Nephilim (Academy of the Fallen #2) (4 page)

NINE

The remainder of my first night at the Academy wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t exactly a good night either.  I already didn’t trust Ember, and the thought of sharing the room with her, or with anyone else for that matter, made me feel uneasy to say the least.

I was worried about Andrew and Kelly, and I only hoped that the new baby was keeping their minds busy enough so that they were not worried about me.  

I had to find a way out of here no matter what.  Even dealing with Benjamin in the past didn’t make me feel this trapped.

And Mr. Daniels… well, so I had met my biological father!  Somehow, I thought that would mean more, but I felt nothing.  All I saw was someone who left me and who didn’t seem very grateful of the ones who raised me, otherwise, he would have let me at least talk to Kelly and Andrew.  I couldn’t help but wonder… if Benjamin, a Demon, had a problem with him, just how bad of a man that made him.

I just lay there thinking about those things. 

Eventually, Ember came back in through the window, which for the record, was on the third floor.  Putting my curiosity aside, I pretended to be sleeping.  I could hear her moving around and eventually lay down on her bed.

When it got quiet, it was just me and the darkness. 

No lights, curfew, no phones or computers… no wonder Hunter hated this place.  Hunter… thinking about Hunter was the last thing I remembered before I finally dozed off.

***

Ember woke me up at five in the morning.  I yawned and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

“Come on,” she said.  “If you are gonna have trouble waking up, maybe you shouldn’t sneak out at night.”

I quickly sat up and stared at her.  She was grinning.

“Come on… you have 20 minutes to get ready or we will be late.”

I didn’t try to defend myself.  I just got up, got dressed and walked out the door knowing that I needed to get rid of her.

She followed me, quickly catching up.  We went to the cafeteria for breakfast, which made me hate this place even more.  No caffeine… no coffee, no Mountain Dew… no pop-tarts either.  The food was all organic.

“How do they expect me to be awake for class with no caffeine?” I asked Ember.

She shrugged.  “You will get used to it.”

She was soon distracted by one of her friends who came in.  She was introduced as Charlotte Williamson, and then went back to chatting with Ember about some boy in the Academy.  I got to hear all about Ember crushing on Hunter.  As much as I wanted to tell her that Hunter and I were together… at least I thought we were…. I didn’t think that would be a good idea.  If anyone knew about us, Mr. Daniels especially… they would just be watching us closer.

I got so tired of listening to Ember that eventually I started to block out everything they were saying.  I kept looking around for Hunter, but there were no signs of him.

I didn’t really eat.  Just kinda moved my food around until it was time for my first class.

My first few classes were the ones with the haunted.  Math, followed philosophy, and then history.  No one talked during any of those classes.  Some of the students glanced at me every once in a while, but that was pretty much it for interactions.

Ember then escorted me to lunch where she once again met Charlotte.  While Ember stepped away for a few seconds, Charlotte tried to engage in conversation, asking how my first day was.  She actually seemed nice, at least until Ember returned and she seemed to forget that I was even there.

That was when I saw Hunter come in with another guy.  Ethan, I assumed.  I instantly heard Ember and Charlotte going crazy over the two of them.

I wanted to get away from them so badly.  Finally, I got up saying that I wanted to get something else to drink and walked away.

“Hi,” said the guy standing behind me.

“Hmmm.  Hi.”

“You must be the new girl everyone is talking about.”

“Yep, I’m pretty much sure that I’m the one.”

“Kayla, right?” he asked.

I nodded.

“I’m Tucker.”

I grabbed my soda and when I turned around, I noticed Hunter coming toward me.  Glancing at the other side, I noticed Ember staring at him. 
Great!

Hunter came over, said hi, and started talking to Tucker.

I opened my caffeine-free soda and smiled at Hunter.

“Umm,” I said.  “I should probably get back…”

“Nice to meet you,” said Tucker. 

It was a big mistake to go back to Ember and Charlotte.

“WOW,” said Charlotte.  “Looks like you made an impression on Tucker.  He watched as you walked away pretty much all the way back here!”

I shrugged. 

Ember grinned.  “Come on, you should talk to him sometime.  Social lives here are practically nonexistent.  If an opportunity like this presents itself, you should hold on to it.  Besides, he is cute.”

“Trust me, I won’t be here that long.”

“That is what they all say,” said Ember.

Before I could say anything else, it was time to go and Angela was there to escort me to my private lesson.

***

“Mr. Daniels wants to see you before your lesson,” she said.

I rolled my eyes and followed her to his office.

He seemed uncomfortable when I walked in.

He stood up.  “Hi Kayla.  How is your first day going?”

“Could be better… For one thing, I would like to talk to my parents.”

The word ‘parents’ made him even more uncomfortable.

“You can write them a letter.  Will that make things better?  I will just let them know that you are awake but recovering and you are still in a delicate state… well, we will take care of the excuses.”

“How will I know they are getting my letters?”

“I’m sure they will respond, Kayla.”

I nodded.  “There is something else.”

“Yes?” he seemed almost afraid to ask.

“I don’t want a roommate.”

“Kayla, everyone at the Academy has a roommate.  That would raise questions.”

I went for emotional blackmail.  “Look, I know that you don’t know me AT ALL, but I can’t function without having some space to myself.  I’m trapped in this place, without my family… you know…the one who raised me, and having no space to myself just makes me feel even more trapped.  This place is safe, right?  So, why not?  I’m sure you can make some kind of excuse as to why I don’t have a roommate.  Maybe say that Ember is needed elsewhere?”

