Starlight & Shadows: A Limited Edition Academy Collection by Laura Greenwood, Arizona Tape, Juliana Haygert, Kat Parrish, Ashley McLeo, L.C. Mawson, Leigh Kelsey, Bre Lockhart, Zelda Knight

by Laura Greenwood

  Everyone stops talking instantly, and I have to admit that it's nice to be in a room with only people who want to pay attention around. Considering coming to the academy is optional for reapers once we finish high school, it's strange how many people don't seem to care about learning.

  "Welcome to the Grove Captain presentation. We're pleased to announce that your teams have been ratified and approved to compete in the competition. If you're in this room, then you're in the running to become the next Captain for you Grove. If you have any questions, we please ask you to refrain from asking them until after the presentation," Montgomery continues.

  As one, the students around us begin to move to their seats. Tobias and I follow suit, selecting two near the back. Not that it matters when there are so few people in the room to begin with. Everyone is in the spotlight here.

  "As you're aware, the Captain competition is a long-standing tradition here at Scythe Grove Academy. We expect students competing to uphold the values of the student body. If you are discovered to be using methods deemed unfit by the Scythe Grove Academy code, then you will be immediately removed from the competition and will be barred from competing in future years."

  No one said anything, which wasn't a surprise. I doubt anyone in the room will be taking such risks. They all want to be Grove Captains too badly to risk it. The position looks too good on job applications and comes with better rooms for us students. I like the one I'm in now, but I could do with a bit more space.

  "I'm sure you're all wondering about what the task is," Montgomery says.

  The assembled students laugh nervously, that's the question everyone talks about at Scythe Grove. None of the older students who have taken part in the Grove Captain competition have ever revealed what happens in it, so we're all in the dark.

  "Your task is simple. You must accumulate bounty points. You have five days in which to do it," Montgomery continues. "After which, Grove Captains will be assigned."

  I scribble down notes as he explains more, but all he's really doing is outlining the rules, which are fairly standard and the normal ones we have to abide by as reapers. Don't kill anyone, don't interfere if someone is dying, and don't reap someone if it looks like it will cause harm to anyone else. We sign a declaration to do that the moment we start learning how to use our reaper powers, and it's why some reapers choose not to enter one of the academies teaching it. It used to be rare for reapers to ignore their heritage, but more and more often, younger reapers are deciding against this in an attempt to live a mundane life. I don't blame them. Sometimes, I feel the urge to abandon it all myself.

  "Bounty points is all it takes?" Tobias whispers to me. "We're good at those."

  "Is it really that simple?" I respond. "It can't be."

  "Hmm. Maybe there's a catch we're missing."

  "Exactly. We already know that only the best become Grove Captains, which means we need to think about more than just the bounty points."

  "If anyone has any questions, now is the time to ask them," Montgomery announces.

  Several hands shoot up into the air. I double-check my scribbled questions but don't put my hand up yet. In all likelihood, someone else is going to ask all of the ones I have written down.

  Sure enough, as soon as Montgomery starts answering, I learn the things I need to. We're excused from lessons for the next five days. We can't change teams, not that I want to. Tobias and I work too well together anyway. If we want to team up with another pair, we can, but we only get half the points each. Though I suspect they'll take that teamwork into account when if it comes to a tie, Scythe Grove loves promoting good cooperation between the Groves, it's one of the things they pride themselves on, especially as there have been rumours of House rivalries in other academies resulting in some truly disastrous events including several fatalities.

  Rosie's hand flies into the air. Interesting.

  "Yes, Miss Barnes?" Montgomery says.

  "How many bounty points is the minimum we should aim for?" she asks.

  Good question. I'd like to know the answer to that one too.

  "We've had Grove Captain teams get five hundred points before," he says as if it's nothing.

  "Wow," I whisper, leaning back in my chair. Five hundred is going to be hard. Most standard reapings result in fifty bounty points at the most, getting five hundred in a limited time isn't going to be as straightforward as going out into town and searching for the dead.

