by Eric Vall
“What if he doesn’t?” I asked.
“We’ll do everything we can, Gryff,” she reassured me. “We’ve dealt with cases worse than his and have gotten positive results. Mr. Vascarti is a strong boy with a will and determination made of steel. I have no reason not to believe that once his body deems that he is ready to join us again that he will.”
I looked back at Orenn and crossed my arms. Positivity was scarce for me the last few days, but I’d do my best to have faith in the medicine and magic. I’d have faith in Orenn.
“I’ll leave you alone.” Meriden patted my shoulder sweetly, and I swallowed a lump in my throat that I hadn’t realized was there. Her heels clicked against the tile as she walked away, and I stepped tentatively closer to the bed. There was a thickness in the air that weighed similar to the pressure that had been building in my chest since yesterday morning. I closed the curtain again and took a seat in a chair beside the bed. Someone else must have been here recently.
I sighed heavily and leaned my elbows on my knees. Talk to him, huh?
“I’m not sure what I’m doing here,” I started. “I’ve always taken everything that came at me with my head held high and no real regard for myself. Whatever the outcome, I knew that I was going to be okay.” My face fell, and I stared at my hands. “I’ve seen death before. I’ve looked it in the face, spat in it, and lived to tell the tale.”
I laughed dryly and wrung my hands together. “We won’t live forever. I know that. That’s true for anyone, not just us mages, but we’re out there, you know?” I asked, but I knew Orenn wouldn’t answer. “We fight so others can live, and I’m at peace with that. Or… I was.” I lifted my head again to look at Orenn, still sound asleep.
“I was at peace with it when I knew what we were fighting, and I know I should trust Ms. Hamner and Headmaster Sleet.” I trailed off and balled my hands into fists. “I know they’re doing their best. I shouldn’t be so angry with them. I only wish I had answers. What are we really up against?”
I put my hands through my hair. I’d never been so acutely aware of my own mortality, but now that I was, it was a maddening rabbit hole of questions and self-doubt.
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
The sound of the sheet being rustled drew my eyes to the bed again. What I saw nearly made my face split in two with a mirthful grin. Orenn’s fingertips lightly scratched at the surface of the sheets, and I immediately held his hand in mine, a sign to let him know that he wasn’t alone. His eyes began to crack open, but only enough to barely catch a glimpse of his irises. A weak ever so slight smile curled the corners of his lips. His hand rested in mine without any real grip, but it was warm, as though the life was slowly returning to him after he fought through the world of darkness.
“I’ll be damned,” I laughed a little, and Orenn’s eyes lit up with amusement. I wondered if he had heard my voice and that was what brought him back. He tried to use his voice, but all that came forth was a hoarse croak. “Don’t push yourself. You’ve already made a lot of progress today.”
Orenn managed a nod and closed his eyes to rest again. Ah, a short-lived victory, but it was a victory all the same, and it gave me the hope that maybe things could turn around after all.
“That’s never stopped you before.” My head shot up in the direction of the curtain. Layla stood there, arms crossed, face contemplative as she watched over Orenn. She must have followed me here after all. In hindsight, I should have figured that she would. She was the only one that was sneaky enough to have done it without being detected. Cheeky girl.
“What?”
“You said you didn’t know what you were doing. Well, that’s never stopped you before,” she repeated. “You’re Gryff. You just go and save the day. That’s what you do.” She looked over at me, then back to Orenn. “And that’s something that I have to be okay with,” she added quietly.
“You’re scared,” I stated simply, and she nodded. “I am, too.”
“I’m sorry for acting so weird,” she apologized. “Headmaster Sleet’s speech the other night really got to me. It made me realize that there might be a time you leave on a mission and you don’t get to come back as lucky as your teammate… if you come back at all. I’m not mad at you at all, sorry if you thought that. In reality… I’m… well… I’m…”
Her words drew me to my feet. I must have scared Layla because she jumped before I wrapped my arms around her and held her to me. She did relax, though, and she threaded her fingers through my hair. My own fears begin to ebb as she combed through the strands, and her lips trailed across my cheek.
