Soul and Disaster: Slayer Academy (Book 1) Read online

  © 2020 Cassidy Summers.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  Cover Design: Wynter Designs

  Editing and Proofreading: Heather Fox

  Formatting: Cassidy Summers

  **DISCLAIMER

  The Slayer Academy series was previously published as The Guard Trilogy by Sheridan Anne in 2018. It has since seen many upgrades, scenes, and edits.

  Introduction

  Survival. Who would have known it would be so hard?

  I went into my senior year thinking I had the world at my feet. I was going to graduate top of my combat class, just like my daddy did. I was going to kick all the vampire ass I could get my hands on and I was going to defy all the odds.

  I was going to be the designated queen of The Guard Academy.

  I was such a delusional fool.

  My world went up in flames the second my scorching hot combat instructor stepped into my life. Rylan Neill is a God in the eyes of The Guard and instantly had me feeling things a student should never feel for her teacher.

  He’s forbidden, but what does it matter? He hates me. I see it in his gold-speckled eyes. He thinks I’m weak. He thinks I don’t have what it takes to make it in a world dominated by men, but I’ll show him.

  When horrors of my past come back to haunt me, I find that maybe I’m not as strong as I always thought I was. Surviving was once about making it to the end of my senior year, but it turns out that survival is a much bigger game, one I’m not sure I’m cut out to play.

  What I do know is that training to becoming a killer has never been so much fun.

  Dive into the world of The Guard Academy and kick back for an action-packed adventure that will have you laughing out loud, throwing your kindle across the room, scooting to the edge of your seat, and falling deeply in love with every last character.

  Contents

  Introduction

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Playlist

  Where to Next

  Chapter 1

  My best friend’s scream pulls me out of my distracted mind and I whip my head in her direction, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

  Jacinta dashes across our small room, fumbling and cringing as she tramples every piece of our belongings on the way. I try my hardest to hide my smile, but I simply don’t have the willpower to last before laughter takes over. She makes it to her bed and flops down as more cries of pain come flying from her lips.

  “What happened?” I ask, trying to smother the amused smirk on my face.

  Jacinta’s head snaps up with a fierce glare. “It’s not funny, Bianca. It freaking hurts.” She tilts her head towards a large cardboard box. “I stubbed my toe on that.”

  Tears begin to swell in her blue eyes and guilt pours through me. She must actually be in a lot of pain. I haul myself off the floor and cross the short distance of our room. I hit pause on my playlist and crouch down in front of her. I take her foot in my hand and do my best to pry away her fingers. “Give me a look,” I request.

  Jacinta groans as she pulls her hand away and sucks in a pained, deep breath.

  Leaning over her, I take a good look. Her fair skin is quickly turning an angry, deep shade of red and there’s no doubt that come tomorrow, she’ll be sporting a nasty bruise. “Well, it’s not bleeding,” I say with an encouraging smile. “You’ll have an awesome bruise though.”

  Jacinta stretches out her leg, giving her toes an experimental wiggle. “It’ll be okay in a bit,” she pouts as she studies her toes.

  “Oh, well in that case,” I say with a grin. “Get off your ass. We have packing to do.”

  Jacinta smirks. “Fine, but we’re switching. I’ll do the closet while you do the bathroom,” she demands as she gets up off her bed and slowly puts her foot down, testing her weight on the injury.

  “No way. I’ll do anything but pack up the bathroom.” Horror slams through me as images of the jam-packed bathroom drawers assault my mind.

  Jacinta hobbles over and plonks herself down in front of the closet. “Tough luck, Hoochy. I’m here now. Besides, I’ve already done most of it. There are only a few things left.” Seeing no way out of this, I give Jacinta my best ‘you owe me’ look and make my way into the bathroom, hitting play on the music on my way past.

  I take a quick look around our cramped bathroom and find the box that Jacinta was halfway through. I allow my mind to drift as I get to work and prepare to move our lives to the senior campus.

  I can’t wait. Jacinta and I have been waiting for this day since before we can remember. We’ve been living at The Guard Academy since we were kids and our time has finally arrived. Our senior year - the year that will determine our futures.

  The Guard Academy is a beyond private boarding school for kids like me who were born into our society or ‘community’ as the older and wiser members like to call it. Their official name is ‘The Guard’, a fancy name for humans who know of the supernatural world and strive to protect the rest of humanity from its existence.

  The Guard like to think of themselves as a tight-knit community. The families generally live in the same neighborhoods and don’t tend to socialize with the regular humans as we’re taught from day one that our society is superior. Which really is just a load of crap and another way for The Guard to talk themselves up and remain relevant.

  Here at The Guard Academy, we learn and study all things supernatural. There’s Fairy Enchantment Defensive skills where we’re taught how to use counteractive spells through the use of nature to defend against fairy magic. We have werewolf and vampire studies where we’re educated on every detail from strengths and weaknesses to diets and habitats. Then, of course, my favorite class - Combat Training.

