Nephilim (Academy of the Fallen #2) (9 page)

“Earlier… did you sense the wards being tampered with at anytime before the demon got in?”

“I didn’t – I’m afraid it may have been my fault,” she said nearly crying.  “I was distracted and I think I may have slipped and let it down.”

Daniels put his hand over hers.  “It wasn’t entirely your fault, Kim.  We should’ve had a backup in place.”  He paused.  “Just go back to your dorm and rest.  You need it, and please don’t blame yourself for this.”

Kim felt horrible about not being able to tell him the entire truth, about her purposely putting the wards down to train others, but she didn’t want to get anyone else in trouble.

She agreed to go rest and left his office.

Things didn’t go as well when Kayla walked in his office.

EIGHTEEN

Kayla

I didn’t answer the door when I first heard someone knocking.

“Kayla, it is Angela.”

I knew she wasn’t going to leave so after a while I finally got up and opened the door.

“What?!”  I had been crying, so my voice was low and weak.

“Mr. Daniels wants to see you.”

I turned around and started to walk back toward my bed.

“Please, Kayla.  Don’t make this more difficult than it should be.  He just wants to talk.  He can probably even give you an update on Hunter.”

“I don’t exactly want to know about Hunter.”

“What happened was not his fault, Kayla.  I know it is difficult to understand but you should talk to him once he is out of the infirmary.”

‘Infirmary?’
I thought to myself, but didn’t say anything.  I just followed her out of there.

When I walked into Mr. Daniels’ office, Kim had just left and he was now on the phone with one of the Academy’s nurses.  I had no idea who or what they were talking about because all he kept saying was ‘uh-huh’, ‘okay’, ‘let me know if anything changes’…

Once he finally hung-up, he took a deep-breath and looked at me.  I sat down and listened as he told me that fallen ones from the other Academy were coming to help on a more permanent level.  He said that they knew about me and that one of them was going to be my new roommate.  Before I could even open my mouth to complain, he stood up, fists clenching, and using a tone that startled me, “Kayla, they gave me no option and you don’t have one either!”

I felt like I couldn’t speak at first, but then I stood up, copying his posture and frustration for that matter, “Well, if you want me to accept this without giving you problems then tell me the truth.  I want to know everything that happened, with you, Benjamin, and my… my mother.”

“Irene,” he said as if reading my mind.  “Your mother’s name is Irene.”

I nodded.

We both sat back down.

“Very well.  You might as well know…”  He paused.  “Who knows?  It may help you protect yourself from Benjamin if you ever need to.”

He sighed.

“When I met your mother, she was already pregnant with Benjamin.  She was 18 and naïve, which is not a good combination, especially when dealing with an incubus.  She never stood a chance in getting away from his charm.  I was sent to protect her from him as well as to protect Benjamin.

It wasn’t hard to get rid of the Demon.  He started to spend more and more time away, probably…hmm… planting other seeds.  Eventually, he stopped coming around all together, but I was sure he would come back when Benjamin was born. 

Your mother was so depressed that I had no option but to get closer to her.  She was in her second trimester when I appeared in human form and met her at her work.

I started out by helping her with simple things.  Getting things fixed around her house.  Just being there… someone to talk to and who would listen.  I fell for her in no time.  I fell for her and became a fallen because of it.

I wanted her to marry me, but she still had feelings for Benjamin’s father.  I told her over and over that it didn’t matter to me.  That I would marry her and take care of the child as if he were my own, but she always hesitated.  One day I was just tired of waiting, tired of the same response.  That was when I made my first mistake.  I told her about
him
being an incubus.  She freaked out.  She could feel that there was something wrong, so it wasn’t difficult to convince her.

I promised that I could help her save Benjamin… I promised to keep them safe, and told her about what I am. 

What she felt for Benjamin’s father was lust… I knew she wasn’t in love with me, but she did love me.  We got married right before Benjamin was born.