“You’re the most important person in my life, Gryff,” she whispered. I held her tighter, and she laughed against my neck. Maker, it was a beautiful sound. “You’re like my hero or something.”
Hero. That word again. It seemed to be a recurring theme as of late, and I wasn’t so blind to the irony that both Nia and Layla thought of me as such when I was the one that had found myself being saved by them.
“Well, you know that they say heroes never die.” I grinned, and Layla rolled her eyes.
“Don’t be dumb and ruin the moment,” she giggled and smacked my arm.
I welcomed the familiarity. We kissed, and Maker, it was divine. This moment had been the best I had felt in days. Layla’s fingers trailed down my neck, and my hands slid down her sides to rest on her hips. The idea to take her right there on an unoccupied bed crossed my mind but came to an abrupt halt when Meriden cleared her throat behind us. She said nothing to us as she pushed the curtain aside to tend to Orenn but clicked her tongue in the way that a mother disapproves of something trivial their child did. I snorted, and Layla bit her lip in a lousy attempt to not giggle. My stomach chose that exact moment to gurgle, which broke the tension all together as we both laughed hysterically.
“Let’s get some food in you,” Layla managed between gasps for air, and I nodded in response.
Dinner was almost over when Layla and I arrived, and I was surprised to see Nia had opted to keep our company as she ate with Braden. I watched with a smile as they happily chatted about the difference in fire spells and how the strength differed depending on the execution. That was something that wasn’t taught until later years, so it was nice to see the two of them form a bond over the desire to learn beyond what was taught in the first-year curriculum.
Braden waved us over when he saw us but stopped suddenly. Nia’s eyes shifted as well, and they gazed behind us. When I turned to see for myself what they did, I was face-to-face with Arwyn.
“Good, you’re all in one place,” she said with a bright grin, and she motioned for Nia to join us. Varleth stood beside her, arms crossed in his usual broody style. “Gryff, Miss Kenefick, Miss Bethel, you’ll all follow me, please.”
The three of us looked between each other and shrugged. I thought it was strange that Arwyn wanted Layla to join us, and my mind went to some wild places. Arwyn, Nia, and Layla, all at once? I wasn’t ashamed to admit that the image was more than appealing, and my pulse quickened at the prospect, even if I knew it was probably never going to happen.
Probably.
Varleth bumped my arm as he fell in step beside Arwyn, and I sighed as my fantasy vanished in the blink of an eye. Maybe another time. We waved to Braden with apologetic glances and followed them out of the dining hall.
“One of the flying monsters that escaped the rift has been sighted to the south,” Arwyn informed us as we walked. “Reports say it lurks in the marshes near Garvesh.”
“That’s quite far from the origin of the rift they entered from,” Nia commented.
“It is,” Arwyn agreed, “but that is what we are counting on.”
When none of us followed along with her train of thought, she continued. “Our best theory is that there is a connection to their strength in relation to how far away they are from where they crossed into our world.”
We all nodded in unison. It was worth a shot, but in the case that t
here wasn’t any correlation, I hoped that there was a backup plan.
“Is that all we know?” I asked.
“We do know more, but not much,” Arwyn briefed us. She walked with purpose, and I caught a whiff of jasmine as her hair billowed behind her. Lovely. “We’ve discovered their cries can be deadly with the frequency they’re able to output. You’ll be provided with specialized earmuffs to cancel out the sound.” She turned over her shoulder and winked at me. “I hope your non-verbal skills are up to snuff.” I didn’t know what the implication was, but it sent a shiver down my spine.
“Is there anything else we know?” Layla questioned. She sounded a little lost, for good reason I thought, but it was natural for her to be curious.
“Forgive me if this seems rude, Ms. Hamner,” Varleth cut in before Arwyn could answer, “but what does this have to do with the other summoner?” He looked pointedly at Layla, who shared his look of confusion. It was an honest question though.
“An excellent question, Varleth,” Arwyn began. “Our squad is currently down a member. As all Academy members are, by default, available to be called up to serve as reserve members of the response teams, we need someone to fill Orenn’s place.” Layla’s eyes widened, but before she, Varleth, and I could say a word, Arwyn held up a hand for silence. “While this is an unusual decision, Headmaster Sleet and I have decided to add Miss Bethel to our squad as a reserve member.”
