Syxe was so much fun to write, especially as she had no idea she was a reaper (even if she could see ghosts!) I loved getting to explore Scythe Grove Academy alongside her and getting to know Mathias, Juliet, and Tobias. The series is complete and you can read on for an excerpt!
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Copyright 2021 Laura Greenwood
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"Syxe Weston?" a guy asks as he walks towards me.
Ah. It seems the headmistress has sent someone to find me. I appreciate that, it saves me a task.
"Yes?"
"I'm Mathias, Headmistress Shaw has asked me to meet you and bring you to her office."
"Hi." I resist the urge to wave at him.
"Hey," he responds, a genuine smile spreading over his face.
He's handsome. Probably my age, though perhaps a year older.
"Are you a student here?" I ask as the two of us start walking.
"Yes. I started at the beginning of the year."
"Do you like it here?" I'm not sure what the point in asking is. It's not like he'll tell me the truth when he's on the way to take me to the headmistress.
He shrugs. "It's been good so far. But if I want to stand a chance of having a career in the Reaper Guard, this is where I need to be."
Hmm. Okay, so he is going to tell me the truth.
"Are you thinking about transferring from one of the other academies? Is this why you're interviewing with the headmistress?"
"Oh, erm, I'm not here for an interview," I mumble.
He pushes on a door and holds it open for me.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," he responds, following me through. "So what are you here for if it's not an interview?"
"I don't actually know," I admit. "I was just asked to come here so that's what I did."
"That's brave."
"Is the headmistress that bad?" Worry worms its way into my gut.
"Oh no, she's fine. She wants what's best for the students and will do anything she can to make that possible. She won't ask you to do anything that puts you in danger."
"That's good."
"I guess you're about to find out, though. We're here." He gestures to an office door with Headmistress Shaw written on a tidy plaque.
"What do I do now?" I ask.
"You could knock," he suggests. "That's normally a good way to announce yourself."
I snort in amusement without meaning to, covering my mouth with my hand in mild embarrassment. "Sorry," I mutter.
"Don't be. You have nothing to apologise for."
"Thank you for bringing me here."
"I'm just doing my job," Mathias points out.
I take a deep breath and turn to face the door. I rap on it a couple of times, hoping it'll be enough to get the attention of the headmistress inside.
The door swings open almost instantly, revealing a middle-aged woman in a well-fitted suit and her hair swept up into a neat bun.
"Ah, you must be Miss Weston, please come in." She gestures for me to come inside before turning to Mathias. "Mr Carey, if you wouldn't mind waiting until we're done."
"Of course." He takes a seat on one of the chairs lining the hallway and pulls out his phone to keep himself occupied.
I swallow my nerves, almost wishing the boy I barely know was coming inside with me rather than sitting in the hall and waiting for my fate to be decided. But I've got this far on my own. I know I can deal with whatever I'm going to discover inside the room too.
A large desk fills most of the space with comfortable looking chairs on either of it. I make my way to the one closest to me and drop my bag to the side. I'm woefully aware of how few belongings I have now. I didn't have to leave anything behind, but also didn't raise any suspicions by carrying it around. In a lot of ways, that's sad.
I push the thought out of my mind. It's not what I'm here to deal with. I need to focus on discovering what the headmistress wants from me and nothing else.
She closes the door and comes to join me, sitting on the other side of the desk. Even the way she's sitting implies that she's trying to appear open and trustworthy. I can appreciate it, but it doesn't mean I'm automatically ready to believe everything she says.
"I'm glad you found us okay, Miss Weston," she says.
"You can call me Syxe." It feels weird to be addressed as formally as this.
"Very well, Syxe. I'm Headmistress Shaw."
"It's nice to meet you." I think. I'm yet to be completely certain about that.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions..."
That's the understatement of the year, but I don't say that.
"Two of my older students told me what happened at the house with Agatha," she says.
"Is Agatha okay?"
The headmistress nods. "She's been ported."
"I'm sorry, I don't know what that means." My cheeks flame red. How can I be so clueless about all of this?
"Ah, I'm sorry. I should have started from the beginning. We believe you're a reaper."
"I can't be."
She raises an eyebrow. "Can't you?"
"I...I don't really know," I admit. "I know nothing about my parents."
"I assumed as much when I saw what your address was."
Wait, what about my address? The Association isn't an orphanage, though now I think about that, it's a potential red flag. Why do I live somewhere that doesn't have an official capacity without parents? Have they been lying to me my entire life about who I belong to?
"But you are a reaper, Syxe. You were able to see and talk to a ghost. That's not something humans can do."
"Maybe I just have some reaper blood in me from a grandparent or something."
She shakes her head. "If you didn't have the powers of a full reaper, you wouldn't have been able to find the academy."
"Oh." I lean back in my chair, understanding dawning on me. "That's why the instructions were so cryptic."
"Yes. It was a test to see if you could enter the reaper way."
"I'm a reaper," I whisper. I've been wondering about the possibility ever since Agatha mentioned it, but I haven't dared to hope it could be true. I don't even know what it means to be true.
"Yes. You are."
I bite my bottom lip. "What do I do with that information?"
"That's up to you," the headmistress says.
Scythe Grove Academy
Urban Fantasy Academy, Complete Series
Scythe Grove Academy is an urban fantasy series following Reaper/Seer, Syxe as she learns about her powers for the first time. Part of the Obscure World.
Series Overview:
Heat Level: Low - Relationship Type: m/f - Build: Slow - Point of View Character: Single first person POV, same throughout the books - Cliffhangers: Yes (complete series) - Tense: Present
