Summoner 8

by Eric Vall

  The shadowcat dug its claws into the earth and ground to halt, but it still got a flank full of shallow gouges as it spun sideways to try and stop its momentum. It snarled and skirted my wall, but Ashla was waiting.

  She swung Bessie in a wide arc that slashed deep into the cat’s chest, and the monster stumbled away in pain as her strike hit home.

  I slapped a speed slug on my neck, drew my rhin dagger, and sprinted at the cat while it was still distracted. The shadowcat was quicker than I expected, and it turned to face me with its fangs bared.

  Erin stepped forward and threw a white-hot jet of fire in its face, and the shadowcat cringed away as the flame blinded it.

  I dropped to my knees and slid the rest of the way with slug-fueled speed, and I buried my rhin dagger in the shadowcat’s throat.

  Instant panic filled me as I was exposed point-blank to the influence of the cat’s dread aura, but the monster shuddered and collapsed quickly. The second the life left the cat’s eyes, I felt the fear lift away.

  I sheathed my dagger and withdrew my daggerdillo, speed slug, and wallerdon before I hastened to my feet.

  “Fuck,” Ashla swore as she sheathed her double-bladed axe again, “I forgot how utterly terrifying those things are.”

  “I wish I’d stop running into them,” I agreed with a shiver. “Let’s keep going.”

  We hustled along the riverside as we halved the distance to Cyra and Layla. A few random goblins, chatteroshi, and bandersnatches threatened us along the way, but they were all easy to deal with quickly and efficiently. It was alarming just how many different kinds of grunt monsters there were running around the village of Njordenfalls, but at least we weren’t running into any flying ones.

  “I bet Phi opened that other rift we fought at,” Ashla said consideringly. “Gargoyles, beakroks, and imps so close to Njordenfalls. I’m sure they were supposed to swarm in and surround the town from the outside, like a backup team.”

  “I bet so,” I answered. “She’s probably been planning this for days or weeks while she gathered her army.”

  “I really don’t like monsters with brains,” Erin added with a shudder.

  The ground between us as our goal narrowed, and I could hear Cyra and Layla shouting orders to the people around them as we approached. I decided we had a clean shot straight to our teammates from our current position, so I picked up my pace.

  Suddenly, an enormous dracon lumbered into view between us. Its hide was covered in coppery, shiny scales, and they gleamed like precious metal in the sunlight. A row of bronze spikes trailed from between the dracon’s ears all the way down to the ends of both of its reptilian tails, which forked into two parts just behind its hindquarters. Each tail was tipped with a cluster of spines that glistened with deadly sharpness.

  The dracon had four powerful legs that ended in long, bloody talons, and its snout was thin and crocodile-like. It was a monster that seemed similar to the similarly-named dragon in its appearance, but every part of the dracon was ever-so-slightly more beastlike and less refined. It had no wings, and it walked with a lumbering, side-to-side gait as its tails moved in counterpoint for balance.

  The dracon stopped and sniffed the air thoughtfully as its reptilian eyes narrowed to slits, and it turned to face the group of Njordenfalls refugees with hungry interest.

  Of course, Cyra and Layla stood in its way, and they weren’t about to let the dracon even get close to its targets. Layla yelled out a suggestion, and Cyra directed Kalon to meet the dracon face-to-face in battle.

  Kalon grew to nearly match the dracon in height, and her size stopped changing after she reached a few hands taller than a plow horse.

  Silver dragon met bronze dracon in battle as Ashla, Erin, and I sprinted to catch up. Kalon’s talons flashed, and her white teeth gleamed in the sun as she sank her teeth into the dracon’s hide. The dracon slashed back in turn, and it wrapped its thick forelegs around Kalon’s torso before it twisted sideways and rolled both of them over.

  Normally, I wouldn’t worry about Kalon’s ability to take the dracon in combat, since dragons were famously the more powerful and intelligent of the two types of monster. However, her hide was already scored with bloody wounds, and her chest heaved as her breath came fast and labored with exhaustion.

  “She’s exhausted,” I warned my companions, “we have to help.”

