Summoner school, p.24
Summoner School, page 24
“I’m glad it did,” I said and let them into my dorm room.
“Welcome back,” Mike said and stood to stretch, looked at the girls, and then tilted his head to the side. “Are we hosting today?”
“We’re going out to the north forest,” I explained. “Do you want to join?”
“As long as we’re back before dark,” the tree-man said. “I know that the shadow creatures haven’t made it this way yet, but I don’t want to take the chance of running into them.”
“Fair,” I said and set everything down. “Maybe I can ask Professor Lovelace about it later. We still need to talk about my amulet, but I was too focused on asking about my mana to think about it. If I can manage to summon the jackalope, then it might be able to use that lightning attack we read about.”
“That would be fantastic,” Atlesia said as she bounced up and down.
“I’ll practice my fire control,” Sarya said. “I have no intention of fighting in any of those underground rings, but if war is on the horizon, then I need to be ready.”
With that, we left the room again and started across campus. It was impossible not to notice the empty quad as we headed for the gate. The rumors of the shadow creatures had spread like wildfire, and I clutched my new textbook a little tighter in my hand. If Sarya was right about an upcoming war, then the underground battle arena was the best place to train, and I could gather more intel on the mysterious beings.
The north woods were dappled with afternoon sunlight as Mike led us to a clearing to practice. The pine trees seemed to like all of us and had apparently started to talk the second that we came through the gate. My roommate had sighed, but a small smile had tugged at his mouth as he chatted with the forest.
“They said that there’s a lichen around here that might help make my sleeping smoke bomb more potent,” the tree-man said as I started to read through the book.
“Nice,” I said. “Guess we’ll see you later?”
“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “I’ll be back before dark.”
Atlesia sat underneath a nearby tree and closed her eyes like she was about to meditate. The meadow’s flowers grew taller as a green light began to glow around her. Her eyebrows furrowed together, and a frown tugged on her lips like she wasn’t getting the results that she wanted.
“I’m going to practice with my fire,” Sarya said. “Good luck focusing all your mana.”
I watched the elven woman walk toward the center of the meadow, far away from any of the trees, and then she started to call different colored flames into her hands. I watched for a few moments, and then I turned my attention back to the book about how to access my mana as I plopped down in the soft grass to try it out.
The book gave specific instructions about how to reach into my power stores, and it all reminded me of monks that meditated for hours a day. The first few attempts did absolutely nothing since I couldn’t clear my mind enough, and it took all of my self-control not to scream in frustration. I did accidentally summon one of my swarms of wasps, but those were easily taken care of, and no one was hurt. The sun touched the tops of the trees when I finally managed to make my mana surface and flutter across my skin.
It had been easier than I thought it would be to keep it out, and the rich gold color was beautiful in the sunlight. I’d had to figure out how to think about nothing except for my power and how it felt floating through my veins, but after that it was smooth sailing. There was an inch-thick cloud of gold hovering around me when Mike came back into the clearing with a victorious smile.
“I found the lichen!” he declared and held his hand up. “How’d the mana summoning go? Oh, wow, looks like it went well.”
“Great,” I said around a yawn and soaked the mana back into my body. “I might even be able to summon the jackalope tomorrow. All I have to do is use absolutely no magic tomorrow.”
“Easy enough,” Sarya said and then wiped sweat from her forehead. “I think I’ll do the same.”
“Me, too,” Atlesia said as she stood. “I managed to talk to one of the pine trees.”
“Nice,” I said and leaned down to give her a kiss. “Why don’t we head back for a well-deserved meal?”
“I like the sound of that,” the redheaded elf said. “I don’t even care if anyone sees us all together.”
“You must be tired,” I teased as we headed toward the north gate.
It had taken all afternoon, but I’d figured out how to access all of my mana. I was one step closer to summoning the jackalope, and once I did, I’d have a tidy sum of gold from the underground arena. The life that I wanted to provide grandma and myself with was within reach.
I just had to be able to channel the mana during a battle with my life on the line.
Chapter 16
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to fight tonight?” Mike asked as I stumbled out of bed. “It looks like you didn’t sleep at all, and I heard you tossing and turning all night.”
I ran my hands over my face and then through my hair, took a deep breath, and then tugged on my pants. My limbs felt like they were underwater and didn’t want to listen to me, but I finally managed to button my jeans. Another forceful yawn made my jaw crack, but I shook it off and went for a clean shirt.
“Nothing coffee can’t fix,” I mumbled. “Maybe a whole pot.”
“Did you have nightmares again?” my roommate asked in a concerned tone. “You were making noises like you were saying something, but I couldn’t make it out.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s the same thing every time. I’m in my grandparents’ house, and the shadow creatures make it past the barrier. It’s like they’re trying to become one with me or something, and it hurts like hell.”
“I thought that it was impossible to feel pain in dreams,” the tree-man said as we left our dormitory behind in favor of the cafeteria. “At least, the tree-people don’t.”
“Humans don’t, either,” I said and stretched as we walked. “It’s weird. And my amulet was hot again this morning.”
