Forsaken (Academy of the Fallen #4)

by Daniele Lanzarotta

  I see Ezra talking to Trent.

  “Focus, nephilim!” he yells.

  “Where are Sam and Kayla? I can’t remember the name they gave me,” he says shyly.

  “You don’t need a name, nephilim,” Ezra snaps back.

  “Kayla, wake up. Kayla!”

  I open my eyes and I’m short of breath. Hunter wraps his arms around me.

  “It’s okay. You are safe.”

  “We need to find Trent, Hunter.”

  “We will. I still think we need help. Xavier can transport us. I’m not sure exactly how much of your abilities you’ll be able to use in the human world.”

  I give him a puzzled look. “What happened while I was gone?” I ask.

  He looks away.

  “Just tell me. It can’t possibly be worse than being in Hell.”

  He has a shocked look on his face.

  He sighs. “Wards no longer work in the human world. There have been a lot of tragedies that they see as natural disasters, but there is so much more at play than that.”

  “Are the humans in danger?”

  He nods.

  “My mom? Dad?”

  “Chase and one of the fallen are watching over them. They are fine.” He pauses. “They do miss you, though.”

  “Hunter, I miss them too, but seeing them right now is not a good idea.”

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “I’m afraid of settling into a human routine and end up getting too comfortable and not doing what I need to do.”

  “Kayla, it wouldn’t be that way.”

  “Hunter, please. I couldn’t take them looking into my eyes and begging me to stay out of what I was meant to do. I can barely handle when it’s you asking me to let you take me away.”

  His eyes widen.

  “I’m sorry, Hunter. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. And I don’t want to fight with you. Not now… not ever.”

  He takes a deep breath as he runs his fingers through his hair. “Is this going to happen, Kayla? When we find the kid, are you really going to let me take you away?”

  When I don’t answer, he puts his hand over mine. He then brushes his fingers against the ring he gave me and for a second, I think he is going to take it off and my heart stops.

  He looks up from my hand to my eyes. “I made you a promise, Kayla, and my promise is forever. I just want to know the truth. I don’t want to build expectations of being able to take you away from this world if you know that is something you won’t be able to do. You are who you are and I’ll deal with whatever I need to deal with, even if it goes against what I want. I just need to know the truth.”

  I can feel my chest moving faster and faster. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, Hunter, but I have every intention of going away with you. Just as long as Trent is protected.”

  He nods. “Are we telling Xavier and the others about him?” he asks.

  “Do you think Xavier will try to stop us if he doesn’t agree with what we are doing?”

  Hunter gives me a crooked smile, “Like anyone could ever stop you from doing what you want,” he says and winks at me.

  I agree to talk to him, but only if we meet outside of the Academy, at Ethan’s hideout.

  As soon as Chase returns, Hunter asks that he stay with me while Hunter goes talk to Xavier. Hunter kisses me before leaving the room.

  “Thank you,” I say to Chase.

  “What for?” he asks confused.

  “For taking care of my family.” I sigh. “How are they really doing? I’m afraid Hunter made it seem like things are not as bad as they might be.”

  “They have good days and bad days. Protecting Kim and Carolyn keeps them busy, but they miss you every minute of every day. They’ll be happy once they get to see you again.” He smiles. “They managed to keep Kim from being exposed to this world ever since you left, well… aside from my presence and the ones protecting them… and Ethan. She is actually doing well in school. She graduates this year.”

  Tears spring to my eyes. I don’t want to be jealous, but I can’t help it. The thought that Kim is living a normal life; a life that was supposed to be mine… makes me feel angry, and I hate this feeling. I should be happy for her. I WANT to be happy for her.

  “Kim misses you just as much,” Chase says.

  “She barely knows me.”

  He nods. “It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you. She is your sister and she knows this world well. Not to mention that she is very grateful for you helping her get to where she is today.”

  This makes me feel even worse for feeling the way I do.

