The world dissolved in a swirl of blue light and reformed in an instant. One moment, Jonah and Vanessa were standing on a teleportation platform in the Academy basement; the next, they were standing in a thick, ancient forest.
The air in the Preserve was thick and full of life. It smelled like damp earth, rich soil, and a thousand wild, growing things. Sunlight filtered through the thick canopy high above, while the air buzzed with the chittering and chirping of unseen creatures. It was beautiful but under it all was a faint tension, like the whole place was holding its breath. This wasn't a park. This was a hunting ground.
Vanessa immediately began chanting a low-level spell, her hands glowing with a soft, protective light. "Basic mana shield. Just in case."
Jonah nodded, but his approach was different. He didn't prepare for a fight; he prepared to see. He closed his eyes and opened his senses to his Beast Space. He was a general deploying his troops.
First, the ground. Shard, come forth.
A shimmer of light appeared at his feet, and the six-legged, crystalline turtle appeared on the forest floor. It immediately tapped a leg against the ground, sending out a silent sonar pulse. A 3D map of the area around them unfolded inside Jonah's mind: the shapes of trees, the roots beneath the soil, the location of a small stream thirty yards away.
Next, the sky. Nyx, take flight.
The Glimmer-Wing Striker appeared on his shoulder, its shadowy feathers blending perfectly with the dappled light. With a strong, silent flap of its wings, it shot up through the canopy to get a view from above.
Vanessa watched, her mouth slightly agape. She'd seen him summon the creatures before, but this was different.
He sent out two creatures instantly and perfectly. They each had special jobs that weren't about fighting. Tamers had a hard time making just one beast obey a single order. Summoners brought out creatures that acted on their own. But Jonah was making his two creatures move together as if he were leading a small band.
"Okay," she said, her voice a little breathless.
Jonah focused, processing the information pouring into his mind. "Shard doesn't detect anything big nearby," he reported. "Nyx can see the high ridges to the east, that's where the ironwoods are supposed to grow."
"Lead the way, then," Vanessa said, falling into step beside him.
They moved through the forest with a quiet, unsettling confidence. Shard crawled out front, sending out sonar pulses that mapped the ground and warned them about any hidden dips or dense bushes. It was like having a living radar
They had been walking for less than an hour when a series of excited chirps echoed in Jonah's mind. It was Nyx.
"Target spotted. Seven of them. Sitting in a tall ironwood."
"There they are," Jonah whispered to Vanessa. "Iron-Billed Woodpeckers. Straight ahead."
They moved forward until they could see the birds. They were striking creatures, their feathers a dark, metallic gray, with beaks that glinted like sharpened steel. Getting close enough to grab one would be impossible.
"They're way too jumpy," Vanessa whispered. "One wrong move and they'll scatter".
Jonah looked at Nyx circling high above, then back at Vanessa. An idea lit up in his mind. "Can you create a distraction? Something bright, over to the left?"
A slow smile spread across Vanessa's face. "I can do that."
She stretched out her hand and traced a quick pattern in the air. A small orb of brilliant, golden light formed in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it flying. It shot off to the left of the tree and then burst in a silent, dazzling firework of light.
The woodpeckers, startled, all turned their heads toward the sudden flash. It was the only opening they would need.
Nyx, now! Shadow Strike! Jonah commanded.
From high above, the Glimmer-Wing Striker folded its wings and dove like a hawk. Halfway down, it flared its wings, releasing a cloud of its disorienting dust. In the same instant, it vanished from sight. It disappeared in a blink. A moment later, it reappeared in the middle of the scattering flock, claws gripping one tight.
The other birds exploded into the air, squawking in panic, but it didn't matter. Nyx was already rising, its kill locked in its claws. Jonah felt that warm flood of energy hit him as the bird died.
[Iron-Billed Woodpecker Essence x1 Acquired (Metal, Piercing)].
A few minutes later, Nyx landed gracefully on his arm and dropped the woodpecker at his feet. He quickly plucked a handful of the metallic feathers, tucking them safely into his pack.
Objective one, complete.
Vanessa stared at the flawless execution. "That… was amazing. The way my light spell worked with your creature's ambush…
"We make a good team," Jonah said, feeling a genuine smile touch his lips.
They continued on. The next objective was the Glow-Moss. Shard's sonar pulses finally picked up a hollow spot under a rocky ledge. A hidden cave.
"We can't just rush in there," Vanessa said, eyeing the shadowy opening. "There could be anything inside."
Jonah looked at Shard. "I have an idea." He directed his crystalline turtle to the mouth of the cave and had it break off a small, loose crystal from its own shell. The crystal was still linked to Shard's vibrational sense.
"Can you work with this?" he asked, handing the glowing shard of crystal to Vanessa.
Vanessa's eyes lit up with understanding. She took the crystal and placed it in her palm, whispering a low chant. "Speculum Animae." It was a simple seeing spell. The crystal turned cloudy, then cleared, showing a moving view of the cave's interior through Shard's magical link. They could scout the entire cave without taking a single step inside.
They guided Shard remotely, its sonar pulses feeding back through the crystal, mapping out tunnels and chambers. They quickly located a large cavern whose walls were covered in the soft, pulsing light of Glow-Moss. Even better, the cave was empty of any hostile beasts.
They collected the sample with ease. Two objectives down in just a few hours.
They worked in a seamless, unspoken rhythm. Jonah's Progeny were like his extra eyes and hands, letting him reach into the sky and deep underground. Vanessa was the fine-tuner, the precision tool, her magic taking the raw intelligence his creatures provided and refining it into a perfect plan of action.
Vanessa looked at Jonah and the doubt she'd carried was gone, replaced by a growing respect. This weird boy and his strange little army were more effective than any Elite unit she'd ever read about. He was practically a whole tactical squad by himself.
There was no way he was just a Tamer. He was something else entirely. And she was going to find out what.