Nasi

Rowen closed the book and set it down on the table in front of her. She then proceeded to prop her legs on the arm of the oversized chair she had spent the last hour sitting on. She had gone over the book twice in that hour and had taken her time to read it.

One of the abilities she had now as someone whose soul was merged with a demon was the ability to quickly read, and comprehend the written word. It was her favorite ability. Ever since she was a toddler she had enjoyed reading. She did not know how to read at that age, but it had not stopped her from making up stories based on the pictures.

Now she never had to worry about having a pile of 'to be read' books. No, her issue now was not having enough to read. She also remembered everything she read now, which was great for studying.

"I'm bored."

"How much longer are you required to stay here?"

The headmaster had sent her to a room that was a few doors down from his office. It kept her close, but still gave both of them some privacy. She hoped that he would decide to teach her, she knew that he would be better at it than Mr. Edwards.

"Three more hours. That's when school ends and my ride arrives."

Naris was sitting across from her in a matching chair. Rowen figured that the room was used for more informal meetings. It just had the two chairs, with a rectangle table between them. There were paintings on the walls of various places, one of which was a long view of Gailuri's tower from the entrance of Lumen.

Another picture was that of Bheka Marsh. It was a rather bleak picture compared to the tower with the city lights around it. A flat, watery landscape with a few withered trees here and there. This particular scene was illuminated by the full moons of Aros and Caedos, haloed in purple during the lunar event that happens every few months. If she remembered correctly, it had happened the day she met Gabriel.

"Which magic academy is this one?"

Rowen turned to look at Naris, "Gailuri. Have you been here before?"

"No. The last Summoner I contracted with was nearly two hundred years ago, they went to Trys Magic Academy in Caseri."

"That's a mysterious school. You don't hear much about them, though I know that the students that graduate there are strong. It's currently ranked number two, under Gailuri.

"Have you been summoned often?"

Nasi shrugged, "How do you define 'often?' I had previously agreed to have my name written in a family book the early part of the third cycle. The last time I was summoned it was the eldest child of that family's current generation at the time."

Rowen sat up and leaned forward, elbows resting on her legs, "Can I ask why they never summoned you again?"

Nasi looked away for a moment, "The whole family was wiped out. Seth was in his second year at Trys when it happened and managed to survive another year. I'm still not sure how they did it, but they managed to sneak into his room without me sensing them and stabbed him to death in his bed.

"Everything that belonged to the Sardou family was destroyed so no one knew my name to summon me."

"Hmm, maybe one day we'll make a trip to Caseri if you'd like."

Nasi smiled, showing just a hint of teeth, "I appreciate the consideration, master. I hope that this will not offend you, but you are a unique creature. I have some idea of what you are and it is something that I never thought I would live to see."

Rowen held up her right hand and it was suddenly engulfed in hellfire. Nasi's smile broadened and its red eyes seemed to glow. Rowen laughed, the hellfire was extinguished as she leaned back in the chair. She placed her feet on the table, legs crossed at the ankle.

"Someone recently gathered a bunch of Summoners to do a full-on sacrificial summoning on a high-level demon. I was to be the sacrificial part of it and ended up forging a partnership instead.

"Tell me about some of your previous experiences being summoned. What was Caseri like?"

The rest of their time was spent with Nasi telling Rowen about its time in Caseri. Nasi told her about the first time it was summoned, and when it first met the Sardou family.

Hyacinth was the one who came to let them know that they were free to leave.

"Don't forget that you will be coming here on Kaijin after P.E. for the second half of your day. Mr. Ravae has decided to teach you, so come ready to learn.

"Also, before you leave, I have registered Nasi as your demon. This car will allow you to take it outside of the school grounds, though it cannot use its powers while out."

Hyacinth handed Rowen a green card that was a probational Summoner's license. It limited everything that she could do outside of school, to the point that the only thing Nasi could do was be seen. Nasi would be allowed to freely walk around as long as Rowen was with it.

After Hyacinth handed her the card she then turned to Nasi and held out a stack of clothes. It was the uniform that all demons had to wear, it let everyone at school, and outside of school, know that it was a demon. It was necessary because all demons could change their appearance to look more human. It was a black version of what Rowen was wearing.

"This pin will also help others identify the two of you." Hyacinth handed them both a pin in the shape of a tree with horns overlapping it.

"What is this?"

"While you're attending Gailuri, that will be your symbol. Once you graduate you can either choose to keep it or change it to something else. Many of our students use their family crest, but since you don't have one Mr. Ravae chose one for you."

"How nice."

Rowen did not fully mean what she said, she would have liked to have a choice in the selection of her symbol. Hyacinth sent them on their way after that. Rowen was relieved to be leaving. She did not mind the headmaster at all, but it had been a boring way to spend half of her day.

She took a small detour to pick up her backpack from the summoning class before heading down to the first floor. Rowen had only taken a few steps out of the elevator when she heard her name called out. When she turned to look she saw Nazeri, with Ewen in tow, walking toward her.

"Are you ok? I heard that something happened during your class and that you went to the headmaster's office."

Rowen smiled and waved a hand absent-mindedly, "I'm fine, it was nothing."

"Nothing? Rowen, everyone is talking about how you summoned a high-level demon. A demon with a higher level than Zidon."

Both of them turned to stare at Nasi who was standing behind, and to the side, of Rowen.

"It's rude to stare."

Nazeri looked away, "Sorry…"

"Sorry. It's just so amazing! I could only summon a level one demon, so did most of the class. Zidon and his group, and Deimos, were the only ones able to summon a level two demon."

~Looks like you may be getting a fan club. It will do well to draw the younglings to you that are weak. Don't push it too soon, though.~

Rowen agreed with Gabriel, be patient and slowly reel them in. ~You needn't worry about that, I was the master of patience before. I can still utilize that ability for most things.~

Her pocket vibrated and she pulled out her phone to see that Brooke had sent her a message letting her know she had just arrived.

"Guys, I gotta go, my ride's here."

"You're not staying?"

Rowen shook her head, "No, I've been given a special circumstance exemption and allowed to live away from the dorms. I can't even say it's something they're doing special for me because I'm pretty sure the headmaster is doing it to keep everyone else safe."

Rowen chuckled when Nazeri and Ewen both had blank expressions on their face. They did not understand why she would not be safe. Nasi did, and he chuckled along with her.

"Anyway, I've gotta go. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Nazeri, we'll talk at lunch."

Nazeri nodded, "Of course. Have a good evening. Bye."

"Bye!" Ewen waved as Rowen turned away and walked out of the Academy. Brooke was leaning against her car when Rowen approached. Brooke started to greet her, then paused when she caught sight of the demon walking behind her, holding a stack of clothes.

"Is everything ok?"

Rowen shrugged, "Yeah. This is Nasi. I had my first Summoners class and summoned my first demon."

Brooke rubbed her face and let out a sigh, "I suppose this means we need to do some grocery shopping."

Rowen's grin was the only answer she needed. Brooke got back in behind the wheel while Nasi opened the door for Rowen then got into the back seat.