Summoner 15, p.24
Summoner 15, page 24
“Absolutely,” I replied instantly, and I pulled open my bedding invitingly. “Come on in.”
“That’s my line,” the summoner shot back, but she crawled into the tent and nestled up against my side.
“Hilarious,” I whispered as I nuzzled my nose into her brown curls. She smelled wild, spicy, and delicious. “Now, take off your clothes, woman.”
“Okay, okay, be patient.” Cyra giggled, then she twisted around as she removed her clothes, and a moment later, she shoved them outside of the bedroll.
I started to explore her body with searching fingers as soon as her skin was exposed, and I pulled her against me until her back nestled against my chest and her ass rubbed against my groin. My body responded to her presence, and I felt my member stiffen against the soft skin of her behind.
“That feels good,” the dark-skinned summoner murmured, and she wiggled her hips.
I was rock hard instantly, and I groaned as I gripped my cock and rubbed it against her.
Cyra reached back and held onto her ass cheek with one hand, which revealed her moist entrance.
My dick jumped toward the summoner’s pussy like it had a mind of its own, and I slid inside my lover’s entrance with a hiss of pleasure. Her hot wetness encased me, and the delicious scent of her hair filled my nose while I held her in my arms and thrusted with soft, slow motions.
Cyra moaned quietly and arched her back to press herself into me. Her small breasts bobbed with the movement of my strokes, and I cradled each of them in my hands as I flicked my thumb over her nipple. The dark-skinned summoner gasped, and her head flung back, so I covered her exposed throat with hungry kisses.
“Fuuck… ” she whispered as an orgasm shook her body.
I increased my pace until I heard the sound of our skin smacking, but the sensation of my lover’s pussy spasming around my cock sent me over the edge, and shivers went up my spine as I exploded inside her.
“Maker, it feels so good when you fill me up.” Cyra wiggled and pushed backward into me. “I want to keep you there forever.”
“Sounds like heaven,” I murmured sleepily as I squeezed her in my arms.
“Kalon would object, I’m sure,” the summoner chuckled.
“I’ve always wanted to ask you,” I said as the mention of the silver dragon sparked my memory, “where does she go when we make love?”
“Back into her crystal,” Cyra replied. “She doesn’t like it, but it makes me feel better.”
“I appreciate it,” I chuckled. “It would be awkward with an audience.”
Cyra snorted. “My familiar is nothing compared to the audience you bring with you.”
“You mean the Archons?” I smirked. “I can keep them separate from my active thoughts. It’s not like they’re actually watching.”
“With Kalon, it’s more like I know what she’s thinking without her having to say anything,” Cyra said with a thoughtful voice.
I could tell the summoner was getting sleepy, though, because her words got more and more quiet.
“I think I heard the thoughts of my new summons,” I confessed, and I frowned as I remembered the odd voice I’d heard right after capturing the giant cat-like monster.
“You got a familiar?” Cyra twisted around to face me, and her chocolate eyes were wide. “How come you didn’t say anything earlier?”
“What? Familiar?” I shook my head. “No, it can’t be, right?”
“Unless it’s a very well disguised Archon.” Cyra shrugged. “But then again, you would probably know the difference between a goddess and a monster, right?”
“Yeah, this thing was a normal monster.” I motioned for her to lay back down. “Maybe I imagined hearing the voice. It’s not like it introduced itself or anything.”
“Kalon didn’t tell me her name for three days,” the summoner informed me in a hopeful voice.
“We’ll see,” I said, and I pushed thoughts of monsters from my mind. “I feel like I could sleep for three days.”
Cyra giggled as she snuggled against me, and then we drifted off to sleep.
My dreams were full of mutated monsters, and I spent most of the night trapped in an endless maze of bookshelves. The sun shone brightly against the waterproof, but thin, fabric of my tent when I woke up, and I blinked away my sleepiness and stretched my arms.
My mocha-skinned lover snored peacefully at my side, and I was hesitant to move or do anything to wake her up. So, I inched back into my position as the big spoon, and I returned my arms to their spot.
