“What?”
Maya sighed. “Yeah girl. It was bad. Tatsu, Lois, and a few other Guardians had to be called in, including a couple of clergymen because the possessed students were tearing up the class, heads spinning in circles. I panicked and tried to send them back, and more came, so Archer comes in with the Archbishop and after a few Bible verses and holy water they managed to exorcise the students and send the spirits back to where they came, but it was all one big mess.”
“They aren’t kicking you out of school, are they?” Sanaya asked.
“No. But now they want me to practice yoga and meditation for a while before they continue with exploring my gifts. They said I am too volatile.”
“Well, at least no one was hurt too badly,” Sanaya said.
Maya scowled. “‘Naya, everyone is afraid of me! Then, just before class was dismissed, Eve tried to pair us up, and she happened to pair me up with a wannabe witch hunter who zaps me with everything she has in her psychic tool belt after I drained all of my energy with the demon portal and had me laid out on my ass in front of everyone. And then, in English Literature, I have to write a five-page paper due tomorrow on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and I have no idea who that man is or why a freakin’ scarlet letter is even important.”
Sanaya struggled to maintain a straight face as her friend went on a long tangent about class and the workload, and when she was done, all she could do was bend down and give her a hug.
“Well, you know what I went through until recently,” Sanaya said after a beat. “Once they see how badass you are, they will be begging to do your homework for you.”
“I am not about to hold my breath waiting for it,” Maya grumbled.
Charlie was the first to appear along with Bullet, who greeted the girls with warm and friendly smiles. King came next, followed by Lisa and of course—no Trent. King took his position next to Sanaya, and the two of them led their group to the sounds of rambunctious laughter and loud banter in the dining hall. Things seemed to be picking up around The Academy. The vibe was different. Students and staff alike seemed to be on the mend with hope for the future, which was good.
Bullet located a table to accommodate their large group and quickly claimed a spot in the center. Sanaya took a seat between King and Maya with Lisa and Charlie facing them. Of course, Elizabeth was not too far away with her small corner of followers, occasionally meeting Sanaya in the eye to offer a sneer. Sanaya was tempted to stick her tongue out at her every time Elizabeth glanced in her direction.
“So,” Sanaya sighed. “How was everyone’s first day back to class?’
The entire table groaned.
“I don’t even want to talk about it, ma,” King said with a mouth full of food. “My mind is mush now, and my legs and back still ache from last night.”
“Tell me about it, dude,” Bullet added with excitement. “I was too exhausted this morning to freeze frame to class. I had to walk like a regular person, man!”
“You already know how my day went,” Maya grumbled in between bites. “It was hell.”
“Well, if it makes any of you feel better,” Sanaya said after taking a long sip of her strawberry lemonade. “I had a vision in the middle of class, and now the instructor wants me to write about it.”
“What was it about?” Charlie asked, appearing no longer interested in her food.
“Anyone ever hear about Cain?” Sanaya dropped her voice to a whisper. “As in Adam and Eve’s son?”
“I heard about him,” Charlie replied. “He is supposed to be the Father of all Vampires. Why? What do you know?”
Sanaya went in detail about the history and the link between Cain, Guardians, and Slayers. “And I have the sneaking suspicion that that mofo is not dead even after all of these millennia. Something is up. I can feel it.”
“Shouldn’t we tell the Guardians?” Lisa reasoned. “I mean, that is their job to go after these things.”
“Well see, I don’t believe that Cain is someone that any Guardian can just run up to,” Sanaya said. “He killed his own sister, the first Huntress. I hope that the vision was only a vision and no indication of what is in any of our futures because I get chills just thinking about it.”
“Well damn, ma, if you get chills thinkin’ about it, I sho’ ain’t tryin’ to deal with that.” King rested his arm around her.
“I say,” Bullet said after taking a huge bite of his bread, “that we find out as much as we can about this Cain character, because let’s face it, Sanaya, The Academy is not safe. After what went down a few months ago, I hope the guys in charge don’t think that things are just going to go back to normal.”
