“You know I’m down,” Maya added.
“And if you are looking for more battle tips, “Natasha added. “That is what I am here for.”
Sanaya offered a wicked grin. “Good. Cain and every other vampire out there, who thinks they are just going to walk onto our campus and take it, have another thing coming…”
‘Fo’sho’,” Trent added. “Cain and all of them vampires can get it...me personally, I been sick of the bullshit. We can’t even go outside and do normal shit -uh, I mean stuff because The Darkness keeps its engine going twenty- four hours a day.”
“Seriously,” King agreed. “And now there is about to be a bunch of displaced Guardians and recruits because this arrogant mofo thinks he can just step on campus and no shots will be fired.”
The group mumbled in agreement, and soon after, Sanaya led the way through the courtyard to the dormitory she shared with Maya, Lisa and Charlie. Walking through the winding pathway, the group bypassed several students, including Elizabeth Van Heling and her tired crew. Sanaya’s eyes met hers, and the former Queen B of the school lowered her gaze and looked away. But instead of holding her head in triumph, Sanaya kept her eyes straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with other fellow students that saw her walk by. She tried not to think about the damage this school could suffer if Cain decided to impose his rules on the school, or if his daughter attempted to attack. All of the inexperienced Guardian recruits would be lost…some even turned. This campus would change from a prestigious school of the arts on the human radar, to a school of nightmares.
Not on her watch.
She would die trying if she must, to keep Cain and his venomous fangs away from the people who worked hard to keep one thing in the human spirit alive: hope.
Chapter Twenty -Nine
Selene stood with Petronius on the outskirts of Rome after spending the last few nights teaching the fledgling vampires how to harness their dark powers, and to transport themselves from one end of the world to the next. Alex appeared in time to witness what he had deemed an impossible feat, to prepare an army of blood thirsty, ravenous, newborn vampires focused on one thing only: blood. Selene smiled triumphantly as she stared into the eyes of the one hundred fifty of her chosen soldiers, who all stood at the ready, awaiting her command. She redirected her gaze to the far reaches of the horizon, just beneath the sloping hill scape that stretched beyond what seemed like an eternity, offering a breathtaking view of the Vatican.
From what she understood, the prayer lines were weak, but they were still prayer lines. And if any of her newborns attempted to cross those invisible barriers, they would incinerate on contact. Instead of leading a siege like never witnessed before on the Academy, she would unleash her army of vampires onto the streets of Rome. She would turn the once beautiful city into a blood bath of epic proportions, drawing out the Guardians and the Slayer into a fight that would finally end them all. She would do what her dreadful father, Cain had refused to do. And then the Beast would grant her access to the dark throne where she would rule as Queen of The Darkness…with her heir by her side.
“So what is the plan?” Alex wheezed, using the handkerchief he kept in his pocket to wipe his mouth.
“We will attack the city,” Selene said, still staring off into the horizon. “Aside from The Academy, there are two Guardian strongholds in the entire country of Italy, and from what I have discovered, their ranks are dwindling.”
“Combined with what is left at The Academy that makes three Guardian strongholds, plus the Slayer,” Alex began, “And then you have to consider the Slayers from beyond the grave that Council!”
“I would love to feed off of one of those pesky bitches again,” Petronius grumbled. “They are worse dead than they were alive.”
“The army is my distraction. With one hundred fifty disposable vampires running amuck in the streets, we can draw this young, inexperienced Slayer out and put an end to her and her team. That in of itself will crush Guardian spirits worldwide, and will darken the atmosphere just enough to prepare the world for my heir,” Selene declared, her focus returning to Petronius and Alex.
“I will position myself in the shadows on the western side of the city,” Alex stated. “I will summon the strongest demon entities and local werewolves with a debt to The Darkness. I believe there is a clan that resides near the mountainous regions by the sea. They can be useful.”
A slow smile crept along Selene’s beautiful face. “Good.”
