by S Mays
Sword of Order
Warrior of Souls Book Zero
S Mays
Sword of Order
Warrior of Souls Book Zero
S Mays
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Cover art by: Alberto Besi
Cover typography: www.mvcoverdesign.com
© 2017 S Mays. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
For my mom. She likes supernatural stuff.
Other Books by S Mays
The Warrior of Souls Series:
Sword of Order (Book 0)
Curse of Souls (Book 1)
CHAPTER ONE
“My girl, you’ll be killing supernatural monstrosities before you know it,” the old man shouted across the training room. Bilford Luvkrafft was wearing a long, saggy t-shirt, billowing shorts and flip-flops. His long white beard was resting upon his chest due to the way he was slouched in his chair. “Skinny” and “scraggly” were words often used to describe him. He looked down his nose through his glasses at the spectacle transpiring across the room. To look at him, no one would guess he was one of the most powerful wizards on the planet.
“Grandfather, do not encourage her. You’ll fill her with pride, and pride is a weakness,” said the man standing beside him. Jake Luvkrafft was in his early forties, with a trim black beard that matched his thick, wavy hair. Bulging muscles strained against the fabric of his dress shirt, which barely contained his barrel chest. He stood an inch over six feet, but to anyone facing him, he seemed several feet taller.
“Jake, if I hadn’t filled your head with such ideas, do you think you’d be Director of Research, then a Master Stalker, and now Overseer of this facility?”
“Grandfather, if you hadn’t filled my head with nonsense, I’d have been Director of Research years ago, instead of traipsing around the countryside hunting vampires and ghouls like a fool.”
“But you’d have been dreadfully bored, my boy. Though you have a keen scientific mind, you need to feel that rush of adrenaline. Always the soldier. You know you love it.”
“Yes, and that’s not the life I want for Jessica, if I can help it. She will go into research as well,” Jake explained, turning to face the much older man.
Bilford grimaced. “She takes after your warrior side. Despite doing well academically, she’s destined to become a Stalker or perhaps a Slayer, not a research technician.”
“That life is too dangerous for her. She can serve the Order just as well in a laboratory as she can in the field,” Jake said.
Across the room, a slim twelve-year-old girl was sparring with two adult men. The men were having a difficult time. Outmatched by their strength and weight, she relied on her speed and dexterity, striking at the weak points of her opponents.
“You can’t lock her away forever. There’s too much of her mother in her,” Bilford said.
“Yes, and where is her mother now? With our Lord, gone far too early. Jessica will not meet that fate if I can help it. Abigail’s death was a huge loss — to me, and to the Order. I never should have allowed her to go on that mission. Her skill as a medical researcher was unmatched. If she’d finished the Universal Cure, we might have eliminated most of the supernatural threats on the planet without bloodshed. Jessica will be of more use to us as a researcher, not a soldier.”
Bilford sighed. “I will repeat it for the hundredth time: Abigail’s death was not your fault. You had no control over her. As for the serum, we still have a sample. We may be able to reverse-engineer her research from it.” He knew Jake missed Abigail more than anything in life, but he had to stop blaming himself for her death.
“No, it will remain cryogenically preserved in the vault in the lab. I do not want to risk losing it. The blasted fools at the Council would have me turn it over if they knew she’d created that one batch, and they’d ruin it, like those other samples we sent over. It’s too valuable to risk.”
“Grandfather! Did you see that?” Jessica called out. The two men she had been training with crawled away from her, weakly attempting to stand.
“You can’t deny the gifts granted to her by the Lord,” Bilford pointed out, returning her wave.
Jake was one of the more devout Christians in their organization. Appealing to his religious side was a viable tactic when arguing. Although the Order had been created hundreds of years ago to fight supernatural evils in the name of God, the religious zealousness of the past had begun to fade. Bilford thought back to the Crusades. Perhaps it was for the best. The horrors he’d seen over his centuries-spanning life had drained his own faith. Many of the immoral deeds he’d witnessed had been committed by his own organization, not creatures like werewolves or zombies. Still, the Order of Mankind was the only thing standing between darkness and the fall of human civilization.
Jake walked across the room, focusing on his daughter. “Spar with me, Jessica. Show me what you have learned.”
Confused, she looked to her grandfather.
“Look at me. I am your opponent,” Jake ordered, assuming a fighting stance. “Show me your power.”
Jessica focused inwardly, drawing upon her chi. The spiritual energy magnified her speed and power. She dashed at her father, striking at his joints and weak points. He easily blocked each attack. The difference in their skill was immediately apparent. He led her to believe she was doing well for half a minute before he went on the offensive, causing her to break her stride. She was unable to keep up with his movements.
After a few moments of testing her defenses, he attacked in earnest. His palm struck her chest, sending her reeling backward. The blow was too forceful. Bilford stood, alarmed. Jessica fell, gasping for breath, holding her chest. Jake took a step forward as if to help her, but then backed away and stood unmoving.
