Chapter Seventeen

The Assassins

Savannah’s second experience of teleporting with Lauren was no less jolting than the first. She found it severely disorienting for her surroundings to vanish and be replaced with something entirely new in the same moment.

Her head swam with everything Lauren had told her. The Seven chased themselves around her mind, Lauren’s age, the new creatures she’d been introduced to… it was overbearing. She was elated to be home.

Savannah plunged face-first onto the sofa in her living room and lay unspeaking, trying to process everything. What did this all mean? She had powers - not-magic; she was adamant not to refer to them as anything else - and the universe, everything she’d been raised to believe… it was all wrong. That there were multiple, habitable solar systems and whole civilisations aside from her own… her best friend was one of seven who ruled everything… as if that wasn’t enough, someone closer to home was killing her family. Were Savannah and the rest of her family perceived as a threat? Was someone in the wider universe hunting her family? Should she be more vigilant about Aaron and Alexis?

There was a weight in her chest she couldn’t shift. Nausea overtook her. Theo had been killed. The same went for her grandmother, AND Alexis should have been killed, but, by some still unexplained miracle, had cheated death. Why was this happening? Would she uncover the answer before it was too late to do so?

Lauren sat down on the other sofa, watching Savannah with serious caution. ‘You okay?’

‘Obviously not,’ came Savannah’s response, muffled by a cushion.

‘It’s a lot, I know, but… welcome to the real world. The bright side for both of us, at least, is I don’t need to keep anything from you anymore. I hope you can forgive me for doing that, by the way.’

Savannah waved her arm. ‘Yeah, whatever, I get why you did it. Honestly, considering everything that’s happened, it’s not a major concern.’

Lauren smiled. ‘So… what do you think?’

‘Uhhh, I don’t know. It’s a lot to take in. Part of me still thinks it’s all a lie, but… it can’t be. If that whole other world… The Seven… not-magic… exists, I guess I can’t really deny you’re telling me the truth. When I defended myself against Jeremy at the park… that was -’ She gulped. ‘Magic?’

Lauren nodded. Savannah mulled things over for a while. Eventually, she broke the silence once more for something she both was desperate to know the answer to and never wanted confirmation of.

‘So…’ She sat up and cuddled the cushion. ‘Someone is killing my family… who’s doing it? Could they be linked to your world?’

‘I don’t know. We can’t find a trace. They’re adept at covering their tracks. The other problem is it could literally be anyone. I’ve grown very attached to your family and… Theo’s death especially… it’s painful. But my biggest concern is why? Why would anyone want him or Katerina dead? It doesn’t make any sense to me. And, to be completely honest, I’ve no idea how much - if any - danger the rest of you are in.’

‘Well, when you figure it out, can you let me know? I’d quite like to find out why some dick’s killing my family. It… it couldn’t be Jeremy, could it? Obviously, he couldn’t have killed Theo, but could he be working with someone on the outside?’

‘Yes, he could. Even with him behind a cell door, you’re not safe, it seems.’

‘But… you’re here, and you’re powerful. You can protect us, right?’

‘I certainly hope so. Don’t underestimate yourself, though. From what I’ve seen you’ve got a lot of potential and with a bit of training, I’m sure you won’t even need me around.’

‘Yeah, what’s the deal with that?’ Savannah sat up straight, her focus back on Lauren. She forced the grief pressing in from the corners of her mind back. If she could distract herself in any way possible, it would disappear.

‘Well,’ Lauren’s voice rang with excitement. ‘The four that we ran into earlier? One of those, the one with the wings, she’s called Alyssa, the person Manuel mentioned. She’s one of our best and brightest. She’ll assess your level and train you up. I’ll organise that, and we’ll get you in tomorrow or in the next couple of days and see where you’re at. You should rest and take your time, though. You need to process your grief.’

Savannah went silent for a while, staring at a spot on the carpet.

‘The police aren’t going to be any help with this, are they? If it is linked to your world.’

