Soulhunter Academy

by L. J. Swallow

  The other soulhunters laugh, and he joins in.

  Sitting in a semi-circle around the large, wooden-floored room, the dozen or so soulhunters wait for instructions. After a week here, we’re finally learning to fight.

  Daniel began the lesson with evasive answers to questions, informing us we can use weapons, but learning to fight hand-to-hand is necessary. He mentions my spat with Tom last week and suggests I continue to demonstrate my prowess. Daniel’s words sounded encouraging, and I agree.

  Then he humiliates me.

  We sparred for several minutes. Sure, I fought well, but the bastard used me as an example by showing everyone how weak I am. The fight switched from me with the upper-hand, to my landing defeated on the floor in seconds.

  Daniel turns back to the class, straightening his sleeves. “Anybody else want to try me? Or would you prefer I taught you to fight properly? That way you’ll be able to anticipate your opponent’s moves, unlike Ava.”

  I wipe my lips and study my fingers. Blood. When did I last bleed? My vision blackens—not because of the blood, but because I’m furious. I have never lost a fight. Ever. And I’m not starting now.

  “Stand up when you feel like it, Ava,” he says casually, not looking behind at me as he walks towards the group.

  I push into a sitting position and lean back on my palms, summoning the energy to move. The class refocus on Daniel and no one pays any attention to me. Anger pushes out logic as I jump to my feet and charge across the room. Launching myself at Daniel, I slam a shoulder into his back with all the force I have left. Daniel staggers forward a little, before righting himself and spinning to face me.

  “Did you anticipate that move?” I retort.

  Daniel raises a hand, and I wait for retaliation. I’ve overreacted in the worst possible way.

  But in Daniel’s eyes, I see something different to what I expected. Not anger or amusement, but curiosity. I refuse to show fear and stare straight back into his softening gaze. Daniel slowly runs his tongue along his lip, eyes fixed on my mouth. My angry heat flares into something else.

  I’m caught in the moment as buried memories of the rare times I kissed boys surface. But Daniel isn’t a boy; he’s a man who has survived years fighting demons. Someone with battle scars on his strong arms, and eyes that pierce my soul.

  Daniel reaches out a finger towards my mouth, and I flinch as he gently touches my injured lip. An involuntary sound escapes my throat, and I’m unable to take my eyes from his. What the hell is he doing? The room falls silent, as if I’m the only person here with him.

  Daniel bends forwards, moving his fingers from my mouth to my cheek, all the time watching my reaction. I lose my stiffened stance, yielding to the new heat pumping through my blood.

  In a split second, Daniel seizes me by the throat and twists me round, holding me in a headlock. The movement is so quick I don’t have time to react. His knees push into the back of mine, and I sink to the floor, sprawling onto my hands and knees.

  Daniel crouches down, studying me with his old look of amusement. “Physical force and threats aren’t the only way to disarm an enemy, Ava,” he whispers.

  I fix my eyes on the floor, unable to believe I’ve been humiliated twice in such a short space of time. Strands of hair hang down where they’ve escaped my ponytail, and I hide my tearing eyes behind the lengths.

  Daniel’s boots squeak across the wooden floor to the other end of the room, and I remain still. Focusing on returning my breathing to normal, I switch off from the events of the last five minutes.

  I stand, rearrange my hair, and stride over to take my place next to the others. Daniel glances at me, and I tighten my mouth, eyes narrowed in challenge. This time he doesn’t smile when he looks away.

  “Ava.”

  I pause as I reach the doorway. I’m the first person to reach the door in my desire to get the hell out, and the fact Daniel calls me back isn’t subtle. Digging my nails into a palm, I wait as the rest of the soulhunters pass. I nod at Sarah as she takes my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. Learning to control my temper is a tough skill to master but needed. In this new life, not controlling my natural temperament now leads to painful consequences. Tom passes, throwing me a mocking smile.