  Ashla, Erin, and I charged into battle with our spells at the ready and our weapons drawn.

  The dracon had its back to us when we reached it, so I slammed my father’s dagger deep into one of its tails. The blade bit deep, but stopped against the bony vertebrae inside, so I leaned my knee down onto the hide of the beast and followed it up with a slash of my rhin dagger as well.

  The tail split in half, and the lower end of it clattered uselessly to the rocky ground below as the spined portion fell off entirely.

  Then the dracon whipped around to confront me, and it raised its deadly claws to attack.

  Kalon chose that moment to leap up, and she clawed her way to the top of the dracon before she bit down hard between the spines on the back of its neck. Her teeth punctured straight through the coppery scales, and the dracon reared back in agony as it tried to claw her off.

  Ashla shot out a spear of ice that stuck into the dracon’s side like a planted flag, but it didn’t quite go deep enough.

  Erin shot out a fireball that seared away at the same spot, and the ice spear melted enough to fall out.

  Kalon tore off one of the dracon’s ears as she fought viciously to overcome it, but the dracon rolled sideways and tossed her off. The little silver dragon was thrown toward the riverbank, but she snapped her wings out for balance and recovered quickly.

  The dracon advanced on her to deal another blow, but I sunk my rhin dagger into its lower right leg and dragged a deep line across the tendon at the back of its heel. Something snapped under my blade, and I stumbled away as the dracon roared in pain and anger.

  The dracon turned on me, and I narrowly dodged as the remaining tail whipped through the space I had been.

  “Again, same spot!” I shouted to Ashla, and the ice mage’s eyes lit up with understanding.

  Ashla created another spear, and this time she held it between her hands and darted forward to drive it directly into the same spot as the first one. The spear sunk past the long stab wound from before, but it traveled further still, and Ashla thunked it deep into the dracon’s flesh.

  Suddenly, the dracon seized up as the ice spear hit something vital, and blood gushed from its nostrils and from between its elongated jaws.

  “You hit its lungs,” I called out. “Step away, it’s dead.”

  Ashla and Erin scurried back, and Kalon got to her feet unsteadily by the side of the river. I took a few measured steps away and watched as the dracon took one small step forward before it swayed, spat up more blood, and collapsed.

  Ashla watched it for a moment, then she turned excitedly to the tail I cut off earlier. I watched in confusion as she bent down and wrested a spine from the sharp clump on the tip.

  “These are perfect for healing potions,” the ice mage chortled. “Doc will be so pleased if I give him these. I won’t have to pay him back for the elixir we took.”

  “I don’t think he cares we took his elixir,” I told Ashla with a wry smile.

  “He will once he learns we used it to get into another fight,” Ashla shot back, and I had to agree for once.

  Cyra waved and gestured us over from where she stood near Layla, the soldiers, and the refugees. They were still fending off smaller monsters, and Kalon got to her feet and bounded over as she shrank to a more dog-like size.

  “Let’s go,” Erin urged as she hurried past Ashla and me. “They need us, and we need to figure out what the hell is going on.”

  We hastened over to Cyra and Layla, and as we reached them, I threw out three heavy, apple-sized crystals the color of gray slate. My three box trolls emerged, and I paired them with three speed slug
s from my bandolier.

  The box trolls were tall as a man’s chest with broad shoulders and grossly muscled arms. Long, fine hairs grew from their limbs and chests, and they grunted dumbly as they followed my orders and entered the battle to hold off the smaller grunt monsters.

  I usually never had much reason to use my box trolls in combat, but I was running low on monsters I hadn’t used yet, and I wanted to save any double-summons for if it was truly necessary later.

  “Maker, am I glad to see you three!” Cyra gasped as we neared. “We’ve been fighting for ages, but it’s like they never stop coming.”

  “I’m glad to see that the two of you are okay,” I breathed with relief as I checked Layla and Cyra over for serious wounds. “What about the people of Njordenfalls?”

  “Almost everybody is safe,” Cyra explained as she pointed toward the huddle of refugees behind her. “Don’t worry, Tabby is okay, too.”