  We learn to physically defend against these supernatural creatures. Well, usually only vampires and werewolves. The fairies tend not to fight as they prefer to use their magic as their main defense, which, to be honest, I consider cheating.

  During our training, we cover all other supernatural creatures such as mermaids and trolls, but for the past couple of hundred years, the vampires, fairies, and werewolves have been our biggest threat.

  Combat Training is the only class where I’m not required to have my head stuffed in a textbook. We’re taught to fight and use weapons at an elite level. What’s not to like about that? Not to mention, the boys tend to get quite competitive which means, well-built boys, full of testosterone, fighting until someone is on their ass.

  So yeah, Combat Training is definitely my favorite class.
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  The best part; our 48-hour navigation test. The week following our eighteenth birthday, we’re sent out into the wilderness with an instructor of equal gender and put through our paces. It’s going to be incredible.

  I cut myself off from daydreaming and get stuck into packing, and thirty minutes later, I’m tossing the last shampoo bottle into the box and taping it up. I pick up the box to place it on the ever-growing pile of crap near the door and catch my reflection in the small bathroom mirror.

  I stare back at myself, taking in the bird’s nest I call my hair after I neglected to brush it this morning. Usually, with a little attention, it’s actually kind of awesome. My small frame mimics Jacinta’s, though I’m just a bit taller and proud to say that since the awkward teen years, I’ve most definitely filled out.

  Jacinta walks past the bathroom door holding a box full of clothes and catches me admiring myself. “Careful,” she warns with a grin. “An ugly face like yours is bound to crack that mirror again.” Jacinta laughs as she adds the box to the pile and I give her a one-fingered salute, earning me a wicked smirk from the blonde goddess.

  I grab the sharpie and scribble the word ‘bathroom’ on top of my box before glancing up at our now empty room. A sudden wave of sadness courses through me as I recall how fast the past few years have gone. Now I’m about to move my life over to the senior campus and start a whole new chapter.

  The Academy is broken up into three campuses. There’s the Elementary campus, for children aged five through twelve. The Junior Campus is for the kids from thirteen to seventeen, which includes my little sister. Millie turns thirteen this year and will be moving up to the Junior Campus. Last but certainly not least, is the senior campus, for students turning eighteen, which would be me and Jacinta.

  I make my way over to my bare bed and sit on the edge, letting a loud sigh slip from my lips. I imagine the photograph that I keep on my bedside table that is now buried deep in a box somewhere. My eyes scan across the room and come to a stop on the naked closet and I laugh as I recall the fond memories of Jacinta and I struggling to close the doors, time and time again as our clothes threatened to splinter the wooden doors.

  “What crawled up your butt?” Jacinta asks as she hobbles over, probably milking her injury as usual.

  “I’m going to miss this place,” I sigh.

  “Don’t tell me you’re getting all sentimental? Or is it that time of the month?” she mocks in a sarcastic tone.

  “No,” I laugh, mimicking her tone. “But seriously, as if you’re not going to miss our little room. We have so many memories here,” I say, remembering the first junior year party we held when we were able to get our hands on a bottle of Vodka. We were the life of the party that night and of every party since.

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ll miss this little shoebox, but come on, it’s not like we're moving schools or anything like that. It’s the same people, same place, just a different room, and a shitload more freedom. I’m too excited about the next twelve months to worry about how much we’re going to miss our little shack.”

  “You’re right. It’s going to be a great year. I can feel it,” I grin, my earlier memories completely forgotten as thoughts of Combat Training shoot through my mind. We learn all the normal subjects here like Math, History, and Science. But on top of that, we have all of our Supernatural electives.

  At the end of our Junior year, we’re tested and then each student is placed into one of the five – Vampire Studies, Werewolf Studies, Alchemy for the super nerds, there’s Fairy Enchantment Defensive Skills for Jacinta, and of course, Combat Training for the badasses like me.

  I worked my ass off all through my junior year for this. I’m so ready for this. I’m going to dominate, despite the fact that I’ll be the only girl among a bunch of dudes.

  An unexpected knock sounds at our door and I give Jacinta a quick look, soundlessly asking if she’s expecting anyone. She gives me an unladylike shrug and I jump up to answer it, finding our dorm supervisor, Mrs. Clark. She must have been the dorm matron here for at least a million years, and of course, she’s the absolute bane of my existence. We’ve had many occasions where I’ve received detentions for slipping in after curfew. I’m going to be glad to be rid of her.

  Mrs. Clark adjusts the small glasses sitting atop her nose and runs a hand through her greying hair before giving me a polite smile. “Hey, Mrs. C. What can we do for you?” I ask, pulling the door wide.

