Sun marched down the hallway, her heavy black boots on the polished stone the only sound. The academy hallways being so empty never failed to put a spring in her step. Normal days were too...peopley.
It was exam time at the academy, so classes were mercifully cancelled until they were done. Despite years in this place, living here, attending classes... she hadn't really made any friends. And she was fine with that. Preferred it even. She had Zen, and she had Nick. They were all she needed.
The two boys were all that was left of her found family from the slums of the capital. When Perdition Revenants had turned up after the... incident when she was a child and forced her into the academy - the youngest student in recent history - they'd had to bring her here kicking and screaming.
She hadn't known they were Revenants until later, she'd never seen people like them before. But everyone had at least heard of them. They were part of the law in Nostravan, and Perdition was their base. Attached was the academy they trained Revenant Candidates - the academy they had dragged her to.
She hadn't wanted to leave the boys behind, to leave them wondering what had happened to her. They'd already lost everyone else. None of them could take another hit like that.
She had spent the first year or so trying to escape the confines of this place, despite the numerous punishments and negative consequences. They had forced her to come here, she had decided to punish them for it. Perdition Academy had even managed to obtain custody of her, the orphan from the slums they'd kidnapped. They'd convinced the powers that be that she was a danger not only to herself, but to everyone around her if she didn't learn control. The academy was the safest place for her, for everyone.
And maybe that was true... A lot of people had died that day, people she hadn't intended to hurt... The guilt still ate at her, but she would risk it if it meant she got to stay with her family. Maybe it was selfish, but she'd never had to live without them, and after losing the others, the thought of losing them had been unbearable.
They were her whole world. Ami had found her when she was just a toddler, next to the corpse of a woman she took to be her dead mother. She took her to the others, they had named her and taken care of her, despite being kids themselves. As they grew they had a little family of orphaned children, there had been seven of them. But after a few years Zen, Nick and Sun were all that was left.
Much to her relief, Nick and Zen had tracked her down and joined the academy, managing to pass the required tests. Or at least prove they had potential. Once they'd joined her here, her escape attempts had stopped. She was finally able to see the value of being here. Three meals a day, a roof over their heads, indoor plumbing, medical care, and a place to sleep without having to worry about rape, murder, and kidnapping.
The three of them were among the youngest there, and also the furthest behind. They'd never been taught to read, write, or count. Their education had to start right from the beginning. They'd known a few numbers, but beyond that, nothing.
Their endurance and resilience had been fantastic though. Growing up in the slums they had become great at surviving and adapting. They'd had to be cunning and resourceful. They'd had no choice. So the hazing and bullying that had started up because they were street rats washed right off them. They'd seen and survived so much worse. Poverty, hunger, disease, the seasons, violence, traffickers... Most children didn't survive that. But they had, and they would not be made to feel ashamed of it.
"Sunny!"
She turned around, jolted out of her thoughts. She smiled up at Zen as he reached her side. Looking at him too much made her neck ache. How he had managed to grow so much while living in the slums was beyond her understanding. Since coming into the academy, he had filled out as well. Instead of the tall, lanky boy he once was, he had a warriors build now, all muscle and sinew. He had let his bright orange hair grow out but kept it under a bandana most of the time, a black and white one to match their uniform.
While she kept her uniform immaculate and wrinkle free, his was all crumpled, his zips only half done up, his pants not properly tucked into his boots. Their uniforms were almost identical except girls wore skirts while the boys wore pants.
"What is it?" She asked him.
His warm amber eyes danced as he smiled down at her. He held up a piece of paper. She snatched it from his hand and read through it. Her smile beamed as she met his gaze.
"I told you you could do it," she said.
"I never said I couldn't...exactly."
"Whatever. Congratulations," she said, handing back his paper. "How many more exams do you have?"
"Too many," he grumbled.
"Well, you better pass, we're all supposed to do this together."
That was the plan - they all graduated together, or none of them did. Unfortunately the only thing he showed any aptitude for was the combat side, her - and when he could, Nick - had had to help him in practically every other subject. Nick was so busy with his advanced classes, he didn't have as much time as Sun to help Zen out. In return, Zen worked with her on her hand to hand and melee combat skills. Helping him was rough since she wasn't exactly thriving either. But learning how to teach him had helped her learn as well.
Spending her life fighting Nostrovan's enemies as a Revenant wasn't something she had ever envisioned for herself - in the slums, one didn't dare envision a future. Besides, little time to dream when every day was a fight for survival and one wrong move could get you or someone you loved killed.
But she was nothing if not adaptable.
"Did you hear about that village on the borderlands?" He asked her as they continued down the hall.
"No, what?"
"Everyone in the village is just gone. There are no signs of struggle, nothing looks out of place, it's as if everyone just up and left but no one knows to where."
"Weird." Why was he bringing this up?
"Yeah. There's even talk of sending the Tenth out," he told her. "I overheard our instructors talking about it. They might even use it for our evaluations."
Oh, that was why.
The Tenth Division of Perdition was in charge of intelligence, reconnaissance, and investigation. If they were being sent out, Perdition must have no idea what was happening. Seemed a little unsound to send candidates out with them. If all went well with their exams, it could be them heading out there.
"So what about you? How many exams do you have left?" He asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"Three. Mathematics I'm not too worried about, but the other two..."
"What are they?" He asked.
"Melee, and they want a demonstration of my power. I'm afraid of what that is going to entail."
"Afraid they're going to make you kill someone?" He asked softly, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets and crumpling up his paper.
She nodded. Zen knew her fear wasn't baseless, it had been done a few times before. Some people's powers could only be used for killing, so convicts had been brought in and the candidate ordered to kill them to show what they could do and how much control they had over it.