  The civilians behind the ring of soldiers looked miserable and panicked, but more than a few of them clutched tightly to pitchforks and lumber axes. Just as I expected, the people of Njordenfalls wouldn’t go down without a fight.

  “Good,” I said with a smile. “You two did an amazing job to save so many. What do you need from us for support?”

  “We’re a little lousy on the mana front,” Layla chipped in as she directed her hyppocrans over to a new batch of goblins, “but we’re okay. How many others came with you? We need a team in that rift as soon as possible, if we want to control the damage out here.”

  Ashla and Erin exchanged regretful glances as I cleared my throat to break the bad news.

  “We’re the only three so far,” I told the petite mage soberly. “We were coming back from Svellfrer’s Rest when we spotted another rift back an hour west. We landed and fought for a bit, and we detoured as soon as we heard what was happening here.”

  “So … “ Cyra breathed out, and her eyebrows lifted in worry. “You three are the only arrivals, and you’ve already been fighting.”

  “I’m sure more teams are on the way,” I said, and steely determination filled my voice. “We can hold out until they get here.”

  “How much mana do you have left?” Layla asked as her hyppocrans stomped a ghoul flat with its elephantine feet.

  “We all topped up,” I explained, “but I’ve already used pretty much every monster in my arsenal at least once. I’m going to drain out quickly.”

  “Here,” Ashla said as she dug in her bag. “It’s nothing close to as restorative as one of Doc’s potions, but we still have these two standard-issue Academy elixirs for mana.”

  “Better than nothing,” Cyra huffed as she took the turquoise vial of liquid. “I know how hard it is to get your hands on any potions at all these days.”

  “We only had one between the two of us,” Layla added as she took her own dose from Ashla’s hands. “Single-dose, so we could only top off halfway.”

  “I’m afraid this won’t refresh you much more than that,” Ashla explained, “but it’s all we have.”

  “We’re going to go take out some monsters,” Erin explained as she formed the beginning of a fire spell between her hands. “Gryff can figure out what we’re going to do in the meantime.”

  “Stay safe,” I told the two mages as Ashla and Erin jogged away to fight monsters on the other side of the protective ring.

  I watched as they began to fling spells, and the fighting soldiers began to regain a little ground.

  “I guess that means we have to drink now,” Cyra mourned.

  The tawny-skinned summoner gazed at Kalon as the dragon slashed her way through a sythe-armed chatteroshi.

  “Bottoms up,” Layla sighed with a wary glance at the turquoise liquid.

  The two mages downed their potions and immediately started to cough and wheeze.

  “Spicy,” Cyra elaborated as she wiped at her watering eyes, “and it tastes like cow dung.”

  “Slum shit is what it tastes like,” Layla argued as she doubled over with her hands on her knees.

  “You don’t sound very appreciative of our presents,” I quipped as my box trolls slammed through their enemies. “Anyway, what’s your plan for dealing with Phi? We’re losing too many lives to her.”

  Yes, let’s ruin her, rip her to pieces! Sera hissed vehemently.

  The enormous Archon was still trodding through the streets, and the screams of soldiers echoed in her wake. Those caught in her path were trampled, and my jaw clenched in anger at the thought of how carelessly she destroyed their lives. Though Phi seemed contained to the main street of the village for now, I had no doubt she could break through the mass of tightly-clustered buildings and crush every last refugee if she became so inclined.

  “Our plan was to keep fighting grunts,” Layla explained, “and just wait for somebody smart to come in and take care of Phi for us. Look, here you are! Our plan worked.”

  “Got it,” I chuckled, “I’ll come up with something.”

  I put my head to work as I directed my box trolls on who to fight next.

  As I stared at them, a lucky bandersnatch leapt off the roof of a nearby house and sank its teeth into the jugular of one of my trolls. I recalled the felled troll even as I directed the other two to take the bandersnatch out.

  The trolls were a bad omen of what was to come, here. We had good fighters, but we were vastly outnumbered, and in the end, we would lose. The fight on this side of the village was slow, and we had many survivors among the people of Njordenfalls, but soldiers were dying by the minute. If things continued on like this, Phi would certainly win the battle.

