Cassandra Pendragon

My surprise and overwhelming relieve cracked open the frozen walls I had erected while a wave of curiosity rushed through me and gradually blue light turned silver. Instead of the far reaches of space or even a cell, I stood on a scratched and worn out wooden floor and judging from the stale smell, it was a place that was rarely visited and even more rarely cleaned. Thank the gods!

The flames around me dimmed when I cut off the flow of energy from my core and banished the last shards of ice from my heart, eager to see what was hiding behind the fires. “What the…” for the second time in as many minutes I couldn’t make heads or tails of the scene before me. Children, nay, adolescents, three of them, a girl and two boys, stood around my pentagram, a haphazardly constructed thing, scratched into the floor with much more enthusiasm than skill. We were in a small room without windows, lit by a flameless lamp, chairs, tables, broken swords and armour piled up against the walls. There was only one door, closed and incompetently barred with pieces of broken furniture. And my summoners… well, they were elves, as much was certain. Huge, slanted eyes, pointy ears and an inborn grace that went far beyond anything I had seen humans display, even though my comparisons were a bit sparse, were dead give aways.

My mouth hung open and I must have stared at them with the same expression of disbelieve and surprise they had on their faces. The girl was the one who had actually called me, the book she had read the spell from still firmly in her grasp. I’d have put her somewhere around her 16th summer with a blossoming figure, deep, blue hair and amethyst eyes, hidden behind horn rimmed glasses. The boys were maybe a summer or two older than her, one was burly with dark hair and tanned skin, the other a rather ascetic looking blonde but both had gleaming steel swords at their sides and stared at me as if they had just encountered a ghost. They were wearing nearly identical, black tunics, which only differed in regards to the coat of arms that was embroidered on their chests. While all of them showed a scroll and a sword crossed beneath a stylised tower, the girl’s was blue and the boys’ were red. With each passing second I became more irritated, I had been summoned by a group of students by the looks of it.

“You got to be kidding me,” I said, taking care to keep my powers from reaching my voice. “Who are you?” A trickle of power slipped into my eyes and now, I knew for sure. They were just kids.

The dark haired one, who was still staring at the trail of silvery blood that sullied the side of my dress was on the verge of answering, but his more level headed companion stamped on his foot and motioned for him to remain silent.

“Don’t answer it,” the girl immediately called over her shoulder before she focused on me. “We won’t fall for your vile trickery, demon. You’re here to do our bidding, in the name…” I blocked out her ensuing litany and focused on my connection to Ahri. As soon as the link came to life, I made sure to convey images of where I was and that I wasn’t in any danger, at least for now. I felt her fear for me turn into amusement when she realised that I had been summoned by a bunch of kids, but she didn’t gloat. Instead, she went through the memories I had shared with her and said:

“You have to get that book. No idea what’s written in there, but there shouldn’t be a ritual anywhere that forces you to appear. I don’t think the circle can actually hold you, if you push, it will crumble. But, if you break it, there won’t be an easy way back for you, they won’t be able to dismiss you anymore. Do you know where you are?”

“No, I don’t even know if I’m still on Gaya.” I said morosely. She paused before she slowly asked:

“How do you even understand their language?” Right, how could I understand a single word? I allowed the few exchanges we had had to pass before my inner eye. It took me a few moments to realise that I actually didn’t understand them, not really. I had heard a bunch of gibberish but somehow their voices had been overlaid with my mother tongue, a side effect of the summoning, perhaps. Come to think of it, it was even likely.

“I don’t really know, but a part of the spell they used translates for me, I think. Damn it, I could literally be anywhere! I can’t even say for sure if the language they’re speaking is the Elvish Tongue we know.” A thread of fear might have creeped into my voice, but only a tiny one.

“Calm down, love, when they dismiss you, you’ll be transported back to my side. It’s an integral part of every summoning, otherwise the called entity might stick around and kill the summoner. But you should definitely refrain from doing anything rash until then. Otherwise you might be stuck. The girls are fine, by the way. Nobody has followed us into the sun, I think the maddened vampires were much to busy to realise we left. I’ll get them both back to our house, don’t worry about them. If anything changes on your end, you’ll let me know? Or better yet, if you feel threatened, call me over. I’ll try to come up with a way to pull you back, but…”

“You didn’t find one the last time, I know.” I replied, haltingly but calmly. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to play along, for now. Tell me when you’re back safely? I’m more worried about you, right now, they’re kids, for crying out loud. Worst case, I’ll somehow have to find my way back on my own.”