  “I’m glad she’s okay,” I say and then we fall into silence until Xavier and Hunter come back and we leave to see Ethan.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Ethan and Jennifer stay in a small house near a lake. Before we go in, I stop and stare at the water, thinking about how much I miss the summers when my concerns revolved around choosing the perfect bathing suit for a day at the lake or at the beach. I laugh at how insane my life became.

  Hunter stands next to me and I can feel his warmth when he puts his hand on mine.

  “Our lives can go back to normal, Kayla. Just say the word, and I’ll take you away.”

  I look at him and his eyes tell me that he means every word. I smile, but don’t say anything. I just go back to looking at the water. There is no reason to remind him that normal for us will never happen. I know it and he knows it, but I feel like if I say the words, it’ll break his heart.

  “Are you ready to talk to them?” he asks.

  I nod. With his hand still on mine, he leads me inside the house, where we find Jennifer, Ethan, Xavier and Chase, standing around and anxiously waiting for us.

  I sit on the couch with Hunter next to me holding my hand and I tell them everything. I tell them about the illusions, about the Forsaken, about Samael’s death, and about Trent.

  Not once do any of them interrupt me, and by the time I’m done, they are all silent with their mouths hanging open.

  Xavier sighs. “I can’t keep all this from the others.”

  I can feel my hands start to tremble and Hunter tightens his grip on my hand.

  Hunter faces Xavier, “please at least give us time to search the demon’s houses before you warn the others.”

  Xavier hesitates, but agrees.

  I look at him and he seems as if he’s in shock.

  Finally, he takes a deep breath. “Once you find the boy, we will have to determine how exactly he was created,” he says.

  “How?” I ask.

  Xavier shakes his head. “Are you willing to share your memories?”

  “But I haven’t seen anything! Most of the time, I was stuck in illusions.”

  He nods. “You’d be surprised with how much your subconscious holds.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  “Be willing to let me in,” he says.

  I sigh. “Fine, but not now. We need to stop wasting time and find him.”

  He nods. “Hunter and I searched for the demon before. We’ll split up. Ethan, Jennifer and I will go to the places where he is less likely to be. You, Hunter and Chase will go to the others. Some of the places are tricky, with warded doors and doors that take us into illusions. You must be careful.” He pauses. “Whether you sense them or not, don’t let them know you’re there… just come for us and let us know what’s happening.”

  I shake my head. I don’t trust Xavier enough to take the chance of him finding Trent before we do. “No, we will go to all places together.”

  Xavier nods. “Very well, then we start with the most difficult place and work our way to the others. We need more weapons. Hunter, would you come back to the Academy to help me get them?”

  Hunter agrees and as soon as they are gone, Ethan comes to sit next to me.

  He watches Jennifer with such adoration. Then he looks from her to me, “Kayla, what you did for the Forsaken… do you think you could heal Jennifer too? Make her an angel again?�
�

  She gasps. “Ethan, that is not necessary. It doesn’t matter.”

  He looks at her and his tone softens. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter to me. I love you whether you’re fallen or not, but I know it matters to you and you deserve better than this.”

  She stands up and walks over to him. She kneels down in front of him and puts her hands over his. “It doesn’t matter, love.”

  “Please let her try this for you,” he begs.

  I shrug. “It won’t hurt to try.”

  Jennifer looks into Ethan’s eyes. “I’ll try, but I’m doing this for you, not for me. Ethan smiles down at her. He then stands up, helping her up as well and gives her his seat. Jennifer sits next to me and I close my eyes, and when I’m finally able to get into her head, it’s not a memory that I see, it’s a message. “Please tell him that you can’t. I know what will happen if this works and I couldn’t bare him wanting to stay away because he is afraid of me becoming a fallen once again.”

  I slowly open my eyes. “I can’t, Ethan. I’m sorry.”

