Summoner Rising

by Melanie Mcfarlane

  “Hopefully I heal faster than that,” Tryan says, shifting in his bed. “Then I can teach you a few things about summoning.”

  “Such as the laws?”

  “That’s a good place to start,” Katya says from the doorway. “We better give this man his rest now, Daciana.”

  I look back at Tryan, and he smiles. “I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

  “Deal.”

  As we walk down the hall, I ponder the glimmer of hope Tryan has given me toward a future of summoning. Maybe life won’t be so bad with this ability. But what if he isn’t my tovaros?

  “When did you and Constantine meet?”

  “Oh,” Katya says, “so long ago I can’t even remember.”

  “Obviously, he’s your tovaros,” I say. “You must have learned about summoning together?”

  “Back home one learns about summoning from birth,” Katya says. “My mother summoned demons while I was a babe tied to her back. I always knew it was what I would grow up to do. Everyone back home knows this. We accept it.”

  “Mom obviously didn’t.”

  “Your mother was different,” Katya explains. “She had her own inner demons she dealt with.”

  “So you knew you needed a tovaros before you met Constantine?”

  “Yes,” Katya says, “I suppose it makes the matching less troublesome. Back home everyone is either a tovaros or a summoner. You all hang out together until you find your compatibility.”

  “Did you date many before Constantine?”

  “Oh, Daciana.” Katya chuckles. “It isn’t like that. A tovaros is a great friend, yes. Soul mates, yes. But not necessarily a love connection. That just happens with some.”

  “So you and Constantine never—”

  “Long ago.” Katya smiles with a twinkle in her eye.

  I can’t help but smile.

  “Do not place all your hope in this tovaros,” Katya warns. “A summoner must be strong, above all. We will start your training immediately.”

  “Really?”

  “It is time you learn where you come from.”

  I follow Katya, about to burst in anticipation of beginning my training. I’m so caught up in the moment that I duck and scream when a flash of bright light zips past me.

  “What’s the matter?”

  I shrug. Katya obviously didn’t see what I did. When she turns away, I check behind me, and see that the doors to the hospital chapel are wide open. A young boy pokes his head out the doors and stares at me with wide eyes. I look away and push the thoughts of the white light out of my head as I focus on what I’m about to learn.

  When we get inside, Katya disappears for a moment, then returns with a large brown book she passes to me. I run my fingers across the wrinkled old leather, scripted with the words “Book of Summoning” across its cover. Underneath the words is a carving of scales, which sit even on both sides, and underneath that reads: Ours is not for judgment, but for balance.

  “Is this for me?” I ask, turning the book over in my hands. I sit down on the couch and flip it open.

  “It is,” Katya says, sitting next to me. “This book has all of the skills a summoner needs to learn. I’d like you to start with chapter three.”

  I excitedly flip through the book until I reach Chapter Three: The Laws of Summoning:

  Law One: A summoner is responsible for all creatures it lets through from the netherworld.

  Law Two: If a creature carries out immoral or unscrupulous acts, a summoner must instantly send it back to the netherworld, or be held fully responsible for the acts carried out by the creatures in its care.

  Law Three: The Summoner Guild determines all forms of punishment, which will be voted on by the members of the guild. In the event of a stalemate, the tovaros of the summoner will be the deciding vote. If a tovaros does not yet exist, then this swing vote will fall to the Tovaros High Senate.

  “That’s it?” I say. “Three laws? I thought it would be a little more laborious than this.”

  “Stick out your hand,” Katya says.

  I look at her, confused, as I stick out my hand. She grabs it and flips it over palm up, without taking her eyes off mine.

  “Do you solemnly swear to uphold the three laws of summoning, so hope you die?”

  I start to laugh, but Katya shakes her head at me and tightens her grip on my hand. I wince in pain and firmly stare back at her.

  “Fine,” I say. “Yes.”

