Nephilim (Academy of the Fallen #2) (5 page)

“Hunter, what are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry.  I just… I knew you were alone and I wanted to make sure you were okay.  I wasn’t going to appear.  I was just going to stop by and leave, but then I heard you… struggling…”

I just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

He avoided my gaze.  “I know… I shouldn’t have.  It won’t happen again.”

“Wait!”  I said and then lowered my voice to a whisper.  “Please don’t leave.”

Hunter sat on the chair near my desk.

“Did your nightmare have something to do with Benjamin?”

I nodded.

He looked as if he was deep in thought.

“I want to go home, Hunter.”  I burst into tears.  Something I never did in front of anyone!

Hunter stood up and walked toward me.  He sat on my bed, putting his arms around me.

“I will find a way to get you out of here, Kayla, just as soon as I know you will be safe from Benjamin.”

That made me cry even more, because really, I had no hopes that would ever happen!

“Do you still want me to stay?” he asked.

I nodded.  Hunter started to get up, but I kept a tight grip on his arm.  He turned the flashlight off and lay down on my bed, pulling me close.

“How did you know Ember would not be here?” I asked.

“News travel fast.  She was complaining about having to move to another room.  I’m not sure what reason Daniels gave her, if any.”

“Hunter, did you talk to Chase?” I asked.

“I did.  He will watch them for you, but the Academy has eyes on Carolyn… I mean, your sister.  They want to make sure that Benjamin doesn’t go near her.  Anyway, Chase has to be careful, but he will do what you asked.  As soon as I can I will summon him and ask how they are doing.”

I had noticed he tensed at the sound of Chase’s name.

“…and is everything else okay?”

He took a deep breath.  “No.  To be honest, I’m not sure if you are safer from Benjamin in here or outside of the Academy.  I keep going back and forth on this… Chase says he had sightings of Benjamin outside.  He said that Benjamin has been recruiting others to guard the outside in the hope of a chance to get in.”

“Other Incubi?” I asked.

“No, just others in general.  Mostly ghosts.  The problem is that Chase doesn’t think Benjamin wants to get in here because he is after you… he thinks he has other motives, whatever they may be.”

“So, let’s leave.  You and I… there has to be a way for us to get out.”

“What if Chase is wrong?  What if Benjamin is coming after you?  Leaving could give him the chance to get to you.

“We could have Chase help.  If we find a way out, we could have Chase follow Benjamin… maybe he could even create a diversion.”

“That might help… I just don’t know what to do.  I guess I thought once you got better they would send you back and just keep an eye on Benjamin.  I didn’t think they would trap you in here and start teaching you all of this.”

“Hunter, please don’t read too much into it.  Just get me out of this place and then we will figure out the rest.”

He moved enough to where he was facing me and kissed my forehead, holding me even tighter.

“I will get you out of this place and to safety.  I promise.”

I felt as if I could breathe better.

Hunter was still tense.

“We will need help,” said Hunter before I could ask what was wrong.  “We will need people on our side.”

“What?  Why?  That will just complicate things…”

“Kayla, we have no option but to trust some of them.  That is the only way to get you out of here.”

“Don’t you mean to get US out of here?”

“Of course.  But like I said, we will need help, at least from Ethan.”

“I know you told me he helped you before when you got me out of the Otherworld, but I don’t know about this.”

“Kayla, Ethan will be leaving the Academy with us.  He has his reasons for wanting to get out… That is how I know we can trust him.”

“You are gonna have to tell me more.”

“How about you hear it from him?”

I shrugged and agreed to meet Hunter after classes.

***

That day I ended up having just my ‘normal’ classes.  I figured Mr. Azazel was probably hiding after the previous day’s debate.  After lunch, Hunter heard Angela say that I was dismissed for the day and came to walk me back to my dorm, only, he ended up leading me to the back of the Academy.  “Wait here,” he said.  “I’m going to get Ethan and will be right back.”

The back of the Academy was deserted as usual.  At first anyway…  I then saw a girl, who seemed younger than most of the beings at the Academy, wandering around.  Once she realized that she was not alone, she looked embarrassed and started to turn around to leave.

“Wait!”  I said.  “You look familiar.  Have we met?”

She hesitated but then started to walk in my direction.

“I—I’m not sure.”

“No, I’ve seen you before.  I’m sure.”

“I – I don’t think I should be talking about it.”

“You can tell her,” Hunter said, startling the girl.  Ethan was also with him.

The girl looked afraid.

“Kayla won’t say anything about you talking to her.”

