Summoner 6

by Eric Vall

  It was so dark I almost missed the black shred of fabric right in front of my face. It hung from a tree branch up ahead, and the only reason I saw it at all was the glint of something attached to it. We came up on it, and I halted my horse.

  Then my heart sank.

  The fabric was a shred of Varleth’s coat, and I only knew that because of what he’d managed to attach to it.

  “Is that … ?” Nia asked in shock as she came up beside me.

  I stood up in the saddle and yanked the shred of fabric down, along with a card. It was dirty and worn by time and weather, but this wasn’t just any card. It was one of Varleth’s tarot cards. It was lined in gold foil and depicted someone in a blackish-grey cloak that covered them from head to toe. The cloak was draped over their face, and in their hands they held a black orb. In the bottom left corner in fancy writing read a single word.

  Death.

  “Damn it!” I growled. My hands shook, and I clenched the fabric between my fingers as I looked around for something else, anything that could point me in the direction of where I could find our friends.

  “Relax,” Orenn soothed and put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find them.”

  I huffed and tucked the shred of Varleth’s coat into my pocket. Two months had gone by since anyone last heard from them. They had been gone the same amount of time we’d been missing within the Shadowscape, only to them it was a full two months. For us, it felt like only a few hours had passed.

  “What did they say in their correspondence?” I asked Arwyn. She was the only one who would have heard anything, as she had been the only one of us to contact Sleet since the beginning of our mission to collect the rest of the ciphers.

  “I can’t say I recall.” Arwyn blinked. “The Headmaster told Almasy and I they checked in at a nearby village to gather supplies and stay the night, but he hadn’t heard from them since.”

  “Do you think there’s a chance something happened to the village?” Nia asked.

  “I doubt it. We would have heard about it, right?” Orenn made a face and looked to me to back him up.

  “Maybe, but I think he would have mentioned it in his briefing if he thought it was something important to consider,” I reasoned.

  “That is true,” Arwyn hummed. “Sleet doesn’t leave any detail to his knowledge unexplored.”

  “Do you think whoever, or whatever, took them, is after the ciphers as well?” Orenn hypothesized.

  I shot him a quick glance and took that into consideration. Sure, that was possible. After all, the council sought us out and had us arrested on the spot. Who was to say that after Varleth and Braden left the town they weren’t followed? It was a sound theory, and the more I thought about it, the more I hoped beyond anything Orenn was wrong.

  If the council was involved, then this mission was more than just a search and rescue. This was something else the council could pin on us as treason, and that didn’t bode well with me.

  “Maybe they had already found it,” Nia suggested.

  I wasn’t a fan of that outcome either. In a scenario where they had found the cipher before they went missing, there was nothing saying that whoever or whatever had taken them hadn’t killed Braden and Varleth once they’d gotten what they wanted out of them.

  We were in the dark here. We had no idea what we were up against, and that was just as scary as admitting that this search and rescue might end up being for nothing.

  I shook my head free of that thought. Now wasn’t the time for doubt. If they were alive, and they were, then they needed us to find them.

  “Let’s just hope whatever or whoever it is didn’t take them far, and that they’re still alive,” I responded after a moment. “We can only tackle one problem at a time, and right now our focus is to find our friends and get out of here before the council realizes we’re gone.”

  “I’m sure they already know,” Nia commented, “and if they’re alive and interested, they would have done something about it already despite the Enclave being in a state of disarray.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I sighed. I continued to look around for another clue to their whereabouts, and something caught my eye. A few yards ahead, there was something along the path. I trotted up to it on my horse and examined the object. My eyes went wide when I realized it was another card, and then I noticed there was another one a little further beyond that.

  “That sly little gypsy,” I muttered to myself with a grin. “He left us a trail!”

  He knew we would come after them. Now, I just needed to hold out hope they were still alright.

  With renewed hope and vigor, we picked up speed and followed the trail of tarot cards. I didn’t know how long ago they had been put here, or how many cards to look for, but I was going to follow them until they ran out. Under low branches and through tight squeezes, we rode the horses hard and followed the trail, never once letting up.

