Summoner's Call (The Summoner Trilogy Book 1)

by Sarah Anne Piddock

  ‘No!’ Seiya opened her eyes at the dismayed exclamation from the Masters as the demons leapt through the portal, crashing into the bound summonees. Seiya whirled round to watch another rush past her, colliding with Youally’s demon. The elation didn’t last long, Havir was already weaving his own summoning, based on the strength of his gateway she didn’t intend to hang around to find out what rank he was now capable of calling.

  ‘Finally!’ she shouted out loud as the demon she had been waiting for finally crossed over, the bulky earth elemental wasted no time scooping her up. The Masters started to organise their demons into some sort of barrier, but Seiya had no intention of escaping that way, the corridor was now packed with battling demons.

  ‘We need to get out!’ she shouted at the earth elemental, ‘break through the walls!’ Without the link formed by summoning she wasn’t able to speak using her thoughts, or at least not yet. Spinning as she sensed a sudden heat Seiya turned just in time to see a fire ball disintegrating against an elemental shield, barely an arm span from her head. It seemed the demons had thought of everything when they readied the rescue force that would come through the portal. With a roar the demon holding her lunged towards the wall, at his touch the stone crumbled and he leapt through the hole into the chamber, charging across and crashing through to the other side. Another corridor, Seiya’s heart sank until she saw the windows in the wall, they were nearly there! Just as the elemental went to attack the final wall he lurched off balance, crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Struggling out from the chaotic mess Seiya saw Havir’s summoning had the demon pinned to the floor. The wall still stood, and without the summoning link she had no access to the elemental’s power. Demons were still pouring through the portal but none could match Havir’s rank, the huge demon barely fitting in the cramped corridor.

  ‘Why are you doing this?’ Havir yelled, and Seiya hated the frustrated confusion in his voice. She spotted him struggling to climb over the rubble left by her demon’s escape route, with Youally close behind.

  ‘I’ve got to go!’ Seiya didn’t dare say anymore, she had to escape, how could just one wall stand in her way? Cursing herself for not thinking of it sooner Seiya stopped feeding her energy into the portal, feeling instant relief as the drain on her power ceased, she hadn’t even noticed how much it was costing her to maintain it at a distance. The summoners would have to return the demons themselves; once she was gone it wasn’t as if they’d cause any trouble. With her power freed she flung out a request summoning, easily matching Havir’s.

  ‘Stop!’ Havir pleaded yet again, trapped by the piles of broken stone he used his demon to swing towards her instead. With that small distraction the earth elemental broke free, flinging its arm back and rapping the wall with only one knuckle, the surge of power barely noticeable. Seiya didn’t hesitate, racing over as the stone crumbled away, dust billowing everywhere. Havir’s demon lunged towards her but couldn’t see, blinded by the fine powder and hampered by its large size in the limited space it didn’t stand a chance. Bursting into fresh air Seiya kept running forwards, breathing deeply to clear her clogged lungs and blinking the grit from her eyes. Havir’s demon was only a step behind but it was already too late. Her request summoning hadn’t simply been intended as a distraction, the demon plummeting out the sky sent their pursuer crashing back into the school.

  ‘Here!’ Seiya waved her arms as the demon snapped back on itself, the lithe body whipping through the air. Even though she braced herself for the impact it still hurt when the demon’s cupped claws snatched her from the ground.

  ‘Where to?’ Seiya almost sighed with relief when she heard the demon’s voice, it had been strange being surrounded by so many of them yet hearing none. ‘I’m going to have to summon on the move,’ Seiya explained, ‘can you fly toward Carapel?’

  ‘Of course,’ Seiya was once again thankful the demons seemed to have a far better grip on geography than her, ‘just keep it small, my claws aren’t that big!’

  ‘No problem,’ Seiya grinned in response as she sent out a call to an old friend.

  ‘Youally stopped en-route,’ Aleos assured her, ‘the demon is fairly sure he left the basket with your brother but returned alone.’

  ‘So he can take me there?’ Seiya had to use her thought-voice though Aleos was right beside her. Even within the shelter of the demon's claws the rushing wind made talking out loud near impossible.

