Summoner 15, p.28
Summoner 15, page 28
The temple itself was impressive, but the yellow tentacles dangling over the walls added a wildness that reminded me of the jungle despite the frozen environment. It was built from a pale blue gemstone-like material and stood several stories tall. Twelve carved columns of gray rock lined the front and supported the massive slab roof covered by the octopus monster, and at the center of the building’s face was a huge door covered in chipped blue paint.
I let out a low whistle as I took in the spectacle.
Veopa certainly had style.
Then I pulled on my bonds with my Archons and summoned them into their physical forms. My tattoos itched like crazy as the plumes of essence erupted from their designs, but I ignored the sensation as the goddesses manifested themselves around me.
“Mmm, I’ve missed you,” Sera moaned into my ear as she slid her hand around my elbow.
“My temple is way better,” Phi insisted as she claimed my other elbow.
“The only temple I need is you, Gryff,” Miralea purred as she rubbed herself against my chest.
“Forget these weaklings,” Utuni hissed from behind me, and her snake-like tail curled around my leg and inched toward my groin. “You need a powerful mate at your back when you conquer the human world.”
I could see my friends observing the scene with amused smiles over the Archons’ shoulders, but Arwyn and Cyra seemed less entertained by the goddesses’ displays of affection than the two men.
I cleared my throat as a flush crept up my neck, and I shoved the Archons away with dismissive gestures.
“Summon your monsters,” I commanded. “Get the octopus off the roof and away from the building, then destroy it.”
“I love it when you’re demanding,” Sera murmured in a seductive voice. “Your wish is my command, master.”
“Pathetic.” Phi rolled her eyes. “No wonder Gryff hasn’t chosen you for his seed.”
The Mistral mages gasped, and their eyes locked onto my face. The questioning expression they wore made their feelings obvious, but we didn’t have time to explain the Archons’ aggressive desire to get pregnant.
So, I just shrugged and gave them an innocent smile.
“He hasn’t chosen you, either,” the dark-winged Archon retorted hotly, and she shot her sister a deadly glare.
“Enough,” I said in a harsh whisper. “We don’t have time for your petty shit. Now, get over there and kill that octopus.”
The two angel-like goddesses grumbled, but then all four Archons obediently snapped their fingers to summon their personal monsters.
How the octopus creature hadn’t noticed us already was beyond me, but as Utuni’s hydra, Sera’s snapdarner, and Miralea’s verden reaver burst into the space in front of the temple, the giant squid’s eyes turned toward us.
It didn’t seem alarmed, or even surprised, and it simply tracked the movements in the courtyard with its eyes without moving to attack.
Phi sniffed her disdain for her fellow Archons’ creatures, and then twitched her wings and started to stretch into her large form. By the time the white-winged Archon stood fifty feet tall, Sera had added her bre’gura to the courtyard, and Miralea’s hissenae joined our forces.
With my minions standing between us and the temple, I could no longer see the front of the building, and I realized how little space the monsters and Archons had to maneuver.
I had to admit, Braden’s concern over getting trapped beneath the destruction seemed pretty reasonable when a ten-foot-long, blue-tinted foot was blocking the view.
My mind raced through possible strategies that would minimize the chances of the building collapsing, and suddenly an idea struck me.
“We have to kill it from the inside out,” I announced to my friends as I eyed the octopus monster. Then I turned to Braden. “I know I said the Archons could handle the octopus, but I need your help to kill it.”
The thick shouldered summoner took a breath, and then he gave me a firm nod. “What do you need me to do?”
I quickly outlined my plan, and my team jumped into action.
As I turned back toward the temple to give my Archons their commands, I saw a tentacle shoot across the air above the courtyard toward where Sera’s snapdarner hovered.
I sent out a warning call through my bond with the dark-winged Archon, but before the thought left my mind, the dragonfly-like monster buzzed its wings and dodged the tentacle. Then the snapdarner circled and latched onto the tentacle while it thrashed and wiggled in an effort to dislodge Sera’s summons.
