The Vampire Hunters Academy: The Reckoning

by Delizhia Jenkins

  “So what can I do for you old friend?”

  “Old friend?” Andre snorted. “We ain’t that old even though we do go way back…”

  “Way…way…back,” Archer laughed.

  “Look a lot has been going on around here. We have several Guardian teams in New York and three of them have completely disappeared.”

  “What do you mean ‘disappeared’?”

  “Like, disappeared…we checked out the Upstate team’s compound and it was a freakin’ blood bath. Blood covered the entire estate from wall to wall. Empty gun shells scattered everywhere…the place is ransacked. But no bodies. Twenty four Guardians in total are gone. We suspect that they’ve been turned, so now we are playing the waiting game…”

  “Shit,” Archer cursed.

  “I know you literally have the entire world on your shoulders bro,” Andre continued. “But we are out here dying man.”

  “I know…”

  “I heard all about Sanaya and what she is capable of,” Andre said after a beat. “I don’t know what your reasons are for keeping her locked up in The Academy but Guardians are dying faster than they are being replaced. Between the New Orleans teams and now New York a lot of us are starting to reconsider our lives and whether or not any of this is worth it.”

  Archer smoothed his face with his palm and sighed. “I hear you dude. I hear everything. I know. I’ve seen it. We are going to change the way that Guardians operate. The Darkness is sniffing us out and soon it will not be long before humans will have nothing to stand between them and the fight that is coming. The thing is ‘Dre, she is fully matured- at eighteen and she probably has other gifts we do not know about that are dormant. She is strong as shit. Fights like a veteran. But there is one thing that stands in the way of me giving the green light to send her out on more missions.”

  Archer studied Andre’s concerned expression. His thick eyebrows resting in a deep frown as he stared back at the head Guardian.

  “And what is that?”

  “She is immune to vampire, werewolf and demon bites on every level. She can take a blow to any part of her body that none of us can, because her bone structure was designed to withstand tremendous amounts of pressure or pain. She can see in the dark. She can smell better than any bloodhound. Her telepathy is growing stronger by the day. She knows how to shoot in the blind, and has proven herself capable of adapting to any weapon placed in her hand…but…if one of those old ass vampires, you know…the ones who have been around since literally the dawn of time manages to successfully seduce her…”

  “She can get pregnant with a possible daywalker,” Andre replied grimly. “I see. And she has yet to establish a Guardian Mate Bond?”

  “Actually she has and a strong one at that.” Archer frowned at the thought.

  “Then you do not have anything to worry about. It’s good that she has already, otherwise you would have more reason to worry and to keep her on lock down until she turns twenty one.”

  “But see there is one entity that may have potential to override even a bond as strong as that,” Archer said looking away from the screen.

  “Who?”

  “Cain.”

  “Fuck.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Archer and Andre wrapped up their conversation with figuring out the logistics and mapping out meet points for the church assassins when they arrived before concluding the call. Tough decisions were going to have to be made and soon. A few students were going to have to earn their stripes a little early this time. The Academy could not afford to send and to lose any more senior Guardians. Sanaya and her squad were about to go on their next mission despite his concerns and unfortunately due to his body still requiring more time to heal, he would not be able to accompany them this time. He made a mental note to call Aklia. The Council needed to do something and fast. A guardian without hope was a dead one.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sanaya had no idea how long she remained on the floor, but her growling stomach unleashed another complaint, informing her that it was time to eat. Fortunately for her, she still had time for dinner. She knew Maya and Danny had probably already selected a table, while Bullet was busy keeping everything live with his silliness. She pushed herself up on her feet, her thoughts returning to King and the last words he said before walking out the door.

  Don’t you think how much it fucks me up knowing that I can’t protect my girl like I know I need to?

  King always praised her talents and abilities as the Slayer. He made her feel safe to stand up and stand tall and embrace who she is…He encouraged her. He pushed her. And he never got in her way…

  Why does he resent me so? She thought to herself as she headed to the bathroom to wash her face.

