Forsaken (Academy of the Fallen #4)

by Daniele Lanzarotta

  I look over at Trent and he is sitting on the couch right next to where I’m laying down. He watches Jennifer curiously.

  “Are you okay, bud?”

  He nods. He jumps off the couch, walks over to Jennifer and looks up at her.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks curiously.

  He points at her wings.

  “Can I touch your wings?” he asks.

  She nods and kneels down.

  Before touching it, he says, “The color is wrong.”

  Jennifer’s expression turns into sadness. She closes her eyes, but doesn’t pull away.

  Trent reaches for her wings and the color starts to fade from black to white. We all gasp and that is when Jennifer opens her eyes. She looks to the side and has the same reaction as we all had. Scared, she looks at Trent. He smiles at her before he comes to sit next to me again.

  Ethan and I look from one another and I know what he is thinking. I look over at Trent. “Can you do that again, if you want to?” I ask.

  He nods.

  “Can you show us? Can you do the same to his wings?”

  He nods. He walks over to Ethan and does the same. Once Trent pulls away, Jennifer wraps her arms around Ethan and they are both are in tears.

  Trent once again comes back and sits next to me.

  “Do you feel different?” I ask Ethan.

  “I—I fell like I got it all back… all abilities… everything.” He looks over at Jennifer. “Do you?” Unable to speak from the shock, she continues to stare at her wings and nods. When she looks back in our direction, I see that she is still crying. Ethan moves his hand toward her and wipes her tears away. “You—We deserve this.”

  When I look at Trent, I see that he is now staring at Steph.

  “Do you want to change hers too?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “Not now. Sam says the man is coming for her.”

  “Sam is here?” I ask.

  “Not anymore. He said he shouldn’t be here long.”

  I hear Benjamin swear. “He knows… he knows I helped. Please ward this place. I beg you. Please don’t let him take her.”

  I look over at Trent. “Can you help me with the puzzles?” I ask.

  He smiles and within seconds we have the wards up. All while Hunter watches us, and smiles.

  Once everything is ready, I look over at Benjamin and sigh.

  “What?” he asks.

  “You didn’t happen to grab my dagger before you took me out of Hell, did you?” I ask.

  “Can’t say that I had the time to,” he says in a cold tone.

  I take a deep breath knowing that what is done is done. I go over to the room and grab another one of the other daggers and it feels so unfamiliar… everything about it feels odd.

  Back in the living room, we can all feel when the demon is outside, but that is not for long. We have no doubt he’ll be back and we know we can’t keep the wards up forever either. Sooner or later, we’ll have to come up with another plan.

  “Trent should rest,” says Ethan. “And so should you. Jennifer and I can take up the wards for a while. Once you get some rest, we will figure out what to do.”

  I stand up and see the look on Benjamin’s face. He looks pale and scared… he looks human… and he has yet to leave Steph’s side.

  I take Trent to the room and when I come back out, Hunter is gone, along with Benjamin.

  “They wanted to talk,” says Steph.

  I start to walk outside, but Steph stands in front of me. “Please let them. It’s important,” she pleads with me and I can’t say no.

  I take a deep breath. “Okay.”

  “You do know that the Academy will want Trent just as much as Ezra, right? Especially with his gift.”

  “I know. We’ll make sure they can’t get to him.”

  “You can’t hide within wards forever,” she says.

  “I know, but we’ll find somewhere safe. We could maybe build our own place with the same security as the academy. We could bring my parents and Kim could maybe help with the wards.” I gasp. “My parents! Ezra is going to go after them!” I panic.

  “We got it under control,” says Ethan. “Chase went for them and Xavier is helping, at Hunter’s request.”

  I feel like I can breath again. I look outside the window and wonder what in the world Benjamin and Hunter are still talking about.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  HUNTER

  “I need to talk to you,” says Benjamin.

  “We have nothing to talk about.”

  “You’ll want to hear this. It’s about you and Kayla.”

  “Ugh. Fine. Talk.”

  “Outside.”

  I let out a growl and follow him out.

  On the front porch of the house, he shows me a small bottle that has a drop of a clear liquid inside.

  “What is this?”

  “This is a tear catcher. I want to make a deal with you. I want Steph protected from my father. If you can guarantee her protection by the other fallen, this is yours.”

  “I can’t speak for them. And I have no clue what a tear catcher is… what’s in there?”

  “Do you know Lilith’s story?” he asks.

  “No.”

  “They say that Lilith was Adam’s wife before Eve. Lilith refused to be submissive to Adam, and so, she left the Garden of Eden and swore never to go back. Angels were sent to take her back, but she refused. One of the angels made a deal with her where if she allowed him to collect one of her tears, he would help her get away. She mated with him, and when he became a fallen angel, she cried, and that was when he collected the tear. As promised, he helped her, but even though she escaped from her life, she wasn’t able to escape from the curse that the other angels placed upon her. This,” he says as he shakes the bottle, “is Lilith’s last tear… one tear from the first of God’s creation who switched sides between good and evil. For you, this is mortality, but it also has the power to make any being human. I’m offering you a trade where there are no hidden clauses on my side of the deal. You talk them into helping me protect her and this is yours. This will turn you mortal. That is what you wanted all along, right?”