‘No… they aren’t. This is massively above their pay grade if that’s the case. They’ll have no idea what they’re dealing with. But, don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for. I’ll find the killer and put a stop to him myself, I promise. Besides, the fact remains the killer is more than likely a human.’

Savannah stared out of the window. A day ago Lauren had been nothing more than Savannah’s teenage best friend. Now, here she was, over 150 years old, with more power at her hands than any person on earth. Savannah was yet to even consider the ramifications of having her own power.

The front door opened and Savannah froze. Aaron sloped into the living room. He slumped into the seat beside Lauren, his complexion granite, deep bags accentuating his eyes. The sounds of Lyra trudging upstairs were audible, and Aaron gave Savannah a morose shake of the head. Lauren placed an arm around him.

‘How is she?’

‘She’s not good. I didn’t think she could get any worse, but she has. She could barely drive safely - she kept crossing over into the next lane, and on the dual carriageway, she was weaving. She didn’t speak a word the whole way home, or in the hospital. She hasn’t even seen Alexis, she’s that torn up.’

‘Oh god,’ Savannah’s attention drifted to the staircase. ‘We need her reassessed.’

Aaron shook his head again. His voice caught in his throat. ‘No, we can’t. Alexis and I spoke to the nurse and she said we can’t have her assessed involuntarily. They wouldn’t come to her unless she initiated the contact. Besides… she wouldn’t engage with them. You’ve seen her. We’re just gonna have to hope and do all we can to pull her through this. She’s survived through nearly two decades of marriage to Jeremy. If she’s strong enough to do that, she’s strong enough to do this.’

‘I hope so,’ Savannah mumbled. Her heart ached. They would get her through. They had to. ‘I’ll take some toast and water up to her in a minute. At least she’s not drinking anymore, that’s a bonus. How’s Alexis?’

Aaron’s expression perked up. ‘She’s great, really great. She got plenty of sleep last night and was bright and energetic this morning. She wasn’t her usual self with… Theo…’ His brightness faded and his voice cracked. He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. ‘But, somehow, she’s okay. The nurse said she’ll probably be able to come home tomorrow. They want to keep her in tonight, just to be sure.’

Savannah let out a relieved sigh. ‘Thank god for that. Look, Aaron, go and get some sleep. No offence, but you look like shit. I’ll sort mum out.’

*

Savannah took toast and a glass of water into her mother’s room. As was the new norm, Lyra didn’t move, speak, or otherwise show any indication she’d registered Savannah’s presence. As such, Savannah placed the food and water on Lyra’s bedside table and left. A part of her tugged at her to go back into that room, to embrace Lyra and spend the rest of the day there with her. But she couldn’t. Lyra wouldn’t respond to it. In fact, she’d outright reject it.

The last time Lyra was this bad had been when Savannah was 16. She’d brought her mother food (to no response) and clambered into the bed with her. Lyra shrugged her off without a word and an upset Savannah left the room and went to school with the scene replaying in her head throughout the day. That day, she learned never to offer comfort to Lyra when she was in this state. The only person from whom Lyra would embrace that behaviour was Theo...

One thing had changed since then - Savannah didn’t have to worry about parenting Theo in the absence of her mum and dad. God, how she wished she did.

Savannah spent the next two days in bed herself, allowing herself to feel all the pain that came with Theo’s death. It was the worst experience of her life. She was unable to stop herself from going through all the memories, through all the happy times she’d had with him. The worst were the most recent: the football match (which felt like a lifetime ago), the park trips they’d taken… she’d never have it again. And that hurt. A shard of her heart had died with Theo, and its corpse was stabbing what remained incessantly.

On the bright side - which took her a long time to come to terms with - Savannah had an exciting new world to explore. Despite the possibility that she was in danger, she wasn’t worried - she had Lauren to defend her, and even her own abilities should she need them.

It was a crying shame that the same abilities had failed to save Theo.