While Varleth and Layla both looked shocked, Nia seemed open to it and I found myself growing thoughtful. The Headmaster must have had a reason for this assignment, and that’s when it hit me.
“This has to do with either something else you discovered about the worms, the state of the military, or both, isn’t it, Ms. Hamner?”
Arwyn regarded me closely as her lips upticked a hair. “Astute as always, Gryff. Let us finish this discussion in the air.”
Chapter 12
There really wasn’t anything else to say right then. Though Layla was still in shock to a degree, she managed to focus and follow along with the rest of the squad, while Varleth only grumbled a bit more than usual. By the time we were geared up and on the airship flying towards our target, I had come to be fully comfortable with the situation.
After all, Layla had held her own when the rift in the forest opened, and she could totally kick ass when she applied herself. While she had always been reluctant to fight, well, I had been encouraging her and pushing both her and Braden to be and do more. While these flying monsters were one of the scariest threats we’d ever faced and it was only an hour ago that we had exchanged fears on our own mortality, my hope was renewed, and I knew we could see this through.
I was still curious as to the full reasons behind this. So, on one of the fastest ships in Varle about to head into what could possibly be one of the most dangerous missions we’ve gone on and sandwiched between Layla and Nia, I focused on Arwyn sitting across from us. I suddenly felt outnumbered though not necessarily in a bad way. To have three women have their way with me, well, I wasn’t going to complain, was I?
“I think we’re safe to hear the rest of the story,” I said plainly.
Varleth looked up from his brooding to nod firmly in agreement. It looked like there were a few things we could agree on after all. Layla too looked up from her nervous fidgeting, her curiosity aroused.
Arwyn cleared her throat and looked between us. “First off, nothing that I am about to tell you must leave this chamber, lest there be rumors spread and panic started.” When we all nodded our agreement, she nodded as well.
“The army, the mages, we are all strained to a breaking point,” Arwyn confessed. “All but you, Miss Bethel, fought in Bedima, you know how close that came to catastrophe, and even Layla saw first hand our difficulties when you, Gryff, and Braden had to hold off that rift in the wilderness on your own. There are few left available who are qualified to fill the reserve rosters, sadly.”
Varleth seemed rather too pleased with that explanation, but before he could look too smug about, Arwyn raised a finger.
“But more importantly,” our leader continued, “the Headmaster, Professor Rori, and myself have all observed first hand the peculiar power of summoners combining their monster’s powers. In particular, certain combinations of monsters that both Layla and Gryff have are particularly potent and may prove a game-changing in dealing with these flying monstrosities based on our research.”
It was my turn to be a bit smug as I glanced over at Varleth. “Looks like I was right on all counts.” I put a warm hand on Layla’s shoulder. “It looks like we’re really going to show them how summoners can save the world.”
Between my words, Nia’s sudden smile, and Arwyn’s supportive nod, the last of the nerves seemed to seep out of Layla. She looked up at me and that cocky smirk that she usually reserved for an excellent prank came over her lips.
“I won’t let you all down,” she said firmly, “and neither will my monsters!”
I smirked back at her while Varleth merely let out a long, put-upon sigh.
“I think you’ll be an excellent addition to the team, Layla.” Nia complimented Layla. The white-haired woman’s smile was warm, entirely unlike the first time she and I had ever spoken, and part of me wondered if I had rubbed off on her. I liked to think that was the case. Regardless, I was happy to include Nia in a wider circle of my friends.
Layla gave the taller woman a cheeky grin. “Thanks!”
With that settled, I resolved to get what rest I could, leaned back in my seat, and rested my hand on my chest. I could feel my crystals pulse against my palm like a synchronized heartbeat, including the gastrotoad and galimokshi from my fallen summoner brother in Bedina. We were ready.
