The Vampire Hunter's Academy: The Darkness (2 page)

Chapter 1

One year later…

Sanaya moved like poetry in motion as she gracefully bent her knees, folding her upper torso just inches above the ground just as the actors did in the movie, The Matrix, dodging the round of bullets flying in her direction. She back flipped quickly out of range from an arrow with her name on it. Her trainers showed no mercy, and neither would the creatures she was destined to hunt upon graduating from the academy. Without turning around, she nailed her opponent in the nose with an elbow. Sensing the moment he went down, she spun on her heels to go in for the kill. Consumed with bloodlust and rage, she reached for the six inch dagger she kept at her waist when Archer rung the bells, an indicator for her to stop. But she would not stop. Never again would she fall victim to…

“Sanaya!” Archer yelled. He was on his feet in a flash and just in time to grab Sanaya’s wrist, forcing her to drop the blade. “What are you doing? He’s done! Didn’t you hear the bells?”

Sanaya snatched her wrist away from him and stepped back. Her opponent, Ryder, a senior student, was curled in a fetal position on the floor, his face in his palms and blood everywhere. She inhaled deeply in an attempt to normalize her senses. She had no idea what happened. Ryder had done absolutely nothing to provoke her like the other students did her first week. But something else had come over her.Had Archer not stepped in when he did…

“I-I-I don’t know what happened…” She stammered. Realizing what she had almost done, Sanaya mentally began to freak out.

“Take a walk. Your powers are developing faster than what we expected. Ryder will be taken to the medical unit, but he should be fine.”

Sanaya stomped off, shoving the heavy double doors open of the gym, headed for the grassy area of the courtyard. She could feel the eyes of her peers on her back, but no one dared to mutter a word. Archer, of course, would find her. However, her best friend would be unavailable for a venting session for the next few hours. Of course, this little incident would isolate her even more from the rest of the student body. Thankfully the courtyard was empty. All of the hundred or so students or “Guardians in Training,” were in one of the various classes required to be recognized as a hunter. Sanaya, on the other hand, was here at the academy for an entirely different purpose. According to Archer, and the entire Catholic Church, she is what the ancient Babylonians described as the
Akhkharu Alal: Akhkharu
meaning
vampire
and
Alal
meaning
Destroyer
. There were many more like her that had come and gone. However, she is the most recent and theorized to be the strongest of vampire hunters ever born. What made matters worse, is that her parents never knew what she was. As a matter of fact, her mother never knew about her abilities because Sanaya had made it a point to hide them well,and now, here at the academy, she would be under heavy guard until it was time for her to hunt. Here, she would learn everything a vampire huntress is supposed to know about vampires, demons, werewolves and other supernatural entities that the Darkness sent to terrorize the human populations. Here, her skills and abilities would be developed and tested beyond her limits. Here, she would fit in with other teens and young adults possessing abilities that labeled them as “freaks” in the human world, and here, when the time came, she would be allowed to personally select her team of guardians; specialized warriors destined to follow her lead as they eradicate the forces of darkness, who would go into the world with her as was required, protecting her as she would protect humanity... Being here at the Academy just made her feel more alone and isolated than ever.

She took a seat on the gigantic roots of the lone Willow tree she mentally claimed as hers. Under the cover of its branches, she found peace, could gather her thoughts, and remind herself that four years would come and go and she would be out of this place. Screw choosing her own team of Guardians. Half of them didn’t like her anyways.

She stretched her long legs out onto the cool grass and rested her head against the trunk, and blew out a deep breath. It had been a year since her mother was killed by her father, who after going missing for a week, came home as a vampire, changing her fate forever. She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on that horrific night when she sensed the familiar presence of her guardian and personal trainer, Archer. She didn’t need to say a word; she could just communicate with him telepathically. Besides, what could she say? She almost killed a classmate.

She met his hard brown eyed stare and sighed.
I don’t know what came over me,
she shot to him telepathically.

He raised an eyebrow and tightened his lips.
I know… I think it’s time you went hunting.

Her eyes widened.
Seriously?