  "We can do it," Tobias assures me. "We just have to be smart about it."

  "Unless we find a serial killer victim and solve their death on day one, I don't think that's going to be the case," I counter.

  "We could find one." He shrugged as if it was no big deal and finding the ghosts of violent deaths.

  It isn't impossible, but most reaping of those kinds of souls is left to people with much more experience than a group of academy students. Even if we are supposed to be the best our Groves have to offer, that's still beyond us.

  "Do you have any idea where to start?" I ask him, assuming he isn't just saying that he wants to find a murder victim for no reason.

  A small smile plays at his lips. "I have an inkling."

  "Please tell me you haven't let a soul go unreaped just so we can win this."

  "What? No, of course not. I'd never do anything like that, you know that."

  I reach for his hand, taking it in mine and giving it a squeeze. "I'm sorry, you're right, I do know that."

  "But I have heard a rumour about where one might be. Some of the other students have been talking about seeing something out on the moor when they were visiting the villages."

  I raise an eyebrow. "The moor? That's a big risk." If we spend too long that far away from campus, and from the town where a lot of people lived, then it's less likely we'll make our quota. But if we do find a soul in need of reaping, it can really pay off. While the soul itself won't be worth any more than it's town counterpart, the bonuses we get for reaping from a tougher place still count towards our total.

  It's a huge risk, but it's one that could make all the difference.

  "Okay. Let's do that."

  "Really?" Tobias does a terrible job of keeping the surprise out of his voice.

  "Yes."

  "Huh, you took less convincing than I expected. Is there a glaring hole in my plan I'm not seeing?" Confusion and concern fill his eyes.

  "No. But I trust you. And while it would be great to win, we can always compete in years to come if we don't. This will be good practice for us either way."

  "Oh."

  "You really didn't expect me to say yes?"

  "You're the voice of reason most of the time, Jules, I hardly expected you to go along with my craziness."

  My heart skips a beat at his use of my shortened name. No one really calls me that, and it's nice to have someone who does.

  "I happen to like your brand of crazy," I point out. "It compliments mine nicely."

  He chuckles. "Then let's go win ourselves a captaincy," he quips.

  "Well, two."

  "Hmm true. Sakura and Ilex won't know what hit them."

  I shake my head in bemusement. I know he'll take his duty to his Grove seriously when the time comes, and it's his more light-hearted side that will really make sure of that. Being a Grove Captain is about more than being strict, and it's often better to have a mix of fun and serious.

  Which is why we're going to make sure we win. Ilex deserves a captain like Tobias. And I'm sure I'll do a decent job for Sakura too. Though now I'm thinking about it, I am starting to doubt how well I fit the role. I push the thoughts aside. It's simply a case of me overthinking it. I am a good choice, and I will do the best for Sakura. Tobias wouldn't have asked me to be on his team if he didn't think that. Nor would he have asked me if he doesn't think I'm capable of doing being his Porter on the mission to reap souls.

  I just have to trust in myself as much as I trust in him, and it will all be fine.

  Chapter Three


  I tug my coat closer around me as the chill wind sweeps through the air and threatens to chill me to the bone. Maybe coming to the moors isn't the best idea. If I'm too sick to do any of my academy work for the next couple of weeks, then it won't matter if I'm Sakura Grove Captain or not, my studies will be affected.

  "I hope your car has a good heater," I mutter.

  Tobias turns and flashes me a cheesy grin. "I'll warm you up, even if it doesn't."

  I roll my eyes, but can't stop the small amused smile from spreading over my face. "You're impossible."

  "I could say the same about you. Where's your sense of adventure?"

  "Sitting by the fire in the common room," I mutter.

  He reaches out and pulls me closer. I lean into him, appreciating the warmth he offers me despite the situation.

