Summoner 18, page 32
“Is it their size that makes them so impenetrable?” Arwyn wondered. “Or some kind of enchantment that makes them more resilient?”
“Now, that’s a question I can actually answer,” Xanrith said with a smile. “Luckily for us, and unfortunately for her, Carth’s monsters won’t have the same advantages they had last time. You see… they were only so resilient because of my magical interference.”
“Your healing magic,” I realized as I remembered the goddess reviving me after the maripor attack.
“It’s more than just healing,” Xanrith revealed. “My magic goes far beyond stitching up skin or mending broken bones.”
“Meaning?” I asked.
“My gift is resurrection.”
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
“Resurrection,” I repeated back to the Archon as a grin spread across my face. “As in bringing things back from the dead?”
Xanrith nodded, and I nearly shot up out of my seat.
“Whoa,” Cyra breathed. “That’s seriously intense.”
“That is powerful magic,” Freya spoke up for the first time, and her golden-flecked eyes glanced at Xan warily. “I have never heard of someone bringing something back to life.”
“That definitely lends a serious advantage,” Arwyn chimed in as her amber eyes widened at the winged goddess.
“So, that’s how Carth’s monsters kept fighting even with everything we happened to throw at them.” Nia shook her head. “That’s insane.”
“I understand now why Carth was so intent on keeping you within her ranks,” I said. “Not to say there aren’t other reasons, of course.”
“I know,” Xan replied. “It may not have been the sole reason, but it was a large factor. I wanted to tell you about my gift after the maripor attack, but back then, we were on opposing sides, and I didn’t want you to be aware of my gift in case you chose not to join us.”
“I completely understand,” I said. “I wouldn’t have told me, either. But now that you’re on our side--”
“I am more than happy to share my gift with your army,” Xanrith finished for me, and I shook my head in disbelief.
Resurrection. While I hoped it was magic that didn’t have to be utilized, having an Archon with a power like that on our side was nothing but advantageous.
“This is not how I was expecting this conversation to go,” I admitted.
“Listen, while I completely agree this is a wonderful development, we can’t just rely on Xan’s magic to win us this battle,” Arwyn reminded us gently. “Carth’s herd is still quite large, and while Xan is powerful, she can only be in one place at once.”
“Xan, can you give us an estimate of how many monsters Carth has under her control?” I asked, and the violet-eyed goddess gave it a moment of consideration.
“If I had to guess, I would estimate about twenty or so,” she noted. “While I managed to bring a good number of them back from the edge of death, not all survived the battle of Varle.”
“Do you think she’ll return to the same spot?” Nia addressed Xan, and she tucked a stray lock of silvery hair behind her ear. “It seems unlikely she would strike the same location twice, but then again, that might be her very strategy.”
“I know after the first battle, Carth mentioned she wanted nothing more than to see Varle leveled to dust,” Xan explained. “However, Carth tends to fixate on revenge when she’s been wronged, so that could have easily just been talk.”
“How do we prepare for an attack when we don’t know where the enemy’s going to strike?” Cyra sighed.
“We’ll have to get word to the other Enclaves,” Sleet spoke up for the first time in a while. “Mistral’s entire military force needs to prepare themselves regardless of Carth coming to retrieve the book.”
“She’ll likely come to Varle first,” I mentioned. “Jace said--”
“Wait, Jace was there?” Nia asked in a surprised tone.
Shit. I’d left Jace out of the initial discussion since I wanted to talk about the Archon problem first, but I knew I now had to come clean about my supposed aunt.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “She showed up at the bookstore Sera stashed the book in.”
“What did she want?” Arwyn wondered with a tilt of her head.
“She always seems to be stirring something up, so whatever it is, it probably isn’t good,” Cyra muttered.
“It’s kind of a long story,” I sighed, and I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. “But she wanted to take the book back to the Shadowscape and hide it away.”
“Why would she want to do that?” Arwyn frowned.
