Summoner 16, page 3
The train station was a quaint, single-story wood thing that seemed too small for the large metal engine parked next to it. The engine was a huge metal contraption with pipes and gears everywhere, and at its center was a large glass orb that glowed and hummed with restrained energy. I couldn’t see through the light of it, but I knew a large essence crystal was suspended there and was used to power the train.
After my time in the Southern continent, the technology I’d grown accustomed to seemed foreign and complex, so I glanced at my shapeshifting wife to gauge her reaction.
Freya’s gold-flecked eyes were wide as she took in the train, and she flicked her gaze about the bustling street with avid curiosity. Despite her many bird-like demeanors, she looked more like a cat than a hawk as she craned her neck to take in all the sights.
“What is this monster?” the warrior princess asked as she jerked her chin toward the train.
“It’s like a snake that can carry people inside,” I explained with a teasing wink. “It goes really fast. We’ll be home before dark.”
“Thank the Maker,” Cyra breathed as her chocolate brown eyes danced. “I have missed the dining hall terribly.”
“Who is Dining Hall?” my wife asked in Mistral with an expression of utter confusion.
“Not a who,” I laughed. “It’s where we eat.”
“I also wish to see where I must prepare your food,” the hawk woman decided with a curt nod. “I hope they have plenty of shellfish. It is good for your sperm.”
“There’s a staff of people who cook the food,” I chuckled. “You won’t have to do any cooking at the Academy, and they have shellfish all the time.”
“I’m going to buy us tickets,” Arwyn decided, and she headed toward the small window in a brick wall at the center of the train station. The healer returned a moment later and distributed the small pieces of paper amongst our group, then she pointed to one of the empty cars behind a parked train nearby. “Let’s claim that one.”
Freya eyed her ticket curiously, and she lifted it as though she was about to put it into her mouth, but I stopped her just in time.
“Come on,” I said as I gestured toward the empty train car Arwyn had indicated.
My team climbed into the train car and went into one of the individual cabins inside the carriage before we settled into our seats. There was just enough room for everyone to sit comfortably without stretching out, but the ride would only take a couple of hours, so we tolerated it.
Mur took up a lot of space, but I empathized with the hulking moose kid since he couldn’t help being stuck in his animal form, so I let him be.
I winked across the cabin at Arwyn as the train whistle blared. We’d met under very similar circumstances during my first trip to the Academy. She’d caught my eye instantly in her billowy white silk robes with the red trim, and even at the time with my limited knowledge of the mage classes, I knew the colors marked the professor as an adept.
The whistle blared again as the train lurched forward suddenly, and we all heaved against each other as the cabin jerked. I was thrown into Freya’s side, and Nia’s perfectly shaped breasts pressed up against my other side, so overall I didn’t mind the motion.
I remembered Arwyn explaining to me how trains had a rough start, but the ride would get smoother once it reached full speed.
“Hey, Arwyn,” I said as my memories of that day flashed through my mind, “does Sleet know we’re back in Mistral yet?”
“He should be receiving the news any moment,” the professor replied over the noise of the train. Then she smoothed down the lines of her blouse and glanced eagerly out the window at the countryside zooming past. “I had Danny wire ahead when we landed the airship in Carvuule.”
“I hope someone is waiting for us at the station,” Mati said in a tired voice. “I’d hate to have to walk up the hill to the Academy.”
“I’m sure we will be greeted with a carriage,” Arwyn assured the young woman with a patient expression. “Given the secrecy of our mission, I wouldn’t expect a large welcome party, but I’m sure Sleet will send someone to fetch us right away.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up, and the excitement among the group was palpable. Even though the majority of our team had only been away from home for a few weeks, Varleth and I weren’t the only ones ready to be back in Varle Enclave.
Conversation floated across the cabin, but with the exhilaration of our return, no one was too invested in talking, and after a short while, silence fell among my team. We stared idly out the window, or rifled through travel packs for a last-minute snack, and Varleth leaned his head back against his chair before he started to snore softly.