  The last person exits. I close the heavy metal door before I lose my nerve and run through after them. My childish expectations of joining a righteous army have disappeared with each day that passes. Humiliation at the hands of some asshole trainer is not something I’d predicted.

  Pulling my shoulders straight, I turn to Daniel. “What do you want?”

  Daniel rests against the opposite wall, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles. “How are you finding soulhunter life?”

  I tuck my hands beneath my arms. “This isn’t soulhunter life. This is training.”

  “And how are you finding training?”

  Daniel’s mood is hard to gauge. I half-wish he’d show his snide smile rather than an impassive face.

  “I don’t think I’m having as much fun as you,” I say coldly.

  He peels himself from the wall and approaches. “Fun? You think training soulhunters is fun?”

  The hardness to his tone is matched by a tiredness in his voice, one reflected in his pale face. What is his deal?

  “Isn’t it?”

  “No, Ava. It isn’t.”

  His self-pitying tone riles me. “So is this what you do for fun instead? Do you get your kicks out of humiliating people?”

  “No.”

  “So what the hell did you treat me like that for?” I cringe at the forceful tone to my voice and rein it back. The last thing I want is to be sprawled on the floor again. Or does he only do that with other people around to see?

  Daniel rubs his forehead with the heel of his palm and crosses to the large cupboard at the end of the room. He pulls two bottles of water out and throws one over. I catch the bottle in surprise.

  “There’re a lot of weak people who sign up to be soulhunters. I can pretty much tell who will live and who will die by the second or third day.” Daniel takes a swig of water, then points the bottle at me. “Occasionally, people like you arrive.”

  I unscrew the cap and gulp the water. “What do you mean?”

  “It means I think you’ve a chance of surviving, but you need to learn how. By that, I don’t mean I need to teach you which weapon to use and how to kill demons, but that I need to show you how to channel who you are. I need you to push out the Ava whose attitude will kill her if she doesn’t control it.”

  I swill the water around my mouth, sucking on my sore lip. “You mean you’re not just a sadist who likes humiliating women?”

  Daniel laughs, and the short sound bounces off the walls. “Doesn’t matter to me if you’re a guy or a girl. I don’t treat either sex differently to the other. But when I see people who can do this job and survive, I help them.”

  The connotation of Daniel’s words trembles along my spine. He keeps saying this—that the recruits won’t survive—and his words make no sense. The angels enlist soulhunters to kill as many demons as possible. Why send their soldiers unprepared and easily killed?

  “Help? So you’d treat Tom exactly the same as me?”

  “Nope, look how easily you attacked and disarmed him the other day. There’s no point wasting my time on him.”

  I blink. “Wasting your time?”

  Daniel sets the bottle on the table and approaches. He folds his arms to match my stance and stands centimetres away, and his proximity starts the rapid-fire heartbeat again. “Ninety percent of the time, the soulhunters I meet who succeed are female. Part of the reason is one you may find abhorrent but could save your life.”

  “What reason?”

  Daniel tips his head. “What did I do that allowed me to blindside you earlier?”

  My head aches to match my chest. His combat skills are superior, that’s what. Daniel’s darkening eyes indicate a different reason, and I fight down the memory of the spark
from his fingers on my lips. Not the combat. This. “Oh.”

  “Oh.” Daniel breaks the intensity of the look the way he did earlier and grins as he repeats my word.

  “Are you telling me I need to seduce demons?”

  “No. But it could help.”

  The idea of touching a demon in this way sickens me. Besides, seduction isn’t something I do normally, or have any clue how to. My mind whirls—what if this is part of what I need to gain my freedom… No bloody way, I’ll kill the demon bastards before they can touch me.

  I push a stray strand of hair from my face and reach for the door handle. “Can I leave now?”

  “I don’t just think your attractiveness is what will help you succeed,” says Daniel in a low voice. “There’s a hell of a lot more to you than that. Like I said, I’m going to help you.”

  “Why?”