I knew she still hoped that the demon would appear once Benjamin was born, but she didn’t know that my presence there was possibly the reason why he had never returned… even after Benjamin was born.

A few years passed.  Irene and I got closer.  Benjamin was five years old when Irene got pregnant again.  That was also when Benjamin’s father came around.

He didn’t look for Irene… he came looking for me.  He ordered me to make a choice, give his son back or he would take you.  To him, a Nephilim was far more valuable than his own son. 

I told him to leave and not come back.

There were other things happening at the same time.  Ever since Irene got pregnant, she started to look at Benjamin differently.  She was going crazy thinking that he was evil.  I had to take care of him most of the time because she was afraid.  I didn’t mind.  I loved Benjamin as if he were mine…. still do.  None of this is his fault…. Well, not entirely anyway.

One day I was out of the house with Benjamin when I felt there was something wrong.  I rushed back to find his father in the house with your mother.  I could see the difference in the way she smiled, the sparkle in her eyes.  Even knowing what he was, she still didn’t care.  She walked over to Benjamin and told him that that was his father and that he had to go live with him for a while.  That he longed to meet and spend time with him.  She actually even seemed excited for Benjamin to get that opportunity.

I could see the confusion in Benjamin’s eyes.  Everything he knew to be true, falling apart… his world falling apart at such a young age.”

“What happened then?”  I asked.  “Did you just let his father take him?”

“I tried to stop him.  In no time, he had your mother in a trance-like-state.  He said that I had two options.  I could let him take Benjamin with no fight or he would make your mother choose to go with him and then he would have not only her and Benjamin, but you as well.  He left me no choice.” He paused.  “Benjamin saw everything.  I assumed he was too young to understand that was a threat, but he clearly understood when I told his father that he could take him.  I could feel it.”

He looked down, avoiding my gaze.

“I do think of Benjamin as my son.  To this day, I wish there was a way to help him.  To get him back and away from his father, but I also have to protect the Academy.”

“What happened after?”

“Well, your mom went on acting as if nothing had happened.  It was almost as if she felt relieved.  Then, you were born.  Shortly after, she started wondering if she made the wrong choice with Benjamin.  Looking at you, she thought it was impossible that one child was so pure and the other so evil, both coming from her.  Benjamin had never done anything to show any evil up to that point.  He was the child that we raised him to be...”  He paused and took a deep breath.  “Guilt drove Irene mad.  Then she started researching what kids like you and Benjamin are like, and although I knew she was researching it, I’m not entirely sure how much she found out.  One day, a normal day, I took you for a walk in the park and when I returned, she was gone, her things were gone… It was just you and I.”

“Until you gave me away…”

“For your protection, Kayla.  I could sense that even though she was gone, Benjamin’s father was still hovering around.  I was afraid to leave you alone, and I couldn’t leave you with others who were unable to protect you.  I didn’t want you to spend your life hiding, so I did what I thought was best to protect you.  Then I ended up here.  The place where I should have brought you from the beginning.”

“No offense, but I’m glad you didn’t.  Andrew and Kelly are the best parents I could have asked for.”

I didn’t mean for my words to be hurtful, but I could tell they were.  I awkwardly attempted to explain what I meant.

“I—I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”

He sighed.  “I’m thankful for them keeping you safe from this world for as long as they did.  It is just that now you are not prepared.”

“Once you let me go… did you ever try to find Benjamin?  To take him away from his father?”

“I did… but his father hid him well.  I wasn’t able to find anything about him at all until… well… until after Benjamin got to you.  I still don’t think it is too late for him… If I could only get him to listen.”

I looked at him in shock.  “You don’t think it is too late?  He is going around having children of his own!  He is his father’s son!”

“Only because I couldn’t stop him from being raised that way.  Benjamin, the one I raised in the first few years of his life… he is still in there.  He just needs help remembering who that Benjamin is.”