My thoughts wandered aimlessly over the road I’d traveled so far, and my homecoming was morphed by the experiences I’d lived through since I’d left so many months ago.
Human sacrifices, mind-controlled zealots, hurricanes, and shapeshifters. I’d led more than one army, subdued three goddesses and captured a fourth, and it felt like I’d lived an entire lifetime since I’d seen the Xanyarstone walls of Varle Enclave.
Almost as though my memories manifested before my eyes, the massive orange walls came into view through the window, and I inhaled sharply as I realized we’d made it.
Then the setting sun glinted off the bright walls, and brilliant prisms of light reflected across the enclave. There was only one building that peeked out over the walls, and that was a towering fortress of huge pointy-gabled towers. The snow-white marble walls glowed with the golden radiance of the sunset, and my heart swelled in my chest.
The Academy.
A few moments later, the train slowed as it approached the massive walls, and the cabin we sat in was shrouded in darkness as we entered the tunnel. Freya let out a small gasp as we broke out of the tunnel back into the light, and the enclave zipped past through the window. The loud mechanical screeching sound accompanying the decreased speed indicated the train was coming to a stop, and my heartbeat quickened.
As the train slowed to a halt and the announcer’s voice echoed through a speaker that we’d arrived in Varle, my friends and I stood and dipped out of the train car onto the station platform.
Then I took a deep, grateful breath as I scanned the train station, but the air caught in my throat as I came face to face with Maelor.
Chapter Two
Maelor Corroso stood less than ten feet away from me, and the old man wrung his hands anxiously as he scanned the arriving people stepping off the train. He had a mostly gray beard that hung long across his chest, and he wore shiny new black overalls. His bald head was shining with some kind of oil, but he had more age spots than I remembered. The long scar that ran from his forehead to his neck on the left side of his face was such a part of him, though, I couldn’t imagine him without it.
“Hey, old man!” I called out in a cheerful voice, and I waved at my father figure.
Maelor’s eyes widened, and the blood left his face in a rush. Then his mouth dropped open, but he just stared wordlessly as I crossed the distance between us.
“G-Gryff?” Maelor blinked in shock and shook his head as though he was dispelling a demon. “I must’ve hit the bottle too hard last night, I’m seeing dead men walkin’ the streets of Varle.”
“You’re not seeing ghosts,” I laughed. “It’s me, Maelor.”
Tears welled up into the old man’s eyes as he looked into mine. The pain and grief evident on his face felt like a punch in the gut, and I opened my arms in the universal gesture for a hug. Maelor moved into my embrace and squeezed me tightly, but a moment later, he pushed away and held me at arm’s length while he scrutinized me with a suspicious eye.
“How can this be?” He stroked his beard and cleared his throat, obviously trying to regain his manly composure.
“It’s a long story,” I chuckled past the lump in my throat.
Suddenly, Cyra launched herself across the distance between her and us, and she captured Maelor into a tight embrace.
“Oh, you stinky old man,” the dark-skinned summoner gushed, “I’ve missed you!”
“Cyra!” Maelor laughed from beneath the nest of the summoner’s brown curls covering his face. “Goat balls, don’t scare an old man like that.”
My lover squeezed my adopted father tightly, and then she released him with a white toothed grin. “You haven’t changed a bit, Maelor. Would it kill you to shower every couple of weeks?”
“I shower, you ungrateful nit,” Maelor countered, and he smacked the dark-skinned summoner on the back of the head. “If you don’t like the smell, keep yer nose to yourself.”
Cyra tossed back her head and released a full bellied laugh. Her friendship with my father figure warmed my heart, and when I’d been drafted into the Academy and had to relinquish my position as Maelor’s assistant, the summoner from the Kalgon’quin Enclave had filled my place.
“You smell fine,” Cyra reassured him in a playful voice, “but I know you get lazy sometimes, so I am here to encourage you toward hygiene.”
“Now yer speaking like an educated mage,” Maelor said with a proud gleam in his eyes despite his scolding tone. “Be careful who you jump on. I about had a heart attack, kid.”
