Summoner School 7: A Reverse Portal Fantasy, page 1
Would you like to see chapters of my books before they come out? Do you want to see cover art sketches and vote on which poses should make it to final production? Would you like to see even sexier versions of my covers? Would you like to get my audiobooks at a deep discount?
Of course you would! Join my Patreon here to get all these awesome benefits (or search for my name on Patreon.com).
You can also join my Facebook group right here. Then you’ll know when my books come out before anyone else.
New books come out every Sunday
Chapter 1
“We need to go to Bubba’s,” I said.
Lord Kaylen’s office was covered in scorch marks and bloodstains from the battle, and my mardrom had completely torn down the shields that had been installed to protect the elf lord, so anyone who walked by could hear our conversation. And now that the technomages could be anywhere with those invisibility cloaks on their uniforms, there was a real threat that we’d be overheard. I told myself Bane would’ve sniffed them out by now if there were any technomages nearby, but that didn’t change the fact that the elven palace had been compromised, and we needed somewhere safe to talk.
“Why not go to the base?” Sarya asked and leaned against my grandmother for support.
The redheaded elf had used way too much mana in the fight to save her parents and the magical council, but my mate was one of the most stubborn women in the nine realms, and I knew without a doubt that she’d stay awake long enough to come up with a plan. Sarya’s silver eyes narrowed as if she could hear my thoughts, and the fire mage lifted her chin in defiance. The glare lost a little bit of its heat as she gripped my grandmother’s hand to stay upright, but I held my hands up in surrender anyway.
“What base?” Caros asked and stood.
Sarya’s brother worked closely with their father, but he still hadn’t been inducted into the magical council, so there were still things that the haughty elf wasn’t privileged to know. Lord Kaylen had just started to tell his youngest son about the attacks on the nine realms and let him help gather information, but our secret base was just that, and only a few people knew it even existed, and even fewer knew where to find it.
“We’ll tell you later,” I shrugged and pulled my transportation amulet out. “For now, we’ll go to Bubba’s. The shields are still up, and Stacy tweaked the new technomage shield so that their weapons don’t work as well within its boundaries. Mike is still there with Atlesia, so we’ll be able to have a family meeting and talk about our next steps while you two recharge on the mana tea.”
My mate groaned as if she’d rather fight another shadow creature than drink the disgusting mana tea, but we both knew that she would accept the concoction so that her magic would be replenished in time for the next battle. It was too dangerous for Sarya to push herself to do anything more before she had a chance to recover, especially since the elf’s cinnamon-colored skin had already started to wrinkle like she was one spell away from being mummified.
“I’ll come with you,” Katar said from the hallway.
The head of the elven guard scooted around my giant banehound, swatted at the shifting black fur that slapped him in the face, and then huffed at the monstrous creature.
“Where’s Wisteria?” I asked.
“Dorian is keeping her company,” the elf shrugged and then glowered at my pet as some acidic drool got on his shoe. “Really? These were new.”
“Not anymore,” Sarya smirked and then fought back a yawn. “And don’t get mad at Bane. He’s a good boy.”
“He’s a giant monster with four glowing eyes and enough teeth to grind our bones to dust,” Caros grumbled.
“He’s a banehound,” I said. “Where do you think wolves came from? They’re probably his descendants. Just less magical.”
Bane barked in agreement, and a pulse of his fear spell ran through the room. A satisfied feeling came through our mental link when Caros stumbled back a step, and I could swear that the moose-sized banehound actually smiled. He couldn’t fit through the door to the office, so the only way to mess with the haughty elves was the fear spell, but I still shook my head at the antics.
“He is a good boy,” Katar agreed and rolled his shoulders. “Now, you said something about going to Bubba’s for a meeting?”
“Yeah,” I said and looked around at the charred books and velvet couches. “This place isn’t exactly secret-planning-friendly right now. Will Dorian be okay with Wisteria?”
“Yes,” the elven guard said and shook his head. “I know that you two don’t get along, but I trust Dorian with my life. He’s more loyal than anyone that I’ve ever met.”
“And there’s no chance that he’ll be seduced like Balian?” I asked with a lifted eyebrow. “Wisteria is a very pretty nymph.”
“There’s no chance,” Caros answered. “Dorian has a mate, and we elves do not stray once we’ve found our mates.”
I grinned at Sarya as a blush crept up my mate’s cheeks. It had been a big issue when she’d declared that I was her mate, but Lord Kaylen had come around, and Caros seemed to have at least accepted it for the most part. I winked at the beautiful elf, turned back to the others, and then summoned a portal into Bubba’s farm.
“If you’re sure that she’ll still be here, then let’s go have a talk about our next steps,” I said and then motioned for the women to go first.
My grandmother was almost spritely for someone her age, especially since she’d spent the last year pretending to be infirm. Of course, the brain tumor had actually been a problem in the beginning, but that had been cleared up once the elven nursing home treated it. That didn’t stop Grandma Delores from acting like she didn’t recognize me whenever I asked a question about her past that the old woman didn’t want to answer, but that facade was gone now too, and I’d learned much more than I ever thought possible about the woman who’d raised me.
