Year One- Recruit

by L Cross

  As she opened it, a fine film of gold and silver dust sprayed onto her face and eyes. She sneezed, trying not to gag at what had to be centuries-old mold and other crap. At least no one was able to see her screw up again.

  Blinking the water from her eyes, she focused on the inscription written on the page:

  For the worthy.

  With a breath hitched in her throat, Lucia flipped through the book. Pain-stakingly tight handwriting lined each page, front and back. This had to be from a powerful Mage, given the intricate spells that were written here. Some of these glyphs, she hadn’t even seen before, and she’d been studying every day for weeks.

  Lucia flipped back to the beginning. For the worthy. The words seemed to pulse with a life of their own.

  Chapter Two

  "Were we supposed to meet out here?" Kat asked, looking at her watch.

  We were out in front of the newest laser tag club in the city, checking every car service that slowed to a stop to see if they contained our friends.

  Blazers was set up in what was once a warehouse. The “Z” in the name was larger than the other letters, and blue-animated flames shot out from it. The design concept made it look more like a gaudy thrift store specializing in cheap business suits than an extreme sports arena, but I wasn’t one to judge.

  Besides, all the reviews said they had awesome food.

  "I say if they don't show, we should just go in anyway."

  She saw through me. "You're just saying that because you want to avoid--"

  "He who must not be named," I said before she could mention Morgan. I swear just thinking about him would make him appear.

  “If you didn’t want him to come, you shouldn’t have invited him!”

  “I didn’t invite him. Lance overheard us talking about going here, and he thought it would be cool.”

  “Well just because he thought it would be cool, doesn’t mean he’ll show,” Kat said.

  “I actually don’t mind if Lance shows. He’s cool. I just don’t like that other one that shall not be named.”

  At that moment, Hanami popped up and startled me. "Who must not be named?"

  Kat and I jumped. "Dammit, girl, you were about to be missing a head!" Kat’s short sword was already in her hand.

  Normally, Hanami came up to my shoulder. She was the shortest of all of us at five foot two, but she made up for her lack of height with outrageous shoes. Whatever she had on were at least four-inch platforms for her to be at eye-level to me.

  Hanami snorted. "Please. Like I'd let you mess up my hair." She flipped her extensions off her shoulders. Today, she rocked pink ombre hair parted down the middle then pulled up into high ponytails. Blunt bangs covered her forehead, ending at her eyebrows.

  Her eyes glowed a grayish-green, and she added a smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks that weren’t part of her natural appearance.

  "One of these days, you're gonna need to teach me how you appear from out of nowhere like the other mages," I said.

  “Screw that, you have to teach me how to change your hair and eye color like that,” Kat said in awe as she inspected Hanami’s hair.

  Hanami giggled. "Sure thing. Teleportation and glamour are all part of your curriculum, anyway, why not get a head start!"

  Must be nice to use magic for something other than seeing monsters all around you.

  "Wait, seriously?" I was only kidding. But, if I could travel like she could, I’d be golden!

  Hanami shrugged, looking from Kat and me. "Well, yeah, you two are on track to being part of the Knight program, right? Those types of magicks are exactly what you'd learn. This way, you'll get to the head of the class."

  Kat and I squealed and high-fived. "That would be awesome!"

  Dara waved at us from the back of her cab. She skipped out of the car, straightening her skirt. "What’s so exciting?" Dara asked.

  "Hanami said she'd help us get a head start on some Knight stuff!"

  Dara shimmered. "That's amazing! Go team!" She looked around. "So, what are we waiting on?"

  I took a look around "I'd invited Santiago to come along too--"

  After a minute, I saw her coming up the street. "Hey! I didn't think you'd make it!"

  "Yeah, I lost track of time. I was in the library."

  Dara clapped her hands. "All right, let's go!"

  We checked in at the front, and got our gear on, and waited just outside our starting point. It was a re-imagined city skyline, with images of landmark buildings and bridges painted on the murals. Twinkly lights set into the wall recreated a starry night sky.

