by S Mays
Curse of Souls
Warrior of Souls Book One
S Mays
Curse of Souls
Warrior of Souls Book One
S Mays
www.s-mays.com
https://www.facebook.com/superbtales
Cover art by: Alberto Besi
Cover typography: www.mvcoverdesign.com
© 2017 S Mays. All rights reserved.
ISBN-13:
978-1974590018
ISBN-10:
1974590011
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 Sarah
&
Holly, Lily Belle, Big Willie, Ori, Arwen, Podo, Kisses, Cookie,
Lucifer (the ferret, not the Lord of Darkness, although I’m pretty sure they are one and the same), Thor, Whopper, Jinx, Mickey, and Black Kitty.
Prologue
Jessica walked with purpose, determined to locate her prey. This was her second attempt of the day at completely canvassing the campus. Her target was somewhere near. She could sense something unusual in the area. Focusing, she expanded her aura several more feet. It would deplete her energy reserves faster, but she was running out of options. She had to find the creature before it killed again. Judging by the information she had thus far, it was most likely ready to feed. Too many days had passed.
There — something was close. She stopped, trying to figure out what had triggered her senses. Turning, she noticed a small group of people several hundred feet in the distance, moving down the sidewalk away from her. She used what little remaining energy she had to shift her vision into the spirit realm. The boy on the right near the back of the group — there was something unusual about his aura, but she was too far away to analyze him properly. She moved quickly to catch up to the group, but her energy reserves were depleted. She wouldn’t be able to determine anything else about him using her chi senses.
She slowed once she caught up to the group. Now she’d appear to be just another student heading to class.
“You going to make it to Karate Club tomorrow night, or are you going to wuss out and sit in your dorm sulking again?” the boy on the left asked.
“Yeah, I guess. Not like I’ve got anything better to do,” the one on the right answered.
She now had her target. She would spend tonight replenishing her energy, while keeping him under surveillance. Tomorrow night, she would lure her target away from any innocent humans and eliminate him as quickly as possible.
CHAPTER ONE
She might have been the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen — at least in person. Although the same thought had crossed his mind on dozens of other occasions since he’d started school weeks ago. Of course, that didn’t rule out the girl he’d seen from across the quad the other day, but that was at a distance of at least five hundred feet. What is the maximum distance you could view a person and consider it seeing them “in person”? he wondered. Distracted by his thoughts, he failed to notice that his nose was suddenly confronted with an elbow. There was a slight crunch as the two body parts became intimately familiar with each other.
“Ow!” he cried out as tears filled his eyes. Hunched over, he held both hands over his face to mask his embarrassment.
“Dude! I’m sorry! What the hell were you doing just standing there like an idiot?” Josh exclaimed as he leaned over to assist his friend. He patted the injured young man on the back as if that would alleviate the pain.
“I dunno, wait until I say ‘I’m ready,’ maybe?”
“Um, you did say that.”
“Wait until I mean it next time?” Sverre said, now smiling. Tears still streamed down his face.
At this point, the rest of the class had paused as Sensei Johnson went over to make sure his students weren’t seriously injured.
“You okay, Sverre? Let me take a look at it.” After a quick wiggle, he determined it wasn’t broken and went back to his instruction. “Just put some ice on it and lean your head back,” he offered while walking away from the duo.
“Ugh, I think I’m going to sit this one out. You go spar with those guys a bit,” Sverre said, wiping the remaining tears from his face. He moved to take a seat on a bench on the wall. Despite his dismissal of the incident, the impact had given him a pounding headache. He contemplated packing his gear and leaving. He didn’t want to seem like a wimp, especially around the new student. He could have sworn he’d caught her looking at him several times earlier in the class. He’d only been a member of the club for three weeks, and he wasn’t quite sure the Karate Club was shaping up to his expectations. Maybe he was the one who needed shaping up. It appeared easier in the movies, and the workouts were rigorous.
Besides Josh, I don’t know anyone in here. I’m sure they won’t miss me, he thought, packing his bag. He glanced again at the new girl. “Well, I’m sure that made a fabulous impression on her...” he muttered.
“Made a fabulous impression upon whom?” he heard as he slowly sulked toward the exit. He turned, only to come face to face with the girl he had been thinking of.
He tripped over a loose gym bag strap, falling backward onto his rear. Hadn’t she been across the room seconds ago? How had she heard him?
The entire class paused again, but this time there were random stifled chuckles. “Are you sure you’re okay, Sverre?” the sensei called out from the front of the room. Sverre jumped up quickly to prove he was fine.
“Yes, sir! Just heading out for some fresh air!” he said, inching backward toward the door. He was beet red from embarrassment and simply wanted out of the room, which seemed to have shot to over a hundred degrees in a split second. Casting a pained glance at the girl standing in front of him, he quickly made his way out.
Once outside the room, he darted down the hallway. Well, I can hope that I never see anyone from that class for the rest of my life.
