Summoner's Call (The Summoner Trilogy Book 1)

by Sarah Anne Piddock

  ‘Why didn’t he tell me!’ kneeling by the huge head Seiya stroked the smooth hide and tried to ignore the tears of frustration welling in her eyes. ‘I could have just summoned another one-’

  ‘I didn’t realise I had been injured,’ the voice echoing in her mind instantly silenced her, though to Seiya’s dismay the eyes remained closed. ‘One moment I was fine, then I felt groggy and-’ Baltha gave a mental shudder. ‘I am so sorry, you could have been killed.’

  ‘It’s alright,’ Seiya rested her head on Baltha’s cheek, the delayed shock was finally setting in as she realised how close they had come to disaster. Swallowing down the hysterical sobs rising in her throat she focused on letting Baltha feel only her relief. ‘Is it safe to send you back, will that help?’

  ‘It’s for the best,’ the air elemental answered her before Baltha had a chance, ‘then you will need to summon another.’ Seiya blinked in momentary confusion, then felt her stomach flip all of its own accord as her mind pulled itself back together. Jamen. Youally. Jarin. Panic flooded through her, different to the one she had felt while falling, that had been primitive, instinctive, desperation for self-preservation. This was worse, before her brain had completely shut down but now it was the source of the terror, images cascading through her mind.

  ‘Hamish is back home,’ Baltha’s voice was worryingly weak and Seiya knew he was struggling, ‘there were no summoners at the ranch.’ Briefly Baltha’s pleasure washed over her, mingling with her own elation, ‘he is with your parents.’ She got a vague impression of Hamish in her mother’s arms, the demons had never attempted to communicate in pictures before. She wondered how her parents had coped with being helpless against Youally, what could they do as their children were flown away? How could anyone defend against a summoner, let alone attack them?

  ‘Is everything alright?’ Seiya started at Amaran’s voice, she’d forgotten he was even here.

  ‘Hamish is safely home and I’m going to send Baltha back, sounds like he had the demon version of concussion,’ she answered succinctly already creating the gateways to send both demons home.

  ‘Thank you for your help,’ she stepped away as the dismissal pattern came to life.

  ‘You thought of Baltha first,’ from the tone of the air elemental’s voice Seiya knew only she could hear, 'and cared about him. That means more to us than I can ever tell you.’ The demon was gone before Seiya got a chance to reply, though she could feel her cheeks were slightly hot, embarrassed by the demon’s words. Baltha had thought he was responsible? No, this had all been her fault from the start.

  ‘What about the demons with Hamish?’ Seiya looked at Amaran blankly for a second then swore out loud.

  ‘I’d completely forgotten,’ she glared at where the gateway had been, ‘and now I can’t communicate with them.’ Shaking her head slightly Seiya turned back to the basket, working on pushing it upright. ‘No point in worrying about it,’ she added as Amaran walked over to help her, ‘I’m sure they’ll do what’s best, if nothing else they’ll protect my family.’ The thought led her to another, Baltha never had mentioned if Hamish had been able to hear the demons, that was something she would definitely have to find out when this was over.

  ‘Jamen will be far ahead now,’ Amaran mused as they stood ready to jump into the basket, ‘chances are he will have found Youally and they’ll know you’re not coming back with the book.’

  ‘What does Youally want from the book?’ Despite the urgency Seiya couldn’t help her curiosity, certainly he wouldn’t want the same things she did.

  ‘It’s symbolic,’ Amaran shrugged, ‘and me and Havir may have led him to believe it has techniques for summoning very powerful demons.’ He had the grace to look slightly guilty as Seiya stared at him.

  ‘It was so we’d know he was plotting something if he went for the book,’ Amaran quickly added, his tone defensive, ‘we made sure he found out where it was kept-’

  ‘But only I was stupid enough to fall for it?’ Amaran’s mouth snapped smartly shut as Seiya cut across. At least it was some consolation to know he had been guarding the book from Youally, not her.

  ‘I never thought-’ Amaran stopped and shook his head in frustration. ‘There’s no time for this, there’s no telling what Youally will do.’

  ‘Youally doesn’t know about me wanting to free the demons, does he?’ Seiya queried, looking to Amaran for confirmation.

