Chapter 22: Interlude Six – Fun With Summoning

Sweat poured down Carrisyn’s face and soaked her robes as she intoned guttural, unnatural words from the book held in her shaking hands. Torches lit the five corners of the pentagram etched carefully on the rough stone floor of the summoning chamber. Streams of golden stone were visible in the flickering torchlight running through the walls. The air was heavy, as if anticipating what was to come.

The sweat burned as it ran into her eyes, but she knew if she stopped the summoning it would result in any of a thousand disasters with death being the least worrisome of them all. She had to admit she was not prepared for the physical and mental toll summoning a demon would take. Her muscles ached and quivered and her head pounded in time to her racing heart. The carefully drawn lines glowed faintly but the spell was not nearly powerful enough, yet.

                Sayuri’s faint purring snores could barely be heard over the sound of the words of the spell as it sought to tear open the divide between the physical world and the realm of the demons. She’d been up late into the night to prepare the room, so it was reasonable to assume she’d be asleep. Carrisyn envied her if she were honest. She’d been up late herself, verifying the information her contact had provided was accurate and drawing the summoning lines according to Eliana’s exacting specifications.

Although she wasn’t sure what time it was, Carrisyn figured it was well past noon. The half elf should be meeting with the Ri by now. Probably. Unless she was completely useless and had gotten lost or turned to dust by one of the myriad elven defenses. Both possibilities were very real, and the countess had to fight down a looming sense of panic. Having useless minions should have come as no surprise at this point after years of Sayuri’s absent-mindedness but the knowledge that everything she’d done for the past five years of her life in this world hinged on the scrawny half elf, regardless of her lineage, terrified her.

On one hand she’d won the lottery in a sense when she pulled someone so compatible from her own world and gotten exactly what she’d hoped for. On the other hand, however, this Minji person was unpredictable, lacking in social graces and possibly the most stupid smart person she’d ever met. Plainly the munchkin was intelligent, but her lack of common sense and self-control was stupefying. How the girl had managed to not fall into a storm drain or tumble down a flight of stairs to her demise was a mystery.

What if she managed to make it to the Ri and then insulted him in some way? Or as would most likely be the case, in every way one could insult someone. That seemed more likely than possible. In a very real way, she wished Minji was able to heal from everything. It would have eased her mind. Of course, she was not. Elven weapons would negate her ability to heal. This was both absolutely necessary and absolutely horrifying at the same time. Carrisyn could only hope the munchkin found some inner well of heretofore untapped deference. Yeah. Right. She had the emotional depth of a chihuahua with the temperament to match.

She was sure the offer to the Ri would be accepted. Access to the knowledge contained in the elven tomes housed in the Tower of the Moon as well as her own not insignificant holdings should entice the Ri to give up the keys. Dealing with the Ri, however, was never a sure thing. He was mercurial at the best of times. Vacillating between desire to hold on to the past and need to look to the future without the ability to do either made any interaction tricky. Still, having the books of the past and the money needed to secure their future should satisfy even his borderline bi-polar ambitions.

Carrisyn’s chanting grew in volume and intensity and the glow from the lines on the floor matched, the flames of the torch flickered in the still air as if buffeted by a brisk breeze and the light from the lines threw back even the darkness in the corners. The spell was very nearly complete. Carrisyn felt blood trickle from the corner of her lips as the magic tore through her insides. There would come a time in the not-too-distant future when she will call upon the magic and won’t have enough to pay the toll. But that day was not today. Wincing through the agony Carrisyn’s raw throat spat out the last of the words of the spell.

The torches on each point of the pentagram flared brilliant blue, the fire burning spots into the stone ceiling before a hurricane force wind ripped through the summoning chamber and extinguished the fires, bathing the room in impenetrable darkness. Carrisyn staggered, failed to keep her balance, and pitched forward onto her hands and knees. Her breath came in ragged gasps and her whole body was bathed in sweat and wracked with pain.

