Summoner 8

by Eric Vall

  Varleth came out onto the balcony beside us and marvelled at the sight of the final moments of the battle. “I wonder where the rift these monsters came from is.”

  “Could be anywhere, plus it’s impossible for us to spot with this storm going on,” I guessed. “Besides that, we now have two injured members of our team we need to get home to Meridan.”

  “Honestly, I’d be surprised if there are many more than what we just killed,” Erin said with an amazed laugh. “I’m sure the rift will be a piece of cake for whichever response squad takes care of it.”

  The storm raged around us, and we quickly recalled our monsters before we went back inside. Varleth and I closed the heavy emergency exit door with a metallic clang before we returned to our seats.

  In the meantime, Cyra and Layla helped Orenn back into his own chair. Erin came over and took a good look at the tourniquet around his leg.

  “Looks like the wound has clotted up, now,” the mimic said as she examined his injury. “I’ll take off the tourniquet so he doesn’t lose the blood supply to his foot.”

  “Sounds good,” I said as our team settled back into their places.

  When Erin was done with Orenn’s leg, she went back into the pilot’s hold and started the ship up again.

  The airship lurched to life around us, and we got back to the short journey as we returned to Varle Enclave.

  Still, the whole team seemed a little tense, and our conversation was full of dark humor and nervous, relieved laughter as we talked about the attack of the flying monsters. Nobody liked the idea of plummeting from the sky, not even battle-hardened mages like us.

  At long last, Erin scampered out from the pilot seat and grinned at us happily.

  “Welcome home,” she said in a chipper tone. “It’s still raining buckets, so get ready to put on your hats after we set down. It also might be a bumpy one because of the storm.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I called after her retreating figure as she ducked back into the pilot’s room.

  “Boy, she really loves this airship,” Layla sighed. “Not even getting poured on can put a damper on her spirits.

  “I like the rain,” Cyra added with a gentle smile. “Maybe she does, too.”

  “I don’t believe I have a hat with me,” Gawain said with amusement.

  We looked over at him. Underneath the blanket, the fire mage was shirtless and covered in blood, and one of his pant legs had been cut short to the thigh.

  “I think I have some extra clothes that’ll fit you,” Orenn offered.

  “That might be helpful,” Gawain admitted with a self-conscious laugh.

  The airship’s descent was extremely turbulent, and all the shaking and dropping was enough to make me feel a little queasy. Layla and Cyra both stared wordlessly around the cabin with sick looks on their faces. Gawain tipped his head back and grimaced through the whole ride as the turbulence upset his injuries. Orenn and Varleth didn’t seem too bothered, but I guessed they had experienced plenty of bumpy airship descents over their years of flying, since they’d been at the Academy longer.

  Finally, the airship touched ground with a heavy jolt that rattled the entire hold.

  “Did we live?” Layla asked wearily as she fumbled with her seatbelt.

  Erin popped out of the pilot’s hold with a spring in her step and a pleasant smile on her face.

  “Hey everybody! Boy, fun ride, huh?” she asked.

  We stared at her as murderous intent grew behind our gazes.

  “I would like to get off this ship now,” Gawain croaked out as he undid the latch on his belt.

  “Say that again,” I agreed eagerly as I stood and stretched out the kinks in my back.

  Erin waved a loving goodbye to her airship, and we filed off like drunks as we stumbled away from the ship.

  It really was pouring, and the street outside was on the verge of becoming flooded as water raced down the gutters in gushing rivers. I hadn’t packed a hat for our short little trip, so my hair was drenched within seconds of when I exited the airship. Gawain was fully clothed now, but he didn’t have a hat either, and we exchanged sad looks as the rain poured down our faces in rivulets.

  Layla and Erin had both only brought wide-brimmed sun hats proper for the heat of the desert. The intent was good, but water soaked through them quickly and left the hats as little more than soggy, cold straw.

  Cyra was lucky to have a cloak with a thick, fabric hood, and Orenn and Varleth both had leather hats. Orenn had to lean on Varleth as they walked, and they made slow progress because of the metallogue’s leg injury.

