The Aberrant Sword
Rebecca Ripley
Copyright © 2019 by Rebecca Ripley
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Chapter 1
“Life is complicated, Isabelle.” The voice sounds dark, menacing – as if it was trying to mock me. “To most, the reality they live in is just a dull mix of black and white, thankfully unaware of the world they truly inhabit. A world where all colours of the rainbow collide with each other, creating a devastating scene of chaos and destruction.”
He slowly approaches me from the front with a wooden sword in his hand. I try to scurry backwards, not wanting to meet the dark look in his eyes. This was my moment. I knew I had to fight. Giving up would only make things worse. I bit my lip as I was trying to look for a way out.
“Those who choose to be so, may become the vanguards that serve and protect humanity from the forces that would see it harmed every day. Men and women from across the globe joined in a common cause. And I know that you might see it as your birth right…” He goes on, slowly approaching me. But don’t be mistaken. Not many are cut out to fulfil this destiny and if you are not good enough…” I knew what lies in the heavy folds of that pause. If I am not good enough, I can wave goodbye to literally everything I ever wanted. “In light of this, do you truly wish to follow in the footsteps of your predecessors and become a hunter?”
I tightly clench my fists as I let the piercing words of the voice run over me. I know I am good enough. Hell, I have been working for this since I was six years old. I have missed so many birthdays, trips and even ‘best parties of the year’ for this. I would be foolish to give up on something so important to me, my family and the community. If I fail, I don’t only fail me, I fail them.
I breathe out, trying to come up with a plan on what to do next. How could I get out of here? How can I save myself?
My heart is racing in my chest. My mouth is dry, and I can feel the blood thumping in my ears. A headache is coming up, but I know I will be in a lot more trouble if I do not find a way out of here before…
I open my eyes and finally decide to look up at the shadowy figure that stands before me.
“I do, Dad.” I snarl through my teeth.
The man sighs under his breath, tightly wrapping his hand around the wooden replica of a sword. “Very well then. Show me your strength and conviction, young hunter.” He smashes the sword into the wall to get me on my feet, to tease me – to dare me to make a mistake.
I make a spur of the moment decision and roll backward, slamming my bare feet against the cold maple wood planks.
I narrowly dodge several striking blows from my father’s wooden blade. He then kicks me gently in the stomach. I feel the air escape my lungs. I grunt as he slams me in the padded wall behind me, thankful for the white cotton softening the blow. This is going so wrong. So, so wrong!
As he raises the wooden sword above his head, I drop to the floor and roll out of the way, letting him slam his weapon against the padded wall while kicking him in the leg. A little voice in my sheers as I see the kick hit home.
“Ugh!” My father groans, dropping down onto his right knee, giving me time to run away and work on removing my binds. I need a plan. I need a plan fast.
My father groans under his breath as he uses the sword to stand back up. “You have improved tremendously since we first started your training, Isabelle. When we first attempted this trial three years ago, you couldn’t even get a single knot undone before surrendering. Now, look at you, my darling daughter.”
I quietly hide behind one of the crates, biting down on my tongue as I hold myself back from replying. I feel pride burning in my chest and try not to smile at his words. I need to find a way out; I need to find a way to succeed. My future at the Guild depends on it. I bring my legs in close to my chest and slip my arms underneath my legs, bearing my arms forward. I now have my hands in front of me. Better. Safer. One step closer to succeeding.
“Tell me, sweetheart, do you remember the days when we would come in here to train… only to play while your mom wasn’t looking? From board games to video games, this was our place to have some father-daughter moments. It was honestly the best time of my life…” I knew he was trying to make a play on my emotions. It was one of the tests. In a fight we had to put our emotions and personal alliances aside. We had to keep the greater good in mind. We had to fight for the Guild, not for ourselves.
I stop and raise my head, my lip quivers at his comment. “Dad…” I sigh as I fight back the tears burning in my eyes. Don’t get distracted, a little voice in my head says. You can do this. It is just a test.
I shake my head and turn my focus back to my binds. I continue to struggle to free myself from the ropes despite having loosened one of the knots already. I turn my head to the wooden crate behind me. The cold, hard wood dug into my back. “Wait a minute…” I mutter under my breath. I turn around, leaning against the hard stone wall behind me.
“Time is ticking, Isabelle. When out in the field, you got to be able to get yourself out of situations like these in no time…”
Hearing his words, I take a deep breath and violently kick a hole through the wooden crate. The wood scrapes my ankle as I pull my feet back. It stings like hell, but I have no time to care about splinters burrowing their way into my skin.
“What?!” Father yells. He starts moving towards the sound.
Using what time I had, I quickly, but clumsily reach into the hole and remove a sharp piece of wood from the debris, quietly sneaking off into the darkness once again to free myself from the ropes.
My dad hurries to where I was hiding not five seconds ago. I hear a light chuckle. “Now you’re thinking like a hunter, Isabelle.” He mutters under his breath.
I quickly start to cut through the rope, slicing and tearing up the fabric while continually listening for the sounds of my father’s footsteps. He occasionally slams his wooden sword against the walls to intimidate me. He knows it won’t work.