“Sure. Love you and try to keep your temper in check, they haven’t done anything to you, yet.”

“We’ll see how it goes. Love you, too. If anything happens, I’ll let you know. Take care.” The girl was still going when I focused back on her, her voice taut with concentration as she recited what I assumed was a part of most summonings. Watching her sweat while she weaved inconsequential words together would have been funny, if she hadn’t finished with a command.

“… and by the seven spheres, I command thee, bow and accept me as your master.”

“Ah, I think I’d rather not,” I replied and pointedly sat down. My wings vanished and I slung my tails around myself, unwilling to have the boys continuously ogle the more spicy place where the explosion had torn away parts of my dress. “But if you want, I’ll make sure you get home safely. Trying out strange ritual is dangerous, has no one ever told you that? I bet your parents are worried sick!”

For a second I thought I had broken her, her breathing sped up, the beads of sweat turned into streams and her eyes became unimaginably large. That her glasses didn’t fall off was about the only saving grace. Unfortunately, her comrades didn’t fare any better. Their hands trembled and the look they shared spoke volumes. They were about as afraid as I had been when I had first felt the call. I just didn’t know if that was good or bad. While scaring them into dismissing me was definitely an option, I wanted… needed that book. There was no way in hell I’d let a manual on how to bind me just lie around somewhere. Not to mention how much more could be hidden in there. Whoever had written it had had far more knowledge than should be possible… oh.

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“If you don’t want to share your names, maybe you could at least tell me where the hell I am before you faint on me,” I continued tartly. “You don’t look too good, you know?”

“I… we,” again it was the girl who answered. She seemed like the leader of their little group, a bit surprising, since she was the youngest. “No, you’re bound by the circle and have to obey my orders! In the name of the great spirits, I…”

“Am in way over my head,” I interrupted her. “Whom do you think you called here, honey? Do I look like a spirit to you? Or whatever else you imagine a demon is? Didn’t your little book there tell you? If you intend to summon powerful beings, you’d be much better off, if you knew them beforehand, or at least read about them. Otherwise you won’t be getting much older.”

She gulped and pushed her glasses further up her nose with trembling fingers, stealing her resolve. She managed to sound almost convinced when she replied:

“Doesn’t matter who you are. As long as you’re within my pentagram, you’re bound by…”

“Absolutely nothing. Here, let me show you.” I unfurled my wings and the look of awe that crossed their faces was more than satisfying. A blurry figure, appearing behind walls of fire, had probably been less intimidating than the real thing with nothing but air between us. I spread my wings wide and gently pushed against the rising flames which had ignited the very moment I tried to pass over the lines of the formation on the floor.

White eyed and paling the trio watched the carved grooves and spirals they had scratched into the floor char, silvery fires eating away at them. With every passing moment, the girl seemed to wither away, her complexion turning grey while blood began dripping from her nose and ears, her body crumbling as the formation soaked in her power to keep me detained. But before the circle broke and her life was consumed, I pulled my wings back, unwilling to kill her to make a point or to burn my return ticket on a whim. “There, still think you have me by the tails?”

“I… but…how?” She was stammering by now but she didn’t run, nor did she bother wiping away the crimson streaks on her face. Either she was too perplexed, and frozen in fear, had understood that I was a tad faster than them, if need be, or she was simply too dumb to live. The latter didn’t seem very far fetched. She had already used an incantation she had stumbled across without much concern. Not exactly the sign of a tremendous intellect. But then again, I shouldn’t judge. I had proven time and again that I was cut from the same cloth, acting without knowing was one of my specialties. Come to think of it, the only time I had managed to think with my head and not my heart had been me swallowing my anger when I had first seen the slaves and that had taken more than just a little coaxing. And I still wasn’t convinced I wouldn’t burn down the damned market the first chance I was going to get, however undesirable the outcome.

“Strength,” I shrugged. “The few glyphs you put in place only bolster yours but basically it’s your will that’s holding me here. And you, darling, are far from being my equal. Now, I think we’ve established that I’m still in here of my own volition and you might be wondering why. Since I’m in a bit of a hurry I’ll state it plainly. I want you to dismiss me and I want that book in your hand. I’m even willing to bargain for it. So… why did you summon me?”

