Nephilim (Academy of the Fallen #2) (12 page)

TWENTY-FOUR

“Xavier,” said Clarissa.  “… as soon as we are back at the Academy, I want you and the others ready to go back for Stephaine.  There is no telling how long until we have a good plan to fight this situation, and I don’t want her in there.”

I interrupted them.  “Please get Ethan out too.”

Clarissa nodded.

Hunter spoke for the first time.  “You won’t be able to get her out.  The Academy’s protection is different than the others.”

“What do you mean, child?” asked Clarissa.

“Daniels ordered one of the haunted to lock down the place as soon as he reached Benjamin.”  Hunter shook his head.  “Daniels wanted Benjamin in the Academy.  He thinks that Benjamin can be saved.  Either way, no one is getting in and no one is getting out.”

“How do you know that?” she asked.

I could tell that Hunter was hurt.  He had to keep stopping to catch his breath.

“Ember… she was bragging about being chosen to lure Benjamin into the Academy.  I heard her say that she was on a mission to keep him around, but she had to convince him to send the others away before they could hook up.”

Clarissa was furious.

“…and the wards?” she asked.

“Daniels has had one of the haunted…  Kim, put them up for a while now.  She is strong.  No one is breaking in.”

She sighed and looked at Hunter.

“… and you… surviving two succubus’ attacks.  I think this is a good time for you to tell me what you are.”

Hunter looked at me, as if asking whether he should.

I nodded.

“I’m an immortal.”

She shook her head.  “Do you care to elaborate?  Many beings are immortals because of what they are.”

Hunter looked away Clarissa and met my gaze.

I held his hand.  “I think you can tell her.”

He still hesitated, but he looked back at Clarissa and said, “Long story short… I died.  Daniels brought me back to life.”

“We will talk more about this at the Academy.”

She paused.

“Did Stephaine know about it?”

I nodded.  “It wasn’t her fault for not telling you.  She said she sensed it was the right thing to do at the time.”

Xavier looked back at Clarissa.  “Stephaine is safe, along with the other fallen, Ethan.  They are in the abandoned building where we were staying.”

I couldn’t help but be curious.  “How do you know?!”

“Xavier has visions… but only when one of our own is involved, and wanting him to know what is happening.”

“Oh,”

“Stephaine says that no matter what our plans are, those two…” he pointed at us, “… they are to stay together.  She says they are stronger when together.”

Clarissa looked at us suspiciously and curious.

“Thanks, Xavier.  Keep me updated, especially if you are able to see those wards that Hunter told us about.”

We drove for hours heading North.  We parked at a church similar to the one we had used to enter the Academy… well, the other Academy.

We got out of the car and walked into the church where Clarissa handed us winter coats.

“You will need these.”

We took the coats and put them on.

Once she opened the door, it was freezing.

Hunter put his arm around me.  We stepped out of the church where there was a barely visible path going to the front gates of the Academy.  Everything was covered with white snow, and inside, the fallen ones who wandered around, had their wings as white as that snow.

We stepped inside and froze in place.

Clarissa looked back to see if we were following her, but we were just so mesmerized by the view that we couldn’t even move.

“You will see that quite a few things here are different from the Academy where you were.”

I looked around at the beings with the white wings and wondered if they were what I thought they were.  “Are they fallen ones or actual… you know… actual angels?”

Clarissa grinned.  “They fell, once upon a time… most here have chosen to go back to what they used to be… guardians, protectors… They are still recovering, but have all made great progress.”

“WOW!” I felt stupid saying that but I wasn’t sure what to say.  “I’ve heard that fallen angels like the ones at the other Academy are all that is left, and that humanity’s protection is in their hands.”

“That is true to an extent.  But unfortunately not many at that Academy know what is really out there, well, out here.  We suspected that there was something going on at that Academy long ago, but every time we made a move to check on things, Daniels had everything handled to the point where our hands were tied.  One way or another, he is the heart of that Academy and… well… now that so many are compromised, we have to act and we hope that you will help us with that.

“Of course, but… my family… the Academy supposedly has someone watching over them and I don’t feel very good about that at all.  Especially now.”

Clarissa looked at Xavier.  “Can you get that handled?”

He nodded and walked away.

“I’m aware of the situation.  I know your parents think that you are recovering and so on.  Xavier will send others to watch over them; meanwhile, let’s get out of here.  We will go to my office where you will be warm, and you can call your parents from there.”

“I can?” I asked surprised.

“Of course.  Just let them know that you are recovering well and will be home soon.  Once this situation is taken care of, you can go back.  We will arrange for you to still have the lessons that you need.”

I could barely contain myself.  I was excited; yet, I wasn’t sure what I would say.

As promised, Clarissa took us to her office, where we were greeted with hot chocolate and snacks.

“You can use the phone on my desk,” she said.  “I will step out so that you can talk to your parents in private.  Hunter?  I would like to hear more about your past…”

I interrupted and asked if he could stay with me while I talked to my parents.  I was getting more and more nervous about it.

She agreed right away saying that she could talk to Hunter later.

Once she left, I sat on the chair by her desk and grabbed the phone.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Hunter walked to my side, sitting on the chair next to mine.

“It will be okay.  That was what you wanted, right?  To talk to them?”

I nodded and dialed the number.

Kelly answered.  “Hello?”  I felt as if I couldn’t get the words out.  “Hello?”

