Greysons of Grimoire

by Tpaul Homdrom

  Setting up a mobile platform, Delilah stepped out on to the large glowing disc and directed it to float to the ground, where she hopped off. Her three Feline Summons knelt to one knee, eyes fixed on their Summoner.

  Many claimed that Summons had no emotions. That they were just magical constructs, bound to the will of the one who Summoned them. They didn’t feel or think for themselves.

  Delilah fervently disagreed. And as she looked at her Summons, and they looked back at her, she could swear their eyes and expressions reflected the same pride that Delilah felt in her heart.

  That moment lasted far too briefly. Into the sudden quiet came the song of summoning from the Piper’s Flute once again. Delilah felt her heart race, her chest tighten, her eyes widen, as she looked for the source of the next threat.

  But there was nothing outside.

  That’s when she realized — every single Hollow that was now being summoned was being called into the library’s interior.

  Caleb!

  Without a thought for her own safety or the exhausted condition she was in, Delilah raced to the library, Felines in tow, in a desperate bid to help her brother like he had helped her.

  Chapter 12: Songs Collide

  — G —

  The situation within the library had erupted into chaos faster than Caleb had thought possible.

  The woman playing the Piper’s Flute had appeared. And, prepared for thirteen Hollows to fill the cramped library, Caleb, Chelsea, and Lorelei had readied their Talismans and spread out to defend Isabelle.

  But there weren’t thirteen Hollows.

  There were thirty.

  As soon as the song was finished, Caleb very nearly missed the flute player leaping from the balcony, diving straight towards Isabelle. He slowed time, watching the player’s descent. She was moving incredibly fast, made even more apparent with time slowed. While everything and everyone else seemed to be standing still, the strange figure diving for Isabelle was still visibly in motion.

  She must specialize in Enhancement Magic.

  Most Hunters trained only to a minor level of competency in Enhancement Magic, as other magical classes were more effective for combat with less training. But for those who specialized in or focused on it, well… they could do truly superhuman feats.

  Like moving faster than Caleb had ever seen within his world of slowed time.

  Caleb leapt down from the bookshelf to move Isabelle, and was startled to find her staring at him.

  “What did you do?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. She looked around at the Hollows and Hunters nearly frozen around her. Waving her hand in front of her face, she then returned her gaze to Caleb. “Why did everything slow down except you and me?”

  That’s what I want to know.

  But Caleb didn’t have much time for debate or wondering whenever he used his Time Magic. Already he was feeling a tightness in his chest, a slight shortness of breath. In truth, he could hang around like this without returning time to its regular flow for over an hour if he wanted to.

  But if he kept time slowed for that long, he’d also pass out as soon as he released his control of it.

  Limits inspire creativity.

  That had been Caleb’s mantra as he’d learned and experimented with his Time Magic. And now, with the Flute player diving at frightening speed towards the small, mysterious child on the couch, Caleb needed to be creative.

  How well can we hold her off once time is normal?

  Alone, it wouldn’t be too much trouble. Caleb could chain her up, or Lorelei could freeze her, and they’d be fine. But a quick glance around showed that just wasn’t going to be possible.

  At least ten Weavers were crawling along the ceiling. They’d just been summoned, and yet were already spinning their webs. The spiders couldn’t be left to their own devices, or they’d make the battlefield smaller and smaller as time wore on.

  The remaining Hollows were all Howlers, thankfully. At least, that would be a good thing if the battle was out in the open. But here in the library, the large wolves would be able to easily corner a careless Hunter in narrow spaces between bookshelves or along hallways.

  “Hey,” Isabelle said, staring wide-eyed at Caleb. “Are you going to do something? We’re in trouble, right?”

  “Yeah,” Caleb said, chuckling despite the desperate scenario. Isabelle’s attitude in the face of danger was surprisingly funny. “Hey, if you have any bright ideas, speak up, But otherwise… can you stay close to me?”

  Isabelle nodded. “Sure can,” she said, smiling. “I trust you.”

  “And I trust you,” Caleb said, smiling back at her. “Tell me if you see anything important, okay? Things are going to get rough, but I’ll do my very best to protect you. I promise.”

  Isabelle nodded, hopping down to stand next to Caleb. “Whatever you did to slow everyone down, it’s pretty hard for you to do, huh?”

  Caleb nodded. “Sure is. Ready for me to bring things back to motion?”

  Isabelle nodded. “Yup.”

  Caleb let out a breath, released his hold on time, and immediately grabbed Isabelle, leaping backward. The flute player crashed into the couch, collapsing it, and then rolled along the floor before hopping to her feet. It was clear she was a woman, though she kept her face obscured with a long scarf and hat. All that could be seen were her eyes, and they flashed violet as she locked eyes on the girl in Caleb’s arms.

  She makes it completely obvious what her objective is.

  Caleb put Isabelle down and waved his pocket watch in an arc. Four chains appeared, surging forward to trap the woman.