  Her phone vibrated against her dresser with an incoming text. She rushed over to see who it was, expecting it to be Maya demanding to know what was taking her so long. But instead, her heart skipped when she realized it was from King.

  U goin’ 2 dinner?

  She quickly replied with:

  yes. You?

  Yeah. Be there in five

  Placing the phone into her back pocket, Sanaya returned to the bathroom to pull her braids back into a high bun and to make sure all of the evidence of her emotional breakdown were no longer present. She returned into the bedroom she shared with Maya to put her favorite pair of black Steve Maddens on when there was a soft rap at the door. She did not need to use her telepathy to know that it was King.

  After successfully shoving one foot into the first boot, she crammed the other foot into the other shoe and hurried to open the door. Swinging the door open, there he stood looking every bit as miserable as she, his sad eyes bearing into hers. He’d changed into a black shirt and denim jeans with his favorite pair of red and black Jordan’s, his locks pulled back behind his head.

  “Hey,” he said softly.

  “Hey…I’m ready. Just let me grab my keys and-“ she turned to go but he reached for the crook of her arm and stopped her.

  “I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

  “It’s cool King,” Sanaya sighed. “Let’s just go-“

  “No. Not until I see you smile again…”

  Sanaya turned to face him, offering him a weak smile. “It’s alright King. We were both spooked and needed some space and time to shake it off. I’m good. Are you?”

  When he nodded, she gently eased away from his grasp and went to retrieve her set of keys which rested on the kitchen counter. King waited for her, still standing by the door and upon her return he closed the door behind her and took her hand. They walked in companionable silence until they were within a few yards of the dining hall. The rambunctious and raucous laughter could be heard throughout the courtyard and Sanaya could hear the voices of her own team drowning those of the other students inside.

  “Are we good, boo?” King asked finally, stopping them in mid stride before entering the hall. “Because I don’t feel like we are.”

  “Yeah. We are good,” Sanaya replied quickly with a shrug.

  “You are shutting me out ‘Naya. Like, I can’t even get inside your head without an access code or something.”

  “I just need to talk to Archer and Aklia about everything. You witnessed what took place back there…and I don’t want to freak you out any more-“

  “Fine ‘Naya. But just know that I am here for you, still. I got you boo.” He placed a kiss on her cheek. “But Cain, ma’…he has to die. You feel me?”

  “Hell yeah he does,” Sanaya agreed, her rage returning at the thought of Cain’s earlier intrusion. “But first, I have to take care of Selene. She is the main target.”

  “Cool.”

  “King?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What happened today stays between us…the team doesn’t need to know until we find out more.”

  King smiled which caused Sanaya to frown in confusion. “What?”

  “That’s the word I wanted to hear,” he said pulling her i
n closer.

  “And what word is that?”

  “We.”

  Without waiting for a response from her, he pressed his lips against hers, relishing the soft warmth of her body. Had it not been his stomach reminding him that food was a necessity, they would have lost track of time which in their world was not exactly a luxury offered.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Eve watched from the corner of the cafeteria accompanied by none other than Congo and Tatsu as Sanaya took a seat with King at their group’s favorite table. Something was up; Eve could feel it wafting from the girl’s pores. There was something else, something dark and powerful shifting about just underneath Sanaya’s skin which piqued Eve’s curiosity further. She continued to study the young slayer, watching even as King turned to face her and the two shared a private thought that held something else Eve could not quite put her finger on.

  “Archer said to bring the young team in for a meeting after dinner,” Congo murmured, forcing Eve to retreat from her thoughts.

  “About time,” she said coolly. “I’m not sure how much more of this I can take. It’s time for her to go out into the field.”

  “I bet Archer is shitting bricks right about now,” Congo chuckled, cracking his neck while keeping his focus on Sanaya’s table.

