by Eric Vall
At that, she gave me a wicked grin and pushed me into the water. When we were both submerged, we became a tangle of limbs as we shared our breath. And then I was inside of her, which felt even more amazing underwater. Thus, for the first time in my life, I had sex underwater.
I couldn’t think of a better way to enjoy the summer holidays.
Chapter 19
My friends and I stayed in Tallington for the next six days and nights. We roamed the surrounding forests and countryside, fished in the nearby creek, and just had a good time. Our nights were spent at the inn eating good food and drinking heavily. We shared stories and told jokes. Maelor enjoyed telling embarrassing stories about me to Layla, Braden, and Cyra, who loved every second of them. I didn’t mind though. As long as my friends were happy and smiling, it wouldn’t bother me in the least.
Some days, we helped Cyra and Maelor with their work since they weren’t on holiday like us. I would have thought that my friends would have been against doing work during their vacation, especially Layla, but they were both eager to assist. It helped that they positively adored Maelor and his attitude and stories. I understood completely since I’d lived with him for fifteen years. Maelor and Cyra also offered to pay us a share of the wages so that was as good of an incentive as any.
On our second to last day in Tallington, we were back at the dig site where we’d fought the bandits. The operation had grown considerably. More trees had been cleared, and Maelor and Cyra were deep inside the mine to excavate more tunnels with their team of drillmoles. Braden and Layla were on the perimeter of the area with axe goblins to chop down trees.
Their box trolls brought the felled trees to me where a team of laborers trimmed and cut the limbs of the trees off so that they could be used to build. I then had a cementroll mortar the logs together until they started to resemble lodgings for the workers. I also built a couple of bunkhouses for late night work, dug some latrines in a matter of seconds with a drillmole, and put together a sort of office for the foreman, Maelor, and other higher-ups to discuss things.
As the laborers worked on the roofs of the buildings I’d made, I leaned back against a pile of lumber and took a sip of water from my canteen while I watched all the work unfold around me.
Box trolls and men alike pushed carts full of ore out of the mine. It took two men to push one of the carts full of iron whereas the box trolls only had to use one hand. The clamor of pickaxes on rock rang out from within the mine as well as the ping of hammers nailing down the metal tracks that would allow the carts to be easily pushed up to the surface. Monsters helped with some of the work, but we could only do so much. It wasn’t a good idea to spread out monsters with different tasks over such a wide area. Besides, this was as efficient of a job site as I’d ever been on.
As I took a break, Layla came jogging down the now tree-cleared rise toward me, a smile on her face. Braden was still atop with a few workers and his axe goblins as they cut down more trees.
“Hey, Gryffie,” she said as she wiped at the sweat that pebbled along her brow.
“Hey,” I replied with a wave. She came and leaned beside me. I offered her my canteen, and she took it without hesitation and drank eagerly. “You’re enjoying the work?” I asked, an eyebrow arched.
Her smile didn’t waver. “I didn’t think I would, but honestly, it’s not so bad. This is about what I’d expected when I decided to become a summoner.”
“Is that good or bad?” I asked and folded my arms.
She shrugged. “It’s good. Though now, I’ll admit I ain’t as turned off by the idea of fighting as I used to be.”
I grinned. That was good to hear. It had taken some work, but I was glad to see that Layla was growing out of her reluctance to fight, and I guessed that the battle with the gang members who killed her brother had helped a bunch.
When she was finished with the water, she passed the canteen back to me, and I took a few more sips.
“You know,” I began after a sigh. “I never asked, but what other magic could you do? You made it clear that you chose to be a summoner, so I assume you weren’t discovered as one.”
“True, I wasn’t.” She sighed and looked at her feet. “I got jumped one day walking home from the market near my home by a bunch of goons that Logan owed money too. He was already in jail, so I guess they thought they’d get the money from me. ‘Course, I was a skinny little thing then. I knew how to fight well enough, but these were big men.”
I snickered. “You’re still a skinny little thing, but at least you’re much better at fighting.”
