Nightmare Realm Summoner

“This,” Alex said, nodding to Glint, “is—”

“Don’t!” Glint hissed.

Claire blinked in surprise. She glanced from Glint to Alex. Then her eyes narrowed. “Not only is he speaking, but he’s actively refuting things you’re doing? That’s quite the change.”

“Give me some credit, please,” Alex said through a sigh. “I wasn’t going to say your name, Glint. I was going to say that you were a suspicious individual I bound to Glint’s body in a contract. I’m not an idiot. If you don’t want me to use your name, there’s obviously a good reason for it.”

Claire’s eyebrow crept up her forehead. She looked back to Glint. Alex could practically see the thoughts flicking through her mind in real time before her ever-present mask snapped back into place and her emotions were gone once more.

“I simply had to make sure,” Glint said. “I am… off balance. This is not what I expected. At all. I thought you were part of a conglomerate, or an overlord. Not…”

“A Nativeworlder on a newly initiated planet?” Alex finished.

“Yes,” Glint said. “You bluff well.”

Claire coughed.

“Thank you,” Alex said. He sent Claire a sidelong glance. “I had a good teacher. Anyway. As I was trying to do before you interrupted me, I am introducing you. This is Claire.”

“A pleasure,” Claire said. “Why is it that you can’t say your name?”

“There are those who would be displeased to know that I have slipped my fetters, if even slightly,” Glint replied. He paused for a moment. “This woman is trusted?”

“Not in the slightest,” Alex said.

“Hey!” Claire protested. “I have more than made up for any of my past actions. There’s absolutely nothing untrustworthy about me.”

Alex snickered. “Just kidding. Mostly. I trust her. More than anyone else, at least.”

Glint let out a sound like grating glass. It took Alex a moment to realize that it was supposed to be a thoughtful hum.

“The Dhampir is your wife?”

Alex choked. “What? No. Where did you get that?”

“Our exact relationship isn’t relevant for you,” Claire said, still watching Glint warily. “What led you to the conclusion we were intimate? Does Glint possess some manner of sense that you can utilize? Or do you yourself have access to some abilities external to him?”

“No. I cannot speak to the senses that this monster possesses. I am not truly here. My body remains in the location at which we met. I cannot smell nor taste,” Glint replied. “Ash’s body language simply seemed too familiar toward you. It is clear there is some degree of attraction. He is not so good at lying when with others as he was isolated. And you did not seem displeased by the attention, which means you are either dense, utilizing the interest for your own advantages, or reciprocate it. You do not strike me as dense. Thus, it is one of the latter two.”

“What if it were the former?” Claire asked.

“Then it is likely Ash would be best served by me removing you from the equation,” Glint replied, his withered lips pulling up at the corners in a hungry smile. “A fact I am certain he would agree with.”

“No killing Claire,” Alex said. He wasn’t sure if Glint would be capable of that, even with Ein’Zahl puppeting the body. He didn’t want to find out. “I prefer her un-murdered.”

“As do I,” Claire said. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “And I have no ill will toward Alex. We’ve made our bed together in more ways than one.”

Glint shifted. He almost seemed uncomfortable with that answer. “You are bragging.”

Claire glanced to Alex out of the corners of her eyes. “Can Glint back out of the contract?”

“Don’t think he will. Glint—”

Claire was speaking before Alex even had a chance to finish the sentence. “Given you accepted a contract, you must have been somewhat desperate. You’re sharp enough to pick up on subtle cues but clearly missed them during whatever conversation you had with him prior to signing your contract given that you were surprised by his identity as a Nativeworlder. I assume that means something is pressuring you. Are you hunted? You wouldn’t share your name. And since you aren’t actually here… there’s not much you’re getting out of your presence other than what I assume to be enjoyment. So you’re either a soul of some sort or a prisoner.”

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Glint’s head tilted to the side. “That—”

“And, given the fact that you didn’t seem too pleased about the bed joke, you’re probably touch-starved,” Claire finished. The corner of her lip twitched slightly. “So I’m going with the prisoner option.”

“Are we just flexing now?” Alex asked.

“You can’t keep your muscles if you don’t occasionally work them out,” Claire replied, still watching Glint. “I’m just making sure we’re all on the same page. I had a pretty decent guess that you were either intentionally overlooking problems or simply couldn’t afford to acknowledge them by the fact you signed a contract with this guy.”

“Hey,” Alex said. “That’s just rude.”

