Nephilim (Academy of the Fallen #2) (7 page)

THIRTEEN

It felt like I had just fallen asleep when I saw Benjamin.  The nightmare was so realistic.  He was at the front gates of the Academy.  He was pulling on it, trying to get in and getting frustrated by not being able to.

Once he sensed that I was there, he looked up.  Looking into my eyes, he said, “Open the gates, little sis.”

“I’m not your sister.”

“Well, no reason in denying it.  We both know that you are.  Now come on…  Open it.”

I turned around to leave.

“They may keep you in here forever, little sis.  This may just be your only chance to get out.  You know… your adoptive parents, your sister… they are not as protected as you think.  Now open it!”

I woke up screaming.  Hunter quickly and gently put his hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming even more.  Once I calmed down, he moved his hand and just hugged me.

“It is okay, Kayla.  He can’t get to you in here and he won’t be able to get to you when we leave.”

“I may be safe here, but what about Kelly and Andrew?  Do you really think that Daniels sent someone to watch over them?”

“Look, as soon as we leave here we will make sure they are okay, and then we will take off, okay?”

“… and do what, Hunter?  How are we going to survive with no money… no place to live?”

“We will figure it out, Kayla.”

“WHAT?  We can’t just leave here with half a plan, Hunter!”

“I know.  Look… I know it is not the most reliable source, but we can get help from my mom… at least until we figure things out.  She probably won’t even notice that we are there.  And if there is no one watching over Kelly and Andrew like they say, we will be able to approach them as well.

“I don’t like it.  We need a better plan.”

“I don’t like it either, but all I know is that I want to get you out of here.”

“Hunter?”

“Yeah?”

“There is something we have to do when we leave.  I promised Ethan I would help him find Jennifer.”

He sighed.  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“I just wanted you to know.  I intend to do whatever I need to keep that promise.”

“Kayla, if that gets you anywhere near the Otherworld or the other Academies…. There is only so much you will be able to do.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious, Kayla.  If there are any chances of you being put at risk, I will be there to stop you.”

I shrugged, knowing no one would be able to actually stop me.  I told Ethan that I would help him and that is what intended to do.

“How are we doing this?… Getting out of here?”

“Kim is getting us out.  We got lucky to have her help us… She is the key to the Academy, Kayla.  From what I’ve heard, the other Academies don’t even have this level of protection, because they don’t have her.  She keeps everything evil out of here.”

“So, what will happen when she leaves with us?”

“That is our worst problem.  We have a theory that they depended on Kim’s power for so long that no one will not be able to keep those beings away.”

“So Benjamin would definitely be able to come in.”

“Well, Kim has started to train some of her friends.  She has been telling them that it is a good thing to know for when they go back to their lives…. Saying that they can use the technique to protect their homes.  She started to do test runs every once in a while, without anyone noticing, of course.  They have been keeping it all a secret.  They trust Kim, even though she is younger than most of them.  They know what she can do and they respect her for it.”

“…But how will they know what they are supposed to do when we leave?”

“Kim is working that out.  They seem more than willing to do the job to help Kim.  They are not even asking questions.  Hopefully by then they will know what to do and they will be strong enough to do it.”

The more I heard about this plan, the less I liked it.

“Kayla, you really should get some sleep.  We will have to be up soon and I have to go back to my room… there are things that Ethan and I still need to work out.”

I nodded.  “Can you stay just for a little while longer?  Make sure I’m not having a nightmare right away.”

Hunter nodded and lay back down.

“Hunter?” I whispered.  “I know that I have trust issues and I will probably always have them.”

He shrugged.  “That makes you who you are, Kayla.”

“I know… but even if I don’t show it, I do trust you…. and I— I love you too.”

FOURTEEN

Hunter

Hunter didn’t like leaving Kayla alone.  He knew how awful the nightmares were, but he also knew that they were running out of time.  It was already almost dawn when he got back.

Ethan was awake and waiting for Hunter.

