Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“You swapped,” Diana said. “The Rogans took your sister, and you took Arabella.”
He nodded. “It’s an arrangement that works for both children. I know that Connor and Nevada will not put my sister in harm’s way, and they understand that I will do the same for Arabella. Have I passed the trust test?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, how may I help you?”
“What I am about to tell you is secret,” Diana said. “And I would kill to keep it that way in the literal sense of that word.”
“Understood.”
“Are you familiar with Zeus?”
“The Greek god or your brother’s tiger?”
“The tiger.”
She took a slim tablet from her purse, flicked her fingers across it, and showed it to him. On the screen, a massive animal stretched, vaguely feline, a distant cousin of a tiger if tigers had blue fur splattered with darker and paler rosettes and a fringe of six-inch-long tentacles around their necks.
All the magic talents in the world fit into three broad categories: elemental, mental, and arcane. The elemental mages commanded the proverbial elements—fire, water, weather and so on. The mental mages displayed powers of the mind, like telekinesis, illusion, and truthseeking. Everything else, everything that was odd and unusual, fit into the category of arcane.
Of the arcane discipline, summoning was one of the least understood. Summoners reached into the arcane realm, a place of magic outside of normal reality, called forth monstrous creatures, and hurled these biological weapons at their opponents. Nobody knew exactly how any of it worked, and the summoners were not forthcoming with explanations.
Creatures brought over by weaker summoners vanished when their temporary masters lost focus. Monsters conjured by upper-level mages stayed in the world permanently, but most summoned creatures had short lifespans, even with the best of care. They withered, like repotted plants that failed to take root. Sometimes it took days, sometimes weeks, but eventually all arcane creatures perished. With the exception of the organisms that were planted into a human host.
Zeus had been plucked from an arcane realm by a summoner Prime, who used him to attack Nevada Baylor and Diana’s brother, Cornelius. Somehow during that confrontation, Cornelius had tamed Zeus against all odds, severing the link between the creature and the summoner.
Augustine had looked into it after the incident. No animal mage on record had even been able to bond with a summoned beast. Cornelius was the only exception, and the bond between them somehow kept Zeus alive and thriving.
“We decided to call the species Tigrionex,” Diana said.
Tigris, Latin for tiger, and nex meaning violent death. “Tiger of slaughter?”
“Yes.” Diana slid her finger across the tablet. Another image appeared, still of Zeus. Wait, no. This blue tiger was slightly different. It looked a little smaller, and its blue fur had a slight purple tint.
Augustine glanced at Diana. “You obtained a second tiger?”
She nodded. “Cornelius and I had purchased her at great expense. She had been manifested by a Prime summoner during a feud with a rival House and critically injured in that fight. They agreed to sell her to us because she was dying.”
The cost must’ve been astronomical.
“Her name is Celeste. I was able to form a pact with her.”
“Not Hera?”
“No. We didn’t want to jinx it.”
House Harrison had access to two summoned beasts, and both of them had bonded to their tamers. Clearly, there was something special about that family.
“Zeus and Celeste were allowed to mate. Before you ask, it was voluntary on their part. We would never exercise our influence over our animals to force a breeding. It was a difficult pregnancy.”
“What about cloning or surrogacy?” he asked.
“That would have meant taking the choice away from them.”
So they would risk a massive investment for the sake of maintaining the animals’ autonomy. Interesting.
“We almost lost the mother, but in the end a single cub was born.”
Another swipe of her fingers, and a new image. A shockingly adorable blue cub, all fluff, big eyes, and oversized paws. He wasn’t given to sentimentality, but even he had to admit that the cuteness was off the charts.
An arcane creature born in this world. He could think of several highly educated magic experts who would argue that this little beast couldn’t exist and would happily die on that hill.
If anyone found out about this, the Harrisons would come under massive pressure. Some would want to study the cub, some would want to purchase it, and others would want to kill it to keep the Harrisons from rising in power. A House who could breed and command arcane beasts. Not summon them with an expiration date but keep them, permanently. The potential was staggering.
“What’s the cub’s name?” he asked.
“We call her Kitty.”
Augustine blinked.
“It’s a placeholder name. We were hoping that when Kitty grew a little, Matilda would form a pact with her. My niece is very talented, and she sounds mature, but she is still a nine-year-old child. She makes reckless decisions. Cornelius and I will do everything in our power to protect her, but we cannot be everywhere at once.”