  I laugh. “And you have been just carrying that around all along? Just in case?”

  “In a way,” he says. “I knew that you or Kayla would need it eventually. I just needed to figure out what I wanted in return. Then father told me about the kid and I thought I would maybe use it on Trent as a last resort. I thought that it could keep my father from being able to use him to destroy everything, Steph included. But it would be such a waste being that there is only one of these.”

  “What changed? You could give it to Trent now and not need our protection.”

  He shrugs. “He knows I helped take the kid. He’s going to come after Steph one way or another.”

  I nod. “I’ll talk to them. Give me the bottle.”

  He shakes his head. “No. You’ll have to take my word that it is yours once they agree.”

  “Look, demon,” I snap. “I’m having to take your word that the bottle contains what you say it does. If you want my help, hand it over.”

  Benjamin reluctantly hands over the bottle.

  “Don’t you dare not do your part,” he warns me.

  “I’ll do my part, but not for you. Kayla likes Stephaine. I know she won’t want any harm done to her.”

  “Good.”

  Benjamin goes back in the house and I stay at the front porch.

  I stare at the bottle, knowing that the solution to mine and Kayla’s future is in my hands. I could take this and be mortal or I could give it to her and make her human so that she can go back to having a normal life.

  TWENTY-SIX

  KAYLA

  “Hunter?” I say looking over your shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He nods.

  “What is that you are holding?”

  He sighs. “Why don’t you come sit down with me?”

  I follow him to the bench ou
t on the side of the door and sit next to him.

  “About us…” he says, and my heart drops.

  “Kayla, I’ll protect you forever and I’ll be with you for as long as you’ll have me.”

  “Which won’t be forever,” I let the words out without meaning to remind us of that yet again.

  He opens his hand for a split second and I can see that he is holding a small bottle. Then he closes his fingers around it again.

  I think of the forsaken. I think about the one who told the love of his life that one day she would be an angel and he taught her how to become one of the fallen. I wonder if Hunter would still want me if I did something like that. The thought quickly leaves my mind. Growing old and wishing to die just so that I can sin and become a fallen seems all too much.

  “Are you okay?” he interrupts.

  I face him and just looking into his eyes, I go back to wondering if maybe that plan is not as absurd as I think. For him, I would fall over and over again.

  Before I can even answer it, he opens my hand, places the bottle on my palm and closes my fingers around it. “This is what would make me mortal.”

  My mouth hangs open. “Why are you giving it to me?”

  He looks away. “Because this will also make Trent mortal. And Kayla, his powers… he is already healing the fallen at this age, which let’s face it, no one can benefit from that. The angels in charge are not going to like it and the demons are definitely not going to like it either. They are never going to leave him alone. No one will. Trent didn’t ask for any of this and he definitely doesn’t deserve this life. Me? I’m used to this world. I’m used to fighting demons and everything else, but it’s too much for him.”

  I can’t stop the tears running down my face.

  “You would do this, for him?”

  “And for you, Kayla. I know you don’t want this life for him.”

  I nod and cry.

  “We’ll find another way to be together,” he says. “Xavier is still willing to help me find a way to make me mortal.”

  “Where did you get this?” I ask, looking at the bottle.

  “Benjamin gave it to me.”

  “Christ! And you took it? What did you trade for it?”

  “Nothing!” he quickly says. He gave it to me in exchange for protection… for Stephaine.”

  I look from him to the bottle. “What if this hurts Trent?”

  “As much as I hate to admit this, at this point, I trust him. He wouldn’t play around with Stephaine’s safety.”

  “I don’t know about this, Hunter.”

  “Worst case scenario and this is not what he said it is, we could have Ethan heal Trent.”

  I nod and look down at the bottle. “Is there more? For you?”

  He shakes his head. “There is only one. I’m sure there are other ways… at a cost, but we still have time. Xavier and I will find a solution.”

  “Do you ever think that maybe it’s just not meant to be?”

  His eyes widen. “Are you kidding me? I found you in the Otherworld… I found you in Hell… this is fate. We are meant to be together.”

  I smile at him. “I’m sorry. You’re right. This all just gets overwhelming.”

  He pulls me into his arms, “I know.”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Before we go back inside, Hunter and I figure out how to keep Trent protected if all of this actually works. I hate having to do this, but it’s for the best. Once I calm down enough to where I managed to stop sobbing, Hunter grabs my hand and leads me back inside the house.

  Once inside, we check on Trent who is still sleeping. Benjamin and Stephaine leave Hunter and I alone with Ethan and Jennifer because as much as Benjamin may have changed, I still don’t trust him to hear what I’m about to say to them.

  Ethan and Jennifer sit in front of us. Hunter grabs my hand for reassurance.

  “I have something to ask of you.”

  “Anything,” says Ethan.

  “You may want to hear this before you agree to anything.”