“Are you all right, lady mistress sir?” Sayuri asked, big eyes glinting faintly in the pitch black. “Do you need something to eat? Perhaps a finger cake or something?” Carrisyn shook her head, trying to catch her breath. Sayuri sighed in disappointment, her dreams of being useful while also getting finger cakes for herself dashed to pieces.

“Did it work?” Carrisyn croaked, coughing up the blood which had pooled in her throat.

“Did you bite your cheek?” Sayuri asked with some alarm. “I do that sometimes and it really hurts but that seems pretty bad, lady mistress sir. Maybe a finger cake will help.” It couldn’t hurt to try again, she figured.

“Did it work you brain dead feline?” Carrisyn snapped, trying and failing to climb to her feet on her own.

“I…” Sayuri glanced around in the dark for a long moment. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know what you were doing.”

“Why do I talk to you?” Carrisyn sighed, using Sayuri to get shakily to her feet.

“I have no idea!” Sayuri enthused brightly. Suddenly she paused, ears and nose twitching. Something else was in the room with them. Something unnatural. Sayuri felt the hair on the back of her neck prick and had to fight down the urge to hiss. She quickly stood in front of Carrisyn, arms spread wide to protect her.

“Why have you summoned me?” A feminine voice growled from the darkness. Carrisyn summoned what little magic she had left without rest and the torches burst into flame, throwing the huge woman in the center of the pentagram into sharp relief.

Standing well over two meters tall the woman’s blue skin rippled as she moved, the muscles clenching and unclenching as she shrugged her shoulders as if to work out a cramp. Two ram’s horns adorned her head, one on either side of her rather fetching face. A blade, easily larger than Minji was held loosely in one massive hand and a long, whiplike tail flicked back and forth in agitation.

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“Why is she naked?” Sayuri asked Carrisyn bluntly. Turning to the giant blue woman Sayuri cocked her head to one side. “Why are you naked?” The woman’s glowing yellow eyes surveyed Sayuri coolly before her lips parted in a smile.

“It’s comfortable,” the woman said, her smile broadening. “Why aren’t you naked?” Sayuri frowned.

“Are you Zelaeryn?” Carrisyn gasped, leaning heavily on Sayuri’s shoulder.

“Zelaeryn Temeris at your service,” The girl bowed her head slightly. “I assume you are the one who summoned me, then?”

“I don’t know!” Sayuri declared brightly.

“What?” Zelaeryn seemed taken aback slightly.

“I don’t know why I’m not naked,” Sayuri clarified.

“Yes, I summoned you at Eliana’s request,” Carrisyn ignored Sayuri as well as she was able.

“Eliana? Is she all right? Is she here?” Zelaeryn immediately rushed forward. “Where is she?”

“It’s a trap!” A cry from on top of the stairs echoed through the summoning chamber as the door was flung open and a cloaked and hooded figure staggered down the stairs toward them. Carrisyn turned, eyes opening in alarm. The front of the figure’s cloak was soaked in blood.

“Your highness!” Carrisyn exclaimed. The figure slipped and would have fallen had the giant woman not moved with the speed of a cat.

“It’s ok,” Zelaeryn cooed, taking the girl up in her arms. “I’ve got you.”

“What happened?” Carrisyn asked, making her slow, painful way to where Zelaeryn stood, the figure cradled in her arms like a baby.

“The king knows about the warrens. It’s a trap!” The girl’s blue eyes flicked from Carrisyn to Sayuri to the naked blue giantess.

“What happened to you?” Zelaeryn asked. The girl’s nose had been broken, several teeth were missing, and her cheekbone had plainly been shattered.

“Forget me! Jaxxin Starling is in the warrens and King Rhade has an agreement in place with the Ri already! Your half elf is in deep trouble!”

“We need to get out of here immediately! Zelaeryn, please bring the princess! We’re leaving.” Carrisyn’s exhausted mind whirled at this revelation. If the king knew, it wasn’t just Minji who was in trouble. Hoping she had enough magic left to pull off one last spell Carrisyn closed her eyes and forced words from her tattered throat, the sounds of the front doors being rammed echoing through the manor.

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