  “Yeah but the thing is,” Eve said turning to face the powerfully built Guardian. “Some of her team members are far from ready for what is coming. Charlie, Bullet, Maria and Tony…they need more training. King, Danny and Trent…I have my concerns with those three, but they are the strongest Guardian potentials we’ve seen in a while. Maya is still too volatile…and that Lisa…she can fight just as good as the Church assassins but she has a power she refuses to demonstrate here at The Academy so we have no idea what we are dealing with when it comes to her.”

  “None of them will like it if we separate them,” Congo added thoughtfully. “They have already established a bond. Especially Maya…”

  Eve barked out a laugh. “Yeah that girl will open the gates of hell if we separate her from Sanaya.”

  Congo shook his head. “Man that girl has some strong juju. I don’t even want to think about what will happen if that Danny character breaks her heart man…”

  “For real…it’s bad enough that we have to deal with King and Sanaya…”

  “And from the looks of it, they have completed their mate bond if you know what I mean…”

  Congo and Eve frowned at the thought.

  “The only thing I can say is I hope they used protection,” Eve sighed. “That was coming…we all felt it.”

  The two senior Guardians continued to watch the group of Guardians laugh amongst themselves, their eyes filled with merriness, wonder…and most importantly, hope for the future. Thirty minutes passed, and neither said a word. They simply stood side by side, lost in their individual thoughts while surveying the room to make sure that order was maintained. Lois soon appeared from the side entrance to make the announcement that the cafeteria would be closing and Eve wasted no time in collecting the students to escort them to the gym where both their training and team meetings were held. And as the students fell into their usual routine of laughter and joking amongst themselves, the night air offering a gentle kiss from the Mediterranean winds, a vague and unfamiliar scent filtered in through Eve’s nasal cavity, giving her pause. She knew Sanaya and a couple of her Guardian potentials who were trackers caught it too. But just as quickly as it appeared, the scent was gone. Whoever it was must be ancient and incredibly strong. Eve continued to lead the group, walking at an unusually fast pace that made it challenging for some of the others to keep up. She heard Congo demand that she slow down, but her legs made the decision for her not to. She had to keep moving. Anxiety crept along through her, unhinging her fangs. She had to retract her sharp canines repeatedly just to not alarm the others that something was wrong. Very wrong. She needed to get them to the gym. Something once again breached The Academy and she needed to find out what.

  Sanaya said little as she walked side by side with King, Maya, Danny, Tony and Maria lagging behind. Eve picked up the same scent she did and narrowed down the intruder to two options: Cain or that bastard Petronius who thought himself bold enough to make an appearance on the school. Her friends behind her laughed and giggled as if nothing was wrong, like an immediate threat had not just breached the campus. She sighed. They weren’t ready. None of them were really, but at least she was prepared to fight when she had to. All of them should have been on alert.

  But no. Sadly they were not.

  King nudged her gently and the two shared a look. His eyes held the same silent frustration that she was feeling. Personally, she felt like ditching everyone so that she could further investigate the threat. Unfortunately that would cause a meltdown from the Guardians of epic proportions. So she kept her focus on Eve who had now increased her pace, and instead of being just a few feet away she was now a few yards at a distance. Congo yelled for her to slow down, but Sanaya knew Eve’s attentions were elsewhere which happened to be on the threat.

  Despite it only being closer to eight o’ clock in the evening, the deep purple and pink hues that danced across the horizon just before the stars began to reveal themselves, slowly began to fade to black. The nocturnal sounds of night creatures suddenly fell silent and the gentle breeze that added its own personal touch of flowery scents ceased. Sanaya made a mental note of the sudden changes and continued walking. King took hold of her hand, sending a wave of calmness through their mental link that soothed her overworked nerves. She needed that, like she needed him and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He smiled but kept his eyes focused on the path ahead of them which was good enough for her.

  It felt like an eternity had passed, before they finally reached the gym. Eve had already marched her way inside when Congo ushered them in. Tatsu and Asim were the first to greet the group, offering warm smiles, before returning to their cool and quiet positions by the exit points. Although not Guardians, these two warriors were highly trained and specialized Church assassins, and had proven to be quite useful for the team. Asim retreated to the south exit, his leather ensemble giving him the look of a very dangerous man with skills and talents that the U.S. military could probably use for their black ops units.