“Who’s side is this Jace on, anyway?” Freya chimed in with narrowed eyes.
“She has yet to reveal that,” Ashla replied, and there was a bitter edge to the ice mage’s voice.
Suddenly, Nia’s piercing blue eyes fixed on me and sent a chill down my spine. “Gryff, what aren’t you telling us?”
I took a long, deep breath. Nia Kenefick could always read me like a book, no matter how hard I tried to remain composed. My wife knew me all too well, and I couldn’t keep the secret from them any longer.
“Jace… isn’t actually named Jace,” I admitted after I took a long, deep breath. “Her name is Crystyn Porter.
“Crystyn… Porter,” Arwyn repeated with widened eyes. “The Guardian, Crystyn Porter?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “And not only is she a Guardian, but she’s also… my aunt.”
The room exploded after that revelation, and soon different phrases traveled past my ears:
“Your aunt?”
“How is that even possible?”
“Wait, if your aunt was a Guardian…?”
“I know, I know,” I interrupted as I held up my hands, and the room fell silent. “It’s a lot to really explain. But she told me she’s my father’s twin sister, and therefore my aunt. But more importantly, she warned me Carth was incredibly angry I stole the book from the Shadowscape, and even more angry that Xan left her alliance. So, to answer the question of where Carth would stop first… it would have to be Varle.”
“So, we must prepare for a strike on the Enclave,” the headmaster determined, and I was grateful for the shift in focus. “Miss Kenefick, I’m going to send word to your father and catch him up on all of this. As Grand Mage, he should be aware of another impending attack.”
“I agree,” Nia nodded, and I could tell from the look on her face that she was wary.
Not that I could blame her. The last fight up against Carth had been particularly gnarly, and it’d taken the combined elemental magics of the Keneficks and Headmaster Sleet to keep up with the herd.
“And what about Crystyn?” Arwyn asked me, and the redheaded healer’s face was wrought with concern. “Is she someone to worry ourselves with?”
“I have yet to determine that,” I admitted. “She claims to be fighting for Mistral, but I don’t know if she has our best interests in mind, or if she just wants to take down the Archons. It’s too soon to say.”
“We shall have to look into the situation,” Sleet advised. “The lives and affairs of the Guardians fall under the responsibility of the research team. Once this battle has passed, so long as it’s as short-term as I hope it will be, we shall return to the subject and try to get more information about Crystyn Porter. If she is still alive, there’s a chance the other Guardians are as well, and we shall need to figure out how they’re still around after all of this time.”
“Crystyn said she was the only remaining Guardian, but I’m not entirely sure how much I believe that,” I remarked. “She’s lied to me before, so I can’t speak to her morality.”
“That’s a fair assessment.” The headmaster nodded along. “Hopefully, the woman can prove herself to be an asset. We have little to no information about the battle between the Guardians and the Archons, and it would be wonderful to fill in the blank pages of our history books. But I digress.”
“We’ll start conducting research soon,” Arwyn agreed. “Until then, we need to ready ourselves for Carth’s arrival.”
“I agree with you entirely, Miss Hamner,” Sleet said, and then he turned his attention to the rest of the group. “I would suggest you all prepare yourselves however you can. We cannot know how or when Carth will strike, but from this moment on, we must assume she could arrive at any second. We must remain on high alert until she does.”
Everyone’s expressions became utterly serious after the headmaster’s remark, and one by one, we all rose from the table.
“Mister Gryff, we shall meet again tomorrow,” Sleet addressed me. “Should the timing be right, hopefully, we will be joined by the Grand Mage. We shall need to devise a strategy to keep the Enclaves, specifically Varle, protected.”
“Yes, sir.” I nodded.
The headmaster gave us a quick nod and saw himself out, which left me, my women, and Xan alone in the room.
“So, your aunt is a Guardian?” Cyra brought the subject up again, and the curly-haired mage’s expression was equal parts confused and concerned. “How is that possible, Gryff?”