“You definitely have a point, B,” Sanaya confessed. “The Darkness now knows who I am and where I lay my head, and it is only a matter of time before they go after us again.”
“But the Pope reassured us that the prayer lines had been reinforced, more hallowed earth has been put down, and the Vatican’s own seers set a mental parameter around the campus to render it invisible to both human and supernatural eyes,” Lisa said, staring from King to Sanaya.
“Well, prayer lines only work if the person who laid down the prayer is not shaky in his or her spirit,” Sanaya pointed out gently. “Last week Eve told me that vampires are now infiltrating the pulpits of many churches now. Whoever heard of Sunday school taking place after dark? And Archer still has yet to explain how that Master infiltrated campus grounds in the first place. I am not banking on what the Pope says because something just isn’t right.”
No one was interested in their food, now grown cold. By the time one of the Guardians approached the front of the hall and announced that the dining hall was officially closed, Sanaya’s group stood, stretching and yawning, and lethargically maneuvered to the carts to dump their trays and used Tupperware before returning to their dorms.
The guys escorted the girls to their room, and when Maya, Charlie and Lisa disappeared into the dorm, Sanaya hung back to bid King good night. As King pulled her into an embrace, Sanaya inhaled deeply, relishing King’s fresh bodied scent and oils he used in his locks. His body had hardened from all of the intense training and field exercises, and what was underneath his shirt was even more defined. King kissed her softly, and Sanaya melted in his arms, yearning for the day when they could be as one.
“I know,” he groaned once he pulled away. “I know, but I told you I would wait for you, remember?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“God, Sanaya, I am going to have permanent blue balls messing around with you girl,” he teased, giving her a light peck on her nose.
She giggled. “And I am just going to spontaneously combust.”
“Well, I’m trying to do right by you girl,” he said. “And I ain’t trying to get struck by lightning for deflowering the Slayer on holy ground. Some things just ain’t right.”
“Shut up!” She laughed. “I don’t think that would happen.”
“Well, I ain’t trying to find out either.” Pushing a stray braid away from her face, he gingerly traced a line across her cheek, admiring her soft brown eyes and unmarred honey brown skin. “I love your skin. They don’t make girls like you where I’m from.”
She loved his southern drawl and the rich, calming baritone of his voice. “Do you sing?”
“Naw, girl, I don’t sing!” He laughed and stepped away from her.
The way he denied the question contained a burning truth she could not ignore. “You do sing, King! I knew it!”
Her outburst echoed through the halls, and King rushed to her and put his finger to her lips to silence her. “Shh, before you send in the troops!”
“Sing me a song. King,” she pleaded. “Pweetty pwease?” She poked out her lip and pouted, which was indeed the saddest attempt to garner sympathy from him.
King laughed. “Sanaya, I am not about to sing you a song right now.”
“Well, when?”
“Look, I gotta go. Bullet is waiting on me.”
>
“Just sing her a song, man!” Bullet shouted from down the hall.
“Later. I’m tired, ma.” He kissed her quickly and hurried off.
“When is later? I’m holding you to that, you know!” She laughed as King ran as fast he could to get away from her. When he reached the exit, he waved, and she playfully blew him a kiss to which he pretended to catch before disappearing with Bullet through the door.
Moments like this that made life worth fighting for.
Chapter Four
“Raya,” Natasha pleaded. “The time is now. Why should we wait until she turns twenty-one? The girl is days away from her eighteenth birthday, and the dark realms are gaining strength. Selene has gained strength, and if she manages to escape her tomb, she—”
“I know what will happen,” Raya interrupted. “That is why I am personally taking a war party down to earth, and we will finish this once and for all!”
