FORBIDDEN (4 page)

It was pandemonium. Humans were running all over the place, screaming and causing a general ruckus. They were making it harder to get our job done, and giving me a headache. With the mess the Fallen were making, it went from Ethan and I having to protect our Calls, to us having to take care of the entire airport.

I flung a cat box through the air, and it connected with the disgusting leader of the group once more. Kitty litter flew all over the place again. Thankfully I had enough sense to close my eyes at the last second. The demon didn’t. It roared and tried to side swipe me as I ran past.

It missed me by a millimeter. Ethan ran past on the other side and wrapped its legs in a retractable iPhone charger he’d grabbed from the store. The guy could be pretty resourceful when need be. He slammed his fist into the Fallen’s chest. A crack opened up in the tile flooring and swallowed it whole.

One down, two to go.

At the disappearance of their obvious leader, the two smaller Fallen bellowed an earth-shaking roar at the same time. The walls shook, and pictures fell to the ground. Shattered glass sprayed all over. People cowered behind chairs, ran for exits, and a couple were dumb enough to bring out their camera phones and try to tape the scene playing out.

The next Fallen in line took two steps forward, grinning at me. “We’ve come for your Call, Guard. Give her to us and we’ll leave quietly.”

I laughed. “Is that even possible?”

The demon let out a shriek that could probably be heard in Times Square. I shook my head sarcastically. “Yeah, I didn’t think you had it in you to go quietly.”

Ethan was busy trying to contain the mess that the third Fallen was creating. I didn’t have time to focus on him too much, but from my peripheral vision, the Fallen had started chucking the TVs that showed the departures and arrivals at Ethan. I saw him blast one out of the way at the last second. Electronic parts exploded and rained down all around them.

My Fallen decided it wanted to climb on the walls. It exploded into the air, then began crawling toward me from the ceiling. Its hands dug into the ceiling like it was butter. There was no way I wanted that thing getting its arms around me.

I had to get the Fallen away from here, fast. The only thing was, it was a pretty solid guess that the Fallen wouldn’t walk quietly through the door. With all the carnage the other one was creating, it probably wasn’t a huge deal to create a hole in the ceiling, right?

Right before I prepared to jump, I remembered to take off the hoodie I’d just purchased. With it intact on the ground, I grinned up at the Fallen. “Wanna go for a ride?”

My muscles tensed, contracting for the burst to come. I pushed off the ground, cracking the tiles on the floor. Black wings erupted from my back and created a whirlwind, knocking the few humans that remained standing to the floor. I hoped no more Fallen showed up while I was taking care of this one.

I wrapped my arms around the shocked Fallen. We crashed through the ceiling, showering everyone below in a mess of dust and debris, then took our fight into the dark, starless sky. It writhed and clawed and bit at me. I could feel it tearing into my skin, but I would heal.

When it tried to crawl on my back, I put it in a headlock. It beat its wings furiously, which knocked us off our course. We tumbled sideways as I struggled to regain control. I snapped its neck and the Fallen went limp.

That gave me the chance to catch my breath, but right as I’d finally got us over the East Atlantic, the Fallen came back to life. Damned things. No really, they’re damned. I’m not cursing, this time at least.

“If I go down, I’m taking you with me,” the Fallen hissed.

“Now that’s where you’re wrong.”

We both stopped brawling long enough to see Ethan streaking through the sky toward us. He grabbed the Fallen’s right wing and wrenched it back. I heard it snap, and the demon shrieked. “You will pay for that!”

Ethan laughed. “Whatever, dude. I live in a little town. That’s payment enough.”

Together we hurtled toward the ground. Ethan called out above the air whooshing around us. “High and Mighty, open the earth so we can send this creature back where it belongs!”

A massive crater opened up, revealing a dark cavern that reeked of death. The heat emanating from it was almost unbearable.

“Ready?” Ethan called.

I yelled above the tornado-like sound rushing in my ears. “Ready!”

The demon thrashed its one good wing. “You won’t win this fight!”

We pulled out of our dive in just enough time to veer away from the gaping hole as it closed in on the creature. The mouth closed, sealing the Fallen’s arm above the surface and cutting it off. Within a split second, the writhing arm became dust and blew away in the wind.

Ethan grinned like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Is it bad if I had a blast back there?”

I shrugged. “It just proves you’re mental.”

He laughed and shook his wings out as we headed back to JFK. “I got rid of the other Fallen pretty quick and stayed behind to make sure Hannah and Angie were okay. I’d have come sooner, but figured I’d give you a chance to get rid of a Fallen on your own. You know, earn your wings and all that metaphorical crap,” he winked at me when I rolled my eyes. “The girls ended up catching a bus instead of flying. Go figure. The teacher was spooked.”

“I think everyone within a twenty mile radius was spooked.”

“They’re actually getting close to Buffalo. Took longer to get rid of your Fallen than I’d figured, plus that driver is booking it. Wanna go catch up?”