“Well it was five against one, so the odds weren’t good, plus I’m a healthy skinny now. I was near malnourished back then.” She trailed off and stared ahead as difficult emotions swirled behind her gaze. “They beat me good, for a while. They nearly knocked me out, but then, I guess, my magic kicked in. My arms bulged to the size of my thigh, thick and meaty with muscle. It hurt worse than anything that has ever happened to me, but I beat them back.”
I whistled. “So you were an augmenter?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Not compatible with my body though. That magic almost killed me.” She paused a moment as if considering her words before she continued. “A couple of guardsmen on patrol had come to see the commotion and saw what I did. They arrested the goons and sent me to the military headquarters on the other side of town where they evaluated my potential. While I did have augmenter powers, they were pretty weak, which is why they’d never shown up before, however, when I was tested for summoning, I got really high marks. And since I knew summoners didn’t fight and augmenters did, I decided to do with what I was better at.”
“That’s lucky,” I said with a nod.
She snorted. “Maybe it was divine intervention.”
“Maybe.” I chuckled. “But I’m sure glad that you became one. Otherwise, we likely wouldn’t be friends.”
She smiled wide, and her face was glowing as her cheeks flushed. “Me too.” Her hand slipped into mine, our fingers laced together as she offered me a comforting squeeze. I couldn’t imagine how my life would be if she weren’t in it. Maybe it was divine intervention after all.
The rest of the day was filled with sweat, struggle, and hard work, but it was refreshing as our bodies were used to the exertion from all the training we’d done at the Academy. By the time the sun was setting, Maelor and Cyra emerged from the mines with a crowd of other laborers, all covered in dirt and grime. Maelor looked like he was about ready to pass out, but he managed to get back to town all right.
After a round of much-needed baths for each of us, we celebrated our last night in Tallington with a feast. Well, a feast by the town’s standards. We ordered a whole roast turkey as well as a round of veggie pot pies and mashed potatoes. I’d only had a small ham sandwich for lunch, so my stomach grumbled impatiently at the sight of the spread in front of me.
We had round after round of cider. In the middle of our meal, Maelor stood from his seat next to me and raised his cup.
“You’re the best bunch of summoners I ever laid eyes on. You do the good work even if you don’t get all the accolades you should. I know you’ll change all that one of these days. So, keep it up.” He raised his cup high. “Cheers.”
“Cheers!” we sang and pushed our cups together.
The rest of the night devolved into revelry with hours of singing along to the bard’s songs with the other patrons, dancing too, and some drinking games to boot. We tried to play some poker later on in the night, but that failed miserably since we were far too drunk. At least I was. Cyra, Maker bless her, had the heart to not rob me blind in a round of cards.
My friends and I crowded into Cyra’s room after I helped Maelor drunkenly stagger to his room. We traded stories all through the night, as we did most of the nights, but we kept coming up with new ones to tell. Cyra fit in so well with my friends and me that I wished desperately that she could come back to the Academy with us. But that wasn’t to be, unfortunately.
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When I woke up briefly in the early morning, I was crowded in Cyra’s bed with her and Layla on either one of my arms. Both were naked, snuggled up against me, and completely comfortable. That was a great way to sleep. Before I went back to sleep, I kissed Layla and Cyra on their foreheads. Cyra’s lips twitched into a smile as if she could sense my tenderness. I smiled back. I was lucky to have those two, then I faded back into a deep sleep.
The next morning came, and sadly, it was time to go.
I packed my things into my horse’s saddle and then secured the straps of my backpack. Braden and Layla did the same reluctantly. I understood, I didn’t want to leave either. This had been a fun and eventful week, a much-needed reprieve from the stress of school, not to mention all the recent family drama they’d had to endure.
This was a pleasant vacation for all of us, but duty called.
“It was a damn pleasure meetin’ ya,” Maelor exclaimed and opened his arms for Layla and Braden. She chuckled as they both stepped into his embrace.