  ‘It would be nearly a day’s round trip-’

  ‘Then why did you take so long!’ Seiya retorted sharply, she’d had no choice but to keep flying towards Carapel while Aleos had spoken with the other demons, now it appeared they’d been heading in the opposite direction to where Hamish was being held.

  Aleos’s silent reproof instantly made Seiya feel ashamed, the demons were trying their hardest to help.

  ‘Sorry,’ for the first time Seiya realised it was possible to mumble even when speaking with her mind, ‘it wasn’t your fault.’

  ‘If you want to intercept Amaran you must stay on this course,’ Aleos continued as if she had never spoken, ‘let us help your brother.’

  ‘How?’ Seiya regarded Aleos sceptically.

  ‘Land and open a portal, we can fly to where Youally stopped and try to find him.’

  ‘I need to know he’s safe,’ Seiya amplified her thoughts so the demon carrying them could hear as well. Aleos had only just shown her the technique and it still felt awkward, like she was trying to cram too much into a space that didn’t fit. Both demons assured her that in the past a summoner would converse with well over ten or twenty demons at a time, whether they had summoned them or not. Seiya had turned slightly green at the idea, she liked her mind to herself.

  ‘Will you be able to communicate with them?’

  ‘Not in one go,’ the demon carrying her replied and Seiya sensed he was talking to Aleos privately, a slight buzzing at the very edges of her mind before he addressed her once more. ‘But we can bring over several to leave at points along the way to relay the message.’

  ‘How many demons do you expect to bring across?’ Unbidden an image appeared in Seiya’s mind of a chain of demons stretching out across the land.

  ‘Enough.’ Aleos’s abrupt reply implied that she had no right to concern herself with such petty details.

  ‘But he’ll be terrified!’ Guiltily Seiya caught herself wishing the boys’ positions were reversed, she had a strong suspicion Jarin would consider being saved by demons brilliant fun, Hamish on the other hand-

  ‘We’ll be gentle,’ Aleos’s voice failed to reassure her, ‘there is a chance we may be able to talk to him.’

  ‘What?’ Seiya stared at Aleos, momentarily speechless.

  ‘The summoning gift runs in families,’ Aleos took advantage of the brief pause, ‘there is a chance he also inherited it.’

  ‘But neither of my parents are summoners.’

  ‘They were never trained,’ Aleos corrected her, ‘your mother has the potential, though her gift is far weaker than yours.’

  ‘So you could have talked to her?’ Seiya struggled to accept it, her family hadn’t even been aware of summoners until a year ago.

  ‘We would never talk to someone who was untrained,’ Aleos seemed offended by the suggestion. ‘Except in an emergency,’ he added quickly as Seiya frowned.

  ‘I’m not sure having your voice appearing in his head would frighten him any less than being scooped up by a demon,’ for once Seiya truly regretted the demon’s outward appearance. There was no escaping the fact they looked violent and dangerous.

  ‘Better he is scared and safe with us.’ Seiya gnawed her bottom lip, painfully aware that every second she spent talking took her further from Hamish, and would take her even longer to continue her journey to Carapel.

  ‘Could I do it?’ she directed her question at the flying demon.

  ‘Depends how long he stays in Carapel,’ he gave the demonic equivalent of a mental shrug, ‘he could already be flying t
owards us so any detour would make you miss him.’

  ‘And how will Youally react if Amaran returns?’ Aleos insisted. Seiya gazed at the demon uneasily, his persistence making her uncomfortable.

  ‘Why are you so determined to have me go after Amaran?’ it felt wrong questioning the demon’s motives, especially when he had made no comment on the way she had abandoned them on leaving Rhianwater.

  ‘You will take the book and destroy the source of the power binding us,’ Aleos’s faith made her want to squirm, in truth she was uncertain if she could even get the book from Amaran.

  ‘Youally will still have Jarin-’

  ‘You do not intend to give him the book!’ Aleos eyes widened, shock sharpening his tone. ‘You know he will never let your brother go, he needs to have a hold over you.’