I stared up at the roof of the tent as I processed the recent events. The conversation with Jace was worrisome, but I was more convinced than ever that the mysterious woman had good intentions.
Still, she had destroyed the library, and if the citizens hadn’t shown up, she would have likely fought to the death over the books.
Whatever information was inside the volumes we’d retrieved had to be huge, and I took a moment to let our victory sink in.
We had the books.
Even if the library was destroyed in both the human and monster realms, it still felt like a win to me.
Don’t be foolish, Gryff, Sera warned, and the sound of her amused chuckle reverberated around my mind. You cannot be victorious until the knowledge is yours.
The books, and the knowledge within them, were ours. The Archon was probably just jealous.
I exist to serve you, my lord and master, Sera said in a sarcastic voice. All I want is for you to reach your full potential.
How exactly was I supposed to do that?
Read the books, learn the secrets, Sera purred.
I planned on it, and even though I knew it could take years of translations and research before we had any tangible knowledge from the stolen volumes, I had faith in Arwyn and the other professors.
I keep telling you, you do not need these mortals. Sera tutted her disappointment. I can give you all the answers you seek, you have but to ask.
What price would I pay for the answers, though? I couldn’t take that risk.
Give me your seed, the dark-winged Archon urged. Once I have your offspring inside my womb, I will translate your books into your common tongue.
That was never going to happen.
Why not? The mortal women you shower with love and attention will one day fail you. Sera’s voice turned seductive, and the intensity of her energy flustered me. They will grow old and die while we live on for thousands of years, together.
Enough.
I gathered my will power, and I pushed the dark-winged Archon away from the forefront of my mind, but as I was shoving her into her own soundproof space in my consciousness, she shot out one last plea.
You held The History of the Guardians in your hands, and you tossed it into a pile, Sera said with desperation creeping into her voice. With my help, you could find out exactly what you need to know to tame Veopa now. Please, Gryff.
Then I silenced her with a wave of my will, and I slammed a mental lock over the compartment the dark-winged Archon was stowed in.
Having multiple goddesses in my head was certainly a recipe for a headache, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push Sera’s offer from my thoughts.
If I let the Archon translate, she would also have read all of the information inside the books, but if she was trapped inside my consciousness forever, then she would never be able to use the knowledge against me.
It could be so easy.
If only there was some way I could know for sure the Archon was trustworthy.
She’s telling the truth, Phi stated in a soft tone. She only wants to make you stronger and more powerful. We all do.
It was odd for the white-winged Archon to come to her sister’s defense, and I worked the muscle in my jaw as I thought it over. Then I decided I would just have to ask Arwyn for her input.
The beautiful professor always seemed to have all the answers.
Chapter Thirteen
The interior of the tent was warm when Cyra finally stirred at my side, and she smiled up at me with warm chocolate brown eyes as she blinked away sleep. I’d stayed by her side while I stared up at the ceiling of the tent lost in thought for hours.
It was actually kind of nice to have some time to organize my mind and process things.
“Good morning,” the summoner murmured with a sleepy smile.
“I have a feeling it’s closer to afternoon,” I informed her with a grin. Then I pushed back the top of the bedroll and reached across the bedding for my travel pack. “You must have been exhausted.”
“I definitely feel way more refreshed now.” Cyra scooped up her bundle of clothes she’d shoved out of the bedroll the night before, and by the time I’d retrieved a clean outfit from my bag, the summoner was fully dressed. “I hope Arwyn isn’t upset at us for sleeping in.”
“Someone would have come over to get us if she was,” I reassured my dark-skinned lover as I tugged on my pants. Then I pulled on my shirt and swung my bandolier over my head. “I bet everyone else was just as tired as we were.”
So, we ducked out of our tent and headed toward the bonfire. A roaring fire was blazing, and a chunk of meat was roasting over the flames. The Mistral mages and my shapeshifting wife were scattered around the fire, and everyone waved a greeting to me and Cyra as we approached.
