Alex’s feet hit solid ground as the warped version of his dorm materialized, painted in the unsettlingly long shadows. Even though Alex was expecting it, his heart lurched into his throat as he saw a pair of eyes waiting for him.
Instead of watching him from the darkness, they were now just a few feet away from him in the doorway leading over to the next room. A ghostly black form floated in the air, its body twisted like a rope. Parts of it were solid while others were completely translucent, and a long, jagged sword hung loosely in one of its hands.
Purple letters shimmered above the monster’s head.
Shaded Hauntling (Novice 2)
The Hauntling’s red eyes smoldered and its mouth split apart as it let out a low, keening wail. Alex thrust his card forward. Before he could even say Glint’s name, the monster seemed to sense his desires.
Glass tinkled across the ground as Glint’s claws ripped a portal through the air and the monster stepped out and stood between Alex and the apparition. The Hauntling’s wail turned to a scream and it lurched toward him.
“Defend me!” Alex yelled.
Glint leapt into motion. The Hauntling’s sword flashed down toward the glass monster, but Glint made no move to dodge it. A loud clang echoed through the dark, warped room as claws collided against blade.
Even though Glint’s claws had carved clean through stone with no difficulty, whatever the Hauntling’s blade was made from was strong enough to withstand them. The Hauntling pulled back, and Alex noted that even though the blade had survived the attack, there were several large notches in its metal.
“Go for the sword again!” Alex commanded. The Hauntling’s eyes latched onto him and it flew forward, trying to run him through.
Alex threw himself into a roll, and Glint snarled behind him. Another clang echoed through the room, followed by a third. This one was accompanied by a loud crash. Alex turned just in time to see the top of the Hauntling’s sword bounce off the stone ground, severed.
“Now finish it.” Adrenaline pumped through Alex’s veins. “Cut its head off!”
Glint leapt – and the Hauntling turned fully translucent. The Shardwalker hurtled straight through the other monster, passing it harmlessly. As soon as Glint was behind the Hauntling, the ghostly creature spun and slammed what remained of its sword into the back of the smaller creature’s neck.
Glass shattered as the sword bit home, and Glint slumped like a puppet with its strings cut. Alex’s stomach clenched and he swore. He didn’t even bother hoping that Glint would get back up – the monster was limp and lifeless.
Shit. What am I doing? I don’t know what I’m up against, and I just threw my only weapon’s life away because I was too impatient to feel things out better.
The Hauntling turned its eyes toward Alex, flicking Glint from the end of its broken sword. It started to howl, not giving him time to lament his mistake any longer.
Glint’s body shimmered as it flew through the air, then turned into a streamer of shimmering silver energy a moment before it hit the ground. The energy flew past the Hauntling and sank into Alex’s body.
A river of prickling cold coursed across Alex’s skin. Still screaming, the Hauntling charged him, rearing back to plunge its damaged weapon into his neck.
Alex grabbed the monster’s arm as it slammed into him. His muscles screamed as he pushed with all his might, keeping the blade from plunging down into his skin. The Hauntling drove its other hand into his stomach, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him stumbling back into the wall.
Brick rippled behind Alex and gave way like a net. He shoved himself away from the wall and it reformed, but not before he caught a glimpse of a dim red sky outside. His heart slammed in his chest. His dorm was six stories up. If he’d completely fallen through the wall —
The hauntling’s sword flashed. Alex’s eyes widened and he drove his hands up with all the strength he could muster, grabbing the weapon by its hilt. His arms trembled with exertion as the monster slowly brought the sword closer to his neck. He was losing.
He thrust his hands to the side and twisted his body to the left, letting the sword flash right past his arm. In the same motion, Alex grabbed onto the solid parts of the Hauntling’s throat. It might have been strong, but it had no legs to keep him from tossing it. He drove his shoulder into the wall behind him.
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Brick burst out and flew back, scattering through the air like dozens of pool balls. Alex put all his weight into his shoulder as he let out a scream of defiance and twisted his body, flinging the Hauntling into the open air.
Its free hand shot out as it fell and snagged Alex by the ankle. There was a sharp tug, and then the world spun above him. His back slammed into the ground and the air drove from his lungs for the second time as the Hauntling dragged him toward his death.
