Eidolon Master: Tamer of Animal Women 2, page 24
Tala grabbed another gremlin between her teeth and crunched down as vile green liquid spurted everywhere. The scaly fuckers already smelled pungently of wet dogs, but this green stuff’s scent was like an unemptied dumpster that had been left out too long in the heat, and I tried my best to breathe through my mouth.
Still, it wasn’t the worst of our problems.
I guessed there were around fifty of the creatures in the spinning, white room now, and that wasn’t counting the dead ones. They weren’t that hard to kill, but their teeth and claws were vicious, and they seemed to have no fear whatsoever.
But it was the fucking amount of them that was most overwhelming. Tala and I had already killed about ten each, yet their numbers continued to grow, and I wasn’t sure how long we could keep this up. At some point, the balance was going to tip, and they’d overpower us with their superior numbers.
I sensed Tala was thinking the same thing. She was about five feet away from me and moving so swiftly that, half the time, she was a blur of golden light and auburn fur.
She snarled and snapped, but then I saw a couple of gremlins clamber up her fur and onto her back. She attempted to turn her head but couldn’t reach them, and they cackled as they tried to dig their vile claws into her.
I needed to get to her and help, but there was a particularly evil-looking gremlin blocking my path. It looked like it was about to spring, so I made it seem as though I was readying my saber, but then I lashed out hard with my foot and kicked it to the ground in front of me.
It writhed in pain on its back, and, as I rushed toward Tala, I stomped on its face and my boot sank into a sticky mess of brains and crunched-up bone.
It was hard to keep my balance between the slippery gunk on the bottom of my shoe and the crazy spinning room. But I stayed on my feet for long enough to stab one of the scaly fuckers through the chest with my saber, then I rammed my shoulder into the other one.
But my feet slipped, and I splayed out onto the white floor. The gremlin I’d knocked off with my shoulder cried out in indignation as it tumbled to the ground on top of me.
Before I’d even had a chance to react, Tala had her jaws firmly clenched around its neck. She shook it with such violence that she ripped its throat open, and a disgusting combination of foul, green slime and tendons flew everywhere.
We can’t hold them, Tala said in a worried tone as she turned and grabbed another creature between her teeth.
“We have to!” I yelled and hurriedly got to my feet.
The spinning room was swarming with the evil bastards.
I swung my saber at a gremlin that was trying to climb up my leg and thought desperately about how the fuck we were going to get out of here.
But my mind was blank.
The only thing I could think of was to release Neoma as well, but I had no idea if I was strong enough for that yet. It took enough out of most people to wield one eidolon, and I didn’t know what would happen if I summoned two at once.
After all, it had never been done before in the entire history of Fablewild.
Tala snarled as she gutted another gremlin, then she spun around to look at me. For a brief moment, our eyes locked, and I knew she could sense what I was thinking.
You have to, she said quietly. There are too many of them, and we can’t do it alone.
Determination radiated from my beautiful eidolon as she clamped her teeth around another gremlin and then threw its limp carcass to the floor.
She wouldn’t have suggested this unless it was our only option, and I knew I had to at least try.
An insistent urgency pulsated through me at Tala’s words, and I could sense Neoma was pressing me to do the unthinkable, too.
The hatches in the ceiling were closed now, and although there were no more gremlins dropping down, I estimated there were well over a hundred inside already.
I knew there was no way Tala and I could defeat these fuckers alone. There were just too many of them.
I kept fighting off the small fuckers as I thought, and the combination of tasks was mentally exhausting. One nasty creature managed to crawl up my leg as I debated, and it opened its mouth wide to bite a chunk out of my thigh.
“Fuck!” I slammed the pommel of my saber right between its eyes.
The thing squeaked as it dropped to the ground, but ten more were right behind it.
It was possible summoning Neoma too would just sap my strength and leave me unable to fight the little fuckers, which would mean I’d become gremlin food. But on the other hand, I knew I’d definitely become gremlin food if I didn’t summon her.
There was no other way we could win.
And besides, I was ninety percent sure the connection I had with both my eidolons was strong enough to withstand the strain.
I kicked out at a gremlin to my right and sent it flying, then I took a deep breath and shifted my saber to my left hand for just enough time to flick my right wrist and release Neoma.
A shower of purple light appeared, and my owl eidolon burst into the room in a haze of clouds. She let out a shrill, earsplitting call, and the gremlins all looked up in surprised unison.
Then she swooped down and grabbed one of the scaly fuckers in her vicious talons. It squirmed as she flew back up into the air, but there was no way it could escape her grip. Once she’d gained enough height, Neoma released the creature and it hurtled down toward the floor, then landed straight on top of another gremlin. The impact made a hideous crunching sound, and green slime flew everywhere. The two little bastards were left twitching on the floor, and the other gremlins looked on with a combination of anger and surprise.
I hadn’t known what to expect when I’d released Neoma, although I’d thought the toll of having two eidolons out at once might have weakened me a bit.
But I’d never felt more fucking powerful.