As we walked, the dark-skinned summoner tossed out an essence crystal, and then Kalon sprang from a plume of pink smoke to trot by Cyra’s side. The little silver dragon was adorable in epic proportions, and seeing my friend’s familiar reminded me of the monster I’d captured the day before.
Was Cyra right? Did I finally have a familiar?
“I was starting to think you were in a coma,” Varleth greeted me in a dry voice. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
“Thanks.” I smirked. “But I’d kill for some coffee.”
“Over here,” Braden piped up, and he gestured to a thermos laying in the grass at his side. Then he unscrewed the lid and poured some of the steaming delicious brew into the attached mug.
“Thank the Maker,” I breathed, and I smiled gratefully at my roommate as I accepted the proffered coffee. Then I inhaled the warmth and sighed before I sipped the hot drink carefully. “Oh, that’s good.”
“One of the soldiers gave us some tips,” Mati explained.
“That’s awesome,” Cyra gushed, and she smiled gratefully as I shared my beverage with her. Once she’d enjoyed a few sips, she handed the mug back over to me, and then she sat cross legged on the ground between the young couple and the dark-haired gypsy. “What’s cooking? It smells great.”
“I believe it is elk meat,” Nia informed us. The ashen-haired mage sat on the other side of the fire next to Arwyn, and the two women were already comparing notes to some of our scavenged books.
“It’s not Mur, right?” I asked as I suddenly remembered the moose kid. I hadn’t seen him since we’d left for Vyguard, and my stomach lurched as I imagined the platoon killing the shapeshifter.
“No, no,” Arwyn assured me. “Mur headed toward the tree line a short while ago, I believe he is foraging.”
“Mur is gone?” Freya questioned in halting Mistral. “I find and kill him?”
“No,” I replied quickly. “That won’t be necessary.”
“Very well,” the warrior princess relented, but she pursed her lips into a thin line while her gold-flecked eyes gazed toward the tree line. The Moose Clan had been her enemies for her entire life, so I knew it was hard to adjust to a moose shapeshifter being a part of our group.
Oh, man, my neck is stiff, a grumbly voice said suddenly. I haven’t slept like that in ages.
Who was that?
I swiveled my head around at my team in a pointless automatic gesture, but my gut told me I wouldn’t find the speaker around the bonfire.
Can you let me out already? This is just cruel.
“What’s with the face?” Varleth asked with an arched eyebrow. “Goddess got your tongue?”
“Is it your familiar?” Cyra asked in an excited tone.
“Wait, what?” Braden interjected with wide eyes. “You got a familiar and didn’t tell me?”
“No, well, I’m not sure,” I stammered as I raked a hand through my hair. “I don’t want to freak you guys out, but… I’ve been hearing a weird voice ever since the battle yesterday.”
“That’s not exactly shocking news, you know,” Nia teased. “You’ve been collecting voices for a while now, we’ve all gotten used to it.”
“She’s right,” Arwyn chuckled. “There’s not much you could say to surprise us anymore.”
“Beyond announcing you’re married,” Varleth added. “I was pretty surprised by that one.”
“We all were,” Nia agreed with a playful smile.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” Cyra gushed. “Summon it, see what happens.”
Kalon peeked her silver nose out from beneath the dark-skinned summoners brown curls and chirped her encouragement.
“Yeah, Gryff,” Braden pushed. “I want to see it.”
“Okay,” I said, but I took a deep breath as I pulled the long tooth-shaped crystal out from my bandolier. I could sense the monster within, and the irritable claustrophobic feeling was palpable. My heart rate increased as my excitement grew, but I tossed the essence crystal into the open space beyond the edge of the bonfire.
A huge plume erupted from the shattered crystal, and then the giant cat-like monster with the gnarly canines hanging below his jaw stepped onto the scraggly grass of the slope.
The connection I sensed between my summons and me was instantly so much stronger than I was used to.
