School of Swords and Serpents Boxset: Books 1 - 3 (Hollow Core, Eclipse Core, Chaos Core)

by Gage Lee

  My mind had registered the attack a split second too late to defend against it.

  My Eclipse nature, however, was faster than the speed of thought and reacted to protect me before I could stop it. The truth I’d hidden from everyone, even myself when I could, was that I wouldn’t have stopped my core even if I’d been fast enough.

  The contender came into that ring ready to kill me. And in the moment when he’d revealed that intent, I’d been beyond furious. If he’d only used a different tactic, some trick that would have immobilized or stunned me so he could score a point, it all would have worked out differently.

  But that’s not what the contender had done. He’d elevated the stakes in a stupid attempt to defeat the School’s champion.

  In the instant before his death, Thomas had looked at me with the same open, hopeless eyes as the rat crouched at my feet. He’d seen his death coming like a freight train and hadn’t been fast or strong enough to avoid it.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I promised the rat.

  My aura filled with the rat’s feral and animal aspects as our breaths cycled through my core. I licked my lips at the taste of the creature’s essence. It would be so easy to pluck out its core. No more than a moment’s thought.

  Just like Thomas N’gaori.

  Alive, vital, one moment.

  A dead husk the next.

  No.

  Killing was too easy. I wouldn’t give in to that urge again. I was the master of my core, not the other way around.

  I forced my body to obey my command, lowered my hand to my side, and stood up.

  The rat squeaked and rushed off, frightened by the exuberant footsteps headed down the old passageway.

  “What are you doing down here?” Clem, one of the few people in the School who’d stood by me after I’d been labelled a thief, called out. I was relieved to hear her voice, rather than someone like Hagar. I didn’t need any more stress while I was wrestling with my Eclipse nature. “We’ve been looking all over for you!”

  “Could you have found a creepier place to hang out?” Eric, a member of the Resplendent Suns who’d befriended me along with Clem, practically shouted the question at me.

  Beams of light fell across my back and cast long, distorted shadows down the hall. I took a deep breath and pushed the urge down deep. That had been far too close. I waited until the pressure behind my eyes had retreated and then turned around.

  Clem shifted the glare of her jinsei lantern away from my eyes, then slapped Eric’s hand down when he failed to do the same. Abi towered behind them, his face hidden in shadow. Of my three friends, he was the one who’d been most disappointed that I’d stolen from Tycho Reyes. I hoped time had mended that fence, because I didn’t think I could go through a year of his disapproval.

  “I was looking for Hahen,” I said. “I thought the alchemy laboratory was this way, but I guess not.”

  There was a kernel of truth in that. I wanted to see the ancient rat spirit again to thank him for the training he’d given me. There hadn’t been time to hunt him down at the end of last year, and I’d regretted it ever since.

  “He’s definitely not down here,” Eric said. When he wrinkled his nose like that, the diagonal scar he’d earned in last year’s final challenge really stood out. “Let’s grab some breakfast before the newbs arrive and get all the bacon.”

  “Buffet’s open,” I offered as I headed toward my friends.

  “We know that, silly,” Clem said. “When we didn’t find you there, we came looking for you. It’s a good thing you stopped moving around, or we’d have never found you.”

  Clem passed through a shaft of early morning sunlight that highlighted all the ways she’d changed over the summer. She’d chopped her dark hair off short and dyed the remaining spikes neon pink. She still wore the sky-blue robes of the Thunder’s Children clan, though this year she’d added bold scrivenings that glowed with shifting white and pink patterns around her waist. Her robe’s’ style was also far from traditional, with no arms and a skirt slit far up to the hip on both sides. She wore bright pink knee-length bike shorts under the robes and a pair of rugged black jika-tabi with glowing white laces and chunky soles that added an inch to her height.

  “You look awesome,” I said. She really did. The look suited her more than I would have expected.

