Forsaken (Academy of the Fallen #4)

by Daniele Lanzarotta

  I shake my head. “I’m not coming back, Chase. Not without her.”

  Chase nods.

  I take a step forward and I can see the flames and feel the heat on my skin. In a blur of movements, three of the lost souls appear and advance toward me.

  “Step out of my way,” I order them.

  They look at me as if they didn’t understand what I just said. They keep moving forward and so do I. One of them, a male, reaches me. I try to shove him out of my way, but my hand goes right through him. He screams in pain, but doesn’t stop. I look at Kayla’s dagger and having no other ideas, I launch forward and as soon as the metal of her dagger touches him, he shrieks and fades away. The others watch in horror before they turn around and start to walk away. They take a couple of steps at a regular pace then they just disappear.

  I hesitate to go any further, but only for a split second. The heat is strong, but bearable. I wonder how much worse it will get, and then, I see her. Her hair is dark, but even from a distance, I know it’s her. I would find her anywhere. She sees me too. She is with two others and they seem to be protecting her, but as soon as her eyes lock on mine, we run toward each other until our bodies crush against one another. I put my arms around her and pull her even closer. I can’t feel the heat any more. With her in my arms, I forget where I am and for a moment, I even forget how much time has passed.

  When I pull away enough to look down at her, I can see the tears in her eyes. “You didn’t give up on me,” she says.

  “I would never.” I cup her face in between my hands and kiss her.

  KAYLA

  All my fears are gone in the moment I lay eyes on him. In fact, I stop thinking all together. I just see him and my heart starts to race uncontrollably.

  "Go!” says one of the forsaken. “I can feel the demon is near. We’ll stop him from going into the Otherworld, but you need to get across that line before it’s too late. His wards won’t work once you are in the Otherworld.”

  They don’t need to tell me twice. I run toward Hunter and only stop when our bodies crush against one another and all I can think about is that he didn’t give up on me. He came all this way to save me. And when he kisses me, it feels like we were never even apart.

  “We need to go,” he says as he looks past me.

  I turn around and see Ezra coming toward me.

  “Go!” yell the forsaken.

  Hunter grabs my hand and we run toward where he came from.

  “Go to your left.” I hear the familiar voice say.

  “Chase?”

  “The one and only.” I can almost hear the joy in his voice. We keep running and running, past the screams, the shrieks, and the cries, until I can feel myself falling… alone, and then I feel the change in the air.

  I fall on the floor and I immediately recognize Ethan, Jennifer and Xavier. Chase shows up seconds later.

  I feel like I can’t breathe, and the change in temperature makes me feel cold as if I was standing outside during a snow storm.

  “Kayla?” asks Ethan.

  I nod.

  “Are you all right?”

  I can’t stop shaking. “I’m just freezing cold.”

  Xavier walks toward me, stands at my side and wraps his wings around me.

  “Better?” he asks.

  I nod. “Where is Hunter?”

  He looks over at the bed where Hunter lays unconscious.

  “Why is he not awake?”

  I look at Chase.

  “He will be, soon. He’s not in the Otherworld anymore. Just give him time.”

  Ethan and Xavier study me curiously, finally, Xavier speaks.

  “We should get someone here to check on you,” he says.

  “No! I’m fine. I don’t want anyone to know I’m here until I talk to Hunter.”

  They give me a puzzled look but let it go.

  “Where are we anyway?” I ask.

  “At one of the demon’s cabins.”

  I feel hot now and walk away from Xavier. “Are you all insane? He’s going to come looking for us!”

  I look around, not recognizing the surroundings.

  “Jennifer warded the place,” says Xavier, “but as soon as Hunter is awake, we will take everyone out of here.”

  “But why here?”

  “Hunter didn’t want anyone trying to stop him from going after you, and Ethan is not exactly welcome at the moment. Besides, this was the last place you were before you were taken to Hell. We thought being here might help somehow.”

  I look at Ethan. “Why aren’t you welcome at the Academies?”

  He avoids my gaze. “I left you unprotected for my own selfish needs when I should have been guarding you. If it wasn’t for that, Samael and the demon would never have gotten to you.”

  My eyes widen in confusion.

  “Did you say Samael?”

  “Well, yeah, he helped the demon get you from your house.”

  I take a few steps back. “There is no way!”

  Xavier cocks his head to the side and studies me. “What happened while you were gone?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “Not until after I talk to Hunter.”

  I hadn’t even realized that Hunter had opened his eyes and was now sitting up and watching me intensely.

  I look at him and smile, but he is serious. “Did something happen between you and Samael during that time?” he asks.

  “No, I mean, well… not in the way you think.”

  “What happened?”

  “You’ll know soon.”

  He nods. “Your hair looks different,” he says.

  I look away knowing that it probably looks terrible and he hates it.

  He stands up and walks toward me. He places a finger under my chin and lifts my head up so that I’m looking at him.