“Before I forget!” Arwyn leaned over and handed us each a pair of earmuffs. They were quite the fashion statement, though perhaps a bit ridiculous. The padding was thick and black, fuzzy to the touch, with a second layer of what looked to be some sort of even thicker hide. “These will guard you against the cries of the monsters. They’re made a bit crudely, as time was of the essence, but they should suffice until we can construct something more proper.”
I put them on to test them out with what I was sure was a stupid grin plastered to my face. Then I tapped Layla’s arm. “Say something to me.”
Layla turned to face me, her face twisted as she tried to work out my words. She already had on her earmuffs. “What?”
“What?”
We both stopped and laughed at our antics. Even Nia and Arwyn giggled with amusement. To no one’s surprise, Varelth did not. He rolled his eyes and put on his own to drown out any more of our shenanigans, I assumed. I took mine off and set them in my lap.
“What are they made of?” Nia turned the earmuffs over in her hands.
“Monster flesh, if you can believe it,” Arwyn declared. “Cleaned, of course. One of the benefits of trading with the freelancers is that they’re able to supply us with better means of protection. Bandersnatch flesh is coarse and tough. Coupled with the tusks of a marmon, they work together to absorb sound completely.
I whistled. “That’s impressive.” Maybe there was some stock to being a freelancer. I’d consider it an option after I did my time at the Academy. “Do we still not know what those flying monsters are called?”
Arwyn nodded. “That we have discovered. They are pyrewyrms.”
I scrunched my face. “What?”
“Pyrewyrms,” Nia offered. “I’ve heard of them, but only once before.”
“Where at?” I asked, genuinely curious. So there was a record of their existence.
“A traveler who often passed through the Hartmire Enclave once sold stolen books. As it so happened, I was adventurous enough to buy one from him several years ago, well before I came to the Academy or knew that the books were stolen, and saw the name.” Nia stared hard at Arwyn then, and a chill ran down my spine. “Ms. Hamner, pyrewyrms are rumored to be bad omens. They’re bringers of death, sent to escort one’s soul int
o the next world.”
“How do they do that?” Layla looked around me to catch Nia’s eyes. Her feet swung back and forth though I couldn’t tell if it was out of excitement or nerves. Maybe a bit of both.
“Well...” Nia began, her features grim. I noticed Varleth had taken off his earmuffs to listen to what Nia had to say. “Their entry in the book stated that the massive amount of magical energy that surrounds them invades a person’s body and acts as a separate entity. It has the capability to consume our life force until we wither to nothing more than empty vessels. Their screams are supposed to mimic the sound of the last soul they’ve devoured.”
My eyes went wide, and my stomach lurched. Then my eyes caught Varleth’s, and he seemed to have had a similar revelation before he dropped our contact. I remembered the horror in his eyes when we were in the Shadowscape in Harrow’s Gullet. His sword was imbued with the same dark essence. Moreover, if a pyrewyrm’s essence was that powerful, did that mean that Varleth had a similar ability?
Suddenly, the airship shook. I thought it was just minor turbulence until it rocked again, harder this time. I felt the inertia of the ship tip and my stomach flipped again. At this rate, I was going to be sick before we ever got off this thing. Arwyn shifted in her seat, and the rest of us gazed out behind her.
What greeted us was a sight that sucked all the air from my lungs and sent a harsh shiver down my spine. Dread washed over me, and my mouth went dry. The pyrewyrm, despite its lack of eyes, gave us a bone-chilling stare through the window. Swirls of the smoky black essence poured from its wings, and the sky seemed to darken around it. With a ripple of its gross, fleshy wings, it reared back again.
“Quick! Put your earmuffs on!” Arwyn shouted. We did, and just in time. The monster tossed its head back and threw it forward with the force of what felt like a thousand storms, but there was no ear-splitting sound thanks to the ear coverings.
Even so, my teeth chattered from the same vibrations that rocked the ship again. If this kept up, we were going to crash. We needed to come up with something fast. I looked out the window again and could see the marshlands that were specified in the reports not far from our current position. The Garvesh Enclave wasn’t far off the horizon, but it was too late to dock there. If we did, we ran the risk of civilian casualties. The ship we were on wasn’t equipped for battle either, so we would have to make landfall here.