I relayed my instructions as quickly as I could through my bonds with the goddesses, and I worked the muscle in my jaw as I watched my minions follow my directions.
Miralea’s verden reaver jumped toward the temple in an incredible twenty-foot leap, and the mantis-like creature latched onto a tentacle of its own by digging its spiked front legs into Veopa’s summons’ skin.
Utuni’s hydra used all of its three heads at once, and it grabbed onto a third limb with a massive bite into the squid-like creature’s flesh. Then the poisonous aura the snake goddess’ summons emitted rolled from the creature’s black scales in waves.
“Fuck… ” I cursed under my breath.
We’d have to act fast or my friends would be exposed to the noxious fumes created by the hydra. The courtyard was small, and with the rock wall enclosure on three sides, there was little airflow.
Almost as though he sensed my urgency, Braden jumped onto his king gryphon’s back and lifted his chin bravely as his summons took to the sky. Cyra and Kalon copied his movements, but the dark-skinned summoner winked down at us before her familiar aimed for the octopus.
The silver dragon grabbed onto a writhing tentacle while Braden’s king gryphon did the same with another. The two summoners and their flying monsters struggled to keep the slippery, node covered limbs in their grasp, but they didn’t lose their grip on the squid-like monster’s arms.
So, I gave Phi the signal to do her part, and I watched with bated breath while my plan unfolded.
The fifty-foot-tall white-winged Archon snapped her fingers, and the sound echoed against the rock walls of the mountain. Then a poof of smoke burst above her outstretched palm, and she held her azure happrog in her hand.
The cow-sized monster looked like a feathered frog with a neon blue tail tufted with vibrant feathers, and its colorful ears swiveled as it let out a low croak.
Then Phi growled and darted across the courtyard toward the octopus monster straddling the temple.
As soon as the white-winged Archon charged, everyone moved in unison to lift the tentacles in their grasps up into the air.
Phi barreled toward the temple, and the ground shook from the force of her feet smacking into the paving stones.
Veopa’s summons’ eyes widened as it lifted one of its only free tentacles up to ward off her approach, but the white-winged grabbed onto it and wrapped it around her arm with a swirling motion like a fork twirling in noodles. Then Phi roared and pulled the octopus upward to reveal its circular, beak-like and fang-lined mouth.
The yellow building sized monster let out a panicked screech as Phi shoved her azure happrog down the octopus’ throat. Then the angel-like goddess grabbed onto the octopus’s bulbous head and pulled it off the temple roof while everyone heaved against the tentacles in the same direction.
My team worked together to remove the sucking nodes of the last free tentacles, and Sera flew around to the back of the building to push the monster toward her sister.
By the time the Archons and summons had pulled the octopus free and tossed it into the courtyard, its yellow skin had turned a sickly green, and the humongous squid eyes were bleeding.
Phi’s azure happrog had a poisonous touch, and even though the cow-sized creature didn’t seem powerful in comparison to the massive beasts of the other Archons, it got the job done.
The octopus was dead, and the door to the temple was unguarded.
I pumped my fist up into the air, and then I urged my Archons forward to the entrance. Sera rushed to be the first to the chipped blue door, and she shot a pleased look at me over her shoulder as she tugged on the handle.
Per my command, the personal summons of my Archons remained in the courtyard to guard the perimeter, but Braden’s king gryphon and Cyra’s silver dragon trotted toward the temple in front of our crew.
I walked between Arwyn and Varleth while the other summoners rode their monsters across the threshold. The entrance was wide, and it was also tall enough for Braden’s head not to bump against the top even astride his hybrid beast.
We entered into a long hallway lined with plain black doors, but lamps illuminated the walls in between with a soft blue glow. The tunnel stretched on for what seemed like forever, and shadows concealed the far end.
I squeezed past my friends’ monsters and opened the first door on the left side of the hallway.
Trees grew inside the doorway, and the sounds of leaves fluttering filled the room. It was dark and cool, and moss covered the ground up to the threshold.