*

‘Right, come on, you little melt,’ Lauren said as she tore the sheets off Savannah. ‘You’ve been sad for long enough, it’s time to get up and go on an adventure!’

Savannah didn’t share that enthusiasm, but Lauren’s smile was contagious and she found herself echoing it. ‘Aw, come on man, I want to sleep.’

‘Nope,’ Lauren pursed her lips. ‘You’ve slept for two days straight. In your coma, you’ve missed something amazing.’

‘Oh yeah?’ Savannah pulled the sheets back up and turned onto her side, her back to Lauren. ‘What’s that then?’

‘Alexis is home.’

A warmth spread through her. Her sister was safe. ‘Thank god for that. Is she okay?’

Lauren tutted. ‘Ask her yourself. Get your arse out of bed, and let’s go. Then, we’re going to see Alyssa. Hence, ‘adventure’.’

Groaning, Savannah left her bed and went downstairs, finding Alexis all dressed up, make-up and all (as though she hadn’t suffered a traumatic and mortally damaging event two days ago), her customary smirk plastered on her lips.

‘Yo, sis,’ Alexis said, running her eyes up and down Savannah. ‘I hear you’ve been moping in your pit for days?’

‘Yeah. Fine now. How’re you doing? You look good.’

Alexis's smirk grew. ‘You’re damn right I do. Is that a surprise to anyone? I’m Gucci, thanks.’ It darkened to a frown. ‘Mum’s not so good, is she?’

They talked for a while about their mother and what little they could do. Savannah was surprised Alexis was concerned - it wasn’t like her to pay attention to something rather than brush it off (not that she mentioned Theo at all). Nonetheless, Savannah was satisfied that Alexis was better, to the extent that she would argue Alexis was in a healthier condition than Savannah herself.

Afterwards, Savannah got dressed in a baggy hoodie, jeans, and her black boots, and she and Lauren pretended they were going for a long walk together. They left the house, Lauren grasped Savannah’s hand, and they appeared in the majestic hallway of The Seven’s Mansion once again.

‘I’ll never get used to this,’ Savannah said, her hand on her belly while she fought a wave of nausea.

‘Yes, you will. You’ll be spending a lot of time here in future. It’ll be a second home to you in a few weeks, I guarantee it.’

Together, they walked down the gravel path from the Mansion. The sun still hung low over the sea to their right, basking the land in the same orange and pink glow as the day previous.

‘Why has the sun literally not moved an inch? We’re here hours later than yesterday and yet it’s in exactly the same state.’

‘Ah, yeah, time moves differently here. It’ll be a couple days before the sun moves a distinguishable amount, a few weeks before it even sets. It’s great for summer - summers here last about a decade. But the nights are as long as the days, which can get pretty dreary. Especially in winter, but you get used to it. It’s home and I prefer it to earth. Everything’s more peaceful here. Not least because over the whole planet there’s only, like, a few thousand of us, but… it’s blissful.’

‘Sounds… ideal,’ Savannah’s lips parted, then snapped shut.

‘It is. Sometimes makes you forget time moves a lot quicker in other places, though. I remember when I first returned to Earth a couple of years ago. The speed the days went by… it made me ill, sort of like jet lag. It wasn’t pleasant.’

They reached the massive gates at the end of the path. Beyond these, they followed another indented gravel walkway in the grass. There were no roads here, as far as Savannah had encountered. What was present, though, was the comforting scent of woodsmoke and roasting meat.

After an hour-long walk, during which the path led through further grassland, with vast expanses of woodland obscuring the land to their left, and the sharp drop down to the sea a mile to their right, Savannah and Lauren reached the walled plaza as large as a small town, where ten grandiose buildings stood.

There were five on either side. In appearance, they were elongated palaces, longer than they were wide. Separating the two rows was a spacious, cobbled, communal area in which a marquee stood, sheltering rows upon rows of tables and benches.