“One more thing to do first. Gotta get my hoodie.”

Ethan sighed. “You’re not seriously going to search through the rubble to find that thing, are you?”

“I like that hoodie. It has a neck rest in it.”

“I can put you in a neck rest if you want,” Ethan said sarcastically.

Fire trucks were everywhere when we got back to JFK. Multiple TV stations had put up shop around the barricade that police created, which added to the confusion. Police lights flickered, and firemen were dousing areas that still smoldered with huge streams of water. There was no telling what kind of stories people would be hearing tonight. Pulling our wings back in, we landed through the gaping hole I’d created not long ago.

The fire alarms blared as the sprinkler system showered us. The emergency lights flashed and cast an eerie glow across what was left of the terminal. I kicked a huge chunk of cement to the side and uncovered my hoodie.

“Got it.”

Ethan cleared his throat. “Uh, Levi, you might wanna see this.”

I walked over to him while I dusted the debris off my hoodie and slipped it over my head. “What’s up?”

Ethan lifted the blue zip up sweater that Hannah had been wearing. “This is hers, isn’t it?”

A cold panic filled me unlike anything since I had died over one hundred years ago. Was she okay? I thought Ethan said they were on their way back to Ohio? Ethan stared at my trembling hands as I took the sweater from him. His eyes finally met mine, suspicion evident. “Dude, you’re getting too attached to her.”

“No I’m not.”

“Then why are you freaking?”

I lashed out at him in anger. It was mainly because I knew he could tell I was getting attached, and I didn’t want to admit it. “Because I don’t want to end up back at square one, that’s why! Do you want to go back?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Well then don’t you think you’d be tweaking a little if I’d found Angie’s sweater?”

His face blanched. “You’re right. My bad. I was trying to prove a point. Hannah’s safe, I told you that. That doesn’t change the fact that you’re getting too attached.”

We stood in silence as I stared at her sweater. I hadn’t felt anything for so long – heat, cold, emotion. Nothing registered. Not until now. Why was this Call so different?

I wished I could go back to being numb.

SIX

“Hey, if you need anything, you know I’m good for it,” Ethan said as he stood, muscles quivering in his back. He was swaying in the branch next to me outside of Hannah’s house. The way he was standing, he looked like an overgrown bird of prey. Not necessarily the greatest thing for a girl to be able to look out her window and see at eleven at night.

“Bro, get in the shadows. You’re just hanging it all out there for everyone to see.”

Ethan grinned at me. “Maybe everyone wants to see it.”

I rolled my eyes and continued to watch Hannah’s home. Geeze, I felt like such a creeper. Before the Rome trip, this was just the necessary thing to do. Now, after meeting Hannah, it felt weirder, like I should announce my presence. Obviously that wasn’t part of the job description, so creeper it was.

“Anyway,” Ethan said, making me jump, “I’m leaving. Owen called a meeting with me.”

I couldn’t help it, my eyebrows raised on their own. “What’s he want with you?”

“You cut me deep, Levi. You cut me deep. Maybe I’m getting a promotion.”

There was nothing to say to that. Another unusual stab of feeling hit me. This felt like jealousy. I think. “Whatever dude. Good luck.”

Ethan sighed. “You know I’m not going anywhere. None of us are ever going anywhere. We’re just a cruel joke to them.”

With that, he launched himself off the branch. Leaves flew in all directions as he rocketed through the tree.

Silence swallowed me whole. It was just me, the tree, and Hannah’s sweater. Hannah was inside, taking a shower by the sound of it. I closed my eyes and leaned back into the trunk of the tree. Hannah’s scent floated like leaves around me. That sickening vanilla she always wore was starting to grow on me.

What was wrong with me? What was I thinking? I caught myself holding her sweater to my face, inhaling her sweet scent. This could not be good. This internal struggle, this emotion…what was it? Why was it there? I had been the Guard of other humans. There had never been any desire to smell their stink or Guard them any closer than absolutely necessary. What was it about this girl?

I opened my eyes and looked into Hannah’s blue ones. She was looking directly at me. Her eyes were wide with shock, but she didn’t seem scared. There wasn’t much point in fighting it; I knew she could see me. I nodded toward her and repositioned my wings.

It seemed like she was finally grasping the fact that there was a teenager with wings in the tree outside her room. Well, teen in her eyes. I was actually older than anyone else she’d ever met, but I wouldn’t tell her that. I smiled grimly, not sure whether or not this was a good thing that she could see me. I was going to let her lead the way. No reason to interact more than necessary.

As if able to hear my thoughts, she opened the window. Her face was a mask to me. She was hiding her emotions well, and it kind of drove me nuts. There was no introduction, she simply got straight to the point. “Why are you outside my room?”

I chuckled. “That’s the first question that comes to your mind?”

“Well, I was wondering where my sweater had gone, too,” she motioned toward the blue mass in my hands.

I stood up and strode across the thick branch to her window. She leaned out the window, slipping one leg out.