I’d slept with it under my pillow for easy access, but the damned moonstone had been so warm when I woke up that sweat trickled down the back of my neck. There was definitely something wrong with it, and I made a plan to stop by Professor Lovelace’s office after breakfast. She’d probably tell me that it was nothing and change the subject, but it was worth a shot, and I still hadn’t found anything in the library about it.
“You look like death,” Sarya said as I walked over to our usual table. “I thought that you’d be excited about the big fight tonight. Did you stay up all night?”
“Sort of,” I said and then glanced around.
Most of our classmates were still in their home dimensions, and I’d heard a pixie the night before say that some people didn’t want to come back. The security ogres had given us a hard time when they spotted us on our way back from the north forest and had even walked us back toward the dormitories. Everyone was more on edge than they had been earlier in the week, and I wondered if the council had given some kind of announcement about their meeting.
I didn’t see any notices posted on the walls of the cafeteria as I grabbed my food, but there had to be a bulletin board, or maybe the headmaster could do another campus-wide message. The rumor mill at Magia Schola was intense, but even the snippets of conversations that I picked up didn’t have any updates. Still, there was an edge of danger in the air, and everyone seemed to be watching their backs even in the bright morning sunlight.
“I grabbed an extra cup of coffee for you,” Atlesia said as she appeared next to me. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all.”
“That’s what everyone says,” I yawned and walked out with her to the table.
“Mike said that you were having nightmares,” Sarya accused as we sat down. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to the fight tonight. Not that I care if you live or die, but the school doesn’t need any more bad news.”
“I know that you’d miss me,” I winked and watched the faint blush paint her cheeks.
“I would not,” she huffed and then stuffed a slice of apple in her mouth.
“Whatever you say,” I smirked and then took a long swig of hot coffee, looked around, and then leaned closer to the table. “We need to go to the fight tonight. If something really is going on with those shadow creatures, then we’ll be able to gather more information. The teachers and the council don’t seem like they’re going to share anything, and I, for one, do not want to be caught unaware.”
“What if they come after us?” Atlesia asked and tugged on a short lavender piece of hair. “I don’t know. It sounds really dangerous. Isn’t that what the council is for? To protect us? And I’m sure they have a plan to protect the school. That’s why they invited the faculty to the meeting.”
“I wouldn’t count on that,” the redheaded elf said and rolled her eyes. “I know for a fact that my family will only care about themselves and the elves. They could care less about the school unless it is helping their social status. They’re all hypocritical pieces of… never mind.”
“You okay?” I asked and took a bite of a biscuit, washed it down with coffee, and then glanced at Atlesia and Mike. “You’ve been different since your brother pulled you out of the library. Did something happen?”
“I’m just tired of trying to live up to their expectations,” Sarya said and flipped her braided ponytail. “And by their rules. I’ll be friends with whomever I want, do what I want, and become more powerful than all of them.”
“Right,” I said and nodded my head. “I think you’re in the right group for that.”
“We’re going to take the nine worlds by storm,” Atlesia said and pumped her fist in the air.
“As long as they’re still around,” Mike said with a shake of his head. “I think that Andrew is right. We should do some reconnaissance tonight. Besides, my mushroom contact will be there, and I’m going to need some very specific fungi if we’re going to be fighting creatures made of darkness.”
“Glow in the dark mushrooms?” I asked and wondered where in our room he’d keep them.
“Exactly,” the tree-man said and smiled. “If I can get the calculations right, then one of the bioluminescent strains of mushroom could be made into a sort of light bomb. We can couple it with the sleeper bomb. I found a book yesterday in the library that talks about how to adapt different potions to magical creatures. It’s old, but there’s a lot of great information, and I can work it into my calculations.”
“The mad scientist is at it again,” I chuckled and then ate a piece of cantaloupe. “That sounds like a really good idea. So, are we all in agreement? We’ll still go to the fight tonight, do some reconnaissance, and I’ll test out my new jackalope.”
“I’m in,” Sarya said with a sweet smile. “I’m looking forward to winning some money by betting on the human underdog. That is, if you can actually summon the beast when you’re faced with an opponent. And that you’ve stored enough mana to not turn into a mummy.”
“I’ll do my best not to disappoint you,” I said and blew a kiss at the redhead.
She opened her mouth to make another snarky remark, but the words died on her lips. Her cheeks were the same bright red as her hair, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the frustrated woman. She cleared her throat, took a long sip of water, and then turned her attention to Atlesia.
“How are your plants doing?” the elf asked to change the subject. “I heard that you have some in the greenhouse.”
“They’re fine,” the flower-nymph said with a knowing smile. “But I think that I might have to talk to Mike’s fungus guy and see if he can get me some plants. I’ll have to find a place to grow them in secret, but there are some breeds of carnivorous buds that might help us if war really breaks out. Of course, that’s if the shadow creatures have bodies that can be eaten.”
“If they don’t, then whoever they work for will,” I said. “I’ve been thinking about that guy that Professor Edinbock mentioned, Kruwyn, and the cult following he had. What if the shadow creatures are working for some underground following of one of those evil mages? Maybe not that one specifically, but you heard everyone shouting out a list of black magic users. And those creatures are definitely not warm and cuddly.”
