Chapter 4: 4. The Summoning

Pak

(After the Incident)

 

It’s always so noisy in the market – feet shuffling and kicking up dirt, pebbles skipping across the roads, chattering, arguing, laughing, shrieking, children crying, wood creaking, to make no mention of the stink, or the sunlight cutting into my eyes… I hate it. But I won’t be here for long.

A medicine merchant peddles a vial of oil to a man with ‘bedroom troubles’. I only know because of his loud, boorish rattling. He’s embarrassing the poor idiot on purpose, pressuring him to buy it so the humiliation will end, but he doesn’t realize that he’s only distracting himself. It’s the perfect opening. I don’t check to see if anyone else is watching. Nobody else cares, too busy haggling and dodging the other feverish shoppers to notice me at all, as long as I keep my skin covered.

I slither up to the merchant’s stall, my steady, sticky hands seeking the incense and herbs the spell calls for. As the man drops his coins into the merchant’s pouch, I slip away unnoticed, as if I’d only just meandered past.

The street blurs before me, every step a little quicker than the last. The space behind my eyes fills with images of my capture, what consequences should await me if I’m caught—

 

They frogmarch the gray boy across the city,

 

The cobblestone bounces – my stomach coats my throat, and my knees wobble—

 

to a chorus of hissing and booing—

 

My hood slips – I clutch it tight and tug it forward—

 

They push him onto the platform and fasten a rope around his neck.

 

I’m stumbling—

 

He doesn’t even struggle.

 

I duck into a quiet, dark alley, where wandering eyes should not wander, where I’ll only be found if they’re looking for me. I just need to catch my breath.

A stray cat slinks into my space and hovers just by my feet. I don’t notice it, at first. Its black-and-gray body blends into the shadow and stone. It watches me closely, its whiskers trembling. When I look at it, its ears flatten—

“Mau!”

—and then perk back up just as quickly, eyes flashing yellow fire. Its demand is clear.

“I’m hungry too,” I reply, straightening up. “But I don’t have anything. Sorry.”

“Mauuu!” it argues, taking an indignant step towards me. I narrow my eyes.

“Look, if I had any food on me, I’d be happy to share—”

“Mauuuuuuurau!” it interrupts me, pawing at my leg, its needle-sharp claws sticking in my pants. I hear threads snapping as I pull away, releasing my school uniform from the creature’s grasp.

“You don’t have to be so rude about it…”

In the distance, a bell tolls: five thunderous booms reaching far across Iridan’s sky. It’s the dinner hour, and I have been gone for too long.

“Good luck,” I say as I pivot and flee the alley. The cat watches me leave, ravenous, its eyes burning holes in my jacket.

 

*******

 

I’m just small enough to squeeze through the crack in the school ground’s east wall. The stone scrapes against my skin and catches my clothes, but I make it through unnoticed. I take off my shoes as I enter the school and carry them down the hall, silent. The heat from my socks imparts a trail of disappearing footprints, but otherwise, I leave no trace of my presence.

I come upon the door. The bronze plaque affixed to its front reads:

 

Ritual Chamber

Student entry prohibited without Escort

PUNISHABLE BY EXPULSION

 

This is it.

I test the doorknob. It gives a soft click, and the door swings open. I enter without an escort.

I hurry to the fingerprint-coated brass brazier in the southwest corner, stand on my tiptoes and peer inside. The ashes smell vaguely of burnt bread, but beneath them there are coals that look like they should still burn. The roof above this part of the room funnels up into a hole where the smoke can escape. My heart thrums with anticipation. This is it.

I empty the herbs atop the coals, doing my best to keep any from spilling over the edge. I place the cone of incense in the center and maneuver it so that the point aligns with the funnel. They won’t let me take magic classes, so what magic I do is done without guidance, with knowledge stolen from books I’m not allowed to read. But, as long as I follow every step of the ritual, nothing should go wrong. It’s just like cooking from a recipe.

I hover my hands over the brazier, channeling my body’s heat into my fingertips. For as much as I’ve practiced, this part still doesn’t come easy. Minutes pass as I struggle to evoke, reddening my face, straining every muscle, until finally, flames arc like lightning into the kindling, setting fire to the herbs and incense. Sweet smoke spills into the sky.

I draw another deep, trembling breath, and begin to trace the symbols in the air – ancient Elvish letters, roughly translated to a simple phrase:

 

You are reading story The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet) at novel35.com

I  A M  Y O U R  F R I E N D

 

Over, and over, and over…

The book said I must do this for a full hour. My arms tire quickly. The smoke follows my fingers, though some still spills away. I have to focus. I have to keep writing. The smoke is my ink, and it can’t be wasted.