Although the buildings were of the same structure and built from reinforced wood, each was differentiated by a display of its own unique character - whether via the assortment of objects placed in the area outside the front doors, the attire and appearance of those entering and exiting, or the distinctive banners decorating the fronts. A great number of creatures, most of which came from unidentifiable origins and looked strange - they weren’t human, that’s for sure, though most had four limbs - milled in the common area or between buildings.

There were more of those winged beings and the twig-sprouting-from-skull people. Others she glimpsed included towering, scaled, blue people with glowing green veins and white hair who wore purple robes, and brawny, powerful, lion-like beings walking upright with glossy red wings jutting from between their shoulder blades and spikes protruding from their joints. Tiny, freckled, grey beings, no larger than three feet tall, scurried around carrying cleaning supplies, plates of food, and weapons twice their size.

Savannah’s eyes darted around, taking in all the sights and trying to commit all the strange creatures to memory. The problem was, there were so many that when she focused on one, another would walk past and draw her attention.

She gave up and turned to Lauren.

‘Can we get on with this, please?’

Lauren looked at her, features soft. ‘It’s a lot, huh? Sure, we can get on with this. Come in here.’

She gestured to the first building on the left; a structure painted red and black, with nothing on the exterior aside from a banner depicting a dagger on a red background. Seeing the look of apprehension Savannah wore, Lauren laughed.

Stolen story; please report.

‘Don’t worry, I promise going in here will be less shocking and easier to take in.’ She placed a hand on the small of Savannah’s back and guided her into the building.

They stepped into an enormous entrance hall. The walls were painted a deep red, the ceiling was the darkest ebony, and a chandelier longer than Savannah’s whole body swung from the ceiling. The most striking thing about this, however, wasn’t its size, but the fact it was made from pure gold and from each candle holder a chain of diamonds swung.

On the walls was yet more fascinating artwork - a man dressed all in black, a balaclava stretched across his face, and a dagger dripping blood in his hand; a royal family with a similarly outfitted figure in the background; a dark-haired man standing over a winged woman with a scythe in her chest - all disturbing, and all leaving Savannah wondering what the hell she had entered.

Dotted around the hallway were weapons on black plinths. Some were aged - like a rusted dagger, or a weathered silver bow whose bowstring was held on by mere threads - yet others were more recent, such as a shining mace, or a short, black and red sword, with an aureate blade.

‘Welcome. This is the Assassin's Quarter.’

Savannah tore her focus away from the golden sword. ‘You use assassins? You kill people?!’

Lauren shrugged. ‘Hmm, yes and no. We use the assassins when we have a particularly troubling person or persons causing us a problem, whoever and wherever they may be, to save on the inevitable death and destruction that would happen if we didn’t do something. I, personally, try to make a point of not killing. But… we do it when necessity dictates.’

Savannah eased. She gestured to the mace. ‘Bit of a weird weapon for an assassin, no?’

Lauren grinned. ‘You’ve played too many video games with Aaron. To a large assassin, this would be lighter than a dagger. Plus, it’s a highly damaging weapon. Nah, I heard the owner of this mace - a guy called Valaan some 600 years ago - didn’t think much of the whole stealth concept. He preferred a more direct, ‘cave their skulls in before they have time to blink’ approach. He was quite successful too.’

‘Huh,’ Savannah gazed at the artwork. ‘So this place has been around 600 years?’

‘God, no, longer than that. This was formed not long after The Original Seven vanished. When The Seven reformed, some two thousand years ago, it was only Kris and Tristan. They couldn’t run the universe on their own, so they established the Quarters. Once The Seven filled out and became seven, the Quarters remained useful. They provide opportunities for amazing people that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to offer. And, from a purely selfish perspective, it means there’s always more than just six other people to talk to.’

They approached the centre plinth in tandem. Atop the plinth was a marble bust with a divine amulet around its neck. The links of the chain were coloured in a red-gold-black pattern, and the amulet’s centrepiece was a gold star with a narrowed eye in the middle, accompanied by a red ring and a black ring on the outside. It had a mysterious sheen to it, emanating its own aura.