  Daniel’s green eyes sparkle as they search mine. “Because I can.” He pauses. “And because you’re worth it

  Chapter Seven

  Lined up on a wooden bench, the silent group of trainees wait for further instructions from our mission supervisors. The men wait behind closed doors, as yet unseen by us as the nervous atmosphere crackles along the line of recruits. One by one, we’re called inside.

  I’m distracted as I ache from my fight with Daniel, still attempting to process the events and his words. As I lay in bed last night, my weary mind and body drifted away, replaying the scenario in the classroom, especially the few moments he switched on his seductive abilities.

  I turned over in bed, tried to block out the image of his eyes and mouth. Daniel is playing with me. The fact I reacted is my body’s fault. Nothing more. And look where the reaction got me—the lessons I’m learning aren’t the same as in school.

  Resting my head against the cool wall, I tap my fingers on the bench. I suspect my attitude and lack of patience leads to my having the last place in the line. My growling stomach reminds me how long I’ve waited, and the dip in blood sugar dizzies me. As does the fact each person who leaves the room refuses to meet anyone else’s eyes. Their stunned expressions clutch my chest with apprehension.

  Sarah walks from the room, leaving the painted grey door open. The terrified look in the girl’s eyes triggers more palpitations. “Have fun,” she says, but her dull tone indicates that’s unlikely.

  Without a word, I stand and step through the door. I’ve waited over an hour to see what the room holds, and my imagination ran haywire. The room isn’t the vast, bare room I expected. The small space closes in on and stifles me. Shelves line the walls, filled with more books than I’ve ever seen. The Fated don’t have a lot of time for books, and we had few at home. Scholarly learning had no place in my old world.

  A man sits at a desk, flicking through pages inside a file and doesn’t look up. Unsure what to do, I hover, drawn to the one bright part of the office—a view out of the ceiling-to-floor window behind him.

  The world of the high angels.

  Freedom. The brightness of the azure sky and twin suns engulfs the landscape; their world is brighter than anything I ever imagined. Spires on nearby buildings twist upwards, and the shining metal looks fluid against the background. In the distance lies countryside; the green patches stretching to the horizon are as dazzling as the suns.

  A paradise compared to the greys and browns in the Fated world.

  This is my first real glimpse of the world I’m battling to live in. The journey to the training academy took place astrally, as we were teleported from one world to another. We haven’t left the building in the week since we arrived and we’re always under harsh, unnatural light.

  “Sit down.”

  Lost in my dreams of a life in the world outside the window, I’m dragged back to my current situation by the cold tones of the man. I obey and sit on the only vacant chair, opposite him. Hard grey eyes startle me. Once again, he’s blond and fair skinned—but this guy is nothing like the serenely smiling angels I’ve met so far. His pale face is drawn into a tired and irritated scowl, hair scraped from his face, accentuating his angular features.

  “Name?” He looks up.

  “Ava. Hello.”

  He cocks an eyebrow but doesn’t return the greeting, instead focusing on the manila file.

  “I have your papers here and everything seems in order.” Between fingers with neatly trimmed nails, he picks up a piece of card and writes my name on the top. Leaning back in his encompassing chair, he places both hands on the expansive wooden desk.

  “You understand your role, Ava?”

  “I think so.”

  His scowl becomes a sneer. “You think so? The task is self-explanatory. You kill demons, capture the souls they stole from humans, and return them to me. Once you have returned enough, you will have proved your loyalty and value. Then you may have your freedom from the Fated.”

  Enough? Which is how many souls exactly? “Okay.”

  “Any questions?”

  Hundreds. So many, I can barely form them all, and the look on the man’s face doesn’t invite them.

  “Who are you?” I blurt eventually.

  To my relief, a smile tips the corners of his mouth. “I’m Darius. I’m your supervisor, and your actions are my responsibility. If you make mistakes or transgress, I will deal with your punishment.”

  I nod robotically, absorbing the information. Transgressions? “I only want to collect the souls and claim my freedom. I won’t cause trouble.”