  ‘I don’t know what he’ll think,’ Amaran paused to gather his thoughts, ‘we could be working together to fight him, you could have defeated me and taken the book to become headmaster yourself, or just to attack him for hurting your brother.’

  ‘Either way he thinks he still has Hamish so I won’t risk killing him.’ Seiya leapt into the basket, aware that every second they spent talking wasted valuable flying time.

  ‘But if Youally and Jamen are working together and they think I’m out of the way,’ Amaran frowned as he followed her over the side, ‘then they could easily try taking over the school.’

  ‘It’s that close?’ Seiya was surprised when Amaran nodded.

  ‘There aren’t many who would oppose Youally without my power,’ strangely Seiya detected no hint of arrogance in Amaran’s voice, he was just stating a fact.

  ‘And those that do?’ her mind drifted uncomfortably to Havir, he would be Youally’s first target.

  ‘Get a demon here so we can start flying,’ Amaran faced her with a grim expression, seemingly ignoring her question. ‘We need some sort of plan.’

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Seiya couldn’t help feeling that Amaran’s definition of “a plan” differed greatly from her own. For starters they should actually have some idea of what they were going to do once they reached Rhianwater. She had been the one to suggest splitting up; their objectives were completely different, she wanted to save Jarin and get away, he wanted to confront Youally and Jamen and re-establish himself as the one in charge. Landing had taken up yet more precious time but there was no way she could convince Amaran to attempt a mid-air switch with the basket or to continue with her own request demon. Strangely she felt safer in her demon’s claws than the wicker contraption and she would need the added flexibility.

  Sunlight reflected off the lake as they approached and Seiya couldn’t resist looking down as they passed over, amazed by the stunning blue. Usually the water imitated the overcast skies, grey and uninviting, but today there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Typical, Seiya cursed inwardly, without any cloud cover to hide above they had to approach ridiculously high to have any chance of remaining undetected. Even Rhianwater’s grey stone shone nearly white in the brilliant sun, reminding her uncomfortably of approaching the arena for the level four exam. Why was the best weather always on the worst days? It was impossible to make out any people below, but then again she would just be a dot in the sky, if anyone did happen to look up they would assume she was nothing more than a passing bird. Seiya’s stomach quailed as the demon’s forward momentum slowed, one thing was certain, she was utterly sick of falling. Her mind flicked back to Amaran, the demon assured her he was still approaching but had opted for a less stealthy entrance. Despite his protestations that he would do everything in his power to help her brother she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe he would willingly give up everything he had tried so hard to achieve. Plus he had refused to attempt what any normal person would consider suicidal, but if Jarin was still being kept at Rhianwater she had to be in and out before Youally was any the wiser. But if their assumptions were wrong-

  ‘Nyahh!’ Seiya couldn’t stop herself screaming as the demon plunged downwards, her train of thought abruptly halted. She could feel the claws carefully shifting beneath her, some forming a stable platform while the others opened out. It was nearly impossible to breathe, her eyes streaming in the wind. Crouching down she wrapped her arms round the only claw left upright, struggling to focus on the school growing rapidly before her eyes.

  ‘Youally’s room should b
e next to the east tower on the third floor,’ Seiya nodded dumbly at the demon’s instructions, so long as he knew where to go nothing else mattered. Tentatively she forced herself to stand, clinging desperately to the claw for support as she braced her legs to take the shock of the demon’s stop. Now people had seen them, she was close enough to make out the arms waving in her direction but couldn’t hear the accompanying yelling above the roaring in her ears.

  ‘Now!’ Despite all her preparation Seiya went flying across the demon’s clawed platform as he slammed to a halt, her encircling arms ripped away from her safety support. For a moment she thought she would fall, hurtling across the smooth surface there was nothing to grab onto. Suddenly her legs were shooting out into empty space, the weight pulling her down as her hips slid over the claw edge-

  ‘No!’ the demon’s emphatic cry echoed through her head as she felt her body being launched into the air. Flailing wildly Seiya barely twisted in time to see she was flying through the shattered remains of a window, glass shards standing out from the broken wooden frame. Even by clamping her arms to her sides it was impossible to miss all the jagged teeth, a gasp of pain escaping her lips as one scraped into her calf, ripping through her clothes to leave a bloody furrow. Instinct made her roll to protect her head as she landed, agony shooting through her shoulder as she crashed into the stone floor. Badly winded she tried to lever herself up, blinking dazedly as she tried to work out the extent of the damage.