  “Let it be heard you have sworn to follow the three laws,” Katya says, and with one swift movement, she pulls out a dagger from behind her back and pierces my palm.

  “Ahh!” I scream as a burning pain sears across my flesh. “What the hell did you do?”

  I pull my hand back close to me and close my fingers around my wound. I can feel my warm blood gathering in my palm, as it slips through my fingers, dripping onto the page of the book.

  “You have now signed in your blood,” Katya says. “You are officially bound by those rules forever.”

  I snatch my hand back and turn on my heels, running up to my bedroom.

  “Daciana!” she calls after me, but I slam my door shut after grabbing a towel from the linen closet.

  What a bag. Tears sting my eyes as I bandage up my hand the best I can while sitting at my desk. The open page of the book has drops of my blood on it, which I try to wipe away. The paper remains stained and in the light of my desk lamp, other marks stain the page. How many summoners came before me?

  I flip through the pages of the book, going back to the beginning. It starts with a history section, which I idly flip through, pausing at some gruesome drawings from times in the past of plague and illness, when apparently demons ravaged humankind.

  The next chapter discusses the importance of the balance of good and evil. One cannot exist without the other. It briefly speaks of how, without demons, the power of seraphs would blind and tear apart humankind, while without good, demons would ravage and destroy all living things. The importance of the demon summoner is to maintain this balance and ensure the lives of humankind are preserved.

  I sit back in my chair and think those words over. Am I responsible for humanity? A sickening feeling begins to push against my chest, and sweat breaks out on my forehead. What am I supposed to do? I don’t even know how to control the little powers I have now. I lean over and put my head in my hands. I wish Tryan were available to talk to—I really need a friend.

  A quiet knock sounds at my door, and I jump up from my chair. “Leave me alone, Katya.” I shout, wiping a tear from my eye.

  “It’s not Katya,” Constantine says from the other side. “Though she did ask me to check on you.”

  “Come in.” I sigh, sitting back down.

  Constantine enters my room slowly, looking around at everything before finally settling his eyes on me in the chair. He’s carrying a first aid kit.

  “Let me see your hand,” he says, reaching out to me.

  I reluctantly hold out my hand, encircled with the blood-soaked towel.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Constantine says, unwrapping my makeshift bandage. He clicks open the first aid kit and begins to clean my wound. “Doesn’t look like you will need stitches.”

  “Are you a doctor?” I ask, quickly wishing it hadn’t come out so sharp.

  “Once,” he says, still focusing on my wound. “But that was another life.”

  “A gardener and a doctor?” I ask. “What an odd combination.”

  “You’re missing town drunk and lost soul,” he says.

  I start to laugh, then realize Constantine is serious. “What do you mean?”

  “That was long ago, Daciana.” Constantine sighs, starting to bandage my wound with clean gauze and tape. “Before Katya found me.”

  “So all of our lives would’ve been lost without her,” I say, looking away.

  “Not so. I had lost my medical license and was living in the streets of Romania. Katya saved me,
gave me purpose again. Now, I remember six months ago, traveling to California, and finding a quiet and scared little girl there. Look at you now, strong and confident. You did it on your own, but Katya was the one to come and find you.”

  I shrug, pulling my bandaged hand away from Constantine and looking back to the book on the desk. He leans over my shoulder and glances at my reading.

  “I always liked chapter five.” Constantine smiles, then walks to the door. “Lots of useful information there.”

  As soon as he closes the door, I flip to chapter five. Anthology of Demons: Strengths and Weaknesses. I smile to myself and start reading.

  I can’t wait for visiting hours to begin the next day. I was up most of the night before, reading chapter five, making mental notes on imps and ogres. My choices to overtake them pretty much consist of spells and poisons, which I know nothing about and would most likely wind up hurting myself if I tried it on my own. Aside from those two forms of demons, I wasn’t sure what else I could expect to run into in Katya’s studio.

  The hospital is filled with people, and plagued by shadows skimming about in every corner. Chapter One told me that demons preyed on the weak; a hospital must be like a buffet for them.