  The trees and the forest floor seemed to want to guide us along as well. They glittered as we rode through the shining path, and I thought I could hear the singing of the wind even clearer at the speed we were riding. Yes, this was a good omen. This was exactly the kind of break we needed after the stacked failures that came with our own disappearance and the fall of Hartmire.

  After about half a mile, though, the cards stopped appearing. I hastily slowed my horse again and looked frantically around for another clue to put me back on their trail. I found nothing. There wasn’t anything around but a few thorny bushes the had the same bioluminescent glow as the rest of the foliage in the forest, only the bushes were black, and the thorns looked as though they were dipped in a sickly bright green color.

  “Shit,” I swore. I wished I hadn’t let my expectations run wild. Of course it wasn’t going to be this easy.

  I trotted back to the last card we’d found and hopped off my horse to pluck it from the ground. This card, too, was lined in gold foil, but the art was very different from the first card we’d picked up. On this card was a bluish black background with yellow and white accents that almost made it look like it was supposed to be a part of this forest. It had the same ethereal vibe, and in the bottom left corner, just as the last card, read the words, ‘The Singer of the Chalice.’

  “What does that mean?” I asked as I turned it over in my hands.

  “May I?” Arwyn inquired as she hopped off her horse.

  I nodded and handed it to her for her to examine. After a moment, her eyes went wide, and she gawked at the card.

  “What is it?” I questioned curiously.

  “I might be mistaken, but this looks to be a faerie deck.” Arwyn’s voice hitched in excitement and awe.

  “And?” I blinked blankly at her. I had no idea what she was talking about. Faeries?

  Arwyn bounced excitedly.

  “Faerie decks are extremely rare. Even more rare are people who are able to properly use them,” she explained.

  “Well, no one said he could,” Nia reasoned. “Maybe that is why he left them as a trail.”

  “Or maybe it was the only means he had to leave a trail at all,” Orenn interjected.

  “Whatever the reason,” I cut them both off and turned back to Arwyn, “why is this an important detail?”

  “I am unaware of the card’s meaning,” Arwyn started, “but no one who has these in their possession and has the ability to read them gave them up willingly. They give him the power to communicate with faeries.”

  I faltered, opened my mouth, and then closed it again.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I asked in a deadpan tone. I knew faeries existed. After all, the stories about them causing mischief and the like had to come from somewhere, but Varleth, a speaker to the faeries? That was too much for me to take in.

  However, I didn’t get much time to ponder it.

  “Gryff.” Orenn trotted up beside me and pointed over my shoulder. “What is that?”

  I turned around, but I couldn’t figure out what he was on about, at least not at first. T
hen, on the ground by the one of the thorny bushes, there was a glitter of something I recognized all too well. I sprinted toward the object and skidded to a stop just before the bushes could prick me. Then I picked up the object in question, and sure enough, it was exactly what I thought it was.

  “Oh, Maker … ” Nia gasped. She knew what it was as soon as she saw it.

  “Is that a summon crystal?” Arwyn asked as she and Nia approached.

  It was, and it wasn’t just any summon crystal.

  “This is Braden’s ember eagle,” I replied with a dry mouth.

  “Then they went through the thorns?” Nia suggested hopefully.

  I nodded and stood. Then I put the ember eagle with my crystals for safe keeping and stepped away from the bushes, my hands in my hair as I sighed. How in the world had they gotten through that, though? It was like a solid wall of branches and spikes that just oozed of something ominous and evil.

  “What now?” Orenn asked. “We can’t exactly ride the horses through that. There’s no way they’d make it out.”

  “Leave that to me,” Arwyn replied, and she materialized her sword into her hand.

  It’d been a while since I’d seen her fight. It’d be nice to see her in action again, even if the enemy was just some bushes.

  Arwyn took a deep breath and concentrated. Then she pushed her mana through her sword, and with a short cry, she released a beam of light that cut through the tangled mess. They shattered upon impact and nearly turned to dust.

