Forsaken

Academy of the Fallen Series
 

Wide Awake
 

Nephilim
 

Sins of the Fallen
 

Forsaken
 

Written by
 

Daniele Lanzarotta
 

Edited by Michelle Johnson
 

Art Direction Meredith Hancock
 

Front Cover Photography © TEA (Evgeny Trofimov)
 

Published by Rocket Science Productions
 

© Copyright 2013 Daniele Lanzarotta
 

All rights reserved
 

ISBN-13: 978-1-939954-18-3
 

eISBN: 978-1-939954-19-0
 

To all Academy of the Fallen readers!
  

Thank you to Jennifer Holcomb who has been my beta reader for a while now.  I love
your feedback and our long brainstorming chats and phone calls.  To Michelle Johnson
(editor) who leaves me funny side comments and makes editing so much fun!  To Tara
Pennington, my street team leader/intern/Benjamin’s biggest fan.  Thank you for everything
you do.  To Amanda Sorrells-Larsen for proofreading/beta reading.   To Meredith Hancock
for the awesome book covers. To Sarah McKee for producing amazing audio books for
the series! To my hubs, Bri, and Rocket Science Productions’ staff for the support.
 

“We know what we are, but not what we may be.”
 

 – William Shakespeare
 

THE INCUBUS
 

Humans and their routines… Of course it took me no time at all to escape from the
Academy.  I could have confronted Daniels, but the idea of taking him days to find
out that I bypassed his weak wards was quite entertaining.
 

They were so stupid to leave the two sisters together.  It was so easy to find them.
 I could care less about the human girl.  It was the nephilim I wanted.  Taking the
one nephilim, Samael, was good, but getting the girl too, was even better.  She was
the key to me getting everything I ever wanted: power, the academies, and even her
mother for that matter.
 

It didn’t take long for Samael to agree to a deal: he would help me and in exchange
I’d turn him all human.  We watched them and their pathetic human lives for a few
days. They figured the immortal’s presence along with the sisters’ wards around the
house were enough protection.  And so, they dismissed their angel guardian so that
he could be with his mate during the nights.  Personally, that was one angel I’d love
to watch take the fall.  The chaos that would create was a demon’s dream-come-true.
 

The nephilim girl turned out to be stronger than I ever imagined, so I had to plan
carefully.  I never thought I’d say this, but there was actually one thing that humans
were good for and that was their medicine.  While the sisters were at school, Samael
used one of those medicines by adding it to the drinks, which I hoped would be used
for their meal that evening.  
 

My plan was flawless.  The angel left to see his mate and Samael confirmed the sisters
had gone to sleep.  Although they’d be able to sense me, Samael had ways to make sure
that was minimized and that they couldn’t sense him at all.
 

As expected, the nephilim’s mate—the immortal—made himself unseen as he approached
the house and ended up in the nephilim’s room.
 

I must say, there was something that gave me more pleasure than taking the nephilim
girl, and that was to watch the trapped immortal’s expression of pure horror as he
helplessly watched me take her away.
 

HUNTER
 

I lie down on my bed and my mind immediately goes back to that night as I wonder if
I could have done anything different to save her.  I can see her sleeping… unaware
of what was happening.  The demon, Benjamin’s father, laughed as Samael carried her
away as I watched, unable to do anything because all I am is an immortal with powers
not nearly as strong as a demon’s, or as a nephilim’s for that matter.  When I couldn’t
get through the wards, I yelled for Kim’s help.  I yelled for Ethan, too, even though
I knew he was away with Jennifer.  No one came.  I later found out they were all given
something to make them sleep.  I was helpless and I couldn’t move until they were
long gone.  
 

That was the night I ran to Xavier for help.  He had been trying to help me find a
way to be mortal again and he was one of the few I trusted.  I ran to the gates of
the academy and yelled until Clarissa let me in.  Once the gates opened, I ran toward
Xavier’s room with Clarissa right behind me, asking me over and over again to stop
and tell her what was happening.  It wasn’t until I got to his room that I stopped.
 I could hardly breathe and was drenched in sweat.  I pounded on the door as I yelled
for him to open it.  Within seconds, Xavier opened the door and looked from me to
Clarissa who now stood beside me.
 

“What happened?” he asked.
 

“Kayla was taken by the demon,” I said.
 

Clarissa interrupted, “More of us have fallen.  I can feel it.  Do you know anything
about that?”
 

I looked from Xavier to Clarissa, “I couldn’t care less about your kind.  Didn’t you
hear what I just said?  KAYLA WAS TAKEN BY THE DEMON.”
 

The change in my tone made her flinch.
 

She looked at Xavier.  “Help the boy find her.  I will take care of the rest.”
 

