Demons: Angel Academy, #3

By Jamie Campbell

The Devil is on his way.

 

The Angel Academy of Excellence is at war with the demons. They have taken over the campus and are prepared to kill off every single angel they find. The school is in lockdown, there is no way to run. That only leaves one option—fight.

 

Posie is desperate to protect her school and the future she never expected to have. As she prepares for battle, there is only one thing she knows for sure: her heart belongs to the guardian and they will fight side by side, no matter what happens.

 

When the true battle begins, it's angels against demons. Even the devil will arrive with an onslaught of new creatures to boost his army. The angels will need a miracle—or super power—to win this time.

 

Find out the Angel Academy's fate in the gripping final book in the series. Hold on and say a little prayer, they're going to need it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jamie Campbell
• Release date: Nov 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201030094

Jamie Campbell

Jamie was born into a big, crazy family of 6 children. Being the youngest, she always got away with anything and would never shut up. Constantly letting her imagination run wild, her teachers were often frustrated when her 'What I did on the weekend' stories contained bunyips and princesses.Growing up, Jamie did the sensible things and obtained a Bachelor of Business degree from Southern Cross University and worked hard to gain her membership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.Yet nothing compared to writing. Quiting the rat race to spend quality time with her laptop named Lily, Jamie has written several novels and screenplays. Spanning a number of genres and mediums, Jamie writes whatever inspires her from ghost stories to teenage love stories to tantalising murder mysteries. Nothing is off limits.A self-confessed television addict, dog lover, Taylor Swift fan, and ghost hunter, Jamie loves nothing more than the thrill of sharing her stories.

Book preview

Demons

JAMIE CAMPBELL

Chapter 1

How can I tell if the academy’s principal is insane or telling me the truth? I have no idea. She is handcuffed before me and swears her story is true.

So let me get this straight, I begin, The devil sent demons to our school disguised as soldiers from the Angel Army?

Yes. And we have to stop them before they destroy everyone and everything, Guardian Tremain says with urgency. We need to get out of here. Help me with these cuffs so we can leave.

She holds her bound wrists up to me. I don’t have a key for the cuffs, nor anything to actually cut through them. If we’re going, she’s leaving with them still attached.

Jesse stops pacing next to me and looks at her square in the eyes. Are you sure?

Yes, I’m sure! she screeches. I demand you help me get out of these restraints before a demon pokes his head in here and asks what all the commotion is about.

It’s difficult staying neutral. Since I arrived at the Angel Academy of Excellence, I’ve learned to respect and fear Guardian Tremain. Everything in me screams to do as she tells me. But there is another part of me that has developed lately—the need to question absolutely everything.

I ignore her plea for now. I’ve searched this entire campus and there is nobody left here. You and Jesse are the only angels I’ve seen for ages. Besides the soldiers, anyway.

Tremain levels me with a steely glare. You don’t know where to look for them.

I’ve been on both sides of the campus. And in the main building, I point out. That is everywhere. Unless they are invisible, they are not here.

Have you been to the emergency evacuation center?

The one underneath the cafeteria? It collapsed ages ago. There’s no way anyone could evacuate there.

That’s not the one I was talking about, Tremain says with irritation. We’re wasting time. Help me out of here now. Or there will be consequences, Miss Maxwell. I haven’t forgotten about your first strike.

I glance at Jesse just as he looks at me. We have a conversation entirely with our facial expressions. Neither of us know whether we can trust her. We trust one another and that’s all we know right now.

Miss Maxwell! Tremain hisses.

I pray I’m about to do the right thing. Stepping closer, I kneel down. We should be able to get your feet free. We can deal with your hands later. We might get lucky and find some bolt cutters or something.

Jesse helps me with her shackles. They are fairly loose and rusted. If we apply enough pressure, I think we can lever them open. Or at least free them from the floor. Tremain might have to run with them still attached to her ankles.

Look for a tool, I instruct. We are in the janitor’s barn. Surely there must be some kind of device in here we can use.

Jesse starts rifling through the cupboards while I work on the opposite side of the room. Most of the things in here are for yard work. I find a hoe and shovel, both appear to be pretty sturdy.

What about these? I hold them up for Jesse to see. He’s found a chisel which he also shows me. One of these might work.

We can give it a try, Jesse replies.

He takes the shovel and holds it high to bash it upon the metal shackles. Stop! I cry at the last minute. It’s going to be really noisy.

He nods and takes the hoe. We both kneel down and try to use it as a lever. If we find the right angle, it might just work.

It takes us a few times but we find purchase and apply pressure to the weakest point in the shackles—the chain. It breaks with a satisfying snap.

Finally, Tremain sighs. She still has iron around her ankles but she will be able to walk with them attached. We will deal with them again later.

When we’re free.

The only way out of the barn is the same way we came in—through the window. Jesse helps us both out before climbing through himself.

Snow falls around us outside. The cold wind hits me like I’ve been slapped with an ice block. I pull my coat tighter and wish it was thicker. If I survive this ordeal, I’ll make sure to buy one.