“She might not, but we are not alone here.  At the back gates… they are everywhere, just waiting for a chance to get in.”

We all looked but couldn’t see anything.

“Who are you talking about?” asked Hunter.

The girl shrugged.  “I have to go.  They don’t want me near her,” she said, looking at me.  “You can tell her why she thinks I look familiar, at least she will know and it won’t come from me, so I will not be in trouble for it.”

The girl turned to leave.  “Kim,” said Hunter.

She seemed surprised that he even knew her name.

“I know you are not lying about seeing them.  I know that you are the strongest of your kind at the Academy.  Can you tell me how many are out there?”

Kim looked toward the back gates.

“The numbers change.  They seem to take shifts to watch the Academy.  I’ve noticed them since Kayla got here.  Sometimes there are only two, other times there are ten or more.”

“Huh.  I wonder why the significant change in numbers.”

Kim looked nervous.  “Because when there are only two of them, they are stronger.”

“Huh?”  We practically said at the same time.

“At least one of them is a Demon.  The others are Ghosts”

I could feel the blood flushing down my face. 

Hunter grabbed my hand.  “Let’s go.  We need to find somewhere else to talk.”

“Come on,” said Ethan.  “We can use one of the classrooms that I know is always empty.”

Hunter and I started to follow Ethan.  I looked back at Kim.  “Are you coming?”

“I don’t want to get in trouble…. I have classes this afternoon.”

“Come on,” said Hunter.  “No one will see you and we will come up with an excuse for you missing class.”

She hesitated.

Hunter looked at me and I nodded, knowing exactly what he had in mind.  He put his arm around me and made me disappear along with him.

Kim and Ethan both looked shocked.

“I knew you were different.”  That was all she said.  She asked no questions.

“Are you coming?” Hunter asked.

She shrugged.  “Why not?… So, how do we do this?” she asked.

Hunter couldn’t make us all just vanish.  It took too much from him.  Instead, he just took care of himself and Kim, and I followed Ethan into one of the smaller buildings and then into the classroom.

As soon as we walked in, Hunter and Kim appeared again.

“Wow.  That was weird,” she said, sounding amazed.

Hunter just smiled.

I rolled my eyes at him.  “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“I would never!” he winked.

I looked at Kim.  “So, how do I know you?”

Kim avoided my gaze, not sure what to say, so Hunter took over for her.

“Kim is one of the youngest and most powerful in the Academy.  When everyone thought you were back at first, well… it wasn’t really you.  Someone from the Otherworld had taken over your body and Kim helped kicking that being back into the Otherworld, giving you the opportunity to return.”

Just the sound of all that gave me chills,  “You didn’t tell me about that… How did they figure out that it wasn’t me?  How long was I out?”

Ethan was the one who spoke.  “That being wasn’t here for long.  Hunter knew at the first sight of her that she wasn’t you.”

I met Hunter’s gaze.  “You did?”

He just smiled and nodded, then tried to make a joke out of it.  “Of course I knew.  She was too easy going… trusted EVERYONE!”

I just rolled my eyes at him.

Hunter smiled.

Kim surprised us when she asked what we were doing here.  Honestly, we hadn’t talked about adding yet another person to our getaway group.  To me, the fewer number of people involved, the better.

Hunter and I looked at each other.  He clearly seemed eager to add Kim to the group.  Ethan broke into our unspoken interaction.  “If my opinion matters at all, I think we should tell her.  If she has that much power, she could help.”

Kim’s expression changed immediately.  “Clearly another case of someone wanting to use me.”

“Not if you don’t agree,” said Hunter.  “This is voluntary.  You make your own choices.”

Kim sighed.  “Well, what is it?”

“Regardless of what you decide, you can’t tell anyone what we are doing,” said Hunter.

Kim smiled, an innocent smile.  “Who would believe me?”

“We are leaving the Academy,” said Hunter.

Her eyes instantly brightened.  Then within seconds, she was sad once again.

“…But I wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”

“None of us do,” said Ethan. 

“My adoptive parents — I want to go back to them.  They will help us,” I said, unsure how much exactly we would be able to even tell them about any of this.

“Are you sure?” Kim asked doubtfully.

“We will work something out,” said Hunter.

“I have been here since I was eight,” said Kim.

“We understand if you don’t want to leave.”

“Oh, no!  I do!  Just tell me how I can help.”

Hunter stood up.  “We will tell you, but another time.  You should go back before someone notices that you are missing.”

