Taming the Elements: Elwin Escari Chronicles: Volume 1 (5 page)

Found something? Bain had been alive all these years. Still searching. Why had he not sent word? He opened his mouth to voice his questions, but Bain continued before he could form the words.

“Something that we have sought our entire lives to find.”

“You found an artifact of power,” Thirod said, “something from before the Shadow Wars?”

“I have found that and more.” Bain’s dark eyes glittered in the light of the fireworks.

Could it be? Could he have found the Orb of Inra? Something like that would ensure the success of his kingdom for the rest of time. Not even the Awakening could be a match against such an artifact.

When it was clear Bain would say no more, Alcoa said, “All this time I have mourned you for dead. You must allow me to welcome you properly. Please let us sit.”

Bain took a few steps further into the room and stared at Thirod for several moments. “I have found Abaddon’s castle in a land unclaimed by any. The castle bears my crest, and I have come to declare those lands the nation of Bain.”

“What?”

He had not drank that much wine, but his mouth felt dry and his tongue thick. Nothing seemed to make sense to him. What was he hearing? Bain and he were cousins. Of an age with one another, they had grown up as brothers. Bain and he had been trained together in the Elements by Jhona Solsec, Bain’s brother.

Bain hadn’t aged a day. The face before him looked the same as the day he had left. But who was this man? An image of a friend he had given up for dead, now declaring himself a nation?

“This is not the proper venue, my friend. We are celebrating p—”

“Celebrating what?” Bain did not raise his voice, but his tone was cold as iron. “Our kind are dying. All the while, you let these fools, the so-called Guardians of Life, snuff out the powers of the Elements. Fanatics, who would as soon destroy any gifted as save them, hunt our kind, and you let the vermin nest in your very castle. What is there to celebrate?”

Thirod’s mouth worked, but nothing came from his lips. No thoughts seemed to hold. No one had spoken to him like this in years. Not since … No one had addressed King Alcoa in such an informal manner since the day Bain left. From any other person in his kingdom, Thirod Alcoa would have never allowed such blatant insolence.

“Bain,” Alcoa said in a calm voice, “the Guardians of Life hunt down Death bound and those who violate the Laws of Power, and they ensure our survival. That is their purpose. Nothing more. Their sect is almost as old as my nation and the Sacred Order. As old as the Shadow Wars. I did not make these laws. I only uphold them, as my father did and his before him. You know this.”

Bain snorted. “They are like a weed choking the life out of a fruitful garden. Any weed allowed to grow freely will topple even the greatest plant. Over the last two thousand years, they have made accusations and convictions in a single breath. The sentencing for any crime against the Laws of Power is execution. And now fewer gifted are in the world than ever before with the Awakening upon us.”

“Nonsense,” Alcoa said. “The Awakening cannot happen until there is born an elementalist that is true. That has not happened yet. You know the prophecy better than any.”

“Athina gave me a child.” Bain’s smile sent chills down Alcoa’s spine. “The child has a spark of power in him so great that he will rival any who have lived in the past three thousand years. He will be the one to fulfill the first prophecy. We both know that if Athina has a Seeing that it will come to pass.”

The first prophecy? It couldn’t be. Not yet.

He started to repeat his thoughts aloud, but instead he shook his head and said, “She is still alive as well?”

“Jhona, Lana, Zeth. Even Fasuri, Ferious, and Mordeci. All of your old generals have joined me.”

Bain had to be lying, but there he stood. And he had seen none of the rest since before they set out on that Life-forsaken journey.

“Finally,” Bain said. “You feel regret for sending me on that cursed mission. Did you really think we would fight the Vampire Legion in their own lands to search for trinkets?”

“You never fought them?”

“Of course not,” Bain said. “I parlayed with them and barely escaped with my life. But I knew I could not return here. The night before I left, He came to me and showed me the way.”

“He?”

“I knew I could not return.” Bain’s words floated somewhere in his mind, as if this was some bad dream. The fireworks still boomed in the background, mocking his earlier thoughts of peace.

“I was not bound to Him, but He guided me still.”

“Enough,” Thirod said. “Do you not see what is happening to you? The Seeker of Souls is more gifted in twisting words than the most renowned orator. He is tricking you into giving him your soul. I can feel the reverence in your voice even as you speak of him.”

Bain stepped closer. He was just more than an arm’s length away when he spoke. “Shouldn’t we revere those with power?”

This could not be happening. His thoughts raced. He had to capture Bain and make him see reason. As long as his soul remained free, there would still be hope for him. Pushing thoughts from his mind, Thirod made his decision.

He opened his essence to Air with the intentions to use its power to hold Bain in place.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Bain said in a voice that gave Thirod pause. “I did not come to fight you today.”

“Why then? To declare that you are no longer my subject? You are my friend. If you wish to declare yourself a nation, then I will fully endorse you. I will mark lands for you to—”

“I came to give you a choice,” Bain said. “You can disband the Guardians of Life and swear your allegiance to me, and I will leave your nation to your rule.”

Though Bain had not moved against him, Thirod flinched as if slapped.

Let
him
rule
his
nation?

And the Guardians of Life were more numerous than even his own army, and half of them were in his nation. He could not disband them without a civil war, even if he wanted to. Which he didn’t.

Alcoa made his voice like steel. “Or?”