The sound of breaking wood rang through the office as Katar helped Caros through, and I turned to see Bane and my wind elemental had torn out the door to make room for his shoulders. Storm landed in the banehound’s fur, smiled, and then rode on the monstrous creature’s back as he trotted through the portal.
“I could’ve just put you back in the onyx and summoned you again,” I shook my head and followed them. “It doesn’t take that much mana to summon you.”
Bane sent a picture of a half-eaten deer through our mental link, and I guessed that it was his way of saying that it would’ve been a waste of my mana. It took all of my self-control not to laugh as my pets strolled toward a bonfire in the middle of the farm. They were definitely an interesting pair, and I glanced through the portal right as it closed to see the damage that they’d done to the office.
“If my father asks, then it happened during the battle,” Sarya said.
“Your mother has wanted to redecorate that office since I was young,” my grandmother laughed. “She’ll probably give Bane a giant slab of meat for his trouble.”
“She will,” Caros said with a rare smile.
“Well, if it ain’t the prodigals,” Bubba’s voice roared over the crackling fire and the music that blared all across the farm.
Bubba had changed into a fresh pair of overalls but hadn’t added a shirt, and there were bandages all over the Appalachian mage’s arms like he’d gotten in a fight with a weed-wacker. His long gray beard was still wet like he’d washed the blood out of it from the battle with the technomages, but it was already rebraided, and there was a small ivy vine wound through it for embellishment. The big man reminded me of every redneck that I’d ever seen in the movies, but I’d learned pretty fast not to let his appearance fool me, because there wasn’t anyone better with plants except for my flower nymph girlfriend.
“We survived,” I laughed and motioned to the bonfire. “Looks like you got everything cleaned up pretty fast.”
“Many hands make light work,” he answered in a thick Southern accent. “I told the fellas from the village that they could have a bonfire out here. Ain’t much to celebrate since we lost some good people, and then we had to bury the dead technomages where they won’t be found, but it coulda been a lot worse. An’ those assholes deserved it after they killed my family.”
“War is always terrible,” grandma nodded in agreement. “The deaths on both sides are hard, even if you had to do it to survive.”
“I ain’t that nice,” Bubba chuckled and ran a hand over his beard. “But I ain’t never liked hurtin’ nobody. Gotta say that it did feel good to get revenge against them bastards. Course, that was before I had to bury ‘em.”
“My plants took care of most of them,” Atlesia smiled as she joined us. “And I don’t feel nearly as bad as you do.”
Atlesia had cleaned up as well, but her feet were still completely bare, and her crop top and short shorts barely covered the essentials. I looked the flower nymph over for any injuries, but there wasn’t even a cut on her light green skin. She flipped her shoulder-length lavender hair and winked at me as I looked her over.
“I’m glad that you’re okay,” I said and then pulled her in for a hug. “And that you didn’t use too much power summoning those giant man-eating plants. They were seriously huge.”
“My babies are amazing,” she said and then looked at Sarya. “What in the nine worlds happened to you?”
“I fought a shadow creature,” the elf shrugged and pulled away from grandma to stand on her own.
&nbs
“You both did great today,” I said and then gave each a quick kiss. “But Sarya hasn’t had the benefit of Mike’s tea, so we should get inside.”
Something exploded from the bonfire, and excited shouts rang through the large front yard as one of the dwarves threw another log on the fire. I spotted a couple barrels of the moonshine that Stacy had brewed with the newly fixed distillery and had no doubt that there would be a party until the wee hours of the morning, but that would work in our favor since the elves and dwarves would be too drunk to fight each other. At the moment, they actually looked like comrades in arms instead of competitive frenemies.
“This place is uncouth,” Caros sniffed and then glowered at the drunken elven guards. “They should be ashamed of themselves.”
“Don’t insult my men, Caros,” Katar said. “They’ve had a very long day and deserve to have some time to rest and relieve stress.”
“And so do you,” I pointed out. “You almost died today.”
“What exactly happened at that elven palace?” Bubba asked as I led the way to the farmhouse. “You left pretty fast. An’ you ain’t never brought this one here before. If he don’t learn some manners, then he ain’t gonna be welcome back.”
“I apologize for my brother,” Sarya said and then let me help her up the stairs. “He’s not used to being allowed out of his cage.”
“Don’t you dare--” Caros started but then shut his mouth when she glared at him. “I apologize for my behavior.”
The elf looked like he’d swallowed an entire bag of lemons, and I’d sooner believe that Jason was our ally than Caros was sorry for being an elvish snob, but Bubba shrugged it off like it wasn’t that big of a deal.
