Summoner 21, page 34
“Water magic, and a lot of it,” I responded. “I think I know a way to cut off the monster’s senses.
“How?” the ashen-haired mage asked, and she craned her neck to get a visual on the ganndor.
“I want you to use your earth magic to build a trench as deep as possible and then fill it with as much water as you can,” I explained. “From there, I’ll need Ashla to ice it over.”
“You want to replace the earth beneath its feet with ice,” Nia summarized. “Do you think that will work? Would that be enough to cut off its senses?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot,” I said. “Try to find Ashla and Conor, and in the meantime, I’ll try to lure it out a little further. I don’t need this thing completely stomping out the new wall Almasy and the earth mages are trying to build.”
“Got it,” Nia confirmed, and as she flew away in the opposite direction, I watched the way her silvery-blonde braid bobbed in the wind.
“An ice pit?” Sera mused once we were alone. “It’s a little risky, master.”
“I live for risky.” I smirked.
It didn’t take long for Nia to track down Conor and Ashla, and the mages hustled out into the field as if they were part speed slug.
Nia and Conor got to work straight away, and I felt a swell of pride as I watched my ashen-haired wife raise her arms in the air. Nia was a prodigy when it came to elemental magic, and the sudden change in her irises and sclera indicated she was about to supercharge her magic. I’d seen this shift several times before, but it never failed to both impress and scare the hell out of me.
Once the whites of her eyes had been eclipsed entirely by darkness, the scorched ground in front of her began to quake, and I watched in amazement as a large stretch of it suddenly sunk down lower into a pit. It spanned out hundreds of feet, and I admired the skillful way Nia managed to swerve around the dead trees and other life.
When the earth pit was finalized, Nia and Conor held their arms in front of them, and suddenly, an enormous wave of water magic surged forth like a tsunami and completely soaked the field. The sunken stretch of earth Nia had created began to fill with the water, and soon, a large lake sat in the middle of the field.
Cyra seemed to understand the plan, and I watched her and Kalon fly in the opposite direction. Freya bumped into the monster to give it another chance to turn around, and soon, the ganndor started to move back toward the Enclave and right over to the trap.
The ganndor ran back toward the mages, and Nia managed to climb back onto the vingehund and pull Conor up behind her. The elementalist took off into the sky just as the cave-dwelling monster stepped into their man-made lake, and the moment its clawed feet stepped onto the surface, I watched Ashla snap into action.
“Ready for me?” she shouted, and after I gave the chocolate-skinned mage a nod, she clenched her fists and took off into a dead sprint toward the lake.
I watched with awe as the former mercenary used her magic to create a tall hill of ice, and then she leaped off from the ground and unleashed a powerful stream of ice magic right at the lake Nia and Conor had just created. An icy chill spread through the air, and a shiver ran down my spine as the lake began to freeze. In a matter of moments, the water turned into an impossibly thick layer of ice, and the ganndor began to freak out.
The cave-dweller let out a surprised grunt, and panic settled over its nightmarish features as it stumbled around. Its large body began to thrash erratically as if it’d been electrocuted, and its cavernous eyes darted around as it tried to find its footing. The thick layer of ice made the enormous monster slip and slide, and the ganndor then let out a roar of frustration.
“It can’t see,” Sera declared in a gleeful voice, and I couldn’t help but feel thrilled myself.
I hadn’t expected the plan to work out so well, but when I caught myself on the verge of celebration, I reined my joy back. There was a second, trickier part of this plan that required a lot of mana on my part, and I needed to stay focused.
But before I could execute that part of the plan, I needed to get everyone out of the field.
I commanded my mount to bring us back to the team of mages by the Enclave. To my delight, the earth mages had successfully erected a new wall, and it looked just as formidable as ever.
“Almasy!” I called to the earth mage. “I need you to create an earth fortress, lead everyone over to it, and enclose them as much as possible.”
