Summoner school, p.18
Summoner School, page 18
“All of you will split off for your first lesson,” the vampire said and motioned for everyone to go onto the field. “Mentors, do not overwhelm the healers.”
“Human, you’re going first,” Rarus said as he led us out to the grass. “Everyone else will sit it out for the moment. Pixie, think of how you might beat me in hand-to-hand combat.”
“Hand to hand,” the green-haired man asked and shook his head. “That’s like… impossible.”
“Only if you think it is,” the other minotaur said. “You can practice with me.”
“You just want to punch me in the face,” I said to Rarus.
“Ever since I first laid eyes on you,” he said and lifted the battering rams he called hands. “I hope that you can fight. I’d hate for this beating to be over too soon.”
He swung his fist at my head without warning, and I squatted down just in time to hear the whistle of the punch above my head. The minotaur didn’t even stumble and had another strike ready. I had to spin to get out of the way, but it brought me closer to the huge man, and I uppercutted him in the ribs.
“Who said it’ll be me that goes to the healers?” I snarled.
I moved behind the bulky man and slammed both of my fists into the small of his back. Rarus let out an irritated grunt and then took a step forward, threw his elbow back, and managed to hit my right shoulder. I swore under my breath as I stumbled to the left, but it wasn’t enough to make me fall.
“Oh, you’ll be going to see the healers,” my mentor said and kicked backwards.
The minotaur moved too slow to keep up with me, but it was like he had eyes in the back of his head. I managed to dodge a few more hits, but one of his hooves grazed my leg and tore through my jeans and skin. He was a damn good fighter with and without magic, and I had to admit that he’d make a fantastic mentor if he didn’t end up killing me.
I did grab onto the bull ring in his nose and tugged hard, but he moved with it and grabbed me by the neck. His giant mit squeezed hard, but I didn’t let go of his face jewelry, and we stared at each other in a heated standoff. Neither of us let go, and a shiver ran down my spine as Professor Louis appeared next to us.
“I believe this fight is done,” the vampire said with a stern look at Rarus.
“It is,” the minotaur said and released me.
I took a deep breath as I released Rarus’ nose ring, but my eyes never left his. If it hadn’t been for our teacher, I was sure the minotaur would’ve killed me. I’d have to up my fighting abilities right along with my summoning skills if I wanted to survive in the underground fights or battle magic arenas.
“Go see the healer,” Professor Louis said to both of us. “And I don’t want to hear about any fights outside of practice. You know the cost, Rarus.”
“Yes, sir,” the bull-man grunted. He glowered at me, stalked off to the healer, and left all of us to stare after him.
“I can’t believe that you survived,” the green-haired pixie said and flitted around me. “That’s like… unheard of. For real.”
“Rarus is an impressive opponent,” the other minotaur said. “You are clearly one to be watched.”
“Thanks,” I said and then made my way to the healers.
Each step made pain shoot through me, and I didn’t breathe easily until the healers had finished. Rarus had broken three ribs, sliced through my calf, and almost crushed my larynx. The healer said that I’d broken at least one of Rarus’ ribs and that the nose ring had almost been pulled out completely.
Professor Louis released us all for dinner, and I stopped by to grab a quick bite to eat before I headed back to my room. Atlesia hadn’t been in the cafeteria, and Mike was at his parents’ house, so that left me alone for the rest of the afternoon. I managed to practice my summons a few more times and then turned in early for the night.
I woke up before midnight to the sound of rustling leaves. My heart raced as I blinked and tried to adjust to the shadows. I heard the noise again, and it didn’t sound like Mike.
Someone, or something, was in the room with me.
Chapter 12
I quietly reached over to grab the crystal and spell on my bedside table. It was for a rat, like the one that I’d summoned to attack the dwarf with, but it would still catch whoever the target was off-guard. I listened for the sound of breathing and more rustling leaves, but the room had gone completely silent.
