Summoner 21, page 28
“Neither have I,” Carth said as she tucked a book into a shelf. “I think it may have had something to do with all of the monster remains that reside down here. With her feelings toward humans and nature, I’m unsurprised she would react so intensely to the sight of monster bones spilled all over the floor.”
“You’re right,” I agreed with the green-skinned Archon. “I wouldn’t have thought of that.”
“Miralea will be just fine, master,” Veopa assured me, and then she came up behind me and rested a freezing hand on my shoulder. “She’s much tougher than any of us give her credit for. I’m sure she’s up there arguing with Phi just like old times.”
“Phi does love to argue,” I laughed lightly, and then my face relaxed into a more serious position. “I know you’re all correct, and Miralea can handle herself, I just feel bad about it all.”
“What’s strange to me is the fact the others felt strongly about a place that ended up being so important,” Sera mused, and she wrapped her arms around herself. “I was more fearful of the contents of the book than the actual dungeon itself.”
“It’s hard to tell.” I shrugged. “None of it matters, though. We’ll reunite with them once we’re done here and then head back to Mistral.”
“Why not just lock up this room and leave these things where they are?” Veopa proposed as she rested a hand on her hip. “It’s obvious no one is going to be able to enter it again without the key, so why not lock it away, return the others to us, and then walk through a portal and back to Mistral?”
“I know it seems unlikely someone would enter, but that’s precisely why I’d prefer to put the room back together,” I explained, and when the succubus Archon frowned, I elaborated further. “As I’ve said before, nothing in this realm remains the same. Should someone somehow find their way down here, I don’t want them to stumble upon the room and wreak havoc on the shelves. I’d rather them walk into a chamber and see nothing but a bunch of boring books, just as we did when we first walked in here.”
“I suppose it makes sense,” Veopa allowed. “Though, I still don’t foresee someone entering this dungeon any time soon. We were the first ones to ever come down here.”
“You’re probably right, but I want to cover all of our tracks,” I said, and the reply seemed to finally satisfy the Archon.
We continued the rest of our restacking in silence, and once the room was back in its original state, and all of the shelves were occupied with the discarded books once more, I tucked our notes and most important book in my travel bag. I wished I had a better place to put the history book, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, so my bag would have to do until I was back in Mistral. From there, the book would be headed straight to one of our upper-level studies in the mansion where it could be protected at all times. Too many faces moved in and out of the Academy, and I didn’t trust that it wouldn’t be disturbed with all of the activity as of late.
I took one last look around, and once I deemed the room restored, the Archons filed out into the main dungeon chamber. I left last and took the time to close the stone entry and lock it behind me. I tested the door a few times to make sure it was back to its original state, and then I carefully fastened the key on the same chain that held my mother’s engagement ring. While I didn’t necessarily want to put the pair together, the items were less likely to get lost if they were close to my heart.
I tucked the chain back under my shirt and then followed the Archons over to the entrance of the dungeon.
“Should we put out the torches?” Xan suggested as her violet eyes trailed over them. “If we want this place to appear undisturbed, it might be a good idea to get rid of all of the evidence.”
“Exactly.” I nodded. “Good thinking, Xan. Would you mind--”
“On it,” the azure-winged Archon confirmed, and she gracefully glided through the dungeon and put out all of the fires around the chamber until it was once again plunged into a state of darkness.
The eerie, chilling feeling we’d experienced when we’d first entered the chamber returned to me, and I couldn’t have left the room any sooner.
The Archons and I filed back into the cold, dark tunnel, and as we walked in silence, Sera hung back until she was at my side. Though we didn’t exchange a single word, I could feel the dark-winged goddess send me reassuring sensations through our mental bond, and I flashed her a grateful smile. Her support meant the world to me, and it was especially needed right now.
Finally, we reached the end of the tunnel, and as we emerged from the place behind the fireplace, I blinked my eyes rapidly. While the rest of the palace was still pretty dimly-lit, it was a million times brighter than the dungeon, and I relished in any form of light I could find.
“Master, is that you?” Miralea’s voice rang out, and before I could give an answer, the jaguar goddess, along with Phi and Utuni, suddenly appeared from the staircase. The trio of Archons ran in our direction, and each wore similar expressions of delight as they caught up to us.
“Is everything alright?” Phi demanded as her red eyes scanned me up and down. “All of you look as if you’ve seen ghosts, or monsters, or worse, if that’s even a thing.”
“It turns out there is,” I groaned. “Demons.”
“Demons?” the angelic Archon repeated back in a mocking tone. “Yeah, sure, master. Good one.”
“I’m not joking.” I shook my head at her, and after a moment, Phi’s playful smile faded.
“Demons,” she confirmed again slowly. “How… how is that even possible? And how did you reach that conclusion in the first place, master?”
“We found a book down in the dungeon,” I explained to her. “It was apparently written by an Archon of the past, and it turns out it had some of the answers we were looking for.”
“An Archon of the past?” Phi questioned, and her eyebrows drew together. “Which was it? The one who foretold the Beastmaker prophecy?”
