Year One- Recruit

by L Cross

  The Sword of Avalon

  L. Cross

  Contents

  Foreword

  Author’s Note

  Previously from The Call of Avalon...

  Prologue

  Text Messages

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Foreword

  A legendary sword. A magical legacy. A fated destiny.

  Ever since I pulled a legendary sword of power from its enchanted stone, I went from being a poor college freshman to the first mortal-born recruit to join the ranks of the Sword of Avalon Academy.

  You'd think being the first dragon heir to come along in over a thousand years would automatically give me a top spot at the best classes and field assignments at the academy.

  But I’m up against other students who have been wielding magic their whole life.

  Not to mention, the knights and wardens who lord their elite status over me as much as they can.

  The school motto is wisdom is power…and I’m determined to learn all I can, even when I’m just polishing armor or mucking out stables. Especially since Otherworld monsters have broken through the Avalon mists and threaten my new home.

  The Lady of the Lake chose me for a reason, and it's time for me to live up to my legacy. Bring on the students that mock me and the monsters ready to rip me to shreds. I’ll face them all to prove I belong here.

  My name is Artura Drake and I will prevail and survive my first year here, there's no doubt about it. Even if I must face an entire demon horde by myself.

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  * * *

  The Sword of Avalon follows the adventures of Artura Drake, which started in The Call of Avalon, currently featured in The Midnight Academy.

  Though the world of The Sword of Avalon Academy can start from this book, I would recommend reading The Call of Avalon first to get a full picture of the world.

  Thank you for reading!

  Much love,

  L. Cross

  Previously from The Call of Avalon...

  It was barely dawn and the morning was already heavy with humidity. The unrelenting heat that had captured the city since June had carried through to the last week of July. All the weather guys promised more record highs for today.

  Physical activity would be torture in this weather, but there was no going around it since I had to finish moving into the dorms this weekend. At least my mom and I had been packing and moving my belongings little by little into the academy’s storage facilities over the last few weeks. Bigger stuff that I didn’t want cramping up a small dorm room. The most essential items we would be carrying in today once I found my dorm assignments.

  I hoped that once I moved the last of my boxes into the dorms, it would still be early enough to clean up and enjoy the rest of the day holed up inside a temperature-controlled building.

  After fighting traffic into the city, standing in line at the registrar’s for my dorm assignment, and navigating the crawling traffic of Midtown Manhattan on a Saturday, I finally found my new temporary home.

  “Well, Tu tu, for dorm life, this won’t be bad.”

  I stood frozen staring at the brick townhouse that took up the entire block. “Not bad? Ma, this is a townhouse on the Upper West Side. Are we sure we’re at the right place?”

  My mom didn’t answer me, and just pointed to the crest stamped into the masonry of the building. And as if there would be any doubt, Tanis the cat meowed at me from the front stoop.

  “Okay, let’s get moving before it gets any hotter.”

  A few trips later, and a few missteps trying to track down my room on the second floor, I finally had all my boxes stacked in a neat corner. The room was small, like a glorified closet, but at least they were furnished.

  In this part of the dormitory, the rooms were clustered into suites, so there were four bedrooms--two of the doors were already closed and claimed--two bathrooms, and a shared common room for each suite. The common room had a kitchenette tucked into one corner, and a stacked washer and dryer unit hidden in a closet in another corner.

  All-in-all, this was the better than any dorm or apartment set up I could ever have hoped for. I said as much to my mom.

  She shrugged, making a sound like she’d seen better. “I guess it’s nice.”

  “Nice? Ma, it’s amazing. You think I’d get accomodations like this as a sophomore in any other college in the city? I’d have had to share my bedroom with five other students.” I pointed at the single room that I’d been offered.

  My mom seemed to concede, nodding her head as if weighing my words. “True. At least it’s better than the roach-infested dorms I heard about on other campuses. You have your own sheets, right? And a mattress cover? I think we bought one. You gotta make sure to put a lot of space between you and a shared mattress. Viruses can be dormant forever, and you don’t want to be catching a strange STD!”

  “Ma!” I shrieked at her!

  Laughter drifted over from the doorway of the suite. “Don’t worry, Ms. Drake, we regularly ozonate the rooms and throw in a few magical spells to kill those pesky viruses. Even STD’s.” The girl was about my height, darker skinned with luminous green eyes. Her purple and blue hair was swept over to the side revealing an undershave with intricate designs. She wore cut off denim shorts, a plain black T-shirt, and low-rise maroon Doc Martens.