Hunter knew how Ethan was anxious to get out of there and he knew the reason.

“I need to talk to you,” said Hunter.

“What’s up?”

Hunter sighed.

“Just say it,” said Ethan.

“Kayla is so stuck on helping you find Jennifer and I’m sure that will only get her found and stuck back in here.”

“Look, all I want from you is to help me out of this place.  Once we are out, you and Kayla can go your own way.  I will be fine.”

Hunter shook his head.

“You don’t know Kayla.  If she is stuck on helping you, that is what she is gonna do.”

“Okay, then I don’t understand what you want ME to do about it.”

Hunter ran his fingers through his hair.  He was worried, tired, frustrated… “I don’t know what to do.  Kayla is right about so many things…. we will need a place to stay, money –“

Ethan tensed thinking that maybe they were changing their minds about leaving.

“The most difficult part will be getting out of here, we will work out the rest… and as far as you being worried about Kayla, we will be careful.  If you sense danger, I will disappear and she will have no option but to let it go.”

Hunter laughed.  He knew that wouldn’t stop Kayla either.

“Just worry about us getting out of here first,” said Ethan.

That was when they heard the screaming coming from outside.

***

Kim

Kim was having one of her
practice sessions that night.  They started those sessions after midnight; right after the faculty
members did their last rounds and left their dorm.

Two of the haunted hadn’t made it, so she kept the practice session with the three haunted who did show up.

Kim knew that there were ghosts surrounding the academy that night, and she also knew that their leader, the Demon, was not around, which made for a perfect night to test how far they could push their powers.  She knew exactly how close
they
were to the Academy and when she should put the wards back up.

Ever since she started those practice runs, she got faster at taking the wards down and putting them back up.  Doing so didn’t even
faze
her anymore.

It all happened so fast.  She put the wards down and quickly felt it go back up as the others replaced her.  She
heard the screaming and quickly turned
to the three haunted that were holding the wards up.  They all looked as if they were in shock.  She just then realized that being short two people led them to make the mistake on how much power they should have used.  She was fast in putting the wards back up, but it was too late.  She was able to keep the ghosts out,
but there had been another
Demon wandering around the gates of the Academy and that Demon, was now trapped inside.

Kim turned to her ’students’.  They felt it too.  She knew it because they looked even more terrified.  “Not a word about this to anyone,” she said.  “I will take the blame.  Just get out of here.  Go back to your rooms.”

“But—“ one of them said.

“You will be able to sense if the demon is near you.  Just hurry and don’t let ANYONE see you.”

They all nodded and rushed out of there, with Kim following right behind them.

Kim did the right thing.  She ran straight to the faculty dorms.

Most of them heard the
screaming and were already walking out of the door. 

Kim ran straight to Daniels.  “I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I don’t know how this happened,” she said crying.

He could already sense the Demon.  Daniels ordered a few of the faculty members to keep the haunted children in their dorms and guard it, and to send the Fallen ones out to help find and secure the Demon.

Daniels turned to Kim and said that everything would
be okay.  He told her
they would figure out what happened once everything calmed down. 

He spoke to her in a soft tone.  Kim had been there the longest and even though he forced so much responsibility on her, with Kayla’s absence in his life, he treated Kim like a daughter.

“Kayla!”  Daniels thought of Kayla, unprotected, and quickly turned
to Kim.  “I want you to go into the faculty building.”  He gave her a key.  “Go to the third floor.  I know there are some still in there.  Tell them what happened and tell them that I ordered at least two to stay with you and DO NOT leave this building.”

By the time Daniels turned around, he could see Hunter and Ethan going toward Kayla’s building.

For the first time, he was glad to have Hunter around.

He looked puzzled when he saw that Ethan kept going.  That was when he spotted the Demon girl, running into the building where Ashley was staying.

Daniels immediately took off in that direction. 

***

The Demon girl was already in Ashley’s room when Ethan got to the second floor, only he couldn’t get past the stairs.  There was some kind of spell keeping him out. 