Alex’s hands scrabbled against the ground as he struggled to find purchase on the rug. He slipped over the edge, but his fingers found a lip in the wall a moment before he pitched down to his death. He held on for dear life as he dangled in the open air, wind howling around him. The Hauntling let out a screech. Its hand dug into the back of his pants as it started to pull itself up. The monster’s sword slammed into the building just beside Alex’s head, digging into the stone and acting as a handhold as the Hauntling extended a hand over him to reach for solid ground.
“I don’t think so,” Alex snarled, grabbing the hilt of the sword and flinging his body to the side. The Hauntling kept its grip on the blade, but it wasn’t anywhere near as heavy as it was strong. It flailed through the air and momentarily lost its balance.
Alex twisted himself, locking eyes with the Hauntling. The monster screamed in his face. He drove his free hand forward with a snarl, striking the monster in the chest and pushing with everything he had.
There was a loud snik.
The Haunting’s screech cut off abruptly. Alex stared at the monster, his heart hammering violently in his chest. It looked equally as surprised as it pitched back, sliding off his hand and plummeting through the air toward a mess of odd, twisted buildings far below.
A glittering mirror fragment had burst free from the center of his palm and driven straight through the monster’s chest. The mirror shattered, falling to the ground in a rain of shimmering silver.
Alex didn’t question his luck or stick around to properly take a look at the scenery. He grabbed the sword with both hands and braced his legs against the side of the building. With a heave, he pulled himself back into the room and pushed himself away from the wall. He rolled across the ground and laid flat, his heart slamming so hard in his chest that it threatened to break a bone. He drew in deep, shaky breaths as he steadied himself.
A rush of cool energy entered his chest, wound around his heart, and sent a shiver down his spine. It felt like he’d just downed the strongest, freshest energy drink of his life — but infinitely more satisfying. He didn’t just feel energized. He felt stronger.
Swallowing to try and get some moisture back in his mouth, he pushed himself upright. A small mote of greenish flame floated just beside the edge of the wall, which had already reformed as if nothing had happened.
He looked from it to his palm.
There was no trace of where the blade had emerged from on Alex’s skin, but a simple thought brought another glistening blade to bear at the tip of one of his fingers. Alex dismissed it with another, staring at his body in disbelief.
So that’s what it means to take on Glint’s abilities? I suppose I should be happy I didn’t grow spikes out of my entire body and destroy my clothes.
His hands shook as he clenched and unclenched them a few times, hardly able to believe that he was still alive.
It wasn’t fear that made him tremble, though. It was excitement. A laugh slipped from Alex’s lips, intensifying as the adrenaline drove his frayed nerves to the max. He was alive. And, more importantly, that fight had been fun.
“Oh, yeah. This is it,” Alex murmured to himself as his laughter finally petered out. He drew in a deep breath to steady himself and let it out slowly. “That was exhilarating. I’m going to enjoy this.”
He glanced around for his Spatial Mirror, only to find that it was back in the metal box. Alex had lost track of it during the fight after the Hauntling attacked him, but he knew for a fact that he hadn’t returned it to the box.
It must return automatically. Convenient.
Alex pulled the mirror out and glanced over it. From the description of his abilities, he was pretty sure that Glint wasn’t dead, but he wanted to make sure.
Spatial Mirror
Stored Energy: None
Bonded Creature: Shardwalker (Regenerating)
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn’t completely wasted his companion’s life. There wasn’t much point in being a summoner if all his summons got killed in the first few seconds of a fight.
His gaze lowered to the floating mote of black light that the Hauntling had left behind. It looked remarkably similar to the energy that had been floating in his mirror – aside from the color, that was.
He extended a hand and let a finger brush across the flame. A faint shiver ran down his arm. It wasn’t anything near as intense as the energy that had summoned Glint, but it was definitely of the same variant.
Alex grabbed the mote and brought it over to the mirror. It had a spot to hold energy, so he was pretty sure that—
Before he could even bring the flame all the way up to the mirror’s face, it was sucked from his fingers and drawn into its silvery surface. The card rippled before returning to a plain, dark background, but the words at the top changed.
Spatial Mirror
Stored Energy:
Low Novice Grade (Shaded Hauntling) – 1
Bonded Creature: Shardwalker (Regenerating)
“Well then,” Alex said, lowering the mirror and scooting up to lean against one of the warped walls. “I guess it’s time to sit around and wait for Glint to come back. And, once he does, I’m going to check out where the hell we’re stuck. That Trial message I got right when I arrived here said I had to escape, and that means there’s a way out. And, if there’s a way out, we’re going to find it.”