I just shook my head, thinking that maybe having the people from the other Academy stay here wasn’t a bad idea after all.  Mr. Daniels just didn’t seem like the most reliable person to do the job.

“What about Irene?” I asked.  “Do you know what happened to her?”

He shook his head and hesitated  “Part of the condition for me being accepted at the Academy was to let her go.”

“Is that it?” I asked.

He nodded and we both got up.

“I’m going to see how Chambers is doing, if you would like to come along…”

I hesitated because even though I was mad at Hunter, I was also worried and wondering why he ended up in the infirmary.

“I—I’m not sure I want to see him, but what happened?  Why is he in the infirmary in the first place?”

Daniels sighed.  “The girl who was outside is a succubus.  They tend to suck the life out of people.”

“…but Hunter is… welll, you know what he is.”

Daniels looked surprised.  “I sometimes forget the two of you tell each other everything.”

I nodded.

“Succubi can feed off anyone.  Hunter is just weakened, but he will recover.  If he was human, he would’ve likely died.”

I nodded.  “Can you just ask someone to let me know how he is doing?”

“Of course… and Kayla, as much as I don’t like this connection that you have with Chambers… what happened between him and the demon wasn’t entirely his fault.”

I nodded and left, not sure what to think.

NINETEEN

I wanted to go straight back to my room and just lock myself in.  I was near the building when I heard someone calling my name.  I turned around to find a guy, one of the haunted, rushing to catch up to me.

I had seen him before, but honestly, I couldn’t even remember his name.  I tried to pretend as if I had not heard him and rush inside the building, but that plan failed miserably.

“Kayla!” he called again.

He was too close, so I just turned around.  “Can I help you?”

“I just wanted to make sure that you are okay,” he said. 

Honestly, I was surprised he was not out of breath.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

“Sorry.  I remember meeting you before, but I’m terrible with names,” I lied.

“My name is Tucker,” he said.  “We met in the cafeteria on your first day here.”

“Oh, right.  Sorry.”

I stood there in awkward silence.  “So, I—I have to go… I’m kinda tired.”

“Oh.”

Something about his expression changed.  He grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward him, and tried to kiss me.

I pulled away.  “What the hell are you doing?”

He let go of my wrist.  “Sorry… sorry… I just thought I was helping.”

“With what exactly?!”

“Well, I saw you all upset when that girl kissed Hunter and I thought that maybe I could make you feel better; make you forget him.”

I looked at him, dumbfounded.

“What the hell gave you that idea?!  Look, I have to go, okay?”

I couldn’t even look at him anymore.  I just turned around and got inside the building without looking back

***

A few hours had passed since everything went to hell.  I got no sleep that night.  In the morning, there was an announcement that classes were canceled for the day. 

I sat in my room wondering when this so called roommate would show up.  I thought that was her knocking on my door, but so it turned out, it was Kim.

I opened the door, letting her in, and went to sit back down on my bed.

When I didn’t say anything, she said that Ethan wanted to talk to me.  That he had asked me to meet him outside of my dorm.

I didn’t want to go.  I didn’t really feel like talking to anyone, but I got up anyway and went to meet him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I shrugged.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go see Hunter.  I will take you there.”

I shook my head.

“I think you should.”

I gave him a puzzled look.

“We often take people for granted until we lose them.  I don’t want to see that happen to you.  What happened was not his fault.  He would have never done that to you.”

I knew all too well about taking people for granted and realizing it too late.  I thought about Kelly, Andrew… I missed home!

“How is he doing?” I asked.

“Physically, he is recovering quite fast… emotionally, he is a mess.  He thinks he could have stopped it from happening and that he will never be able to regain your trust.  Took me a while to make sure he understood that what happened was beyond his control and even then, all he worried about was that you would not understand, that the way you see things... well, you know...”

I sighed.  “Okay, I will go see him, but I just need some time to clear my head first.  You are right and I don’t want to take things out on him.  I’m just gonna go for a walk...  Can you meet me here in thirty minutes and take me to see him?”