“I will not be joining the battle this eve,” Petronius announced, surprising them both. “I fulfilled my end of the bargain by assisting you with the management of this army, but I do have other business to attend to.”
Alex scowled. “And what business is that?”
Petronius sighed and glanced over at the anxiously awaiting army of vampires. “I must assist in the preparation for the coming heir.” With some dramatic flair, Petronius bowed before Selene and dematerialized without another word.
“I will deal with him when this is over,” Selene growled, her emerald green eyes narrowing to tiny slits of red. She turned to face the gathering of what she felt was the world’s greatest army and smiled. “As soon as the moon reaches its fullest peak tomorrow night,” she declared as her fangs lengthened. “We will leave this city stained in red.”
****
Sanaya stared at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back to the days before she knew vampires and all things outside the actions of humans that were evil had existed. When she’d awoken at six a.m., it was just to go to school, and then come home and do it all over again. No training. No vampires. Yes, she felt like a superhero in a world with no heroes. She could hear things, sense things, and none of it made any sense to her. But to feel insane with the desire to be normal was the simplicity she sometimes missed. She was not the most popular girl in school, having only a few close friends...friends that she never got the chance to say goodbye to. She, and the world she once knew, had disappeared. With a groan, she turned on her side and closed her eyes, hoping she could will herself, to fall back asleep.
The rest of her team members had long since disappeared back to their respective rooms. Lisa took refuge with Charlie, since Maya was off in the moonlight with Danny. King, Bullet, Troy and Trent went back to their dorms for some much needed rest. A lot had indeed transpired within the last few days. Her body had fully purged itself of the vampire venom that had left her knocking on death’s door. And thanks to Aklia, her teammates had received an energy boost like no other before, and were all ready to face off with whatever came after them. She drifted off into an easy slumber, her thoughts still focused on “Life Before, the Academy”.
Dawn approached, as the sun’s rays filtered in through the lavender curtains. Sanaya opened one eye and squinted, looking for her clock to check the time. 7:30 a.m.
She sat up, glancing over to her right to see an unconscious Maya rolled on her side with one leg extending over the bed and the other beneath the sheets. Slowly inhaling, she cleared her thoughts, and searched for the presence of Cain, praying that he was no longer lurking about the campus. She mentally scanned the parameter of the school, noting the different Guardian signatures roaming about. No sign of Cain. She exhaled.
She slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom to wash her face and prepare for the potentially long day ahead. She emerged a few minutes later with a still sleepy and groggy Maya, seated on the edge of her bed.
“Hey sleepyhead,” Sanaya greeted her warmly. “What time did you get in?”
Maya groaned. “I think after one,” she said. “Are we still having class today?”
“I think so,” Sanaya replied as she yanked out a pair of black jeans for inspection. “Archer hasn’t said anything about it.”
“I was hoping he would,” Maya continued. “Man, I’m tired.”
“Uh you are going to have to tell Danny to let you get some sleep,” Sanaya giggled. “We can’t afford to have your energy depleted because of him.”
>
“I know girl,” Maya smiled. “But, it’s so amazing just being with him. We talk about everything for hours. We have so much in common. And, whenever we are together, time just seems to fly…”
“Awww, sounds like you two are in love,” Sanaya teased as she pulled her pink hoodie over her head.
“I think so,” Maya gushed, pushing her hair back. “But enough about me and Danny, let’s talk about you, Miss Phoenix. What is it like?”
Sanaya shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t even tell you. When it happens, it happens and ends too quickly for me to even think about what took place.”
“So does that make you the greatest Slayer to ever live?” Maya asked sheepishly.
“Ha! I doubt it. Probably the only Slayer to greatly fuck up,” Sanaya added with a sigh.
“That’s probably why Cain wants you so bad ‘Naya. He knows you are special.”
“Cain views Slayers as trophies. With or without the Phoenix, he was coming for me anyways.”
The two then sat in silence, both lost in their own private thoughts until there was a soft rap on the door.