  We made our way through the streets and back to the Academy in a hurry, since none of us wanted to stay out in the freezing rain for long. The streets were mostly empty as the residents of Varle took shelter from the weather.

  Luckily, our mission was officially sanctioned this time, so we could enter through the main entrance. After a quick knock on the enormous oak doors at the front of the Academy, the spell activated, and the doors creaked slowly open.

  “I wish they’d focused on speed instead of fanfare,” Layla lamented as we waited for the opening to widen so we could slip through.

  Finally, the tiny crack between the doors was big enough for a person to comfortably enter, and we rushed single-file into the lobby of the Academy.

  Thunder boomed outside, and we all shivered as we dripped water onto the floor. I squeezed water from my hair and took the opportunity to glance around the room again. The alabaster columns and red carpeting still looked impossibly fancy to me, but they were also familiar. I met eyes with the statues of all the famous mages, and it was just like coming home again.

  And this time, we’d brought everybody back.

  My eyes caught on a large, pale sheet of paper that lay upside down near the lobby stairs. I walked over and picked it up to see what was on the other side.

  “Oh,” I realized out loud as I read it, “it’s an announcement for a voting day.”

  The handwritten announcement detailed several voting locations and times, all of which occurred on the twelfth of the month. We left on the eleventh, so the voting day could be tomorrow, hypothetically. As I stared at the wrinkled paper, though, I got the feeling we had been gone a little longer.

  “Cool,” Layla breathed as she looked over my shoulder. “Nia really did it, didn’t she? She’s so smart.”

  “She is,” I agreed with a happy laugh as I imagined spending more time with her again.

  “That Kenefick,” Gawain exclaimed with a surprised whistle as he took the paper. “I think she’s more formidable than her father.”

  I wasn’t so sure, but Gawain hadn’t been personally threatened by the man like I had.

  “C’mon,” I directed with a smile as I looked over my team. “Let’s go get everybody’s injuries looked at. I want us all in great shape for whenever Sleet calls us in to report.”

  “We should check in with Arwyn, too,” Cyra added. “I’m sure the scholars will want these ciphers as soon as possible.”

  “Plus, I’d rather hand them off to somebody else sooner rather than later,” Gawain said as he smiled wearily and tapped at the leather bag by his side.

  “Definitely,” I agreed as my chest warmed with satisfaction. “It’s kind of amazing these two tablets could be the final step in saving humanity.”

  “I know,” Cyra admitted with a laugh. “I’m dying to take a look at them myself, and I’m not even a researcher.”

  We hustled through the halls and left a trail of dirty water in our wake. I felt a little bad for whoever had to clean up after all the mages in this school, but that was the price of fighting. I rarely came home clean from a victory, but I didn’t mind a good, dirty battle.

  When we reached Meridan’s clinic, I made sure to hold everybody back so I could knock on the door first.

  My whole team stopped and stared at me in confusion.

  “What are you knocking for?” Erin asked in bewilderment. “It’s
the reception area, there aren’t any patients inside.”

  “You really, really don’t want to know,” I informed my friends in a foreboding tone as Maelor and Meridan’s faces flashed behind my eyes.

  I had accidentally seen them making out in the clinic once. The ghostly specter of what I saw loomed fresh in my mind. I wouldn’t ever look at that desk the same way again.

  “Okay, we’ve knocked, so let’s go in,” Varleth said with an amused huff.

  I relented, and we went inside without further pause. A nurse was seated at the chair behind the desk, and he peacefully took notes on his clipboard as we walked up.

  “We just came back from a mission,” Erin told him as she leaned tiredly against the desk. “Five of us have light injuries, two are moderate.”

  “Oh, you’re that mimic,” the nurse said as he blinked at Erin. “I remember you from first aid training. Have a seat, and I’ll go get Meridan right away.”

  The nurse tucked away his clipboard and disappeared through the side door.

  We collapsed into our seats in the waiting room, but Meridan burst into the room almost as soon as we sat down.