“No.” I shook my head at the Archon. “From what I’ve gathered, she’s even older than the one who made the prophecy. She called herself Fillona, the sixth Archon. Does the name sound familiar to you?”
“Fillona,” Miralea said aloud, and the jaguar goddess tapped her long, pointed nail against her bottom lip. “I don’t think I’ve heard the name before.”
“Nor have I,” Utuni chimed in, and she ran a hand through her short raven hair as she considered everything. “But you claim she penned this book?”
“I don’t claim, I know,” I said, and I reached into my pack, procured the book, and held it out to the serpent Archon. “Take a look for yourself. From what I gathered in the small paragraphs about herself, she alluded to being able to see visions of sorts, and she also mentions she’d acquired evidence, materials, and memories to support her findings.”
“Fascinating,” the goddess murmured, and she accepted the tome with an expression of pure curiosity.
Phi and Miralea moved in closer to peer over her shoulder and see the words for themselves, but the trio of goddesses’ curiosity soon turned to confusion.
“How can you read this?” Phi wondered as her head tilted to the right and her eyes narrowed, and I suddenly remembered the book’s glyphs.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “I forgot there’s some sort of magic that keeps the book from being legible--”
“I made out the name Fillona, so I know you’re right about that,” Utuni interjected. “I also managed to make out a small section, but I’m not sure I read it correctly. Master, what is it the Archon described in this volume?”
“To make a long story short, the entity on top of the moon is a demon, not a monster, and it’s trying to return the realms back to the way they were before the separation happened, only on a much worse scale,” I summarized quickly. “It intends to suck the life out of the human realm first so the Shadowscape can bleed over permanently”
“Fuck,” Utuni cursed as her ruby eyes flashed. “I thought that vile thing was just an overgrown monster, but it’s actually a demon?”
“A demon has been the one watching us this whole time?” Miralea asked in a small voice, and she hugged her arms around herself.
“Yes.” I nodded. “We can discuss more later, but we need to get back to Mistral straight away. We have to get the book to the rest of my team.”
“Let’s not waste any time, then,” Xan announced. “The longer we wait, the more time passes by in that dimension, and something tells me the demon hasn’t ceased its attacks in our absence.”
“Exactly.” I nodded, and then I turned my attention to Carth. “Carth, is there anything else here that would be of use to us? Anything you need to grab or need us to take?”
The horned Archon considered the idea for a moment and then shook her head. “There are a few items I’d like to be reunited with, but then again, I can’t take them with me when you recall me to your mind, so they don’t matter. They’re just sentimental items, anyway.”
“Are you sure?” I urged her.
“It’s alright.” The green-skinned goddess shrugged. “Truly. The material possessions don’t matter as much as the book in your travel bag.”
I studied Carth’s face to make sure she wasn’t putting on a front, but her lovely features remained as stoic as ever. I knew how hard it was for her to have to abandon her home once again, so I made a vow to come back and grab her things for her once we got past all of this. She might not be able to take them into my mind, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy them when I summoned her into the physical world.
After I gave the horned Archon a small smile, I turned my attention over to Sera. “Sera, can you go ahead and open up a portal for us, then?”
“Your wish is my command, Gryff,” Sera purred. “Where would you prefer for us to end up at? Your mansion?”
“I think I’d like to check out the space outside of Varle first,” I decided after a moment or two of deliberation. “Part of me wants to head straight to the Enclave, but something in my gut is telling me to look around outside of the city first.”
“If that’s what you feel is right, we can do it,” the dark-haired Archon agreed, and then she waved her hand in the air.
A shimmering outline appeared as the portal began to form, and my heart started to race in my chest. This was it. Though we hadn’t been in the Shadowscape for too long, I was more than ready to get back to protecting my friends, my family, and my home.
“Wait,” Utuni spoke up before I stepped through the portal. “Master, we cannot cross through it, at least not all of us.”
“Why not?” I took a few steps back and glanced over at the snake goddess.
“The moonlight,” she reminded me with a sad glint in her red eyes. “Sera is the only one able to walk in it because her womb is full with your child.”
“She’s right,” Hunnah agreed with her. “You’ll probably need to recall us before you cross into the human realm.”
“I didn’t even think about that,” I realized. “Thanks for the reminder, Utuni.”
“Of course.” The snake goddess nodded at me.
“You know, if you impregnated all of us, master, this wouldn’t be an issue,” Phi pointed out, and then she bit down on her lower lip sexily. “In fact, we could even start the process right now.”
“As tempting as that sounds, I think it’s a conversation we’ll have to reserve for a later time.” I smirked, and the angelic Archon let out a sigh.
“One day we’ll have to finally make that talk happen,” she groaned. “You keep putting it off, master, and all we want is to please you and bear your powerful offspring.”
“I promise we’ll talk about it,” I said. “But it’s going to happen at a time when we aren’t about to battle against an ancient demon.”
“Fine,” the white-winged Archon sighed, and she crossed her arms against her chest. “Just know I won’t be letting this go. We will speak about this.”
“I know,” I assured her, and then I peered around at the other monster goddesses. “I’ll call on you again when I can. Until then, hang tight.”
“It’s not like we have another choice,” Carth snorted. “But we’ll wait by anyway. Good luck to you, Gryff.”