“I was trying to minimize the chance of Gryff giving you a heart attack,” Cyra chuckled.
I understood the overwhelming feeling because I’d been haunted by the idea of Maelor thinking I was dead. Months had passed since I’d been separated from my team, and I was unable to send a letter back home.
Just then, Arwyn stepped up to my side and greeted Maelor with a sweet smile. “Good to see you, Mister Corroso. I assume Sleet sent you for us?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Maelor said with a small bow of his head, but a flush crept up his chubby neck. “You are to return to his office with me immediately. Oh, and it’s nice to see you, too.”
My eyebrows raised unbidden. I’d forgotten my adopted father had started working for the headmaster after Petyr, Sleet’s previous assistant, had come to an untimely demise.
How would the headmaster react to my sudden arrival?
I supposed there was only one way to find out.
Maelor eyed me suspiciously, and I noticed him scan the tattoo on my neck, so I scratched it self-consciously.
I needed to find a mirror soon and see what my newest skin decoration looked like. The girls had described it as a bite mark, but I wanted to see it for myself.
“You look different,” my adopted father grumbled. “What the hell happened to you, kid?”
“Like I said, it’s a long story.” I grinned. “It would probably take a whole night and a keg of ale to catch you up to the whole thing.”
“I think I can pencil you into my schedule.” The mischievous gleam in Maelor’s eyes made my heart soar. “We should hurry back to the horse carts before the crowd blocks us in.”
“Horse carts?” Nia sniffed as the rest of my team and my wife gathered around where Arwyn, Cyra, and I stood with Maelor.
Mur stepped closer with obvious hesitancy, and his eyes flicked nervously between Arwyn and me.
“Whatever you fancy folk want to call ‘em don’t make no difference to me,” Maelor retorted, and he huffed. “Carts, carriages, buggy, name don’t make it a different thing. Mister Sleet won’t appreciate being kept waiting, though, so you young folk should follow me.”
Without any further ado, the old man turned and led us away from the bustling train platform toward the lift. We crossed the cobblestone square at a quick pace set by Maelor, and a moment later, we were all crowded into the small metal box.
Freya gave me an apprehensive look as she squeezed up against my chest. “You’re sure this isn’t a trap?”
“Just hold onto me,” I instructed with a wink.
The warrior princess was about to experience her first gut wrenching drop, but then again, as a hawk woman she was probably accustomed to sharp changes in altitude.
My wife gasped as the lift dropped, and a couple other yelps sounded throughout the cramped space, but I’d been ready for the sudden descent, so I managed to grit my teeth and push through the uncomfortable sensation. I gave Freya a sympathetic smile as her gold-flecked eyes widened, and her lips pressed together into a thin line.
Then the lift shuddered to a stop, and the doors slid open to reveal another market square platform of the multilevel train station. The higher levels were reserved for government and military travel, but as members of the Monster Response Squad, we were included in that category. On every level, but especially on this one where the general travel throughout the enclave transitioned between trains, vendors hocked their goods, and the sweet perfume of baked desserts wafted across the cobblestones, but beneath the pleasant odors was the pervasive stench of stale piss and rot. The smell of the slums was almost enjoyable since it was another sign of being home, though, and I inhaled gratefully.
Maelor took off at a quick pace once more, and he led our group across the cobblestoned square to where a line of horse carriages stood waiting.
“This is your village?” Freya breathed as she looked around. Her head swiveled between all the stimulating sights, and she hadn’t lost her expression of shock from the lift.
“This is just the train station,” I informed her in the language of the clans. “Wait until you see the Academy.”
“What’s that yer mumbling?” Maelor asked with a look of consternation, and he flicked a questioning glance at Freya as he came to a halt a few feet away from one of the white carriages.
My shapeshifting wife eyed the old man curiously as she tilted her head to the side. “This is your father, Gryff?”