  "We don't have to be here long," he promises. "Just enough time to find a ghost."

  I snort. "Because finding one on the moors has ever been easy."

  "Well, when you put it like that, maybe we should just give up on the whole thing and head back to the academy."

  I roll my eyes. "Now you're trying to get a rise out of me. You know I won't give up."

  "I do," he admits.

  "Let's get this over with then. But when we get back, you'll owe me a hot drink and a thick blanket."

  "I'll even give you my woolliest of socks," he counters.

  "I don't need them, I know where your feet have been."

  "All right, but you're missing out."

  I laugh, the cold air causing a puff of condensed air to spill from my lips. "Let's get moving."

  He nods, then reaches into the car for my scythe, handing it to me. I swing the strap over my shoulder so it rests against my back. Whoever decided on the design of these things didn't think things through properly, they're terribly impractical. And considering we don't actually cut anything with them, they could be a lot smaller and more compact.

  Tobias gets his own out and puts it on the same way. It looks much more in proportion next to his taller and broader frame, even though his scythe is slightly bigger than mine is. We're taught to shape them to our own requirements, which makes each scythe unique. Though as far as I'm aware, any reaper could pick up my scythe and use it just fine, so I'm not too sure what the purpose of them being so personalised is.

  The slam of the car door brings my attention back to what I'm supposed to be thinking about. Tobias locks up the vehicle and we start to trudge out into the moors. There's something beautifully eerie about the place at this time of year. It's always stunning, but somehow the mists make it more so. Even if they also make it much more difficult to find any ghosts. Translucent white on slightly less translucent white doesn't make things easy to spot.

  "Can you sense anyone?" I ask after a while.

  He shakes his head. "Nothing. It's like the whole place is a dead zone."

  "I thought that'd be a good thing when waiting for ghosts."

  A deep chuckle escapes from Tobias. "You'd think. But apparently not."

  "If we don't find anyone in another hour or so, maybe we should consider going back to town? We can try and make up for the points in quantity." Though even as I say it, I know it's not going to be possible. The academy is situated where it is to make access to ghosts as easy as possible. There are several big towns within driving distance. But that doesn't mean they're overly plentiful. We can't control the rate at which people die, only be there to help them to the other side when they do.

  A blast air hits us, making its way under my coat. A shiver runs down my spine, but it doesn't feel the same as it normally does when it's cold. Which can only mean one thing.

  "Ghost," I whisper.

  "You felt it too?" Tobias asks.

  I nod. Now it's up to him. As a Porter, I can open the path the soul needs to move on to the next world, but I can't talk to it. Some sects of reapers don't care about that and will force reap ghosts no matter what they want, but I don't believe that's right. It's why I applied to Scythe Grove and not one of the other reaper academies. I like the idea that we need to work with the deceased in order for them to move on. Sometimes, it's as simple as asking them. Other times, we have to help them achieve some unfinished business during their lives. It sounds complicated, but it's actually very simple. Most of the time, all it involves is the promise to pass on a message and they're ready to move on.

  In the case of murder victims, that normally means they reveal the name of their killer. It can't be used as evidence in a trial, but we can pass the information on to the Supernatural Retrieval Agency, who do their best to find the truth. They're sort of like the police for supernaturals, with a name leftover from the time before we all came out of the shadows. I think they tried to update it at some point, but the agency has been around so long that no one called it the new one.

  I watch intently as Tobias induces the same trance-like state I've seen dozens of Seers use. I may not be able to talk to the dead, but he can.

  Within moments, the ghost I can sense materialises in front of us. His face doesn't take on any particular expression, which I've come to realise is normal for ghosts. They don't experience the world the same way the living do, and that often causes them to become withdrawn from everything around them. Especially if they're like this man and completely on their own. It must be tough not to be found and helped to move on quickly enough.

  Thankfully, his clothing appears to be reasonably modern, though it has a timeless quality to it that could mean he died any time during the past twenty years. For his sake, I hope it's more recent than that, even if the opposite could mean more points for us.

