CHAPTER
1
That bitch.
She had been aiming at me this whole time; eliminating me was clearly her only goal. Well, I wasn’t about to let her win.
She shot me on my left foot, orange paint clinging to it. How invested were we in this again? Was I supposed to jump around on one foot and pretend that I was injured?
Screw her.
I kept to the shadows, the corners of the ruins that were part of the playing field. This was another evaluation, another test to see which candidates would make it to the next round, to see who would be able to survive and become amage-killer.
Why would I want that? Because it was my ticket to actually become something in this godsforsaken village of Crowrun. Each year, the military held competitions and pretend-wars in order to find new recruits. Versatile, stubborn and strong—all attributes needed to shape us intotheir weapons, into the soldiers who make a stand against the magic-wielders who threaten our land.
If you weren’t cut out to be a mage-killer, all that was left was being a farmer, doctor, map-maker or regular foot soldier which was the path I had started off as—who were only used as cannon fodder or to carry out simple tasks, not quite worthless but not far off; only worth something because they were the ones keeping the important people alive.
Mage-killers were treated like royalty. They were the only ones who stood a chance against the magic-wielders, the only ones who were able to protect the defenseless. Those with magic abilities were killed on the spot, sentenced to death as soon as they were revealed.
Using magic exposed them to the other side, to thedemons… Magic-wielders were able to connect with them somehow, making it possible for demons to cross over into our world.
A shot went off, pulling me back to reality as I gritted my teeth. She was getting closer, stupid Eve Miller… I peeked around the corner, seeing her almost skitter forward, her brown hair dancing with every step.
She was obnoxious and popular with everyone just from simply breathing the same air as them. Eve found joy in pretending to be the damsel in distress, when really, she was probably able to hurt her foes way worse than her protectors.
Slowly, I pulled my gun and lined up my shot; she was getting closer, and I planned on ending this, once and for all. She stopped in the middle of the empty space, listening, like a deer frozen in the forest, sensing the presence of a hunter close by. But it was too late, I aimedright at her chest and shot three times, spraying her with purple paint.
“That’s not fair!” she pouted, bringing up her gun and firing right back at me, hitting my shoulder.
“You’re already out, this doesn’t count,” I hissed, trying in vain to brush off the paint.
“Well, who’s going to believe you anyway…?”A smug smile appeared on her lips.
“Oh, I’ll make them believe me, once I break one of your arms,” I stepped out from my shelter and she stumbled backwards.
“Freak,” she spat, before turning around and dashing away.
It was fair to say that these games put everyone on edge if we missed this chance, we would be forced to wait a whole year for another and age was a time limit after all.
I glared at the orange paint on my right arm, my dominant arm. Like she said, who was going to believe me? To avoid unnecessary questions, I shifted the gun over to my left hand. Maybe I would miss my targets, but at least I had a chance at continuing.
Jolting at the sound of footsteps closing in, from the same direction that she had disappeared towards. I slid into the shadows again, keeping against the ruin walls, trying to become one with the darkness. I heard shouting and guns going off as other contenders cursed each other and kept running. The air stilled, silent except for the wind singing along its path. Carefully, I glanced out; it was cloudy, and the sun was heavily obscured making it hard to tell the time.
I had a gnawing feeling, like someone was watching me, but there was not a sound to be heard, no breathing or footsteps. Taking a deep breath before I continued alongthe walls, I climbed some of the stone piles, trying to get to a higher point and give myself a better view of the field.
Suddenly, loud footsteps sounded—someone was coming at full sprint behind me. I swung around, meeting eyes with a man who seemed to have not even noticed me.
Right as I grabbed my gun and pointed it at him, his eyes caught mine and widened at the sound of my weapon going off.
Got him.
“Shit.” He gritted his teeth, annoyed, his eyes narrowing on me like he wanted to beat me to death.
“Walk away, loser.” I flashed him a daring smile and he flinched for a quick moment.
But he remained still… I arched an eyebrow at him confused, at the smirk creeping slowly forward, as his features darkened. “Over here guys!”
My pulse raced, he was luring whoever chased him towards me, as revenge. I wasted no time and leapt over the rubble, landing sloppily, before I continued my dash.