I stepped inside and craned my neck to look up at the ceiling, but the bushy crown of the trees blocked my view.
Suddenly, a squirrel skittered by on a limb, and it stopped to peer at us as it twitched its tail.
Delicious, my familiar murmured as his eyes followed the furry tree climber.
I shook my head in amazement as I stepped back into the hallway and pulled the door closed.
“There’s a whole forest inside that room,” I informed my team in an awed voice. “Animals and everything.”
“Animals?” Arwyn’s eyebrows twitched questioningly. “Not monsters?”
“No,” I replied, and I shook my head again. “It’s weird… ”
We continued down the hallway and opened doors as we went, and every room held a different landscape rich with animals native to those environments. I heard a jaguar growl when I opened a room full of jungle trees and tangled vines, and a scorpion took off through the sand as soon as I peeked into the desert room.
“It’s like a zoo,” Cyra observed, but she smiled as she watched two otters playing in a stream from the doorway to the river room.
“It’s a pantry,” Sera informed us with an amused smile.
“Or a fun house!” Phi chirped, but then she gave me a pouty look. “Why does Veopa get all the good toys?”
“I sense Veopa’s presence,” Utuni interjected, and the vertical slits of her eyes narrowed as she peered down the dark hallway. “We are getting closer.”
“Lead the way,” I said, and I flourished my hand toward the shadows.
Utuni lifted her chin proudly, and the gold crown she wore jingled from the motion, but she took the lead and went further down the corridor. The other Archons reluctantly fell into line behind the snake goddess, and I could tell they were angry by the stiff way they held their shoulders.
We continued on with cautious steps behind the Archons until we came to the end of the tunnel, and at the very back of the temple stood a door painted with a mural of a beautiful woman lounging in a woodland scene with animals all around her.
“What simplistic mind would call this art?” Sera huffed as she gestured toward the door. “Prostrating yourself before wild beasts? It’s vile.”
“The peaceful power of nature is beautiful,” Miralea breathed, but then her voice turned murderous. “The animals and the trees should be free and happy, not beaten down beneath the boots of mankind.”
“Open the door,” I commanded and bypassed their commentary.
Miralea gave me an apologetic look before she pushed open the door, and the four Archons stepped into the room together.
My heart pounded with anticipation as I waited for a cry of alarm, or sounds of battle, but nothing happened. I blinked at Sera and Phi’s wings for a moment, then at my friends.
Arwyn motioned for me to move forward, so I took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold as my team followed behind me.
Then the Archons parted to let me through, and I gritted my teeth when Veopa came into view.
The shapeshifting goddess sat on a blue stone throne at the far end of the room, and she lounged gracefully with one leg over the other as she rested her arm on the side. Her long animal-pelt cloak trailed over the throne and onto the floor at her feet, and her hood was thrown back away from her head.
I had expected her to have her blue-white formless appearance, but what I saw was a gorgeous silver-haired woman. Her eyes were a glossy white, like she was blind, but I knew she could see me clearly. Beneath the quilted skin cloak, Veopa wore a shimmery blue dress that moved across her glowing white skin like water, and as she leaned in toward me, the fabric slid down and revealed the deep crevice between her ample breasts.
I swallowed hard as my blood temperature started to rise, and I reminded myself that I was looking at an illusion.
“Welcome to my humble home, Gryff,” Veopa greeted in a voice as smooth as silk. She didn’t speak loudly, but I heard every word clearly as though she’d spoken directly into my ear.
“Thanks for having me.” I smirked. “I’ll give you a moment to say goodbye to your little zo--”
“I must congratulate you on making it this far,” Veopa continued over my words. “I am impressed with your power and persistence. Not many enter my territory without permission and live to see the sunrise again, yet here you are.”
Say the word, and I’ll tear out her throat, my familiar growled in my mind, and he pushed himself further out of my hip pouch to snarl at the goddess.
“I’m glad I could impress you,” I retorted, but then I inclined my head. “This will go very easily for you as long as you surrender and come peacefully.”