  “And how do I look?” Abi razzed me. He’d grown over the summer and seemed more like a full-grown man than the tall teenager he’d been the last time I’d seen him. His smile lit up his face when he spoke, even though it didn’t reach his probing eyes. His robes were far more utilitarian than Clem’s and didn’t look anything like the gear of the Titans of Majestic Stone he usually sported.

  “You’re in the Portal Defense Force?” I asked when I recognized the white and gray uniform as the same style Fezal had worn. “I didn’t know they allowed students to sign up for that duty.”

  “You made things very interesting when you discovered the emissary from the Locust Court,” Abi said. “And the anti-Flame protests have everyone on edge. The school staff and the Empyreal Council decided it was best to have a junior force here on campus until we’re sure there are no other hungry spirits lurking about.”

  My Eclipse nature stirred at his words, and I faked a cough to hide the darkness I knew had flickered across my eyes. I’d defeated the Locust Court spirit by pulling a part of it into my core. A part I still battled every day.

  I was very close to being one of the hungry spirits they were all worried about.

  “Let’s eat,” I said with a forced smile.

  “Finally.” Eric let out a long, melodramatic sigh. He spun on his heel and headed for the stairs.

  Clem snorted with laughter and followed after the Resplendent Sun, while Abi and I took up the rear of our little group.

  The Titan eyed me as we headed back to the dining hall. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Something bothering you?” I asked, more sharply than intended.

  “My friend is unhappy,” he said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “And that bothers me.”

  “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” I said. “Honestly, Abi, I’m doing great.”

  My friend’s dark eyes probed mine as we walked, and I felt the weight of his attention fall across my aura like a damp towel. For a moment, I wondered if his senses had penetrated the veil wrapped around my core.

  “Ah, Jace,” Abi said. He squeezed my shoulder firmly, offering his support. “No man can be truly happy until he is at peace with himself.”

  We’d reached the main hall and were suddenly surrounded by other upperclassmen who’d arrived ahead of the new batch of initiates.

  “I’m good, man,” I said to Abi. “Honest.”

  “You are good,” Abi said, a strange emphasis on the middle word. He tapped his finger against my chest. “You are not, however, at peace. Those two things may be related. Tell the others I had to check in with my squad. I’ll catch you at lunch.”

  He winked and backed away from me, swallowed by the crowd.

  I was glad that Abi seemed to have forgiven me for what had happened last year. But something about his words chilled me, and I wasn’t sure what he meant.

  I shook my head and headed to breakfast, glad to be back at the School and unsure of what the year would bring.

  The Headmaster

  FOOD HELPED KEEP MY Eclipse core’s urges at bay. It was as if a full belly tricked my core into thinking it was full, too. It was a close call between Eric and me to see who loaded up on the most bacon, sausage, eggs, and fluffy waffles.

  “You two won’t be able to walk if you eat all that,” Clem said with a wrinkled nose. “There’s a table over there.”

  We followed her pink hair through the crowd of other upperclassmen. I spotted Rafael across the room and couldn’t help but smile when he ducked his head and looked away from me. He’d clearly watched my fights and knew that the next time we crossed swords, there’d be a very different ending f
rom what had happened last time.

  “Where’d Abi go?” Eric asked. “I thought he was right behind you.”

  “Portal Defense Force stuff,” I said around a mouthful of bacon. “He’ll catch us at lunch.”

  Several of the other upperclassmen gave me uncertain waves when they passed by. It was hard to get used to all these people who’d shunned me last year being suddenly friendly. On the one hand, I knew they weren’t sincere, they were just sucking up to the School’s champion. On the other hand, the attention really was nice.

  “The trial’s not even going to happen until the end of the school year,” Clem said as she took her seat. Her plate was mostly fresh fruits and berries, with a sprinkling of crispy-skinned fried donut holes covered in a sugar glaze. “Grayson’s convinced the judiciary he needs more time to prepare his case because he’s had so much trouble getting a lawyer to take him on as a client. What with the assassins and the anti-Flame stuff.”