The top of the rat’s tail vial came off like a champagne cork, and my heart skipped a beat as I waited for the invader to realize I was awake. The seconds ticked by with nothing but silence, and it started to seem like I’d imagined the whole thing.
“Andrew?” Atlesia’s voice whispered into the darkness. “Are you awake? Is Mike here?”
“Atlesia,” I sighed and rummaged around my bed for the cork to the vial, put it back on, and set everything back on the table. “I thought that you were a murderer. How did you even get into the room? I know that I locked the door.”
“The vines helped me,” the flower-nymph said as she stepped into a sliver of moonlight. “Mike’s plants are actually really nice. They said he isn’t here, but ivy can be a little tricky sometimes.”
“He decided to stay with his family tonight,” I said and sat up in bed.
My blankets fell to reveal that I was naked, and a hunger filled Atlesia’s eyes. She walked closer and ran her hands up my bare thighs. My cock twitched as it hardened, and I grinned as her tongue ran over her turquoise lips.
“I came to see you,” she said and ran her fingers over the tip of my penis. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too,” I said.
I pulled her down onto the bed and claimed her lips with mine. She giggled and wriggled beneath me until her knees were braced on either side of my hips. I kissed along her jawline and then dipped my head down to nibble on the soft flesh of her neck.
“Andrew,” Atlesia moaned and arched upwards. “I want you so much. Please.”
“I like it when you beg,” I teased. “I want to hear it again.”
“Please,” she gasped and rubbed her hips against mine. “I need you inside of me right now.”
“Not yet,” I said with a mischievous grin. “I think that I need some dessert first.”
“Dessert?” she asked. “I don’t understand. Please. I want you right now. I need you so much that it hurts.”
“Patience,” I said and then pulled away from her to tug her shorts off. “I want to taste you.”
“O-oh,” she said as I licked up her bare thighs.
I picked the petite woman up and positioned her on the bed, knelt between her legs, and then ran my tongue over her sensitive nub. She bucked against me in response, and her sweetness began to drip to the bed beneath her. My cock twitched with every moan, and her moans came out in ragged gasps as her thighs pressed against my ears.
“I’m-I’m almost there,” Atlesia said as she began to shiver with an orgasm. “Andrew!”
Flowers burst around the room as she reached her climax, and I let her ride the rest of it out on my tongue. Her thighs shook, and then her legs went limp as the last of her orgasm raced through her. The bed was covered in soft flower petals, and I grinned as I looked down at her flushed cheeks.
“Delicious,” I said with a wink and then leaned down to nibble on her erect nipple.
“Andrew,” she pleaded and ran her hands through my hair. “Please. I want you in me.”
She hooked a leg behind my hips and pulled me down toward her waiting tunnel. I stopped right before I was inside of her and watched her bottom lip stick out in a pout. Hot need consumed me, but the whine in the back of her throat was almost as tasty as she was, and I wanted to revel in it for just a little while longer. She finally hooked her other leg over me and tried again, and I gave in and thrust into her.
“Damn, Atlesia,” I grunted as I pushed deep inside of her.
“Yes, more,” the flower-nymph said and matched my rhythm.
Her nails scratched down my back as I pushed into her harder. Her tunnel clenched around my cock as another orgasm racked her body, and electric pulses ran through me as I started to cum. My balls clenched as they poured into her, and the gorgeous flower-nymph locked her legs around me as we both climaxed at the same time.
“I swear you’re even more amazing every time,” she said and then kissed me. “Mike should go out of town more often.”
“I’ll have a talk with him,” I said as the last of my own orgasm raced through me. “Of course, there’s always the library. I want to see just how loud you can get before the librarian comes to stop us.”
“That sounds like fun,” she said and snuggled back into the blankets, yawned, and tugged me down beside her. “I’m going to sleep here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I chuckled.