‘What,’ Savannah’s hand went to her chest. ‘Is that?’

‘That is the amulet of Jevunah the Dark, the first assassin. Only the leader of the Assassin's Quarter has the right to wear it. It gives them some powers - I have no idea what. All I know is it’s the Quarter’s most valuable possession, so whatever you do, do not touch it. These guys aren’t exactly what you’d call forgiving.’

‘It’s… gorgeous.’

Lauren motioned to Savannah and they moved on to the next room, through a weighty pair of wooden doors. Inside was the main hall; an echoey cavern of a room, with a dark, oily, wood floor. Braziers burned in the corners, providing the room with a bright, yellow light. At the far end of the hall was a throne of red, black, and gold. Light poured through floor-to-ceiling windows behind the throne; these were stained red and black and distorted the incoming light to their colouration. Beyond that, the room was empty.

‘I’m sensing a theme here,’ Savannah said.

‘What’s that?’

‘Assassins are rich, self-indulgent, and probably quite vain. And they really like red, black, and gold.’

Lauren laughed. ‘This is nothing - you should see upstairs. But yes, being an assassin pays well and believe me, these guys aren’t afraid to spend lavishly. As for the red, black, and gold - they’re simply the colours of the Quarter. Each Quarter has their own.’

The double doors to the hall swung open and in stalked the winged woman Savannah saw on her first visit. ‘Lauren. To what do I owe the pleasure? And who’s this… neophyte?’ She peered at Savannah, her chin elevated, her eyes as sharp as the daggers at her waist. Savannah fought the urge to shrink away and took the opportunity to observe her closer.

Her hair was long, wavy, and black as night. Her face was pretty, and her body strong. Poking above her shoulders were the tips of her thick, elegant, black wings - now, these were stunning. Each feather was glossy, tough, and well-kept, like they’d never flown a day in their lives.

‘Alyssa, this is Savannah. She’s… well, I guess she’s my new apprentice now. I want her assessed as soon as possible, please.’

Alyssa turned her gaze away from Savannah, her lip curling, and fixed it on Lauren. ‘I can get her in… maybe in 48 hours. I am on a contract at the moment. What disposition has she shown an aptitude in? What guild did she come from? More to the point, what planet? She is human. She has the stench of Earth on her.’ Alyssa moved closer to Savannah, her eyes slits. ‘They are ignorant and useless to us. How did she come to be here?’

Lauren smiled despite the racism. ‘Magic. But I want her assessed here, first, so I can get an idea of her physical skill.’

Alyssa’s lip curled once more. ‘That sounds like a waste of time. She will not be any good at fighting. She is fresh - she would not last long on the assessment course, never mind in the field.’

‘Perhaps not, but magic breeds strength in the physical sense too. And, physical aptitude has a tendency to be innate. She’s fit, too, for her age. So, assess her. And… Alyssa…’

Lauren leant in close, wearing a cold smile. She whispered in Alyssa’s ear, ‘don’t insult her again. Otherwise, we’re going to have a problem.’

Alyssa stood her ground, but she lost the lip curl. ‘Of course. I will assess her in an hour. Wait here - I need a wash and a change of clothes, these reek of blood. I will send some armour with an Imp for the neophyte.’

*

An hour later, Savannah, Alyssa, and Lauren were in the Assassin’s indoor training facility. Training dummies, archery, knife, axe, and hatchet throwing targets, multiple weapon racks (some of the blades had been dulled for the purposes of training, others were as sharp as the day they’d been forged), beams, monkey bars, and blocks were scattered around the room.

A corner had been constructed into a glass box which served as the simulation area. Attached to this was another, smaller room, containing a computer with a myriad of different simulations programmed into it. These would be transmitted to the glass box, and figures, objects, or places were projected into the box and became solid.