  Clem rolled her eyes at that last, like it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.

  After he’d been arrested and hauled off to a holding cell awaiting trial, Grayson Bishop had insisted his life was in danger. He blamed me for upsetting the pact he’d made with the Locust Court and insisted the hungry spirits would kill him before they’d let him testify. That had severely limited the number of lawyers willing and able to defend him in court. If there really were spirit assassins coming for the former headmaster, anyone close to him would be in danger.

  “The hungry spirits won’t kill him,” I said. “Though they’d kill me if they got the chance.”

  My friends looked at me like I’d sprouted a pair of horns.

  “Don’t talk like that!” Clem said. “You’re safe here. They’ve got all the portals on lockdown. No one can come in or out of the School without security knowing about it.”

  I shoveled in a forkful of syrup-drenched waffles and chased it with half a sausage patty. I hid my disagreement with Clem’s thoughts behind an unnecessarily long drink of orange juice.

  Everyone insisted the emissary I’d killed last year was the only member of the Locust Court who’d made it past the Far Horizon portals. Of course, before I’d ripped the core out of that hungry spirit, everyone had insisted there were no members of the Court on this side of the portals at all.

  If the headmaster of the most prestigious Empyreal martial arts school had been in contact with renegade spirits, anything was possible. That’s part of what had sparked the anti-Flame protests and attacks. We’d been promised we were safe after the Utter War. That didn’t seem like much of a guarantee after what I’d uncovered.

  A loud chime rang through the dining hall, saving me from any further conversation on the subject.

  “Oh, man.” Eric groaned and shoved his plate back. “I’m still starving.”

  “Then keep eating,” Clem said as she popped a doughnut hole into her mouth. Sugary crumbs clung to her pink-glossed lips for a moment, and she licked them away with a quick swipe of her tongue. “That wasn’t the end-of-meal chime.”

  We didn’t have to wonder about the bell for long, because the dining hall’s doors flew open a moment later to reveal a flood of new initiates. They rushed in, eyes wide and mouths hanging open as they tried to take in every detail of their surroundings. They were only a year younger than me, but their rambunctious entrance made them seem like children.

  “There are so few of them.” Clem grinned at me. “You did your job too well.”

  Eric laughed, and I grimaced. Beating the School’s champion was a sure way to gain admission, or higher ranks if you were an upperclassman, but no one had gotten past me during the whole Five Dragons Challenge. Even Hank, one of the School’s most famous former champions, had been beaten, and not just by me.

  Of course, he’d also seriously injured dozens of other contenders on Grayson Bishop’s orders.

  I’d only killed one.

  “I was just following the rules,” I said to Clem. “Maybe this year’s contenders just weren’t very good.”

  “What about that one?” Clem asked and speared her fork over my shoulder.

  I twisted in my seat to find an initiate waving at me from across the room. The girl was very short, less than five feet tall, with sharp elfin features and long smooth black hair she wore braided over one shoulder. Her robes marked her as one of the Disciples of Jade Flame, the only clan that wasn’t assayed by the school when they arrived. I remembered her from Dallas. She was one of the contenders I’d beaten most easily. I gave her an offhanded wave and turned my attention back to Clem.

  “That’s Rachel Lu. I’m not sure why she’s here,” I admitted. “I dropped her in the first ten seconds.”

  “Doesn’t look like she has any hard feelings toward you about it,” Clem said and harpooned a raspberry on the tines of her fork. “You really were something out there, Jace.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Eric agreed. He washed his pancakes down with a gulp of milk so cold condensation rolled down the glass like beads. “You’re going to have to teach me some of those moves.”

  I chuckled nervously at the request. To those who’d watched me fight, I’d seemed faster, more agile, and stronger than my opponents. From the audience’s point of view, they saw flashing serpents, careful blocks, and stunning strikes that dismantled my opponents with skill and ease.

