Summoner: chapter 7, The Coven

~Draone~

Exiting from a gateway is never fun. There is a release of pressure as if you surfaced from a deep dive and your senses feel raw. Light hurts your eyes, sounds assault your ears, and your clothes scrap across your skin. This time was it felt like stepping into hell. The heat hit us like a punch to the gut, and the putrid smell of sulfur was unbearable.  

“Everyone, spread out!” Chiorix took command quickly.

We did as he said and spread out. I found myself crouching behind a mound of rubble next to Jayd. “What happened here?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” The place was a disaster, “It looks like Meta’s team tried to retreat to the gateway and brought the battle with them. It’s a miracle the gateway wasn’t hit.”

The building that had previously sheltered the gateway had been blow to smithereens. Queer black fires were burning amongst the debris and the smell of sulfur, while less potent now, still hung in the air. I looked around carefully. whatever had happened here was over well before we got here. “Chi! I think we missed it.” I hollered over to where he had taken cover.

“Yeah, I see that.” He thought for a moment. “Ailith, see if you can figure out what type of magic that is.” He gestured towards one of the black flames. “Draone and I will look around.”

I stood up cautiously and walked through the rubble. Chiorix was about twenty feet to my left moving just as cautiously as I was. “Something about this bothers me.” I said to him.

“Besides the fact that our friends are missing?”

“Look at the way the debris is laying, this was all done by one assailant.”

Chiorix stopped and surveyed the area again. “I see what you mean. The blast marks all point to the same spot.” He started toward the rise that the attacks originated from with myself following about four paces behind.

”This isn’t right.” Laini said to just my mind.

”How so? I thought at her.

”It’s hard to explain, It’s like the magic… smells wrong. I don’t know how else to say it.”

“Hm,” I glanced at one of the black flames as we passed it. “Hey Chi,” I called to him. “I think we shouldn’t rush ahead of ourselves.”

“We need to take a look Dra,”Chiorix replied continuing up the hill. “We don’t have time to take things slow.”

“Yeah, but-”

“Chi!” Ailith yelled. “We need to go now! This magic is-”

“DIE!”

The shout was all the warning we needed as the bolt of energy raced toward Chiorix and I. Chiorix dove to the side and I parried with my sword sending the bolt of dark magic into the air.

“Disgrace to Magic! You. Will. All. Die!” I glared at the shouting assailant to our right. out of the corner of my eye I saw Ailith and Jayd duck behind cover. Chiorix stood up slowly and pulled and a deceivingly plain looking pistol from his coat. Our attacker, or more accurately attackers as there were five of them, stood on top of a ruined building.

“The coven.” Chirox said.

I knew he was right. It was the coven that Metavox’s team had been sent to destroy. There was a distinct feel to their magic, a sense of unbelonging that couldn't be hidden.

”I hate Demons.” Laini said quietly in the back of my mind. Humans can’t see the demons that members of a coven use to cast spells, but Laini could sense them, and she hated fighting covens because of it.

“Can I kill them all?” the second one in on the left, a somewhat unstable looking male in his twenties,  asked the one in the center.

“Calm down Leon.” The one in the center said. He was taller than the others and in his forties. “You are too eager.” He paused and studied us. “Yes, you may kill them”

“Crap.” I said under my breath. Two of the coven members raced to the side moving faster than humans should, and headed for Jayd and Ailith.

“Ailith!” Chiorix started toward her but Leon lept off the building and landed in front of him.

“Just where do you think you are going?” He asked with a wicked grin on his face.    

I couldn’t keep watching as I had my own problems. The last two members both stood in front of me. The leader was on my right and about twenty feet away, too far for me to easily attack. The other, a beautiful girl with an ugly gleam in her eye was closer and looked to be readying an attack of her own. ”Remember,” Said Laini, as she tightened her grip on my shoulder ”Their magic ignores reality. You can’t fight them head on”

“What say you we do this fairly?” I asked the wench. “I drop my swords and you dismiss your demon.”

“Ignorant mage,” She sneered “Ruach isn’t a demon.”

I shrugged, intentionally looking like I dropped my guard. “If you say so.” Without warning I reeled about and slashed through the air with both my blades, sending twin waves of fire and ice at her. She spoke a word and waved her hands in front of her. Tendrils of vine quickly grew from the ground and blocked my attack.

“Careful Jennifer.” The leader starting trying to circle me. “This one is more than he seems.”

“Yes lord Ruach.”

”Laini?” I asked confused.

”He is possessed. You need to be careful, he’ll be really powerful.”

“Riiight…” I glanced back and forth between Jennifer and Ruach. “Two on one isn’t nice.”

“I see two on two.” Said Ruach. “Or are you going to try and tell me that dragon doesn’t count?”

“Huh, yeah right.” I sent another wave of fire energy at Jennifer then launched myself at Ruach. I’m fast, faster than a human should be, but he still evaded me,.Which didn’t bother me as much as how easy he made it look. He calmly ducked to the side and avoided my sword without ever losing his center of gravity.