  Just as the “get ready” lights started blinking at us, a familiar voice called out.

  "Hey, guys! Fancy meeting you here!" Lance with his all-American good looks swaggered in. His sandy-blond hair and cornflower blue eyes went real nice with that muscular body that stretched out his shirt. He made the silly laser-tag vest look like real armor.

  I rolled my eyes to hide the fact that I was straight staring at him. Besides, he knew he was gorgeous, there was no need to feed his ego. "A coincidence? Had nothing to do with the fact that you overheard Kat and I talking about going laser-tagging tonight during the weapons class?"

  Weapons had been a joke. It was the three of the resident knights, Wyn, Lance, and Morgan posturing about who was the better swordsman, and then introducing the ranking system to us before being dismissed. Hopefully, it would be more interesting once the actual instructor was back from whatever field assignment he was on.

  "What? Why on earth would we care about what you girls like to do in your spare time?" Lance asked. His smile lit up the room, and my brain was in danger of melting out of my ears.

  Steady girl. Try not to drool.

  Hanami snorted and stomped over to Lance. "Because you're hoping to get some ass?" She narrowed her gaze at him. "Speaking of ass, I thought you preferred giving yours up to other dudes?"

  Kat and I exchanged startled looks. What the hell was this now?

  I didn't know how Hanami managed to stare him down--she barely reached his chest--but she was doing an impressive job at intimidation.

  Lance's cheeks flushed. "Oh Mimi, when are you going to learn that not everything concerns you."

  "And when are you going to learn that you're not as charming as you think you are."

  Pure electricity crackled between them. If looks could kill, they would be shooting lasers from their eyes.

  Dara leaned over and whispered loudly at us. "They used to date."

  “Oh!” Kat said while I responded, “Clearly.”

  I was so distracted by their drama that I didn't realize the others that had come in with him. One of whom was the very last thing that I wanted to see, and that included the ghouls, trolls, and minotaurs that have been thrown at me during training.

  "What the hell is the hold up?"

  Hearing Morgan’s voice was like a punch in the stomach. Seeing him, well, made things worse. His shock of platinum hair and icy blue eyes complemented his cold, alien beauty, and made it really hard to hate him.

  "Unclench, Morgan," said another familiar voice. "There's a group in front of us."

  Wyn. Where Morgan was cold, he was warm and inviting.

  With Morgan and Wyn here and others that I didn't recognize, this waiting area was feeling more and more claustrophobic.

  The face off between Lance and Hanami was far from over.

  "It's nice that you're gonna warm up the guns for us."

  "Big talk. Then again, we all know that you're all talk and no action." Hanami said.

  "Fine. Why don't we ask the manager to change this into a battle style, and we can see who's got what."

  "Yo, H we got your back, but some of us haven't played this before," Kat loud-whispered to Hanami.

  "Does it have to be a versus game? Why don't we just kill the bad guys together?" Dara’s Summer Fae nature practically glowed with the need to make everyone happy.

  "Yes," I said
jumping on that bandwagon. "Let's keep it as is, and just ask them to do a melee style battle so we're killing the same enemies." Plus, this way I could ignore Morgan completely, and just stick with Kat.

  "Fine. But we're keeping track of the score," Hanami folded her arms across her chest.

  What is with these people and rank?

  "Loser pays," Lance sneered.

  At the mention of money, I bit my lip. I could practically hear my bank account squealing in pain at the possibility of paying extra for anything. "Hanami, is that ok with you?"

  "Of course. Since we're going to win."

  Okay, fine. Clearly, that outcome was decided. I sighed and shrugged at Kat. “I guess we’re winning.”

  Thankfully, Morgan was too busy talking to the other guys to notice what was going on. Maybe he wouldn’t be playing after all. He probably thought games like this would be too beneath him or something.

  I’d been too busy with my one-sided monologue about Morgan, that I hadn’t noticed Wyn sidling up to me. His lean, athletic build was made for stealth. "How was the rest of your day, after Weapons."

