Summoner

Chapter 21

Layla felt joy and pain when her cycle came. Joy because she wasn't pregnant and pain because the added stress was making her cramps worse. "Are you okay," Cecil asked at breakfast. "It's the time of month my body tries to kill me by bleeding out for a week straight," she answered. Maxis made a face as his fork picked up some of his eggs, "I'm trying to eat Layla." She laughed softly at his reaction.

"So what are we going to do for winter break," Terro asked them. "Mom and dad actually want us home this year for Yulemas," Ash told him.

Terro's jaw went slack, "But I wanna go to the Lotus Springs." Ash shrugged, "It's the first year we have Layla home and they want us all under one roof this year."

Maxis patted the shoulder of his sulking brother, "There is always next year."

"I can't believe we are already approaching the end of the first semester," Cecil commented. Layla nodded in agreement, "Time really did fly."

"And it's only going to get harder from here," Maxis told them. "Wait till exams hit on the last week."

"Good bye sleep," Terro muttered while Maxis sighed with a nod.

Cecil and Layla shared a look but didn't make any comments. After breakfast Layla made her way to her first class. As she was walking she saw Niko. He shot her a cold look then continued on his way. She was thankful he didn't decide to start anything because she was in what she considered a "fuck it all" mood. She was cramping, moody, and wouldn't mind if someone gave her a reason to go off. Maybe it would help her feel better if she got to get out some frustration.

When she got to class she saw a group project assignment was on the board. She detested group projects. Usually when she worked with others they did nothing but ask her questions about the guys. She saw she was to sit in the fourth grouping of desks. One of her assigned partners was the girl who was on the Dragon Rider team. For the life of her, Layla couldn't remember her name.

Layla sat down, and the girl smiled at her. "Layla right?"

Layla nodded, "Uh yeah."

The girl beamed, "I'm Ashanti."

The next to join their table was a guy no one really interacted with in their class. Not because he was rude, but he was just quiet. His brown hair covered the left side of his face. Last to join their table was a girl in a body con dress that pushed her massive tits up to the point they bounced with every step she took. Her curly black hair was pulled back in a half up and her bright blue eyes were lined in black eyeliner. She beamed a bright smile at them, "This is going to be so exciting. I'm Callia."

Ashanti returned her smile, "You just transferred from Magic Tech right?"

Callia gave an eager nod, "Yeah my grandmother took over the Astral Projection class since Mrs. Mains went on maternity leave."

"I'm Ashanti, this is Layla, and this is Millin," Ashanti introduced to her.

Their conversation was cut short when the bell rang and the teacher stood before the class. "Today starts the day of your month long research project. You will be assigned a magical area and I expect you all to submit a detailed scrap book and journal of all of your findings. Each week you will have to submit a weekly progress report. Everything you submit from your progress reports, to the scrap book, to the journal will all be for one grade. If you score and A then you will be able to use it to assist with the end of semester exam. However, your project will count for two test grades. You fail it, not even the exam will be able to save your grade."

No pressure, Layla thought sarcastically. She then passed out each magical area. Their group got The Lazarus. The other three in her group immediately got defeated looks. She looked around the class and saw many of the students looking like their assignments weren't easy.

The Lazarus was home to dark magical beasts. It truly wasn't for the faint of heart. Millin slouched in his seat, "This is gonna be hard as fuck to get done." "The Lazarus is a place shrouded in mystery. Many who venture there don't leave there alive," Ashanti said. Millin raised an eyebrow at her, "Once dead you can't leave."

Ashanti nodded, "Necromancers live in The Lazarus. They can bring back your dead corpse, allowing you to leave while being dead." Callia smiled, "You seem to know a great deal about it."

Ashanti turned to look at her, "I come from a family of Artifact Researchers." She placed her chin in her hand, her elbow propped on the desk, "As a kid I was constantly dragged along as they looked into their various research projects until I was old enough for them to ship off to boarding school so they didn't have to deal with a child clinging to them on their research adventures."

"Did you enjoy boarding school," Callia asked sweetly. Ashanti shrugged, "Only when I was able to do something fun. Most times it felt like a prison." Millin looked at Layla, "Rumor is you got to go on a magic seeking journey. Did you ever go to the Lazarus?"

Layla nodded, "A couple of times." That perked Ashanti's and Callia's interest. "What was that like," Callia asked her. "Dangerous," Layla answered truthfully. "The air has a acidic smell to it and the ground always feels muddy. Its definitely a place I wouldn't want to visit again unless I have too."

"Wht would you have to," Ashanti asked her while taking down some notes. "Because although dangerous they grow rare healing herbs," Layla replied. "Astella blooms are native there."

Astella blooms were white flowers that healed severe injuries but it will only work one time on someone, after that they have an immunity to the herb. Most healers only use the flowers in extreme circumstances or unless someone is infected with a deadly disease that there isn't a cure for. The price of Astella blooms were in the six figure range due to their origins being from one of the most dangerous places to venture too.

Other places have tried to grow them outside of the Lazarus but they were never successful. Researchers have yet to figure out why they won't grow anywhere else.

"I've heard that Astella's grow near the base of their volcanos," Callia stated. "Is that true?" Layla nodded, "The high heat is an important part of their survival."

Layla continued sharing her experiences in the Lazarus until the bell rang for them to go to their next class.

At lunch Layla saw Maxis, Ash, and Terro fussing over Cecil. As she got closer she saw he had a split lip. He swatted the away with a groan. "What happened," Layla asked as she sat her tray down.

"A guy in my dorm got drunk and was starting to just attack anyone he found as a worthy opponent," Cecil answered. "It was just a whole mess."

"You know who the guy was," Terro asked him. Cecil shrugged, "All I know he was an upper classman who had teleportation magic."

"Bryce Leesom," Maxis said. "He's a second year who has a bit of a drinking problem after his boyfriend broke up with him. It was Stockholm syndrome though because the dude was heavily abusive to Bryce, hence why he was expelled which lead to their break up."

Cecil nodded in understanding, "I heard the punishment the school gave him was therapy and if he stays away from alcohol he won't be expelled."

"He should've gotten help a while ago," Ash said with a sigh.

"Can't help those who don't want it," Layla pointed out to him and he nodded in agreement. They hope he recovers from his trauma and becomes stronger.