  When I enter Tryan’s room, he’s sound asleep. I pull up a chair next to his bed, and wait for him to wake up. His features are softer when he sleeps: his jaw more relaxed and his lips are fuller. His chest rises and falls with each breath, and my thoughts flicker to how it looked when I first saw him in the forest. I can feel the pull between us, being this close to him.

  The rhythm of Tryan’s breathing makes my eyelids feel heavy. My lack of sleep from the night before is catching up to me. I notice a dark shadow extend out from the corner of his room to the door. Not now, I think as I lay my head on the bed and close my eyes.

  I startle at the touch of a hand running through my hair. Mom? A hospital room comes into focus. I remember where I am, and that my mom isn’t around anymore. My heart clenches. Sometimes clarity isn’t wanted.

  “Sorry,” Tryan says. “Did I wake you up?”

  “No,” I say, awkwardly sitting up and running my hands through my hair, trying to shake the sensation of my mother away from me. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “That’s okay,” he says. “I’m glad you came. It looks like I’m getting out tomorrow.”

  “What? I thought your arm was broken.”

  “So did the doctor,” he says, holding up his bandaged arm. “But it’s just a bad sprain.”

  “Did they do x-rays?”

  “I was scheduled for a cast today,” he says, “but I told them how much better it felt. They checked it over, x-rayed again, and couldn’t believe it; must have been a blip on the original pic.”

  “What about your ribs?”

  “Much better.”

  I look at Tryan suspiciously. A smile plays around his lips, and I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something from me. “So you seriously get to go home tomorrow.”

  “Yes,” he says. “I thought we could hang out tomorrow night. Maybe go to a movie or something.”

  “Really?” I roll my eyes. “Isn’t that pretty standard. Isn’t there anything special that summoners and their tovaros’s do?”

  He chuckles quietly. “Listen. We’re lucky neither of us was seriously hurt yesterday. I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you.” Tryan’s eyes grow dark. “We need to have a little fun together that doesn’t involve imps or ogres, right?”

  He leans forward and grabs my hand with his. I’m instantly embarrassed at how nervous I feel, but the pull is stronger when we touch and I feel myself leaning toward him. A nurse walks in and instantly blushes when she sees us. I instantly let go, and drop back in my chair.

  “Sorry,” she says. “I need to wheel this guy off to one more set of x-rays.”

  I look outside and see the evening darkness begin to set in. “I better get home,” I say, disappointed in the little time we have.

  “Pick me up at noon tomorrow?” he asks.

  “Absolutely,” I say, smiling as disappointment is replaced with possibilities.

  As I leave the hospital I wonder about Tryan’s arm; it was bent in such a crooked direction when he passed out in the studio, I can’t believe it isn’t broken. I still can’t shake the feeling he’s hiding something from me.

  As I reach the chapel doors, the same young boy from yesterday, jumps out in front of me. He can’t be more than twelve years old. I step to the side to avoid him, but he steps in front of me again.

  “Hey,” I say. “I’m in a hurry.”

  “I know what you are,” he says, staring up at me with the same wide eyes as yesterday. A shiver jolts through me like a knife in my chest.

  “Eli,” a man’s voice says from the chapel. A robed priest appears in the doorway; his eyes scan me, then turn to the boy. “Back inside.”

  The boy walks back to the chapel, watching me as the man closes the doors between us. A shiver runs down my spine this time, causing goosebumps to form on my arms. I hurry out of the hospital, not wanting to know what the boy meant.

  “Katya says you have to come for lunch,” I say as I pick Tryan up the next day from the hospital.

  “Maybe she likes me after all.” He winks.

  “I think it’s a guilt lunch,” I laugh. “Sorry my guardian ogre attacked you, here have some sandwiches.”

  Tryan laughs aloud before turning serious. “Will we still hang out later?” he asks. “Alone?”

