Fallen (54 page)

I’d never experienced the same
level
of urgency before as I did now. I even considered asking Gershom to pick me up and carry me to
Jackson Square
the way he
carried me
across school grounds but realized that would cause a s
tir and make it easier for the
Fallen One
s to find us. Instead, I raced my bike through the city faster than I’d ever gone before. Gersho
m held on to the back and took the turns well
.
I was thankful he wasn’t entirely human because if we were to collide with anything
I wasn’t
sure either of us would
survive at these
speeds.

When we reach
ed
Jackson Square
I didn’t bother to stop on the street
like I usually
did when the area was crowded – as it was now. I pulled right up to Felix who was in the middle of a palm reading. The loud roar of my bike
caused
them to postpone the reading until I’d turned off my engine.

“Sorry,” I said to both of them to which the woman in his customer chair scoffed. “Felix, there’s
an emergency
. I need you to get home…right now.”

“Is Ezra al
l
right?” He was suddenly wide-eyed and standing.

“So far…” I replied and he let out a whimper.  “I need you to get Rufus
into
the car and meet me back at the house.”

Noticing a security guard
furiously
marching through the crowd
toward
us, I started my bike and yelled to Felix, “Hurry!”

He listened, briskly handing
the woman’s money back, and started in the direction of Rufus’s table. I turned my bike and began to head out of The Square, narrowly avoiding a young couple walking hand in hand.

With Felix and Rufus on their way home,
I was
now focused on getting us back to the house safely. I had just reached the street when
,
w
ithout any warning
,
it felt as if someone
was ripping out the
hair on the back of my neck
.
The feeling was
so intense it made my head jerk
– causing my helmet to knock against
Gershom’s
.
My
stomach was
now
churning, my hands were sweating, and my eyes were burning.
I felt as if someone had shot mace at me.
It was the most extre
me reaction I’d had yet to any
Fallen One
.

Instantly, I knew
what this meant. 

Gershom made two fast, light taps to my shoulder, an action that would not have been detected by anyone unless they had been standing right beside us. It confirmed my assumption.

A
cross The Square
,
in the shadows beneath a wrought-iron balcony
,
stood a group of ten men and women.
They were of all different heights, sizes, and ethnicities. Only one distinct similarity stood out. Despite their superficial characteristics, you could detect their age was far older than
any of them
appeared.

Each
focused on us, all with the same furious glare. I was surprised
I
missed them before. They weren’t exactly dressed to fit in with the crowd – each wearing
a
grey trench coat and black gloves despite the humidity. I immediately recognized
Achan
,
Elam
, Sarai, and Shar
ar. The rest I didn’t recall
but
I
wondered
if they knew me from past lives
.

T
he one in front, the one th
at towered over the others,
drew my attention
the strongest
. 

His hair was long and black, hanging knotted and straggling down his shoulders. His arms dangled at their sides appearing long enough to reach across The Square and take hold of us.
His elongated,
narrow nose had the curvature of a beak
.
His skin was just as
smooth
as I’d noted the other Fallen Ones had
,
not
a single wrinkle
but
unable to hide the years aging beneath it.  

“
Abaddon
…” Gershom said
,
just loud enough for me to hear over my engine’s
roar
.

I spun my bike around and headed back
into
The Square.

“Where are you goin
g? We’ve got to get out of here,
” Gershom
clamored
in my ear.

“Felix and Rufus! I need to make sure they’re
safe
!”

I
headed
to the side street where I knew Felix regularly
parked
and found the two of them already in Felix’s car. Behind the wheel, I saw Felix’s face and it stunned me. His carefree, flighty countenance was gone, replaced with stone cold determination. He almost looked like an entirely different person. That was comforting, knowing he took my urgency serious. The moment the car started, he raced through the lot, out on to the city street, and headed for home.

I followed them, keeping an eye out for
Abaddon
and any other
Fallen One
s. It appeared that we lost them and I was relieved – but only slightly because I sti
ll remembered Eran saying that
Fallen One
s stay hidden and wait for the right time and place to attack.

Eran…the thought of his name made
my stomach
churn from
the
pain
. I was certain he’d felt that – my longing for him – so I instantly pushed it
away
, not wanting him to know I was thinking about him. Despite
realizing
I needed him now more than ever, my pride kept me from allowing my emotions to run free and send him a signal.  I was on my own now
and
I had to remember
that.

I told myself to focus.
This was not the time to dwell on
a
broken heart. I needed to concentrate, to remain alert.
There were things far more
important at risk than my pain: My roommates’ lives.
My job
now was to get
my roommates and Gershom out of
harm’s
way.

Once at the house, the four of us charg
ed through the door so quickly that
Ezra was on her feet before we got to her office.

“What’s happ
ened?” she asked,
instantly
apprehensive
.

A moment later, I realized they were all looking at me
,
waiting for the reason
why I collected everyone to the same spot
.

“Sit and I’ll explain,” I said,
which they did, each stiffly on the edge of their chairs.

I
inhaled deeply,
preparing myself for what I was about to admit, the guilt
welling
up in me before I
even
spoke. “I have put you in danger. There is someone after me – more like a group after me
-
and now they’ve found me. I had planned to leave th
is morning to keep you all safe.
Rufus
,
that’s part of the reason you found me crying
.
”

They turned to Rufus for answers
but
he
simply shrugged in confusion.

Ezra cl
eared her throat
. “When you say ‘leave’ do you mean you were planning on leaving the city – for good?”

Her question, it being the first one of all the ones she could ask, made me pause. “Ezra, you’re in danger,” I stated.

“I understand that. Please answer me,” she
said
insistently.

Certain my face
was fully expressing
the guilt I felt, I gave in. “Yes.”

Ezra let her head drop as if my confirmation was the wors
t of her fears. When she raised
her head again,
and
focus
ed on
me, she didn’t bother hiding her disappointment. “Maggie, you are in greater danger alone than with us.”

“No – I’m not explaining this clearly.” I groaned
, much to my chagrin.
“I am putting you in danger
just
by being near
you.
They are after me! Not you!”

“And who ya talkin’ ‘bout anyways?” asked Rufus, again with a shrug. “Who’re ‘they’?”
             

I was speechles
s. They didn’t care that these
Fallen One
s
could walk through the door at any moment
, each with th
eir own ability to inflict harm.
They were more insistent on asking quest
ions than protecting themselves. It was incredibly antagonizing.
I knew the only way I could help them understand the risk they were in was t
o help them understand who the
Fallen One
s were, so I looked to Gershom for assistance.

Gershom raised his hand meekly and said, “Hi, I’m Gershom.” He then laughed uncomfortably.

No one laughed with him. They
simply stared
, waiting for an explanation.