  “That’s impressive,” I commented with a chuckle.

  Arwyn smirked. “I learned it recently.”

  We looked beyond where the bushes had been and found what was the second most beautiful wonder in this forest today. On the other side was a large clearing umbrellaed by trees with silver moss. A small waterfall emptied into a much larger pond off to the left, and there was a small trail that led away from the clearing on the right.

  I was drawn away from the beauty, though, when a sharp cry beside me caught my attention. When I turned to see Arwyn had doubled over, I panicked.

  “Arwyn!” I kneeled before her to try and get a look at her face.

  It was twisted in pain, and her teeth were gritted harshly. “I’m fine,” she hissed. “It’ll pass.”

  “Nonsense.” Nia stepped in and knelt beside me. “Let’s stop and rest for a bit. You are both still recovering, especially you.”

  “Very well,” Arwyn conceded after a moment with a short laugh. “We shall rest.”

  “Then it’s settled,” I said as I stood. Without any warning, I scooped Arwyn up into my arms and ignored the indignant squeak that came from her mouth as I carried her into the clearing. As soon as we entered, I found a bit of a rock formation near the edge of the water that looked like it could be comfortable enough. It was a rock, sure, but rocks could be comfy if times were desperate enough, and this was one of those moments.

  I set Arwyn down and turned to Nia and Orenn.

  “We should get a look at what’s ahead on the trail,” I suggested. “We know we’re on the right path, but who knows what other obstacles are ahead.”

  “I agree.” Orenn nodded. “You stay here with Ms. Hamner. Nia and I can scope things out.”

  “Send off a fireball if you get into trouble,” I instructed Nia.

  “I will. Take care of her, Gryff.” Nia smiled and placed a hand on my cheek.

  With Nia and Orenn off to scout the area, I took the opportunity to unwind. I still needed a bath. I hadn’t had one in Maker knew how long, and the waterfall was looking mighty tempting.

  I glanced at Arwyn, who had closed her eyes and taken our advice to actually rest. Then I looked back at the waterfall and decided to go for it. I had nothing to hide, and I wasn’t ashamed of my body. Starting with my boots, I took off my clothes article by article until I was fully nude.

  With a deep breath, I stepped into the water and found it was surprisingly cool and refreshing. It wasn’t a hot bath, but it was invigorating, and it was the first time I’d gotten my skin wet in days.

  I descended further into the water and dunked my head into the stream of the falls. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me then. There was something exciting about bathing in a waterfall I didn’t quite have a word for. Exotic? That might be it.

  “Mind if I join you?”

  Arwyn’s voice grabbed my attention, and I whirled around to face where I’d left her. No longer was she there, though. Instead, she was standing on the bank of the pond, naked and stunning as always, a coy smirk on her lips.

  “I thought you weren’t feeling well,” I questioned with a worried frown.

  “I wasn’t,” she replied with a shrug, “but then I saw you, and I couldn’t resist myself.”

  As Arywn stepped into the water and a smattering of goosebumps prickled her creamy skin, I felt myself grow hard. It was amazing what simply looking at her perfect body did to me. She could rile me up with just a smoldering look and the subtle jiggle of her large breasts.

  She sank into the water, but I could still see her clearly through the ripples. Her nipples were pert as she approached and pressed them against my chest, and my hands gravitated to her ass. I cupped the supple curves in my palms and dug my fingers into her flesh as I squeezed.

  A soft noise, a purr, slipped from Arwyn’s plump lips, and it was all I could do not to kiss her and swallow every little noise she made. I wanted all of her, and I knew she would give it to me if I asked.

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered against the shell of my ear, and her fingers danced along the length of my cock.

  I shivered as she wrapped them around me and stroked leisurely, but no less deliberately. My breath shuddered with each languid, teasing motion.

  “I’ve missed you, too,” I confessed, and I instinctively rolled my hips into her hand. It felt good to have someone else touch me, even more so because this someone meant the world to me.

