The Initiate

by Holly Lujah

  What was it about him that was so fascinating?

  Chapter 12

  Sister Breanna bounced into Biffy’s room.

  “Rise and shine, Initiate,” Breanna said as Boo leapt from the large woman’s shoulder. The rodent landed on Biffy’s stomach, making her breath whoosh out in one loud ooof. “Come, Boo. That is not a kind way to wake someone.”

  “It’s okay,” Biffy replied. “I can get up.”

  Breanna scooped up Boo and backed off so Biffy could go through a quick version of her morning routine. With a sigh, she pulled on the new habit Breanna had brought up with her. At least this one wasn’t tomato-stained, but it was looser than the previous one had been.

  “When you pass all the tasks Mother Superior has set, you will get measured for some proper clothing,” Breanna said as Biffy pulled a face at her reflection. “Until then, try to think of it as a challenge from God for your vanity.”

  Biffy let out a dry chuckle. Of all the nuns, Breanna seemed to be the most innocently devout.

  “I’m surprised my piety or faith or something isn’t one of the tasks,” she said as Breanna’s comment made her think of it.

  “It usually is the fourth task, although we know your faith levels from your forms and will see it again when you make it to the final task.”

  “You will?” Biffy hurried after Breanna down the stairs and towards the dining hall.

  “Yes. We’ve noticed that the cross and the holy water do not work to deter vampires if the wielder does not believe in the power behind them. It is why you could not choose the wrong cross in the first task. The cross that is best for you is the one you have the most faith in. The one you carry means more to you than any other.”

  Biffy nodded, understanding now why her father would never go out at night without it and always impressed upon her the needs for her to keep it safe once he was gone. He’d have known it was the best form of protection he could ever have left her.

  “So what about the other elements? What is the fourth test normally?” she asked as they helped themselves to a simple bowl of porridge each.

  “It is usually just a day spent with another nun, helping out around the academy with our other duties. It gives the initiate a chance to show their heart, attitude and level of understanding of the God we follow.”

  “That doesn’t sound too difficult at all.”

  “Not for someone who thinks of others and does their best to follow the teachings of Jesus. But you’d be surprised. It is now such an honour to be a fighting nun with the Marys, we get many applicants who don’t understand what it means to follow God and His ways.”

  Biffy nodded, blowing a hot spoon full of milky oats.

  “When I first joined, the nuns had mass every day, prayers every sunset, and many other religious practices traditional for nuns, but as the academy has diminished and the threat grown we have had to dispense with many of our old traditions.” There was a genuine sadness to Breanna’s voice. Biffy felt the remorse. Perhaps one day it would be like that again, and humans could remember something other than surviving and preparing during the day to fight or hide through the night.

  “We should talk of happier things. You’re doing so well. You’ve passed over half the tests so far, and with great distinction. It will not be long now before you are a fully fledged trainee nun.”

  Boo chose this moment to interrupt his human and scurry down the table, having spotted a piece of fruit someone else had with their breakfast.

  “Son of a bacon bit, Boo. Come back here. Have I not taught you that stealing is a sin? You should not shame me in this manner.”

  Biffy held her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh too loudly. Boo was one of the most mischievous familiars she’d ever come across. Something about the guinea pig was endearing, however.

  As Breanna hurried after him, scooping him just as he sunk his teeth into a chunk of apple, she could see the love the nun held for him.

  Breanna admonished the rodent, but it was half-hearted at best. Then, she fetched the nun another piece of fruit from the small canteen area.

  By the time they’d finished eating, the dining hall was mostly empty and the nuns had gone about their daily duties.

  “I have more training,” Biffy said, trying to remove herself from Breanna’s company as politely as possible.

  “Wonderful,” the large nun replied, beaming. “Boo and I do love watching the training sessions. There are precious few these days.”