“Of course.”

***

I went for a walk toward the back gates of the Academy because no one was ever there.  That wasn’t the case today.  As I walked, every now and then I ran across one of the Fallen.

I was at the halfway distance between the Fallen I had last walked by and the next one standing guard, when I saw
him
.  Benjamin was just sitting there, looking bored… at least until he saw me.  He looked up and grinned.

“Hey, little sis,” he said.

I froze.

“Come closer.  I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

I took a few steps closer.  There were fallen ones close enough to where they could hear me if I screamed.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“I want to get inside the Academy, of course.”

I laughed.

“We could trade.  You help me in and I will help you out.  I will even leave you and your human family alone.”

I grinned.  “Funny, I just had my first class not long ago.  Do you want to know what I learned?”

He looked at me curiously.

“I learned not to make deals with Demons.”

His grin grew wider.  “I feel proud.  I guess I did you a favor by leading you here.  You seem to have grown up… You don’t even sound like that spoiled brat anymore.”

“HEY!  YOU!  GET AWAY FROM THE GATE!” said one of the fallen as he rushed toward me.  When I turned around to look at the gates, Benjamin was gone.

I kept on walking away from the fallen one, just realizing that out of instinct I knew what he was.  He had no wings.  I couldn’t explain how, I just knew it.

Ethan was already waiting for me when I made my way to the front of the dorms.

‘Ready?” he asked.

“I guess.”

Ethan took me to the infirmary… to the same room where I first awoke in this place.

Hunter had his eyes closed.  I was taken by surprise when I saw just how pale he looked.  In fact, I was so shocked that I took a step back.  Ethan put a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

“He will be fine.  He really is recovering fast,” he whispered.

“Oh My God.  What did she do to him?”

“Kayla?” said Hunter in a surprised tone.  I rushed to his side.  He was just then opening his eyes and started to smile at me, but then he quickly stopped.  “I’m sorry—“ he said in a low tone.

I put my hand over his.  “I know it wasn’t your fault.”

He looked at me, eyebrows arched as if he had never been so confused in his life.

“Trust me, I mean what I say about it not being your fault.  It took a lot of explaining from other people, but I know what you were up against.”

Hunter looked over at the door.  “Thanks Ethan.”

“No problem.”

“You know… Daniels also said it wasn’t your fault… and so did Angela.”

“He did?!” Hunter asked surprised.

“Yeah, I was surprised too.”

Ethan interrupted to say that he was going to wait outside.

“Are things any better out there?” asked Hunter.

“You shouldn’t be worrying about that,” I said.  I also decided it was best not to tell him or anyone else about my encounter with Benjamin…. or about Tucker’s weird incident.

“I can’t just lay here and not worry about it, especially with you out there in the middle of this chaos.”

“Well, they are sending fallen ones from other Academies over here.  They have guards everywhere… and looks like I will have a roommate now.”

Hunter squeezed my hand.  “I will still be there.  Even if you don’t see me… you will be able to sense me.  You won’t be alone.”

“I know… but it is not the same.  You probably shouldn’t be doing that right now anyway.  You need to recover before you go around making yourself unseen.  You mentioned countless times how much energy that takes away from you.”

“You are right…”

“I’ll be fine, you know.”

“Kayla, I still want to get you out of here… as soon as I get better, we will find a way.”

“We will talk about it later... once you are better.”

Minutes later, Ethan was knocking on the door.  “It is getting late, Kayla.  We need to get going.”

I nodded.

“You are coming back to see me, right?” asked Hunter.

“As soon as they let me.”

He smiled and closed his eyes.  I could tell how tired he was and a part of me wished I could come across that demon one day.  She would pay for this.

I gave Hunter a kiss on the cheek and left.