  ‘Are you ok?’ The demon’s panicked enquiry drove her to sit up properly, swaying slightly as the room spun.

  ‘Fine,’ gritting her teeth against the pain Seiya staggered to her feet, stumbling to the nearest wall for support. Taking deep breaths she surveyed the chamber, if it was Youally’s he was certainly not there, and more worryingly neither was Jarin. It had all been for nothing; pushing herself away from the wall Seiya took a few faltering steps towards the door. Both she and Amaran had decided that Youally would have Jarin locked in his room, he needed to keep the drugged child a secret and too many trips to the dungeon would look suspicious. If they were gone-

  ‘You!’ the figure standing in the doorway was certainly a master Seiya noted dispassionately, not that it was too surprising; it made sense to have all the masters rooms in one place and her entrance had hardly been subtle.

  ‘Where are they?’ Seiya reached out a hand to steady herself as the room swam, wincing as her injured side protested. Maybe she had hit her head after all.

  ‘You!’ the Master was still standing there, his finger pointing at her accusingly, his mouth worked but no more words came out, his eyes switching between her and the demon hovering just beyond the shattered window.

  ‘Where’s Youally?’ Seiya demanded more firmly as she took a few steps towards the man. With each stride she could feel her strength returning, her legs remembering they were flesh and bone rather than jelly. The Master was backing away, clearly even in her wobbly state he felt threatened.

  ‘Amaran’s here,’ Seiya risked turning her back on the Master to lurch to the window, sure enough she could see the demon landing the basket perilously close to the school. She couldn’t help smiling as those nearest backed up once they saw who emerged then paused indecisively. They weren’t expecting you, Seiya thought grimly, looking back over her shoulder she could see the Master paled as he heard Amaran’s name being called.

  ‘Where… is… Youally?’ Ignoring the pain in her shoulder Seiya shook the Master to emphasise each word.

  ‘You… both…’ the Master stared wildly at her then out the window, even though he couldn’t see Amaran from where he was standing. ‘They said-’

  ‘HAVIR!’ Amaran’s bellow shook the stones themselves and the Master took advantage of Seiya’s distraction to wrench himself free, running down the corridor. Cursing Seiya watched him go, there was no way she was up to any kind of chase. Trying to guess Amaran’s location she headed down the corridor, somewhat unsteadily at first her progress improved as the potent mix of adrenalin and endorphins finally began to take affect.

  ‘HAVIR!’ Deafened, Seiya nearly collided with Amaran as he came charging towards her. Down on the first floor students were starting to poke their heads from classrooms, though most of the Masters seemed to be heading in the opposite direction.

  ‘Dungeons,’ Seiya grabbed Amaran’s sleeve before he could go storming off again. ‘All the Masters are running from you,’ she explained as Amaran regarded her sceptically, ‘they didn’t expect you back.’

  ‘Youally?’ he asked as she shook her head. ‘What did you do?’ he eyed her incredulously, his gaze resting on her leg, ‘you’re bleeding.’

  ‘It’s not bad,’ Seiya replied automatically, hiking up her trouser leg to get a look. She had forgotten all about the gash from the window. ‘But I think if Youally and Jamen were here they would have confronted you by now.’

  ‘Then where are they!’ Amaran pounded the wall in frustration. ‘If they put Havir in the dungeon-’ he didn’t finish but looking at his harsh expression Seiya was glad she wasn’t the target.

  ‘Come on,’ Seiya couldn’t stand waiting any longer, dragging Amaran with her she headed for the nearest staircase, ignoring the commotion they were causing. ‘You know the way better than I do.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Amaran wrenched his arm away and focused on the route ahead.