  Trying to look as enthusiastic, Biffy fell in beside her and headed for the courtyard. At least it was her weekly crossbow lesson today. She was better at that than the others, although Sister Mary Barry was tougher on her than the other Marys. She suspected it was because she’d proved she was better in the first place.

  Whatever the reason, Biffy was still pleased to be going to the lesson, but this time as she stepped out into the courtyard, Mary Barry was not alone. The other Marys, Mother Superior and Sister Gelina were also there. And the targets were not the only item in the courtyard. The training dummies for both hand-to-hand and sword-fighting were also arrayed across the space.

  “My next task?” she asked, knowing this was not according to the previous plan. She’d been told she had far longer than this to train.

  “I have it under good advisement that you are progressing well. There is no sense in delaying any further,” Sister Gelina said, but she glanced at Mother Superior several times and her hands were both hidden in the opposite sleeve, neither perfectly still. Something wasn’t being said. For some reason, one of them was pushing for her to be tested early. Did someone want her to fail?

  What if they know about my visits to Spoke, she thought immediately. Am I being punished somehow? Are they trying to get me to leave without needing to discipline me? Or do they not like curiosity?

  These thoughts ran through Biffy’s head so quickly, she had time to nod with complete innocence after they’d finished.

  Mary Barry picked up her usual crossbow and handed it to her. There was a sad, almost pitying look in her eyes, making Biffy wonder even further, but she soon had to concentrate, the pressure on as everyone watched her.

  After taking the small pouch of bolts and attaching it to her belt, Biffy positioned herself and took aim. The courtyard was filled with noise as she hit target after target, her bolt thwumping into the wood, Biffy’s mind managing to find her usual calm as she shot at them. The bolts all quivered home, far nearer the centres than at her introduction. All the little tips Mary Barry had given her had really paid off.

  “Ninety-seven out of one hundred,” Breanna declared before anyone else could.

  “Make them move, please, and repeat the process.” Mother Superior’s face was blank, emotionless, her voice almost monotone. If Biffy had impressed her, it was impossible to tell.

  Biffy felt her heart rate increase. They hadn’t moved up to the lessons where she needed to hit a moving target. Of course, she knew how, but she’d not practised it at all. Something had definitely happened to move this task up. There was no way they were doing this because they thought she was ready. But what was it?

  Just like the assault course moved on a set of rope-and-pulley-fuelled cogs, the targets were hooked up to a similar contraption and the poor donkey set in motion. The targets began to follow their set patterns, some faster than others, some weaving in and out with another, and a few moving up and down or further away. It was a complicated set of goals.

  Trying not to show her nerves by getting on with things, Biffy fetched another set of ten bolts and returned to her position. As she loaded the first one, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, desperate to calm her body and stop her hand shaking more than necessary.

  “Whenever you’re ready,” Mother Superior said a few seconds later, when Biffy merely held the crossbow out, her eyes studying the movements. Evidently the nun felt she had waited long enough. Biffy considered making her wait longer, but instead she took aim at the first target and f
ired. Bolt after bolt left the crossbow, aimed as best as she could.

  Good thing Dad liked to practice while hunting, she thought as she assessed the score.

  “Ninety-one,” Breanna said, grinning as she moved to fetch the bolts back. There was a smattering of applause from the other nuns, with the exception of Mother Superior.

  “I understand your blade work is your weakest. I would like to see this next.”

  Of course you would.

  Hairwig hooted, agreeing with her sentiment, but the owl had the sense not to do or say anything else.

  With a gentle nudge from Biffy, Hairwig flew off her shoulder. The cheeky owl came to rest on one of the targets, the only one that had two bolts in the centre circle, almost as if she was making a point.

  Mary Beth took a short sword from the rack of weapons and handed it to her.

  “Please attack the two dummies with the movements I command as I command them. I’ll use a combination of attack names and left or right for each target.”

  Biffy nodded, hoping she’d get the direction correct. She’d never been particularly good at working out her left and right under pressure. She often said left when she meant right. If anything was going to fail her, it would be this part of the test.

