Arc 9-52
“You can’t watch.”
Alana doesn’t pout. Still, there’s something cute about her little serious frown.
I figure an hour is the bare minimum Khan needs to get comfortable in the dark room. I can’t give him any longer than three; the moon will be at its zenith then, which is the best time for the summoning. There isn’t much to do at this time of night, at least nothing I would want to leave in the middle of, so I distract myself with desserts and drink, indulging in childish instincts as I sit on a kitchen counter and kick my legs.
Whether by coincidence or drawn by the smell of sugar, Alana finds me. She asks to be a part of the summoning. It’s a reasonable request and one I would usually indulge her.
But not this time.
“Why? I was there for Rolly.”
“Yes, because she and her kind love attention. If I weren’t so confident in our ability to be interesting, I would have packed a crowd into the room. This is different.”
“How?”
I sigh around a cookie. “Voidkin are…” My free hand grasps the air, as if I can pull the right words from nothing. “They’re weird. Well, they believe in weird things.”
“Lou…”
“They live their lives according to their faith. A major part of that faith is the power of perception. They believe that seeing something connects you to it and that connection can be used for good or ill.”
I take a bite out of the delicious sweet before pointing the other half at her. “Being perceived makes them uncomfortable. Khan is the potential contractor. I am his overbearing patron, which excuses me. You? You would be an interloper. If you perceive it, then it’s going to want to perceive you, understand you. We don’t have time for it to interrogate you to its satisfaction. And I can’t simply brush its concerns aside as a contractor not respecting its faith is an automatic dealbreaker. Understand?”
She does, but her furrowed brow tells me she’s not happy about it. I extend the rest of the cookie; she snatches it. Her tense brow eases the slightest bit as she takes a healthy bite.
“This…voidkin. It doesn’t sound rationale.”
“You mean it sounds insane.”
“Should you be tying Khan’s life to it?”
“Hey, I wouldn’t make a decision like this without being completely sure. Geneva isn’t able to cure him but she’s seen every corner of his mind, as it is. They’ll get on like a bonfire, so long as Khan doesn’t fight it. He’s the only one who can ruin a good thing.”
“…that doesn’t answer the question.”
“Doesn’t it? They’re the same. Khan has spent his whole life going unnoticed, the voidkin practices going unnoticed as its religion. Trouble will have a hard time finding them, let alone dragging them down.”
Alana’s frown deepens. “Khan was forced to be a wanderer.”
“I know. He’s also not completely hopeless when it comes to dealing with people.” I thought he’d be as awkward as my gardener, but he’s confident and well-spoken, at least when he hasn’t been in the ground for two days.
I think she’s trying to say that her brother doesn’t have to repeat the same pattern he was forced into. Yet… “I don’t know how he felt about it in the beginning but now? It’s what he does. Who he is. He doesn’t want to change.” His attempt to run back to that frozen wasteland is proof enough of that.
“And if he changes his mind?”
Good question. “Saints, I hope he does. Khan finding a nice village to settle down in is my best-case scenario.” No chance of him making a name for himself and that getting back to Victory. “No one’s going to stop him from putting down roots.”
“Except he’ll never be rid of the creature tied to his core.” She sighs, holding up a hand before I can respond. “Don’t. I know. This is a good thing. Leagues better than us executing him. He should be grateful for every sunrise.”
“But you’re worried for him.”
She scoffs, but the derision is focused on herself. “It’s ridiculous to act like we’re siblings now. I threatened to behead him. Just…” She steps forward and her soft lips brush my cheek. “Take care of him for me, Lou. Left alone, the James tend to destroy themselves.”
-
I’m not surprised to find Khan outside the room, leaning against the nearest window, eyes closed and expression peaceful. They snap open when I enter the hall and he watches me approach nervously.
“Can you sit in the dark calmly?”
“Define calm.” From the length of his sigh, I’m sure he can tell how unamused I am. “The longer I’m there the more…unsettled I get but I won’t run screaming from the room.”
“Don’t be so sure.” I lightly slap his shoulder; he still stumbles. “A little fear is good. You probably won’t believe it, but I put you in that hole for more than a punishment. Everything’s in place. So long as you’re ready?”
“…yeah. I’m ready.”
“Good.” A little excitement bleeds through my disappointment surrounding Khan’s summoning. It’s not ideal, but any chance to practice the art makes me happy. “Then, from this point, there’s only one thing you need to remember. Obey. Keep still and keep quiet. When you need to do something, I’ll tell you, and you follow my words exactly. This isn’t just about the summoning being successful. You can get hurt. Or worse. Much worse.”
His head drops in a resigned nod and I clap his shoulder once more before leading him in. This time, I close the door. True to his word, Khan tenses but he makes no move to escape, containing his discomfort.
I guide him to the edge of the circle. “Kneel.” I crouch beside him as he drops, taking his wrist to place his fingers at the edge of the circle. “Pour your mana into it. Everything you can.”
The brown glow of the earth affinity seeps into the floor, the weak light giving the darkness details. I can see Khan’s grit teeth as he forces the mana from his core. Saints, I can smell his sweat. Hear the heavy pounding of his heart. I know the moment he wants to stop and I squeeze his shoulder to remind him that the pain isn’t the worst thing he could be experiencing.
“As much as you can.”
He pushes until redness colors the white of his eyes and his hand shakes. The glow from the circle doesn’t look like it’s changing much anymore. I drop his shoulder.
He practically collapses, panting with his head between his knees.
Having experienced the same pain, I sympathize; if I could, I’d let him rest but simple wood won’t hold his mana long.
“Can you feel it?”
I can’t decipher what he does with his head.
“Khan. Can you feel the air trembling? It’s presence?”
“Yes.” He doesn’t sound happy about it.
It’s strange being so detached from a summoning. “You have to invite it. Ask it you speak with you. And do it on your feet.”
He wordlessly accepts my help to stand, taking a step away as he raises his voice. “Show yourself.”
I wince; it’s a very good thing voidkin aren’t a prideful bunch.
Khan gasps as the gate appears; I guess a cut in reality is surprising the first time you see it but if this is enough to unnerve him, he might faint before the night is done.
His call is answered.
The voidkin gracefully steps from its realm into ours. A long, black cloak hides its body but its face, and its otherness, is exposed. Long, droopy ears flap, no doubt catching every sound in the estate. A red muzzle, the color of blood, twitches, as it sniffs the air, taking in our scents. But its most distinctive feature is the spotless white blindfold that completely covers its eyes.
It opens it mouth, exposing four needle-thin teeth no longer than my pinky, and lets out a series of shrieks. It then quickly shifts to barking and growling. Just as fast it speaks in something that somewhat resembles language, cycling through several tongues before finally—
“Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” I answer hastily, not wanting the creature to start jabbering in another tongue.
“Ah. One of the Civil Tongues.” Its hands rise, a black tongue licking its six fingers before they smooth down the brown fur of its face. “I don’t recall which one this is.”
“We call it Common.”
“No, I’m sure it’s something different. Has it been renamed?”
My lips twitch up into a smile; there’s something flattering about an elemental taking a true interest in our realm. “Possibly. But we can talk about the kingdom you find yourself in later. There’s a contract to be made.”