.”

  “Perhaps not.” Athina shook her head. “Maybe not yet. But his thirst for power grows every day. He has gone to begin a war with his childhood friend and cousin. A man he has stood beside for over two decades.”

  “Thirod Alcoa is weak.” Lana turned from her. “Bain will restore Elemental power to the world. The Guardians of Life have overreached for far too long. It is just a matter of time before the Awakening. Each generation produces fewer elementalists, fewer able to tame the elements than those generations before us. What will happen when the dragonkin rise with no one to stand against them?”

  “If Bain embraces Death, will any of that matter? Someone as powerful as Bain raising undead could very well destroy the lives of all.”

  Lana was silent for a time. Her sister turned to face her. “I cannot change your mind?”

  Athina gave a slight shake of her head. There was another long silence. She fought to look at her sister with as cold of a stare as she was receiving. Lana had always been more willful, but her sister would not have the stronger will this time.

  What I do is for Elwin, she told herself. He will have a chance at a normal life. As normal of a life as one with his gifts will allow.

  Lana’s voice gave her a start. “What do you want me to do?”

  Athina took a deep breath. “You will help me?”

  “It goes against all that I believe in,” Lana said in a terse voice. “But yes. I will help you.”

  Tears filled Athina’s vision. “Thank you. Preparations have already been made. I already have the help of Elwin’s uncle. But just knowing I have your support means so much to me.”

  “Bain’s brother is going to help you?”

  Athina nodded to her sister.

  “No matter the preparations, you will need my help to flee the castle. Zeth overheard our last conversation and warned Bain that you might try to leave. Zeth has been charged with keeping you confined to the castle.”

  A piece of hope died in Athina’s heart. What could she do? If she could not leave, all would be lost. And now Bain knew that she wanted to leave?

  Before Athina could form a question, Lana spoke. “Do not fear, Athina. I will distract him. You will have plenty of time to flee.”

  “What will you do?”

  Lana gave her a reassuring smile. “You will have to trust me.”

  “I wish you would come with us.”

  Lana took a resigned breath. “Someone must stay to endure Bain’s wrath.”

  Jhona Solsec paced along the antechamber to his quarters. Ten good paces across gave the perfect length for pacing. He eyed his humble pack on the chair by the outer door once more and considered rechecking his supplies, but he quickly dismissed the idea. It was good. What he did not bring, nature would provide.

  He walked over to the tall painting at the end of the chamber.

  The portrait was one of his few possessions from before. He still imagined himself as the strong figure in the painting that looked back at him. The man. No. The boy in the picture had short brown hair without the grey strands that now graced Jhona’s head. The sharp grey-blue eyes were now surrounded by wrinkles, and each day more of the blue faded. He knew all too well, the lean, wiry strength of the boy in the portrait waned. Almost to his fiftieth name day, he was beyond his prime now. Though his powers in the Elements grew stronger, his body would continue to fail him. This was the way of nature. On the other hand, his younger brother was still short of his twenty-fifth year and peaking in his physical prime.

  Though Jhona had trained his younger brother, Bain was stronger in the Elements than he. Stronger than any he had trained. If it came to a fight between the two though …

  The eyes in the portrait seemed to become accusatory, as if to say, “What are you doing, old fool?”

  “When your little brother has lost his mind,” he reasoned with the portrait, “you do what you must.”

  “He has not given his soul to the Seeker,” his younger self would have reasoned. “There is still a chance for him.”

  Jhona had been quicker to hope in the days of his youth.

  He took a deep breath. “But are you sure he hasn’t bound his soul to the Seeker? He has refused your counsel for several tendays. And he is, right this instant, on his way to begin a war with family. A friend, who would more than likely share his power if Bain were to just ask it of him. A boy, who you trained alongside Bain. Thirod and Bain were mere children when your paint had dried. Much has changed. Much will never be as it was once upon a time.”

  Hope was for the young, he decided. The wisdom of age brought careful planning.

  A soft knock came from the outer door to his chambers. Without pause, the door opened and emitted a small hooded figure, then closed as quickly as it had opened. Athina’s blond hair protruded from the opening of a brown riding cloak, which hid her face. She had a small knapsack on her back and a woven basket in her arms.

  Jhona’s heart warmed as he looked into the basket. The baby boy was wrapped in blue blankets and swaddled tightly beneath. His bright, blue eyes drank in his surroundings with a quiet contemplation. Jhona felt a moment of pride surge within him. For being a month old, his nephew was more aware than he should have been. When Elwin’s eyes touched Jhona’s, the baby smiled. The sun had never shown so brightly or the moon glittered so magnificently. Jhona felt his heart melt in a way that made taming the Elements seem insignificant.

  Peering at the innocent babe, all of Jhona’s resolve became firm. He would do as he must. Donavin was proof that Elwin could not be left to the devices of his father. There was no doubt that Bain intended to use his sons as weapons.

  “The time has come,” she said. “We must act swiftly while Lana distracts Zeth.”

  “He knows?” Jhona had thought he alone had known. He grabbed his pack and slung it onto his back.

