The Initiate Read online

  The nuns opposite each other advanced until there were only a few paces between them.

  “Butt-kicking for righteousness!” they all yelled as one. Instantly they moved into action, some attacking while others parried. A few of the pairs sized each other up, bouncing on feet barely visible beneath their habits.

  Biffy found herself stopping, mesmerised by the display of skill. She’d never seen so many trained fighters in one place. She’d been trained, of course, but she’d had a single, old, stuffy accountant for a teacher and been alone. Her only practice against another had been the times she’d come up against the real thing.

  “Impressive, isn’t it?” Sister Breanna said, coming to stand beside Biffy. Boo was back on her shoulder, munching on a piece of carrot.

  “The three Marys aren’t there?” Biffy said, making sure it sounded like the question it was. Breanna chuckled.

  “No. If they were there, the rest wouldn’t stand a chance. They are true heroes, aren’t they, Boo?”

  Boo squeaked and carried on eating, his little paws pushing the orange vegetable up as his teeth nibbled the top.

  “Do you fight as well?”

  “Oh, of course. Boo and I are devoted to fighting evil. We like nothing more than to hand out swords and fight the forces of darkness.”

  Biffy nodded, watching Breanna’s eyes light up. The heavy-set woman drew her sword, gripped it in two hands, and swung it. The tip struck the brickwork of the wall and sliced a small line before she calmed. Boo let out another high-pitched noise, and this seemed to get Breanna’s attention.

  “Yes, Boo, you’re right. We should probably save our strength. It is best used to slay vampires and destroy werewolves.” Breanna smiled at Biffy again as she returned her sword to the scabbard that hung from her waist.

  “I’d best carry on,” Biffy said, edging away as politely as she could. “I am meant to meet Sister Gelina in the dining hall.”

  “Ah, yes. Time for your first test?” Breanna didn’t get the hint, falling in beside Biffy and walking with her along the corridor. “I remember my initiation so well. If it weren’t for Boo I would have failed several of the tests, but Boo never lets me down. He always knows what I am missing.”

  Again Biffy nodded. Would Hairwig help her? Or could she pass the tests anyway? She’d been studying for years. And she’d fought vampires before. But Sunnyvale was different. Here the vampires were faster, more focused. Sunnyvale wasn’t referred to as the centre of the war for nothing.

  Biffy found her thoughts wandering as she was led to the dining hall. It wasn’t until she stood in the large room, rows of tables in front of her, that she snapped back to reality. Breanna was grinning at her, a hand pointing towards Sister Gelina and the table she stood beside, Boo sitting on his back legs, the carrot eaten.

  On the table was a variety of different objects in five different trays. The trays were all subtly different but consisted of five objects each. A vial, a pointed object, a metal object, something edible and some kind of plant.

  Biffy looked over them, noticing the subtle differences.

  “I can see you have already paid some attention to your first task,” Sister Breanna said as Biffy stopped on the other side of the table. “These five trays each contain a basic hunting kit, but only one of them will actually be enough to protect you. The other four are imperfect for one reason or another. Which one would you choose to take into the night?”

  Biffy bit her lip as she looked over them again.

  The tray nearest her contained a wooden stake, sharpened to a point, but Biffy noticed the wood was a soft balsa type. It would disintegrate rather than pierce the chest of a vampire. She moved on to the next tray, farthest to the left.

  At first glance, everything inside looked to be functional. The stake a nice strong oak, a silver cross, garlic bulbs and communion wafers, but the holy water vial caught her eye. She reached for it before hesitating.

  “You may pick it up and inspect it more closely if you wish,” Sister Gelina said, anticipating the question Biffy had as soon as she looked at the nun.

  The holy water vial fit neatly into Biffy’s palm, but she soon saw the problem. It was a screw-top lid. You didn’t have time for a screw top in the heat of battle. She tried not to laugh as she imagined it.

  “Oh, evil vampire from the underworld, please hold still while I unscrew this holy water to splash all over you.”