  Her hand left me, and her arms circled around my neck. She pulled herself up in the water and kissed me firmly. She still tasted of something decadent, like berries and chocolate mixed together to create an irresistible dessert.

  Our tongues clashed, and I knew then there was no question about where this was going to go. The pit of my stomach internally ignited, and I dived in deeper. My hands dragged across the small of her back and up her spine until they were tangled in her mess of crimson hair. I balled my fists and gently tugged her head back to open up access to her neck. Then I pried my mouth from hers and attached my lips to the juncture between her jaw and neck. I suckled, then grazed my teeth over the spot.

  The moan that escaped her was delightful, and she craned her neck to allow me even more access to her bare flesh. My lips traveled as far down as I could go until I reached her shoulder.

  Something caught my eye then, a freckle. I’d never noticed it before, but it wasn’t often I got to appreciate Arwyn from behind, and I wanted to see it up close. I flipped us then and pressed her breasts against the edge of the water.

  “Gryff,” she moaned at the sudden switch in position and backed her gorgeous ass up to me. Her cheeks caught my cock between them, and the friction was maddening as she teased the both of us with each wriggle of her hips.

  I moved her hair from her neck and found the freckle again. It was the only one there, a birthmark, perhaps? I pressed my lips to it.

  “Please?” Arwyn asked with a giggle and a little smirk. She wanted it bad, and oh, I would give it to her.

  “Please what?” I taunted in her ear and slid my fingers between her folds. Even in the cool water, she was hot to the touch and a whole other level of wet. I delved my fingers as deeply as I could inside of her, and a moan caught in my throat when she clenched tightly around the digits.

  “Fuck me,” Arwyn moaned, and she pressed herself harder against me.

  If I wasn’t already hard, I would have been fully erect then. As it was, I already stood rock solid, and who was I to deny such a beautifu
l woman what she wanted when she had asked so nicely?

  “Those are dirty words, Ms. Hamner,” I teased, but as I removed my fingers and dragged them over that sensitive bundle of nerves, I guided the tip of my cock toward her entrance.

  Arwyn whimpered as I played with her. With each flick of my fingers over her clitorus, she shuddered and tightened herself. She was already so close, but I wasn’t ready for her to spill over the edge just yet.

  Finally, I pressed myself into her in a smooth, single thrust, and the warmth that surrounded me sent a pleasant thrill through my veins. Her body gripped me like a vice when I tried to move, so I pulled my fingers away, much to her chagrin, but she knew that there was more pleasure to come.

  When her pussy released me enough, I rocked my hips in a fluid motion. Our bodies clapped together, and ripples turned to waves as we made love. Her quiet noises and whines became louder as my cock buried itself deep in her tunnel, and she clamped a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t be heard by any prying ears.

  My hands scrambled to keep hold of her as she bounced on my cock. With each thrust, it became harder to find purchase, so I let her go and held onto her shoulders.

  Arwyn slammed her body back into mine again and again, and I groaned as I bottomed out every time. I widened my stance, but the slick pebbles at the bottom of the pool were hard to find purchase on, and I slipped slightly forward before I regained my balance.

  Arwyn, however, didn’t seem to mind my slip, because it forced me to slide ever deeper inside of her, and I must have struck a good spot, because a keening moan spilled out of her throat. She tossed her head back in pleasure, crimson hair catching the light of the sun as she climaxed, and I felt my own rhythm stutter. I was inside of her as far as I could possibly be, and that’s when I released. My breath hitched, my head fell forward, and I emptied my seed inside of her eager body while we rode out our orgasms.

  I wasn’t done, though, not yet.

  Arwyn moaned at the loss of my cock when I reluctantly pulled out of her and turned her around again. I spread her legs in the water and hooked her long legs over my hips as I picked her up and held her flush against my body. Then I took a moment to look at the display before me. Her cheeks were pink, and her body was taut with the need to come undone. The ends of her hair stuck to her breasts from the water, and I could feel the heat radiating from her.