  I shrugged. "No big deal. I had a meeting with the Merlin where she basically said, ‘stay-alive-I-can’t-stay-gotta-go’ before she teleported away from me. Ate my body weight in pizza. Washed it down with the blood of my enemies. The usual."

  He smiled. "It's good to see not everyone is obsessed with their rank and score."

  Damn, it took all my willpower not to step in just a little bit closer to him. He was magnetic with that soft voice and warm hazel eyes.

  I had to work not to lean in and inhale whatever spicy scent lingered around him. Giving myself a mental shake, I tried reaching for anything resembling intelligent conversation. "What is with these ranks, anyway? Why are they so important?"

  Wyn smiled in reflection, and I pretended not to feel my heart racing in my chest. "It’s not the rank really, but what the rank represents."

  "Okay, I'll bite. What do the ranks represent?"

  His eyes twinkled. "If I told you, it would level the playing ground."

  "Why you little--"

  I had a few choice insults for the man, except Hanami huffed her way back to us. She shoved a laser rifle at me. "Look alive, Tu tu. Gotta get those kills in." She eyeballed Wyn. "Watch your back." She pulled me along beside her.

  When we were away from the rest, I asked her, "I thought we were on the same team? It'll be fun just killing people."

  "Yeah, it'll be fun. As long as we get more kills as them. That'll be fun."

  Hanami locked and loaded her laser tag gun as seriously as any dedicated soldier in the battlefield.

  I looked at Kat with awe. "Who the hell is she, and what did she do with our sweet roommate?"

  Kat laughed. "This is our sweet roommate. When she's pissed. And out for blood." She clapped me on the shoulder. "Let's do this."

  The “Get Ready!” light blinked again, the pace increasing until it turned red and steady. The gates pushed in with a pneumatic hiss, and Hanami pushed through with the rest of the team on her heels.

  The girls started out ahead. As much as we were on the same team, it was clear that Hanami would have been perfectly content carrying our numbers. She shot at anything that moved, even if they were potential civilians. I did pretty decently myself.

  At a couple of times, the laser fight got me dangerously close to the guys, but I always had an excuse to break apart from them and get back to Kat.

  I refused to be one of those girls that sold her friends out for a hot body and a nice smile.

  Not that it mattered much now that the game was in play. Amid loud noises and overbearing techno music, we forgot about the guys and just had fun. Even Hanami was laughing, merrily killing round after round of enemies. Nothing like a little target practice to get the aggression out of your system.

  Soon, the only enemy left to find was the boss. We all were trying to find it in the looping maze, but so many have been tagged out.

  I scoped the big screen that hung above our maze and listed the names of the players that had been tagged out. Of the names on the board, I only recognized Dara.

  Dara was one of the first to go. But I wondered how seriously she had played since she had gotten pretty cozy with one of the new guys that showed up. Conveniently, he had also been tagged out early. Neither of them cared about winning as much as they were trying to get under each other’s shirts.

  The rest of the guys I lost track of soon after, since they branched off toward another path in this maze. The fog machine was working overtime, and I couldn’t see Kat who had been ahead by just a few feet. She wasn't listed on the board so she was still in play somewhere.

  I was surprised to see that Santiago was still fine, too, wherever she was. She had disappeared soon after we piled into our maze.

  "Tu, on my six," Hanami roared out.

  I scrambled ahead, wondering where she’d come from. "Dude you're not even a Merlin yet and already telling me what to do," I teased.

  "Best get used to it," she said before jumping into another fray.

  Her bloodthirsty zeal was contagious, and I found myself laughing maniacally at all the enemies that died at my hand until we were the last two standing.

  We saluted each other with our blazing laser guns. A panel slid open, revealing the path toward the castle in the middle of the maze. That was the way to finally get to the boss.

  “Let’s kill the boss and win!”

  “And pizza!” I added, which became our battlecry.

  As we were shouting “Pizza!” a streak of blond tumbled toward us from out of another secret panel that hadn’t been there a moment ago.