“You too, sir,” Layla replied.
“Likewise,” Braden added with a smile.
Maelor wrapped his arms around their shoulders and pulled them close so that their heads were touching. “I need you two to keep an eye on that little shit, you hear me? Keep him outta trouble.”
“We’ll do our best,” Braden said with a laugh.
“No promises though,” Layla added, and the trio laughed amongst themselves as I looked on with my arms crossed.
I shook my head with a smirk. As they talked some more, Cyra came up next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. She offered me a warm smile, and I smiled right back at her. I would miss her dearly.
“This was fun,” she said to me with a wink.
I winked back, my grin wide. “Oh, it definitely was.”
Cyra pulled me to her and wrapped me in a warm hug. Her wild explosion of hair tickled my cheeks. She leaned her head up and whispered into my ear, her breath warm against my ear and jaw.
“You better come to visit again soon. It would be a shame if I never got to see you again.” Her voice was low and seductive.
“Don’t worry, you’ll see me around.” I pulled back, my hands on her shoulders. “I shall be awaiting our future moonlit swims.”
She chuckled. “Good.”
My smile faded ever so slightly as I held her firm with my gaze. “You look after him, okay? I’ll sleep better knowing he has help and companionship as reliable as you.”
“I love that old goat.” Cyra snorted as she looked back at Maelor and my friends. “You can count on me. I’ll keep him in line.”
I laughed. “Glad to hear it.” I hugged her again as we both smiled and laughed like idiots. “If you two ever find yourself in or around Varle, you should visit.”
“We certainly will,” she replied enthusiastically. “And you better write me like you do him. I like communication.”
“Deal.”
As we finished with our goodbye, Layla, Braden, and Maelor finished up with their farewell too. My friends bid their goodbyes to Cyra as they exchanged hugs, handshakes, and kind words. As they did so, I sauntered over to Maelor and stood by his side. He smiled and sighed.
“Before you go,” he began, “figured I’d ask if you’d had any luck with that sun giant I gave you yet?”
I frowned a bit, chagrined. “I still haven’t quite managed that one. I’ve still found that I work best with making the smaller summons work together as groups than summoning anything so huge.”
Maelor laughed good-naturedly as he hooked his thumbs in his belt. “Ha, so much for that fancy academy, eh? Bet you’re teachin’ more of the classes than those stuck-up Enclavers, boy.”
“Well,” I said with a laugh, “on that, you’re absolutely right.”
He nodded and smiled. “That’s my boy. And as for the giant, you’ll get it yet. I have faith in you even if you’re still a little shit.”
“Thanks, old man,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll do everything I can to make you proud.”
“I’m not the only one you’ve got to do that for.” He glanced back at Layla and Braden. “You have some good friends there that are counting on you too,” he said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I know.”
“You keep ‘em close, you hear? True friends like them are a rare breed and a luxury. You'd better cherish them.”
My eyes took in my friends as they chatted with Cyra. The western summoner said something funny which provoked a boisterous laugh out of my friends. Once that died down, Braden lifted Layla by her waist and placed her on her horse, then he mounted his own steed. All the while, they kept talking with Cyra.
Maelor was absolutely right. I was a lucky man to have them as my friends, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to take them for granted.
“I will,” I said simply.
“I know you will, Gryff.” Maelor turned to me and wrapped me in as fierce a hug as he’d ever given me. His old arms were still strong, so he was able to squeeze me harder than I expected. “Thank you for spending your holiday with me.”
“I would never miss a chance to see you, you old geezer.” I tried to keep my voice steady and not betray the emotion that quivered beneath the surface. I didn’t need to cry every time I said goodbye to the old man.
We hugged for a long time and knew that it would be some months before we saw each other again. Finally, I pulled away from Maelor and blinked at him. His eyes glistened with tears. Damn it, that threatened to get me started too.
“I’m proud of you, Gryff.” Maelor’s eyes shone with pride. “Just keep on changing things for summoners. Keep showing the world what we can do.”