  ‘Nothing,’ Seiya bit back an angry retort, right now she needed his help. The leg she had just claimed wasn’t a problem began to throb as they broke into a run. Leaping the last couple of steps she drew level with Amaran again, his sudden halt only a few strides later caught her by surprise, she hadn’t even noticed the door he was now trying to open.

  ‘It’s locked,’ Amaran panted, his efforts to force the door open by brute force failing completely.

  ‘Idiot.’ The fire elemental was already reaching for the door as she hauled Amaran out the way, a brief surge of power and it was swinging open, the lock hovering harmlessly in the frame.

  ‘Come on!’ Seiya ignored Amaran’s astonishment as she went hurtling down the stairs after the demon. This time there was no guard at the bottom and the demon made short work on the doors. Seiya made a note to herself that bolt locks really didn’t work that well against fire demons, unless the door was made of something that wouldn’t burn.

  ‘Amaran?’ There was no missing the delight in Havir’s voice as he locked his friend in a huge embrace. ‘I knew she wouldn’t hurt you,’ Seiya smiled and waved as he looked her way. Abruptly the smile was wiped off Havir’s face, ‘they have your brother.’ Seiya saw the anguish in his eyes, ‘I’m sorry Amaran but-’

  ‘Where are they?’ Seiya refused to acknowledge the feeling of dread building inside her.

  Havir gazed unhappily towards Amaran, ‘they’re heading for the orb.’ Seiya saw Amaran’s eyes widen at the words, his gaze instantly switching to her. ‘It’s all my fault-’

  ‘No it’s not,’ Seiya interrupted firmly before Havir could get anymore upset. She couldn’t stand the way he was wringing his hands, or that he wouldn’t meet her eyes. ‘Explain what happened, quickly,’ she added as Havir went to speak, glancing sideways at Amaran, ‘there’s no point in shooting after them without knowing what they’re planning.’

  ‘I was arguing with Youally over how you escaped,’ Havir reluctantly looked her way, ‘he warned us too quickly and he was far too adamant you were going to attack Amaran. I think I know you better than that.’ From somewhere he managed to summon a small smile but it never reached his haunted eyes.

  ‘Anyway Jamen suddenly arrived and Youally was furious, I didn’t even get a chance to ask what he was doing here.’

  ‘Youally wanted to know if Jamen had seen any signs of us two fighting,’ Seiya nodded as Amaran spoke.

  ‘They both forgot I was there, though it wasn’t until later I understood why they believed you would do such a thing,’ Havir’s voice quavered slightly and Seiya instinctively moved towar
ds him.

  ‘Don’t,’ Havir shook his head vehemently, ‘it’s my fault.’ He waved Seiya to silence as she went to deny it again. ‘When I realised what they’d asked you to do I couldn’t help laughing at them,’ Havir’s eyes dropped to his hands, ‘the way they talked about you killing Amaran, it made me sick. I wanted them to know they would never get what they wanted’

  ‘What did you say?’ Seiya asked softly as Havir fell silent again, when his head lifted she forced herself to fix his gaze with hers, ruthlessly ignoring the anguish in his eyes.

  ‘I told them that they would never get the book from you, that the first thing you would do was free the demons,’ Havir’s reply was barely above a whisper, ‘I laughed and told them that they had forced you to do the one thing you wanted to all along.’

  ‘And what did they do?’ Amaran prompted, he had closed his eyes briefly as Havir repeated what was said. Seiya couldn’t find the words to speak.

  ‘Youally wouldn’t believe it and said if you took the book it would be to use the powerful summoning, to come after him or become headmaster.’ Havir was still addressing her, though it was clear the effort it cost him, she watched as his hands clenched into fists and knew he desperately didn’t want to keep talking.

  ‘And you said?’ Seiya found she could remember how to talk after all, her voice steady despite the pounding in her chest.

  ‘I told him there was no powerful summoning,’ this time Havir’s voice did drop below a whisper, Seiya had to lean forward to hear him. She watched as he looked pleadingly towards Amaran, ‘I thought it would make them give up, realise they had no chance against either of you-’

  ‘The book’s gone,’ Amaran cut in, ‘I burnt it.’ Seiya noticed he studiously avoided her as he spoke. ‘There isn’t a copy so how did they know where to go?’