  “It’s different, but you look just as beautiful. I’m just wondering what caused the change.”

  I smile at him and he brushes a lock of my hair back.

  “What they said about Samael is true, Kayla. He helped the demon take you.”

  I feel betrayed. Never once he told me that. I always thought that Ezra took us both.

  “You trusted him,” says Hunter, and I can see the hurt look on Hunter’s face, mostly because my trusting anyone is such a big deal and unlikely to happen.

  Ethan knows it too, because he knows us so well.

  Ethan faces Jennifer, Xavier and Chase, “We should let them talk alone.” He looks back at us, “We’ll keep the wards up for as long as you need them.”

  They follow Ethan out of the room.

  No matter how hurt Hunter looks, he tries to hide it. He grabs my hand and runs his fingers over the ring he gave me and smiles. That seems to make him relax a little.

  He leads me to the bed where we sit side by side. He looks at me, “What happened?” he asks.

  “Can you tell me how long I’ve been gone?” I ask.

  He looks down, “A little over four years.”

  I look away and I have to hold back the tears. “Do I look, you know… older?”

  He shakes his head. “You actually look pretty much the same, well, except for your hair.” He gives me a genuine smile, but I know that’s four years wasted, because he’s immortal and I’m not. He stopped aging by now and I will continue to.

  I end up spacing out.

  “Are you okay?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I’m just tired.”

  “I missed you so much,” he says.

  “I missed you too.”

  “Do you know how my parents are doing?”

  He nods. “They are having a tough time and so is Kim. She’s still with them.”

  I’m happy to hear about Kim and her being kept away from all of this. “So they haven’t given up on me either?” I ask.

  “They love you Kayla, and so do I. We could never give up on you.”

  “But others have, haven’t they? If it got to the point where you were sneaking around and resorting to go to the Otherwor
ld…”

  “Kayla, I would have searched Heaven or Hell for you. I’ll always find you and I’ll always protect you the best I can,” he looks away.

  I put my hand on his, “I know you will.”

  He sighs. “But I failed you. I was there when they took you and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “Hunter, you went to Hell to find me. I couldn’t ask for better protection than that. Sometimes, bad things just happen. At the end of the day, it’s how you handle it that matters.”

  He bites his lip as if he is afraid to ask the next question so I just start telling him what happened.

  I look down, avoiding his gaze. “Most of my time spent there, I was trapped in illusions where there was only you and me,” I say.

  “You were?” he asks.

  I nod.

  “So he wasn’t hurting you or anything?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “No, he had a plan all along. He needed Samael and I alive and healthy.”

  “What happened when you were not in those illusions with me?”

  I can feel him watching me.

  “I had to train with Samael.”

  He looks away and sighs. “The thing I was most worried about was you having nightmares and not having anyone around to stop them.”

  I leave that alone and just keep quiet.

  “Hunter?”

  He looks at me.

  “I need your help with something.”

  He gives me a puzzled look.

  “I know what his plans are and we need to stop him,”

  He stands up.

  “Absolutely not. Kayla, for God’s sake, I just got you back. Will you please stop being so stubborn and let me take you away from all of this? Fixing their mess is not your responsibility!”

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this mad and determined. I don’t know how much I should tell him about Trent, but I do know that I have to tell him something to get his attention… to get him to help me.

  “Hunter, I don’t even know how to explain what I know, but I know what Ezra wants.”

  “Good. We’ll tell someone and wash our hands of it.”

  “Please listen to me,” I beg him.

  He is nervous, frustrated, but he stops to listen.

  “The demon, Ezra, created someone who he wanted Samael and I to train as nephilim.”

  His eyes widen and he starts to speak but I interrupt him.

  “I know what you are thinking, but you’re wrong. The boy is not a demon. From what I understand, he was created by Lilith.”

  “Lilith as in the mother of incubi demons?”

  I nod, “But he’s not like that Hunter, he is Nephilim, like full blooded nephilim.”

  He gives me a puzzled look.

  I can’t tell him the next part. I choke. “I—I can’t explain it, Hunter, but he is a part of Samael and I. We can’t explain how, but he looks like us and there is good in him. We need to take him away from Ezra.”

  Hunter shakes his head. I can see tears and rage in his features before he turns around and walks away to the other side of the room. His voice breaks, “What if those were illusions to make you think that? To get you attached to him so you would train him to defend himself and teach him everything you know?”

  I never considered that but I know it’s not true. His back is still to me and I look down, tears running down my face and I know Hunter won’t help me… no one will.

  “Is he yours, Kayla?”

  I shake my head. “Not in the human way of having kids, no, but I just can’t explain it, Hunter.”

  I sit down on the bed and look down but I can hear him approach me. He gets down on one knee to get a better look at me but I still avoid looking him in the eyes.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he says.