“Can do.” Almasy nodded, and then his gray eyes narrowed slightly. “Gryff, I’m not sure I like that look on your face. What do you have planned?”
“Something risky,” I admitted. “But if it works out, it could get rid of this fucker for good.”
“Then do what you have to do.” The pilot flashed me his signature crooked grin. “I’ll gather everyone up and get them underground.”
“Thank you!” I nodded at the earth mage gratefully, and then I commanded the snapdarner to take us upward.
The ganndor continued to slip and slide on the ice, but I couldn’t bet on the monster staying put forever. The ice had merely been a means to blind the monster. Now, I needed to take it out.
“Gryff, what are you planning to do?” Sera interrogated me. “I’m not one to ever doubt your plans, but asking all of your mage friends to take cover gives me the feeling this isn’t going to be a simple maneuver.”
“It’s not,” I said. “But I need you to put your trust in me, Sera.”
“You have it,” the Archon sighed, and she didn’t press the subject any further.
The snapdarner landed just beyond the floor of ice, and I scanned the field around us. True to his word, Almasy was gathering every last mage together, even Cyra and Freya, which meant it was time for me to execute my plan.
“Sera, I need you to drop me off on the ground.”
“Gryff, what are… no.” Sera stiffened behind me. “No, I’m not going to do that.”
“Sera--”
“Gryff, whatever you’re doing, please don’t ask me to leave you,” the Archon pleaded. “I recognize the tone of your voice, and I know it means you’re going to execute some form of heroic act that would likely lead to death if you were a normal human man.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not,” I replied. “Sera, I don’t want to pull this card, but if you don’t follow my instructions, I’m going to have to turn it into a command.”
“I’ll obey willingly,” Sera said. “But please, Gryff, for the sake of both you and our child, don’t do something too reckless. I… I can’t imagine losing you.”
“You won’t,” I assured her. “C’mon, where’s the badass Archon I know and love? Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft?”
“Never,” Sera snarled, and then she let out a sigh. “Fine, Gryff. I’ll do as you ask.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Now, once I’m on the ground, I want you to take the snapdarner and collect Ashla. Take her over to Almasy’s fortress and wait with the others there while I deal with the ganndor.”
“Okay,” the dark-winged Archon decided. “But it’s only because I love you so much.”
The ganndor spun on the ground, and it reached out one of its clawed hands and tried to feel around. Had it not been my enemy, I might have felt bad about the monster’s pitiful display, but I didn’t have time for empathy, not when the Enclave was at stake.
The snapdarner landed on the ground, and I practically leaped off its back the moment it touched the earth. The burnt grass crunched beneath my feet, and my head spun a bit as I caught my bearings.
Sera gave me a sad smile, and then she took off into the sky again. I was sad to send her off, but this was something I needed to do on my own, and I needed her to keep the others safe while I did it.
As the ganndor thrashed and roared around the ice, I reached into my bandolier and retrieved an essence crystal I hadn’t utilized since I’d captured it. The gem glittered like an enormous diamond in my hands, and I admired the many facets of it before I threw it far beyond me. The monster within would need all of the room it could get, and with how heavily I was relying on it, I didn’t want to deny it any matter of space.
Plumes of blue-black smoke rose in the air, and once it cleared, it revealed one of the most wickedly beautiful monsters I had in my arsenal. The creature was one of Carth’s that I’d defeated and then asked Xanrith to bring back from the dead with her resurrection magic.
The dragon had three large heads that moved in different directions as it tried to survey its surroundings, and the monster reflected light with every motion.
If this plan worked out the way it appeared in my head, the prisms of the dragon were just the advantage I needed.
“I need you to break apart,” I commanded the quartzriel in an authoritative voice. “Once you’re split, I need you to surround the ganndor and await my instructions.”
The quartzriel fixed its six eyes on me as it considered my directions, and for a moment, I worried my words alone wouldn’t sway the monster to do my bidding. The quartzriel was temperamental and hard-headed, and this was the first time I’d used it, so it wasn’t used to taking orders from anyone but Carth.