  ‘He’s more likely to have me killed.’ Seiya pointed out pragmatically, with Youally in charge of her imprisonment it would hardly be surprising if every piece of food and drink was laced with poison. He needed her to defeat Amaran but after that? Why keep a dangerous person alive unnecessarily.

  ‘You have no idea what you’re going to do,’ Aleos said accusingly.

  ‘I know!’ Seiya pounded her fists against the demon’s claws in frustration, she knew she should have some wonderful idiot-proof plan but it was impossible to focus. All she could see were Jarin and Hamish; one held hostage by Youally, the other locked up somewhere and left to die.

  And it was all her fault, Seiya could feel the threads of self-control unravelling, the wave of panic and helplessness threatening to drown her.

  ‘Stop that!’ Aleos’s command sent pain lancing through her mind, fleeting but agonising. Seiya hadn’t felt anything like it since she brought across the unbound wild and it tried to rip her consciousness apart. Excruciating yet strangely cleansing it cut through the emotions overwhelming her and she clung to it desperately. By the time her awareness returned she was kneeling in the demon’s claws, her hands bracing her as she sucked in lungfuls of air.

  ‘We’re landing,’ Aleos informed her firmly, he had made no move to support or comfort her, simply watched as she struggled to pull her herself together. ‘You will open a portal, and hold it until we tell you to close it.’

  Seiya knew she should argue but couldn’t find the words; he was telling her she had to continue, had to find Amaran.

  Had to abandon Hamish.

  Squeezing her eyes tightly shut Seiya buried the thought deep inside. There was no way she could choose what path to take, impossible to choose which child to endanger.

  Staring numbly at her hands Seiya knew she would do what Aleos ordered; he would make the decisions she could not.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  ‘Here he comes,’ Baltha informed her, the flying demon had been doing his best to keep her focused but all Seiya could think of were the demons travelling in the opposite direction. Three flying demons, carrying between them a seemingly impossible number of lower rankings and elementals. If Youally had left anyone to guard Hamish they wouldn’t stand a chance.

  ‘How do you know?’ Seiya dragged her attention back to the task in front of her, she could see nothing through the small gap in the demon’s claws.

  ‘I can hear his demon,’ Seiya nodded slowly, it was nice to have some confirmation of the vast distances the demon’s claimed to communicate over. Apparently the speech bindings only applied to demon-human communication.

  ‘So he’s on the way back then,’ Seiya stretched and tried to warm stiff muscles within the demon’s protective claws, there were times when a basket would have been more useful. Her thoughts wandered to the Kurlin-Ra hidden where they landed, too late to change her mind now, the bulky item had no place in their plan. She had no intention of being near Amaran long enough to use it, and if she had the opportunity with Youally… Well, she was more inclined towards a permanent solution, one involving a loose wild demon was eminently appealing. Pulling her mind away from such blood-thirsty thoughts she silently she thanked Aleos for forcing her to continue, had she detoured then Amaran would have reached Rhianwater before she had even returned to the Carapel route.

  Seiya braced herself against the changing motion as Baltha began to ascend, yet Amaran’s approaching demon was nowhere in sight.

  ‘Look down, they’re just passing below us,’ Baltha slightly parted the two claws that formed the floor she was resting on, letting her look straight down. Seiya gulped at the sight of the small speck.

  ‘Are you sure it’s them?’ Seiya didn’t want to consider how high they must be for another demon to look so tiny, no wonder she was struggling to breathe. Suddenly their plan seemed the wrong side of insanity.

  ‘Hold on,’ her stomach rolled as Baltha whipped his body around and they plummeted downwards towards the rapidly growing dot. Seiya clamped her arms around one of the claws and gritted her teeth, her stomach left high above as her heart began to race at the dizzying descent. They weren’t just falling, Baltha was diving as fast as possible. The moving mark was now easily recognisable as a demon and they were still accelerating.

  ‘Slow down!’ Seiya screamed in her mind, ‘I’ll miss!’