***
The cool rush of the fall night air embraced his flushed face. The full moon illuminated the campus as small groups of students wandered the dark paths and sidewalks. Low conversations and laughter sprang from various directions. He inhaled the surrounding scents deeply and instantly felt better.
“Ah, well, there are other clubs where I’m sure not to make a total jackass out of myself,” he said as he began to walk back to his dorm. A light hand on his shoulder caused him to turn. Once again, he stood before the girl from class. She smiled.
“You’re the girl...” he stammered.
Her smile broadened, and she replied, “Why, yes, I am a girl. I am flattered you’ve noticed.”
He shook his head and started again, “No, I mean you’re the girl from upstairs...” He stopped, avoiding further discussion of his humiliation.
“You can call me Jessica. I was coming over upstairs to check out your nose. I’m a nursing major, and I can probably tell better than the sensei if you need treatment.”
“Oh, I see,” he said, disappointed. He had hoped she was interested in something besides his red nose. “Okay, well, do your thing, Nurse Jessica,” he said with a wan smile.
She seemed confused by his sudden change in disposition, but pulled him over to the nearest street lamp, where the lighting was better. After a few seconds of inspection (longer than he would have suspected was needed to simply check for a problem with his nose), she smiled and informed him, “It’s not broken. It will be swollen for a bit, and it’ll probably look pretty bad tomorrow, but it’s fine.”
�
�Thanks for the clean bill of health, Doc, but I should probably head back to my room,” he replied.
“I think the class is about over by now, or will be soon, so there is no reason for me to head back up there. Would you like to walk a lady back to her room on this perilous night?” she asked.
“Sure, I guess.”
“Great! It’s over off of Main Street.”
“You live off-campus?”
“Duh, I’m a junior. I can’t live in these non-air-conditioned dorms! Plus, there’s no ‘quiet time’ regulations when you have your own place.”
He thought back to his freshman dorm room that had easily reached eighty degrees at night only a few days ago. “That’s awesome. I’ll probably move off campus soon,” he countered, trying to appear self-sufficient.
“Well, you know you have to wait until you spend at least a semester on campus first.”
“Oh, yeah, I meant after that,” he covered.
“So, what made you choose N.C. State?” she asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. It was the best college I was accepted to out of the ones I applied to, and I hope to maybe be an engineer or something one day.”
“‘Or something’?” she asked.
“Well, I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I figure I’ve got time to figure it out.”
As they walked and chatted, he glanced sideways, attempting to inspect her without notice. In the soft glow of the moonlight and the passing overhead lights, he pieced together a better picture. She had light brown hair, straight and flowing past her shoulders. She glanced at him with warm brown eyes. She was about five-foot-five, with a slender build. She walked gracefully, with poise, as one might expect from an athlete. She had the air of a young woman, while he felt like a little boy tagging along on an errand.
“Are you usually so clumsy, or was there something distracting you?” she asked, not looking his way or giving him a hint as to what she meant.
“Um, yeah, I think I had something in my eye — maybe a vision of an angel,” he said, hoping she’d been flirting. He regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
“Oh, really? And let me guess, are you an agriculture major? Because that line was CORN-Y!” She laughed and gave him a push. He was puzzled by her sudden playfulness.
“Come on, it wasn’t that bad.”
“Yeah, not bad for a freshman trying to hit on a junior, I suppose. It might have even worked on the high school girls back home, but somehow I doubt it,” she replied, looking up at the moon. “I guess martial arts isn’t your thing?”
“Yeah, maybe not. I just went to Club Day a few weeks ago and made a list of the clubs that seemed the coolest, I guess.” He noticed they were moving farther away from campus. She must be taking the long way around in order to chat, he gleefully thought.
“Oh? I’ve studied a bit myself. I could give you a few pointers, if you like.” She looked around and spotted a shaded area behind a nearby abandoned building. “Come over here and I’ll show you a few moves.” He was suddenly very excited at the prospect of heading to a secluded area so she could put some “moves” on him. He couldn’t believe his luck.
“Okay, assume whatever stance you learned in class,” she said.
He assumed the basic stance. She jabbed directly at his face with no warning. He barely blocked.
“Wow, you’re fast!” he exclaimed.
“Yes...” she said, staring intently at him. A solemn, almost anguished look came across her face. She walked slowly backward, fading into the darkness.
He peered into the shadows, but she’d disappeared completely. He heard no movement.
“Hah! That’s a good trick!” he shouted, expecting her to reappear. There was no answer. “Jessica?”
A whistling sound was the only warning he had before he was struck from behind by what felt like a sledgehammer. He rolled to the ground, feeling the cold, wet grass greet his face.
“What the hell?” he shouted, holding his head. He thought back to stories of people lured by strangers into groups of muggers.
“Look, jerks, I don’t have any money on me. I don’t even have my wallet!” Starting to stand, he fell back down as his knee buckled from an unseen strike. Panic crept into his mind. He wasn’t sure how many of them surrounded him, or if they were armed. He glanced around to see if there was anyone close by. “Hel —” His shout was cut off by a blow to his windpipe.