Veopa laughed, and it bounced off the walls to echo around the throne room, and the multiple reverberations made it sound like a group of people instead of one.
“Foolish mortal,” the shapeshifting goddess spat. “You think just because you have a few weak excuses for Archons on a leash that you are more powerful than anyone?”
“How dare you!” Sera’s voice was sharp, and her yellow eyes burned with hatred.
“I’ll shred her face to ribbons,” Miralea growled.
“Silence,” I commanded, and I locked the Archons in a stern glare.
“See!” Veopa declared as she pointed to the goddesses behind me. “Look how they cower with fear. I am stronger than all of you even without reaching my full power.”
“No,” I argued. “You’re not.”
Veopa huffed and crossed her arms. “Yes, I am.”
Apparently, she wasn’t accustomed to being stood up to.
“I don’t see you proving me wrong,” I countered with a taunting grin. “You’re going to be ‘weak excuse for an Archon’ number five before lunch.”
“You know nothing about my power,” Veopa hissed as she narrowed her eyes, but I sensed a hesitancy in her body language.
“I know I defeated your octopus thing,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone, “and I have your ochremaun under my command. What else can you throw at me, Veopa? Mutated monsters just as harmful to themselves as their enemies?”
“I was surprised when my octarion fell,” Veopa replied with a dismissive wave, “but he is weak compared to my third summons. As for the ochremaun, you stole it, and I intend to get it back.”
The four goddesses at my back silently screamed for my permission to attack through our bonds, and they eyed Veopa with murderous expressions as they bristled with anticipation.
I needed to find out what else she had up her sleeve, though, so I shrugged and kept my expression neutral.
“If you want the ochremaun back so badly,” I teased, “why don’t you try to take it?”
Veopa’s head pulled back as though she’d been struck, and she gazed at me silently for a long moment.
“Gryff… ” Arwyn whispered in a warning tone. “What are you doing?”
“Wait for it,” I whispered back, and I gestured for her to be patient.
Then the shapeshifter goddess’ lips curled into a dangerous smile, and she lifted one hand dramatically before slowly snapping her fingers. A plume of smoke burst into the air in front of her throne, and then a large bat-like monster swooped into the chamber.
The creature was the size of a child, but its translucent gray wings spanned about six feet, and it was covered in molted, scraggly black fur. The monster’s eyes were dark and hollow, and below its short flat snout were dangerous looking fangs.
I threw back my head and let out a loud laugh while I reached into my bandolier for a handful of crystals.
This was it? The horrible third monster? It was just a big flying rat.
Then the bat-like monster morphed, and it separated into two identical flying creatures.
My laugh died in my throat as I watched Veopa’s summon continue to multiply until the ceiling of the throne room was nothing but black fur and flapping wings.
I automatically commanded my kalgori to multiply while I tossed my other essence crystals to the ground. As my roosa, arachness, duvarku, and daggerdillo erupted from the plumes of smoke, I commanded all of my monsters and the Archons to annihilate the swarm of bat-like beasts.
Come on, let me at her, my familiar urged.
“Have fun,” I told my kitten sized monster, and I jerked my head toward the horde of flying creatures. “Be careful.”
So, my familiar jumped from my hip pouch, and by the time his paws hit the floor, he was already in his large form, and he launched himself into the air with a powerful spring of his hind legs. Then the cat-like monster caught one of the bats from the air, and his dagger sized fangs impaled the beast as he shook his head violently.
Braden tossed out his jaxare, and Cyra summoned her petripede, while Arwyn created a long rapier from her arm.
“Great idea, Gryff.” Varleth drew his steel blade and hunched his shoulders as he stared up at the bats with an irritable expression. “Are you happy?”
Then the swarm spiraled down from the ceiling and began to attack. I pulled my daggers out and steeled myself for impact, and as a flock surrounded me, I spun with my kalgori-bladed chrome coated wings extended, and I sliced through dozens of the bat-like monsters in one motion.
