Crack!

I toss the broken leg of the wooden bedframe into the corner with the rest of the furniture we’ve destroyed. Kierra is in the process of breaking down the rest of it. On the opposite side of the room, Father and Uncle are supervising the servants bringing in the materials I ordered from the Guiness family and our work with sour expressions.

“This is a bit…excessive,” Uncles says, wincing as I break another piece of furniture. I know he wants to use a stronger word but even now, he doesn’t want to alienate my wife who is right next to me in this destruction. “What exactly is it you plan on summoning?”

“I’d prefer to keep that a secret.” If they knew what I was planning, it would lead to some awkward explanations. Their interest in me now can’t be compared to what they’d do if they found out that I had seven affinities. I’d have to cut away the lips stuck to my ass. “Can you guys leave? Peeping on a summoning is bad form.”

Father sniffs. “I hope your success is worth all this commotion.” Then he leaves without a backward glance.

I heard that. He said my success. Well, he did train me himself so he has complete confidence in my ability as a summoner. Still, it’s a little heartwarming. Much more than the scowl my Uncle wears as he leaves the room.

When the final box is put down and the last servant leaves, I move to the smallest one and pull out a box of well-maintained carving tools along with several long smudge sticks. I give the polished wood floor a pitying glance. “Kierra, I’m going to need your help. No one can come into this room.” It goes beyond hiding my new potential. I’m about to summon a circle 7 don. After my success, the tiniest part of my summoning circle will be worth more than enough to pay the taxman.

“Do your work without worry. I’ll even make sure you don’t starve yourself during the process.”

I nod. Tearing off my tunic, I grab my notes, spreading them out across the only table not broken into bits. Familiarizing myself with my starting point, I kneel on the floor and begin to draw, quickly losing myself in the work.

-

The sound of the door opening causes my head to snap up. “Wait!”

Kierra pauses with one foot in the air, holding a tray in one hand and a book in the other. An eyebrow goes up at my shout. “Explain?”

“I just wanted you to be careful. I’ve just about ready to start. If anything gets disturbed and I carve wrong, it’ll ruin everything.” I slowly get to my feet and step around my drawing. Taking the tray from her hand, I lead her to the table. Her eyes flick over the gigantic circle drawn on the floor while I attack the snack foods and guzzle down the fruit juice.

“You’ve been busy.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Since your circle is complete, you’ll be starting the summoning soon then?”

I choke on my last bite. Kierra steps over to me quickly but I stop her before she starts pounding on my back. “I’m fine. Just surprised.” Really, she’s married to someone from the Tome family and still said something like this. Good thing it wasn’t in public. I admit, I’d be embarrassed to be anywhere near her if it were. “I’m going to have to educate you. Here.”

I grab her hand and pull her over to the edge of the circle. “You should know that spells are a mix of calculation and intention. You solve the spell and then pour your intention into it. The numbers are a way to clearly communicate your will to the mana as they help the caster visualize each step. However, summoning is pure intention. There’s only one place for any numbers.” I point to the center of the circle where a few symbols are knotted together. “Describes what I’m summoning. The rest describes my intention.”

“Hah…”

I sigh at her vacant smirk. It’s cute but come on. “Okay. Technically, yes. I could do the summoning right now but remember, this is a physical representation of my intention. Something so crude is like…think of it as inviting a lady out to dinner.”

She bursts into laughter. “I’m serious! That’s exactly what it is. This circle is me calling out to a stranger and asking her to go out with me. I’ve got a few minutes to convince her to spend the night. No, contracts are a bigger commitment. I’ve got a few minutes to convince a stranger to marry me and if I make a bad impression, that’s it.

“Working with that metaphor, how do you think an elemental will respond to being summoned into something like this? It’s like proposing with a ring made of folded paper.”

She laughs louder but at my glare, she covers her mouth with a hand in an attempt to muffle it. Seeing her amusement, I can’t help but chuckle. Saying it out loud, it really does sound ridiculous but there are still so-called summoners who do it.

“Then what is your carving into the floor?” she asks once she has control of herself.

“The wood itself is good quality. Doesn’t have the same permanence of stone or the elegance of precious metals but I’d say it’s something like low quality silver. But I’ve got a plan to make it better.”

“…the materials you acquired.”

“Mmhmm. Materials that naturally accumulate mana of different affinities or are similar in properties to the world succubi live in, Burning Earth. By incorporating familiar aspects, it makes my invitation more inviting. Now, look closely. What do you see?”

