Reborn From the Cosmos

It wasn’t as simple as that.

Faye looked back at the sound of a thunderous crash to see the guard captain crashing through the stone, the mountainous woman chasing them. At first, Faye wasn’t worried, as they outpaced her, but her nonchalance didn’t last long. The Skinwalker kept getting faster, the distance between them closing by the second. Arrbutor noticed and her ride became uncomfortable as the elemental zig-zagged between buildings. That created space for a moment, but it wasn’t enough; they would break line of sight for a few breaths but then she would be back on their trail, the inevitable bearing down on them.

Fey could practically feel the strong hand grabbing her, dragging her to the executioner’s block. She knew they were going to be caught.

But then, with the brevity and significance of lightning, something gold flashed in front of the woman. Miraculously, the inevitable faltered. The woman seized and her momentum carried her forward, her limbs flailing like a thrown doll. The brutal impacts would have killed the average person a dozen times over. Fey saw the formidable captain pushing to her feet when they turned a corner.

Their frenzied pace didn’t abate for even a moment, the elemental carrying her to the edge of the city and scrambling over the wall. Fey knew where they were going then, the Grand Summoners’ camp and the creature’s lair.

The camp was not meant to house anyone for any length of time. Whichever group pulled the unlucky duty of delivering the elemental’s “payment” stayed just long enough to see the sacrifices settled before leaving. It rarely took more than a few hours and no one stayed overnight. For that, the few buildings gave little consideration to comfort.

Fey wasn’t even allowed that. Her savior carried her directly into the tunnels where it worked. The world became darkness tainted with the smells of blood and fear.

She couldn’t even see her flailing hands as her cage was dropped. The bars were ripped away with a screech of metal, but she didn’t dare move; she barely dared to breathe, ancient instincts screaming at her to make herself small and quiet.

“You’ve caused us no end of trouble, little summoner.”

She knew that voice; Ryzen, the creature that wore the guise of a bird, because only an idiot would mistake it for something so simple. Its tone held more annoyance than usual.

“You saved me.” She didn’t understand. They were free. With its speed, it could be on the other side of the kingdom.

“Stupid thing. If you die, we are banished from this world and we are not done with this realm yet. Stupid things you are, your kind has value.”

“The guard. They’ll know about this place.” The thought of the enormous and seemingly indestructible guard captain gave Fey the motivation to uncurl and hesitantly explore her surroundings. She waited for her saviors to guide her but if they noticed her efforts, they didn’t respond.

“Hmph. Do you think this is our first time being hunted? The first subjects were put to work expanding these tunnels, far beyond what your little pack knows. There are a dozen exits and three times as many ways to reach them. We will escape. Once the most promising subjects are ready, we will disappear.”

“Where will we go?”

“That’s up to you, contractor. You have a bargain to complete.”

Fey startled, eyes moving in the direction of the creature’s voice. “What do you mean?”

Ryzen chirped, the trill somehow carrying notes of amusement. “Silly, stupid thing. We have a contract. An agreement. You must provide us more subjects.”

“Wha-no! I can’t!” She couldn’t abduct several people, especially as a fugitive. Their plans only worked without scrutiny, which is why they never took anyone from the city. If it was impossible with the entirety of the Grand Summoners behind her, there was no way she could do it alone. “The Grand—”

A loud hiss cut her off. “We do not have a contract with your pack. We have a contract with you. Only you, girl-ape. Whether you are rich or poor, well or sick, connected or alone, you will fulfill your contract. You have thirteen days of your calendar to give us the flesh owed to us.”

Being told she had no choice didn’t make it any less impossible.

“What if I can’t?”

Ryzen chuckled, the sound containing cruel humor. “Then the contract is broken.”

“…and you leave?”

“Leave? Dumb thing. We are anchored to you. So long as you live, we remain.”

“But…” She trailed off, thinking. If the contract was broken, the elementals would no longer be obligated to help her, free to terrorize the kingdom. She would be on her own; she’d survived before and could do so again, especially with a body strengthened by magic.

“Fine. We’ll go our separate ways.”

The cruel laugh came again, along with heavy footsteps. Fey turned toward the sound; she couldn’t see the being approach but it could only be Arrbutor.

“The stupid thing misunderstands. You are our contractor. We won’t leave you, no. We will keep you alive for a very long time.”

“…what do you want from me?” What could she offer?

“Can you not hear? We need nothing from you.”

Dread twisted her guts. Callan had stressed to them, meeting after meeting, that nothing came free. His contracted elemental, Vanity King, would shred thugs on command but required enough grooming and verbal praise to make a princess blush. Elementals did not work for free. There was always a cost.

“Only for you to live, girl-ape.”

She remembered. There was another important clause in her contract; one that stopped the elementals from harming her. There were all kinds of pains that could be inflicted on a person while keeping them alive. Ways to make someone easier to handle.

She had to run, but what could she do? Fey wasn’t confident in making it out of whatever room she was in, let alone the tunnels. The guard waited for her at the surface with orders to put her to death. They may not chase her far beyond the city, but Arrbutor had no obligations. It would hunt its anchor down to the ends of the kingdom. It was either death or being at the mercy of a thing that turned people inside out for amusement.

“Thirteen days, stupid summoner.” Ryzen hissed.

The strength left Fey’s body. She dropped to the floor and curled into herself. They didn’t ask her to rise; when the time came for them to move, five hands carried her away.

Fey dreamed of better times and tried not to think of the coming nightmare.