And with her power, there wasn't much else to it but killing. At least, not much Perdition found useful.
As a child, when her power had started to manifest, she had thought she was going crazy. Every night she dreamed of a strange, dark world inhabited only by ravens and twisted ghostly people, many of whom carried grisly wounds that any child would be afraid of. Eventually it wasn't just a dream anymore. She started seeing those people and that world in the reflection of water, in puddles, in drinks, in ice...
Then the incident in the slums, when she had been attacked while out alone. It had been raining heavily that day, the muddied roads were practically rivers, and some areas and homes had been flooded. When she had been attacked, she'd felt a similar sensation to when she dreamed. Then within seconds the men pinning her into the mud, tearing at her clothes just... aged. From young men to middle aged, to ancient corpses.
These had been young men, no more than twenty at most, and they had aged decades in seconds. Because of something she had done. And it hadn't just been them, it had been everyone out in that weather, anyone so much as touching water within a mile radius of her almost.
It had been the Revenants who had explained it to her afterwards. A large portion of their people manifested abilities outside of the typical auric manipulation they were all capable of with the right training.
Her dreams weren't dreams at all, she was entering the Traverse, a Crossroads world where the dead passed through, and a great many got lost in. What she saw in water and ice was this other world beyond theirs. And evidently, water was a medium with which she could steal lives. She had the ability to use water and ice in a variety of ways, hydrokinetic they said. She found that a lot harder than the other thing though... But it was the other thing Perdition put their focus on, unfortunately.
They continued down the hall in a heavy silence. He wanted to reassure her, but didn't want to be made a liar if he was wrong.
"When will you be finished?" He asked instead.
"Not until late tonight. For my demonstration they're bringing in a couple of Perdition Commanders and they can't make it until they're off duty."
Zen nodded, that pretty much sealed it. They wanted her to kill someone. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"When you get out, no matter what time, come and see me, I'll wait up for you."
She gave him a hollow smile and thanked him. He walked with her until she reached the examination hall to take her mathematics exam.
Focus didn't come easily to her as she worked, the constant dread hanging over her. She at least attempted every question, and when she walked out of it she was reasonably confident she would at least pass, if only by a hair.
The lack of classes had no effect on the number of students at dinner that evening. As usual, the mess hall was loud, full of people, mostly adolescents to young adults. There was the odd older person, someone who had decided to join in their later years.
Zen, Nick, and Sun had taken their usual seats at one of the corner tables. They were outcast from the rest of the students. Well, mostly Sun and Nick. Zen was a likeable guy and when he wasn't with the pair of them he was easily able to make friends. Sun and Nick knew he had a couple, they weren't exactly sure why he kept it from them, or at least never mentioned it. They were happy for him, being able to branch out.
Sun wasn't sure why people seemed to keep their distance from her. Until the bullying, she'd never been hostile towards anyone but those who kept her trapped here. Occasionally she'd heard rumours about her power and her eye and figured people must not like them.
As for Nick, people's dislike of him seemed to stem from jealousy. Turned out their little Nickolai was something of a prodigy. He excelled in all their classes, physically and academically. When his own ability had manifested he'd seemingly taken to it effortlessly. And the Auric manipulation - the power they used to cast and enhance their speed and strength - he'd surpassed students who had been there far longer than him. He'd left some bitter people in his wake.
His aptitude had meant their instructors piled more work on him, pushing him further and further to find his limits. He took it all without complaint and still made time for her and Zen, to help them with their assignments or just spend time with them.
Despite his work and the pressure, he always made time for them.
"Come on, Sunbeam, at least eat these," Nick insisted, pushing a small bowl of strawberries in front of her.
Being at Perdition had been the first time she'd ever tasted the sweet little fruits and she'd instantly fallen in love. She'd never had a favourite food until them. And it had not gone unnoticed. Most of the Academy knew not to get in the way of her and a bowl of strawberries.
But despite how much she loved them, even they couldn't convince her to stomach food. She was nervous.
She didn't want to kill anyone, especially not intentionally and with an audience.
"Maybe... afterwards," she replied, pushing them away.
She didn't miss the look Nick and Zen exchanged from either side of her.
"We could run."
Her eyes shot to Nicks at his words, her brow furrowed.
They hadn't talked about escaping since the boys had arrived here. Once reunited, they all recognised the opportunity they had before them and had decided to stay.
"We're older now; we know how to protect ourselves... We could just run," he suggested softly. "We have an education now; we could make our own lives."
It was true. And since she had stopped trying to escape, the academy didn't keep as close an eye on her as they used to.
But joining the Revenants was a job—a job that paid well. And since coming here, they'd dared to dream. They had plans now. Join the Revenants, make money, use it to buy a house for the three of them, and never go hungry again. And then, when they had leave, they'd plan a trip to the ocean. They'd all heard stories of it, seen pictures in books, heard other students talking about vacations there. They wanted to see it for themselves.
As a Revenant, chances were she would have to kill someone at some point. Maybe getting the initial shock of it out of the way in a controlled environment wasn't a terrible thing.
She shook her head. "It's fine. I can do it. Just please don't make me eat before I do."
Concern was still clearly visible in his bright green eyes, but he nodded.
And who knew? Maybe she was anxious over nothing. It wasn't a given they would have her kill anyone.
She glanced up at the clock. "I should probably go anyway."
"See us after," Zen reminded her.
With a nod, she left them.
Sun left the mess and headed towards the training hall where her demonstration was supposed to take place. She found herself dawdling, taking each step unnecessarily slow. She knew she should hurry, she shouldn't waste the Commanders, and her Instructors time. Quickening her pace, she found herself outside of the training hall far too soon.
With a deep breath, steeling her resolve, she entered the hall.