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Idsel turned and caught the hilt of the axe before Nala could step out wielding it.

“Calm, Na’am, they are only Summoners,” Idsel said, trying to sound as humble as he could.

Nala lowered the axe as her gray eyes took them in.

Plasket extended his hand for a shake. “Greetings, Sister, did we startle you?”

Holding the axe close to her chest, Nala shook the stranger’s hand.

Idsel feared Nala would allow them to enter the barn. When he saw Nala close the door behind her and step out into the dusk, he calmed.

A ruckus from inside would put him at ease. Now he could only imagine the mess Boon and Crane would make.

“We saw two young wearing red. That is how we knew to come this way. I’m Plasket and we’d like a word if it’s all the same to you.”

Idsel stepped close to the barn, resting his back against the door in hopes to keep the ones inside in, and the ones outside very much out.

The stone fence wasn’t far so Nala gestured to it and offered them a seat there.

From here, Idsel couldn’t hear much but he recognized the two crossing of hearts Plasket made. These Summoners shared Nala’s faith. It had been seasons since they’d even talked about beliefs.

They didn’t converse for long and when the strangers stood and bowed to leave, Idsel could finally remember how to breathe.

Nala’s radiant face came into view just as the last of the suns’ light all but faded.

“They asked permission to come back in the morning,” Nala said.

Idsel eased off the door. “And you gave it? You gave that permission without discussing it first?”

Remembering herself, finally, Nala lowered her gaze. “Yes. I gave it. But I will keep them outside.”

In the morning, Idsel and his small family arrived back from bathing in the river, to find four Summoners instead of three. The newest one was young, and he was only at his second stage rather than his third. He also wore a gunny-sack robe similar to Idsel and Nala’s.

“Molin!” Nala called out.

Idsel couldn’t place the youth at first until they were near enough for him to see the tentative posture; the Summoner from nearly a season ago.

As they neared, Nala did a strange thing; she slowed and walked behind Crane, guarding his back.

“Please give us some time,” Nala said. She hurried in with Crane then came back with one of Idsel’s fancy robes draped over the boy. It was so large that it dragged in the dirt, forcing Nala to tie it up.

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Crane took Boon to see the plants, naming them for him as often did while they jumped around the field. Idsel stayed close to the crowd though he didn’t interact with them.

Plasket smiled big when Nala returned and they all shared a handshake.

“You are a Summoner among royality!” he exclaimed, unknowingly accurate in his words. “You have a Leveler male under your rule? And your two babes are Levelers, too.”

“I’m sorry I misunderstood,” Molin said, taking a seat beside Plesket. “I’d...I’d thought there was no offspring here, just you two. I’d imagined you’d been caught and perhaps overpowered by a Leveler, perhaps doing his bidding, but now I am happy to see myself mistaken.”

Idsel hoped Nala wouldn’t correct them. The less they knew, the better.

Nala sat confident. “What brings you to this area?”

They talked about nonsense; which Earther city Plesket and his friends had escaped from during the wars. They talked about the struggles and then finally the heavy rains that told them they were on the wrong path and needed to make a change.

Idsel gnashed his teeth to keep from laughing.

And then they said the one thing Idsel hadn’t expected.

“We are the new face of Summoners. We’ve discovered the secret to forcing the stages. Of course, you’ve already managed to reach this stage, Nala-da. But many others still meander about like animals in their first stages. As we have taken over many Earther structures and stuffs, we can spend the rest of our days comfortably in these beautiful suits and scale-free bodies. We even cook our foods.”

“You have fire?” Nala gasped.

“No. No fire. The suns are hot enough. Will you feast with us and see? We will start this new adventure soon. No more eating raw meat like livestock! And thanks to us, it’s mostly safe here.” Plasket patted the pistol on his hip. “We’ve cleared out most of the dangerous predators. None should bother you. That’s power!”

Idsel stifled a laugh. As if animals are your biggest worry. Summoners ate plant-things mostly, though they could eat meat. Growing food was a must, however. The farm was hard to work. So difficult that Nala often tended to it at dusk and before dawn. During the day she did minimal work because of the harsh suns. She could go out into it, but eventually she would return in and out of the barn to keep herself safe. The meat Idsel hunted kept their offspring fed but wasn’t to Nala’s taste. But to cook it? No Leveler would eat meat that didn’t run with blood.

These Summoners intended to seek out a third stage body despite the food challenges?

And those worries in comparison to the mating necessary was an even bigger concern. Nala was constantly seeking out affection, be it physical touch or a lay in the brush. Idsel recognized it because as Indel, his entire day revolved around that same goal—meeting Nala after dark. As Idsel it was only a nagging craving. Idrus barely cared. So as Idsel he could see his Summoner’s ravenous appetite to mate for what it was, a body stuck in a constant state of mating-readiness. Nala was Nala, but she was also a stage-three Summoner.

“We have more than enough food and clothes for new members of our clan,” Plasket went on.

“You have a clan?” Nala asked. “Not a family?”

“But of course we have a clan. And we’re growing more and more. Smaller families can live close by; we help one another. And if you worry about...desires.” Plasket glanced in Idsel’s direction but said to Nala, “That too is not a worry. All the comforts that you seek out, we are able to meet for one another. I understand that your need for mating is what drove you into such a strange situation with a Leveler male as your chosen. As they cannot survive well in the wild in low numbers and Levelers eat at a constant, you are now forced to feed all four you. Should you join as well, that is not an issue. If you worry about wild animals, we do have several stage-one Summoners who go to and fro for us until they can reach their second stage by which time we grant them the rewards of the third.”

Molin bowed his head. “I thank you for the gunny-sack,” he said. “But when I reach my third stage I’ll repay you. Somehow. I promise.”

Nala looked between them.

“Yes,” Plesket said, “Molin is next to take on his third and final stage. Don’t you know the power of the gamali leaf? It brings on the change—forces it. With that we can control the shifts. We will grant Molin a long life in that handsome body to come.”

“But how?” Nala asked. “In time the seasons will catch him and he will shift to stage one yet again, will he not?”

“Of course not,” Plesket said. “Not after we cut off his tail to prove his covenant. God will grant him the third stage evermore.”