That was when our journey from hell started.
 

Ever since that night, all my time is spent either looking for Kayla or blaming myself
for her being taken.  It has now been over a month and we still have no leads on her.
 
 

Nothing is the same anymore.  The balance between good and evil tipped when Kayla
was taken, but it wasn’t her fault it tipped.  It was because one of the few remaining
good ones, Jennifer, fell.  I’ll never forget that night, the cell phones sending
out warnings, the sudden earthquakes on the West Coast, hurricanes on the East Coast,
and tornadoes at random places across the globe, all happening around the same time.
 I haven’t seen her or Ethan since that night.
 

I now fight day and night.  Protections and wards no longer work in the human world.
 Humans who can’t see supernatural beings are unaware that the war between worlds
has already started. They dismiss the frequent tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes,
as if they are just normal tragedies.  They have no idea…  but the ones who can see
us, the haunted; they are more scared than ever.  
 

I, along with several of the haunted still live in the academy and the fallen, try
to keep them protected the best they can.  The demons stay away for most of the time,
but we all know if they’re staying away, it’s because they’re waiting for something…
they’re holding something back, and that is the reason the fallen and I hunt for them.
 Well, that is the reason the fallen hunt for them.  I’m only after one thing: finding
Kayla.
 

Chase, my friend from a long time ago who’s now a ghost, also helps me look.  In the
mean time, Kayla’s biological dad is too busy protecting the other Academy and her
mom has been gone ever since before Kayla was taken.  Honestly, I don’t even care
to see anyone besides Xavier and Chase.  We train and rest during the day, and at
night, we hunt.  Only, I don’t rest much, because like right now, whenever I close
my eyes, all I see is her face and it takes me straight back to that night.
 

Today feels different somehow.  Maybe it’s because today is her birthday, and I can’t
stop thinking about how although she is nephilim, she is also mortal, which makes
every second of not finding her even more unbearable.
 

When I hear the knock on the door, I know it can only be Xavier.  I open the door
and there he stands, sword in hand and ready to go.  I walk over to my dresser and
grab Kayla’s dagger.  The dagger that was once covered in her blood and now has the
ability to truly kill a demon.  I stare at the dagger and feel the heft of the hilt.
 No matter how much I hate Kayla being involved in this world, I know that this dagger
belongs to no one else, yet, it makes me feel better to know that when we catch the
demon who took her, he’ll suffer at the point of her blade.
 

Tonight, just like any other night, we plan to focus on places with a high concentration
of demons.  One of the fallen is able to tell us where those are, but even then our
chances of actually finding one who will know something about Kayla are close to none.
 I’ll never stop looking for her though.  I’ll use her dagger over and over until
I get rid of every single one of them if I have to.  Everyday, Xavier also tries to
make some kind of contact with Stephaine.  He believes that by finding her, we will
find Ben and, consequently, his father.  I know it’s a waste of time, but Xavier is
doing everything he can to help me, so I leave it alone.
 

We’re ready to walk out of the door when we see Kayla’s biological mother… the one
who didn’t even bother to make an appearance over the last month.
 

I roll my eyes.  I have no time or patience for this.
 

“Hello, Hunter… Xavier.”
 

“Do you know where she is?” I ask.
 

She shakes her head and I move for the door.  “We have to go.”
 

“Hunter, wait,” says Xavier.
 

That makes me stop.  Over the past few weeks, Xavier became like a mentor.  I respect
him.  I stop to see what he has to say.
 

“Irene, do you know where Benjamin is?”
 

“No, but I don’t think you’ll be seeing him again.  He promised to leave everyone
alone and live his own life.  That was over a month ago.”
 

I laugh and they both look at me.  “What?  Please don’t tell me you believe any of
that!”
 

Irene looks at me and I can tell that she does believe what she just said.  
 

I shake my head.  I can tell Xavier doesn’t believe it either, but he plays along.
 “Irene, we think Benjamin might know where his dad is hiding Kayla.”
 

“Oh, I doubt that.  I doubt he even knows his father made it out of the academy.”
 

“Are you kidding me?” I’m so irritated I’m practically yelling at her.
 

“Hunter!” warns Xavier.
 

I take a deep breath.  “Look, I’m tired of everyone trying to make excuses to protect
Benjamin when Kayla is the one you should be protecting!”
 

“I apologize on his behalf, Irene,” says Xavier, “we just think that Benjamin might
know of places where his father used to hide.”
 

Irene eyes me curiously then looks back to Xavier.
 

“You’re right.  Focus on finding Kayla and I’ll focus on finding Ben to ask for his
help.”
 

“He is not going to help, but okay,” I snap at her.
 

Irene nods.  “I know you don’t see it, but there is hope for him.”