Forsaken (11 page)

He sits beside me and puts his arms around me.  “Okay,” he says.  “I’ll help you.”
 

I start sobbing on his shoulders.
 

“Do you know where he is?” he asks.
 

“Ezra took him away whenever he wasn’t training.  I assume one of his hideouts.”
 

Hunter nods.  “Good thing I know where they all are.”
 

“You do?”
 

“I looked for you everywhere, Kayla.”
 

I manage to stop sobbing and hug him tighter.
 

“I love you, Hunter.”
 

“I love you too.”
 

After a long pause, he says, “What happened to your hair?”
  

“Do you remember the two guardians who were with me when I got to you.”
 

“Yes,” he nods.  “Guardians? Is that what they were?” he asked confused.
 

“They actually call themselves the Forsaken, but they were lost souls from the Otherworld,
one was a fallen angel who ended up there.  I healed their pain and I guess I made
them what they are now… forsaken angels… when I did that, my hair got darker.”
 

His eyes are wide open as I tell him that.
 

“Xavier and Ethan will want to know what happened,” he says.
 

I bite my lips, unsure of what to do.
 

“How about I tell them about the illusions and about the ‘guardians’, and leave it
at that until you have time to think about all of this?  But I do think we could use
their help.  Just give it some thought,” he says.
 

I nod.
 

“Let’s get you out of here, though.  We’ll hide you at the Academy for now.”
 

My attempts to convince Xavier to let me stay with Ethan and Jennifer don’t work.
 He insists I’ll be safer at the Academy and he won’t have it any other way.
 

Xavier portals us all to one of the empty buildings at the Academy and we don’t think
anyone will even notice the unwanted guests… not with all they have to deal with.
 
 

Hunter and I walk into a room that is one of the standard Academy rooms.  Plain white
walls, two beds, one on each side, with a dresser in between them, and a desk on the
other side of the room, right next to the bathroom door.  This is one of the rooms
without a window and somehow that makes me feel protected.
 

“I’m going to go back out to talk to them.  There’s a bathroom through that door,
if you want to take a shower, and I’ll ask Ethan to get you some clean clothes, but
you can wear my shirt for now.  He takes his shirt off and hands it to me.  I immediately
notice that even though he looks the same, his body doesn’t.  I can tell he’s trained
as much as I have.  After he gives me his shirt, he reaches for my dagger, which is
attached to his belt, and hands it to me.  
 

I take it from his hands and my grip on the cold metal feels so familiar.
 

“You kept it all along?”
 

“Not only did I keep it, I used it to hunt demons as I looked for you,” he said proudly.
 

I smile at him and look back down at my dagger.
 

Hunter starts to walk toward the door to talk to Xavier and the others.
 

“Hunter, you’re coming back, right?”
 

He smiles and nods.
 

I walk into the bathroom and stand in front of a mirror that hangs over the sink.
 I do look pretty much the same, but I don’t feel the same.  It’s a shock to see the
dark hair, but in a way, it fits the way I feel… different.  
 

I take the longest shower I probably ever took in my entire life.  I put on Hunter’s
shirt and I love the smell of him.  I find a small travel kit in the cabinet and brush
my hair, my teeth, and when I walk out of the bathroom, Hunter is sitting on the bed
waiting on me.
 

I walk over and sit next to him.  
 

He leans to the side and his lips are on mine within seconds.  I missed this, his
soft kisses, his hand on the small of my back as we kiss…  He then slowly pulls away.
 

“I wanted to be here when you got out of the shower.  Ethan is getting you some clothes
and I was going to run out to get you something to eat.  Xavier is not telling anyone
that you are here yet.  He wants to give you time to rest before anyone else knows
and wants to talk to you.”
 

I nod.
 

“Chase will be right outside the door if you need anything, okay?”
 

I give him a puzzled look.  “How is Chase in the Academy anyway?”
 

He sighs.  “Let me get you something to eat first.  We’ll talk as soon as I get back.”
 

HUNTER
 

I walk away thinking that as happy as I’m to have her back, I don’t like the story
about this kid one bit.  I have no doubts that the demon manipulated her into getting
attached to the kid.  But I can’t say no to her and I have to help her because she’ll
never let it go and I do believe that once we find him, she’ll let me take her away
from all of this and I’m ready for that.  I’m so over all of this.
 

I grab her some food and find Ethan on the way back, hiding inside the building where
we are staying.  He gives me the clothes that he got from his and Jennifer’s hideout.
 He says he’s going out to see Jen and tells me where to find them if we need anything.
 

When I get back to the room, Chase asks me if I want him to stay.  I tell him that
it’s up to him and he says he will check on Kim and then come back.  I remind him
not to say anything about Kayla yet, not until I know what she wants to do.  He agrees
and leaves, and I go into the room where I find Kayla sleeping.
 

I put the food on the desk and lay next to her.  She doesn’t wake up, but her arms
go around me.  She has no idea how much I missed this.
 

I fall asleep with her in my arms but not before I promise her to always fall asleep
like this.
 

KAYLA
 

I see Ezra talking to Trent.
 

“Focus, nephilim!” he yells.
 

“Where are Sam and Kayla?  I can’t remember the name they gave me,” he says shyly.
 

“You don’t need a name, nephilim,” Ezra snaps back.
 

“Kayla, wake up.  Kayla!”
 

I open my eyes and I’m short of breath.  Hunter wraps his arms around me.
 

“It’s okay.  You are safe.”
 

“We need to find Trent, Hunter.”
 