Alyssa had changed into light and thin black leather clothes, complete with boots, that clung to her body like shadows and were lined with subtle tracks of gold and red. Savannah had been given the same - hers were new, squeaked, and didn’t fit as well, whilst Alyssa’s were more battle-worn.

Upon entry, Alyssa introduced Savannah to three others who were in the facility. One was a tall, brown-skinned male named Adriel, with thin brown hair intertwined with twigs, who ogled Savannah rather than introducing himself. The human girl with golden eyes Savannah had seen on the way to the Seven’s Mansion on her first visit turned out to be Elianna, who was Alyssa’s second in command. She hadn’t spoken to Savannah either. Instead, she’d glared at her like she had killed her favourite cat. The third was of the same human-esque race as Elianna. He was named Matias and was warmer and welcoming; he provided her with an enthusiastic smile. These three had spoken to Alyssa in hushed tones, then Adriel and Matias had left. Elianna, however, positioned herself by the door. She stood, slouched and with her arms crossed, watching Savannah with a cocky smirk.

‘There are three areas I will assess you in today.’ Alyssa informed Savannah. ‘Ranged - both archery and throwing knives. Use of blades - simple, not the sort we perform in the field - you will advance to those techniques later. Finally, agility and speed. These will then culminate in a final trial, which will be a simulation run during which you will receive no assistance from myself nor Lauren. During the three practice exercises, the use of magic is not permitted. During your final trial, you may use magic however you see fit, as would be the case in the real world.’

Alyssa went to the nearest rack and pulled two bows delicately carved from a pure, white wood. She tossed one to Savannah, doing the same with a quiver containing five arrows, led Savannah over to the range, and positioned her before a target.

Savannah tried to stop her hands from shaking; the pressure was making her feel like the roof was pressing down upon her and the walls were closing in. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she didn’t perform well, but… she didn’t want to let Lauren down. And, that Elianna wasn’t helping with her stupid little grin. It wasn’t often Savannah had strong negative feelings towards someone, yet here was a girl that if she was to take a bath, Savannah would throw a toaster in to accompany her.

‘Notch an arrow and draw your bow. I want to see your form.’

Savannah did as she was told, the bow quaking as she pulled the bowstring back with the arrow against it. Alyssa came over and righted her position. She placed a hand on Savannah’s trembling one.

‘Just relax,’ Alyssa muttered into her ear. ‘Pretend Elianna is not here. Better yet, pretend that it is her head on the target. Forget Lauren exists. It is just you and I present. There’s no pressure. You can do as badly as is possible to achieve here, and you shall still perform better than Elianna did when she started.’

Savannah broke into an uneasy smile and her grip steadied. Alyssa moved back.

‘When you draw, breathe in. Hold the breath and aim. Then, while you aim, look nowhere else but that black dot in the centre. Line the bow up with it. Shift your aim a touch above the dot to account for distance and travel. Then, loose the arrow and breathe out as you do so. Release the tension in both you and the bow in the same instant, allowing for a smooth shot. Like so.’

Alyssa demonstrated and in a seamless single movement, fired the bow. Savannah checked Alyssa’s target - the arrow quivered in the bullseye.

‘Damn,’ Savannah whispered. She breathed in and drew at the same time, and held it. She felt the tension in her body increase, her heart rate accelerating. She let her breath go before the arrow, and her shot skewed off to the left.

Elianna barked a cruel laugh. Lauren fixed her with a murderous glare.

‘Not to worry, that is an easy mistake to make. The timing is difficult. Have you ever done this before?’

Savannah shook her head.

‘Yeah, it shows,’ Elianna said, clapping.

‘Shut your mouth, or I will shut it for you with a slap that will send you into next week,’ Lauren raised her hand to do so.

‘Just try again, Savannah,’ Alyssa said, regaining Savannah’s attention. ‘This is what training is for. Within a month, you will be a competent archer - it simply requires a bit of work.’