“That is a job that all of us failed to do, and now the torch must be passed to the new Slayer! Selene is one entity Sanaya will have to defeat before she hunts Cain, and she will need to have every tool at her disposal to do so.” Natasha sighed as she unsheathed her sword and tossed it on the stone table. “She can carry my blade. She will need it.”
“I will not allow a child to hunt Cain! Natasha, have you lost your mind?” Raya’s emerald green eyes lit with rage as she glared at her sister-in-arms.
“Only a living Slayer can fight Cain, Raya,” Natasha argued. “You know that! If we go in with blades and battle axes blazing, we violate the terms of the prophesy. She has to do this, and she is the only one ever born strong enough to do it.”
After a knock on the door, and without permission or apology, an ancient warrior pushed her way through the door, her dark locks crackling with rage and her amber eyes burning with fury. Dressed in Nubian warrior garb, the dark-skinned beauty approached both Slayers, meeting their alarmed eyes with indignation.
“Aklia,” Natasha bowed. “It is indeed an honor to be greeted by your spirit.”
Raya bowed, paying her respects to the first of their kind with the same acknowledging nod.
“Thank you,” Aklia said. “But let us remove the formalities for I am unnerved by all that has taken place in my absence. I was away on a quest with the Archangels when I received word that the school set up to protect and train Slayers and Guardians alike is no longer in good standing. I even made an appearance in case those incompetent Guardians were unable to protect the new Slayer when of all things, a Master Vampire breached the campus. Fortunately, the newest Slayer is beyond capable of defending herself and those around her. My small team and I rendered assistance in destroying the last few demons the young daughter of the priestess was unable to send back. We sealed those portals, and now I have many a reason for concern.”
Raya and Natasha shared nervous glances.
“First of all, the leader of The Academy is under a dark influence,” Aklia said. “The Elders are unaware of this, and I need one of our visionaries to send down a vision of warning. Their prayer lines will once again be rendered ineffective and the protective shield will wear out and the school will become visible once again if this is not addressed. Secondly, I am concerned about the newly formed mate bond she has established with a Guardian. He seems honorable, but Sanaya does not need this distraction. We need her strong, and we need her focused!”
Natasha nodded. “I agree.”
“I felt the ravenous energy of Selene,” Aklia said. “Raya, I do agree that a war party should be sent to strengthen the prayer lines and to fight off anything that attempts to render Selene assistance. As for my brother Cain, he is somewhere living among the humans, and it would appear he has adapted well. I cannot sense him now that I am no longer among the living, but from what I was able to pick up from our newest Slayer, she can sense him but does not know it yet. I think it is time we introduce ourselves to her. She needs to know she has a team working behind the scenes that will never fail her.”
Raya and Natasha nodded.
Aklia turned to leave. “Oh, and one more thing. On her eighteenth birthday, transmit every gift we have into her. I need her to be in top fighting condition. Send strength to those Guardians in training, too. Heighten their senses and abilities. A war is brewing. I can feel it. And if we have to, until she is ready, prepare the alternate location to send her and her team. The burden that child carries should not be carried alone. I should know.”
Aklia closed the door behind her, leaving Raya and Natasha alone in stunned silence. Raya slumped onto the bench that surrounded the table.
“What do we do first?” Natasha asked with a sigh.
“Prepare a war party,” Ray said. “And then after that, we pay a visit to The Academy.”
Daemon crept along the edges of the prayer lines that surrounded the cliff on Mount Sinai where his beloved Selene was held captive.
The lands surrounding the holy site no longer contained the majestic beauty it once had. Now it was a barren wasteland, torn apart by war and bloodshed. Gunfire and missiles blasting off in the distance rocked the terrain, and U.S. stealth bombers launched attack after attack along the Syrian border. His human pawns and those who were heavily under the influence of The Beast did a phenomenal job of desecrating the Holy Lands, infecting the human populations with fear and violence while Daemon and the rest of the members of his kind could live as kings and queens of the night and complete their own dark agendas.