Doors down the hallway, Ember had put herself in between Ashley and the Demon.  The Demon looked at Ember and laughed.

“Do you think you can stop me, little girl?”

Ember stared right back at her.  “Without a doubt.”

That was when Ashley screamed.  It wasn’t because she was scared, but because it was time.  It was time for the child to be born.

The Demon girl’s eyes gleamed.  She was instantly distracted by this new opportunity.  She was just supposed to get into the Academy and retrieve the pregnant girl, but now… she could have that power all to herself.  So what if Benjamin would be mad?  She would be stronger than ever.

Another scream.  This time, the girl advanced.  She had no time to waste.  She pushed Ember out of the way and moved toward Ashley. 

The Demon girl froze at their touch.  Daniels and Ethan grabbed her, pulling and dragging her away from Ashley.  She immediately looked at Daniels.

“Shouldn’t you be protecting the other one?  Your daughter?”

Benjamin had given her the tools to distract Daniels, and that would have worked if it weren’t for Ethan telling her to be quiet, and for Ember’s whining about Ashley’s screams distracting her.

Daniels and Ethan escorted the girl to the faculty’s building, leaving Ember to take Ashley to the Academy’s infirmary.

Once in the faculty building, with Kim’s help, they locked up the Demon by putting her in an invisible-like cage that was secured with Kim’s powers. 

They already knew why she was there and who she was after.  Their best option would have been to send her to the Otherworld and trap her there, but that would bind her last memory to Academy grounds.  If she somehow found a way back, the Academy is where she would return.

Letting her go wasn’t an option either.  That would give Benjamin more information about the Academy.  There was only one possible way to handle the situation and that was to admit their flaws, and hand her over to one of the other Academies; one of the older ones, with more experience handling these types of beings.

The Demon girl laughed when Daniels reached for the phone.

“You so much as tell them about my existence and I will tell them about your daughter.”

Daniels, who didn’t respond well to being threatened, glared at her.

“Kim, sweetheart, are you able to keep her trapped in this room until Ashley has her baby?” 

Kim nodded.

“Very well then.  You may be released once Ashley and the baby are safe.”

She laughed again.

“That is not the only thing Benjamin wants, you foolish
Angelus
.”

Daniels glared at her.

“Kayla?”

“If she is what will lead him to reach his goal, yes, but there is so much more… He wants to destroy what is most important to you, and considering that you have yet to check on your daughter, you should very well know what that is.”

“Benjamin is a spoiled brat.  He does not know what he wants.  He needs guidance.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Yeah… Okay!”

“Enough,” said Daniels.  “Ethan, warn one of the faculty members to let everyone know that things are under control and go check on Kayla.”

Demon girl giggled.  “Ah, priorities!”

Daniels stayed with Kim while Ethan left.  He didn’t say another word to the Demon girl and neither did she to him. 

Kim secured her in that room, and went outside with Daniels.

“Mr. Daniels, Benjamin is after the Academy.  You know that, right?”

“No, Kim.  Benjamin is just a lost child.  As I said, he needs guidance.  He wants attention.  It is always been that way.  That is the only thing he is really after.”

When Ethan returned, he assured Daniels that Kayla was fine, but he said the faculty needed help with the haunted; that they were all scared.

Daniels left right away, ordering Ethan to stay with Kim until further notice.

“Is Kayla really okay?” she asked.  You seem nervous.

Ethan nodded.  “I’m sure she is.  Earlier, when we spotted the Demon, Hunter told me to go after her and that he would hide Kayla until everything was safe.”

“So, you didn’t even see her when Daniels asked you to?”

He looked ashamed.  “No, but I’m sure they are fine… and by the way, Hunter wants to leave tonight before they tighten security even more.”

“We can’t leave tonight!  If that is his plan, I’m not going!  Do you have any idea what will happen if those wards come back down?!”

Ethan sighed.  He knew that as much as he wanted to leave, Kim was right.  “I know.”