  “When you’re ready, step within range,” Mary Beth said, backing up ever so slightly. Biffy didn’t hesitate. It was time to get this over with, for better or worse. Taking more time would only drag out the nerves and anxiety and make her body use up more of the adrenaline that coursed through her. She would need to get to the end before it caused too much muscle fatigue.

  “Left thrust,” Mary Beth called immediately, at least being kind enough to start with something relatively easy. Biffy did her best to obey for what felt like almost an hour, the audience fading into the background as she concentrated on Mary Beth’s voice and the two lumps of wood, hessian sack and stuffing.

  By the time Mother Superior declared that she’d seen enough the two targets were in tatters, their stuffing hanging out of multiple holes. She didn’t envy the nun who would have to fix it.

  “Mary Beth, please now spar with the initiate. Let us see how well she does against a moving opponent who can defend themselves.”

  Biffy tried to hide her weariness as Mary Beth came closer, grabbing a matching weapon from the rack. After everything she’d already done, Biffy’s limbs ached and she had sweat streaming down her face. This would be even harder.

  Seeming to understand this was a test Biffy wasn’t as likely to manage, Mary Beth started slow, making her attacks easy to defend and responding to the aggression Biffy channelled her way in a calm and clear way.

  Only once before had the two of them fought directly. During the assessment. Doing so again after all the training they’d done together felt strange. But somehow Biffy managed to push Mary Beth back a little.

  She found herself smiling as their swords clashed again and again, and despite the speed increasing, Mary Beth did not land a hit.

  Although the fight was called to a halt before Biffy could land any kind of hit either, it made her feel proud on the inside. She might suck with a sword in comparison, but she had held her own. No one would best her easily.

  For a moment there was an awkward silence, Mother Superior staring at Biffy, her gaze intense although she seemed to be looking right through her.

  “All right,” she said eventually, snapping back to the presence. “Mary Sue. Your turn. Please instruct the initiate to show me what she has learned from you.”

  Biffy exhaled again as Mary Sue invited her to step up to a large square cordoned off with rope. With all her weapons now gone and Hairwig still sat on the target nearby, Biffy felt vulnerable.

  Mary Sue stepped forward and bowed, triggering an equal mark of respect from her. Before Biffy could even wonder when they’d begin, Mary Sue struck, aiming a blow at her head. She felt the nun’s fingers brush past her head as she just dodged in time.

  Gritting her teeth, Biffy focused on Mary Sue’s body, somehow managing to dodge the next set of double punches. Before her opponent could make another move, Biffy felt herself automatically respond, attempting a quick kick to the abdomen area.

  A pro at this sort of fighting, Mary Sue blocked the attack, the force of their connection extreme enough to make Biffy wince.

  For another half a minute the two of them danced around each other, both looking for an opening but not getting one. Then Biffy made a mistake, stepping in too close with the wrong foot. Mary Sue swept it out from underneath her and she went down.

  With no mats, the ground caught her body with a painful thud.

  “Not bad,” Mary Sue said as she helped her back to her feet. “You’ve improved a great deal since our first encounter, but you still don’t anticipate enough.”

  “There aren’t many people as good as you,” Biffy replied. “It’s hard to expect the moves of someone so much better than others. Not without a lot of experience against them.”

  “Are you trying to make excuses, Initiate?” she asked, although she didn’t sound entirely serious and her eyes twinkled.

  For a moment Biffy thought about it. Was she just making excuses? Or something else? Mostly she thought she was just nervous. These were the three Marys. The best vampire hunters and fighting nuns known to man. Everyone wanted to be them, to train under them.

  “Please continue,” Mother Superior said a moment later, earning a slightly apologetic look from Mary Sue.

  Again she bowed at Biffy, and once more they began the elaborate dance that would see one of them as the victor.