The creature stretched and yawned, and my eyes widened as I stared into its massive fang-lined maw.
That’s much better, my monster said through our bond. Thank you.
“It’s beautiful!” Cyra exclaimed as she gave my monster an appreciative look.
“A saber tooth tiger?” Nia asked.
“It looks like it, doesn’t it?” Arwyn chuckled, and the red-haired professor stood to get a closer look at the monster in our midst.
Get a load of this sexy piece of meat. The saber tooth tiger purred loudly as he eyed my redheaded lover. Come here, kitty, give daddy some love.
“Whoa, there,” I told what was apparently my familiar. “Take it down a notch, buddy.”
“What happened?” Cyra was so excited she was bouncing up and down on her feet. “Is it happy?”
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Mati added in a curious tone.
“Boy,” I answered with a shrug. “At least, I think it’s a boy since he was hitting on Arwyn.”
I didn’t know much about familiars, but I wondered if they were inclined to be the same sex as their masters, since Kalon was a female like Cyra. From my limited experience, it also appeared that familiars mirrored their summoners’ personalities, because Kalon was typically peppy, and now my familiar seemed to be attracted to Arwyn.
“Wait, what?” Cyra’s eyes widened. “You mean you sensed it was attracted to her?”
“No, he, um… he called her a sexy piece of meat.” I could feel my face flushing as I said the words out loud.
The healer stepped back away from my monster with her eyebrows raised. “Um, that’s interesting… ”
“He used words!” the dark-skinned summoner nearly shouted as her jaw hung open.
“Monsters can’t use words,” Braden argued with a furrowed brow. “Can they?”
“I can hear him talking.” I glanced around at my friends. “That’s what I was trying to tell you. It’s weird, right?”
“I don’t know what to think.” Cyra shrugged, and she shot a questioning glance to our fellow summoner.
“You’ve always been a little different from the rest of us,” my roommate pointed out. “Maybe there is something special about you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” my dark-skinned lover said in a reassuring voice as she gave me a wide smile. “Besides, it’s really cool you can talk to him and not just sense things. I wish I could do that with Kalon.”
Is she intimidated by the sensual power radiating from me? my familiar asked, and I swore the cat-like monster raised an eyebrow. Then I shall make myself less overwhelming.
Suddenly, the large saber tooth tiger started to shrink, and a moment later, my familiar was the size of a kitten. His fangs were still long enough to trail along the ground, and he let out a tiny meow as he stumbled over his teeth.
I chuckled to myself as I crossed the distance between us, and then I scooped up the tiny kitten-sized monster into my arms. The cat-like beast snuggled against me while I cradled him like a baby, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.
“Oh, Maker, he’s so cute!” Cyra gushed, and she rushed forward to scratch the little monster’s stomach. “Look at his fat little belly!”
Yes, touch me, my monster purred as his eyelids drooped with obvious pleasure. That’s the spot, yes…
“It’s amazing how it can go from terrifying beast to adorable house cat,” Nia observed as she came over to inspect my familiar. “Aww, look, he’s sleepy.”
“How did that monster turn into a baby animal?” Freya asked in her native tongue, and her gold-flecked eyes scrutinized the tan-colored fur of my familiar.
“Magic,” I responded in the language of the clans.
“Congratulations,” Braden said, and the ox-like summoner clapped me on the back as he peered over my shoulder at my familiar. “I’ve always wanted a familiar, especially after Layla got her keichim.”
“You really think he’s my familiar?” I asked my friends in a hopeful tone.
“How else do you explain it?” Cyra replied. “You can understand him, he can change sizes, it’s just like how Kalon is with me.”
“I didn’t think I would ever get a familiar,” I confessed with a wry smile. “To be honest, I had started to think the Archons would be the closest thing I could get.”
“There are some similarities,” Arwyn noted. “If my observations are accurate, it has something to do with the intensity of the bond shared between monster and summoner. Your bond with the Archons would be in the same category as a familiar since there is communication exchanged.”