Sweat is pearling on my brow as my arm starts to ache. My hand palm feels raw where I hold the wood and I can feel splinters burrowing themselves into my flesh. I clench my teeth as I can hear the wooden sword against the wall come closer. I manage to cut through the final knot and free my hurting hands. I breathe out and smile. I did it. I am one step closer in succeeding, one step closer in becoming a member of the Guild. The ropes fall to my side and I wipe the sweat off my brow, ready to make the next move.
I raise my head to the ceiling and saw what needed to happen. A steel jungle of ropes, handlebars, swings, and training equipment dangled just several feet above my head in the darkness. I knew they were there.
I make my way down to the south-end side of the training room, using my fingers as a means to gauge where I needed to stop - right at the base of the rock wall. I have climbed this wall hundreds of times before, but I knew it would be a bit of a challenge in this dim light.
My hand grabs the first protrusion and I lift myself onto a second. As I climb, I hear the thundering echo of my father’s sword striking the wall again, causing me to clamp down so hard on the stone structure I snaps one of my nails. I have never been a pink-wearing, doll-playing kind of girl, but let me tell you: ripping off or breaking a nail can hurt.
I dig my teeth into my lip, silently groaning as a trickle of blood starts to run down my finger, all the while father walks right up to the wall, not 10 feet fr
om where I was hanging. I put my finger in my moth stopping the blood from falling to the floor. The last thing we want is for him to get bled on. Although that would have been funny. In a weird way.
My heart races and pounds against my chest as I hold onto the rock for solace, resting my head against one of the rocks as my dad decides what to do next, where to look for me next.
My father exhales under his breath. “Where is she?” He mutters to himself as he moves away from the wall where I was trying not to breath, not to make a sound.
I finally take the finger out of my mouth and wipe the blood on my pants. I continue to climb to the top from which I turn and jump onto the nearby handlebar. My heart stops as I wait for the thing to make a noise.
I have never been a massive fan of these things. They scare me to death. But if I want to do this right, if I want to succeed in this test, I need to find a way out of here. There was no way I was going to fail.
Now hanging right above the extremely padded-out sparring/arena area, I swing back and forth before gaining the momentum needed to swing over to the next handlebar and sit on top of it. I can feel my weight pulling on my arms. I curse silently as I miss the handlebar. I hope they did not see that. My eyes instinctively go towards the large viewing area in front of me. The upper two meters of the wall in front of me were taken up by floor to ceiling mirrored glass. I knew they were all standing there, looking at me, judging me.
I had been in the viewing area countless times, but this time what happened behind that glass wall scared me. Later on, they would decide whether I was one of them, or a total and utter failure. I took a deep breath and steadied my hands. No way that I was going to be a failure. I’ll show them! I’ll give them a goddamn show if they want!
I lock my ankles and clench my teeth as I finally grab the cold steel of the next handlebar. Success! I silently congratulate myself and make a mental note that this deserves a fresh, massive tub of ice cream.
Hanging there, I now wait for my dad to spring the trap and end this game of cat and mouse. These kinds of tests are great, and I know that they are designed to prepare us for field work, but they are ultimately only that. Tests. I want more. I want better. I want faster. I want the real stuff.
I hoist myself up to the handlebar and sit down, legs swinging, waiting silently for dad to walk into the trap I just set for him. I wait a full five minutes before he wanders to the padded arena under my handlebar.
As I shift myself on the handlebar, preparing to spring the trap, father’s ears perk as he hears the straining of the steel bars above him.
He smiles and lowers his wooden sword. “Perhaps you truly are ready to become a hunter, my darling daughter…” He says to himself with a big smile on his face.
I jump off from the handlebar and violently land on top of my dad, tackling him to the ground and pinning him to the floor. “Did I win?”
The man with bated breath chuckles and nods. “You win.”
Chapter 2
I help dad up. “That was fun. We should do that again sometime!” He winked at me while I do a small victory dance, bumping my ass against his. “Did you see the hole I kicked in that crate?” I said with a big grin on my face. “I know it was improvised, but it worked!”
“And…” I look at the giant red numbers on the wall. “I still have 5 minutes to spare!” I beam at him. Dad ruffles my hair and throws the wooden sword into the corner.
“It was a good plan. Most plans that we make require some level of improvising. No idea is ever wholly bullet-proof, Isabelle. There were many times where your mother and I had to improvise a set plan because things went south for us; I also appreciate you at least setting the trap on the padded section.”
I chuckle as I grab the bottle of water on the table by the door and switch on the lights again. “Yeah. God only knows what Georgina would think of me if I missed my first hunt because I broke my leg from a two-story fall.”
“You did amazing honey!” Mom appeared in the door opening. I hugged her deeply. “Thanks! What did the others think?” I looked up at the large mirrored window. The light on the other side had been switched on and I now saw a rather plump guy looking down on me. Bloodworth. Bah. He always reminded me of a fat weasel.