Claire patted him on the shoulder. “You’re getting better, Alex. But I’ve been at this for a lot longer than you have — and whoever is inside of Glint has been at it for quite a while longer than that. I just want to make sure we don’t miss something.”

“Our contract is straightforward,” Glint said. “Ash will provide me with entertainment and targets to kill. In turn, I will provide him with my experience. That is all.”

Claire nodded slowly. She sent a glance to Alex for confirmation. “That seem roughly accurate to what your contract was?”

“Yeah. It was pretty loose, to be honest,” Alex admitted. “I just said he has to follow the spirit of my words and not kill anyone I don’t let him kill. He definitely wants to be out here pretty badly.”

“Well, if he’s trying to kill boredom, then I think we’ll have him more than satisfied,” Claire said. She paused for a moment. Then the corner of her lip twitched. “I’m not sure if we can help much with the bedroom issues, though. That’s his problem.”

“Do you enjoy picking low-hanging fruit?” Glint asked. He shook his head. “If you had been sealed away for as long as I, then you would be similarly displeased.”

“I’m a hypocrite,” Claire replied without a second of hesitation. “But before we lose the conversation too badly, there’s something I’ve wanted to know. Does Glint have memories? And is there something we can call you to differentiate between the monster and your consciousness?”

“Silver Conclave,” Glint replied. “It is my title.”

“Silver, then,” Claire said. “And the second question?”

“It… is an interesting one,” Glint admitted after a moment of hesitation. “My instinct is to say no. Monster husks such as this one should possess nothing. But some images do conjure forth. It is not intelligence. There is no mind present within this monster other than my own. These memories are like the passing of water against a rock.”

“What exactly does that mean?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know,” Glint admitted. “I have never inhabited on the form of a monster like this before. I am picking up on fragments of the past. Things that it has borne witness to… but no real opinions of its own. I did not think flesh could contain things such as this. But I do not believe the monster to be intelligent.”

Well, that’s a relief. I think. Probably means I’m not torturing my monsters by enslaving them to my will or anything. But what’s the significance of them containing some degree of memory? Weird. Maybe I’ll find out as they get stronger.

“Is it possible they could eventually gain consciousness?” Claire asked. “At some point in the far future?”

“I highly doubt it, but I am far from an expert on the subject,” Glint replied. “Perhaps. It depends on your class. For that matter, what exactly is this monster? It follows my path, but it does not seem natural.”

“It’s from the Mirrorlands,” Alex replied.

“What?” Glint asked, his head snapping to turn toward Alex. “How?”

Claire coughed. “You haven’t told him much at all yet, have you?”

“I’m working on it,” Alex replied. “All of my monsters are from the Mirrorlands. It’s part of my class. Don’t ask why. I’m more than happy to share the information you need with you, but this is personal. This contract isn’t exactly forever.”

“I — fair. That is fair,” Glint allowed. “But… you had access to the Mirrorlands? And you’ve survived the experience?”

“Have. Not had,” Alex said. “And I’m still alive, as far as I can tell.”

“How does a Nativeworlder to a newly initialized planet get continued access to the Mirrorlands?” Glint asked in disbelief. He shook his head. “Though… this does answer some questions. Anyone unfortunate or crazed enough to face the Mirrorlands multiple times so early on would grow at an astronomical rate. What else is there? This makes all the trouble with the Outworlder families considerably more fun. We may actually have a chance. The increased resources from a Tier 1 world should let you outpace them heavily.”

The surprise in Glint’s voice had shifted to excitement.

I wonder what he’d say if he finds out we’ve got invitations to the Empty Court. I think I’ll save that particular nugget of information for a bit longer.

“So we’ve noticed,” Claire said. “And I have quite a few questions for you, Silver. But none of them are time pressing, and I get the feeling the extent of what you can share is limited anyway. We’ve got enough on our plates for the time being anyway.”

“Yes,” Glint agreed. “You said something about robbing an Outworlder family.”

“Oh, shit. Yeah. What was that about?” Alex asked. “An auction or something? That sounds fun.”

“Then we should go find out,” Claire said, nodding to the door. “Because I think he’s going to start charging even more overtime.”

“I want to fight something,” Glint said. “I am not one for asking nicely, but I will do it now. Please find something for me to kill.”

“Just be patient for a bit longer. I’m just as eager to see what you’re capable of. But for the time being, don’t talk when other people can see you. I want to keep Glint’s newfound intelligence a bit of a secret.” Alex asked as he started toward the exit. “And don’t worry. Something tells me you’ll get your wish soon enough.”