  Nope. Not that tray either.

  The middle tray was obviously a hazardous choice. The cross was regular, no elongated bottom prong, and on closer inspection it wasn’t even made of silver. The stake wasn’t sharpened, the holy water was tinted a funny colour, the food was cracked and broken and the bulbs weren’t garlic but some similar clove-like plant. Everything was wrong.

  Biffy quickly moved on to the last two trays, both of them on the right. Glancing back and forth between them, she tried to work out what the difference was, but it wasn’t obvious. Both had the standard garlic plant, communion wafer, stoppered vial, sturdy wooden stake and a nice chunky silver cross.

  Frowning, Biffy felt her stomach knot. There must be something that wasn’t right about one of the trays, but what was it? She picked up both stakes and tested the points. As each one pricked her finger, she winced.

  One by one she tested each item, until she had a cross in each hand. She brought them up to her face to get a closer look. They weren’t the same. Both were made of silver, both in the right shape, but one had an effigy of Jesus on it and the other didn’t. It was the only difference Biffy could see between the two trays.

  A trickle of sweat rolled down Biffy’s back, making her aware of how hot she’d become. This was something she hadn’t banked on. Did Jesus being on the cross matter? Was there some religious rule she’d missed?

  Her mind thought of the cross she carried, currently tucked up her sleeve, the chain wrapped several times around her wrist. There was no miniature Jesus nailed to it. It was just a cross. But it was her father’s cross and he had never been chosen to attempt the initiation for St Maggie’s fighting nun academy. Could he have got something wrong?

  “The clock is ticking,” Sister Gelina said when Biffy continued to stare at the two crosses.

  “Ummm.” Biffy held up the blank one with the ornate pattern carved on it. “This one. This is the right one.”

  Sister Gelina held out her hand for it, her face unreadable. Biffy placed it on her palm, still holding on to the other.

  When the sister looked at it and then back at her, Biffy felt her stomach sink.

  “Why did you choose this one?” Sister Gelina put it back in the tray.

  “Because it’s like my father’s.” Biffy pulled up her sleeve to reveal the one hanging around her wrist.

  “That was your reason? Because one is more sentimental to you?”

  Biffy opened her mouth and then closed it again. Had she really chosen out of sentimentality? It sounded like sentimentality was the wrong reason to choose.

  “I suppose so. My father believed this worked, so I did too,” she said eventually. She expected Sister Gelina to tell her to pack her bags again. This would be it. At least she hadn’t died trying out.

  A smiled formed on Sister Gelina’s mouth.

  “Belief is exactly why this one is the right choice. Your belief is what makes it powerful. Belief in all that is good, and belief in God. Well done for following your instinct.”

  Biffy blinked. This wasn’t what she’d expected.

  “Does this mean I completed the first task?”

  Sister Gelina’s smile broadened, but before she could reply, Sister Breanna clapped her hands and bounced closer.

  “Yes. Boo and I knew you could do it! Come, let us celebrate together.” Breanna took her arm and started pulling her away. The large nun was far stronger than she looked.

  With no choice in the matter, Biffy was taken to the table at the farthest end of the room, near a hatch in the wall.

  Breanna
knocked on the hatch, beaming. On her shoulder still, Boo squeaked and appeared to clap his two little paws together like an excited child.

  A few seconds later the hatch opened revealing a woman dressed like a dinner lady from a school.

  “Hello, my dears. What can I get you?”

  “Our newest initiate has just passed test one. Let us celebrate.”

  The dinner lady nodded. “Two test-one-passing meals coming right up.”

  Sister Breanna grinned and sat down at the nearest table. Not sure what else to do, Biffy sat next to her.

  “What exactly is the test-one-passing meal?” Biffy asked. Breanna just grinned.

  “You’ll see.”

  Chapter 3

  A groan escaped Biffy’s mouth as she woke the following morning. Her stomach ached. Sister Breanna had insisted she eat every last bite of the meal they had been served and she hadn’t dared to say no.