“Kayla,” whispered Hunter. 

“Mom?” I said.

“Kayla?  Oh Honey, we miss you so much!  I couldn’t wait to talk to you.  Andrew!” she yelled.  “It is Kayla!  She is on the phone!”

I was smiling and crying all at the same time.

“So tell me, how are you doing?  They are letting you come home soon, right?”

“I’m doing much better.  They say I will be going home soon.”

“I still don’t fully understand why they won’t let us go and see you.  This is terrible.  Most of the times I’m not even sure why we keep agreeing to this medical nonsense, but they keep reassuring us that you will recover faster this way.  It just makes no sense.” 

I could hear Andrew by her side, asking her for the phone.

I missed Kelly’s ramblings when she got excited about something.  I knew I had to change the subject before she decided to drive to wherever she thought I was.

“Hang on, honey, I’m putting you on speaker so your dad can hear you too.”

“Hello?”

“Hi, dad.”

I swear I thought he was crying.  I was wondering if it was from missing me or because I was calling them mom and dad, which I didn’t usually do…

I told him what I had told Kelly, that I was doing better and should be going home soon.  Before he started to get ideas about seeing me too, I changed the subject by asking about Carolyn.

They both said they couldn’t wait until Carolyn and I met, and how well she was doing.  They told me they showed her my pictures everyday and she already knew exactly who I was.

I tried to keep the topic on Carolyn as much as I could.  It worked pretty well.  After a while I said I had to go rest and that I would call again as soon as I could.

Of course they wanted to know when that would be, but I said I wasn’t sure, but hopefully soon.

They weren’t happy, but they let me go.  I hoped they wouldn’t just call Daniels later to ask questions.

Later, Hunter reassured me that whoever Xavier had sent to watch over them would take care of handling the situation.

Once I got off the phone, I was still laughing and crying at the same time.  Hunter pulled me into a hug, his embrace so familiar.  I thought about mentioning the weird moment with Tucker making himself look like Hunter, but I decided it was better to just wait and ask Clarissa when we were alone.

“I guess we can really trust these people, huh?” he asked.

I nodded.  “I really think we can.”

A few minutes passed and we decided to open the door so that Clarissa knew I was done talking to my parents.  Minutes later, she came in looking somewhat concerned.

She sat at her desk across from us.  Hunter told her everything that had happened to him.  He told her about the incident in the lake, the drowning and Daniels bringing him back to life. 

“You mentioned someone being responsible for the wards.  I don’t recall whether you named someone.  Can you tell me who that person is?”

At that, Hunter and I glared at each other.  He had said Kim’s name, but we really didn’t want to get her in trouble.

Clarissa noticed the hesitation.

“You said she is one of the haunted, right?”

I hesitated confirming it, but I knew that my answer would only narrow it down so much anyway.  “Yes.”

She shook her head.  “He is supposed to be protecting those kids, not using them.  Please tell me who it is so we can protect that child once we get back in there.”

Hunter and I fell silent.

Clarissa met my gaze.  “The child will not get in trouble, Kayla.  If you have doubts, you are free to tap into my mind and know what you need to know.”

Hunter looked at me surprised.

She was right, I could try that again, but with Clarissa… it didn’t feel right.

“No, it is not necessary.  Her name is Kimberly,” I said.

“…Kimberly Duncan,” finished Hunter.

Clarissa dropped the pencil that she had been holding.  Eyes wide open.  Finally, she stood up, looking out the window, arms crossed.

“What is it?” asked Hunter.

She sighed and sat back down.

“Kayla, what do you know about your biological mother?”

I shrugged.  “Not a lot.  I know her name.  I know about her having Benjamin and letting him go with his father, and that she left when I was little.  That is about it.”

She nodded.

“When everything was going on with her, Benjamin, his father, and Daniels, we tried to keep a close eye on Irene.  As much as we were allowed anyway, all else considered.  There was a lot of power at play.  After she left Daniels, we wanted to see if she would lead us to Benjamin and his father.”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I want to know about her.”

Clarissa looked at me with pleading eyes.  “I’m sorry, Kayla… but it is important that you know this.  Sooner or later you will know and I would rather you be prepared.”

I sighed.  “Okay.”

“Irene never looked for either of them.  She moved away.  She got a job and started to rebuild her life.  She met a human and told herself that was what she needed… a human companion.  Years later she had another child, Kimberly Duncan.  Kim was 7 years old when Benjamin found them.  Jealousy led him to start haunting Kimberly.  He didn’t want to be found, so he used a different form.  His powers were so strong that he triggered her ability to see other beings too.  Irene fell into depression again.  She couldn’t deal with another child with supernatural powers.  Months later she looked for Daniels and asked him to come and get the girl, to make something up to her husband… do something that would make him forget about Kimberly… forget about her.”

I was speechless and I didn’t even know I was crying until Hunter reached for a box of tissues and handed it to me.  I had never seen him look so concerned.

“What happened then?  What happened to Irene?”

Clarissa paused as if assessing whether she should continue.

“She left before Daniels got there for Kim.  Daniels made her husband forget about her, but not about the child.  Kim’s father knew that his daughter was seeing things that were terrifying her, but he felt helpless.  He saw Daniels’ offer to help as a Godsend. 

Kim did need the help and seeing how much Daniels cared for her as if she was his daughter, we thought that would be good for both of them; that he would finally let go of the idea of saving Benjamin.”