  Her right hand popped up, slapped aside the first chain. The remaining three, she simply sidestepped, moving like Caleb had never seen a human move.

  She’s strong! And so fast!

  So he did the only thing he could think to do. He slowed time again.

  If I don’t stop her soon, I won’t be able to last in this fight.

  Caleb turned to Isabelle, who was watching him intently. “Stay close, okay?”

  Isabelle frowned. “We already agreed to that,” she said.

  Caleb smirked. Sharp girl. He turned his attention back to the mystery woman. She was floating through the air towards him and Isabelle, in the midst of a superhuman leap forward. Caleb summoned chains, wrapped them around the woman’s feet and wrists, and then anchored them to the floor.

  Now, what about these Hollows?

  Four Howlers were close, following the woman in a dash towards Caleb and Isabelle. Two of them were in midair, and Caleb grinned.

  “Hey, wanna see something cool?” Caleb asked.

  Isabelle’s eyes lit up. “Yes, please!”

  Caleb stood next to one of the midair Howlers. “Funny thing about slowing time… physical properties of things tend to change too, for some reason. Often, other living things are a lot lighter. And when they’re in midair…” Caleb reached out and pushed the Howler very lightly with his index finger.

  The tattooed wolf altered its trajectory at Caleb’s touch, moving where Caleb wanted it, until its leap was aligned to collide with its partner, who was also in midair.

  “That’s so cool!” Isabelle cried out in delight.

  Caleb grinned. “Right?” He flinched at the pressure in his chest. “Okay. Time’s coming back to normal. Stay alert.”

  Time resumed, and Caleb immediately chained down the two Howlers who hadn’t yet leapt. While he did that, the Howler he’d pushed slammed into the other midair wolf, and the two beasts went rolling across the floor, yelping in pain and surprise.

  “Don’t think about it!” Lorelei suddenly shouted. Caleb turned, and saw that the woman with the Piper’s Flute was already breaking free of the chains. Lorelei was there and in action, her glove Talisman gleaming. Before the woman could break free from Caleb’s chains, a prison of ice ensnared her.

  “I’ve got her,” Lorelei called out. “Focus on the Hollows.”

  Caleb gave a quick nod, then leapt
up to the nearest bookshelf.

  “I can’t jump that high!” Isabelle said, staring up at Caleb.

  Right. I have to stay near her.

  Caleb jumped back down, summoning more chains to grab hold of a Howler near him and — despite Chelsea’s earlier suggestion not to — using it like a wrecking ball. At the same time, if Howlers tried to slip past Caleb’s improvised ball and chain, he summoned more chains to entrap his would-be assailants. The frantic fighting had Caleb frequently using his free hand to push his glasses up or realign them when they went askew.

  This is why I prefer contacts.

  “Chelsea!” he called out, casting his gaze around the library. It was cramped and dark, so it was no surprise he couldn’t see her.

  “I’m fine!” Chelsea called out, somewhere a few aisles over. A blast of emerald flame from the floor up to the ceiling followed up that shout, disintegrating two Weavers.

  “Stay that way!” Caleb called back.

  “Same to you!” came the reply.

  Caleb grinned, continuing his fight with renewed energy. He turned frequently, so that he could stay aware of the entire battlefield and Isabelle’s location. Twice the girl saved him, calling out Howler attacks just in time for Caleb to turn and stop them. His Howler wrecking ball worked well for some, while he anchored others to the floor with chains. Sometimes, he even summoned one of his Mobility discs, using it as a springboard to repel Howlers mid-leap, sending them flying back the way they came, or towards the ceiling, or off to the side.

  I may not be able to destroy them quickly like Chelsea and Lorelei, but I can fight just fine.

  He remembered how insecure he’d felt during his Hunter internship. Going into it, he’d been confident in his Time Magic, but the fact that he hadn’t trained much in actual combat abilities had been made painfully clear extremely quickly. He’d been faced with a choice, and the need to pick a role — Warden, Eliminator, Overwatch, etc. — and gain competency in some form of combat abilities to supplement that role within two months.

  Caleb had quickly settled on Containment Magic, manifesting it as chains, while he complemented his Time Magic with Mobility Magic.

  Chelsea had always been preparing to be an Eliminator. Caleb liked the idea of supporting her, but he didn’t want to focus on Support Magic. It didn’t feel like it fit with Time Magic.

  Whatever the reason, once he’d settled on chains and discs, he’d loved it. He had reach and mobility, and he could call forth chains and discs up to twenty yards away from him, out of thin air, with ease. The versatility he’d discovered was amazing.

  And, while many Wardens used Containment Magic purely for restricting Hollows until Eliminators could, well, “eliminate” them, Caleb’s chains had a multitude of active combat applications. He didn’t often fight heavily, letting Chelsea do the heavy lifting, but in situations like this, with so many foes, Caleb really got to let loose.