  Athina nodded.

  “Aye,” Jhona said, moving to the door. “We must be swift.”

  He opened the door and peered into the long hallway.

  Across the hall another wooden door mirrored his own. Twenty paces or so on either side, more doors faced one another. So many of the rooms of the castle were empty of inhabitants. In fact, he was the only one living in this wing of the castle. Still, the quiet emptiness unnerved him.

  He could hear the torches flickering on the walls. No other sounds. Left or right would lead them toward an exit. Left would take them past fewer people.

  “Ready?” he whispered.

  Athina nodded.

  Jhona stepped into the hallway and turned left. Athina stayed close behind him, both arms wrapped around the basket.

  Halfway to the next set of doors, he felt it. Jhona was Life bound. The battle for human souls between the Lifebringer and the Seeker was an ancient tale. A person could choose to be soulbound to either Life or Death, good or evil, by power of the Element called Spirit. Once the choice was made, it was final. Legends have been told of heroes who gave their souls to Death and overcame their sins, but Jhona had never seen or heard of any evidence of the possibility.

  Jhona had been young when he bound his soul to the Lifebringer. Above all, he served Life. It was for this reason alone he knew the evil in the shadows at the end of the hall.

  A vile stench knocked against hi
s soul. His stomach churned as if he would be ill. He had heard that a Life bound could sense a person bound to Death, but he had never felt it before now. There was no mistaking the feeling.

  He opened his essence and felt the power of Earth around him. The castle had been made with the Elements of Earth and Fire. He could feel the power in the floor beneath his feet extending into the walls around him. Taming Earth into his essence was second nature to him. Small lines of dust rose and conjoined with him as he pulled as much Earth into his essence as he could hold.

  “Athina,” he whispered. “Go the other way. You must run. Do not take the pendant off.”

  “But Jhona—”

  “Do not argue,” he cut in. Then he spoke more softly, so that other ears could not hear. “I will buy you what time I can. Follow my instructions, just as we discussed. You must flee now.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice was a tearful whisper.

  Jhona turned from her and stood ready. He could feel her feet pounding on the floor away from him. “The Lifebringer cradle you in his hands,” he whispered back.

  A man stepped from the shadows ahead of him. He had pale skin and long black hair tied in a warrior’s tail. His cold eyes had an unnatural, dark shimmer as if light itself fled away from him.

  “Zeth.” Jhona made the name sound as if an accusation.

  Zeth smirked. “You can feel the power flowing through my veins.”

  “I can feel the taint of the Death Element flowing through you.” Jhona felt as if he had run through open refuse and slept in it, just being near the man. “How could you?”

  “How could I what?” Zeth asked. “Take power that was freely offered? How could I not?”

  “Free?” Jhona shook his head. “You gave up your soul, bound it to Abaddon, the embodiment of Death. Once you die, you are his. The shelter of Life has no place for you now.”

  “You old fool,” Zeth spat. “The Awakening is coming. Soon. Abaddon will wake the dragonkin and call those bound to him into rule. I will never die now.”

  Zeth began to stalk forward. His flesh morphed with each step. Light fled from his skin as it dissipated into shadow. His eyes dissolved into a hollow nothingness as his face became like shadow, and he grew to an impossible height. Zeth’s limbs elongated as he reached out toward Jhona.

  For a moment Jhona was too stunned to move. But as the malformed limbs stretched for him, Jhona jumped backwards.

  Taming the power of Earth, he formed the image of great swords in his mind and aimed them at Zeth’s shadowy form. The floor, walls, and ceiling became massive blades, sharper than the best made steel, and lunged toward Zeth. The misshapen form dodged most of the blows, but one sword cut into an arm.

  Zeth shrieked as wisps of dark smoke escaped from the wound. The sound was both shrill and deep, as if several minions of the abyss had been released into the halls. Zeth’s dark foot became a blur too fast for Jhona to follow and struck his chest.

  Jhona felt air surge around him for a brief moment before pain struck everywhere at once. He struggled to regain his breath and reorient himself, but his vision wouldn’t focus. There was a metallic taste in his mouth, and he felt cold stone against his back. The torches above him would not stay still. It took him a moment to realize his side rested against a wall. His head dizzied at his motion, but he forced himself to a sitting position. The spinning subsided when he rested his head against the cold stone.

  More than a dozen paces down the hall, Zeth’s form approached with a casual ease. He flinched upon realizing how far he had been kicked with a single blow. Zeth had knocked Jhona the expanse of the corridor and into the adjoining wall.

  This was the Death Element, its power an abomination to Life. How could Jhona fight this? No. He must fight. For Elwin and Athina. She only needed to escape. He would buy her whatever time he could. Jhona pushed himself to his feet and walked a few shaky steps toward Zeth.

  Pulling more Earth into his essence, he crafted a dozen swords at every possible angle. Zeth dodged by jumping backwards. The walls began to shake with effort to hold the ceiling. Pulling the stone from the walls to form the swords had begun to compromise the structure’s integrity.