  I wondered how they’d feel if they knew the truth.

  No, I wouldn’t be teaching Eric any of my tricks.

  “We’ll see,” I said. “Remember, most of my fights were against newbies who didn’t have any training at all. I probably could have—”

  “Greetings, initiates and upperclassmen,” a tall, slender woman with a mane of fiery red hair called out as she entered the dining room behind the flood of initiates. “As I’m sure you’re all aware, Sage Bishop will not be joining us as headmaster this year.”

  She paused for a moment to let the Resplendent Suns clan grumble and the Disciples of Jade Flame cheer before she continued.

  “I will be stepping into Sage Bishop’s shoes for the year.” She nodded and smiled easily at the uncertain applause from the rest of us. “As I’m sure you’re all aware, the circumstances surrounding the School of Swords and Serpents have not been, to put it mildly, well received. As a result, the adjudicators have assigned me to help restore order to our campus and ensure there are no repeats of last year’s unfortunate events.”

  “So, she’s the one,” Clem said with a frown. “Mother told me they were sending a disciplinarian to crack down. That explains the Portal Defense Force presence.”

  “My name is Morgan Cruzal,” the woman said. “I will be your new headmistress. In order to avoid any further unfortunate events at the School, we have implemented several new rules this year. You will also find curfews posted for initiates, restrictions on techniques, and other safety codes posted in the common areas. Please review and remember them.”

  That drew groans from most of the upperclassmen.

  “But, first,” Headmistress Cruzal said, “I’d like to take a moment to congratulate our champion for his perfect record during the tour of the Five Dragons Challenge.”

  The headmistress crossed the dining room with flowing steps that carried her to me far more quickly than I would’ve thought possible. Her long, thin fingers closed warmly over my left shoulder, and I couldn’t help but return her beaming smile.

  “Initiates, this is Mr. Jace Warin.” She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and pulled me closer to her side. Her ornate gray robes did nothing to shield me from her warmth. It was like standing too close to a working stove. “Mr. Warin served the School better than any champion in my memory. We would all do well to follow his example this year.”

  She stepped back from me, and I was struck by just how beautiful she really was. When she smiled at me, I felt the first glimmers of something I’d been searching for since the first day I stepped through the School’s front doors.


  Acceptance.

  She put her hands together with vigorous applause. I basked in the warmth of her praise, then felt my cheeks redden as the other students stood from their tables to join her. Everyone was looking at me with what seemed like real pride.

  For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like an outsider.

  The Rooms

  WHILE THE NEW CLASS of students scrambled to grab their food before they were yanked away to get their clan assignments from Mama Weaver, the rest of us finished our breakfast at a much more leisurely pace. We didn’t have classes the first day back, which left my friends and me free to do whatever we wanted.

  What Eric and I wanted to do was eat.

  “Will you two finish stuffing your faces so we can go look at our rooms?” Clem asked. “I’m so excited to see where we’ll be staying this year.”

  “We saw the dorm towers last year,” I said. “They weren’t very exciting.”

  “You saw the initiate dormitory towers,” Clem corrected me. “Rooms for upperclassmen are much nicer.”

  That was news to me. I’d been expecting to return to the same narrow room I’d lived in last school year. Whatever the upperclassmen dorms were like had to be better than that uncomfortable cell.

  “Well, now I’m excited,” I said and pushed back my empty plate.

  “I guess I’ve had enough.” Eric leaned back in his chair and patted his hands on his flat stomach. “Hard to keep my girlish figure eating like a horse.”

  “More like a bull,” Clem teased. She pushed back from the table, and I gathered up the plates.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Eric said.

  “It’s not a big deal,” I said. “The staff has more than enough to worry about with the new initiates and the new security. Dumping our plates into the bus buckets by the door won’t kill me.”

  I headed across the dining room, nodding and waving back at my fellow students. This felt like a dream. For the thousandth time, I wished I could share it with my mother.