“Hit him.” The magic blow caught me in the side of the ribs and throw me to the side. I landed hard on the ground and rolled to a stop. Laini landed elegantly on my shoulder having taken off on impact.

I forced myself to my feet ignoring the pain in my side. “That all you got?”

“Ancient Woods catch and bind him!” Jennifer’s vines burst from the ground and entwined around my legs blocking my movement. “Ignite!” fire crept along them and burned through my pants.

“Damn.” I stabbed the vines with my longsword and sent a burst of freezing energy into them, extinguishing the fire and making the vines brittle.

“Impact,” Whispered Ruach right in my ear. I reeled away from him but the attack landed anyways sending me flying again.

~*~*~

I winched as Draone went flying for a second time. His opponents must be powerful.

“Daydreaming?” My opponent asked sarcastically launching a fireball past my face. I fall back and landed hard. Ailith was fighting a spry young man with black hair using her own type of nature magic and seemed to be holding her own. I couldn’t tell what was happening with Chirorix as his part of the battle field was filled with black fog from some device I had seen him pull out.

I had already tried to use my sai to fight the girl trying to burn me to death, but so far I hadn’t been able to get close enough even with my vampire speed. Every time I thought I had gotten close enough she would inexplicably be out of reach again.

“I suppose I should tell you my name, It’s impolite to kill someone without letting them know who did the deed.”

“Oh.” I said sarcastically, “As if killing someone in the first place isn’t impolite already.”

“Bitch,” She muttered a word and throw another fireball at me. I quickly rolled to the side. The heat from the attack singed my back as I tried to get away. “My name Marina.” She said arrogantly, “Now I’m going to kill you.” Her fire frightened me. I wasn’t actually sure if it would kill me but I didn’t want to find out.

”Jayd!” I jumped at Laini’s voice in my head. ”When I say, jump up and run at Draone.” I glanced over and saw him sprawled on the ground with both his opponents over him.

”What happened?!”

”He’s fine, it’s and act, just wait for my signal.”

“Stay focused!” another fireball hit the ground next to me. “It’s insulting when you’re not being attention!”

“Sorry,” I said trying to act nonchalant. “I was just thinking about what book I want to read once I get home.”

“Why you-” A vain actually bulged on her brow from her fury. “Just Die!”

”Now Jayd!”

I rushed forward as fast as I could. I couldn’t move as fast as a mature vampire but I still moved faster than Marina could. Her attack struck the ground where I had been a heartbeat before.

She reeled around refocusing on my back and threw another attack.  I gasped knowing I didn’t have time to dodge this one. The fire ball rocketed toward me then before I could figure out what to do rushed past and hit the man standing over Draone. He staggered his arm on fire. “Marina! What do you think you are-”

~*~*~

~Draone~

I slowly rose back to consciousness. That second blow from Ruach and sent me flying a good twenty feet into a building and had knocked me out. Ruach and Jennifer were standing above me. panic thrust me back into awareness. I pushed myself off the ground and raised my fist not knowing where my swords had ended up.

“What are you doing!” Jennifer yelled, but not at me.

“I- I was attacking her, there is no way I missed.” I looked at the second speaker, she stood over where the girls had been. Her eyes were wide with panic as she raised her hands defensively. “I swear.”

“Marina,” Rauch said almost indifferently. I glanced back at him and saw that his arm was on fire. “You are dead.” The last word was filled with magic.

“Nooo!” Marina wailed as she fell to her knees. glowing lines formed across her body in jagged lines, suddenly there was a loud ‘crack’ and Marina shattered.

“What is going on.”

“I think that Laini made Marina miss when she tried to kill me.”

I jumped and looked behind me to see Jayd standing there.

“If I bite you can you finish this?”

“You’ll blow your cover.”

“Knew that would happen the moment I decided to come with you.”

“Not yet,” I said. “we’re not that desperate yet.” I turned back to the fight. The black fog had cleared around Chirox. He was breathing heavily but seemed fine. His opponent was missing but judging from the size of the crater behind him that wasn’t much of a surprise. Ailith had finished her fight as well. “Hey!” Ruach!” He turned toward me. “Did I ever tell you what you were fighting?”

“An idiot mage? He asked casually.

“Nope, I’m a Summoner.” I raised my hand and formed a circle in front of it. “And here is one of my pets”  The circle flashed and a hydra formed in a swirl of light. The hydra was about the size of an elephant. he had nine heads on long necks and nine tails but no wings. He hissed at Ruach and Jennifer and one of the heads spat a wad of acid at them.

Jennifer’s turned pale and Ruach scowled. “Coward.” He stated. He put a hand on Jennifer’s shoulder. “Winds catch and carry.” suddenly a gust with wind whipped through the battlefield and the two remaining members of the coven vanished.

“Why haven’t you used that one before?” Jayd asked, slightly awed.

“He’s more trouble than he’s worth.” I replied.

“Why?”

“Because the idiot is ADD and has nine heads.” and as if to prove my point one of the heads noticed a piece of paper float by and all nine heads turned to watching almost getting tangled up in the process.

“Oh… that could be, problematic.”

“Yep.”