Ethan accompanied me to get something to eat.  He seemed distant and I thought maybe he was thinking about Jennifer.  I mentioned that we would find a way to go look for her and his sad smile confirmed my suspicion that that was what he was thinking.

After we ate, I went back to my room.

The lights on indicated that this roommate was already in there. 
Great!

The girl was sitting on her bed, reading.  Once she saw me she quickly put the book away and stood up.

“Hello,” she said.  “I’m Stephaine.”

I gave her a quick awkward wave.  “Kayla.”

The girl looked to be in her twenties.  Long brown hair, pale skin, and white wings.  Funny, most of the fallen ones here either carried scars or smaller darker wings, but not hers.  Hers were white, and they looked… divine.

After an awkward silence she mentioned how different this Academy was from hers. 

“I’ve never even been out of my Academy until now.”  She walked to the window and looked outside.  “I suppose it will take me a while to get used to this place.”

She turned around, meeting my gaze.

“I’m sorry… I’m just not that great with changes.”

“Yeah… I know what you mean…”

Once I didn’t say anything else, she said, “I’m sorry to be intruding.  I’m sure you are not happy about sharing the room with someone who you don’t know.”

As much as I wanted to dislike her, I couldn’t.  She just seemed so… nice.

“No, that is not it.  I just have too much going on.  Either way, I haven’t been here long.  This place is probably more familiar to you than me anyway.”

She smiled, a sincere smile.  “I know all of this can be too much at times… but I heard that the boy in the infirmary will be okay.  You must be happy about that.”

“How do you know about him?”

She looked away as if embarrassed.  “I’m so sorry.  Clarissa saw you running back here after that succubus attacked him.  I just assumed that you had feelings for him.”

“No, I—do, I mean… you are not wrong,” I said, not even knowing why I did it… why I was opening myself up to her.  I was also thankful she used the word attacked instead of kissed.  “Who is Clarissa?” I asked.

“Clarissa is one of the fallen.  She came to help move the human girl.  She was actually transferred here with me.  She is Evelyn’s right hand and will be working with your father—I’m sorry, so sorry—I mean…  she will be working with Mr. Daniels.”

“You seem to know a lot,” I said.

She nodded.  “Knowledge is essential to our jobs.  The more we know, the better we can protect our kind and others.”

She paused.

“You know, I’ve never met one like you before.” 

I had almost forgotten that the fallen ones from the other Academy knew that I was different.

I shrugged.  “It doesn’t seem like many of you have.”

“True.  They said you were raised by humans, that you are still learning about your powers.”

“Yeah…”

“You miss them, don’t you?” she asked.

“Huh?” I asked confused.

“Your human family.”

“I do.  I get letters every once in a while but it is just not the same.”

She paused for a moment, pressing her lips together and looking away as if she was in deep thought.

“What?” I asked.

“Do you want to see them?”

“Of course.”

“Give me your hand,” she said.

I looked at her, confused.

“Come on.  You will be able to see them, but they won’t be able to see you… It is better than letters...”

“Can’t you get in trouble for this?  Like I don’t know… falling again!”

She shook her head.  “I’m still a fallen, but this is the right thing to do.  I can feel it.”

I looked at her doubtfully and for a split second wondered if this was a trick to gain my trust.  Either way, just the sound of being able to see them again… I gave Stephaine my hand.

“Close your eyes,” she said.

I did.

A second later we stood in the living room.  My living room! 

Kelly and Andrew both sat on the floor, surrounded by baby toys.  The baby, who they had coincidently named Carolyn, was sitting on Kelly’s lap as Kelly flipped the pages of a photo album.

“…and this,” said Kelly, “… is your big sister, Kayla.”

“Don’t be silly,” said Andrew.  “She knows who Kayla is by now, we show her the pictures everyday.”

“Well, of course she does, but I’m going to keep showing it to her until Kayla is back home.”

She put the photo album down, picking up Carolyn and turning her around.

“You know, Kayla will be home soon,” she said as if trying to convince herself.