It was as if having both my eidolons out together gave me a much-needed spurt of energy to carry on, and I swung my saber with renewed vigor. Now, with the three of us fighting together, I had a feeling we might just be able to defeat the rabid gremlin horde.
The little fuckers were everywhere, but they were clearly confused by Neoma’s aerial attacks, and she destroyed them easily, which meant Tala and I were less likely to be mobbed by them.
My wolf eidolon had one gremlin in her jaws, and her sharp claws were digging into another one’s stomach. Neoma flew circles above her and made frequent darts down to grab one of the scaly bastards. Then she’d use it as a projectile and launch it toward small groups of the gray creatures to make them scatter.
I suddenly found myself face to face with three gremlins, and each of them was readying itself to spring. They all cackled, and their jagged rows of teeth were clearly visible. Green strings of saliva dripped from their mouths into foul-smelling pools on the floor, and then the first one jumped.
It hurtled toward me like a bullet, but the wolf instincts flowing through my veins gave me speed and reaction time it could only dream of.
I twisted my torso around but kept my feet firmly planted on the floor as I swung my saber up and sliced deeply into the bastard’s stomach.
Green slime spurted out all over me as the gremlin’s guts simply fell out of its body and splattered onto the ground. It howled in agony as it tumbled to the floor, and I swiftly stabbed it again in the throat before turning my attention back to the other two.
I half-expected them to be more cautious after witnessing their buddy getting sliced open, but if anything, it made them angrier and more aggressive, and they both sprang up at me simultaneously.
I sidestepped and managed to cut one of them with my saber as the bastard sailed through the air, but the other somehow got a grip on my t-shirt. Its claws pierced through the fabric and barely missed my flesh, and its snapping jaw was close enough for me to smell its warm, rank breath.
The bastard emitted a truly evil-sounding cackle and lunged toward my throat, but I grabbed my new dagger with my free hand and stabbed the scaly fucker in the abdomen before it could bite me.
It screeched in surprised pain, but it still didn’t let go. It took me several more stabs before it finally fell to the floor with a ragged groan.
I could sense my two eidolons thriving, and I glanced up to see how they were doing.
They were working amazingly well together. Tala’s jaws closed like lightning around any gremlins in her vicinity, and Neoma released the scaly bastards from the air and let them spatter on the floor like overripe fruit.
We’d managed to get their numbers down, and it seemed to be making the gremlins even more unpredictable and ruthless.
Something moved on the right edge of my vision, and I snapped my head around to see another gremlin preparing to leap. Then I heard a noise from the other side and realized one was going to spring from the left as well.
I held my ground and waited as they both jumped, then I took a step back at just the right moment.
Their heads collided in mid-air, and I grimaced as the force of the impact shattered their skulls. Green gunk flew out of the fractured mess of bone, and they fell to the floor with startled howls of agony.
I moved forward and finished each of them off with my saber, then looked around to assess the situation.
We’d definitely gained the upper hand. Small, scaly bodies were strewn all over the place in tangled heaps, and the previously pristine, white walls and floor were now covered in green slime and shards of bone.
Although I was sure the tide was turning, there were still plenty of gremlins to deal with, and I didn’t want to get complacent.
Suddenly, something hit me hard on the back, and claws scratched at the skin between my shoulder blades. Then there was a cackling noise, and I almost gagged as the putrid breath of a gremlin rose to meet me.
I grunted as I tried to shake it off, but it wouldn’t budge, and its position on my back made it hard for me to get enough force behind my saber or my dagger to do any real damage.
Tala must have immediately sensed something was wrong because she let out an urgent howl as she galloped toward me on her ghostly paws. She snapped away any gremlins in her path, and Neoma continued her aerial attacks to keep the rest of them at bay.
I turned my back to Tala so she could leap at the bastard clinging to me. It gave a panicked scream as her jaws closed, and she dragged it off my back. When I turned around, I saw my wolf-lover eviscerating the fucker with glee.
Then four gremlins suddenly sprang at her from different directions. She spun around and grabbed one of them between her sharp teeth. Neoma was there in a flash, and she darted down to seize another, took off into the air with it, and threw it down toward the floor with a satisfied hoot.
Meanwhile, I launched myself at the remaining two with my dagger in one hand and my saber in the other, and they let out pained squeals as I impaled them both at once.
I glanced up to see Neoma had grabbed another gremlin and was circling above Tala. My owl eidolon released the creature from her grip, and Tala rose up onto her hind legs with her jaws open, then caught it and snapped it in half.
“Yes!” I yelled with pride.
My two eidolons’ move had been so fucking badass, and I was delighted they were working together this well.
I looked around and realized there were only a few gremlins left, although that didn’t make them any less enthusiastic or aggressive.
One was running toward me at full tilt, so I unsheathed a throwing knife, took careful aim, and sent it flying. The knife embedded in the gremlin’s eye with a squelch, and the bastard squealed as it went down.
Neoma flew off to deal with the last few stragglers as Tala prowled between the bodies on the floor and finished off any that were only injured.
Meanwhile, I retrieved my knife, wiped it clean, and put it back in its sheath as I surveyed the scene.