  My mom harrumphed, arching an eyebrow at the girl. “You must be one of the suitemates. Kat?” My mom had looked over all the First Year Look Books that had been sent to us, memorizing all the names and faces of the people who would be part of my class.

  “Yeah, Kat de Costa, that’s me. Dara--Sandara Rossi--should be along any moment. She was checking out the food situation in the dining hall. You need help with your things?” Kat asked.

  “No, we’re fine. This was the last of it. The rest were in storage,” I answered.

  Raucous laughter and chattering that sounded almost like a flock of birds crescendoed from somewhere out in the main common areas. Kat turned to giggle at whatever was happening on the first floor. “Once you settle in, you should join us in the game room. We’re playing a really weird mash-up of Monopoly and Risk.”

  I laughed. “It sounds brutal.”

  “Yeah, it’s mainly teams throwing stuff at each other. It’s a lot of fun! Tons of pizza and soda!” With a smile, she dashed off.

  “Well, mija, I think you have plans.”

  “But I thought we were going to catch lunch after cleaning up?” I asked.

  Another wave of boisterous laughter rose from wherever the game room was. My mom gave me one of her looks. “We can always catch lunch. First impressions with your suitemates? You can’t redo those.”

  With that decided, we double-checked that I didn’t forget anything. My mom would be driving my car back to Staten Island, since it would be more of an inconvenience here in Manhattan.

  I gave her a big hug. Tears welled in my eyes as I squeezed her tight. This was the first time I’d ever spent any time apart from my mother, and the reality of it was just hitting me.

  “Don’t cry, Tu tu, don’t cry,” she said rocking me back and forth.

  “I’m trying,” I said, laughing through my tears. I wiped my cheeks, blinking the tears from my eyes. “This is so silly. You’re not that far away. I could see you anytime.”

  “Yes you can. Anytime. Remember that.” Then she kissed both of my cheeks. “I’m so proud of you, my little Tu tu. Make good choices.”

  “I will.”

  And just like that, my mom drove away.

  By the time I cleaned up, and maybe cried a little more, Kat had come back into the suite and
was sitting on the couch tapping into her phone.

  “Oh hey! Are the games over?” I asked.

  “No, they just became bloody and chaotic!” she giggled. “So, we thought it would be fun to go out and go to the park. Do a picnic situation. Catch some sun while we can. Dara is cleaning up, too.”

  I heard the shower from their side of the suite. The other bedroom was still unoccupied. “That sounds fun. Do you know if we have another suitemate?”

  “Yes, but she’s an upperclassman, so she’ll probably not get here until Sunday night.”

  “Oh. Well, I’ll finish getting ready,” I said.

  “Cool, I’ll grab some picnicky things.”

  In about a minute, I threw on a tank top and shorts, and dug out my flip flops. I filled a tote bag with a lawn blanket, bottle of water, and my wallet. I zipped my newly gifted pen into the inside pocket, and hoped that was all I needed.

  A taller girl, nearly six-feet tall, was talking to Kat in the common room. Her thick red hair was braided into a crown around her head. Her milky complexion was smooth and clear. When I walked out of my room and locked the door behind me, they stopped in midconversation to turn toward me.

  The new girl’s eyes widened in excitement as she gushed at me. “Are you Artura? It’s so nice to meet you!” Instead of a handshake, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

  “I apologize for Dara. She’s very affectionate. Her parents were hippies,” Kat said.

  “Psh, you love my parents,” Dara said. Then she turned toward me. “And if I’m ever invading your space, just let me know. I don’t have many boundaries.” She giggled, and I couldn’t help but giggle back.

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Kat chuckled.

  “Hush you! No slut shaming this year, I mean it.” Dara placed her hands on her hips in mock anger.

  It was clear the girls had a history of some sort and were chill with each other. I appreciated that. I had been afraid that a room full of girls would be uncomfortable or awkward.

  This was exactly the opposite.

  “Okay, let’s go before everyone has the same idea we have.” Dara said it like she was an elf from the North Pole, and skipped out of the room. The silence that followed after her was startling.

  “She’s really...happy.” I concluded.

  Kat giggled, linking arms with me as we followed at a more sedate pace. “She’s like that. She’s part Summer Fae. They tend to be like that.”