  Darius picks up some papers and taps them on the desk. “A sensible course of action. Let’s hope you don’t make any mistakes... accidentally.”

  He glances up, eyes holding a warning. Then he looks back down and waves me away with his hand. Unsure what to do next, I half-rise. No, I have other questions, including one nobody else answers when I ask. I lower back into my seat.

  “What happens to me once I have my freedom?”

  “You can join our new world. You know that.”

  Outside the window, the brightness beckons. “I won’t ever return to the Fated once I do?”

  Darius’s smile grows. “You will never return to your old world. You’re a soulhunter now.

  Chapter Eight

  Identical daggers lie in a row on the table, which runs along the length of the room. Gleaming metal and a carved black handle I itch to curve my hand around. Finally… Daniel stands in the doorway, arms across his chest as usual. He counts in each soulhunter as they enter the room. I’m still furious about his treatment of me the other day but have no choice but to bow down and cooperate.

  “Where’s Anna?”

  The band of black-clad teenagers look around, figuring out who is missing.

  “She left.”

  I turn my head towards the speaker, a tall lanky boy. I’ve not paid enough attention to the others who train with me, so I’ve no idea who he means. Can you do that—leave? Darius’s words about never returning to the Fated echo in my mind.

  “Left where?” I ask.

  “Back to the Fated. I think Darius frightened her off,” the boy says

  A nervous giggle spreads through the group. My scalp crawls as Daniel’s eyes sadden. I don’t think the angels would send anyone back to the Fated with the secrets we learn here.

  I don’t want to think what’s happened to her.

  “Okay, not my problem,” says Daniel and strolls towards the table to pick up one of the daggers. “Today is the day Ava has been waiting for.” He holds the dagger towards me. Crap. Not again. Why am I singled out? “Come on, Ava.”

  Tom’s right-hand woman, Layla, seated next to, me mutters a comment about “special treatment,” and I stiffen. “How the hell is someone holding a dagger out to me special treatment?”

  “I’m not talking about the dagger.”

  “Then what do you mean?”

  She arches an eyebrow. “You know exactly what I mean.”

  “Ava. Now.” Daniel’s terse tone doesn’t escape me.

  I scrape my chair
and stand. “Wow. You have no manners. A polite please wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

  The small laugh Daniel gives is accompanied by a nervous laugh from the group again. “I don’t need to say please to you, Ava.”

  I stalk across the room and stop short of Daniel, pulling myself as close to his height as possible. He’s told me his game, and I can play it too. Mr. Hot and Cold / Nice and Nasty. He is not humiliating me ever again.

  I run my tongue along my bottom lip, eyes fixed on his. Daniel’s eyes widen as I reach out and fold my fingers around his hand holding the dagger. Daniel’s skin is softer than I imagined it would be, and as soon as I move my fingers to brush his arm, he tenses. With the lightest touch, I trace the scars on Daniel’s arm.

  “Was that a demon?” I whisper, looking up at him from under my eyelashes.

  For a few moments, he doesn’t react, as if I’ve stunned him. Despite my racing heart, a smug satisfaction comes over me, and I smile at him, wanting to laugh.

  “You don’t know who you’re playing with, Ava. Be very careful.” The words are inaudible to everyone but me, and the threat trips a shiver through my entire body.

  Daniel steps back. “Take the dagger and sit down.” The loud words freeze the murmur travelling around the room.

  “No problem.” I nonchalantly take the dagger, ensuring my fingers slide against his.

  Turning back to the class, I flip the dagger in my hands as I saunter back to my desk. But my heart thumps against my chest. Have I overstepped the line?

  I resume my seat and slam the point of the dagger into the desk.

  Sarah sits the other side of me, and her face has paled.

  “What’s wrong?” I whisper.

  “Ava, please be careful.”

  “I’m fine.”

  She swallows. “We don’t know what Daniel might do if you upset him. What if he reports you?”

  My stomach knots. “I’ll be okay.”

  But will I?