  Rushing to the loo took all her concentration but the relief was immense. Biffy hurled into the toilet bowl.

  “Much better,” she said as the pain went away. Not wanting to see the dinner for a second time, Biffy flushed it away and got to her feet.

  Feeling a little light-headed, Biffy struggled into her habit. It was the one aspect of her life here at the academy she’d not practised for. She already wished she had.

  Ten minutes later the clothing was on, although not perfectly straight.

  She was just trying to pull it a bit neater and loosen the material around her neck when there was a knock on her door.

  “Come in!” she called, wondering who could be there to see her.

  The door opened as a rodent squeaked. A familiar-looking guinea pig darted through the gap and scuttled underneath her bed.

  Hairwig hooted and shifted on her perch.

  “No, you can’t eat it,” Biffy replied as Sister Breanna appeared.

  “Initiate Biffy. You are up. Good. I rather feared I had put your stomach through too much of a challenge yesterday evening.”

  Biffy just smiled. She didn’t have the heart to tell Breanna most of it had ended up flushed into the sewer. With any luck, breakfast would be something far more normal, like porridge. Porridge was nice and plain.

  “You must come at once. Sister Gelina has asked me to show you the next challenge. You may train for this one, but… Oh. I must not say anything. Come, come.”

  Breanna motioned for Biffy to hurry through the door. Thankfully Hairwig seemed to understand what was going on. The owl flew from the suspended branch by the window to Biffy’s shoulder and hooted softly in her ear.

  “Boo, you must come too…”

  Boo didn’t appear.

  “Oh, bull snot. Boo, I will fetch you some more carrot if you come help us. We have an initiate to train.”

  This time there was a small squeak. Biffy tried to keep her face straight as Boo came scurrying back out of her room. Instead of climbing onto Breanna’s outstretched hand, the creature slipped down the stairs, navigating them in a fashion far faster than Biffy would have thought possible.

  Following Breanna, Biffy found herself being led to the courtyard she’d seen the other nuns training in before.

  There were only three nuns there now. The three Marys stood beside a giant wooden contraption. Cogs and pulleys controlled an elaborate set of moving parts, and a donkey stood at one end, strapped to a harness.

  Hairwig let out the faintest of hoots.

  “Not sure I like the look of this one either,” Biffy replied, equally as quietly.

  Breanna stopped beside the donkey, and the three Marys came over.

  “Well done on passing your first test, Initiate,” Mary Beth said, stroking the lizard on her arm. “This will be your second.”

  “It’s an assault course I designed.” Mary Sue grinned. A small pony stood near her, nuzzling its head against her thigh. Biffy tried not to stare. She’d never seen a familiar so large, or a pony so small.

  “And I helped put it together. I’m good at taking resources and making things wonderful.” Mary Barry held an egg in her hand. She was the most portly of the three Marys and the shortest, with a red tint to her cheeks, but she moved far quicker than Biffy would have expected. “Also, Cinnamon said this was for you.”

  Biffy took the egg, raising her eyebrows. Who was Cinnamon, and why did she need an egg?

  It was only then Biffy spotted a chicken sitting on a wooden platform near the donkey. Was this Mary Barry’s familiar?

  “Let us show you how it works,” Mary Sue said, getting up onto the platform, the tallest of the three, and making the pony seem even shorter in comparison.

  Her pony neighed and nudged the donkey. Immediately the donkey started to trot around in a circle, the harness pulling the cog system around.

  The assault course came alive, sharp-looking blades and circular discs now swinging and spinning across gaps and over platforms. Several of the parts of the course that had looked stable now also moved, some faster than others, and some in seemingly unpredictable ways.

  It clattered and swooshed and hummed with movement.

  Before Biffy could even blink, Mary Sue sprang into action. She leapt, slipped, ducked and weaved her way through each section of the course until she stood at the other end, the grin on her face even larger.

  “Wow,” Biffy said, unable to stop herself.

  Mary Sue curtsied, revealing a small slice out of one section of her habit.