  This time Biffy managed to hold out for longer, but she still didn’t land the first attack. Mary Sue caught her in the side with a kick, managing to send her off balance. She didn’t go over this time, however, instead using the momentum to propel herself around the side of Mary Sue where she landed a jab of her own. Mary Sue let out a brief oof, letting Biffy know her attack had landed, not merely caught the fabric of her habit.

  They traded a few more blows, getting scrappier and scrappier, until Biffy found herself on the ground once more.

  “Enough of this,” Mother Superior said as she stepped forward. “I have seen everything I need to.”

  Biffy scrambled back to her feet, brushing the dirt and debris from her habit as she did. As she was surveyed and stared at by everyone, she clasped her hands behind her back, as much to keep her hands steady as to give her a position of respect to the elder nun in front of her.

  “You show a great deal of promise, Initiate. Not all of our trainees get this far. But you still have a long way to go if you are to realise your full potential.”

  There was a pause and Biffy didn’t dare to breathe. Had she passed? Suddenly the nun gave her a broad grin, her raven appearing from seemingly nowhere to settle on her shoulder.

  “You may take the rest of the day off. You have passed this task.” With that, Mother Superior left, her familiar going with her.

  Breanna immediately clapped and hurried over, bustling Boo along with her. “I knew you could do it. When you caught Mary Sue with the kick there. Knew you’d passed then.”

  “It was just a simple kick,” Biffy said, frowning. There hadn’t been anything special about it. Mary Sue laughed as she came closer. Biffy noticed that she and the other two Marys were all smiling, something she’d never seen before.

  “It’s been a long time since Mary Sue was tagged by anyone, no matter how complicated the move,” Mary Beth said, clapping her sister-in-arms on the back.

  “And it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone beat my score with the moving targets on their first attempt.” Mary Barry bowed at her, her chicken tucked under one arm. “Next time you fancy an omelette for breakfast, come find me and Cinnamon. You’ve earnt the best you’ve ever tasted.”

  Smiling, Biffy nodded, not sure what to say. She felt like she’d suddenly become one of the popular girls, but instead of being invited to a sleepover where everyone was doin
g hair and make-up, she’d been offered some eggs.

  “Come,” Breanna said. “Boo and I have just the celebration in mind for beating the fifth task.”

  Biffy fixed a smile on her face, not daring to say no. Let’s hope I can keep it down this time.

  Chapter 13

  The sound of the toilet flushing made Biffy wince. She hadn’t kept the last celebration meal down. Why-oh-why did Breanna think these food-and-drink combinations were a good idea? Biffy thought, her stomach empty and her head more than a little achy.

  Hoot,” said Hairwig.

  “I know. I didn’t have to agree to it. But she gets so excited.” Biffy smoothed out her habit and headed back towards the dining hall. No doubt Breanna was already wondering where she’d got to.

  “There you are, Initiate. Come, tell Sister Annabelle here what happened today,” Breanna said, beaming at her as soon as she was spotted. Her words were so loud it drew the attention of almost everyone in the hall. Since she’d been at the academy she’d never seen the dining room so full.

  But her attention was drawn back to Breanna. Clasped in one of her arms and squished up against her was a petite nun who wore the initiate cowl rather than the full hood of a fully fledged nun. Biffy raised her eyebrows.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not an initiate. At least, I’m not anymore. I was, once,” the sister said, her words tumbling out so fast Biffy half-expected her to trip over them, but she didn’t.

  “Oh. Why aren’t you wearing a normal habit then?” Biffy asked, sitting back down in her seat as the two sisters also sat.

  “I passed my initiation. Just. But I haven’t decided yet if I wish to take my vows. It’s a big responsibility. And it’s a long time. Forever. I don’t know if I’ve got what it takes to be faithful to the call for so long.”

  “You would do just fine,” Breanna replied before Biffy could say anything. Sister Annabelle gave the other nun a look that made it clear they’d had this conversation many times before.