  “We have to confront her,” I decided as my brow furrowed in concentration. “Once and for all. Cut off the head of the snake, or we’re doomed here.”

  “What, we just rush in?” Layla asked in confusion. “Leave behind our good, defensive position, and throw away our resources just to attack her?”

  “It might fail,” I agreed as I shook my head in consternation, “but it has a better shot at victory than this. We’re losing by inches. I say we blow it up for one good chance at knocking out a demi-goddess.”

  “I suppose … “ Cyra murmured, “I suppose it’s better than what we’re doing now. However, I want all these refugees safe. I’m not making rash decisions with their lives on the line.”

  “Of course,” I agreed. “I say we get them back to Erin’s airship and load everybody up. Send them off back to Varle Enclave, if the ship isn’t too heavy.”

  “Erin will have to decide that,” Layla put in. “I missed that school lesson, since I never took refugee airship physics one-o-one.”

  “I’ll go ask her about it,” I told the two summoners, and they nodded in response.

  I directed my two remaining box trolls to follow me as I jogged over to Erin and Ashla’s portion of the perimeter. The mimic and the ice mage were dealing with a particularly nasty ogre, and it still fought on with brutal strength despite being peppered with arrow wounds.

  “What’s up?” Erin panted between fireballs as I jogged up to her.

  “I need your help figuring out some airship stuff,” I said, and I relayed my refugee evacuation plan.

  “With this many people, they’d barely fit on the airship while standing shoulder to shoulder,” Erin explained grimly. “I think it’s a good idea to seal them away in the safety of the cargo hold, but I wouldn’t fly them anywhere.”

  “That’ll have to be good enough,” I decided. “Alright, let’s get these villagers moving.”

  There was no real leader among the platoon members around us, as far as I could tell, so I simply raised my voice like General Kenefick would have.

  “Keep perimeter guard formation,” I barked out at the top of my lungs. “Move the refugees southwest along the river, and stow them on the airship. Do not take off, or you risk killing everybody, alright?”

  “Yes, sir!” one gangly soldier shouted out as she saluted me briefly.

  There were a few more scatte
red responses, and I worried the platoon wasn’t going to listen to me. In a matter of minutes, however, we were moving as a squad with the refugees at the center.

  We attracted a lot of attention, and a few soldiers fell as monsters swarmed our moving ring of guards. I threw out my roosa and felt mana tug away from me with the cost of the resummon. At least it was a monster I had personally caught, so the loss wasn’t as drastic. My scorpion-like roosa got to work as it crushed goblins in its claws and sank its venomous stinger into ogres.

  The next thirty minutes were monotonous, but my chest was tense as I tried to watch for as many threats as possible. Grunt after grunt threw themselves at us, and every soldier loss felt like a blow to me personally.

  As we moved past the borders of the village, a new voice spoke directly into my mind.

  What’s this? Phi asked, and her mature voice was soft and elegant as it filtered through my head. Little Gryff, come to play? Can’t say I’m surprised. After all, I did make sure to target your hometown.

  “What the fuck does she mean?” Layla asked from beside me, and her eyes widened in alarm.

  “She’s messing with me,” I told Layla, and it was just as much to reassure myself. “There’s a permanent rift location here, and she must think we don’t know that.”

  Her words meant nothing. I just had to ignore her.

  Sure, there’s a permanent rift location here, Phi whispered into my mind. Ortych Sands would have been much easier to send an army through, though. I chose this spot, Gryff, because I knew you would come and find me.

  “She wants Sera,” I realized. “The sisters have been at each others’ throats for centuries. She wanted to lure me out here so she could fight Sera again.”

  Of course, Gryff, Phi hummed in an unreadable monotone. All I want is Sera.

  She said it so coolly, I began to doubt my own guess.

  Poor Gryff, Phi whispered. You don’t know who you really are …

  “Keep your mind on your monsters,” Layla urged me. “Don’t let her get to you.”

  Let her get to you, Sera cut in with a growl of anger. You should want to tear her limb from limb, just as I do.