  I hug myself as I wait for Tobias to finish talking to the ghost and try to ignore the jealousy blooming within me about the fact he can. When I took the test to find out if I was a Seer or a Porter, I was not-so-secretly hoping for the former. Sadly for me, that's not how it works. I don't have the right kind of reaper magic to be a Seer. Some say they only exist because of intermarrying with witches centuries ago, but I don't think that's the case. It's just people wanting to rationalise the fact reapers didn't always talk to the souls before they forced them onto the next plane of existence.

  Tobias sighs and turns to me. "He doesn't want to move on."

  I close my eyes and let out a deep breath, being careful not to let my frustration show on my face. Just because I can't hear the ghost doesn't mean he can't hear me. And he can certainly see me.

  "How come?"

  "He's worried about his sister," he admits. "He hasn't seen her in five years."

  I grimace. That's not as long as I feared, but it's long enough for him to have suffered being alone out here. "We can find her," I say.

  Tobias doesn't even argue, no doubt coming to the same conclusion I have. We can't ignore the ghost just because we have a competition to win. That's not how it works. If anything, we owe him more because of that. His reaping will do us a favour.

  "That's what I thought. Do you have a notepad with you?" he asks.

  "Didn't you bring one?" I ask, already digging through my pockets for the small notebook and pencil I put there for moments like this. It's always good to be prepared.

  "I forgot," he admits sheepishly.

  I frown. That doesn't seem like him. But I'll let it slide. I hand him the things, only to receive a questioning look in response to my glittery pink pen.

  "My brother gave it to me for my birthday," I say, giving him the answer to his unspoken question.

  "I didn't say anything," he mutters.

  Tobias' attention turns back to the ghost and the two begin communicating once more. Every so often, Tobias scribbles down something the man says despite the bright pink pen. I'm glad it's come in use. I can tell Micheal that next time I see him.

  "Right, got it," Tobias says, turning back to me.

  I nod, then turn to the ghost. Just because I can't hear him doesn't mean I should be rude. I wave to him. "Goodbye..." I trail off, realising I don't know his
name.

  "Rupert," Tobias supplies.

  "Goodbye, Rupert. We'll be back as soon as we can," I promise.

  To my surprise, the ghost smiles in response and raises his own hand. That hasn't happened before. Then again, I haven't come looking for ghosts on the moor before. There are much better places to practice than this one. Which makes me almost glad Tobias suggested this for the competition, it gives me something else to learn about and prepare me for my work as a reaper once I'm done with studying at the academy.

  The wind whips around us and a shiver runs down my spine, reminding me how cold it is.

  "Let's get back to the academy," Tobias suggests, sensing my discomfort with the weather. "The sooner we get back, the faster we can help Rupert."

  I nod. He isn't wrong. There's very little we can do for the ghost while standing on the moor. Once we're back at the academy, we'll have access to the databases and information we need to track down his sister and put him to rest.

  Even as we walk away, I can't help but think how cruel all of this is. We promise to help him, and then we have to leave him on the moors alone until we have a solution. There is a method I can use that will allow ghosts to travel with us, but I haven't managed to make it work yet, which isn't uncommon for someone of my age and education even if it frustrates me. Attempting it isn't an option given that the consequences of doing it wrong are too dire to think about for the ghost.

  Which means we have to leave him. But we'll be back. Even if it takes longer than the five days we have for the competition. Some things are more important than winning, and this is one of them.

  Chapter Four

  My dorm room door swings open and Tobias comes inside back first so he doesn't spill the drinks he's brought us.

  "I hate fire doors," he mutters. "Why can't we prop it open?"

  "That's against the rules."

  "Because you don't ever break them."

  I set down my pen and turn around in my desk chair to face him. "You know I don't."

  A bemused smile flits across his face. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. You're so easy to wind up."