  I look up at him, with tears running down my face. At this point, I don’t care if he or anyone else thinks I’m weak because I know I’m not. “Hunter, that wasn’t an illusion. Trent was created in a way that makes him a part of me and he is so defenseless, and he is the age I was when I was left by my dad. Please help me get him away from Ezra and as long as he is safe, I’ll go anywhere with you. I’ll go away from all of this and never look back.”

  He sits beside me and puts his arms around me. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll help you.”

  I start sobbing on his shoulders.

  “Do you know where he is?” he asks.

  “Ezra took him away whenever he wasn’t training. I assume one of his hideouts.”

  Hunter nods. “Good thing I know where they all are.”

  “You do?”

  “I looked for you everywhere, Kayla.”

  I manage to stop sobbing and hug him tighter.

  “I love you, Hunter.”

  “I love you too.”

  After a long pause, he says, “What happened to your hair?”

  “Do you remember the two guardians who were with me when I got to you.”

  “Yes,” he nods. “Guardians? Is that what they were?” he asked confused.

  “They actually call themselves the Forsaken, but they were lost souls from the Otherworld, one was a fallen angel who ended up there. I healed their pain and I guess I made them what they are now… forsaken angels… when I did that, my hair got darker.”

  His eyes are wide open as I tell him that.

  “Xavier and Ethan will want to know what happened,” he says.

  I bite my lips, unsure of what to do.

  “How about I tell them about the illusions and about the ‘guardians’, and leave it at that until you have time to think about all of this? But I do think we could use their help. Just give it some thought,” he says.

  I nod.

  “Let’s get you out of here, though. We’ll hide you at the Academy for now.”

  NINETEEN

  My attempts to convince Xavier to let me stay with Ethan and Jennifer don’t work. He insists I’ll be safer at the Academy and he won’t have it any other way.

  Xavier portals us all to one of the empty buildings at the Academy and we don’t think anyone will even notice the unwanted guests… not with all they have to deal with.

  Hunter and I walk into a room that is one of the standard Academy rooms. Plain white walls, two beds, one on each side, with a dresser in between them, and a desk on the other side of the room, right next to the bathroom door. This is one of the rooms without a window and somehow that makes me feel protected.

  “I’m going to go back out to talk to them. There’s a bathroom through that door, if you want to take a shower, and I’ll ask Ethan to get you some clean clothes, but you can wear my shirt for now. He takes his shirt off and hands it to me. I immediately notice that even though he looks the same, his body doesn’t. I can tell he’s trained as much as I have. After he gives me his shirt, he reaches for my dagger, which is attached to his belt, and hands it to me.

  I take it from his hands and my grip on the cold metal feels so familiar.

  “You kept it all along?”

  “Not only did I keep it, I used it to hunt demons as I looked for you,” he said proudly.

  I smile at him and look back down at my dagger.

  Hunter starts to walk toward the door to talk to Xavier and the others.

  “Hunter, you’re coming back, right?”

  He smiles and nods.

  I walk into the bathroom and stand in front of a mirror that hangs over the sink. I do look pretty much the same, but I don’t feel the same. It’s a shock to see the dark hair, but in a way, it fits the way I feel… different.

  I take the longest shower I probably ever took in my entire life. I put on Hunter’s shirt and I love the smell of him. I find a small travel kit in the cabinet and brush my hair, my teeth, and when I walk out of the bathroom, Hunter is sitting on the bed waiting on me.

  I walk over and sit next to him.

  He leans to the side and his lips are on mine within seconds. I missed this, his soft kisses, his hand on the sm
all of my back as we kiss… He then slowly pulls away.

  “I wanted to be here when you got out of the shower. Ethan is getting you some clothes and I was going to run out to get you something to eat. Xavier is not telling anyone that you are here yet. He wants to give you time to rest before anyone else knows and wants to talk to you.”

  I nod.

  “Chase will be right outside the door if you need anything, okay?”

  I give him a puzzled look. “How is Chase in the Academy anyway?”

  He sighs. “Let me get you something to eat first. We’ll talk as soon as I get back.”

  TWENTY

  HUNTER

  I walk away thinking that as happy as I’m to have her back, I don’t like the story about this kid one bit. I have no doubts that the demon manipulated her into getting attached to the kid. But I can’t say no to her and I have to help her because she’ll never let it go and I do believe that once we find him, she’ll let me take her away from all of this and I’m ready for that. I’m so over all of this.

  I grab her some food and find Ethan on the way back, hiding inside the building where we are staying. He gives me the clothes that he got from his and Jennifer’s hideout. He says he’s going out to see Jen and tells me where to find them if we need anything.

  When I get back to the room, Chase asks me if I want him to stay. I tell him that it’s up to him and he says he will check on Kim and then come back. I remind him not to say anything about Kayla yet, not until I know what she wants to do. He agrees and leaves, and I go into the room where I find Kayla sleeping.

  I put the food on the desk and lay next to her. She doesn’t wake up, but her arms go around me. She has no idea how much I missed this.

  I fall asleep with her in my arms but not before I promise her to always fall asleep like this.

  KAYLA