  I can see the disappointment all over his face. He shakes his head. “But you were able to do this with beings from Hell. I don’t understand. Jennifer deserves this. It should be easy…. It should be much easier than it was for you healing the others.”

  I look away from him, not knowing what to say. I also don’t want to lie to him. It was hard enough to say that I couldn’t do this without even trying.

  “It’s okay, love,” says Jennifer. “It’s not meant to be.”

  Ethan kneels down in front of her. “But I know it in my heart that it is. The dark wings don’t belong to you. I see goodness in you everyday and it kills me to see you being cursed with this darkness of your wings.”

  Jennifer leans closer to him and puts her hand against his cheek. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

  “I see the same in you, Ethan. This is not fair to either of us, but reality is that we fell.” He opens his eyes and a tear runs down his face. She wipes the tear away. “What matters to me is that we’re still together, Ethan. I miss being able to help humans and our kind like I used to, but I wouldn’t be able to focus on any of that without you by my side.”

  He smiles up at her then looks at me, “Thank you for trying.”

  When Xavier and Hunter return, everyone’s mood is down, but they don’t ask why and we offer no explanation.

  Once everyone has a weapon, Xavier transports us to a cabin in the middle of a forest. I stand a few feet away from the front door, holding my dagger. Xavier masks our presence. I can sense that Ezra has been here. We all can. I shiver just thinking about him.

  “Can you tell if he’s still there?” Hunter asks Xavier.

  I close my eyes. I know that he is here. Without so much as a word, I rush toward the cabin. I don’t even need anyone to transport me in. I kick in the door and run inside. When inside, I stop and turn around and they are all behind me, ready to fight.

  “They were just here,” says Jennifer. “They know we are after Trent. They won’t come back.”

  “Back from where?” asks Hunter.

  I walk over toward a door at the end of the hallway. The door is warm. I sigh. I close my eyes and I’m inside Trent’s head. He is crying and scared. He is in the room where Samael and I used to be. Ezra is telling him that is where they are staying for a while.

  “Come here, boy.” Ezra says while looking out the window. “Do you see those two creatures?” he says looking at the Forsaken.

  Trent nods.

  “I want you to destroy them.”

  Trent looks terrified.

  “I don’t want to,” he says.

  Ezra nods. “I won’t be back until you do.”

  He turns around and leaves Trent there alone.

  I can feel as if I’m out of breath, but I can’t pull myself away from his head. I feel what he feels and suddenly, the terror turns into joy and it scares me for only a moment, until I hear him say, “Hi Sam!”

  I look where he is looking but I see no one.

  Trent nods. “Okay…. I understand… Are you going to stay with me until Kayla comes?” He smiles and I know that at least for now, Samael is watching over him, but I don’t know for how long.

  I pull myself out of his head and gasp for air. I run outside and sit on the floor to catch my breath.

  Hunter is by my side within a matter of seconds. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  I nod.

  “How did you get into the Otherworld?” I ask.

  “With their help,” he says as he looks at the others.

  “I need to go back. Trent is at the house where I was. Samael is with him but I don’t know for how long.”

  Xavier shakes his head. “Absolutely not. We go back to the Academy right now. It is time for the others to know what is happening.”

  I look over at Hunter, concern all over his face, but I know there is nothing he can do, even if he wanted to.

  “I’m not going back to the Academy,” I say.

  “Kayla,” says Xavier. “It’s safe there.”

  I shake my head. “I want to stay with Ethan and Jennifer. I won’t allow the fallen at the Academy to use me to find Trent.”

  Xavier shakes his head and walks over to Hunter who looks like he is about to pass out. “You are ready to protect her on your own,” he says and hands him his sword. “I can’t help from here on out.” Then Xavier leaves.

  As soon as he is gone, I face Ethan and Chase. “I need your help to get me to the Otherworld.”

  “Kayla!” says Hunter.

  “I’m going to go get him.”

  Hunter shakes his head. “Not without me, you are not.”