  As the rest of her team filtered in, Sanaya caught Eve speaking to Archer, her ruby red lips moving at a million miles a minute. Archer’s face transitioned from his usual stoic expression to raised eyebrows and a clenched jaw. Yup. He was worried.

  Really worried.

  Eve then quickly used her vamp stealth and slipped out of his grasp and made a move for the exit. Tatsu was on her like a shadow, followed by Asim and the three disappeared out into the open. Sanaya’s eyes met Archer’s, to which he simply addressed with a nod. That was all the communication she needed right now. Louis greeted the group with a smile and motioned for everyone to quickly take a seat on the bleachers. The team casually took their seats, still laughing and shooting jokes. Trent and Tony were play boxing while Maria and Charlie looked on with amusement. Bullet, red in the face, laughing at whatever Danny had said while Lisa and Maria followed behind, all smiles and giggles. Maya clung to Danny like glue and even though Sanaya was happy for her friend, she now understood Archer’s concern. Inhaling sharply, she continued to move forward with King still by her side. She knew he was reading her like a book, but he kept up the poker face.

  Her skin prickled with gooseflesh as she took a seat on the first row of the bleachers. Archer carefully hobbled his way to the center of the gym, his eyes laser focused on the small group of Guardians and Guardian potentials. He began to speak, but whatever words that flowed out of his mouth became lost in her sea of thoughts. Something or someone was close…too close…

  The scent was all too powerful, hitting her olfactory system and overriding all of her senses. She recognized the main component of the scent with ease: vampire. She felt Trent raise his head and sniff the air and then glance in her d
irection. She turned away, trying to hone in on the exact location of the entity. She opened her Third Eye -the higher realm of consciousness and her source of telepathy. Just outside of the gates, at the main entrance was the shadowy outline of a female figure standing as still as a statue. Sanaya held her breath and continued to observe from the distance. The female stood with her hand on the sheath of her long blade, delicate strands of fine hair blowing in the breeze. Red orbs stared at the campus, her rage tainting the air.

  Sanaya could still see Archer’s lips moving, but was unable to focus on what her Primary Guardian had to say. She was trapped in the vision, her heart racing as she watched what happened next. Eve appeared seemingly out of nowhere, fangs lengthened and her normally beautiful manicured hands turned into razor sharp talons. The entity smoothly stepped out of Eve’s attack range but mistakenly entered into Tatsu’s zone where she was hit several times in the face with multi combo punches. Stunned but far from beaten, with a flick of her wrist the vampire female punched Asim who had attempted a stealth move from the shadows but sent him airborne. Eve was on her instantly while the two vampires went at it with Tatsu who was dancing around the edges of the two of them, trying to lend Eve an assist.

  The older vampire unsheathed her sword and in a quick move, left a long deep wound across Eve’s chest. Tatsu hit the entity with a kinetic blast and the entity once again stumbled, but refocused her energies to close in on Eve for the kill. Sanaya heard her name being called but there was nothing that would deter her from the mission at hand. Springing to her feet, she left the Guardians and her team behind scrambling. Summoning the Millennium Blade into her hand, she ran at full speed, becoming a blur in the darkness until she reached the front entrance of the school and just in time to see the entity gripping an unconscious Eve by her hair, exposing her throat and leaning in for the ultimate vampire death bite.

  Rage bubbled from the center of her being, exploding into a battle cry that ripped through the night. The entity glanced up instantly and tossed Eve’s body into the bushes as if she were tomorrow morning’s trash. The darkness that surrounded her began to fade as she took her time with her approach, revealing dark hair, pale skin and crimson eyes unmasking the eerie combination of disdain and hatred. The two stood across from each other, just a few feet apart. Sanaya heard the heavy footsteps and curses from the senior Guardians and her team members who were off in the distance, but with Bullet already a few meters closer to reaching her.