The same soldier is still standing guard outside the barn. He stares across the grounds and doesn’t move. Hopefully, that means he won’t see us as we dash across the side of the open area.

I’ll go first, Jesse says. Wait to see if I make it. If so, then follow as quickly as you can.

We nod our heads and wait. My heart lurches as he runs through the snow to the back of the girls’ dormitories. He doesn’t look around before he lunges for the side of the building.

The guard didn’t see him.

We go together, I decide. Guardian Tremain doesn’t argue so we countdown to one and charge across the ground.

My heart pounds at a million miles an hour before we’re reunited with Jesse. We press ourselves against the wall and do all we can to merge into the background. It feels like we are so exposed here. Just one glance from a roving soldier’s eye and it will be all over.

Where is the evacuation center? I ask.

Follow me, Tremain answers and stalks off down the path.

We stay behind her in a single file. I hope we are right to trust her.

It’s difficult seeing the soldiers in the distance and thinking of them as demons in disguise. They’ve been on our campus for weeks. How were they able to hide in plain sight for so long?

I’ve always been told the devil is a tricky fiend. To dance with the devil is to dance with your eyes closed. Now I can see what they meant by that. The devil is very real and he will do whatever it takes to win.

The soldiers look so much like regular people. There is not one feature about them that would give away their true nature. What kind of magic does the devil have if he can change the appearance of creatures?

We make our way around the reaper side of the academy. I know this way very well now. Luca may have shown me some shortcuts but Guardian Tremain knows a lot more. We weave and duck and dodge until we reach the main building.

The door is locked, I say from experience. A window is broken at the front that we can use. I’m not going to admit that I was half responsible for breaking it. That might be the second strike in her book.

Tremain gestures for me to lead and I take them around the side of the stone building. The window is exactly how I left it—broken with the curtains billowing in the wind. We climb through.

Where to now? Jesse asks.

My office, Tremain replies. She charges off without a backward glance. We have to hurry to keep up with her. I wish she would slow down and be a bit more cautious. The soldiers are roaming everywhere, we could run straight into them in here.

We follow her closely. Every second that passes makes me more anxious about being caught. She might feel comfortable here, but I certainly don’t.

She barges into her office without even peeking inside first. Thankfully, it’s empty. She proceeds to walk directly toward one of the bookcases and tugs on a gold trophy on the top shelf.

The bookcase starts moving to the side.

I feel like I’m in a spy movie.

Behind the fake shelves is a set of stairs. Cold air rushes out from somewhere below. The entrance has a shimmery, iridescent look to it. There’s nothing actually there but it looks like we’re peering through a waterfall of transparent colors.

Tremain doesn’t hesitate in walking straight through the shimmer and down the stairs beyond. We hurry after her. When I step through the colors, it’s like I’m frozen for a few seconds. Everything stops while my skin breaks out in goosebumps.

Just as quickly as I started to feel it, the coldness wears off and I continue through to the stairs. I have no idea what that shimmer is but I’m not too keen on stepping through it again.

Wall lights illuminate as we head down the flight of stairs. We are surrounded by gray bricks on all sides. If I was claustrophobic I wouldn’t be too happy right now. Luckily, I actually don’t mind tight spaces.

We step down for a very long time. When I look up, I can no longer see the entrance. When I look down, there are just more stairs. Where on earth does this place lead to?

Down.

Down.

Down some more.

Finally, we reach the bottom. A door blocks us from going any further. Guardian Tremain inserts her index finger into a reader. All the lights turn from red to green.

Here goes nothing, she whispers underneath her breath.

The door opens.

Chapter 2

The artificial lighting in the room beyond the staircase is bright and unforgiven. We all have a sickly yellow glow to our faces as we move through the corridor.

Tremain leads us past a few closed doors before we turn a corner. At least she seems to know where we’re going. I guess as the academy’s principal, she would have to know every inch of her school.

What is this place? I ask. I can’t keep walking in silence. The suspense is killing me.

It’s insurance, she replies curtly.

I don’t follow, I reply, just as confused as to when I first asked the question.

She sighs. This is a secure bunker. A hidey-hole, you could call it.

So that means Angel Academy has not one, but two, bunkers on the property. I wonder why a place of academia needs shelters, but then I remember the demons and no longer have to ask. In the short time that I’ve attended the school, I’ve survived three demon attacks.

We probably need more bunkers.

Is this one for the guardians? I ask. The other bunker was underneath the reapers’ cafeteria—which is now just a destroyed mess.

It is for all students, Tremain replies. This one is only known by the faculty. It is therefore more secure than the others.

Others? Jesse asks.

We have three bunkers on campus. She almost sounds proud of that fact. I insisted on them being built upon my commencement at Angel Academy. The board thought they were unnecessary. I thought differently.

I guess you were right, Jesse says.

Tremain arches an eyebrow but doesn’t respond. We walk again in silence. It feels like this corridor is miles long.