“We will.  I still think we need help.  Xavier can transport us.  I’m not sure exactly
how much of your abilities you’ll be able to use in the human world.”
 

I give him a puzzled look.  “What happened while I was gone?” I ask.
 

He looks away.
 

“Just tell me.  It can’t possibly be worse than being in Hell.”
 

He has a shocked look on his face.
 

He sighs.  “Wards no longer work in the human world.  There have been a lot of tragedies
that they see as natural disasters, but there is so much more at play than that.”
 

“Are the humans in danger?”
 

He nods.
 

“My mom? Dad?”
 

“Chase and one of the fallen are watching over them.  They are fine.”  He pauses.
 “They do miss you, though.”
 

“Hunter, I miss them too, but seeing them right now is not a good idea.”
 

“What are you afraid of?”
 

“I’m afraid of settling into a human routine and end up getting too comfortable and
not doing what I need to do.”
 

“Kayla, it wouldn’t be that way.”
 

“Hunter, please.  I couldn’t take them looking into my eyes and begging me to stay
out of what I was meant to do.   I can barely handle when it’s you asking me to let
you take me away.”
 

His eyes widen.
 

“I’m sorry, Hunter.  I didn’t mean it in a bad way.  And I don’t want to fight with
you.  Not now… not ever.”
 

He takes a deep breath as he runs his fingers through his hair.  “Is this going to
happen, Kayla?  When we find the kid, are you really going to let me take you away?”
 

When I don’t answer, he puts his hand over mine.  He then brushes his fingers against
the ring he gave me and for a second, I think he is going to take it off and my heart
stops.
 

He looks up from my hand to my eyes.  “I made you a promise, Kayla, and my promise
is forever.  I just want to know the truth.  I don’t want to build expectations of
being able to take you away from this world if you know that is something you won’t
be able to do.  You are who you are and I’ll deal with whatever I need to deal with,
even if it goes against what I want.  I just need to know the truth.”
 

I can feel my chest moving faster and faster.  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,
Hunter, but I have every intention of going away with you.  Just as long as Trent
is protected.”
 

He nods.  “Are we telling Xavier and the others about him?” he asks.  
 

“Do you think Xavier will try to stop us if he doesn’t agree with what we are doing?”
 

Hunter gives me a crooked smile, “Like anyone could ever stop you from doing what
you want,” he says and winks at me.
 

I agree to talk to him, but only if we meet outside of the Academy, at Ethan’s hideout.
 

As soon as Chase returns, Hunter asks that he stay with me while Hunter goes talk
to Xavier.  Hunter kisses me before leaving the room.
 

“Thank you,” I say to Chase.
 

“What for?” he asks confused.
 

“For taking care of my family.”  I sigh.  “How are they really doing?  I’m afraid
Hunter made it seem like things are not as bad as they might be.”
 

“They have good days and bad days.  Protecting Kim and Carolyn keeps them busy, but
they miss you every minute of every day.  They’ll be happy once they get to see you
again.”  He smiles.  “They managed to keep Kim from being exposed to this world ever
since you left, well… aside from my presence and the ones protecting them… and Ethan.
 She is actually doing well in school.  She graduates this year.”
 

Tears spring to my eyes.  I don’t want to be jealous, but I can’t help it.  The thought
that Kim is living a normal life; a life that was supposed to be mine… makes me feel
angry, and I hate this feeling.  I should be happy for her.  I WANT to be happy for
her.
 

“Kim misses you just as much,” Chase says.
 

“She barely knows me.”
 

He nods.  “It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you.  She is your sister and she knows
this world well.  Not to mention that she is very grateful for you helping her get
to where she is today.”
 

This makes me feel even worse for feeling the way I do.
 

“I’m glad she’s okay,” I say and then we fall into silence until Xavier and Hunter
come back and we leave to see Ethan.
 

Ethan and Jennifer stay in a small house near a lake.  Before we go in, I stop and
stare at the water, thinking about how much I miss the summers when my concerns revolved
around choosing the perfect bathing suit for a day at the lake or at the beach.  I
laugh at how insane my life became.
 

Hunter stands next to me and I can feel his warmth when he puts his hand on mine.
 

“Our lives can go back to normal, Kayla.  Just say the word, and I’ll take you away.”
 

I look at him and his eyes tell me that he means every word.  I smile, but don’t say
anything.  I just go back to looking at the water.  There is no reason to remind him
that normal for us will never happen.  I know it and he knows it, but I feel like
if I say the words, it’ll break his heart.
 

“Are you ready to talk to them?” he asks.
 

I nod.  With his hand still on mine, he leads me inside the house, where we find Jennifer,
Ethan, Xavier and Chase, standing around and anxiously waiting for us.
 

I sit on the couch with Hunter next to me holding my hand and I tell them everything.
 I tell them about the illusions, about the Forsaken, about Samael’s death, and about
Trent.
 

Not once do any of them interrupt me, and by the time I’m done, they are all silent
with their mouths hanging open.
 

Xavier sighs.  “I can’t keep all this from the others.”
 

I can feel my hands start to tremble and Hunter tightens his grip on my hand.
 

Hunter faces Xavier, “please at least give us time to search the demon’s houses before
you warn the others.”
 

Xavier hesitates, but agrees.
 

I look at him and he seems as if he’s in shock.
 

Finally, he takes a deep breath.  “Once you find the boy, we will have to determine
how exactly he was created,” he says.
 

“How?” I ask.
 

Xavier shakes his head.  “Are you willing to share your memories?”