  ‘Trust me,’ Baltha continued arrowing for the demon, ‘loosen your grip.’ Seiya bit back an oath as the claws started to open, then before she could react Baltha reached over with his other leg and picked her up with just two claws pressing either side of her waist, balancing her horizontally.

  ‘What are you- Ahhh!’ this time Seiya’s scream wasn’t only in her mind, it felt like she was belly flopping through the air.

  ‘Use your arms and legs to grab on,’ just like the other demon had done at Rhianwater Baltha reared back with his upper body, bringing their descent to a jarring halt, he couldn’t keep sweeping down or Amaran would be warned. Baltha was already starting to ascend again as he dropped her, Seiya’s mind blanking out completely as she tumbled through the air. Crashing into the other demon she somehow managed to wrap her limbs round one of the demon’s neck ridges, heart pounding in her throat. Never had the scaly hide felt so good against her skin. As she coaxed awareness to take up residence in her body once more Seiya noticed the metallic taste in her mouth, unmistakably blood. She had no idea if she’d bitten her tongue trying not to scream or when her head collided with the demon’s neck.

  At least the pain forced her to focus, there wasn’t time to be hanging around. Loosening her hold Seiya made herself sit up, bringing her feet up underneath her she carefully got into a crouching position, steadying herself against the neck ridge and steadfastly ignoring the protests from the sensible part of her brain. Baltha had aimed pretty well, but the demon’s legs holding the basket were still a couple of ridges along. Leaning into the rushing wind Seiya eased her way round the ridge and started taking small steps towards the next, arms outstretched. Suddenly she was thrown off-balance as the demon’s body rippled through the air, teetering unsteadily her eyes strayed to the empty air either side of the demon’s neck. By the time she recovered her breathing was heavily laboured, chest heaving as she tried to keep control. It was a long way down and even though Baltha had assured her he would be able to catch her it wasn’t something she fancied testing.

  Progress was painfully slow, reaching the second ridge Seiya couldn’t take it anymore. Sprinting for the last she gambled on speed over caution, this time the movement caught her with only one foot on the demon’s back. She didn’t stand a chance, in sheer desperation she threw her weight forwards as she fell, somehow managing to find the demon’s neck amidst the empty air. Panic and adrenalin rushed through her system as scrabbled for a hold, ramming her splayed fingers into the small gaps in the scales. So close. As her heart slowed Seiya lifted her head and nervously licked her lips, forcing her dry tongue to unstick from the roof of her mouth. The neck ridge was almost in reach. Loosening cramping fingers she shuffled forward on her belly, pushing with her outstretched toes, the gaps between the scales rubbing harshly at her skin. Wrapping he
r arm firmly around the protrusion Seiya pulled herself up until she was sitting once more. Through wind-whipped tears Seiya could see the demon’s leg disappearing underneath its body. Had it been one of the limbs not wrapped round the basket handle she would have been able to see it completely, claw and all.

  Now comes the hard part, Seiya found herself smiling at the sheer madness of what she was attempting. Lying on her front and locking her legs round the ridge she let her body fall forwards, wrapping round the demon’s side and then stretching along its leg. If only she had a rope she could have swung down and into the basket but there had been no time to find one; instead her body had to be the safety line. As her head cautiously emerged from below the demon’s body Amaran was looking away, staring forward out the basket with the satchel slung over his shoulder. Thanks to Baltha’s careful placement she was coming down at the back of the basket.

  Damn, Seiya cursed inwardly as she tried to ease the straining muscles in her shoulders, even at full stretch her arms were only just long enough to let her hands rest on the padding round the wicker handle. To get a proper grip and swing down she would have to unlock her legs and hope she could push herself forwards rather than down.

  ‘You ready Baltha?’ she called out to the demon, it was now or never, if the demon’s body rippled while she was hanging so precariously she would be shaken off.

  ‘If you fall I’ll catch you,’ Baltha told her firmly, ‘but you won’t fall.’

  ‘Easy for you to say,’ Seiya muttered under her breath, it would have helped her confidence if she was able to see her supposed protector. Slowly she unhooked one leg, all the muscles in the remaining anchor straining in protest.