  “You’re back!” she gasped as she came forward to examine us with deft hands. “Ah, I’m so happy. And Gawain too, poor thing.”

  She held him by the sides of his head and turned his face from side to side as her expert eyes scanned him from head to toe.

  “Hi, Meridan,” Gawain said weakly.

  “Let’s get you into a room right away, dear,” Meridan advised as she helped him to his feet. “Come on, up you go.”

  Orenn limped over to her, and Meridan’s eyes landed on his bloodstained leg.

  “Maker, you kids!” she gasped. “Orenn, you come, too. Immediately, now, and I’ll hear no complaints. Does anybody else have a limiting injury?”

  “I’m pretty sure Erin sprained her wrist,” Layla piped up. “Even though she won’t say anything about it, I’ve seen her holding it weirdly.”

  This was news to me, and I turned to stare accusingly at the orange-haired mimic.

  Erin smiled sheepishly. “I thought it would get better. Besides, it doesn’t hurt much.”

  She must have hurt it when Phi attacked with that blue shockwave of magic. I was preoccupied with the mental battle, so I never saw the outcome too clearly.

  “Come on, let’s get you in for treatment,” Meridan advised Erin firmly. “You should never hide an injury, young woman.”

  Gawain gingerly lifted his shoulder bag over his head, and I helped him transfer it to me.

  “Can we go see Arwyn while you’re treating them?” I asked.

  “I suppose so,” Meridan hummed out thoughtfully. “Just stay in her lab, okay? I’ll fetch you when we’re ready for you.”

  Meridan led Gawain, Orenn, and Erin through the door back to the clinic treatment area, and we shuffled past them. I led my little group through the other fork and down the hallway to the research labs.

  I knocked on Arwyn’s door, and she answered with a distracted call to come in.

  She swiveled around in her chair with shock as she saw the four of us.

  “Don’t worry,” I began quickly, “Orenn, Erin, and Gawain are fine too.”

  “How long have we been gone?” Cyra asked curiously. “I forgot to ask Meridan.”

  “Seven days,” Arwyn answered with relief in her voice. “Of course, it’s not unheard of for teams to be gone for a while because of the time difference, but this was no normal mission.”

  “I’m sorry for worrying you,” I said as I stepped into her office alongside my friends. “The mission turned out to be a success, actually.”

  I took the ratty, bloodstained shoulder bag off and reached inside to pull out the ciphers. Despite all the fighting, the two stone tablets were smooth and unblemished, and they gleamed in the light as I set them on the table.

  “Thank goodness,” Arwyn breathed as she heaved out a sigh of relief. “After the news I’ve just gotten, I’m happier than ever to have all the ciphers safely in our hands.”

  “News?” I asked with concern as I took in Arwyn’s appearance.

  The shapely redhead was as beautiful as ever, but her posture was slumped, and her eyes were uneasy and haunted. Something troubled her deeply, but that could have been one of the hundreds of challenges we were currently dealing with.

  “Is it the voting day?” Varleth asked with worry in his voice. “Did General Kenefick get ruled out?”

  “No, no,” Arwyn rejected with a shake of her head, “the voting went fine. General Kenefick is actually slated to become the next Grand Mage, and everybody seems happy with the outcome. It’s the ciphers, actually.”

  My stomach did flips as I stared at her grave expression.

  “What went wrong?” I asked as a hollow pit of worry carved itself into my gut.

  “It’s the translations,” Arwyn explained carefully as her lips thinned into a tight line. “We’ve done some more research, and it seems like our problems are much bigger than we initially feared.”

  Chapter 2

  “New information?” I asked as my eyes widened.

  “The Beastmaker sounds more dangerous than ever before,” Arwyn explained. “In addition, it seems we underestimated the danger of the Archons.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Varleth spoke as he leaned against the wall. “Phi nearly took down Gryff just through a telepathic attack.”

  “She was awfully close to succeeding,” I added with a shiver. “Sera had to chip in to kick her out of my head. I’ll tell you the full story when we go in to report to Sleet.”