“Everyone is stayin’ in town or in the tiny houses out back,” Bubba changed the subject as he grabbed the screen door. “Y’all are gonna have to stay in the main house. Annie an’ her family already went back to the city. They’ll be able to keep an eye on the news and make sure there ain’t nothin’ about the technomages. The last thing we need is the normies learnin’ about a magical war. Andrew grew up in the human realm, so he’ll be able to tell ya’ what happens to those who can use magic, an’ it ain’t pretty. People fear what they can’t control.”
“Yeah, they do.” I shook my head and then walked inside. “What happened here?”
Stacy, Mike, and Rina were all spread out on the living room floor with gadgets piled high. There had to be some form of organization to the stacks, but it wasn’t one that I could find, and all three of them looked up like deer in the headlights. They were the three smartest inventors that I’d ever met, but each one of them would lose themselves in a project for days if given the chance, and it took a few seconds before their eyes focused on us.
“We took all of my former colleagues’ gear,” Stacy said as she stood. “It wasn’t much. Their suits weren’t even fireproof. I’m ninety-eight percent sure that Joe and Charles sent them as cannon fodder, but I can’t figure out why they’d sacrifice so many of their men.”
Stacy’s long blond hair was tied back in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder, and a pair of skintight jeans hugged her curves. The former technomage scientist reminded me of a Barbie that had been given life, especially with her high cheekbones and crystal blue eyes. She could’ve been a model if she hadn’t been born into a society full of anti-magical nuts that didn’t realize they actually used magic on a regular basis for their ‘science’.
“They were using them as a distraction to attack the palace,” I said and helped Sarya to a seat at the kitchen table. “They killed almost everyone. There were even shadow creatures there to clean up a lot of the mana, and all of the bodies. It was like walking into a post-apocalyptic movie.”
“We only survived because my father shoved us into a safe room,” Sarya said around a yawn. “Caros, stop staring at the pretty blonde woman and sit down.”
“I’m not staring,” her brother huffed and took one of the other chairs. “I just didn’t know that you actually confided in technomages. Especially since they just attacked and killed all of our servants and guards. And helped to kidnap the magical council.”
“Former technomage,” I corrected. “Stacy left them when she realized that all of their alchemic symbols were actually spells. She works with us now to help bring down the psychos and protect the nine realms.”
“Thank you, Andrew,” Stacy said and then started to clear the table of wires and spare motherboards. “Excuse the mess. We’ve been working on different ways to combine gnomish and technomage technology.”
“It’s going to be amazing,” Rina grinned and showed a full mouth of sharp teeth. “Especially with Mike’s help. We’ll be able to spread the sunburst shotgun shells into an entire shield. At least, once we get it working.”
The gnomish tinkerer dragged a small stool over to the table and watched my roommate as he played around with one of the gadgets. Rina’s scraggly hair was tied back into a ponytail, and the glasses on top of her head had so many lenses that she looked crazy half the time, but there was no gnome better at figuring out how machines worked. It was like they spoke to the short gnomish woman the same way that they did to Stacy.
“Where do you keep that tea, dear?” my grandmother asked Mike, who was already back in his own world.
“In that wooden box,” the tree-man said and pointed without even looking up.
Mike’s bark-like skin creaked as he moved, and Rina immediately hopped down to grab him some water. It had been strange to walk into my dorm room on my first day at Magia Schola to find a six-and-a-half-foot-tall tree with a mushroom collection, but it didn’t take long for us to become friends, and I’d trust him with my life. I watched as he downed the water that his girlfriend handed him and the leaves on the top of his head shook like they were grateful for the hydration.
“There’s not much left in here,” my grandmother frowned at the box but then started to make some tea. “I’m not a tree-person, or a nymph, but I’ve been known to grow a nice garden. If you let me know what you use, then I can add it to the garden at my Victorian manor when I move back to the human realm. Something tells me that we’ll need a lot of it in the coming months.”
“Thanks,” Mike said. “My mother already has an entire garden dedicated to the mushrooms, and I’m sure that she’d love the help.”
“It might be a good idea for you to go live in the nymph realm,” I said to grandmother as I sat next to Sarya. “If the cultists had known that you were so close when they attacked the palace, then they definitely would’ve taken you, too. Especially since we’re the only two people in the nine realms who can give them what they want.”
“And what exactly is it that they want?” Bubba asked. “I’m guessin’ if they done kidnapped the magical council that they got a plan to get somethin’.”
“Of course,” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
The kitchen felt crowded with all of us squeezed inside, even with a few people spread out into the living room. There wasn’t anybody present that I wouldn’t trust with my life, or with the future of the nine realms, but there were still plenty of ears outside in the yard, and I glanced through the window to see that everyone was drunkenly dancing.
“The shields are up and running,” Stacy said as she pressed a button. “No one will be able to hear what we’re talking about. And I’m sure that they’ll just think that we came in here to get some food.”
“Speakin’ of which,” Bubba said and joined my grandmother at the stove. “We oughta get some food goin’ for them. Ain’t nothin’ worse than a hungry and hungover dwarf. An’ I speak from experience. Y’all just keep talkin’ while I fix somethin’ fer the masses.”