“You let your confidence lead your actions. Defeating two normal men is not an accomplishment. The things you would face in the field as an agent of the Order of Mankind are unbelievably terrifying. I’ve witnessed nightmares you can’t begin to imagine. Friends turned to stone. The organs of a man gaining sentience and clawing their way out of his body. Good women and men twisted by demonic and unearthly powers until they were but evil caricatures of themselves. Your mother…” He trailed off. He looked down at his daughter’s face. It was full of confusion and pain. “Your mother sacrificed her life for the good of all mankind. Don’t forget that. What our organization does is not a game. It is not fun. It is deadly, and it is dangerous. But never forget why we are here. It is not for glory or honor. We are the Sword of God. We were put here to eliminate the evils and abominations that seek to overrun our world,” he continued. He moved to her, reaching out his hand. She accepted his grip and rose to her feet, still holding her chest with her free hand.
“That’s why I am training hard, Father. I will fight by your side, just as Mother did. We’ll avenge her death.”
He shook his head. “No! Have you not listened? We exist for God, not for petty vengeance. It was by His will that your mother left us. She fell honorably in battle, serving Him. He rewarded her with a place at His side.”
Bilford joined them then. “This conversation is much too serious for my tastes. What do the two of you say to Hilda whipping us up some frosty lemonades?”
“Grandfather, I am trying to have a serious discussion with Jessica. I think I am finally making progress in impressing upon her the impor
tance of what we do,” Jake said.
“Yes, you think you are doing that, but I know my granddaughter, and you are merely annoying her at the moment,” Bilford said, winking at Jessica. She started to smile but stifled it as her father turned to regard her.
“You will be very sorry when she is injured due to your foolish encouragement, old man,” Jake said, shaking his head. When they both teamed up on him, he had no recourse.
“I am sorry I struck you so forcefully, Jessica. I let my temper get the better of me. You have advanced very well in recent months. Yet you have only crested a small hill and have a mountain above you. It will be years before you can even think about going on any missions for the Order. I will be the one who determines when and if you are ready,” Jake said.
“Yes, Father. I will train and study hard. You’ll find that the next time we spar, it won’t be as easy to defeat me as it was today,” she said.
“Again with the boastful pride. Perhaps you should spend time reviewing field footage. I had planned on waiting until your thirteenth birthday before allowing you to view such graphic violence, but if it will hammer some sense into you, then —” Jake said before Bilford cut him off.
“Enough with the gloom and doom. I said we are going to get frosty lemonades, not watch videos of people being dismembered!” the old man exclaimed. He snapped his fingers, and they were now in a large kitchen.
“God did not give you an affinity for magic to save yourself from walking across a room to an elevator,” Jake said.
“Oh, have you spoken to Him recently? This is a monumental event. Please gather everyone around so Jake Luvkrafft can enlighten us on what our Lord wants us to do with our abilities,” Bilford said. He called out, “Hilda! My dear lady, will you please bring us some of your absolutely delicious lemonade in frosty mugs? And put the long silly straw in Jake’s mug, will you?”
CHAPTER TWO
“Peach, if you don’t eat something, you’re goin’ to stay the same size your whole life,” Sam said, then stuffed a huge portion of pizza into his mouth.
He’d given her the nickname of “Peach” years ago, when she was infatuated with a certain video game princess. At the time, she had insisted that her name was now Peach. Everyone except Sam had let it drop long ago. To him, it was now a term of endearment.
“Are you aware of how many calories and how much sodium is in even one slice of that pizza, Sam?” Jessica retorted.
“Naw, why would I care about that? If you’ve got a body like me, you can eat what you want.” To emphasize his point, he flexed his muscles.
Sam was in his mid-forties, but he was as fit as most people in their late twenties. She wanted to point out that his once-slim waist had started to expand a bit in recent months, but she refrained.
“I want to go on a mission, Sam. I’m ready. I’m as capable as any soldier in the facility.”
“Peach, you know your dad ain’t gonna allow that. Why even bring it up? You got years to go ’fore you can even think about that. Beatin’ up a few rookies in the training room don’t mean jack,” Sam argued, grabbing a fourth slice. The long cheese strand followed his slice for almost two feet across the table before breaking.
“I’m bored, Sam. I don’t have any friends here. All I do is train and study. Most girls my age have started to date by now.”
Sam choked and sputtered before responding, “D-dating? Whatever put that idea in your head, Peach? You’re too young to be thinkin’ about things like boys.”
“I’m not saying I want to date boys. I’m merely pointing out that I feel like I’m missing out on many things in life by being confined to the Farm,” she pointed out. She took a small slice of pizza.
“Who’s confinin’ ya? You just tell me where you wanna go, and we’re goin’. You want to go to the movies or a park or something?” he offered.
Sam might be Head of Security for the compound, but Jake had also tasked him with being Jessica’s personal guardian angel. It was a job he relished, even if he griped about it publicly.
“I don’t have a reason to go anywhere. What’s the fun in going to the movies with just you?” she argued.