I reaffirmed my order with a wave of my will, and that was all the crystalline dragon needed to know I was serious. Suddenly, a splintering sound filled the air, and the left and right necks of my summons began to pull in opposite directions. Within moments, the pair of heads crashed to the ground, which left only the quartzriel head in the middle intact. The fallen heads thrashed and writhed on the ground, and then they both glowed with a light so brilliant I was nearly blinded.
When the light faded, three separate quartzriels loomed before me, each as impressive and diamond-like as the others. My dragon summons let out a chorus of harmonious growls, and the ganndor froze in place.
The cave-dweller’s ugly head whipped around in what appeared to be an attempt to locate its enemies, but without earth beneath its feet, it was unable to sense the quartzriels, just as I’d hoped.
“Now, unleash your crystal blast,” I instructed the trio of dragons, and my summons let out a chorus of harmonious roars.
The crystalline monsters wound their heads back as far as they could go, and they used the momentum to drive them forward. Beams of white light surged from their mouths, and pillars of crystal began to rise up from the scorched earth. The columns climbed higher and higher and spread outwards at a rapid pace until the individual stacks of crystal joined together to form a border around the ganndor.
“Whoa,” I breathed as the crystals continued to climb higher into the sky, and the ganndor let out a roar just as the sparkling rock formed a dome over its head.
The cave-dwelling monster was confined to a crystal cage. The ganndor thrashed around, but the thick walls of sparkling rocks were too hard for it to break free from. Once I was certain it wasn’t going anywhere, I reached through my bonds with the dragons and told them to step back.
This next part was going to be one of the most difficult acts of magic I’d ever attempted, and there was a seed of doubt in the back of my mind that told me this wasn’t a wise idea, but the ganndor had to go.
I peered out into the field to see if Almasy’s structure had been built, and once I spied the earthen hill, I knew it was time.
So, I reached into the bonds with my monsters until I came across the strongest being in my arsenal, a monster gifted to me by my adoptive father, Maelor Corroso the day I left Ralor’s Stead and followed Headmaster Sleet to the Academy. The Grade-A creature had been gifted to him by his father, but the old man never had a reason to summon it, so it’d remained nothing but a crystal until he’d passed it along to me.
I’d only summoned this monster two or three times because of the sheer power it held. As a Grade-A monster, it required an unbelievable amount of mana and concentration to control, and the few times I’d utilized it had been touchy at best.
However, when Sera had informed me the cave-dwelling ganndor was light-sensitive, it only made sense to use a monster that could harness the power of the sun.
If this worked correctly, the crystal cage the quartzriels had just erected would be enough to refract the sun’s energy and intensify it enough to obliterate the ganndor.
I placed my hand at the top of my bandolier where the ruby-red crystal resided and closed my eyes. Normally, I could just reach through my bonds with my summons, but I figured physically connecting with the sun giant’s gem could only improve my success rate.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the string that connected my summoning abilities to the magic of my monster, and I visualized the monster’s light abilities stemming through my veins. I imagined my blood turning golden and infusing with the sun giant’s energy, and the more detail I pumped into the image, the warmer my body grew.
Maker, was this actually working?
The heat began to spread through me and intensified to a point where I almost thought I was running a fever. A sheen of slick sweat broke out across my forehead, and I tried to wipe it away with the back of my arm, but the surface of my skin was so hot that it burned.
The sun giant’s magic scorched the palms of my hands, and the sheer intensity of the heat was almost enough to break my focus, but I was filled with enough adrenaline to keep me on track.
I approached the crystal dome and took the deepest breath I’d ever taken before, and even though the air was sulfurous, I relished the influx of the element through my lungs. Upon my exhale, I released the building magic, and a stream of pure sunlight surged from the palms of my hands.