  “I suppose I can wait,” Arwyn responded with a firm nod. “I’m glad your team came out alive. We now have details on all nine of the Archons and their backgrounds. It’s a long read, so I won’t recount it now, but it seems like Phi is one of the weaker of the nine Archons. Furthermore, the other seven should still be alive out there, which means that at any time, this fight might turn from bad to critical.”

  “So, if another Archon joins Phi, we could be toast,” Layla realized as she rocked back on her heels.

  “Afraid so,” Arwyn confirmed as she tapped at her journal. “Even with just Phi on the playing field, we’re going to have a hard time taking her down. Our texts indicate the Archons cannot be destroyed, only imprisoned, like Sera was by her fellow Archons. Alternatively, they can be controlled through the power of the Beastmaker.”

  “What do you mean, they can’t be destroyed?” Cyra asked. “Phi is powerful, but she sure didn’t seem invincible.”

  “It’s not entirely clear,” Arwyn said as she tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully. “The Archons aren’t just beings, they’re part of nature itself. They represent a balance of power, so you can no more unmake an Archon than you can unmake the concept of light or dark. I believe if you destroyed Phi’s body, she would soon return. She might be temporarily weaker, but ultimately she could just rest up and return to destroy humanity.”

  “So,” I mused, “we have to figure out a way to imprison Phi ourselves.”

  “That, or we have to find the Beastmaker,” Varleth pointed out. “Is there any new information on where he could be?”

  “Somewhat,” Arwyn allowed with a tilt of her hand. “There’s one paragraph that implies he will be the child of one of the twelve original guardians who were meant to protect this realm, so we could try to follow their lineages through the history books. If we get a name or a location, it could be a great head start to find the Beastmaker and ask him to help.”

  “A child of one of the twelve?” Layla asked. “Like, one of their distant descendants?”

  “I doubt so,” Arwyn said with a shake of her head. “The text seems clear that he’s a son born directly to one of them. However, that’s the least of my concerns. The paragraph that most directly refers to the Beastmaker in prophecy is bleak, to say the least.”

  “Arwyn,” I asked, “could you read us the translated text directly?”


  “Sure,” the red-haired professor agreed, and she started up in a clear, neutral recitation of the prophecy.

  “Beastmaker, breaker of the Twelve.

  Wielder of the fell and bearer of the nine marks.

  In shadows sent, Beastmaker, in shadows delve.

  In his ears, all cries of mercy will fall to dust.

  In his eyes, blood shall paint the streets in rust.

  Around him, the broken return in kind yet different still.

  Monster and man alike will kneel to his power.

  He shall rule the worlds, rip the skies asunder, and nothing the same will ever be.

  Years may pass, and years may change, yet prophecy’s Beastmaker shall remain.”

  We fell silent as we considered the words of the prophecy. I knew they were a little different from how they were written in the original language, but the meaning seemed unmistakably dark.

  “He sounds kind of evil,” Layla said hesitantly as she broke the moment of silence.

  “Kind of?” Varleth repeated with disbelief. “He sounds like a monster. I can’t believe the Archons have been the worst of our problems, with this guy around.”

  “Maybe he’s not around,” I wondered. “We haven’t seen a single indication of him so far.”

  “So,” Layla added, “maybe we should just ignore him. This prophecy thing was written centuries ago, why should we trust it to still be accurate?”

  “I see what you’re saying, but I still don’t like this,” Cyra worried in a low voice. “This Beastmaker should be like the biggest player in this war, but he hasn’t even shown his face. Maybe he’s behind the more frequent rift threats? Maybe this whole time, Phi has been working with the Beastmaker, and we simply haven’t laid eyes on who we’re fighting? We haven’t noticed him, but it doesn’t mean he’s not there. He could be hiding himself until he can strike us when we’re weak.”

  “I don’t see us getting much weaker than this,” I pointed out. “He’s supposed to be this crazy powerful guy, so he shouldn’t have a problem fighting us. Maybe something went wrong with him.”