Suddenly, I sensed a tingling sensation on my ribcage, and Xanrith dissolved into a stream of azure smoke. As the Archon’s tattoo settled, I felt the goddess return to my mind, but before she tucked herself back inside, she explained the sudden exit.
This seems like a moment you should share with your family, she soothed, and once her voice faded away, I turned to Cyra.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” I admitted to the dark-skinned summoner, and I could feel the eyes of all of my women upon me as they waited to hear more. “And on the subject of honesty, you all should know my parents were Guardians as well.”
“Oh, wow,” Nia breathed as she covered her mouth with a dainty hand.
“Gryff, that’s… I can’t even imagine how that feels.” Cyra shook her head.
Freya crossed over to my side, and once she reached me, she grabbed onto my hand.
“No matter who your parents were, you are still the same man,” the hawk princess said softly. “You are still our Gryff, and your parentage will not change that fact. You are a powerful mage and a wonderful husband to us. Do not feel that you are alone.”
“She’s right,” Nia agreed as she stepped over and took my other hand. “We love you, Gryff. I could see the pain in your eyes as you told us. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to say. But we all love you dearly, no matter where or when you’re from.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, and before I could say another word, my women surrounded me and wrapped me in their loving arms.
While it was entirely nerve-wracking to finally reveal that information to all of my lovers, it was as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders. I’d held on to those secrets for a while now, and it felt nice to unburden myself.
One day, I would have to sort through what it meant to be the child of Guardians, but for now, all I needed was the love and support of my family.
The very next day, we all awoke at dawn, and the house was lively with activity. We fed our children as usual and tried to go through their normal morning routines, but as we gave them bottles and rocked them, Milo kept staring at me with a look that seemed too intelligent for a newborn baby. It was almost like my son could sense something was amiss, and he frowned at me every so often as if to say, ‘Dad, is everything okay’?
“Everything’s going to be just fine,” I assured my son as I kissed his soft curls. I cuddled him close to me and enjoyed the clean smell of his peach-soft skin.
Milo wrapped his tiny fist around a lock of my hair, but I ignored the slight pain as he tugged. He let out tiny coos of amusement, and I didn’t have the heart to interrupt his fun.
Once Milo got bored with me, I enjoyed individual snuggle sessions with the rest of my children. Lahrra in particular seemed more interested in me than usual, and her unusual gold eyes were like pure honey as they glittered in the morning sun.
“You’re such a beautiful little girl,” I murmured with pride, and my daughter let out a contented sigh. “So strong already. You’re going to make your mother and me so proud when you’re older, I just know it.”
“Are you giving her a cheering up?” Freya giggled as she sat beside me, and Lahrra gave the hawk princess a tiny laugh of her own.
“More like she’s giving me a cheering up,” I laughed. “She’s quite motivational.”
“I am worried about this fight, husband,” Freya admitted to me softly, and the hawk princess rested her head against my shoulder. “I know we are all fierce warriors, but Carth is not to be underestimated. Your newest goddess is quite powerful, but I still do not trust her. The Archons make me feel uneasy.”
“I know,” I replied. “I don’t blame you at all. Sometimes, I’m not sure if I can trust them, either. But at the end of the day, they’ve never betrayed me, and Xanrith is different from the others. She seems to want to help the humans as much as she can.”
“That is quite kind of her,” Freya remarked.
“Definitely,” I agreed. “So, don’t worry. We have this under control.”
“I wish I could be there to join you in battle, but I worry for the safety of our daughter,” Freya admitted, and I was surprised to hear a shameful undertone to her voice. “I know she could easily be cared for, but selfishly, I am not quite ready to leave her side.”
“That isn’t selfish at all,” I contradicted her. “She’s our daughter, of course you feel protective of her. I don’t fault you at all for it, Freya, I swear. I’ll miss you out on the battlefield, but knowing I get to come home to you once the war is won… that’s what’s getting me through the day.”