I brushed her lavender locks back from her forehead, kissed her, and then pulled her soft body against me. Her breathing steadied after only a few minutes, and soon I’d started to drift back to sleep with my gorgeous girlfriend in my arms.
“Damned leaves,” Mike’s voice said what felt like a few minutes later.
“Shit,” I whispered under my breath.
My roommate was still behind the wall of trees around his bed and seemed to be having trouble with something. I guessed that his amulet had taken him directly to the wrong spot in the room, but thankfully that bought me some time. Mike’s mattress groaned under his weight as he fought to be free, and the branches waved around like they were at a rave.
“What’s going on?” Atlesia mumbled as she blinked awake. “Oh, no! Is that Mike?”
The beautiful flower-nymph ducked under the covers to hide, and I glanced around the room to find her clothes. They’d landed close to the bed, so it wouldn’t be hard for her to retrieve them, but Mike was almost free from the forest around his bed. Her warm body pressed against mine as she tried to stay out of sight, but there was no way that the tree-man would miss the person-shaped lump under my blankets.
“I’ll distract him, and then you’ll sneak out,” I said and then stole a kiss.
“See you at breakfast?” she asked with a smile that made my heart skip a beat.
“Of course,” I said.
I shimmied out of the blankets, grabbed a pair of pants, and hopped into them. My roommate’s trees had stopped the crazed shaking like they were at a rave, and a few of the leaves had wilted like he’d smited them for annoying him. I stood close, glanced over my shoulder, and then motioned for Atlesia to hurry.
The small forest took up half of the room and arched along the ceiling to make a canopy bed. I hadn’t been inside of it since it led to Mike’s bed, but the thick foliage would keep the tall man blind to my girlfriend’s escape, so I plunged inside. The actual bed was a few feet away, but my roommate was right there with an irritated look in his black eyes.
“I’m too tired for this,” the tree-man huffed and grabbed at the trunk nearest to him.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“My bed seems to think that I need more sleep,” Mike snapped. “Sorry. This isn’t your fault. I think that I gave them a little too much food yesterday before I left, and now they’ve grown all wrong. And I tripped over the leaves that fell last night. I’m almost free.”
“I didn’t realize that you had to direct their growth every day,” I said and watched as he expertly wove the branches into an archway.
The foliage was still too thick to see through, but I heard the softest click, and hoped that was the door as it shut behind Atlesia. More leaves drifted to the ground and joined the thick layer on the bed and ground. The inside of the canopy looked more like autumn than the springtime that my roommate kept them at, and I was sure that it was because he was pissed at them.
“They’re like pets,” the tree-man said and then burst free into the room. “And they shed. I read somewhere that humans keep small animals like cats and dogs. Well, these trees are mine. Most of the time they’re convenient because they make a nice bed, but right now I’m tempted to throw them all out.”
“You wouldn’t do that,” I chuckled and followed him into the dorm room.
Atlesia had managed to slip out without being noticed, and I let out a sigh of relief, though really, I wasn’t sure Mike would even care all that much. There was a small vine of jasmine that wound up the wall near the corner, but that was the only trace that the lavender-haired woman had even been there. I wondered if more vines would be added with more orgasms, and grinned at the idea of testing that theory as soon as Mike spent another night away.
The ones in the library had disappeared as soon as she’d left, but the little white flowers remained vibrant and alive even without her in the room. It might have to do with the amount of time that she’d spent in my bed, and I added that to the list of things to find out when she stayed over again. If another vine showed up every time, then soon my side of the room would be just as crowded as Mike’s.
“I’m about to head to breakfast,” I said and pulled a shirt out of my dresser. “Did you want to join me? We can sit outside so that you can soak up some sunlight.”
“Yeah,” my roommate said and gave his pet trees another glare, sighed, and then patted them like my grandma petted the neighbor’s cat whenever it tripped her. “How was your night?”
“Good,” I said as we started toward the cafeteria. “I’m officially part of the battle magic program. And you’ll never guess who chose me as their mentee.”