The floor and the walls were covered in green slime and ripped-up body parts, and the stench was unbelievable.
But we’d made it through.
Once I’d double-checked to make sure all the gremlins had been dealt with, the adrenaline abandoned my body, and I was left feeling sick and dizzy from the exertion, the spinning of the room, and the smell.
At least the room’s spinning seemed to be slowing down a bit, and I tried to breathe through my mouth as I looked around to find the exit. A door on the far wall had magically appeared, and now it was standing wide open for us.
An ominous squeaking sound made me look up, and I groaned internally at the prospect of fighting another round of gremlins.
But only the hatch in the center of the ceiling opened this time, and it didn’t release any more of the scaly assholes. Instead, it started to lower a shining shield on a sparkling, silver chain.
My legs were weak with exhaustion as I picked my way through the mangled gremlin bodies to the shield. When I got there, Neoma was already hovering in front of it, and Tala immediately came and pressed herself against my legs.
I unhooked the shield from the chain and marveled at how incredibly light it was. The face of it was made from steel, and it had a large, bronze boss in the center. Elaborate engravings ran along its circumference. I thought at first they depicted a hunting scene, but when I looked closer, they seemed more like temple raids.
Those are scenes from temples you’ve completed, Tala said excitedly.
I inspected the engravings again, and sure enough, my wolf eidolon was right. The shield depicted several of the hardest challenges I’d faced so far in temples, including the gremlins we’d just fought off.
“That’s amazing,” I breathed as I turned the piece over.
The back was covered in thick, soft leather, and I guessed there were several layers of wood and leather underneath the metal facing to give the shield extra strength. There were two wide and supple leather straps for my forearm to slide into, and I quickly tested it out.
The shield had a diameter of about two feet, so it wasn’t small, but it was so light, I barely felt it. When I took it off my arm, I noticed for the first time that it glowed with a very faint blue light, and I knew immediately it had some sort of magical properties.
I could feel my two eidolons’ excitement mingling with my own as we looked at the shield. Neoma let out a couple of happy clicks, and Tala pressed herself more firmly against my legs.
But the creaking sound of the silver chain being pulled back into the hatches made me remember I didn’t want to linger in this room.
Temples were so fucking sneaky that I wouldn’t put it past them to release a whole lot more gremlins, just for the hell of it, if we hung around for too long.
And I really didn’t have the energy to deal with more of the little fuckers.
“Let’s go,” I said with a grin.
I clutched the shield and jogged toward the door with Neoma and Tala at my side, and we soon found ourselves in a long corridor that sloped downward.
I felt giddy with excitement and happiness as we started to descend. My dizziness was wearing off now, and I was left with pure elation that we’d completed our first southern temple route.
Plus, it was a temple that even hardened adventurers had said was really challenging.
And to top it all off, I’d gotten to work with both my eidolons at the same time.
None of us said anything as we headed down the passage, but the atmosphere was electric.
Soon, the air started to smell fresher, and within a couple of minutes, the exit to the jungle appeared in front of us.
We emerged into the light, and I took a deep, happy breath.
“We fucking did it!” I said and turned to my eidolons with a wide grin.
Neoma let out an ecstatic series of hoots and flew joyfully into the air, and Tala reared up onto her hind legs so she could place her front paws on my shoulders.
I laughed as my eidolons’ rapture coursed through me, and then Tala gave a couple of happy barks and jumped back down to allow Neoma to settle on my shoulders. The owl eidolon shimmied her weight from side to side like she was dancing, and Tala ran wild circles around us.
We were giddy with the thrill of our victory, and I completely forgot about all the possible dangers in the jungle as I threw up my hands and danced around like a maniac for a moment.
Neoma took off from my shoulders and swooped up and down through the air as she followed Tala’s circles, and I smiled as I sensed how relaxed they both were with each other.
Not only had we survived a really fucking hard temple and emerged with an amazing prize, but I’d summoned both my eidolons at once.
Triumph ran through my veins as I thought about how fucking cool that was. Many adventurers couldn’t even manage one eidolon, but being able to wield two at once was completely unheard of.
I was more powerful than I’d ever dreamed.
My mind was full of plans for the future, and I thought about all the amazing temple raids we could pull off together now that we knew how fucking well we worked as a team.
My bond with Tala had reached a whole new level, and I couldn’t believe that I could hear her when she was in wolf form. And my connection to Neoma was now even stronger after all of the challenges we’d faced together in that temple. I could tune into her emotions so easily, and she knew what I needed without me even asking.
I felt fucking unstoppable.
Once we’d eventually calmed down enough to take in our surroundings, I noticed how beautiful this part of the jungle really was. On our approach to the temple, I’d been hit by so many weird visuals and optical illusions that I couldn’t focus on anything other than finding the damn place and getting through the right door.
But this jungle was one of the most beautiful I’d seen so far.
The purple and blue leaves on the trees shimmered in the sunlight as if they’d been coated with glitter, and the grass was a vibrant shade of emerald green. Sunlight poured down through the trees and bathed everything in a soft, dappled light, and swathes of multicolored birds flew overhead or sat perched on branches.