“I love you, my mate,” Freya whispered as she snuggled up closer to me, and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.
“And I love you,” I whispered back.
We sat like that for a while, until I noticed the sun’s position in the sky. I’d decided it would be best for me to fly around the Enclave and the surrounding areas and keep an eye out for Carth and her herd, and I didn’t want to lose too much time.
So, I kissed Freya tenderly, and once my hawk wife and I drew apart, I ran back to my room, gathered up my pouches and bandolier, and then made my way to the front door.
My hand was on the door knob when I heard my name.
“Gryff?” Nia called out. “Where are you going?”
I turned to see my wife and twins behind me, and Nia’s piercing blue eyes were round with concern.
“I’m going to take one of my summons and try to scope out the area,” I explained. “I don’t know if Carth is going to pull a sneak attack or what, so the sooner I can get out there and be on watch, the better.”
“I don’t want you to go alone,” the ashen-haired elementalist pleaded. “If Carth ends up being out there, the last thing we need is for her to pull something sneaky while you’re on your own.”
“I’ll have Xanrith and the other Archons,” I insisted.
“Look, I trust Xan more than I did before,” Nia admitted. “She seems to have your best interests in mind. However, my heart would rest easier if you had another mage with you, one of us.”
“I’ll go,” a voice piped up, and I turned around to see Cyra had snuck up behind us.
“Cyra--” I tried, but she cut me off.
“I can fly alongside him with Kalon,” the other summoner proposed. “That way Gryff has another person to patrol with him, and if things get tricky, we can kick some ass.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea.” Nia nodded. “We’ll watch Milo while you’re gone. He’s pretty easily manageable.”
“Thank you, Nia.” Cyra smiled. “I know he’ll be in good hands. Hopefully, we don’t stumble across anything, though. I’d really like today to be as uneventful as possible.”
“Me, too,” Nia agreed. “Please be careful. Both of you.”
“We will,” I swore to my wife. “We’ll be back before you know it.”
Once we said our goodbyes to Nia and the twins, Cyra and I stepped out onto the front lawn to retrieve our summons.
I reached into my bandolier and summoned my pyrewyrm while Cyra summoned her familiar, a gray and pink dragon named Kalon. The creature was normally quite small and rested on the dark-skinned summoner’s shoulder, but under Cyra’s command, the dragon stretched out until it was fully-grown and then chirped happily as Cyra mounted her.
“Ready for this?” Cyra asked once I was perched atop my pyrewyrm.
“Definitely.” I nodded, and after my lover and I exchanged determined smiles, we took off into the clear morning sky.
Chapter Sixteen
Cyra and I soared above the Enclave on our summons and kept our eyes and ears peeled for anything even remotely suspicious. I wasn’t sure if Carth would bring her entire herd with her to Varle or if she would be solo, but either way, we had to be alert and ready to fight.
Don’t forget you have us as well, Sera reminded me. Trust me, all of us would revel in the opportunity to give Carth a proper strike-down.
“I don’t doubt that at all.” I smirked. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
I would love to wipe that cocky smirk off our dear sister’s face, Veopa chimed in. I felt poorly for her once, but now… she’s gone too far and must be defeated.
Well said, sister, Sera agreed. Together, we shall rip her apart.
While it was odd to hear the Archons agree with each other for once, at least they both concluded Carth needed to be dealt with. It was just nice to hear them get along, too, since my head usually felt like a battleground.
We expertly wove around the airships that hovered near the clouds, and as I peered down at the peaceful city below us, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of distress. Though I’d initially been resistant to come to Varle when Sleet had found me in Ralor’s Stead, the thought of the remaining Archons laying siege to the Enclave filled me with dread. I’d been raised in the Wilds for almost the entirety of my life, but Varle was my home now, and I’d be damned if Carth succeeded in destroying it.