“It’s me, Lisa!” The soft voice said from behind the door. “I just wanted to know if we are still going to breakfast?”
Sanaya turned to face Maya. “Better get dressed Maya” she said. “And yeah, just give us a few more minutes!”
“Ok,” Lisa replied.
Maya groaned once again, but slowly rose to her feet. “’Naya?”
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going to go if the Cain situation cannot be resolved?”
Sanaya swallowed thickly, her eyes meeting Maya’s inquiring stare. “I guess we will figure it out then. There are Guardian strongholds all over the world. The Academy is just the main one.”
Maya nodded and then without another word retreated into the bathroom, leaving Sanaya alone with her thoughts.
Where would we go, if we lose The Academy? Sanaya thought to herself. Which Guardian stronghold is completely free of Cain’s influence? How many of these refuges are under Cain’s spell and does The Academy know?
***
Chapter Thirty
Sanaya took the last bite of her black bean burger and smiled as Bullet continued with another one of his rants about his lack of a dating life. A round of laughter echoed from their table with Trent playfully balling up his napkin and tossing it at Bullet. The sun finally retreated beyond the depths of the horizon ending another long day filled with studying and a few rounds of hard core sparring. Not to mention the mental torture of not knowing what was going to happen next.
“Man, B, you are such a dork!” Trent laughed. “You could have easily pulled that girl…but your game is off. You just can’t zoom in at mach speed like The Flash and think she is going to be open to what you have to say.”
“Yeah, B,” King added. “The girls around here can dig it, most of ‘em, because most of us coming in have some not so normal skills. But then, even still some of them get freaked out over stuff like that.”
“Well I had to get to her before slime face Jordan slid next to her,” Bullet argued.
“But then you ended up knocking her into the fountain,” Lisa laughed. “I would have been pissed too!”
“You are too anxious B,” Trent continued. “Chill.”
“Whatever. Some woman out there would love to be with a fast sprinter like me,” Bullet mumbled.
“Don’t worry Bullet,” Charlie said softly. “I’m sure she is out there somewhere.”
Sanaya noticed the hint of red that flushed across Charlie’s cheeks, and how her pale blue eyes lit whenever Bullet spoke. Charlie looked away quickly when Bullet smiled.
“Thanks Charlie,” Bullet said. “At least someone has faith in me!“
“Students!” Eve announced as she burst through the door with Congo and Lois in tow. “Everyone to your rooms! Now! This is not a drill. We have Guardians at every exit and entrance point. Remain in your rooms until further notice. Sanaya! You guys, come with me.”
Students and staff alike rushed from their tables towards the exits. Sanaya opened up her mind’s eye and conducted a mental scan of the school’s parameter, and from what she could tell, there was nothing. She followed behind the group as they rushed towards Eve, her mind searching for signs of the threat and she caught it. Just inside the city limits in the main district of Rome, a horde of vampires entered the city, materializing from the shadows onto the unsuspecting streets. From her mind’s eye she watched an innocent young man step foot out of a convenience store only to be snatched into the ravenous jaws of a blood thirsty vamp. Sanaya shut off the vision.
It was on!
Fury gripped her, and in the midst of the chaos she summoned the Millennium Blade into her palm. King turned to face her, his eyes showing the same rage that her own eyes held and he nodded. He could dig it.
“We have every available Guardian on the scene, including two additional teams from Rome. The city is under siege,” Eve informed them.
“From what?” Trent asked running beside her.
“Vampires,” Congo announced; “an entire army of them.”
“Cain must be behind this,” Maya muttered. “We need to put that bastard down.”
Sanaya bit her lip and kept running. There wasn’t enough time to figure out who was responsible and for what, especially when there were other players at the table besides Cain.
Eve led the group across the campus and into the parking lot where Aklia and Natasha waited.
“We can transport you guys to the scene. Our sisters in arms are already decimating their numbers,” Aklia informed them. “But we have two ancient entities on site: Selene and one that still suffers from an old Guardian inflicted wound.”
