wingedmusician

Chapter One

    Sulfur’s pungent scent, wafting through the pane-less window was what woke me. Fire. The smoke snaked it’s way into my throat, choking me, stinging my eyes as the prickling warmth of the flames licked my neck.

    I had done it again. I had dreamt about a fire yet again, but this was the first time I had slept through it this long. I reached for my the bucket of water that usually sat by my bed, but it was too late. The cruel heat of my flames had destroyed the bucket. There wasn’t a moment to waste. If my bow had been destroyed, my arrows were next. That’s how my fire worked. Not like a normal flame that ate everything in it’s path. My flames seemed to jump from the most precious to the least, still destroying as normal fire, but in a different path.

    I jumped onto the window sill, the flames chasing me, hungering for flesh. I looked down about six stories all the way to the ocean at the bottom. The heat pressed against my back, flames licking my shoulders. No time to decide.

    I pushed off the window sill before I lost the guts. Everything went in slow motion, I was weightless. Then, as if the flames eating my clothes weren’t enough, gravity clutched me and pulled me down. The wind stole my breath, and the ocean rushed towards me, closer and closer, until... FOOOOOM!!! Bubbles surrounded me, drowning the flames.

    At first the water felt good, but then the salt began to eat away at my burned flesh, and the pressure increased. My stolen breath made it difficult not to gasp in a gulp of water. I struggled to the surface, just before I reached the surface, the dark welcome arms of unconscious enveloped me. I felt something pulling me out of the water but I was already gone.

    That was when the first dream came. Someone was yelling my name, bust the sound wasn’t traveling well, and I couldn’t tell what there voice sounded like. My burns were gone, I was weightless.

    I was surrounded by thick, black clouds. If I focused, I could make out some sort of palace, but instead of lighting up the darkness, it seemed to draw it in.

    “Linc! Lincoln!” The voice kept calling. I turned to see a middle aged women. She had my brown eyes and the same dark curly hair. “Oh, you're so grown up since the last time I saw you!” She practically squealed.

    I raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, have we met?”

    “Oh, you wouldn’t remember, it was over thirty years ago.” She smiled.

    “Excuse me? Where are we? What happened to gravity? Why do you-”

    “So many questions, son. Sorry, too soon? You remind me of myself when I was… well, that was quite a while ago, when-”

    “Stop!” I tried not to shout. Before I could ask about anything she continued on as if I hadn’t spoke.

    “All your questions will be answered in due time.” She sighed. “It’s rather complicated- but let’s focus on the matter at hand, shall we? You need to learn to control your abilities or you’ll burn yourself to your death before you could even begin to save me!”

    “Save you?” It was all too much. “Wait, isn’t this a dream? Should I call you mom? ‘Cause we only just met-”

    “It’s a vision, dear. Not a dream, though your physical form is unconscious, in a lot of pain. You may call me- er, Penny. Oh yes, I like the sound of that.”

    “Um, okay. So… Penny… would you mind explaining this? Without the … um…”

    “Straight to the point, then?” She smiled again. “Not a good listener either.” She muttered. “As I said but a moment ago, this will all make sense in due time. I will visit you again.”

    “Are you leaving already? You just got here! You can’t just go around claiming you're my mother, then leave! This isn’t even real. This is a dream.”

    “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.”  She sighed. “I suppose you need more time.” She muttered, almost to herself. “Goodbye, Lincoln. I will talk to you soon.”