“If you don’t start fighting back, you will very soon be dead. I know you aren’t human. If you want to roll over and die, it would make my job much easier, but I’d prefer to see what you are before your demise,” he heard Jessica warn from the darkness.
Wheezing and coughing, he tried to catch his breath. He lunged from his squatting position in the general direction of the voice, throwing a punch at nothing. She caught his arm, bending his wrist violently. The bone fractured with an audible “snap.” He started to cry out, but a blow to his solar plexus choked it off. He went down to his knees again, winded.
“I am not sure what you are. You are certainly not who I thought you were, so you’d better start explaining quickly,” she demanded. Another whistling sound directly in front of his face preceded the next attack.
Without conscious thought, his left hand moved of its own accord and intercepted her fist. He stared in amazement as his eyes focused to reveal that her knuckles were mere inches from his face. She attempted to pull her arm back, but it was like trying to pull a tree from the earth. Few humans were this strong. He stood up, wondering how he had even known the direction from which the blow was coming.
He moved without thought, matching her movements. He heard the wind of her next blow before he saw her leg appear out of the darkness. She was attempting to free her hand with a kick to his head. Bowing his head slightly, it passed harmlessly overhead. Jumping, he avoided her attempt to leg-sweep him. Her other fist launched directly at his face again. He caught it with his free hand. He wasn’t quite sure how he accomplished that, as he was pretty sure that wrist was either broken or sprained, but it held. With a quick yank, he pulled her close, out of the shadows and into the beam of moonlight in which he stood.
Her face was a mixture of shock and fury. She wasn’t accustomed to being manhandled so easily. “What are you?” she whispered.
“Kind of pissed,” he replied. “So, what’s up with the whole ‘Let’s flirt, but then I’m going to kill you’ bit?”
“I will tell you nothing. Surrender and die,” she spat.
“What about option ‘C’?” he responded, a grin spreading across his face. He pulled her close, forcing her hands behind his back, and kissed her. She muffled a protest as her eyes opened wide in surprise. A second later, she pulled away just as he let go of her hands. She stumbled a bit, and this time, it was she who fell upon her rear.
“Why did you do that? How dare you assault me!” she demanded, her face flushed. She was more flustered from the kiss than any attack would have accomplished. It worked: she stopped her assault on him.
“I don’t know. It just felt right. Are you really going to cry sexual assault after you just tried to murder me in cold blood for no reason at all?” he asked, looking down at his injured wrist while rubbing it. The pain had subsided. From the earlier snapping sound, he had expected the injury to be worse, but he now barely felt any pain at all.
She noticed his concern and said, “I broke that wrist. You shouldn’t be able to move it at all, much less fight.”
“Maybe you just popped it, like cracking someone’s knuckles,” he replied. He wasn’t sure why he was having this conversation with someone who had just tried to kill him. For that matter, he wasn’t sure how he was still alive. She probably could have kicked Sensei Johnson’s butt easily.
She noticed that he was just as bewildered by his actions as she was. The boy did not seem like a supernatural predator, but her expert senses told her that he was not human. Was he a doppelgänger or mimic, imitating a human?
She nimbly hopped to her feet. “You avoided my blows without a hint of thought or skill. I do not recognize your techniques from any other fighting style I am familiar with. You are not who you are pretending to be. Where are the missing people? What have you done with them? Tell me, and I will offer you a quick death. I know that bone was broken, not ‘popped.’ You aren’t human.”
“Girl, I’m as human as you are. Wait, I take that back. I don’t know what the hell you are, but I am definitely a regular person.” At least, he thought he was a normal person. He mentally asked himself how he was doing the things he was now capable of doing. Too many martial arts movies over the years? “So, do you want to tell me why you just decided to kill a nice guy like myself that you have just met?”
“As I said before, no.”
“Okay, well, I guess I’ll be heading over to the campus cops, then. We can’t have psycho women running around at all hours of the night offing unsuspecting but dashingly handsome men.”
She stared at him, unsure of how to proceed. At first, he had seemed inept and bumbling, but he had just easily bested her in combat. Despite his demeanor, she wasn’t sure she could trust him, and telling him the truth was absolutely out of the question. She had the authority to eliminate anyone who was not human, and even humans who threatened her mission. She pulled up one of her pant legs, revealing a holster strapped to her calf. She slid a slender, dull gray cylinder from the holster.
“What’s that? A Taser? Going to Taser me now?”
She replied in a resigned tone, “No, I’m afraid not.” She whispered as she pointed the unknown weapon at him, “Casca: dissect.”
He backed away as a soft red glow emanated from the tip of the device. It was growing longer, as if a mass of metallic sand were climbing ever higher and solidifying as it went. The movement emitted a faint slithering sound, like a powerful wind was blowing over sand dunes. At a length of two feet, the movement stopped. The particles solidified and flattened. She now held what appeared to be a slender two-foot-long sword. On the edge of the blade, the motion of the particles continued, increasing into a frenzied blur. The blade begun to hum lightly.