  “Yes.” I nod.

  As I wheel him out of the hospital, I hesitate at the chapel doors. They are wide open again, but this time no one is inside. My mystery boy will have to remain that way, I guess.

  “What are you looking for?” Tryan asks, peering toward the chapel.

  “Nothing.” I hurriedly push him away.

  “We’re glad to see you healed so quickly,” Katya says, raising an eyebrow. “No sign of a break in the second set of x-rays, hmm?”

  “No, ma’am,” Tryan says, chewing his sandwich.

  “Practically a miracle,” Katya says. A smile is plastered on her face, but it looks more suspicious than genuine. “Constantine heals like that as well.”

  “Not before I met you.” He winks at Katya.

  They exchange a knowing look, making me smile at their connection. I can’t help it—I enjoy watching them together. Thoughts of my mother drift into my mind; had she found her tovaros, would she have had happiness like this?

  “So, Tryan,” Katya says, “I did some research, seeing as we are going to be seeing more of you. We have to look out for Daciana, you know.”

  Tryan suddenly looks pale and puts his food down.

  “It’s interesting,” she says. “Orphaned at thirteen. Star student up until last year, when you fall off the grid. That is, until a few months ago.”

  I frown at Katya. This hardly seems the time to grill a newcomer. It’s not like he’s my boyfriend or anything. I look over at Tryan, whose face has paled.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  “I—don’t feel so good,” Tryan says, rubbing his hands against one another. “I must have eaten too fast.”

  Katya nods. “Take him home, Daciana. He’s been through a lot.”

  “I’ll walk,” he says, getting up. “I think the air will be good for me.”

  “Don’t be silly.” I stand and grab our plates. “It’s the least I owe you for getting you into this mess.”

  “Please,” Katya adds, “don’t hesitate to come back as soon as you’re feeling better. I’d love to learn more about your family, friends, and acquaintances.”

  Tryan almost knocks his chair over as he leaves the table. I glance back at Katya in confusion, but she only shrugs and continues with her lunch. Once we’re in the car, Tryan gives me directions to his place. He lives on the other side of the woods, behind our house. I’m excited to have some ti
me alone, but the air is thick with silence. I try to make small talk a few times, but Tryan seems preoccupied with the scenery out the window. Finally, the silence breaks.

  “When do you get some hands-on training?” he asks, resting his hands next to mine.

  “Soon I hope. I wonder what will be first? Weapons training? Or will I get to summon something new?”

  “Nice to see you’re not so down about the whole summoning-thing anymore.” He pats my hand, sending a burst of excitement up my arm into my chest.

  “Now I have Katya to help me,” I say, “and you.”

  “Dacie—”

  “It’s just nice to focus on something new,” I say, stopping him from raining on my parade. “I’ve spent the last six months in the shadow of what happened to my mom.”

  “Right.” He sighs. “I just want you to know there’ll be a lot of reading.”

  “Reading?”

  “Yes,” he says. “It’s not all fun and games. I don’t envy you one bit. I’d take a broken arm over that stuff any day.”

  I laugh as I pull up to his house. Its windows are dark, and the lawn looks unkempt. Thoughts of Katya’s comments come up: Orphaned at thirteen. Whom does he live with now? “Do you want me to come in?” I ask. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s home.”

  “I’m good,” he says, still holding my hand and staring at me.

  “What?” Nervous laughter escapes my lips, but Tryan doesn’t break a smile. His intensity makes me nervous.

  “You know when we saw that ogre?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, it was pretty cool you didn’t run away,” he says. “Most girls would, you know.”

  “Not summoners, I suppose.”

  “No, definitely not.” He laughs, leaning his head back. “You’re different than them too, though. Maybe it’s because you didn’t grow up knowing about all of this life.”

  “So I’m not even normal in summoner terms? I’m doomed to be weird.”

  Tryan looks over at me, staring at my face. He pushes a lock of hair away from my face. “You’re far from weird.”