  “Looks like you’re a little out of practice, Mary,” Mary Beth said, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she twirled the end of a curled lock of black hair around one finger.

  “I’d like to see you do better,” she replied, but it was obvious the comment was meant good-naturedly. Mary Beth merely laughed.

  “Now it’s your turn,” Breanna said, clapping her hands together in delight.

  Biffy gulped, but she climbed onto the platform, still clutching the egg. The chicken clucked at her and looked pointedly at the fragile object. It didn’t help.

  As she turned to face the first hurdle, a pendulum-like battle axe, Mary Sue moved over to the donkey and took the reins, slowing it down. Immediately the course calmed, becoming almost a fun idea rather than a deadly one.

  “Let’s not kill you on your practice run,” she said. Mary Beth nodded, a frown appearing on her face.

  “Yes, Sister Gelina did mention something about not wanting to have to find another initiate just yet.”

  “Well, that will be up to you now, Biffy. Please begin. Take as long as you need.”

  Biffy gave a slight nod and walked to the edge of the platform. Before she reached the end, Hairwig let out another hoot and took off, leaving Biffy to face the contraption alone.

  Typical, she thought.

  Focusing on the swing of the first pendulum, Biffy, still clutching the egg, watched for a good moment.

  With a sudden burst of speed, she darted to the left of it as it swung to the right. Her feet landed awkwardly on the next wooden platform as it tilted down on her side.

  The egg flew from her hand as she overbalanced and came off sideways, landing on the courtyard grass. There was a sickening crunch, and pain flared down the side of her body.

  It was only as she tried to get up that she realised the breaking noise had been the egg. Its runny insides were now smeared into the fabric of her habit.

  “Oops,” she said, the pain already fading.

  Cinnamon clucked indignantly several times before suddenly getting up. Mary Barry reached over and pulled another egg out from underneath.

  “Again,” she said, holding it out to Biffy.”

  “Err, right,” Biffy replied, once more taking the delicate object. This time she held it in closer to herself, almost cradling it against her body.

  Once more she studied the swing of the battle axe, trying to judge the best time to dart past, but she also kept glancing at the next platform, desperate to see if any pattern could be found in its movements.

  If
there was one, she couldn’t detect it.

  Biffy knew she couldn’t stand there forever. Not when the three Marys were all watching.

  This time, as the axe went left she went right. The sound of it swishing back the other way let her know how close she’d cut it, but this time her feet landed well on the other side.

  She wobbled as she tried to slow her momentum, but didn’t quite achieve it. The rotating wooden poles in front of her swung around to meet her side and sent her flying off the course once more.

  Another splattering sound and the feel of something oily, wet and sticky covering her hand made it obvious the second egg was whole no more.

  Already needing to watch her clothes, she wiped the mess off her fingers with the hem of the habit, noticing grass stains down one side. No wonder the nuns were getting through habits. She’d not had this one twenty-four hours yet and she already doubted it would ever be the same again.

  “Once more, and then we’ll take a break,” Mary Barry said as her chicken did its strange unimpressed little dance.

  She was handed a third egg, and for a second Biffy just didn’t know what to do with it. She needed both hands to balance and move with her body. The egg was just getting in the way and making the task harder.

  But habits didn’t have pockets. After trying and failing to tuck it up her sleeve, Biffy resigned herself to holding it in one hand again.

  For the third time she stood on the first platform, waiting for the right moment to make her first move.

  A thrill of satisfaction rippled through her when she made it to the next platform and planted both feet firmly on the moving plank of wood.

  Now she was on it, feeling its motion through her feet, she could detect the pattern, three different elements working at different speeds to pull the corners in all sorts of directions.

  Biffy lingered, closing her eyes and letting her body get used to the movement until her muscles tensed, relaxed, and stretched in all the right ways to keep her torso steady.

  The next hurdle to work around was a set of four rotating poles, two on either side of a narrow beam. Each pole had several different lengths of wood stuck out from them, the ends flying over the narrow path forward.