Fear started to gnaw at my gut. Maybe I didn’t want to be a selfless Fallen Army warrior, saving the innocent from the demons. Maybe I just wanted to be a civilian and go about my life, waiver-free.

“We’ve so got this. We’ve been training, and Brielle is an amazing leader,” Chloe said. She always seemed to be able to find something positive to say.

“Totally,” Shea agreed. “And I heard everyone in the army gets a monthly stipend, even if you’re finishing school.”

Luke chuckled. “Good to know where your motivation lies.”

Shea shrugged. “I’m not ashamed of my love for the green.”

I stayed silent, though in my head, I was mapping out the next three years of my life and beyond. If I didn’t take the opportunity, this ‘job interview,’ what would I do with my life? Who was going to hire a Celestial with black wings? The demons would probably successfully kidnap me, and I’d be killed.

Taking a deep breath, I called to Sera, who was in my boot holster.

‘You with me?’ I asked her.

Her reply was quick and firm. ‘We got this,’ she told me with a fierceness I wished I possessed.

Time to pump up my team.

“Let’s do this. The gauntlet is our bitch tonight.” I put my hand forward with a wicked grin, and Chloe placed hers on mine. Shea and Luke were next. “Worst-case, we bartend at Chloe’s dad’s club for the rest of our lives,” I continued.

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Honey, worst-case is we all become demon food tonight.”

I blanched. “Fallen Academy on three. One. Two. Three.”

“Fallen Academy!” we all shouted.

Everyone stared at us like we were idiots.

Screw them. I have a solid team with good camaraderie. Bring it.

“Brielle Atwater and team!” Lincoln shouted from his place on the far wall. He was holding a clipboard, and looking menacing with his sword on one hip, and a sleek black gun on the other.

We walked over to him slowly. There was one other group standing with him, and my stomach sank to see it was Tiffany’s. When we reached his area, he nodded to all of us. “I’m Lieutenant Lincoln Grey, and I’ll be in charge of your gauntlet training tests. It’s my job to make sure no one gets hurt, but it’s your job to pass the test.”

Tiffany stood taller, pride blazing in her eyes, as if she wasn’t scared shitless inside. Maybe she wasn’t.

Lincoln kept stealing glances at me, but his expression remained hard. “You each have a team of four, and you’ll each have to battle four lower-level demons to pass the test,” he continued.

The other group’s members’ eyes widened, Tiffany included, and Lincoln nodded.

“That’s right. We’re going outside Angel City, into the war zone, where demons we’ve been capturing all week have been set up in abandoned houses and buildings. We don’t tell the students ahead of time because that makes it less likely for the demons to ambush the training exercise. Once you sign your waiver, you’ll be magically barred from speaking about the details of the gauntlet ever again. You won’t be able to warn future students who come along, or sell secrets to Demon City. If you agree with all of this, then sign here, in blood. I’ll explain the specifics once we’re all on the bus.”

What is it with these people and their blood?

He handed waivers out to each of us. When he got to me, our hands brushed, and my eyes locked with his. His face held so much worry. I tried to tell him with my own expression that I was going to be fine, but I wasn’t sure whether or not I pulled it off.

My waiver had my name printed on it. As I started reading and scanned the words ‘possible death may result,’ I just pricked my finger on the tiny needle taped to the signing pad, pressed it to the paper, and shoved the form back at him.

Once he had all the forms, he handed them to a squat redheaded woman who saluted him, and then he faced us again. “Get on bus number four. I’ll meet you there to explain the rules,” he told both groups.

“Bus loading this way!” a large older Fallen Army soldier called from the back of the tent.

We started to move in that direction when Lincoln caught my arm, holding me back. “My magical gag has been lifted for a few hours. I just wanted to tell you that there are soldiers all along the perimeter of the buildings. You say the word, and they’ll barge in and end the training. Don’t be a hero.”

I frowned. “You don’t think I can do it?”

That hurt. Bad.

His face fell. “No, that’s not it at all. I think that since I met you, demons have had it out for you. I think there’s a very real chance that the demons in your training will know who you are and… I don’t know, maybe I’m just being paranoid. Just be safe, okay? Joining the Fallen Army is the best thing for you, but if you feel you’re in grave danger in there, you pull the plug, all right?” He reached for my face but thought better of it. We were in a roomful of his colleagues, after all.

By pull the plug, he meant fail. There was no way that was happening.

Crossing my arms, I looked him up and down with my cockiest glare. “I’m going to pass the shit out of this test.”

A slow grin crossed his face. “That’s my girl.” He winked.

Three winks. I was collecting them and committing them to memory.

We walked quickly to an all-black short bus marked with the number four. There were over two-dozen buses from the looks of it.