`Using the tip of his shoe, he carefully inched his way across the barrier, but the instant his foot made contact with the hallowed earth, he started to singe.
He did not, however, incinerate.
Smiling with satisfaction, he could sense Selene, only a thousand or so feet above him. He had brought human helpers to make the climb to excavate tons of rock that imprisoned her with the promise of finding the hidden treasures of the Sumerian King, Alulim. Humans were always so easy to manipulate.
As the team of archaeologists finished hooking themselves onto links and chains to make the climb, Daemon and his henchmen of lower level vampires were waiting in the shadows when he felt the whoosh followed by the chime of a blade. He spun around to face the threat and dodged the tip of a battle ax barely missing his face. With fangs lengthened and his body now bulking to address the offense, his eyes widened in disbelief.
A group of at least ten past Slayers, dressed in Amazon warrior garb and eyes readied for battle, surrounded him and his men. The human helpers were already several feet into the climb, and one of them turned to face the chaos that now took place below.
“Keep climbing, you idiot!” Daemon shouted. “Don’t let them take the treasure!” He materialized a blade in his hand and met the sword of the blonde Slayer, Raya, metal for metal. “I always knew you would come to me one night, precious Slayer,” Daemon taunted as he dodged another of her swings.
“Silence, demon!” Raya shouted as one of her warrior sisters shot a silver-tipped arrow that grazed Daemon’s shoulder, leaving a permanent scorch mark of silver in its wake.
Daemon hissed and faded into mist only to reappear behind her and send a dark power pulse into her spine. She went down, but another huntress lunged and collided with him in midair. Her fists were power-packed with white hot heat, and with the prayer lines draining him and the silver scar burning into his flesh, he needed to escape.
The humans were almost to the top and armed with C-4. If they could make it in time, he would be there to grab Selene.
Daemon watched warriors beheading and staking several of his henchmen and Raya approaching him with her blade at the ready. When he saw two of Raya’s warriors heading toward the humans, who were nearing the top of the cliff, he shouted “No!” and dematerialized just in time to meet them at the top.
Landing atop the hallowed earth, Daemon screamed from the pain. Third degree burns now ate away at his flesh, and when one of the humans saw Daemon’s condition, he tried to escape. Daemon had barely enough energ
y to power-snatch the man, grab the C-4 strapped to the man’s utility belt, and combine it with his own dark energy to blast away tons of rock. He sank his fangs into the human’s throat and tossed the lifeless body away before misting into the caverns of the historic cliff. The Slayers were behind him, and neither he nor Selene would be strong enough to fight off those pesky warrior spirits.
As arrows whizzed past him, he reached Selene’s semiconscious body, cradled the emaciated vampire, and dematerialized just as Raya hurled her blade and screamed when the blade impaled in stone instead of impaling Daemon’s heart.
Daemon and Selene materialized in his lair where he had a dozen human captives waiting to replenish one of the original creatures of the night to return her to her full glory. He collapsed onto the black marbled floor as she lay helplessly on his bed.
“Feed her,” he commanded with his last ounce of strength before slipping into unconsciousness.
Chapter Five
Archer stared at the mountain of paperwork he needed to file away on top of the reports submitted by Guardians from around the globe of various sightings, encounters, requests for more funding, more weaponry—
It was all becoming too much.
One region near the borders of the Congo requested backup. A powerful shifter clan had moved into the area, and there were not enough Guardians to fend them off. Guardians were dying every day. He had to plan more funerals and register more names in the books …
Archer sighed. Too much is happening!
To top everything, Sanaya would be turning eighteen in a few days and would be receiving a few more of the gifts she would need as the Huntress to make her stronger and harder to kill—definitely not a bad thing. But it would also make her temperamental and moody while her body adjusted to the changes.
And that might be the worst thing I have to deal with, he thought. There’s nothing worse than a moody eighteen-year-old girl.
The Vampire Hunters Academy: The Shadows Page 3