The girl and the dark haired boy exchanged worried glances but before they could speak up, the third musketeer blurted out: “who in the nine hells are you?” His outburst made me smile. I couldn’t be completely sure, but the nine hells were a part of Gaya’s religion. Maybe I hadn’t left my home world after all.

“If you want the full story, it’ll cost you. I already named my price. But for now, you can call me Cassandra.” His eyes narrowed and I thought I saw a flicker of recognition pass over his face when I stated my name. Had he heard it before? Somehow the idea of them knowing who I was sent a cold shiver up my spine, even though I couldn’t quite understand why. It shouldn’t make much of a difference but I couldn’t shake my queasiness when I imagined them realising that I was actually a kitsune princess. Anonymity and lies were my biggest bargaining chips and I loathed the idea of giving either one up.

“And what about you,” I continued in a valiant attempt to distract them. “I can keep on using pet names, but that might become quite embarrassing. Or do you actually like it when I call you darling?” A bright blush was my reward and when his eyes roamed over my tattered dress once again, I felt reassured that he wasn’t thinking about my name anymore. At least for now.

“Uh, you… you can,” he stammered before the girl hissed:

“Don’t! Remember what they taught us? Never tell them anything!” Her voice was more strained than it had been a minute before and she had finally wiped away the blood trails on her face, but she still managed to sound like a nagging mother, an impressive feat, all things considered. “Tell her your name and the next thing you know, she’ll be after your family! Don’t do it!”

“Oh my,” I said nonchalantly, “you’re either paranoid or wise beyond your years, I can’t tell which. Alright, if you’re so adamant about keeping your names to yourselves, I’ll call you Bob, Tom and Lizzy.” I pointed at each of them in turn. “Now, you can at least tell me why you summoned me, can you not? After all, I can’t simply guess what you want me to do. How about this: if it’s in any way reasonable, I’ll help you out in exchange for the book and your promise to send me back the moment we’re done.” She clutched the book tighter to her chest, obviously reluctant to part with it so I continued:

“Look, I don’t know what exactly is written in there, but I’ve got a pretty good idea and if you cobbled together a ritual to summon me from its pages, I’d wager that the rest isn’t safe for you to use either. Let’s face the facts here, if I wanted to, I could have killed you the minute I arrived. And if you try out another spell, you’ll probably end up dealing with someone who has much less qualms with sending you west. Incidentally, where did you even find the tome? I can’t imagine it was stored away somewhere in a library.” Judging from their troubled expression, that was exactly where they had found it.

“Oh come on,” I huffed. “Are you seriously telling me that you found an uncatalogued book in the middle of your library and thought it a good idea to try out one of the rituals described within?”

“The ritual,” Bob, the dark haired boy replied. “There was only one. There’s more in there but we can’t read the rest. I’ve never even heard of the language the other spells are written in and every translation magic we tried so far failed. We wanted to ask if you could help us out.”

“Don’t know, I’d have to see it first. But really, even if I can translate it, you’d be far better off if you stayed the hell away from any spell in there.”

“Why,” Lizzy asked, her confidence returning. “You didn’t harm us, even though you claim you could have. What makes you so sure the others would be any different?”

“Sweetheart, you’re still bleeding from your nose and eyes and I didn’t even try. I wouldn’t call that unharmed. The only reason I’m not marching over to you right now and pry the book from your cold, withered hands is, that I need you to send me back. You’ve got no idea whom you’re playing with and trust me, even though I don’t want to hurt you, I won’t hesitate for a second if it means I can stop you from summoning another member of my race to this world. I’d rather have your blood on my hands than that of the countless souls who would perish if I allowed you to continue.” They gulped when the playfulness left my eyes to be replaced by cold determination.

“And make no mistake, I’ll leave here with the book in my hands, one way or the other. It’s up to you to decide whether you gain something for it or die trying to keep me from it. The choice is yours but the outcome will be the same, at least for me.” Admittedly, I was omitting quite a bit. I wouldn’t kill them if there was another way. Judging from their panicked expressions, my acting hadn’t been too shabby either. My glowing eyes might have helped, too.

“If I were in your shoes, I’d think long and hard about what you actually want from me. I’m not going to pretend like I can snap my fingers and make all your dreams come true, but there are a couple of things I can do and I’m stilling willing to help you in exchange for the tome.”

They shared another look, fear and concern clearly written across their faces but there was also a spark of hope, buried deep down. After a moment the girl whispered: “my freedom.”