A warm feeling fills my chest as she lets go of my hand and slowly walks around the perimeter. It’s nice seeing the one I’m most interested in appreciating my other interests. After a full revolution, she’s standing on my opposite side. “At first, I thought it was merely one large drawing but it’s actually several drawings blended together.”

I snap my fingers. “Yes! Exactly. Can you describe someone in numbers? Maybe what they are, but not who they are. Elementals never give their true names so simply scribbling that won’t do anything. However, they can recognize events. These are representations of known interactions with my target, the Crimson Flame, Geneva. That’s one half. The other half represents me. The places where they meet are my intentions for the contract.”

“You put a lot of effort into this.”

“Hah! Effort? Please. It’ll take another two days to finish carving, hopefully, and another day arranging the materials. Everyone thinks summoning is about negotiating with elementals. Real summoners know that 90% of the work happens before you even use a drop of mana.”

I can’t ignore the haughty pride in my voice as I say that. Kierra acknowledges it as well with twinkling eyes. Saints protect me, this woman delights in the parts of my personality that any normal person would find offensive. I think I’ve matured some after meeting her but at this rate, I’m bound to turn into some kind of degenerate.

“Mm. I’ll give you your space to work then. And don’t worry, I’ll be careful coming in.”

“Oh, yeah. Where are you sleeping?” Since we kind of destroyed the bed…

“The fourth guestroom. I’d say see you tonight but something tells me you won’t be around much until this is over.”

I grunt in agreement, my gaze already refocusing on my circle. She gives me a quick kiss before leaving the room and I go back to my tools, kneeling as I continue my work.

With each scrape, I think of my target. Geneva. As a circle 7 don, she’s pretty famous. For one, she’s answered the most calls of any other her rank. Even those not from the Grimoire family. A few members of the Tome family have contacted her, which is why I have so much information.

Unfortunately, the reason why she answers the calls is because she has a penchant for schemes. The story is always the same. She comes and she answers their questions. Many advancements in both water and healing spells have come from her. She baits the summoners with information, drawing them closer. Then, when she finds their true desire, she demands an unreasonable price.

Unreasonable, but not impossible. I read an account from an obscure summoner who summoned her at the request of a prominent water mage. In return for knowledge, she asked for the blood of four infants from noble houses. The water mage bound the summoner so he couldn’t talk and secured the infants. It almost caused a civil war. Nevertheless, the spells were passed down.

From what I’ve seen, Geneva is a top-class manipulator and more than a little sadistic. However, she is also a huge font of knowledge with an inclination toward teaching, incredible understanding of magic, and is not averse to destroying the status quo. All qualities I’m looking for in my goal of destroying the Grimoires and can prove useful for the future.

I’m thinking about all of this as I work, going over every detail I remember. After a time, I start to fantasize about what she will look like. What she’ll sound like. There are descriptions but the brief words and clumsy drawings can’t possibly do her justice.

Is it obsession? Love? In one of the records I read from a Tome summoner, he says that you have to truly love your elemental if you want any hope of being successful. I think that may be an exaggeration but I’m darn close. There is no part of me that isn’t invested in this. I want to meet her so bad I can practically taste the ash that makes up majority of Burning Earth.

Ah. I can’t wait to see you Geneva~

-

Five days later, I stumble into the fourth guestroom, sparing just enough time to strip before falling into bed. Long arms scoop me up and pull me against a warm body. “Hello, stranger,” Kierra whispers.

I groan.

“You were cutting it close. Jac and Maxine scheduled their next event for tomorrow night. Would have been a shame if you missed it.”

Didn’t she say a week? Well, I guess it’s close enough. “It’s going to be quite a party,” I say with a tired smile. “Did you want to watch?”

“I won’t be intruding?”

“Nah. In fact, your presence might be helpful. But I’ll need you to follow my instructions.”

“It’s your show, dedia.” I turn around, burying my face in her chest. She chuckles and strokes my hair. “How exciting. I hope you don’t disappoint me.”

Way to lay the pressure me. Hmph. If I hadn’t just dangled on the line of sanity to complete my circle to perfection, I might be intimidated by that statement. My wife, you can relax and enjoy the show, because I am entirely confident.

As if to prove it, my body relaxes and suddenly drops me into a deep sleep.