Summoner's Call (The Summoner Trilogy Book 1)

by Sarah Anne Piddock

  ‘Thank you.’ Kirinya blushed and looked down at her feet, ‘I haven’t treated you very well-’

  ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Seiya waved the apology away, at the moment it was meaningless, every part of her was just longing to collapse in bed.

  ‘The Masters took Gorbacov away,’ Kirinya looked up at her with worrying confidence and Seiya realised uneasily that the girl seemed to think she would somehow be able to sort this out as well.

  ‘He’ll be fine,’ she said reassuringly, Gorbacov didn’t seem the sort to meekly accept his situation. Besides, coming to help at the last minute didn’t erase the fact he was the one who had knowingly put them in danger, all his reservations about the exam made sense in hindsight. The way he had been willing to attack her to get her to fight, he’d known she’d have to do it for real.

  ‘Bifull will take you to your room,’ Seiya didn’t bother turning round as Youally addressed her and felt the Master’s anger and frustration climb even higher.

  ‘You will not leave. Food will be brought to you and you are not to attempt any summoning or there will be dire consequences.’

  Only if you can catch me, Seiya thought but resisted the urge to say it out loud. There was nothing to gain by provoking him further, not when all she really wanted was sleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  Seiya heard the key turning in the lock before the accompanying banging on the door, she hadn’t even noticed her room had a keyhole until Bifull locked her in the day before. Certainly she hadn’t been provided with the key. Her own “lock” was the chair rammed under the door handle to prevent it turning, the desk acting as an additional barricade. Although moving the heavy wooden furniture yesterday had drained what little energy she had left after the exam debacle it meant that no-one would be able to sneak in and trap her in the Kurlin-Ra while she slept.

  The pounding became more insistent and Seiya gave a small smile, it was a long way from a polite knock but she still accepted it as a small measure of triumph. She hadn’t recognised any of the students bringing her food, none had worn any armbands but she could guess from their age they were probably high levels. Obviously Youally thought she was less likely to try and fight her way out if she didn’t know her opponents capabilities. Dragging the desk and chair away from the door she provided just enough space to allow it to open, putting the furniture between herself and the summoner who squeezed through, plate of food in hand. The first two had tried to force their way in, her wake-up alarm the wooden furniture squealing in protest as it was pushed against the stone floor. Dumping the dinner on the table the summoner avoided eye contact completely, the slamming door swiftly followed by the familiar metallic rattle of the lock as it turned. Pushing the furniture back into place once more Seiya accepted she didn’t really need to do so during the day, the lock was loud enough to give her plenty of warning while she was awake but she felt it was an important message for the summoners guarding her. No matter how wary they were of her, she trusted them even less.

  The sun set with still no word from the Council and Seiya stared longingly out the window. She would give it one more day, then tomorrow night she would request summon a demon to fly her out of here. Her fingers drummed the stone windowsill as she leaned out and over; unsure if the goosebumps running up her arms were from the rapidly dropping night-time temperature or the thought of trying to call a rank twelve. There was no point in worrying. Pulling the glass panes in until only a tiny slit was left to allow air to circulate Seiya looked towards the bed. She could have an early night but she had already spent most of the day resting. She itched to call Aleos or just any demon to talk to but she knew the guard posted outside her door would instantly sense it. Aleos had explained the room seals actually kept the power from other summoners out rather than containing her own so anybody in the corridor would feel her summoning the same as if they were standing in a training hall together. Finally Seiya’s eyes were drawn to the diary on the floor, the corner poking out from a pile of parchments she’d dumped when re-purposing her desk.

  At least it was something to do. She hadn’t looked at the diary in a while, the day-to-day accounts of lessons quickly becoming tedious and very different to her current experience. Picking it up she was surprised when it opened to a blank page; she had assumed the dairy was full, otherwise why leave it? The owner had meticulously written in it everyday without fail, it was difficult to imagine someone breaking that kind of habit. Leafing through from the back she searched for the last entry.

  “I have to leave.”

  Seiya’s eyebrows rose at the hasty scrawl that filled the pages, the previous entries had been enviously neat.

  “They’ll be at Firat tomorrow, Lucina and Merion are coming as well, if we fly we can make it.”

  The very last line was written further down the page, separate and isolated.

  “May the demons forgive me.”

  The large blot of ink at the end showed where the writer had paused, Seiya wished they had written more. The tone was as starkly different as the handwriting. Turning to the front of book she skimmed through it rapidly, trying to find what had happened to cause such a drastic change in those last few sentences. All the previous entries had been about working with the demons, the summoners in the past had been little more than facilitators; to tell the truth it had been boring to read.

  “Lord Jarnal wants summoners to call demons to fight against Lord Kraften’s invasion.”

  The idea was ridiculous, or at least it had been back then. Seiya felt angry on the demon’s behalf; they had been artisans and crafts people, yet the lords had seen them only as creatures built for fighting. Frustratingly the diary then returned to documenting daily school life. Seiya skimmed ahead, the friendship arguments and subsequent reconciliations didn’t interest her in the slightest. She already knew how this was likely to end…

  “Demons attacked Lord Kraften’s army. Nobody knows how but three of them slaughtered nearly a hundred.”