Yep. You are too strong and pairing you with other classmates, despite their seniority, is too dangerous. These old heads who run the joint should know better,
Archer shrugged. “Go clean yourself up. You have been excused from your classes for the rest of the day.” He turned to leave but then stopped. “Oh, and your real training begins at midnight. Meet me here, and dress warm.” Archer didn’t bother to wait for her response as he departed back towards the gym. Sanaya watched his lean frame move with the confident strut of a peacock. Almost all of the teenaged girls had a crush on Archer; each of them daydreaming of the minute they would turn 18 and old enough to earn the affections of the Guardian, whose handsome face should have graced the covers of Calvin Klein and Givenchy ads.

Standing a little over 6’2’’ with an, and bronzed skin, Sanaya could see why he was the talk of the school. Unfortunately,  Archer shared a link with her,  as her primary guardian. Primary Guardians always shared a psychic link with the Slayers in their charge; it strengthened their bond. Archer could find Sanaya anywhere on the planet if he wanted to and vice versa. Therefore, the typical lustful teenaged thoughts about an older man was out of the question. Besides she had enough to concern herself with. She checked the time on her Walmart bought Timex watch: 1:32 p.m. Third period was just about over, and she knew the word would spread like wild fire about the incident with Ryder, which was all the more reason for her to beat feet to her room. She pulled out her Samsung Galaxy Note, courtesy of the Vatican (whom she was now officially under the care of,) sent a quick text to her best friend, Maya, before dusting off the bits of bark and leaves from her dark blue jeans, and used her ability to hyper speed her way to her room located on the far, western side of the campus, silently thanking the powers that be for her own private room. Some alone time would do her some justice right about now. Besides, she would be going on her first live hunt tonight, and she would need as much rest and mental clarity she could get.

Chapter Two

Sanaya woke to the sound of hard knocking against her door. She groggily sat up, rubbed her eyes and pushed the comforter away from her body.

“Coming!” she shouted as she swung her feet over the edge of her twin bed and stumbled to the door.

“Sanaya! It is dinner time! Hurry up before they close the cafeteria!” Maya shouted behind the door.

Sanaya opened the door, but not in enough time before Maya pushed her way in almost knocking Sanaya off balance.

“I’m coming, damn Maya!” Sanaya grumbled as she went into her private bathroom and slipped on her jeans.

“Girl, I have been knocking for the last twenty minutes. Are you alright?” Maya plopped down on Sanaya’s bed, tossing a thickly braided lock over her shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just tired…” Sanaya replied, slipping on a pair of her favorite black Nikes.

“I heard about what happened with Ryder…”

Sanaya groaned.  “It was an accident.”

“I know,and Ryder is ok. The medics fixed him up and he is as good as new. But they said your eyes changed. You had this crazy look like you were about to…”

“Bloodlust. That is what I felt, which is why Archer is taking me out hunting tonight.”

Maya gasped. “For reals? Only senior students get to go out in the field-“

“Well, according to Archer it is too dangerous for even the most senior students to spar with me.”

“Oh my gosh girl are you nervous?”

Sanaya slipped on a black hoodie and zipped it up before replying. “Scared shitless, but what else can I do?”

“Well, you are “The Chosen One’,” Maya said making quotation signs with her hands.

Sanaya shrugged. “So? It doesn’t mean I am not entitled to fear.”

“Well, all I know is I better be the first one you select as a member of your guardian team when the time comes.”

Sanaya smiled. “You know you got first dibs. Besides, you may be the only one I choose. You know most of these suckaz don’t like me.”

Maya sucked her teeth. “That’s because they are jealous that you were born with the gifts and they weren’t.”

Sanaya wished it were that simple as she closed and locked the door to her room. However, she had already been inside the heads of some of the students who gave her the most grief, and the fact of the matter is, some of those so called future Guardians are just plain old evil on the inside. Some of them enjoyed making her life miserable because in some sick and twisted way, it made them feel better about their lots in life.

They walked quickly, Sanaya being careful to walk using a quickened human pace instead of hyper speed so that Maya could keep up. Maya was gifted like all of the students at the Academy. She was a strong clairvoyant born and raised in a voodoo brothel. Her mother was the high priestess, while her father had been some poor schmoe who was later sacrificed to one of the demon entities that the occult summoned to do their dirty work. Maya was supposed to replace her mother when the time came, however  when she was nine Child Protective Services got involved and somehow her information was sent to the Vatican not long after she was safely removed from her mother’s clutches and placed under the care and guidance of The Academy ever since. Sanaya was introduced to Maya during her second week of her stay with the Vatican. The two clicked and have been friends ever since.