Sam’s eyes fell with her statement.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I love hanging out with you, Sam, but sometimes I get lonely.” She thought back to the time Sam had taken her to a local mall to meet with some friends she’d made on social media. It hadn’t gone well. The group had merely talked about the latest fashions, popular music, and rumors about people she did not know. Jessica had feigned interest, but it was obvious to everyone that she did not fit in. She did most of her socialization behind false identities on social media accounts, following scholars and world leaders, but most people her age had such mundane interests and limited intelligence. She later learned that they had made fun of the way she talked, saying it wasn’t natural, so she ceased her online friendship with them. She couldn’t deny she was perpetually lonely, but she didn’t know what could be done about it. She focused on her studies and training to occupy her time while her father worked on his research or went out on field missions. She often assisted him with his research.
“Nah, it’s fine, Peach. You’re totally right. When I was your age, I had a girlfriend and half a dozen friends. I ever tell you ’bout Lil’ Snook? That boy was in trouble every damn day. Always tryin’ to con someone out of something. He once got a kid to trade a brand-new pair of shoes for a broken record player. The only magic that kid got was his daddy’s paddle on his butt when he found out about it!” Sam laughed.
“Yes, yes, your stories are always very entertaining, Sam, but I want stories of my own.” She had to interject now, or Sam would ramble on for the next thirty minutes.
“Look, you’re in the Order, girl. You’re goin’ to have stories. You won’t believe the stories you’re goin’ to have.”
“Yes, but ‘going to’ is future tense. What about now? Father is out every other day protecting the world. I’m good enough to go out on basic missions now,” she said, grabbing a second slice. It was very good pizza.
“Look, I know there’s a mission leavin’ in a few days down to South Carolina for what’s supposed to be a Native American burial ground. Some of the locals said they’ve been seein’ weird things some nights. Your dad’s taken you on a few of these cake trips just because he loves scarin’ ya. How about you get on board with this mission, just to get your foot in the door? Work your way up, ya know?” Sam suggested.
“I do love séances and passage rituals,” she admitted. Watching spirits being led to whatever afterlife awaited them was a beautiful sight. The feeling of exuberance and joy permeated the entire area. Jessica imagined that must be what it felt like to get high, although her father would admonish her if he knew that was one reason she enjoyed attending such events. “But Father would never let me go on my own, even to something as mundane as a level one mission.”
“How about I go with ya? That way, you’d get credit for being on your own a bit,” said Sam. He polished off the last slice of pizza, then closed the box. He’d eaten over three-quarters of the large pizza by himself. He took a long swig of beer and belched his satisfaction. “I need to get out and stretch my feet, too.”
“Legs,” she corrected.
“Yeah, that’s what I said. You want to go out back and shoot some practice drones?”
“No, I’m going to work on my strength training in the gym,” she answered.
“Peach, you need to focus more on your firearm training. You’re pretty good, but in this business, ‘good’ ain’t good enough. Swords and whips lose out to a good rifle any day of the week. Don’t be the one who brings a knife to a gunfight, even if that knife is the Holy Blade of Agraondonasse.”
“I can only hope to one day wield a blade as powerful as that,” she said with a sigh.
“You’re missin’ the point. Look — never mind. You go play with your weights and toys, and when you are ready for some real trainin’, y
ou come see me,” he teased.
“A good sword will dismember a ghoul in seconds, Sam. You try doing that with your rifle.”
“And you try using a sword on an onyx golem, or worse yet, a magma elemental. You’d break your fool wrist or burn up on the spot.”
“I think you’d have just as much of a problem shooting one of those,” she pointed out.
“Nope. If your gun don’t work, just move up to a bigger gun until you find one that does,” he countered. “I’ve got this cannon up in my cabin that wiped out a whole mess of treants in one shot. See, it was about fifteen – no, sixteen years ago, and me and the Eternal Knight was up in Wyre Forest looking for missin’ hikers. I had this cannon that this crazy scientist from the UK branch wanted me to test. Said I was one of the only guys strong enough to carry it. I think he just didn’t want one of his own guys to get his head blown off, but damn if that wasn’t a heavy cannon. Anyhow, we trekked through the forest for days. Now, back then, you didn’t have —”
At that moment Bilford entered the room, much to Jessica’s relief. She dashed out of her chair and embraced the elderly man. “Grandfather!” she exclaimed, hugging him fiercely.
“My! What have I done to warrant such attention from you?” he exclaimed.
“I just haven’t seen you in so long,” she cooed, her face buried in his beard.
Sam looked annoyed at the interruption, anxious to continue his story.
“Well, I’m off to train!” she shouted, dashing out through the doorway.
“Peach, what about… I was just getting to the part about the mosquitoes,” Sam shouted as she disappeared.
“Ah, you know you can’t contain the spirit of youth for more than a few moments,” Bilford said, opening the pizza box. Discovering it empty, he frowned.
“Gotta get here a lot faster than that if you want some chow, old man. You know how these teenagers eat,” Sam said.