“You’re in!” mom’s eyes lit up. “You are one of us now.” She threw her arms around me and hugged me so tight she squeezed the air out of my lungs.
Oh no, was she going to cry? Please mom! Don’t cry! She looked at me with a mixture of pride and regret. I bite my tongue and chase away the whirlwind of emotions that glint in her eye stirs inside of me.
Mom finally lets go of me. I swear she was this close of wiping away an imaginary spot on my cheek like mothers always seem to do. Instead she smiles at dad and pats him on the bum. “Try to take it easy, okay? You’re not a teenager anymore.”
He rolls his eye. “Oh gee, thanks, darling.” He smiles, pulling mom closer and giving her a big smooch. “Eeeeew guys! Get a room!” I joke. I have a reputation to uphold. Who else is going to lead the new generation of bad asses?
My parents are literally the two cutest people alive. I have never seen people love each other as much as my parents do. And that scares me.
Finding love as a hunter is not easy. In fact: it is very hard. Hunters tend to marry hunters. Most male hunters are jerks. I am not even kidding. Most of the guys in my class were sexist swines. And even the adult ones… I look over my shoulder back to where Bloodworth was standing not 10 seconds ago. Many of them were happy to be rid of my grandmother as Guild Master. Just because she was a woman.
And it’s not as if we can marry cute human guys – I wish! Some of us do of course... Tilly married a banker in London she met at the beach. She left this life behind, and although she often visits us with her cute little twins, I don’t think she will be able to lead her life without watching over her shoulder all the time. Especially now she has kids.
Sure, she doesn’t hunt and was voted out of the council by angry white men, but that doesn’t mean there’s no evil, there are no demons out to get her, or worse: her family.
Marrying a human – unless he is ‘useful’ in some way basically means you step away from the council and your life as a hunter. It is ridiculous and it is the first thing I am going to change if they choose me to become Guild Master. Isabelle for president!
Dad slaps mom on her bum and gives her another kiss. “Of course. Anyway, I’m going to call Georgina and see where she’s at with your hunt, Isabelle. Just try to relax until then.”
I am tired and hungry, and I want my tub of ice cream, but knowing Georgina, she will be ready to go in about five minutes. Dad and I head back to the warmth and cosiness of the living room where the rest of the Guild members are waiting for us, drink in hand.
“You did so well!” A large woman pinches my cheek. “Thanks Agatha!” I say. The woman’s white bushy curls land in my mouth as she pulls me close into a hug. Agatha was grandma’s best friend. “She would have been so proud, you know?” She holds me at arm’s length and looks me up and down. “Very proud.”
Oh no! Please don’t… I take deep breath and try to fight the tears welling up in my eyes. I am not going to cry. I am not crying after my physical test. No way tears! Not today!
“Thanks.” I try to ignore the large painful lump in my throat. I turn away from the woman and look at the other people – mostly men, in the room. Bloodworth was smoking a large stinky cigar and mom was giving the massive brown thing one of her signature stinky eyes.
Two hours and many tedious little conversations later I throw myself into one of the big black sofas’ and close my eyes. Thank god this is over! Everyone wanted to congratulate me and tell me how great I did. My hand palms were raw from shaking hands and the corners of my mouth hurt from smiling.
I could fall asleep on this sofa. Fall into a long, sleepless dream. But that’s not possible, not now. Not when Georgina is leading a hunt. Mom had told her to hold off to give me some time to recu
perate – I never imagined being slightly reluctant to leave the sofa to go on my very first hunt ever!
“We have a little surprise for you!” I hear moms voice. “Is it an extra-large tub of ice cream?” I say, keeping my eyes closed, enjoying the warm leather embrace of the sofa.
“No.” I can hear she is smiling. “Open your eyes honey.” She sits down next to my legs. I open one eye and soon open another when I see the beautiful red necklace in the palm of her hand.
I sit straight and pick up the necklace. “Wow, mom… dad…” I look over my shoulder at dad. He is beaming with pride. Five silver swords coming together in a ruby in the centre of the pendant. It looks ancient.
“It was grandma’s” Mom whispered. “She left it on her desk with a letter that you should receive this on the day you get through your test.”
I take a deep breath but this time I can’t stop the massive tears from drowning my cheeks.
Chapter 3
“Are you ready to rumble, cous?” Georgina squeals as I open the door of the car and throw in my hunting kit. I smile at her and get into the passenger’s seat of her old converted Black Cab.
Georgina is my favourite cousin. Maybe even my favourite person. She’s a bit of an odd one out and is the absolute embodiment of why punk is not dead!
I turn the music down a bit and give my cousin a kiss on the cheek. “Soooo…” She said, reversing the car. Mom and dad were standing on the driveway, waving proudly at me. “I heard you literally aced your test!” she says as she tucks a strand of purple hair behind her pierced ear.
“Yeah. I guess so…” I mumble, smiling at the countryside flashing past the car. “Oh, don’t be so modest!” she says, taking a curve in the roadway too fast. “Agatha called me to say you had one of the best test scores a female hunter ever got!”
I scoff. “Female hunters.”
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