  “Hello, dear,” she greets. “I’ve come to see if you girls are ready to move your belongings to the senior campus? We’re running ahead of schedule. Apparently, last year’s Seniors couldn’t get off campus fast enough,” she informs with an odd chuckle.

  I glance back at Jacinta who’s still sitting on my bed. “Are we good to go?”

  She takes a quick glance around the room “Ah…yeah. Pretty sure we’ve got everything. It’s just your phone and speakers on the desk.”

  I quickly pack up my things, throwing them into the closest box and turn back to Mrs. Clark. “Hell yeah, Mrs. C. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Jacinta attempts to stifle a laugh while Mrs. Clark gives me a stern look. “Watch your language, Bianca. I know it’s still technically your break, but I’m more than willing to write you a detention slip for your first day back.”

  “Sorry,” I smile at her. She gives me a warning look with a raised brow before turning around, wobbling down the hallway, and disappearing through the double doors.

  Mrs. Clark is back in no time with a platform trolley and we load it up before exiting our room for the last time. We walk out across the academy towards the senior campus and I realize, that with the majority of the students still out on break, I’ve never quite seen this place so empty. A feeling of loneliness washes over me and is gone quicker than it came.

  The majority of the students finishing Junior year had opted to have two weeks with family, then return to the academy early to get themselves set up for their senior year. Jacinta and I being no exception to that and I’m sure the kids moving from the elementary campus to the junior one will most likely be doing the same thing.

  A nervous, excited energy begins seeping into my bones as we reach the senior campus. We stop just inside the door of the female dorm rooms waiting for Mrs. Clark as she pulls out a piece of paper that looks as though it’s been folded and unfolded a million times.

  Adjusting her glasses and using her finger to scan the paper, she finds what she’s looking for. “Ah, here we go,” she announces. “Looks like you’ll be in room twelve. Follow me.”

  Mrs. Clark continues down the hallway, stopping at the supervisor’s desk to fish through a small container filled with keys. Her fingers tangle around a yellow tag and I could barely make out, 'Room 12'. She nods to herself and continues down the hallway without a backward glance until we finally reach lucky door twelve that will belong to Jacinta and I for the next year.

  “Here we are, girls. I’m sure you two can handle it from here. Just remember to bring the trolley back to the Junior Campus when you’re done,” she instructs before stretching out her hand and dropping the keys into mine. “Don’t lose it.”

  We nod eagerly before Jacinta rips the keys from my hand and jams it straight in the lock, giving it a swift flick of her wrist. Jacinta grabs the handle and pushes her way in with me closely on her heels.

  The room is the complete opposite of our old room and nearly twice the size. Fresh cream paint adorns the walls as opposed to the dull grey of our last. Two beds sit under a huge window which lights the room brilliantly. There is a small couch and desk to the side of the room with the softest looking mat on the floor in front, creating a sort of living room.

  My mind is blown. Our last room hardly had space to move. I had to do my tummy crunches on my bed as it was always too hard to find space on the floor, but here I’ll be able to do a complete workout.

  I lock gazes with Jacinta and a wide grin spreads over both our faces. “I know,
right,” I squeal, agreeing with her smile. We step further into the room and start exploring. I beeline for the bathroom while Jacinta dives deeper into the room.

  I push the bathroom door open and I instantly fall in love. It’s most definitely better than our last, the shower is bigger, the vanity is bigger, and the mirror is much, much bigger.

  My old bathroom had a crack in the mirror, which if you stood directly in the center, it would distort your reflection, so we always had to stand to the right. If you went to the left, there was a good chance of falling into the shower. A shower that had a loose shower head, cracked tiles and water that never seemed to get hot enough.

  I’ve always heard stories about how awesome the senior campus is, but I never actually saw it for myself. I guess I’m a ‘don’t believe it until you see it’ kind of girl.

  “You have to take a look at this,” I shout.

  “No. You have to take a look at this,” Jacinta calls back.

  I run out of the bathroom and find Jacinta standing in front of our new closet with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. I make my way over, curious as to what could possibly be so exciting when I finally see it. What I thought was a closet door is actually a door to a tiny little kitchenette. Complete with a kettle, microwave, and a teeny, tiny, little fridge.

  We’ve hit the jackpot.

  “You’re kidding me,” I breathe with my eyes bugging out of my head and my jaw hitting the floor.

  “What did I tell you? This year is going to be awesome.”

  After I finally get my mind around how unbelievably amazing our room is and wipe the drool off my face, we begin to unpack, setting up our room just the way we like it. I grab the box with my speakers in it and set them up on our new desk, plug my iPod in and hit shuffle. “Welcome home,” I smile as we get on with the task of unpacking this monstrosity of boxes.

  ----------

  It’s after 10 pm when we put the final touches on our room and I’m completely exhausted. I flop into bed, grab my laptop off my bedside table, and begin typing out an email. I consider texting, but Mom has always been dreadful when it comes to using technology.