As I stepped on with Lincoln, I saw there were about eight Fallen Army soldiers sitting in the back. I recognized Chloe’s brother, Donnie, as one of them. I knew he was in Lincoln’s brigade. They both probably requested our team. One quick glance at Luke told me he was totally freaking out to be on the same bus as him.

After I took a seat next to Shea, the bus took off.

This is happening.

I’d never been outside Angel City or Demon City. The war zones were crazy, from what I knew. People were killed there daily, food was in short supply, and demons were constantly wreaking havoc on the innocents. Rape, murder, and God knew what else happened on the regular out there. Growing up in Demon City, we saw the somewhat civilized side of the demons. They didn’t attack their own kind or in their own territory, so all of this was going to be new to me.

Once Lincoln finished talking to the bus driver he stood, staring down on all of us. “All right, will the two team leaders raise your hands,” he bellowed.

Nervously, I extended my arm into the air and looked to see the other team had of course selected Tiffany. Her Light Mage insignia was glittering on her uniform.

Bitch.

I prayed Shea could brew up a diarrhea potion that would make her ass explode.

Lincoln nodded to someone in the back, and a young brunette in her early twenties stood, walking over to the blonde Light Mage. I recognized her from the beach, but I didn’t know her name.

“The leaders will be fitted with a magical device. If at any time they deem the training has become too dangerous, they can press the button and my team will burst in and save the day. At that time, your entire team will fail the gauntlet, so only press it if someone’s in mortal danger.”

We all shared nervous looks. I could see now that Lincoln had a matching device on his wrist.

He held onto the rail at the top of the bus as it turned and headed out of the city. “Everything we do in the Fallen Army, we do as a unit. A team. If you can’t work as a team, you have no place in this army.” His eyes fell on Tiffany.

Ha. Take that.

“There are eight lower-level demons loose in an abandoned industrial building, four for each team. It’ll take all of the skillsets you’ve learned here at the Academy, and all of your teamwork, to kill them.”

I glanced over and saw Tiffany blanche. She’d probably never killed a demon. None of them had. Not that I had any demon kills on my record, but I’d nearly killed Shea’s boss, and we’d fought those demons in the gym, so we were more prepared than most.

“Once you’ve killed all four, you may exit the building, and join us. We’ll send anyone who’s injured to the healing tent, and then we’ll all celebrate,” Lincoln explained.

Tiffany grinned, high-fiving her sheeple like she’d already won.

The bus had reached the edge of the city already, the ominous concrete walls rising up like sentinels in the night.

“A final word of warning. Passing the gauntlet is not worth a life. If at any time you feel anyone on your team is in mortal danger, you push that button. I will have no lives lost on my shift. Do you understand?” His eyes bored into each one of us, lingering on me the longest.

We all nodded nervously.

“The correct response is ‘sir, yes, sir,’” Lincoln informed us smugly.

Oh hell no. I was not going to have to start taking orders from him, and calling him ‘sir,’ was I?

Everyone else shouted, “Sir, yes, sir,” but I mumbled it. I had major problems with authority, which probably wouldn’t serve me well in the army. I’d definitely have to work on that.

We were passing through what used to be Burbank, California. I tried not to gape at the sight of the blown-out houses, scorch marks up the walls, abandoned cars, and half-burned lawns. A few soldiers patrolled the street with a spotlight, but otherwise it was deserted. Off in the distance, a massive explosion rang out, causing all of us to jump.

Lincoln nodded. “Demons love blowing shit up. You’ll learn that. This area of the city is pretty deserted, so it’s considered somewhat safe, but ten miles out it’s still an active war zone.”

“People live out here?” I asked, horrified and suddenly super grateful for my cushy life at the academy.

He nodded, looking out into the wasteland of burned homes. “Most couldn’t afford to leave. Then Angel City erected the wall and started filling up. By the time they decided to join us, the demons had taken hold.”

Oh God. Are they trapped out there? I felt sick just thinking about it.

The bus pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned industrial building, the number four spray-painted on the side. It rose up four stories high, some windows were blown out and the roof looked ready to cave in.

“This is us. An old sewing factory. A big staircase splits the building in two. Tiffany’s team will take the left, and Brielle’s team will take the right. The demons were released in there about an hour ago, and are magically bound from exiting any of the doors or windows, so they’re going to be pretty pissed,” Lincoln stated.

Great.

The bus doors opened then, and Lincoln started to walk out.

I stood, looking down at my team. “Double-check your weapons, and make sure your suits are fully zipped up. We’re bound to encounter another Snakeroot demon.” They nodded, making sure their skin wasn’t exposed where it didn’t need to be.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Let’s go. Don’t screw up,” she barked at her lackeys.