  It was Lance, confused as if he didn’t know how he got there. "Lance?"

  Confusion easily gave way to a triumphant smile. “Finally!” He lifted his gun toward Hanami. I reacted on instinct and pushed her out of the way. I still caught a glancing blow. My vest lit up, sending percussive sensations around my rib cage indicating a hit. It wasn't fatal enough to tag me out, but it was still a hit. "Dude what the fuck?"

  Hanami didn't pause. She turned as soon as I pushed her and tagged Lance out--along with Wyn and Morgan who had also stumbled out of the secret panel--in a barrage of laser light show.

  "I knew you'd cheat. Once a cheater, always a cheater." Hanami was almost rabid as she hurled insults at them.

  Damn, I didn't need to be a Merlin or a fortune-reading Fae to know what that might be referring to.

  Okay.

  Well, while they were distracted with their drama, there was still a boss to kill. Hanami would understand.

  "Where do you think you're going?" Morgan sneered at me.

  "I don't think dead people can speak," I said. I shot him, tagged him out again just for kicks. And though he was supposed to be dead anyway, the vest still thumped against his chest.

  "You bitch."

  I saluted him and ran after Hanami toward the last round. I nearly bowled over Santiago as I ran out of there. She looked dazed and a little lost, like a baby deer blinking into bright headlights. "Hey Santiago! Good to see you! Did you see Hanami?” Up ahead, Hanami’s pink ponytails swished behind her. “Come on, let’s catch up and win." I tapped her laser gun with mine in a kind of toast.

  "Yes, let's win."

  Her voice sounded weird, but I didn’t think anything of it. Not until I rushed past her toward the castle and she tagged me out.

  My vest thumped against me. It didn't hurt but damn it was still a shock. "What the--?" Then, Santiago went to the boss level room with a savage grin. I saw my name added to the board, and I could do nothing else but stand there in shock.

  Damn, these people were intense.

  "Dude, you dead, too?" Kat said from behind me.

  "Yeah, Santiago hit me! Clearly, she's got some unresolved anger issues toward me or something." So much for building bridges and making friends.

  "Don't worry, I got her," Kat called out.

  Before Kat
was able to run up to the castle, a blood-curdling scream sounded from the inside.

  And then, a large creature with curling horns drove through the wall. It huffed through its nose. Red-veins in his eyes, large muscles, goat body and bat wings.

  It swung its head in our direction, its gaze heavy and piercing. Then, it spread its wings savagely into the air and let out a bellowing cry, hellfire erupting around it.

  Chapter Three

  I should have been scared. But the first thought that came to mind was that we hadn’t learned about this kind of creature yet.

  Snap out of it. This isn’t a fucking class.

  “Do you see Santiago?” I yelled at Kat.

  She shook her head, eyes locked on the creature in front of her. “Maybe she dodged it?”

  Man I hoped so. Being cut down by a demon-like thing wouldn’t be my first choice to die. Not like I’d want to die at all.

  Hanami hopscotched behind one rock to the other in poofs of smoke. That was a handy spell to have. She signaled for us to be quiet and hide around the debris.

  I was still concerned that I couldn’t find Santiago. Bitch or no, I didn’t want to know that she’d been hurt by this thing or worse. Killed.

  Hanami scurried up beside me. “The guys went around the other side of it.”

  “Do you know what it is?” I asked.

  “It’s supposed to look like a demon general, buuuuut it’s not vibing like one.”

  The fact that Hanami was so chill about a bellowing demon in front of us made me feel better. “Like, is it fake? A weird hologram for this laser tag game?”

  “I doubt this would be part of the game’s repertoire, that’s for sure,” Kat said. “As for thinking if it’s a real thing or not.” She seesawed her head as if it could go either way.

  Hanami interjected. “Oh, that thing is definitely a real something. But it’s not a demon general.”

  I trusted that Hanami would know more but the shaggy beast with glowing red eyes triggered all the scary vibes in my body. “I know you’re in an advanced-advanced program and all, but how can you be sure?” I asked.