“Freya thought the train station was the whole village,” I explained with a wry grin. “I said the Academy is better.”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Cyra agreed. “I was hesitant to come to such a big enclave at first, but now I feel like Varle is my home.”
“Me, too,” I replied. Then I returned to my shapeshifting wife as I switched back into her language. “Freya, this is Maelor, my adopted father.”
“The blonde woman doesn’t speak Mistral?” Maelor asked skeptically when he heard me say his name. “Where’s she from, then?”
“It is much good to meet you,” Freya said in halting Mistral as she gave Maelor a small bow. To the outside eye, the gesture could appear small, but the deep respect she gave my father figure was obvious to me. “I hope to give you a lot of great children.”
Maelor’s eyebrows shot up, and he took a tiny step backward. “I-I… Gryff, did she just say what I think she said?”
“No, no,” I laughed. “She’s learning Mistral, but we still need to practice. What she means is ‘it’s great to meet you and I hope to give you many grandkids,’ so get your head out of the gutter.”
“Grandkids?” Maelor huffed and narrowed his eyes. Then understanding dawned on his face as he looked from my wife’s face to mine. “Yer having a baby?”
“Oh, this is amazing,” Varleth commented dryly, but his eyes showed his amusement. “Gryff is the gift that keeps on giving.”
“I hate to break up the reunion,” Arwyn interjected with an apologetic smile, “but can we speak in the carriage on the way to Sleet’s office?”
“Sure can,” Maelor replied. “I get the feeling I’m gonna need something strong to drink, so might as well get you folks where you need to go first.”
I let out a relieved sigh. We had plenty of time to dig into the topics of babies and marriage later. I was home at last, this was all that mattered.
Mur let out a complaining bellow as he glanced around at the people crowding the square and pulled me out of my thoughts.
Maelor and Arwyn were right. I needed to talk to Sleet.
“How are we supposed to get the moose kid up the hill to the Academy?” I asked as I jerked my chin in Mur’s direction. “Should I just tell him to follow the horses?”
“I don’t see any other options,” Arwyn noted as her amber eyes took in the dimensions of the horse carriage. “He won’t fit inside with us.”
“Why don’t ya put yer monster back in its crystal?” Maelor asked with a confused look. “No point in spending so much time fretting about it. You won’t need yer summons anymore.”
“He’s not one of my monsters,” I explained. “He’s a young man trapped like that, and we want to help him, if we can.”
“Seriously?” Maelor cocked a bushy eyebrow.
“Seriously.” I nodded.
“Well, the miss is right,” my father figure observed as he shook his head. “Yer big friend won’t fit inside the carriage. I know you hate to be rude, but he’ll have to walk with the horses.”
“At least he isn’t a monster,” Cyra chirped.
“Right?” I said slowly, but I frowned in confusion.
“He won’t upset the horses,” Braden offered with a shrug.
“Exactly.” Cyra smiled wide. “So, who has to tell him to walk? I vote Varleth.”
“Hey!” Varleth retorted in an offended tone. “I don’t even know the kid. I volunteer my skilled tank, Gryff.”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal. We’ll get him a nice stall in the stables and some good hay. He’ll be fine.” Then I turned to the anxious moose kid and switched into the clan language. “Hey, Mur, I’ve got good news and bad news.”
“Good news first,” Mur moaned, “no, wait, bad news. Oh, goddess, what’s the bad news?”
“Calm down,” I sighed, and I awkwardly patted the side of his muscular, furry neck in an attempt to comfort him. “The bad news is you have to walk with the horses since you’re too big to ride in the carriage.”
“We’ve traveled far,” Mur replied, and he shook his head with an optimistic air. “I can walk a little further. Okay, what’s the good news?”
His childlike enthusiasm amused me, and a laugh bubbled up from my throat. “Alright, alright, the good news is we are almost there.”
“Oh.” Mur stopped moving and hung his head low. “Okay. That’s good news.”
I shook my head as I pointed toward the horses attached to the large white carriage. “Just follow them up to the Academy. We’ll get you a place to sleep and call your own before the end of the day.”