  Only a couple of weeks, Seiya noted the date at the top of the entry. It hadn’t taken long for the summoners to give in to temptation, no doubt the rewards for fighting far outstripped those for simply constructing buildings. The numbers were believable, if anything they were on the low side. She couldn’t see how a normal person could fight against a demon, and if fire elementals were involved… Inevitably Lord Kraften made a counter offer, and only a few days later came the battle between demons; the two groups of summoners facing off against each other. It would be easy for the other summoners to discover how the original group had forced the demons to fight, if they were high enough level all they needed to do was watch from nearby and they’d feel the bindings at work. Seiya had no doubt in her mind the approach they used was the summoning they taught today with the chanted incantation.

  “The demons are beginning to refuse our summons. They say we must stop the others forcing them to fight but I don’t know how.”

  Desperation, confusion; Seiya got the feeling the person writing was still a child, they knew what was right but had no way to stop the stronger summoners.

  “A fight broke out in the hall today.”

  The writing looked shaky towards the start though it settled down later on. Seiya tried to imagine the person writing it, huddling in their room, scared by what was going on.

  “The summoners from the two lords clashed, both are trying to recruit more. We saw them summon and the demons fight.”

  That would have been a turning point, Seiya thought to herself. A demonstration of the new summoning technique; with the demons refusing to cross over the summoners wouldn’t be getting paid and here was the solution.

  “We used the incantation today, but only so the demons would come across, we won’t make them fight.”

  Seiya hated seeing her suspicions confirmed, of course even if they relaxed all the bindings the demons would still be unable to return without a summoner’s dismissal. With the request summonings they could simply refuse to appe
ar and avoid being trapped, but this way? They could blackmail the demon into doing what they wanted. As she read on the accounts became increasingly damning. The demons were pleading with the summoners so the speech bindings were used. Kept mute they refused to work, a couple even pretending to attack the summoners so then came the physical. Except by then skilled craftsmanship would no longer be possible, leaving the summoners few options to earn an income with their demon puppets. All this time the lists of people leaving kept increasing, some to Lord Kraften, some to Lord Jarnal and some just seemed to be disappearing, usually those who were most outspoken against the new techniques.

  Seiya closed her eyes in quiet despair, this had all happened long ago, there was nothing she could do yet she felt helpless sat here watching the situation spiral more and more out of control.

  “Summoners serving Lord Kraften have taken over the school, all the older students and Masters who supported Lord Jarnal are now in cells in the basement. Marni says we should leave, her sister is strong enough to fly us out of here.”

  For a couple of days there were no entries at all, then the hurried scrawl across the page.

  “Lord Jarnal’s summoners have flown a small army into Lord Kraften’s lands. Marni says they’re destroying towns and villages, her sister is leaving tonight. They’ll be at Firat tomorrow-”

  Seiya put the book down on the bed as she finally saw the whole picture behind the last desperate lines. She wondered what had prompted the student to hide the diary, no wonder the history books didn’t detail Rhianwater’s past; the summoners had become nothing more than mercenaries who fought with demons rather than swords. How many had been killed? She strode to the windows and threw them open again, letting the chill wind blow past her, stinging her eyes to tears. It didn’t help with the nausea, all she could see were demons butchering people; what with the recent exam it wasn’t hard to imagine. Forced to choose between protecting her family and binding the demons to fight, even if it meant killing, she already knew what her response would have been. The thought of Jarin and Hamish-

  No!

  Seiya wrenched her mind away, the images conjured all too vividly. No wonder Aleos hadn’t told her. She wasn’t sure what would have been worse; thinking the demons were lying to try and turn her against summoners, or believing the amount of lives they had been forced to take. How could they be so accommodating now? Why didn’t they fight the summoning with everything they had?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Seiya was still tired when she woke the next morning; sleep had been unsurprisingly elusive, her mind struggling to come to terms with what she had read. Too restless to remain in bed she directed her nervous energy into pulling the furniture back from the door with as little noise as possible. She’d be escaping straight after breakfast unless they returned with a decision, she wanted to get out of this place. She would deal with anyone who followed her back to the ranch later.

  When Seiya heard the key in the lock she moved to the back of the room, her window already open in case they came to try and drag her away. She hadn’t forgotten the diary’s mention of cells in the lower levels of the school.

  ‘Good morning,’ Youally smiled as he entered and Seiya felt every muscle in her body tense up ready to defend herself, her eyes even flicking to the blade hidden within the mattress, frustratingly out of reach. If Youally was pleased then she was in trouble. Or perhaps not, when she examined his expression more closely the smile looked forced.

  ‘The Council have decided you’re too strong for your current level and so you’ll be moved up to the level six class.’ Seiya blinked in astonishment, it seemed more of a reward than a punishment. ‘However, you will also study level five in parallel.’

  ‘So I’ll be doing half and half?’ Seiya frowned as she tried to see how it would work, she’d simply end up struggling in both classes.

  ‘No,’ Youally corrected, ‘you will join the level six class.’