  Kat mentioned “Summer Fae” as casually as any other ethnicity. “Oh. Well I definitely have a lot to learn about the different cultures of the magical community,” I said. “I had no idea there was anything other than human.”

  Kat gave my hand a couple of pats. “No worries. You won’t be the only one who discovered their heritage later in life. I’ve only known for a couple of years myself.”

  We slowed at the front desk. Now that the official move-in time had ended, the front doors were secured.

  Dara was signing her name into a large leather book manned by another non-descript woman in a shapeless dress.

  I pointed my finger at the woman, and whispered to Kat. “Is that lady important? I see her everywhere. Or someone who looks a lot like her.”

  “That’s because she is everywhere,” Kat whispered in reply. “She’s one of the ladies who serve the Lady of the Lake. Think of them like her avatars. They all look like that. Forgettable.”

  “Oh, so it’s on purpose,” I said.

  “Totally.”

  “So now why are we signing out again?”

  “We always need to sign in and out if we’re to leave the dorms. It’s a rule, something to do with the threshold magic of the dorm. All you have to do is sign your name. It seems tedious but trust me, it helps the wards keep the bad guys out. I’ll go first.”

  Kat unlinked her arm from me, and signed her name onto the blank page. As she did, the ink faded into the paper, and a thrum of energy seemed to vibrate from the book. “Okay, your turn!” Kat joined where Dara waited, talking a mile a minute to another group of girls.

  I dug in my bag to take my pen out of the inner pocket. The jeweled eyes of the dragon head glowed on the cap as I twisted the barrel to produce the tip. I signed my name with a flourish. Blue flames danced over the surface of the page before blanking out. I capped my pen and tucked it back into its pocket.

  Dara and Kat looked expectantly as I approached. “Ready to go?” Dara asked.

  I smiled at my new friends. “Ready.”

  Prologue

  Morgan

  * * *

  “She doesn’t belong here.”

  “You’re joking right?”

  I peered at Lance, annoyed that he answered me. Actually, I was more annoyed at myself for saying what I did out loud. “When have I ever felt the need to joke around you?”

  “You can’t be that big of an asshole not to recognize the raw magic that surrounds her. Even you can swallow your elitist pride and see that Artie belongs here more than most students.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes at Lance. I much preferred to watch Artura walk across the street from her dorm toward the park. Cloaked and hidden from sight--both mortal and True Sight--I stood on guard as I had been all morning as the new students moved in.

  I kept my mouth shut as Artura passed close enough to touch, her hair smelling of an exotic mix of coconut and flowers.

  That intoxicating blend twisted my guts with longing. I swallowed it down, trapping her essence in the very heart of my soul. Kept it buried alongside all the other memories I treasured.

  Hidden so no one could use them against me.

  In the distance, Wyn leaned against the statue of Alice throwing her mad tea party in his black warden’s cloak, unseen among all but other wardens and knights. His dark gaze followed Artura as the three girls walked past him.

  The most disciplined of all the Knights, even Wyn wasn’t immune to Artura’s charm.

  The grip on my wand tightened, a surge of magic rushing through my body, transforming the wand into a staff in response.

  Beside me, Lance coiled like a predator about to pounce. The air constricted around him as he called magic into his body. “Trouble?” he asked, piercing a death glare in the growing crowd of park-goers taking advantage of the beautiful day.

  His pretty boy charm hid a violence that seemed to surprise most people, but not me. Then again, I was used to hiding behind masks.

  “No trouble,” I conceded. I released my hold on the magic that I’d gathered, and the staff became a wand again that I tucked away into a pocket.

  Lance grunted in acknowledgement, expending the magic he’d gathered back into the air with a mumble of words. “I’m gonna take a few laps. Work off all this energy.” He was gone before I responded.

  Just as well. I turned my attention back to Avalon’s long lost dragon heir. She would be our salvation and my downfall. If I played it right, she would never know it.

  I hoped one day she would forgive me my sins.

  Text Messages

  ARTURA: Hi ma! Checking in!

  MOM: TUTU!!! How are you? How was your first night--good?

  ARTURA: Yeah, it was fun.

  MOM: And your roommates? Nice? Have a good lunch?

  ARTURA: Yes we had a picnic in the park for lunch, and went out to dinner. Getting ready for bed. Early day tomorrow.

  MOM: Placement this week right?

  ARTURA: Yup. My roommates said something about ranking in order to be in the knight program. Hopefully I find out more this week.