  Limits inspire creativity.

  It wasn’t just something relating to his Time Magic. He didn’t have the destructive power of Chelsea. He didn’t have any specialized and deadly Summons like Delilah. He could slow time, he could move around quickly, and he could summon chains. That was it.

  But that was enough. Even backed into a tight corner, defending a little girl, Caleb had a huge bag of tricks. Being able to summon his “weapons” from any direction near him, to strike his foes at their blind spots, to use their momentum against them, and to limit their movement to only fight when he wanted to, made Caleb a deceptively capable fighter.

  As Caleb fought, he realized something. He’d noticed a few lights here and there out of the corner of his eye, but they were always far away, so he hadn’t paid any attention.

  Until he did. And what he saw put his mind into furious motion.

  Outside, another battle was raging. Splicers were dancing around, battling against three Summons.

  Delilah’s Summons.

  Judging from the Drops scattered throughout the courtyard, they’d already defeated many enemies. But now the Felines were on their heels, fighting a desperate battle.

  They’ll probably lose.

  Caleb pulled aside a Howler with his chains, bounced another away with a disc.

  Unless…

  He took in a deep breath. He slowed time once more, and before he even had a chance to move in the slowed time, he felt his chest tightening.

  I’ve been overdoing it for a few days, now.

  He hadn’t wanted to admit it. He knew he had a nasty habit of overdoing things, of pushing too far, of not respecting his limits. And there was a nagging fear in the back of Caleb’s mind that he’d become too reliant on his Time Magic.

  But that fear could wait. His sister needed him. He didn’t have the strength or time to make it outside and fight directly — and even if he’d wanted to, he had Isabelle to consider. So he ran to the window, where he could get a good look at the fight outside.

  “What are you gonna do?” Isabelle asked, hopping up to stand on the desk next to the window so she could look outside, too.

  “I just need to chain up a few of them,” Caleb said, gasping at how difficult it was to talk.

  Focus. How many can I grab? Probably six. No, five. I want to block that one on the roof chasing the archer, and that’s far away. So… well, I should take a few off of the swordcat. And if I can help out the knight a bit…

  Caleb exhaled, focusing on the distant targets, willing chains into existence.

  He gasped again, short of breath, knowing he was pushing too far.

  I can worry about that later. I can sleep in. And if we catch this woman here and now, we won’t have to worry about a crazy fight like this tomorrow, so I can relax.

  But right here, right now, my sister needs me.

  He managed it, somehow. Five Splicers, chained and anchored to where they stood. He took care to chain them properly, restricting the movements of their arms — he’d seen those scythe-blades cut through his chains like paper.

  “Think that’s enough?” Isabelle asked.

  “It’ll… have to be,” Caleb said, his voice ragged as he struggled for breath.

  “You can do it,” Isabelle said, laying a hand on Caleb’s shoulder and smiling at him. “Just a little more, right?”

  Caleb felt warmth fill his body. Whatever it was, whether it was just an emotional response to Isabelle’s simple confidence, or actual magic from the little girl, it didn’t matter. Caleb let out a breath, turned around, and let go his hold on time.

  Now to finish this fight.

  By the time Caleb had whittled down his enemies to a handful of Howlers, Chelsea had finished with the Weavers on the ceiling. She came leaping across the bookshelves, and the fire that came with her instantly eliminated the remaining Howlers.

  “Well, that’s that,” she said, blowing a few strands of stray hairs out of her face. “Now, what about our strange enemy here?”

  “I can’t remove her hat or scarf,” Lorelei said, staring at the woman with puzzlement. “They must be held in place by magic, though I’ve never seen someone go to such lengths to hide their face.”

  “Wanna talk?” Caleb asked, eyeing the woman as she struggled against the ice that had encased her up to her neck.

  The woman glared back at him, and Caleb was again startled by her violet eyes. Their completely impossible color spoke to him, and he was at a loss for words.

  “Stop!” Chelsea shouted. Caleb only then realized that the woman’s high-heeled boots had begun to glow, just like a Talisman. Hairline fractures rapidly spread through her icy prison.

  It was too late. The woman burst from the ice and, in one glorious leap, landed back atop the high indoor balcony. The Piper’s Flute went to her lips.

  “No you don’t!” Chelsea shouted, launching gouts of emerald flames at the woman. The woman spun in a kick strong enough to dispel the fire, even as she kept playing.

  “We can’t keep fighting in here,” Lorelei said, already ru
nning for the window on the courtyard side.

  “Right,” Caleb said, following her. “Let’s take this outside!”

  “Stay close,” Chelsea said, and Caleb realized she was talking to Isabelle. The girl had been distracted for a moment, but Chelsea was now holding her hand as they ran.

  Hollows began to form, again and again, melting into existence from strange, inky-black portals. Lorelei was first to the window, and it took her only a moment to unlock it and fling the window open.