“No,” Mike said, and the leaves on his head shivered.
“Oh, yes,” I laughed and shook my head. “Apparently, the mentors choose their mentees, not the other way around. I swear he was practically drooling at the chance to beat me up.”
“What spells did he use?” the tree-man asked and pointed to an empty table in the sun.
“None,” I said. “He said something about wanting to test our hand-to-hand combat skills.”
“Andrew!” Atlesia shouted as she bound up to us.
The flower-nymph had somehow managed to change her clothes already, and her lavender hair was wet like she’d just taken a shower. I lifted an eyebrow in question, but the adorable woman just shrugged and smiled. The white crochet halter top that she wore made the green in her skin stand out, and I’d never seen the woman look more like a flower.
“Good morning,” I said and stole a quick kiss.
“Good morning,” she said with a bright smile.
“Did you hear that Andrew went head to head with Rarus and survived?” Mike asked as he took a seat.
“What?” she gasped. “Okay. I’m going to grab some food, and then you’re going to tell us everything.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I laughed and then followed her inside.
The lines weren’t too long since it was still early, but there was a nervous energy that ran through everyone as we gathered our food. I tried to listen to a few of the whispered conversations but couldn’t catch much. Something had definitely happened, and neither Atlesia or I were in the loop.
“Oh, my gods,” Onet said as she fluttered up to us.
“What’s going on?” my girlfriend asked and started toward our table.
“You haven’t heard?” the pixie asked and stole a nearby elf’s tray. “It’s crazy. You’re never going to believe it.”
“Never going to believe what?” Mike asked as we all joined him in the sunlight.
It seemed like everyone had decided to sit at the tables or in the quad, and I didn’t think that it had anything to do with the weather. There were plenty of shady spots available, but not one person sat underneath them even though a few students had their hoods up to protect them from the daylight.
“All of our classes are canceled for today,” the tiny woman said as she landed on our table. “There’s been some kind of meeting called. Everyone is saying that there’s like… some super creepy shadow creatures in like… all the dimensions.”
“No one has confirmed that, Onet,” Sarya said and strolled up to the table. “You shouldn’t spread rumors and scare people. The professors canceled their classes because the council needs to have a talk. That’s all.”
“Sure,” the pixie glowered at the elf. “Oh! I almost forgot. Congratulations, human. I heard that you beat Rarus in a fight.”
“I wouldn’t say that I beat him,” I said with a shake of my head. “Not yet, at least. It was more like a standoff.”
“That’s a win when it comes to that minotaur,” Onet said and ate the apple in a few bites, flapped her wings, and then flitted off to the next group.
“I swear that pixies gossip more than any other species,” Sarya said and took the empty seat next to me.
“You’re joining us for breakfast?” I asked with a look at the other two.
“Yes,” the red-haired elf said and flipped her ponytail. “It’s not so shameful to be seen with you since your rank is improving. Of course, I’ll deny that we’re friends if anyone asks.”
“Naturally,” I said with a shake of my head. “Can’t ruin that precious reputation of yours.”
“It’s a Kaylen’s duty to be the best,” the haughty woman said and then nabbed a cherry from my tray. “Now, we have more important things to talk about than me sitting at your table. I assume that you talked to these two about the creatures?”
“Of course, he did,” Atlesia huffed. “We’re actually friends with him and not just pretending we are when it’s convenient.”
“They know about them,” I interjected before the girls could start to argue. “But this is the first time anyone else has talked about them. I tried to ask Professor Lovelace about them, but she acted like she’d never heard of them.”
Sarya swore under her breath in elvish and then reached up to tug on the ends of her ponytail. Worry knit her brow together, but then the mask of haughtiness and indifference slid back into place. The red-haired woman glanced around at the other students that had started to crowd the quad and outside dining area.
“We need to find somewhere that we can talk in private,” she said as she stood. “The rooms in the library should be fine.”