Hunter faced Ethan.  “I’m going to make sure Kim gets back unnoticed… Please talk to Kayla about what I asked you to.”  Hunter looked at me.  “I will see you later, ok?”

I nodded.  Hunter and Kim disappeared.

TEN

Ethan was quiet as if he didn’t know where to start.

“So, tell me why I should trust you.” I said.

“Wow!  You do go straight to the point.”  He paused.  “Has Hunter told you anything at all?”

“Just that you have your reasons for wanting to leave and that I should trust you.”

“So, he said nothing about why I’m here?”

I shook my head.

“Well, it all started a few months ago when I was sent on one of my missions.  I was responsible for helping people to transition out of this world when they died.  Most times, I was sent early to help make them comfortable until that time came.  The last time was one of those times.”

Ethan sighed.

“Jennifer had already given up by the time I got to the hospital.  She had been battling cancer for years, but even though she had given up, she was always putting on a happy face for her family and friends.  She did her best to hide her pain, discomfort, and fear of leaving them, fear of dying…  Really, no matter how afraid she was, she was by far the bravest person I had ever seen.  She was so kind… there was just something good about her.”

“So, you did something you were not supposed to do,” I assumed.

He nodded.

“Nothing happened the way it should have.  One night, she was in a lot of pain and I couldn’t help but to get closer to her.  When I brushed my fingers against her face, her eyes opened.  I thought it was just coincidence at first, but she was looking right at me, and said - ‘I guess heaven does exist.’  She then smiled, closed her eyes, and reached for my wrist, keeping my hand right by her side.  I was in shock that she could see me.  I had never encountered any situation like that before…. and it was almost as if she knew I had been there all along.”

Ethan paused for a few seconds.

“I remember every single detail as if it was yesterday.  She opened her eyes again when one of the machines started beeping.  She got scared, because now she realized that she was still alive and that her family still had to endure seeing her like that.  The nurse came in and checked her vitals.  Jennifer’s eyes never left mine.  Once the nurse left, she started to cry.

I rushed to her side, asking her what was wrong.  All she said was – “It is not fair that they send you to me now.  Why would they wait until I’m so close to dying?”

The look in Ethan’s eyes… I could almost feel his pain.  I didn’t know what to say.  All I could do was wait for Ethan to tell me more.  I felt like even the mention of her name would hurt him.

“We belonged together.  There is just no other way to explain it.  I put my hand over hers, promising she would be okay… that everything would be okay.  Just by looking in her eyes, I knew that she trusted me.  That was when I did it.  I tried to heal her.  I think it worked, otherwise, the others would never have realized what I had done.  Within minutes they were there for me, and I was dragged to this Academy for what they called an ‘ethical’ issue.  They wouldn’t even tell me anything about her…”

“They are awful.”

Ethan let out a laugh.  “I guess you could put it that way.”

“So, you don’t know if she is still alive?”

He shook his head.  “Hunter asked Chase to help find her, but I guess things are not that easy.”

“So, if there are no guarantees, why would you want to risk escaping here?”

“Because she is worth it.”

I nodded.  “Okay.  I believe you.”

“…But you still don’t trust me.”

“Don’t feel bad.  I’m sure Hunter told you that I trust no one.”

I got up and started to leave.

“Wait,” said Ethan.  “There is more… I’ve told Hunter something that I’m sure went a long ways with gaining his trust.  I asked him to keep it to himself because I can get into a lot of trouble for this, but I think you should know.”

“Well?”

“There is a reason why we…I mean… the Fallen, are getting a second chance.”  He hesitated. 

I looked at him confused.  “I wouldn’t call it ‘giving’ you a second chance, if they are forcing you to stay in here.”

He gave me a sad smile.  “We can’t complain when the alternative is worse.  Besides, they have reasons to do things as they do.  Kayla, we are pretty much all that is left.  All of the protection that humans have.”

“How is that possible?”

“This is not even the only Academy, Kayla.  There were two new ones opened just over the past year.  There are very few of us who have no flaws… and for what we do, there is no room for mistakes.”

I remembered my conversation with Azazel.  “I wouldn’t consider falling in love being a flaw.”

Ethan said exactly what Azazel had told me.  “It becomes one once your emotions start dictating your actions.”

I took a deep breath.

“I know it is a lot to take in,” he said.

“How long have things been like this?  I mean, with humans being unprotected?”

“Oh, they are not unprotected.  They are just protected by us, the screw-ups.”  He smiled trying to make a joke out of it, but it didn’t work.  All I could think about was my family not having someone watching over them.

“Not all of the Fallen are bad, Kayla.”