The cafeteria closed at seven, and Sanaya checked her watch and discovered that they had about forty-five minutes to grab a plate and eat. They reached the hall ten minutes later, and Sanaya allowed Maya to stand in front of her to grab a plate to pick from the buffet styled dining room. All of the students were still seated, finishing up their typical teenaged dinner conversation with endless banter and laughter, filling the hall to maximum capacity with the noise level. She followed behind her friend, making sure to keep close and pretending to be occupied with the task at hand. Unfortunately, her attempt to remain inconspicuous failed, and it was not long before the awareness of her presence filled the room.

“Girl, all eyes are on you,” Maya whispered, knowing Sanaya would hear her despite the noise.

“I know…but aren’t they always?” Sanaya whispered back.

Maya spotted a vacant table nearest the exit and the two of them took a seat. Maya eyed Sanaya’s scarce selections on her plate which included some watermelon, a couple of pieces of baked chicken breasts, a biscuit, and a blueberry muffin.

“Don’t let these bitches get to you,” Maya soothed, taking a bite of her pepperoni pizza.

Sanaya sighed. “I’m just tired of it, ya know? I didn’t have to go through none of this at home…”

“I don’t get what the big deal is anyway,” Maya continued. “Plenty of kids got hurt during sparring. Ryder is not the first one or the last.”

“I almost killed him Maya,” Sanaya whispered looking down at her plate. “I had the knife in my hand, and had Archer not stopped me I would have killed him.”

Maya didn’t say anything more. The two of them shared a look, and Maya continued eating. Sanaya continued to telepathically survey the room, when she found herself and Maya’s table surrounded by none other than Elizabeth Van Helsing and her crew of followers.

Sanaya didn’t need to turn around to see who it was, and she remained facing Maya, purposely keeping her back to Elizabeth.

“Well look who decided to grace us with her presence,” Elizabeth spat, narrowing her gaze on Maya. “You are fortunate you weren’t kicked out and left to die on the street like the little street rat that you are for harming a student,” she continued to taunt.

Maya’s eyes met Sanaya’s expressionless face.
Come on girl we can take her…I have been praying for a reason to knock this bitch out,
Maya mentally shot to her.

She won’t fight me. She wants me to beat her up so I can get kicked out and she can go back to ruling the school. As much as I would love to beat her face in, my hands are tied.

Sanaya turned around to face Elizabeth, her eyes focused on the dark haired bully and alpha female of her group. “Don’t you have something in a cauldron you should be brewing instead of attempting to bait me into something you couldn’t handle?”

Elizabeth flinched as if she were ready to swing first, but one of her followers held her back. Sanaya didn’t budge.

“Don’t embarrass yourself Elizabeth. You and I both know you don’t want none.”

“Man, if you put hands on her its over for you, dog food,” came the voice of Bradly, Elizabeth’s so called boyfriend.

“Then tell your little bulldog to leave me the hell alone,” Sanaya replied evenly.

“Bradly, get off of Elizabeth’s nuts and grow your own,” Maya retorted, rising from her seat, silently daring one of Elizabeth’s flunkies to try something.

“I’m not scared of this little homeless cunt!” Elizabeth seethed, her midnight blue stare challenging Sanaya to react.

When Sanaya slowly rose from her seat, the entire room went quiet. Sanaya and Elizabeth stood eye to eye just inches away from each other. Feelings of repressed rage bubbled just beneath the surface of Sanaya’s honey brown skin forcing something deep within Sanaya to snap. A calm, heavy hand landed on her shoulder snapping her out of the daze she was in, and she knew instinctively who the hand belonged to.

“What’s going on ladies? Did someone lose a glass slipper?” Archer asked suspiciously, his hard gaze raking over Elizabeth and Sanaya, followed by Bradly, and the rest of the six teens who were led by the descendent of Van Helsing.

“Nothing is going on Archer,” Sanaya said coolly. “Elizabeth and her pack of Dingoes were just leaving.”

Elizabeth scowled and hesitated before throwing in the towel. She motioned for her crew to follow her, and they left the cafeteria without another word.

“The cafeteria is now closed!” Archer announced to the remaining students still sitting at the nearby tables. “The party is officially over! There is nothing new to see here and remember this is finals week so it would be best if you head straight to your dorms to study. This week will determine who stays and who will be sent home. Study hard.”