  “Go on,” he says.

  I look over at Hunter and I can’t do this. I start to choke on my words because for one thing, I hate to ask for favors, especially one this big, but mostly because for the first time in my life, I understand why my parents gave me up and I hate it.

  Hunter looks over at me, “Do you want me to?”

  I nod.

  He looks over at Ethan, “We have something that could make Trent human.” He pauses to wait for questions but there are none. They both just listen attentively. “We thought about having Kayla’s parents watch over him, but they are already a target as it is. It’s too dangerous for them and for Trent. Kayla and I are obviously the poster couple for demon targets. And it would be good for Trent to have protection, even being human. So we were wondering if you and Jennifer could take care of him. We’ll help get anything you need.”

  We are both surprised when Jennifer speaks up for the both of them. “We’ll be honored to.” She looks over at Ethan, who smiles at her and looks back at us. “We really will.”

  “Thank you,” I say. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  “To us,” says Hunter.

  “It’s our pleasure,” says Ethan.

  “When?” asks Jennifer.

  “The sooner the better,” I say. “For as long as he is around Stephaine and Benjamin, he is in even more danger, and Steph needs our protection. Once Trent wakes up, we’ll give him the antidote and see how he responds. If something goes wrong, he may have to be healed.”

  “We’ll do it,” says Jennifer and Ethan at the same time and at that moment, I know Trent couldn’t have anyone better than them to watch over him.

  After we talk to them, they step outside and Benjamin and Stephaine walk back in.

  “So, did they agree?” asks Benjamin.

  “We didn’t ask,” says Hunter, “but before you say anything, let me finish what I have to say.”

  Benjamin doesn’t look happy, but he allows Hunter to continue.

  “Kayla and I decided that we’re going to be the ones protecting Stephaine. I know there is only so much that I can do, but Kayla has enough powers for the both of us, and Stephaine has abilities of her own. That should be enough. Any questions?”

  “You do know that I’ll be here as well, right?” asks Benjamin. “I just want to make sure you know that protecting her, includes you spending every waking moment with me.”

  “Yes, we’re well aware of that,” I say.

  ***

  Hunter and I slept on the floor, in the room where Trent was sleeping.

  “It’s weird, you know,” I whisper. “I know he’s not mine, but in a weird way, it feels like he is.”

  Hunter brushes his fingers against my back, which is relaxing. “I know, but he is your blood.”

  I sigh. “We named him. That probably didn’t help with us getting attached.”

  He tenses when I say the ‘we’ part of it, but he doesn’t say anything about that. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks.

  “Yes. It needs to be done.”

  “There is still time to change your mind, Kayla.”

  “I know, but I won’t. It’s weird, but I finally understand Daniels and his decision to give me up. I still don’t like it, but I understand it better now.”

  Hunter leans over, kisses my forehead and puts his arm over me, and after just staying in silence for a while, that is how we end up falling asleep.

  ***

  “Kayla,” I feel someone’s hand on my shoulder. I turn around to find Trent sitting next to me.

  “Oh, hey Trent. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  He shakes his head. I look over. “Where is Hunter?”

  “He said he was going to get food.”

  “Sam says it’s time for me to go.”

  I quickly sit up. “Go where?”

  “With the angels. Ethan and Jennifer.”

  “How does he— never mind
.” I try to wake up. “When was he here?”

  “He just left.”

  Not being able to see him was getting annoying.

  “He said that I’m going to be okay. He said you are doing a good job.”

  I sigh.

  “Are you scared?” I ask him.

  He shakes his head. “I like Jen and Ethan.”

  That makes me smile. I take a deep breath and tell him about the antidote, wondering if he even understands any of it.

  “Tent, I have to give you something that will make you different.”

  He gives me a confused look.

  “It’s something that will make you safe, but you won’t be able to play with those puzzles anymore and you won’t be able to read what other people are thinking or see their memories.”

  He moves toward me and gives me a hug.

  “I know that can be scary.”

  “It’s okay. Puzzles and the other magic make my head hurt.”

  I have to fight back the tears. When I look up, I see Hunter standing at the door, watching us. He walks over and hands me the bottle.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” he says.

  “I know.” And now, I feel better about it all.

  When I give Trent the bottle, he leans over and whispers in my ear, “Sam is here. He says don’t worry. That he will be with me too.”

  Again, fighting back the tears, I smile and give him the bottle. My heart skips a beat as he drinks it. Hunter and I sit on the floor with him and watch him carefully for a few minutes. When nothing happens, I say, “Trent, can you take down the puzzle that I just made?” I ask.

  He looks around the room. “I don’t see a puzzle.”

  I let out a heavy sigh and smile. “Good.”

  We spend a little while longer with him before we go find Ethan and Jennifer. When we do find them, they’re ready, but Benjamin is blocking the door.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Where exactly do you think they are going?” he directs his question at me.

  “That is none of your business.”

  “You’re wrong there, little sis. You know Hunter and I have a deal,” he looks over at Trent, “and apparently, my part of the deal is already completed.”