Free Taming the Elements: Elwin Escari Chronicles: Volume 1 by David Ekrut

sank. “Yes, sir.”
    He squeezed past them and into the house, daring to hope that his mother would at least hear him out. He ran up to give her a hug.
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “You heard your father.”
    Without a word, he turned to his right and went down the hall to his room. He stripped to his small clothes and climbed into bed. Surely, they would let him go to the Summer Solstice Festival. They were already making him go to bed without dinner.
    “Feffer,” he cursed.
    Elwin turned about, trying to find a comfortable spot on his bed and failing. He settled onto his back and stared at the dark ceiling.

    Elwin opened his eyes and found himself standing in the common room of his home. His parents sat snuggled together on the lover’s bench by the fireplace.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know how I got here. I was just in my bed trying to sleep and now, here I am.”
    Neither of them moved from the small fire or acknowledged him. He blinked. They had never been this mad at him.
    “It was all Feffer,” Elwin said. “I promise.”
    Still no response.
    He walked around to stand between his parents and the fireplace. The warmth behind him had an odd feel. The heat of it seemed to pull at him. He pushed the thought from his mind. His parents stared into one another’s eyes, not seeming to notice him.
    “Hello?” Elwin said waving his hand at them.
    Drenen moved slowly toward his mother and touched his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.
    “Gross!” Elwin said turning from them. He would have rather been anywhere but there.
    When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the fields next to the farmhouse. The porch swing sat empty and moved with the breeze. The chill wind touched his arms and legs, sending ripples through his body. It seemed to fill him until he shook from the cold.
    “I’m dreaming,” he realized. How else could he have moved out here? He hadn’t walked.
    He turned around to look at the fields. A thin fog covered the rows of crops, but the high moon provided enough light to reveal the forest beyond the fields. Tall redwood trees stretched toward the sky. Elwin could make out a clearing in the trees, where he knew a lake to be. Many long days in the fields ended with a dip in the lake. It was the best part of working the fields in the summer.
    In the time it took Elwin to blink, he found himself in the forest. Trees towered over him, and the fog became thicker around him. The gentle voice of a woman’s singing echoed somewhere in the distance. He listened for a moment to the lady’s wordless lullaby. It seemed to beckon him. West. It sounded as if it came from the west. That would take him back to the farm.
    “Who’s there?” he called.
    A mist formed over the lake and crept toward him like a massive serpent. Elwin stepped back, and the advance of the fog slowed. It moved into a formless cloud of a size with Elwin, then patterns began to emerge from the fog. It was a face.
    He blinked and rubbed at his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, a man stepped from the fog. He wore blue silks cut in a fashion Elwin had never seen. His dark hair was cut short, and his eyes seemed to be cloaked in shadow. Despite the charming smile on the man’s face, a voice in his mind told Elwin to run. Behind him, the woman’s singing became more urgent.
    “Hello, Son of Bain,” the man said in a pleasant voice. “Long have I awaited this meeting.”
    “Son of Bain?” he said. “My name is Elwin.”
    “Aye,” he said. “You are the one called Elwin. Your bloodline sings to me.”
    Elwin blinked. The instinct to run sounded like gongs in his mind. But this was just a dream. Wasn’t it?
    “Who are you?” Elwin said, ignoring his fears.
    “I am called by many names,” the man said. “I was once called the Son of Life. My enemies have called me by more names than even I know. You may call me by the name given to me by my mother. Abudan”
    “Abudan?” Elwin said. “That name sounds