“UUUaaaaaah!” I shouted, and my teeth gritted together as I struggled to keep my stance braced. The sun giant’s magic coursed through me like lightning, and while it was an addictive feeling to be able to harness this type of power, I couldn’t deny how painful it was. My entire body felt like it’d been set on fire, and I was worried that when I opened my eyes later, I’d be greeted by the sight of skin just as charred as the earth beneath me.
The agony was mixed with a strange pleasure, and my heart beat so furiously in my chest I was afraid it was going to explode.
Even with my eyes shut, I could see the overwhelming brightness of the sunlight beneath the crystal cage. The rainbow-colored light flashed like a lightning storm, and I tucked my head under my arm to give myself further coverage.
I could hear the ganndor’s cries of pain as the magic continued to surge through me, and I’d have given anything to be able to witness this attack for myself. The smell of burnt flesh invaded my senses, and the noxious smell was almost enough to break my focus, but I stayed strong.
Wetness began to bead on my upper lip, and when I touched it with my tongue, I recognized the metallic taste as blood. Nosebleeds were the first sign near mana depletion, which meant I wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer, so I took a breath and sent one last powerful wave of sunlight into the crystalline prison before I clenched my eyes as tightly as possible.
A final roar of pain from the ganndor rang out, and with it, a cry of anguish rose up from my chest. I dropped to my knees as my hands fell to my sides, and the sun giant’s energy finally drained out of my body.
Weakness overcame me, and a fierce ache traveled through my body like I’d never felt before. When I finally had the strength to open my eyes again, I was greeted by a truly intense sight.
The ganndor was nothing more than a giant pile of dust underneath the splintered crystal cage, which had shattered from the impact of the sun giant’s magic. The icy floor had melted away and evaporated, and the already scorched earth was even darker than before.
I’d done it. I’d harnessed the magic of a Grade-A monster and defeated our enemy.
I opened my mouth to utter a sound of victory, but before it could escape my lips, the world went dark once more.
Chapter Eighteen
“Gryff?”
I opened my eyes to bright light, and I blinked rapidly in an attempt to get my eyes to focus. I peered around at my surroundings as I tried to make sense of what had happened, but I was at a genuine loss.
“Gryff, can you hear me?” the feminine voice repeated.
“Nia?” I croaked, and I was surprised by how difficult it was to speak. My throat felt as if I’d swallowed a hearty amount of gravel and chased it with shards of glass.
Finally, my vision focused, and I caught sight of my beautiful ashen-haired wife peering down at me.
“I’m right here, my love,” Nia assured me, and when I looked down, I realized her fingers were tightly laced with mine.
“W-Where are we?” I wondered. I attempted to sit up, but my entire body cried out in protest. It was as if every bone and muscle had been dropped from the top of an enormous staircase, and I was surprised by the lack of casts on my limbs.
“We’re home,” Nia revealed. “In one of the unoccupied guest bedrooms. I wanted to take you to the infirmary at the Academy, but it’s currently filled with injured civilians, so we figured you’d get a more restful sleep at home.”
“Civilians?” I murmured, and then it all came flooding back to me.
The broken Enclave wall, the pale and fearsome ganndor, the crystal cage, and the sun giant’s energy flowing through my veins.
“Gryff, do you remember what happened?” the elementalist prompted me with a wary cast to her piercing blue eyes.
“I do.” I nodded slowly. “It feels a little surreal, though.”
“Gryff, what you did…” Nia trailed off as she shook her head back and forth. “We were underground in Almasy’s fortress, but that didn’t stop us from seeing a bright flash of light. What happened out there? When we emerged from the fortress, everything around us looked as if it’d been set on fire, and there were crystal shards everywhere.”
“It was a little reckless,” I admitted.
“I can see that from your physical state,” Nia scoffed. “Whatever magic you used really did a number on you. I’ve seen you pass out before, but this time… Gryff, I could’ve sworn you were dead… again.”