My heart thumped heavily in my chest as my being swelled with emotion. His encouraging and sincere words meant everything to me as a tear ran down my cheek.
“I will, I promise,” I told him, my voice shaky.
His smile was as warm as his hug. “I know you will, son.”
I mounted up my horse and reined her in alongside my friends. We pointed our horses’ noses down the road out of town. Cyra stood next to Maelor, the both of them smiling at us. They waved us on our way.
“Safe travels you three!” Maelor called.
We waved back to them. “Thank you,” I replied. “Farewell.” Layla and Braden echoed my call.
And then we were on the road, our summer holiday at an end, but it was possibly the most enjoyable time of my life. Though it was bittersweet to say goodbye to them, I knew we would see them again. I didn’t know when that would be, but I would be looking forward to that time.
For now, though, it was time to get back to school.
Chapter 20
We made good time after leaving Tallington. We rode hard throughout the day, our mounts rested and eager. We passed the Tipsy Wizard at mid-afternoon, so we kept on going deep into the evening and were between towns when the sun set, so camping in the woods was our only option for the night. I didn’t mind that much though. As someone who grew up in the wilds, I was used to it.
The next morning started off fast too. We woke at dawn and tore across the countryside at a decent clip. I began to think that we could perhaps shave half a day off of our journey and make it back to the Academy tomorrow morning.
We were between towns, on the road through the middle of a dense and somewhat hilly forest. Pine trees lined the road. Occasionally we rode over streams and small rivers, and through rocky clearings. Now we were back amongst the trees, and they encroached on the road with their limbs reaching out to grab us. It was a beautiful day though, cloudless and sunny.
“Man, we’re making really good time,” Layla said as she gave me a sidelong glance. “At this rate, we’ll only have one more night out here in the wilds--”
Her words were cut off as a blood-curdling scream tore through the forest. The scream was relatively close, maybe a quarter of a mile at the farthest if I was any good judge of distance.
“That’s not good,” Layla com
mented.
“No, no, it isn’t,” I admitted as I scanned the road.
“What should we do?” Braden asked, his grip tight on the reins of his steed.
I understood his nervousness. It was hard to know what was on the other end of those screams. Obviously, someone in need of help, but from what? A bear or a pack of wolves? That was easy to deal with. A gang of bandits? More troublesome. Worst, a random rift? That was a severe problem that we might not be able to resolve on our own.
I simply couldn’t ignore a cry for help though, so I reined in my horse and pointed her in the direction of the screams. “We need to check it out.” I spurred my horse onward. “C’mon, Cas.”
Cas took off at a gallop as we tore through the forest toward the screams. I wanted to be stealthy, but I didn’t think the victim had time for that more careful approach. The trees didn’t help matters as closely clustered as they were. It was hard to maneuver and for Cas to keep up her speed. It was all I could do to dodge all the stray branches that clawed at my face.
The screams didn’t seem to get any closer, but eventually, they stopped altogether. That wasn’t a good sign at all.
“We need to hurry,” I called to my friends.
With no objections from my friends, we thundered on through the forest, but there were no more screams to follow. It was impossible to know if we were going in the right directions anymore. So I pulled up Cas’ reins and came to a halt. Layla and Braden did the same behind me.
“What now?” Braden asked.
I sighed. “I don’t know. The forest is huge, so it would take us forever to search it for the source of the scream, and by then it’ll be too late.”
Layla’s face scrunched up in a tight frown. “It sounds like it’s already too late.”
“Thank you for that cheery reminder, Layla,” I said with a sigh.
She shrugged. “I’m just trying to be the voice of reason.”
“I know.” I slumped my shoulders. “I just need to-- Wait.”
A jolt went through my spine and set my neck hairs on end. I felt like we were being watched, and that’s when I smelled it. The acrid stench of a rift. That wet decay odor was burned into my brain. I would always recognize it. So the moment it entered my nose, I knew we were in deep trouble.