Bain leaned forward and said just louder than a whisper, “I will unleash my armies and my power and tear your nation down around you.”

Thirod clenched his jaw closed. He had sent his friend and so many others to battle the vampires, who were rumored to have artifacts of power. They were to be the last great victory to bring the known world to a true peace. His actions had been a fool’s arrogance. After Bain’s disappearance, he had assumed the worst. For over seven years he had felt the pain of regret for nothing. And now, his childhood friend had come to betray him? That had been Bain’s purpose all along. Anger took hold of Thirod.

Taming Air to hold Bain, he shouted, “Guards!”

As threads of Air formed around Bain to hold him, soft wisps of light merged with Bain and a lash of Air knocked the threads into pieces. Thirod continued shouting for the guards, sending more bindings of Air to hold Bain. Without a hint of concern on his face, Bain knocked each attack aside with his own thin lashes of Air.

Bain tamed flight while countering Thirod’s attacks, his body lifting slowly into the air.

Pulling more Air into his essence, Alcoa willed his body to move to the expanse between Bain and the balcony. He felt sweat drip down his face from the exertion, but he did not let up on his attacks. “GUARDS!”

“You have made the wrong decision,” Bain said calmly.

Bain smirked then became a blur of motion, moving faster than Thirod’s eyes could track. A rush of wind forced Thirod to turn toward the balcony. Bain hovered just outside, above the terrace. Behind him, the fireworks illuminated the darkness.

Alcoa blinked several times to be sure it had actually happened. He had been sure he had felt a burst of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water released from Bain. Thirod wanted to reason out what had happened, but Bain didn’t give him the chance.

“Verinda looks as lovely as ever,” Bain said. His smirk deepened into a smile that did not touch his eyes. “Your oldest boy looks more like you though.”

Thirod felt a lump in his throat that tasted like bile. Verinda had taken the boys to the wharf to watch the display of fireworks over the ocean.

“If you have harmed them …,” his voice shook.

Bain raised a hand in a placating motion. “Do not fear. I have not harmed them. If I were to kill them, who would remain to watch your fall? Even after, I may yet them live.”

Thirod began to tame Air, forming a lightning hurl in his mind. Before the power could reach his grasp, a force hit his essence like an avalanche and ripped his power from his grasp. The flow of Air sustaining his flight vanished, and he fell the few feet to the floor. His feet hit before he had time to adjust to the fall, and his knee collapsed with a crunch. He gritted his teeth against the pain, so he would not cry out.

The pain in his knee throbbed, but that was not what held him on the floor looking up at Bain through wide eyes. Bain had taken his essence. Thirod had been filled with the power of Air and aware of Bain, and still the other man had handled him as he would a child new to his powers.

Thirod met Bain’s eyes. The Frozen Plains had more compassion in its icy wasteland.

“Before I take your life,” Bain said, “you will see your nation in ruins. Your allies will become mine. Verinda and your children will grovel at my feet and beg for mercy. I will break their wills to mine, then I will rebuild your kingdom in my image and destroy the plague in its midst. You will live in the dungeons beneath this castle, begging for death. Only then, will you die by my hands.”

Alcoa blinked, and Bain was gone.

It took several moments before Thirod tested his essence. His power was his own once more. He sat for a moment, watching the colorful display without letting his eyes focus on any of the images.

How had Bain become so powerful? An artifact of power? What else?

Thirod looked down at his knee. Even covered in trousers, he could see it swollen twice its normal size.

“Guards.” His voice was not as loud this time. “Where are my guards?”

Taming Air, he gingerly picked himself up to hover just above the floor. His leg dangled without use, but stabs of pain still traveled up his thigh at the motion as he moved toward the antechamber.

The white hallway was well lit by lamp light. Red pools spattered the walls and floors. Four men, wearing full chain and white cloaks had been strewn haphazardly. Lifeless eyes stared at him from every man. None of them had even drawn a sword.

He wasn’t sure if it was fear or anger that made his hands shake. But he was already making war in his mind.

“This ends our peace. It begins.”

As the sun cast its first rays over the town of Benedict, Poppe opened the shudders, and light spilled into the tavern area of his inn. He took a deep breath and exhaled the crisp, morning air of Summer Solstice. There was a hint of fresh daisies and summer blooms.

He could hear Faron’s hammer already banging the iron at his smithy down the street. There would be others in the town making last minute preparations for the festival. Every family from the outer farms and villages would be on their way as well. Some would bring crops for sale, and others would bring families with coin.

Within the hour, the town square would be filled with tables and booths with a plethora of wares. Soon after that, people would fill his inn.

Poppe turned and walked through the dozen empty chairs and polished the already clean tables. Nothing could ever be too clean after all. At least not today of all days. After each table was polished to satisfaction, he adjusted his spectacles for more accurate scrutiny.

He could almost see the day’s patrons, all sitting at the redwood tables enjoying his fine ales and beers. Jansen had brewed a new wheat beer with darkened hops. The brewer had accidentally burnt the hops, but somehow that added to the flavor of the brew. It had a filling, smooth flavor that his patrons were sure to enjoy.

“Today is a big day,” he told the imagined patrons.

He scratched his balding head, pretending that one of his many imaginary patrons had asked him,
Why is today a big day?

“Well, today,” he gave a dramatic pause, “is the Summer Solstice Festival!”