While the remaining student audience uttered disgruntled mumbling as they picked up their trays and headed towards the door, Archer eyed Maya and Sanaya, his expression unreadable.

“You two,” he said firmly. “Come with me.”

Maya glanced at Sanaya who simply shrugged and picked up her tray while Archer waited. Sanaya did not need to think about what would have happened had Archer not shown up, but she was grateful that ever since she met the man,  he seemed to know when she was in trouble and showed up just in time. She placed her tray on the roll away table by the door for students to put their plates, trays and silverware on and waited for Maya to do the same. The two walked side by side as they followed the Guardian who led them from the dining hall through the courtyard into the three story annex building. The almost thirty minute walk in silence was enough to push Sanaya over the edge. She kept sharing glances with Maya, whose big hazel-brown, Bedouin eyes revealed that she too was just as nervous. Sanaya did not want to even speak with Maya telepathically for fear Archer may intercede, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

Once inside the Annex building, where all of the administrative and medical business took place, Archer led them to a small cubicle of a room decorated only with a worn down army green sofa and a desk to which Archer took a seat behind. Maya and Sanaya sat down on the sofa and waited for Archer to speak.

“So, what happened with Elizabeth? From the looks of things, you were ready to knock her head off Sanaya,” Archer said, relaxing further into the office and resting both of his palms behind his head.

“She has some serious issues with me Archer,” Sanaya explained. “And quite frankly, I’m tired of it. Because of her, almost all of the school hates me and she goes out of her way to make my life more miserable than what it already is.”

“I am going to have a talk with her, and then one with her parents,” Archer replied flatly. “Arrogant, pretentious pricks they are…that family as a whole has been nothing but trouble for the Academy with the exception of her great grandfather, the famous Van Helsing. The elders know it but refuse to do anything because of Van Helsing’s legendary status

Suddenly, it seemed like all of the world’s burdens were lifted off of her shoulders, and Sanaya could finally relax.  “Thanks Archer…”

“No problem kiddo,” he said leaning forward. “You should have told me something sooner. I have been waiting for the opportunity to expel her and-“

“You are going to expel her?” Maya and Sanaya simultaneously gasped.

“I am going to submit a request for her expulsion,” Archer admitted. “Now, the elders may not approve. However even a temporary expulsion may do her some good. She isn’t as strong as she thinks she is, regardless of her seniority, I have yet to take her out on the field. She just gets away with the ‘I’m A Bad Ass’ card because of her bloodline and I have been merciful enough not to embarrass her by placing her in a real life fight against vampires. At her rank, I don’t think she would fare well against a low grade succubus. The only other reason why she is still here is because she knows everything by the book. However, when the time comes for her to graduate, she may not be selected as a guardian. She will simply be sent home and her family can decide what to do with her.”

Sanaya could not believe her ears. She’d always known Elizabeth deep down was scared of her and now she knew why. Maya was right. Elizabeth was indeed jealous of her and found her to be a threat.

“So what are we going to do now?” Sanaya asked after a long moment.

“Well, I brought both of you here to meet someone. Maya, I am sure Sanaya has told you I am taking her on a live hunt tonight. You have proven to be a strong telepath and in time, you will accompany Sanaya on these adventures, but I need for you to work on building physical strength since you have already accomplished mental strength, understand?”

Maya nodded emphatically and took Sanaya’s hand and gave her a gentle squeeze.

“In the meantime, both of you will be working with someone very special, and can relate to what you are going through Sanaya. Her name is Eve and she…“

“Is a descendent from the line of Dracula!” Maya gasped. She looked at Sanaya who stared back at her, her eyes wide with confusion.

“I’ve heard of her…does she really understand what it is we do?” Maya continued.

“Maya!” Sanaya scolded.

“No, it’s fine Sanaya. Your friend has every right to be concerned. Now as I was saying- before I was interrupted, Eve has hunted more vampires than I can count. As a matter of fact, Sanaya, she was brought here when she was around your age. The Vatican was going to exterminate her, but it was discovered that she is half human. Before Van Helsing finally killed Dracula, The Count made it his mission to turn all of his living descendants into the undead. Her mother was pregnant with her when she was bitten, and some of the virus was passed down to her, so she was born,not bitten. Her mother, unfortunately, did not survive the birth or the transition. One of the maids who worked for the family rescued her, and delivered her to a nunnery where she was raised until she was sixteen. The head nun brought her here due to an incident involving a priest…“