Mr. Daniels looked as if he were deep in thought.

“I will consider it.”

He looked at his watch. 

“You should probably get to your next class.”

I nodded and walked away.

***

Angela was waiting outside, ready to take me to my next class.  This was my private class, given by Mr. Azazel.  I suspected he was a fallen, but wasn’t sure and didn’t care to ask.  He seemed to know what I was but didn’t come out and just say it.  He didn’t waste time either.  My first lesson was on the history of the Fallen followed by the Nephilim.

He mentioned the original Fallen ones, the ones who were cast down to earth during the war between Heaven and Hell, and proceeded to say that the war was not over and would likely never be. 

“Some choices are not fair,” he said. “… when you are bound by an eternity to serve, you become more vulnerable to certain temptations.”

He looked as if he were distant, until I spoke.  “…but as you said, it was a choice.  You had the free will to make it.  I don’t understand the problem.”

He grinned.  “Things are just not black and white.  There has always been that gray area hanging over our souls.  You can tell the difference between heaven and hell… good or bad… but let’s take for example falling for a human.  Does that necessarily put you in the side of evil, even if it is something that you cannot help?”

I pondered that for a few seconds.  “Well, it is unnatural.  You are talking about someone ‘divine’, a son of God, preying on a human.”

“Preying?” he asked startled

“Well... a Fallen one would have benefits over any human, right?  The divine look, thousands or maybe even more years of experience, knowledge of human behavior… It hardly seems fair.”

He nodded.  “You certainly put on a good argument, but the choices, the inability to fight your feelings, it is just not like that.  Let’s take you for instance…”

I looked at him alarmed and he went on to confirm that he knew about me.

“You are a Nephilim.  You will soon learn that you have powers of your own.  Would you necessarily be characterized as evil if you fell for a human?”

“Well, that is hardly the same thing!”

“How so?”

“For one thing, I’m mortal.”  … and that was when it hit me.  I was mortal, but Hunter was not.  In my mind that was not evil.

Mr. Azazel noticed my startled reaction.

“Do you care to share your thoughts?”

“I – Okay, maybe it is not all black and white… but if it is not evil, why get cast out of heaven because of that?  Why do those choices make you a fallen one?”

“Because it makes us a liability.  Falling in love impacts our judgment, our choices… our priorities.”

I nodded.  “So, what is the deal with this place?  I mean… why would you continue to serve the good after being cast out?”

He smiled.  “That, I can only answer for myself.  We each have our own reasons, but I will always serve the good because what was once called a mistake helped shape the best part of me.  It made me a better being.”

I nodded again, noticing how I enjoyed this discussion much more than I had anticipated.  He then went into the topic of Nephilim.

   There were not many around, but the ones who did exist were trained from the beginning on how to unlock and use their powers.  I was the only one he had ever met who was raised by humans and he had no idea how that would impact my ability to reach those powers, besides the one I stumbled upon once I met Carolyn.  He said we would soon talk more about it and try to see what all I could do.

After class I walked alone to my room.

So, I pulled it off.  Ember’s things were all gone.

I knew that getting a room of my own would make things a little better.  At least it would give me space, although it didn’t make me hate this place any less.

I skipped dinner that night and just lay in bed, thinking about what to write to Andrew and Kelly.

I only had ten minutes to get ready for bed before the lights went off.  As usual, it was too foggy outside for the moonlight to make a difference.  Either way, I found it creepy to go to sleep with the blinds open.  I just felt as if I was being watched.

That was the first night that I wasn’t paranoid about going to sleep in a very long time.  My door was locked, and Ember and the other fallen, as far as I was concerned, had no way of getting in my room.

I worried about Kelly and Andrew, and then moved on to thinking of ways to get out of here.  I wondered if I exposed the truth about what I was, if I could create a commotion large enough that they would want me to leave.  If I could only be that lucky!  And then, I started thinking about Hunter.  Questioning whether bringing me here was really his only option.  Wondering what I would have done in his place.  Remembering that night when we kissed, and that was the last thing I remember before falling asleep.

The girl in my dream seemed familiar.  She reminded me of Carolyn, the ghost who then reincarnated as my little sister.  I knew it wasn’t her, mostly because something about her appearance was odd.  The dream was so vivid.  I was walking by the front gates of the Academy when she appeared at the other side of the gates.

“Hello,” she said.

I ignored her.

“Your name is Kayla, right?”

I nodded.  “Do I know you?”

“No, but I would like to come in.”

I tried to fight it, but soon, her familiarity with Carolyn won me over.

“Okay...”

“I need your help to go in, Kayla.”

I laughed.  “If I could open the gates, I would have done it by now.  You want to come in, I want to get out.”

“How about a trade?” she asked.

I looked at her, puzzled.

“Come closer.  Give me your hand.”

I hesitated at first.  Then I walked toward the gates, and was about to extend my hand, when I saw Benjamin.

Next thing I knew, someone was calling my name and shaking me to wake up.

I knew he was there before my eyes even opened.

I quickly sat up, expecting full darkness, but there was light coming from a small flashlight.  I didn’t have to ask Hunter how he got there.  He did the same thing at my old house.  He would make himself invisible and just show up.  Some immortal ability he picked up once death sent him to the Otherworld.  Others can do it too… Benjamin could anyway.  Just the sound of his name gave me chills.