“Yes, good luck, Gryff,” Xan chimed in. “If something seems amiss, don’t hesitate to tell us. We may not be able to manifest, but our magic is yours. Utilize it in whatever way you need to.”
“Will do.” I nodded, and then I closed my eyes and concentrated on recalling the goddesses to my consciousness. My entire body began to tingle as I imagined them returning to my mind, and soon, the crowd of beautiful Archons around me dissolved into essence and then returned to their marks on my body.
It was then I realized I’d yet to really examine the leg tattoos I’d received after claiming Hunnah and Quilla, and I made a note to check them out the moment I had time to take a bath. With how much had happened in such a short period of time, I hadn’t thought to worry about the marks.
As her sisters faded away, I noticed Sera’s proud smirk, but I chose to not acknowledge it. I knew my dark-winged lover secretly enjoyed having a perk the other Archons didn’t.
“Shall we?” she prompted me, and she gestured toward the portal.
“Let’s go.” I nodded. I took a deep breath, relaxed my stance, and placed a hand on my bandolier. I didn’t know what horrors awaited me on the other side, but I was ready to face them down and save my home.
Sera offered me a reassuring smile, and with adrenaline coursing through my veins, I stepped through the portal.
The smell of smoke and brimstone filled my nostrils the moment I entered the human realm, and the stench erased any hope I’d had that the problem had faded away in our absence.
“Gross.” I winced, and then I peered up at the sky. To my dismay, its already vibrant scarlet hue was even more shocking than before, and the sight of it made my stomach twist itself into intricate knots.
I stared up at the writhing mass atop the moon and narrowed my eyes in irritation. In the time we’d been gone, the tentacles’ reach had grown even further, and they extended across the blood-red sky like inky strands stretched along a loom.
Fucking demon.
I was ready to put my hands around those inky tentacles and squeeze as hard as possible. Perhaps I’d unleash my kalgori on it and let my summons’ impressively deadly razored wings do all of the work. Regardless, I was over all of this and ready to put this monstrosity out however I could.
But before that, I needed to get back to my team and to my family.
I forced myself to lower my gaze, and for a moment, I was almost certain we hadn’t left the Shadowscape at all. I’d never witnessed such ruin in our realm, not on this scale.
The sprawling hills and fields outside the Enclave had darkened from their normal, vibrant emerald to a deep, ashen gray, and each individual blade of grass twisted in different directions. The tall, ancient trees that once loomed over the field were now kilted over and deflated, and some of the trunks and branches had caved in on themselves while others snapped off completely and littered the dead grass. Lakes and streams that had once been filled with crystalline water were now either dried up or filled with a dark, murky sludge.
It was as if everything was being completely drained of life. Even the air around us was just as cold as the castle’s dungeon had been, and an involuntary shiver rippled down my spine.
It was hard to believe this was the human realm and not the Shadowscape.
I hugged my arms around myself. My jacket was well insulated, but it didn’t do anything to stave away the chill.
This was even worse than I’d expected it to be. I had no idea how long I’d been away, but if the landscape was any indication, it’d been longer than I’d meant for it to be. I’d been crazy to think Varle had been a hellscape before.
This was hell, I was sure of it.
“Fuck,” I groaned as my head shook back and forth.
“I can’t believe how much has shifted in our absence,” Sera noted as the portal closed behind her. “Gryff, how long do you think we’ve--”
“I don’t want to think about that right now,” I stopped the Archon before she could go on any further.
“I-I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I know this can’t be easy for you to see.”
“No, I’m sorry for snapping at you,” I insisted. “I’m feeling a little on edge, and I didn’t mean to take it out on you. Now, let’s get out of here and head back toward Varle. I don’t think walking around out here is the best idea right now.”
“I’d have to agree,” Sera confirmed, and her nose crinkled up in disgust. “If I wanted the smell of brimstone to linger in my nostrils, I’d have stayed in the Shadowscape.”
“No kidding,” I agreed with her, and I took one last look around. I needed to get back to the Enclave as fast as possible. This detour had been necessary, but it was time to return to my women and children to make sure they were okay.
“Shall we?” Sera prompted me. There was a weariness in her yellow eyes and a frown on her full lips that I wanted to alleviate, but as long as the moon remained red, there was no hope of lifting the dark-winged Archon’s spirits.
“Yes,” I confirmed, and I reached out to take Sera’s hand in mine, only to be caught off guard by a ferocious growl. I recoiled and immediately brought my hand to my bandolier just as a monster suddenly slunk out from behind a patch of charred brush just beyond us.
The creature’s movements were fluid, as if it were moving through water rather than air, and its features were somewhere between reptilian and avian. Its long, smooth body was the same dark gray as the ground beneath it, and if it weren’t for a subtle silver shimmer on its scaled form, it would have been concealed completely by the burnt blades of grass. Its head was almost like that of a snake, only it ended with a sharp black beak, and tufts of feathers sprouted from the sides of its neck, along its spine, and from the tip of its winding tail. When it opened its mouth to hiss at us, I was surprised to see the beak concealed rows of long, jagged teeth.