Savannah blocked out the presence of Elianna and focused. Her second arrow made it onto the target (it wasn’t close to the bullseye, but it was an improvement). Her third and fourth were spectacular misses. Her final arrow again hit the target - but was a slight letdown, for it was in the exact same place she’d landed her second arrow. Throughout it all, Elianna giggled to herself in the background.

‘Not awful,’ Alyssa said when she retook the bow from Savannah. ‘Not great, either, but I have definitely seen worse. For a first attempt, that’s a respectable showing, so well done.’

They moved onto the throwing knives. These felt better in Savannah’s grip; light and balanced, she felt she had more control over their direction than she did with the bow. So much so, whilst it was another unspectacular performance, she only missed the target once - but had managed to get that particular knife stuck in the adjacent target. Elianna, who’d been quiet up to that point, howled at that, and even Savannah managed a wry smile.

Next, Alyssa led her to the area with the training dummies. She demonstrated some basic moves, a good grip for a one-handed sword, and spent ten minutes lecturing her on the strengths of having multiple daggers strapped in various, discrete locations on the body.

Once that rant had concluded and they got on with the sword training, Savannah decided she didn’t enjoy using a sword - it was difficult to miss the dummy, but she found the sword weighty and exhausting.

The agility part of the assessment, even to Savannah’s shock, she passed with flying colours. This was an obstacle course and took place in the simulation room; there were beams to duck, nets to crawl under, a balancing board, and a long, timed sprint. Savannah aced it, to applause from Lauren. Perhaps all those torturous 5am starts with swimming club she had suffered in her early teen years had some long-term benefits after all.

‘Excellent, well done. Much better than the combative aspects. Now,’ Alyssa said as she reset the simulation and loaded another one. ‘The final exam is a simulation that incorporates all three areas we have just worked on.’ She tapped a few buttons and a log cabin sprung up. ‘In here, you can expect similar to that of the obstacle course you have just done. With a little additional spice thrown in, of course. Your objective is to clear the house as quickly as possible. We have thresholds as to whether you pass or fail. Again, no pressure - failure is what training is for - at least we will establish the areas you need to work on. You can take whatever weapons you wish into the simulation.’

Savannah walked over to the weapon racks and weighed all the swords in her hands, deciding on the longest and thinnest one she could find. She ignored the bows, her attitude being that she could put a lot more practice into archery, but for now, it was safest to go with her comfortable preferences. She picked a small satchel packed with six throwing knives and was about to head into the simulation before recalling Alyssa’s lecture on daggers. She strapped one to her thigh, another to her ankle, and a third and fourth on both sides of her collarbone.

‘Ready?’ Alyssa called as Savannah walked to the door of the cabin.

‘As I’ll ever be,’ Savannah said. Though quivering, she had a smile - the adrenaline rush was intoxicating. She shook her limbs, ready to meet the challenge.

‘Okay. Oh, and by the way… nothing in there can hurt you. Much. Your time starts... now.’

The door of the hut emitted a loud creak as it swung backwards and Savannah stepped into a room immersed in darkness. After a few seconds, old-fashioned oil lanterns hanging in the corners ignited, revealing a room with simple, moth-eaten furniture, and a wood fire that ignited along with the lanterns. Creeping, her sword drawn, she approached the door on the far side.

Something zipped past her head. She whipped around, seeing an arrow impale itself in the wall behind her.

‘Bollocks.’ Turning towards the door once more, she saw a hideous creature illuminated in the lantern light, a bow in its hand.

It was skeletal and had skin in an advanced state of decay. Its cheeks had decomposed, revealing teeth so brown it was as though it’d been chewing tobacco for a couple of centuries. Despite its bony appearance, the arms and legs looked strong and sturdy. This was exactly the same species that had littered the battlefields of her nightmares for weeks.

Most of this went over Savannah’s head.

‘God, you stink,’ she said, covering her mouth and nose with a hand. She couldn’t tell whether the creature understood her words, but either way, it retaliated by firing another arrow at her head.