I close my eyes and beckon the spirit I seek: the magnificent horned owl. I’ve never seen one in person, but I’ve seen them in books. They speak to my soul. I know we are connected. The owl shall be my familiar.

I slip into a deep trance, not unlike a dream…

The owl beats its wings with hurricane force, toppling trees and street lights. Its perfect eyes hone in on its prey, a field mouse, feebly hiding under the cover of grass. It swoops down, extends its talons, and snatches it up with deadly accuracy—

A vision of the alley cat interrupts the trance, flickering in to yell at me. It’s still upset that I didn’t give it food. I shoo it away. “Not now!”

From the ground, the owl takes flight, spreading its feathers across great lengths, manipulating the air beneath its wings as an artist manipulates paint. It cuts through the night sky, a leaf on the wind…

“Myaaaaauh,” the cat cries.

“No!” I huff, eyes dancing behind my eyelids. “I’m busy right now! Go away!”

The cat’s image flickers out, but not without a sharp glare.

The owl’s head rotates, its gaze skewering me like a rat over a spit. From inside its eyes, a light shines – a portal to its dimension, swirling mists of pink and blue and white… A portal to the Dream.

For as much as I’ve read about the Dream, nothing could prepare me for this.

The owl peers into me, picking through my soul as if dissecting meat from bone. My tether to the real world begins to unravel, and my feet lift from the ground. I hover, drifting ever closer to the fathomless expanse. What time passes is incalculable. I struggle to keep my feet planted. The roots of my body spur from my heels and bury into the earth. I must prove myself worthy…

 

C O M E  T O  M E  F R I E N D

 

My whole body vibrates as the magic reaches its crescendo, my arms surging with strength. I siphon the owl’s spirit through the portal, my hands circling over each other, winding a spool of yarn—

“What – ow!”

I jerk away, caught off guard by the sudden needle-like pricking in my leg.

“Dammit, cat!”

My eyes flash open, breaking my trance. The link between worlds breaks with a sharp SNAP, and the brazier erupts, blinding white fire shooting into the sky. I shield my face and stumble backwards. A flood of smoke spills to the floor and plumes near the walls, filling the room. I cough and sputter, head throbbing, ears ringing…

Bhump-ump-umb…

…something topples to the ground.

The heat fades. The light recedes. The smoke clears. I finally uncover my eyes…

“No!”

The great, majestic horned owl lies limp in a heap on the floor, its wings obscuring most of its body. I scuttle towards it on my hands and knees, heart pounding, tears pushing into my eyes.

“No, no, no, no...”

I reach to pet the owl’s soft feathers, hoping it might twitch or recoil at my touch, but… it doesn’t move. I bite my lip hard and choke back the tears.

“I’m sorry,” I squeak, covering the shame in my face. “I’m so—”

Its wings shoot out as if animated by lightning. I jump back. The creature seizes, twitching and convulsing, struggling to stand. I watch, horrified, as it props itself up and teeters, like a puppet pulled by a string. My mouth hangs open. There are no words for this, for this… What is this…?

Its head rotates, like some strange child’s drawing has come to life.

“Prrrrooh?”

What I had thought were the dignified horns of the owl are actually flimsy, pointed ears. A long, sleek tail slithers out from behind its wings and curls around its plump bottom. It has an owl’s body, but its strong, sharp talons have been replaced by dainty, padded feet. It yawns, revealing a mouth full of pointy little teeth. Whiskers splay out from its furry face, and its tiny pink nose twitches, sniffing and surveying the room.

“What…”

With wings instead of front legs, it is forced to walk on its back legs in a way that nature never intended. It hobbles towards me and sits, watching me closely, its eyes flashing yellow fire.

“…What.”

“Mrrrooh.”

It flops onto the floor, revealing its belly, and stretches out, twisted to rest partially on its side. I can only gape. It’s not quite an owl, and not quite a cat…

“Well… What should I call you?”

It gives me a quizzical look. I scratch my head.

“First thing that comes to mind, I guess.”

I close my eyes and see a vision of cabbages tumbling from a trolley, not unlike how this thing tumbled from the brazier.

“Cabbage it is, then.”

I go to pet its belly, and as my fingers graze its soft downy feathers, it clamps down like a bear trap, smothering my arm with its wings so it can nibble and kick my wrist. I tug away, and it reaches after me, but stops short, its ears twitching, eyes wide and round. It’s not what I had in mind, but… beggars can’t be choosers.

I smile at the little abomination. Finally, I found a friend.

You can find story with these keywords: The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet), Read The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet), The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet) novel, The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet) book, The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet) story, The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet) full, The Thief’s Folly (Book One of the Bloodlines Duet) Latest Chapter