“That’s a really good idea,” my girlfriend said and started to bounce in her seat. “I think I’ll go to the library and research it some more today.”
“I’ll come with you,” Sarya said. “The librarians said there wasn’t anything about the shadow beings, but there are plenty of books on evil mages, and the dark creatures might be a creation of one. We just need to look for a magic user that wanted to build an army.”
“Or suck up mana from other mages,” I said and then took a swig of my coffee. “The ones in the underground arena always collect the mana from the mages that die. It’s this blue cloud of mist.”
“Blue?” the redheaded elf said with a frown. “What shade of blue?”
“Baby blue,” I said with a shrug. “Like a little boy’s bedroom. Why?”
“I read a book about mana once, and the colors always mean something,” she said and tapped her fingers on the table. “I can’t remember what they were, though. I stopped reading it because I found out that only summoners can see it.”
“Right,” I said. “I’m going to talk to Professor Lovelace about my amulet anyways. I can ask her about the different colors of mana while I’m there.”
“It sounds like we all have plans for the day,” Mike said, and the leaves on the top of his head wiggled excitedly. “Andrew, you can meet the rest of us in the library when you’re done with Professor Lovelace. I suggest you eat a big dinner tonight so that you have plenty of energy for the fight. You don’t know who your opponent will be, and you’ll need to be on the top of your game.”
“Okay,” I said and finished the rest of my breakfast. “I’ll see you guys later. Try to stay out of trouble.”
“We should be telling you that,” Atlesia teased and then pulled me down for a kiss. “You’re the one that always seems to be running into Rarus. That guy really doesn’t like you.”
“I know,” I chuckled. “But hopefully he’ll go to his home dimension with Ramis today, and we’ll have a nice break.”
“Doubtful,” my roommate said. “Those two love a good fight. Ramis doesn’t seem as bad, but he’s on his way to being just as big of a jerk as his brother.”
“Minotaurs are known for their bad tempers,” Sarya agreed. “We should try to steer clear of them at the fight tonight. And with any luck, you won’t have to fight Ramis again.”
“I doubt they’ll have me go against the same opponent twice in the same month,” I said. “It’ll be too boring for the spectators. But don’t worry, I’ll be careful. See you guys later.”
I watched my friends head toward the library in the distance and then turned to the three tall towers with the classrooms. Professor Lovelace’s office was near the top of the middle tower, but of course, there weren’t any elevators for me to use. I climbed the stairs and grumbled to myself about the need for more modern inventions in the mage community.
It was great exercise since I wasn’t at the warehouse job anymore, but stairs had always been my nemesis, and I let out a sigh of relief when I reached Professor Lovelace’s floor. My breathing steadied after a few steps, and a water fountain nearby was like an oasis. The coffee finally chased away the exhaustion from my nightmares and the extra mana use the day before, and I was ready to conquer.
“We need to tell them,” Professor Lovelace’s voice echoed down the stone hallway. “It’s only going to hurt them in the long run if we don’t prepare them.”
I was only a few doors down from Professor Lovelace’s office, but it sounded like she wasn’t alone. There was a grumble around the room that could’ve come from several people, and I hugged the wall and snuck closer. It was unusual to hear the strict woman being so emotional, but they were probably talking about the shadow creatures.
“That’s what the battle magic program is for,” Professor Louis said. “There are a lot of promising students. That human summoner is a decent prospect. He even held his own in hand-to-hand combat with Rarus.”
“Which is impressive,” the dragon-woman said. “But he’s just one student. His friends are promising, they even took down a jackalope, but you know what we’re up against.”
“They took down a jackalope?” the headmaster joined in the conversation. “Does that include the lovely Ms. Kaylen?”
“Yes,” Professor Lovelace said.
“I didn’t think that any of the Kaylens would have anything to do with this,” another voice said, but I couldn’t place what teacher it belonged to. “Those elves don’t do anything but sit in their high chairs and look down on the rest of us.”
“They serve their purpose,” Zenlar said. “But I agree with Ira, we need to tell the students. Most of them have already gone back to their home realms, but those who remain are at risk.”
“The creatures are only interested in densely populated areas,” the unfamiliar voice said. “This campus is almost empty.”
I grimaced as they confirmed our theories about the shadow creatures, and it seemed like they were split down the middle about what to do about the students. The teacher I didn’t know had made a valid point about the campus not being a real threat with everyone gone, but classes were set to start again on Monday, and then we’d be the perfect target for whoever was in charge of the dark beasts.
“But those who have stayed are the most powerful,” Professor Lovelace pointed out. “They’re the ones who aren’t afraid of the monsters. And classes start again tomorrow. We need to give them the option to not come back.”
“That’s enough talk for the moment,” the headmaster said. “I’ll think about what you’re saying and decide on something tonight by the time for dinner. I hear that Calia is making her specialty. It should be a nice treat in these trying times.”
“And he’s gone,” Professor Louis sighed. “I should go back to bed. It’s too early for me to be awake.”