  ‘So when am I going to learn level five?’ Seiya demanded impatiently, she was in no mood for riddles. ‘The lessons go on all day.‘

  ‘Luckily we have the evenings and all night, not to mention all that time wasted during meals.’ Youally’s smile widened as Seiya finally understood; they meant to exhaust her, both physically and mentally.

  ‘I’m quite happy continuing at my current-’

  ‘The Council’s decision is final,’ Youally cut across her smugly. ‘Bifull will escort you to your class this morning. The master teaching you level five will collect you at the end of your lessons.’ It didn’t escape Seiya’s notice he didn’t say “after dinner”, nor had there been any mention of breakfast this morning. Clearly they meant to starve her as well.

  ‘What happened to Gorbacov?’ From Youally’s deliberate phrasing she was certain the level five master would be someone she hadn’t met, probably a friend of his who would be more than happy to work her into the ground with unreasonable demands.

  ‘That’s none of your concern.’ Seiya tried to control her reaction but the anger must have still shown, Youally smirked as he stood aside to let Bifull in. She had forgotten just how big the student was and was thankful she at least matched him in height, it would have been awful having him look down on her. He reached out as if to grab her arm but Seiya stared at him coldly. Her glacial expression had the desired effect, the boy wisely thinking better of it and changing it to an invitation for her to go ahead. Deciding that she had actually got off relatively lightly Seiya walked out the door, purposefully avoiding looking at Youally while she waited for Bifull. She was still angry about what had happened in the arena, even more so after last night, it would have been summoners like Youally who would have eagerly taken money for killing. Her expression must have betrayed her desire to attack him, the smugness faltering slightly. Seiya smiled grimly at him, one day he would push her too far. Following Bifull down the corridor she didn’t look back to see his reaction.

  ‘Wait here.’

  Seiya tried to ignore her stomach’s petulant demands as Bifull walked across to the group standing ahead of them. She’d been fine until Bifull had taken her straight past the hall where the last stragglers had been finishing breakfast with the appetising aromas wafting out, her body telling her loud and clear that it was hungry and wanted whatever was on the other end of that smell. It wasn’t to be, the moment she’d slowed Bifull had dragged her past, by the time she’d wrenched her arm away the food was behind them.

  Folding her arms, Seiya stamped her feet on the grass to try and keep warm; if she’d known they were going to be outside then she would have brought something warmer. The others all looked to be wearing thick black cloaks, obviously a part of the uniform. Seiya doubted that the lack of anything similar for her was an oversight. She added cold below hunger to the list of discomforts the Council felt she deserved to suffer. At this point she wouldn’t have been surprised if somebody took her shoes and forced her to work barefoot.

  She didn’t recognise the Master Bifull was talking to, he’d made her stop so far away she couldn’t catch any of the conversation but from the other’s body language it was clear he was unimpressed at having Seiya join his class. Forced into, she corrected, perhaps if the Master’s opposition was that strong the council would give up on the ridiculous idea. Deciding that knowing her own reluctance would only encourage his refusal further she walked over.

  ‘I think the Master is right,’ the pair had been so engrossed in their own argument they hadn’t even noticed her approach. Both looked annoyed, Bifull at the fact she was interrupting, the Master that she had the audacity to try and push into his class.

  ‘It would be madness to put me in a level six class when I’ve only passed the level four exam.’ Her eyes were on the level six Master who nodded emphatically in agreement. ‘I’m quite happy-’

  ‘This is the Council’s decision,’ Bifull snapped at her, ‘you don’t have a say in the matter.’ Seiya couldn’t feel the cold anymore as heat rushed through her bo
dy, the open challenge was incredibly tempting. Bifull was only a level six student, whether or not he was apprenticed to Youally she was certain he’d be too slow to react to her summoning a flying demon. The Master didn’t know her, someone like Youally would probably intervene quickly enough to cause a problem but he had no reason to be on guard or prepared for trouble. Whatever Bifull, Youally or the Council might think she most definitely had a say in what was done to her. It was just limited to obeying or a desperate escape attempt; still a choice though. She wondered if Bifull had noticed the way the Master stiffened as he had spoken with the Council’s authority, the expression of slight irritation morphing into extreme annoyance. Seiya hoped Bifull would make another mistake to push the Master over the edge, then he would probably refuse just to prove a point.

  ‘I wasn’t consulted on this,’ the Master’s voice was tightly controlled and to Seiya’s disappointment Bifull flushed slightly and bowed his head, heeding the warning tone.

  ‘I’m sorry Master Paudry,’ the head bobbed in what Seiya assumed was a gesture of respect, ‘but I am only doing as the Council ordered. I was told you would know what was happening.’ This time it was Paudry’s turn to look uncomfortable.

  ‘Someone may have mentioned it,’ he answered roughly, trying to cover his embarrassment, ‘but I was busy at the time.’ Great, Seiya rolled her eyes skywards, the Master was hardly going to contest it any further when it was his own fault for not listening and raising objections when the Council told him in the first place. As she expected Master Paudry waved Bifull away impatiently, resigned to the situation.

  ‘Alright, I’ll let her join for now.’