Summons

Chapter 34: The Contractor

        Crowe stared at the shimmering white portal for a couple of seconds before the realization took over.

        Quickly he scrambled to his feet and slipped on his duster. With a wave of his arm Sorzoran disappeared into his circle and Fiera did the same for Zarahie.

        "What's goin' on?!" Anna Belle exclaimed.

        "Dismiss Bill and come with us!" Hayato answered as he dropped his chopsticks.

        She did as she was told and stood back for everyone to scramble for their belongings.

        "Let's go!" Crowe ordered as he rushed through the portal.

       There was a falling sensation as the house melted away and reformed into an empty, barren wasteland.

        "Where are we?" Anna Belle asked hesitantly.

        "I don't know, somewhere secluded, obviously..." Crowe said as he surveyed the environment. "I can't see anything..."

        He raised his arm to summon Sorzoran and the dragon appeared underneath them. The dragon climbed out and simultaneously positioned the group on his back. With a roar and a crouch he leapt into the air and flapped his wings. After a couple of powerful flaps he gained enough altitude to even out and glide over the terrain, looking for any signs of life, or life lost.

        There! Sorzoran's voice boomed in their heads.

        His wings tucked into his body and he dived, forcing the group to grab onto the crest that ran down his back to keep from falling off.

        He landed with a crash, sending a cloud of dirt into the air.

        With a flap of his wings the dust was pushed away to reveal a man holding onto Annora's wrist. 

        Crowe leapt down from Sorzoran, twinblade already in hand, and faced off against the two. There was about 100 feet distance between them.

        "Annora... are you okay?" Crowe asked without removing his gaze from the man holding her.

        He was young, even younger than Crowe, and his appearance at the moment was unnatural at the least. The whites of his eyes were completely turned red and the iris itself was solid black. He didn't have a shirt on, only pants, which made his sickly skin tone look even worse.

        "I'm fine... for now..." She replied calmly.

        "Good..." Crowe took a step forward, "Let her go!"

        The sickening sound of bone breaking permeated the air as the man gave a flick of his wrist. Annora fell to her knees and cried out.

        "No..." his raspy voice sounded all too clear despite the distance between them. "Don't take another step."

        Annora grit her teeth and looked up at the man as her free hand held onto her other arm.

        "How pathetic..." he smiled. "What the mighty dragon summoners have been reduced to... A shell of a woman and a kid with no real experience... Pity..."

        Crowe clenched his fist but didn't move, he didn't want to risk Annora any more injury.

        "You're soul..." he lifted Annora by her broken wrist until she was eye level with him. "It's strong... and yet it's wavering... You don't want to live anymore do you?"

        Annora turned away from the man as he moved his face closer to hers.

        "Mmmmm fear..." he said as he sniffed her cheek. He made an erotic noise as he pulled away, "That makes it all the sweeter. You don't want to live... You want to die... and yet... you're refusing? Mmmmm such a combination of flavors that you don't usually find," he hissed as he licked her cheek.