“Selene,” Sanaya growled. “That bitch is mine!”
“Hold it Sanaya,” Congo warned. “You just barely recovered from engaging in battle with one as old as Cain’s daughter…”
“I got this Congo,” Sanaya seethed. “I’m good to go.”
“We will protect her,” Aklia promised. “We need more Guardians on the north end of the city. We have the old ones on the south end.”
“Take me to the south end,” Sanaya demanded.
“Aklia we should split them up,” Natasha suggested. “Congo, Eve, Trent, Bullet, Charlie, and Troy, you guys come with me. We are going to the north end of the city.
“The rest of you come with me,” Aklia said as she opened a portal of violet light. “We will not rest until every vampire in the city has been burned to ash.”
Sanaya, Maya, Danny, King, Lisa and Maria followed Aklia through the portal as Natasha led her group into a separate opening. The vampires were taking the fight to the streets after decades of darkness. Sanaya gripped the butt of her sword tighter as they were vacuumed once again through space. She held onto the hope that when they arrived, the scene would be nothing like it had been previously in Louisiana.
****
She materialized into the shadows, recalling every Guardian instinct she’d had, as she fought her way through the bloodshed. She would still fight for what was right until her soul could be freed by the rays of the sun. Hopefully, those who rested with the Most High would have mercy on her and spare her the pain of eternal suffering in the pits of darkness, since she was doing all she could to uphold the Guardian vow of protecting the innocent and fighting for the light.
She would not succumb to the thirst.
Using her now heightened senses, she disappeared behind another entity as it crept up on its victim, an older woman in her late sixties clutching her purse tightly against her chest. The Guardian moved swiftly and in a single deft move, she removed the vampire’s head from his shoulders, watching with empty satisfaction as his body turned to ash. She turned to face the victim who had crouched low next to the bench, sobbing.
“Run as fast as you can. Do not stop running until dawn approaches,” she told the elderly woman. “It will all be over by then…”
The woman took off as fast as she could down the empty block. The Guardian knew that she would not make it very far, but hoped that somehow she would be one of the lucky ones to survive the night. Police sirens and ambulance calls echoed throughout the city. Misting back into the shadows, the Guardian followed the scents of blood and terror, fighting back the horde one vampire at a time. She detected the presence of Guardians on both sides of the city, but the energy signature of one in particular called out to what was left of her Guardian senses. Could it be the Slayer?
She would hold the line until the Slayer reached her end of the city, or die trying. Perhaps the heavens would allow her this one wish, to see the living warrior of Light with her own eyes before removing herself from the permanent world of darkness that she had fallen victim to. She hoped that her Guardian brothers and sisters could see that she’d held the line, and would find enough mercy to pray over her body, and that St. Peter would be forgiving enough to allow her to enter his gates.
Chapter Thirty- One
Aklia’s group stepped out of the portal and onto the street facing an ongoing battle between Guardians and law enforcement against the siege of vampires. Gun shots fired. Curses were spewed. The terrified screams of the innocents carried over the mayhem, pushing Sanaya mentally over the edge. A Guardian Sanaya recognized, saw them and rushed over to meet them.
“No time for formal introductions,” he drawled, “But they call me Gunner. Thanks for showing up, though I will say you guys are a bit young to be Guardians.”
“They are more than ready,” Aklia said, raising her chin to meet Gunner’s hard stare.
“And this is our Slayer,” Gunner added flatly. “Good. We need you.” Gunner tossed King a spare 9mm he kept tucked at his waist. “She is locked and loaded. The rest of the Guardians are hunkered down a few blocks east. This is fucking crazy.”
More gun fire. An explosion off in the distance rattled the city.
“The vampires are everywhere man!” Gunner shouted over the noise. “We have at least a hundred innocents down, including four Guardians. Soon we may run out of ammunition-“
The Vampire Hunters Academy: The Reckoning Page 16