  I nod. “Okay. You and Chase can come along.”

  “When?” he asks.

  “As soon as possible. If we get lucky, Ezra won’t even be there. The Forsaken will be able to help us and Trent can take down the wards.”

  “He can?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  We go back to the lake house first. I want to change my clothes into something more appropriate for the heat, and Hunter wants to make sure we are all well fed.

  Once we get back to the cabin, we are shocked to see that we have guests waiting: Stephaine and Benjamin.

  TWENTY-TWO

  As we approach them, Benjamin watches me curiously and I watch him. No matter how many times I’ve seen him or even what I lived through, he still terrifies me.

  He doesn’t look happy to be here at all and I don’t like it one bit. I also don’t like that with my hair darkened, one can tell that we are brother and sister and I know that as soon as we are done with this, I want my natural hair color back. I know how stupid it is to worry about something like this with everything going on, but I don’t want to look in the mirror and think about him. I don’t want anything in common with the demon.

  “What are you doing here?” I snap.

  “Why the hostility, little sis? As far as I know, you are here thanks to me.”

  “No. I’m here thanks to Hunter and Chase… and myself.”

  Stephaine steps forward. “We come in peace. We just need to talk.”

  I look from Benjamin to Stephaine and I see that she looks the same except for the black wings, which don’t seem like they belong at all. She also looks extremely tired.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Can we go inside the house?”

  Ethan starts to say yes, but I stop him. “You can. He,” I say looking at Benjamin, “he can stay out here.”

  “Ouch, sis… words hurt, you know?”

  “What do you want Benjamin?”

  “For starters, I want to be away from here. Let’s make it clear that I’m here mostly for her.”

  “That’s sweet,” I say sarcastically.

  He looks at Stephaine, “I told you this was a bad idea.”

  “Just tell them,” says Stephaine.

  He looks at her with such intensity and devotio
n that for a split second, I almost forget what he really is.

  He turns his gaze on me. “Father came looking for me.”

  I give him a puzzled look wondering why he has come to warn us.

  As if reading my mind, he says, “I’m not here to warn you. I’m here to recruit you.”

  “You. Recruit me?” I laugh.

  “The old man has gone mad. He plans to give control to a kid. He wants the kid to destroy the world like—like it’s a simple video game. I told him I’d join him.”

  “And how are you here now? Don’t you think he will find that suspicious?”

  He shakes his head. “He trusts me. Besides, I told I just need some time before then.”

  I laugh at the absurdity of it all. “And he agreed? Just like that?”

  “Well, he told me I have twenty-four hours to stop playing house with Steph and then I better be by his side.”

  “Why are you telling us all of this? Why do you want to ‘recruit me’?”

  He sighs. “You ask too many questions, sis. You should learn to trust people.”

  Hunter grins and shakes his head.

  “I need your help because if the kid destroys the world like father plans, Steph will be destroyed along with everything else.”

  I see Stephaine approach him and wrap her arms around his waist.

  “And you trust him?” I ask her.

  “With my heart and soul,” says Stephaine.

  I nod and look over at Ethan.

  “Do you mind if we go inside and talk?”

  ***

  We all gather around the living room.

  “What’s your plan?” I ask Benjamin.

  “Well, you and I are the only ones who can enter Hell.”

  “So can Hunter,” I say.

  Benjamin shakes his head. “Seriously?”

  I nod. “He goes where I go.”

  I can feel Hunter’s hand on mine and without looking at him, I can tell he’s smiling.

  Benjamin shrugs. “Whatever. Any way… it seems to me that the easiest thing to do is to take out the boy.”

  I’m shocked at how careless he sounds about it. Hunter senses me tense and get nervous about it all.

  “Absolutely not,” says Hunter. “You won’t even come close to the boy.”

  Benjamin laughs. “Look at you being all understanding and stuff. Do you even know how the boy was created? Do you know who he belongs to?”