She dived behind the nearest armchair and felt the arrow whiz just above her shoulder, millimetres away from making contact. She yelped.

She took a couple of seconds to catch her breath, then dived for the creature, evading another arrow it had nocked for her re-emergence. She swung the sword as hard as she could, slashing its bow in two.

It growled and bared its teeth, breathing putrid air directly into her nostrils. So, with her next swipe, she took its head. The creature dissolved the moment the blade connected with its neck.

‘Yeah, bitch.’ It was sloppy, but it got the job done. She moved on to the next room.

In here was a dining area, with a table and chairs so frail if she was to sit on one it would disintegrate into a cloud of dust and splinters.

In tandem with her entrance, the door at the far end sprung open and three more creatures charged into the room. One held another bow, the other two had brutal, rusty swords in their hands.

‘Christ, you lot smell about as bad as your friend.’

The two with the swords ran at her while the third aimed an arrow at her head. She heard the bowstring twang and ducked. In the same movement, she brought her sword up above her head to block a strike from one of the swords.

There was little space in this room to manoeuvre. This proved to be of more benefit to Savannah than the creatures - the second sword-wielder was unable to get a clean strike, having to dawdle behind its companion.

Savannah lurched backwards, disconnecting her blade from the creature’s. She feinted left and went right, loosed a dagger from her collarbone, and plugged it into its gut while the creature was distracted by her sword. The creature exploded into smoke.

There was no time to stand on ceremony - the second creature seized the opportunity, its sword coming straight for her. She jerked backwards, the blade shaving her neck.

She tried to counter-attack, but the creature was faster, knocking her sword from her hand with such force she dropped her dagger too. She gambled and launched at the creature rather than away from it. Grasping its sword hand and pushing it away from her, she reached for the dagger strapped to her thigh.

The creature’s attention was on her other hand and it was oblivious to what she was doing. Until she stabbed it in the neck with her dagger, that was. It disintegrated and she let out a tiny whoop.

It was cut short; she’d been so wrapped up in the other two she’d neglected the archer.

She remembered when she looked up and saw the arrow zooming at her head.

The arrow made contact with her forehead and an electric shock passed through her system. Juddering, she fell to the floor.

Then there was nothing but darkness.

*

Savannah awoke in a small feather bed in a room akin to a hospital ward. There was a brown-skinned creature with braided hair above her, her brow knotted.

‘She’s awake,’ she murmured, her voice as soft as her features.

‘Wh-where am I? What happened?’ Savannah asked, her left arm spasming from the remaining electrical charge in her.

‘Well,’ came Alyssa’s voice from the end of her bed. Savannah looked there and Alyssa was standing next to Lauren; both wore small smiles. ‘That was not great. Did not even get past the second room out of five. Still, that is why training exists.’

‘What happened?’ Savannah asked again. She was sweating and had a pounding headache.

‘Well,’ Lauren took over, her voice quaking with amusement. ‘You got shot in the head, imbecile! Luckily, the simulation is programmed so that rather than getting an arrow stuck in your skull and risking potential brain death, the arrows dissipate upon contact, sending a massive electrical shock through you. It’s the consequence of poor performance, I’m afraid. At least we know now where you stand in the respect of physical combat.’

The unknown girl busied herself straightening Savannah’s pillow and pouring her some water.

‘Who are you?’ Savannah asked, a note of trepidation in her voice.

‘I’m Nyla. I’m a healer.’

‘No offence, but what are you?

Nyla looked hurt. ‘I’m an Alphin. We’re woodland creatures… I’m just a healer.’

‘Thank you. Do you have something for the pain?’

Nyla handed her a small vial filled with a pink liquid, which she necked - it tasted of strawberries.

‘Right, rest up, Sav,’ Lauren commanded, pointing at her. Alyssa left. ‘Nyla’s around should you need anything. When you’re ready, I’ll take you home.’