Excerpt
From Chapter 1: Born to Fight
Aurelia stepped into the light. Though she’d fought hundreds of vicious supernatural beasts during her two years at the Academy of Supernatural Defense, she’d never faced stakes this high before.
The judges of the International Challenge, the first worldwide monster-fighting competition ever, stared down at her from one of the arena’s boxes. If she impressed them, they would let her enter the contest. And if she made it past their screening, and then through the qualifying round, and ultimately took the prize … her life would never be the same. She’d have the chance to do something much, much bigger than just taking home a trophy.
She could change the world.
Suddenly, a man’s voice boomed out from above. “Aurelia Sun. Age: Fourteen. Classification: Norm. Nation: Triumvirate of North America.”
Aurelia inhaled sharply and walked forward, trying to keep herself from jittering with excitement. Her shoes, light and flexible, barely made a sound against the arena’s stone floor, but even if she’d been tromping around in heavy boots, she didn’t think she would have been able to hear her own footsteps. The eager pounding of her heart was far too loud. This was her shot at everything she’d ever wanted. All her life, she’d been told that those with magic – Enchanters – were superior to those without – Norms, like her. Now, finally, she had the chance to prove everyone wrong.
Enchanters ruled the Triumvirate, or what was left of the United States and its surrounding nations. They had always done whatever they could to keep their own kind separate from everyone else, and Norms got the short end of the stick. Aurelia had lost count of how many times she’d been reminded that this division was fair, because
the Enchanters – specifically, an elite class known as Sentinels – kept the people safe from the monsters prowling the areas outside of the protected cities.
She knew the history as well as anyone. Almost a hundred years earlier, the Lord of the Underworld and his hordes of supernatural beasts had escaped their fiery dimension and overrun the entire earth. The Sentinels had managed to destroy the Lord, but the monsters had remained. Now, Enchanters around the world were engaged in a never-ending war against the creatures. If they lost that war, the monsters would invade the cities, and consume every last human being.
But Enchanters were a small minority of the human population, and there weren’t enough of them to fight the monsters. Their solution: A special Defender class of Norms – non-magical humans trained to fight the supernatural. One day, Aurelia would join their ranks. She’d been preparing for it her whole life, dreaming of the day when she could finally fulfill that destiny.
Thanks to the International Challenge, that day could be closer than she’d thought. If she won, she’d automatically graduate from the Academy and be granted full-fledged Defender status. But more importantly, the Challenge featured both magical and non-magical contestants. Which meant that if she won, she would show the world that a Norm could beat an Enchanter, and that someone who’d been born without magic could be better than someone born with it.
She walked toward the center of the arena, the red and gold highlights that streaked her black hair glinting at the edge of her vision. Someone had laid out a table there, and covered it with weapons. Knives, pistols, bows. A pair of light swords with silver blades.
Aurelia smiled at the two gleaming weapons. My favorites.
Aurelia stepped into the light. Though she’d fought hundreds of vicious supernatural beasts during her two years at the Academy of Supernatural Defense, she’d never faced stakes this high before.
The judges of the International Challenge, the first worldwide monster-fighting competition ever, stared down at her from one of the arena’s boxes. If she impressed them, they would let her enter the contest. And if she made it past their screening, and then through the qualifying round, and ultimately took the prize … her life would never be the same. She’d have the chance to do something much, much bigger than just taking home a trophy.
She could change the world.
Suddenly, a man’s voice boomed out from above. “Aurelia Sun. Age: Fourteen. Classification: Norm. Nation: Triumvirate of North America.”
Aurelia inhaled sharply and walked forward, trying to keep herself from jittering with excitement. Her shoes, light and flexible, barely made a sound against the arena’s stone floor, but even if she’d been tromping around in heavy boots, she didn’t think she would have been able to hear her own footsteps. The eager pounding of her heart was far too loud. This was her shot at everything she’d ever wanted. All her life, she’d been told that those with magic – Enchanters – were superior to those without – Norms, like her. Now, finally, she had the chance to prove everyone wrong.
Enchanters ruled the Triumvirate, or what was left of the United States and its surrounding nations. They had always done whatever they could to keep their own kind separate from everyone else, and Norms got the short end of the stick. Aurelia had lost count of how many times she’d been reminded that this division was fair, because
the Enchanters – specifically, an elite class known as Sentinels – kept the people safe from the monsters prowling the areas outside of the protected cities.
She knew the history as well as anyone. Almost a hundred years earlier, the Lord of the Underworld and his hordes of supernatural beasts had escaped their fiery dimension and overrun the entire earth. The Sentinels had managed to destroy the Lord, but the monsters had remained. Now, Enchanters around the world were engaged in a never-ending war against the creatures. If they lost that war, the monsters would invade the cities, and consume every last human being.
But Enchanters were a small minority of the human population, and there weren’t enough of them to fight the monsters. Their solution: A special Defender class of Norms – non-magical humans trained to fight the supernatural. One day, Aurelia would join their ranks. She’d been preparing for it her whole life, dreaming of the day when she could finally fulfill that destiny.
Thanks to the International Challenge, that day could be closer than she’d thought. If she won, she’d automatically graduate from the Academy and be granted full-fledged Defender status. But more importantly, the Challenge featured both magical and non-magical contestants. Which meant that if she won, she would show the world that a Norm could beat an Enchanter, and that someone who’d been born without magic could be better than someone born with it.
She walked toward the center of the arena, the red and gold highlights that streaked her black hair glinting at the edge of her vision. Someone had laid out a table there, and covered it with weapons. Knives, pistols, bows. A pair of light swords with silver blades.
Aurelia smiled at the two gleaming weapons. My favorites.
From Chapter 4: An Unknown Beast
Taking it by surprise, like she had when she got its leg, was the only way to kill it. And she needed it to come close enough for her to reach its neck.
“Oh speeeearfiiiiend …” she sang in a high, purposely obnoxious voice.
Faint tapping sounds rattled against the arena’s floor behind her – the monster was approaching. But if it knew she was aware of its presence, it would vanish again before she could attack.
So she waited, breathing as silently as possible and wishing her heartbeat didn’t thump so loudly in her ears. She needed to hear every little movement behind her. The tapping grew faster and louder – it was coming closer …
And then it stopped.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the shadow of something long and pointed. Knowing it was the spearfiend raising its remaining front limb, she watched. And waited. Her whole body yearned to turn around and fight, but she had to make the creature think she didn’t know it was there. It had to think it was winning.
The shadow rose higher and higher, until she couldn’t see it anymore.
She held her breath.
Then the shadow reappeared, and the leg came plunging down toward her.
Taking it by surprise, like she had when she got its leg, was the only way to kill it. And she needed it to come close enough for her to reach its neck.
“Oh speeeearfiiiiend …” she sang in a high, purposely obnoxious voice.
Faint tapping sounds rattled against the arena’s floor behind her – the monster was approaching. But if it knew she was aware of its presence, it would vanish again before she could attack.
So she waited, breathing as silently as possible and wishing her heartbeat didn’t thump so loudly in her ears. She needed to hear every little movement behind her. The tapping grew faster and louder – it was coming closer …
And then it stopped.
From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the shadow of something long and pointed. Knowing it was the spearfiend raising its remaining front limb, she watched. And waited. Her whole body yearned to turn around and fight, but she had to make the creature think she didn’t know it was there. It had to think it was winning.
The shadow rose higher and higher, until she couldn’t see it anymore.
She held her breath.
Then the shadow reappeared, and the leg came plunging down toward her.