  “Fool,” came Zeth’s malformed voice. “You will kill us both.”

  Jhona smiled at Zeth.

  Destroying evil so that an innocent could live would be a worthy death. He focused on the ceiling and began to tame all of his power. Forming the image of a hand in his mind, he prepared to flatten them both in the hallway.

  The floor beneath him, the walls, and the ceiling began to shake in protest. The ancient power that had formed the castle resisted collapse. Without warning, a sharp pain struck the back of his head and his unspent power was ripped from his essence. He could feel the flow of Air surrounding him in strands that felt like iron ropes. No matter how he flexed against his unseen bonds, they wouldn’t budge. Reaching for the power in his essence, he realized that it was blocked as if by a physical wall.

  He could still see Zeth, several paces in front of him, but the source of the manifested Air was somewhere behind him. The darkened form began to materialize back into flesh as Zeth made his way through the sword strewn hallway.

  Zeth’s smirk returned. “What took you so long?”

  A woman with golden hair materialized out of the air. “I have been here for long enough, waiting behind my veil for just the right time.”

  The woman, near identical to Athina, stood before him.

  “Lana,” Jhona breathed. “I should have known when Zeth appeared so quickly that you were working with him. But I never wanted to believe that you … It is not too late. You have not bound yourself to Abaddon. I cannot feel the taint on you.”

  “Nothing is ever as it seems, old man,” Lana said. He felt a surge of power from her, then abruptly he could move. He flexed his essence against hers to no avail. She had him.

  “Sit,” she said as if commanding a hound.

  Jhona wanted to defy her, but his legs seemed too weary to hold his weight for much longer. He leaned against the wall and lowered himself to the ground. When concentrating, Jhona could feel her hold on his essence with his mind’s eye, but he could sooner reach the moon than touch his power.

  Taken … he thought. How could I let myself be taken?

  She held him like an iron vise. How could he have been so foolish? He had not even thought to feel for an attack on his essence from behind. Zeth had been his primary focus. She was draining him. He could feel his essence emptying.

  “Bain’s soul is already lost.” Jhona had not meant it to be a question, though she had answered as if it had been.

  “Not yet,” Lana smiled. “But when he learns of his wife’s and brother’s betrayal …”

  She leaned in and began patting his head and caressing his hair.

  He jerked his head away. “You are lying. It is why he has refused me these last few tendays. He knew that I would sense him.”

  Her laugh was full mirth. It made him think of Athina.

  “No matter,” she said. “You would have known soon enough.”

  “But you are not Athina. She was always the best of us all. I can understand how your envy of her would lead you to such a path. Why did I not see it before?” Jhona shook his head. Despite it all, he felt pity for her. “Do you think Bain will love you now? With Athina out of the way? You are a fool.”

  The power of Air surged into her swing, and her hand connected with his face before he could flinch away. Pain wracked his senses, and the hallway went dark.

  When he opened his eyes, his ears rang and his vision was slow to focus. The stone floor felt cold on his side. Soldiers in black and red livery stood a few paces away speaking to Lana. He struggled to sit upright, and his back ached at the motion. Deep crimson spittle dropped to the floor from his lips.

  Lana turned to regard him with a
cool stare.

  “Where is she?” Jhona asked.

  She stalked toward him and looked down her nose at him. “I did not have enough time to get the guards and lesser savants in place to stop her, but no matter. By nightfall, we will track her in the shadow realm. There will be no escape. You have caused yourselves pain for nothing.”

  She made it. With the pendant, they would never find her. Jhona smiled at the thought.

  Lana’s mirth vanished, and she knelt to look directly into his eyes. “I warn you. Do not mock me again, old man.”

  Jhona took a deep breath and said, “I have to thank you.”

  She winced at his words, and he felt the laughter in his throat before he could stop himself. The motion made his jaw ache. He could not say why he laughed. Maybe it was the look of confusion on her face. Maybe it was that he had lost his freedom to two of his former pupils, his own brother’s companions. Maybe he had a concussion from being thrown against the wall like a child’s toy. He could not say. But now that it came, he could not be rid of it. Leaving from his gut, the laughter took over like a disease. His stomach ached and his back began to spasm from the motion of it, but he could not stop.

  Her voice was like ice. “I warned you not to mock me.”

  His laugh turned into a cough, and spittle flew from his mouth and hit Lana’s face. She stood and raised her arm as if to strike him, but Zeth grabbed her arm before she could swing.

  “Do not be so hasty. If he dies, he cannot talk. Another blow to the head might destroy his wits. What are left of them.” Zeth turned to Jhona. “Save yourself the pain, and tell us where she is going.”

  “Thank you,” Jhona said once more to Athina. It was still an effort not to chuckle. A few escaped as he spoke. “When Athina first came to me, I couldn’t believe my little brother would do the things she claimed. The plan to attack Alcoa, our cousin and his childhood friend, that he was looking for gifted children to build an army. And the possibility that he was losing his soul. I just couldn’t believe it. So I have to thank you … I know now that I choose well to help Athina. You will never find her.”