“But there are the ones who are.”

“True.  It is all about cause and consequences.  Even the bad ones have their reasons for being the way they are…  You can’t expect us to not hold grudges by being punished for things that we have no control over.”

“I guess.”

“Look, we need to go.  We’ve been in here for way longer than we should have.  You will need time to process this, and if you have any questions… just ask me, or Hunter.”

I nodded.

We were careful to make sure no one saw us leaving that building.  It was really the perfect place to meet.  Most rooms in that building were unused.  We didn’t even see anyone until we walked toward the main patio that we had to cross to get to the dorms.

Sadly, it was Ember who saw us.

“Well, well… Does this mean that Hunter is available now?”

“I’m not you, Ember.  I don’t switch boyfriends every week or so.”

“Oh, so you do admit that Hunter is your boyfriend?  Funny, I remember calling dibs on him.”

Ugh.
I thought to myself.  The last thing I wanted was for anyone to know about Hunter and me.  Especially when that someone was Ember.

Ethan interrupted and in a frustrated tone told her to leave me alone.

Ember looked hurt and actually left.

“Thank you,” I said.

“No problem.  You know that will be the gossip that she will be spreading now, right?  That we are together.”

I shrugged.  “I don’t care what she says.  It is not like I have to see her for much longer,” I mumbled.

“Let’s hope not.”

It wasn’t until I walked by the cafeteria that I realized I missed dinner.  I was starving, but with the Academy’s rules, there was no way I would get food at that time. 

Ethan went to his dorm and I went straight to mine.

I was startled to realize that I really only had one hour before the lights would go out.

I opened my door and walked into my room to find a bag with food from the cafeteria inside of it.  As soon as I locked the door and turned around, Hunter appeared.

“There is a lot you haven’t told me,” I accused him.

“Kayla, there are things that were not for me to tell.”

I sighed.  “I wish I could be mad at you for that, but it is actually pretty honorable for you to keep the secrets he has told you.”

“So, he told you everything?”

I nodded.

“At least I think he did.  He told me about the Academy…” I whispered, “… about the reason for this so-called second chance… and he told me about the reason for him being here.  That is awful.”

Hunter nodded.  “It is.”

“So, is there anything else you want to tell me?” I asked.

He hesitated; then shook his head.

“He said that you asked Chase to look for her; that Chase is having a hard time finding out where she is or what happened to her.”

Hunter shrugged.  “Yeah — I’m sure he will find her.  Hey, I know Ethan has told you a lot… Are you okay with him coming with us?”

I nodded.  “Yeah, I think.”  I paused and looked into his eyes.  “Why is Chase not finding her?”

Hunter avoided my gaze.  “I don’t know, Kayla.  You really should eat something though.”

“What are you hiding from me, Hunter?”

He just shook his head.

“You could make things easier sometimes if you didn’t have to know about every single little thing.”

“You can tell me or you can leave, Hunter.  I just have a feeling that whatever you are keeping a secret is bad.”

Hunter looked at me.  “Can you please just eat something first?”

I sat on my desk across from him and basically forced myself to swallow that sandwich.  My stomach was in knots. 

When I finished eating, I just stared at him.  All he did was stare back.

“Well, are you going to tell me or are you going to leave?”

He sighed.  “I have a feeling that either way you will be kicking me out.”

The lights went off.

The open window was enough to get some lighting in the room, but not enough…mostly because of the fog.  I could at least make out the outline of his face, his body.

Hunter lowered his voice.  “Chase did find Jennifer.”

“Why would you keep that a secret?  Is she with someone else?”

“No, Kayla.  Jennifer died.”

I just sat there in silence for a while. 

“Why didn’t you tell Ethan?”

“I was afraid he wouldn’t want to help anymore.”

“I don’t understand how you could do that to him.  He deserves to know!”

“Kayla, I’m going to tell him, but I need to get you out of here first, and to do that, I need help.”

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“Kayla, it was for your protection.”

“You can’t predict how he is going to react.”  I was furious.  “I’m going to tell him.  He has to know.”

“Please, Kayla… just wait until you leave first.  I will tell him then.”

“Don’t you mean until WE leave?  Or are you lying about that too?”

“You know what I meant, Kayla.”

“I’m not sure I do.”

Hunter sighed and glanced toward the door.  “Do you want me to go?”

“Yes!” I said in a frustrated tone.

“Are you really going to tell Ethan?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

Hunter got up and even in the dark I could see him moving toward me.  I turned around to face the wall and when I looked back, he was gone.