He shrugged. “That makes you who you are, Kayla.”
“I know… but even if I don’t show it, I do trust you…. and I— I love you too.”
FOURTEEN
Hunter
Hunter didn’t like leaving Kayla alone. He knew how awful the nightmares were, but he also knew that they were running out of time. It was already almost dawn when he got back.
Ethan was awake and waiting for Hunter.
Hunter knew how Ethan was anxious to get out of there and he knew the reason.
“I need to talk to you,” said Hunter.
“What’s up?”
Hunter sighed.
“Just say it,” said Ethan.
“Kayla is so stuck on helping you find Jennifer and I’m sure that will only get her found and stuck back in here.”
“Look, all I want from you is to help me out of this place. Once we are out, you and Kayla can go your own way. I will be fine.”
Hunter shook his head.
“You don’t know Kayla. If she is stuck on helping you, that is what she is gonna do.”
“Okay, then I don’t understand what you want ME to do about it.”
Hunter ran his fingers through his hair. He was worried, tired, frustrated… “I don’t know what to do. Kayla is right about so many things…. we will need a place to stay, money –“
Ethan tensed thinking that maybe they were changing their minds about leaving.
“The most difficult part will be getting out of here, we will work out the rest… and as far as you being worried about Kayla, we will be careful. If you sense danger, I will disappear and she will have no option but to let it go.”
Hunter laughed. He knew that wouldn’t stop Kayla either.
“Just worry about us getting out of here first,” said Ethan.
That was when they heard the screaming coming from outside.
***
Kim
Kim was having one of her practice sessions that night. They started those sessions after midnight; right after the faculty members did their last rounds and left their dorm.
Two of the haunted hadn’t made it, so she kept the practice session with the three haunted who did show up.
Kim knew that there were ghosts surrounding the academy that night, and she also knew that their leader, the Demon, was not around, which made for a perfect night to test how far they could push their powers. She knew exactly how close they were to the Academy and when she should put the wards back up.
Ever since she started those practice runs, she got faster at taking the wards down and putting them back up. Doing so didn’t even faze her anymore.
It all happened so fast. She put the wards down and quickly felt it go back up as the others replaced her. She heard the screaming and quickly turned to the three haunted that were holding the wards up. They all looked as if they were in shock. She just then realized that being short two people led them to make the mistake on how much power they should have used. She was fast in putting the wards back up, but it was too late. She was able to keep the ghosts out, but there had been another Demon wandering around the gates of the Academy and that Demon, was now trapped inside.
Kim turned to her ’students’. They felt it too. She knew it because they looked even more terrified. “Not a word about this to anyone,” she said. “I will take the blame. Just get out of here. Go back to your rooms.”
“But—“ one of them said.
“You will be able to sense if the demon is near you. Just hurry and don’t let ANYONE see you.”
They all nodded and rushed out of there, with Kim following right behind them.
Kim did the right thing. She ran straight to the faculty dorms.
Most of them heard the screaming and were already walking out of the door.
Kim ran straight to Daniels. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened,” she said crying.
He could already sense the Demon. Daniels ordered a few of the faculty members to keep the haunted children in their dorms and guard it, and to send the Fallen ones out to help find and secure the Demon.
Daniels turned to Kim and said that everything would be okay. He told her they would figure out what happened once everything calmed down.
He spoke to her in a soft tone. Kim had been there the longest and even though he forced so much responsibility on her, with Kayla’s absence in his life, he treated Kim like a daughter.
“Kayla!” Daniels thought of Kayla, unprotected, and quickly turned to Kim. “I want you to go into the faculty building.” He gave her a key. “Go to the third floor. I know there are some still in there. Tell them what happened and tell them that I ordered at least two to stay with you and DO NOT leave this building.”
By the time Daniels turned around, he could see Hunter and Ethan going toward Kayla’s building.
For the first time, he was glad to have Hunter around.
He looked puzzled when he saw that Ethan kept going. That was when he spotted the Demon girl, running into the building where Ashley was staying.
Daniels immediately took off in that direction.
***
The Demon girl was already in Ashley’s room when Ethan got to the second floor, only he couldn’t get past the stairs. There was some kind of spell keeping him out.
Doors down the hallway, Ember had put herself in between Ashley and the Demon. The Demon looked at Ember and laughed.
“Do you think you can stop me, little girl?”
Ember stared right back at her. “Without a doubt.”
That was when Ashley screamed. It wasn’t because she was scared, but because it was time. It was time for the child to be born.
The Demon girl’s eyes gleamed. She was instantly distracted by this new opportunity. She was just supposed to get into the Academy and retrieve the pregnant girl, but now… she could have that power all to herself. So what if Benjamin would be mad? She would be stronger than ever.
Another scream. This time, the girl advanced. She had no time to waste. She pushed Ember out of the way and moved toward Ashley.
The Demon girl froze at their touch. Daniels and Ethan grabbed her, pulling and dragging her away from Ashley. She immediately looked at Daniels.
“Shouldn’t you be protecting the other one? Your daughter?”
Benjamin had given her the tools to distract Daniels, and that would have worked if it weren’t for Ethan telling her to be quiet, and for Ember’s whining about Ashley’s screams distracting her.
Daniels and Ethan escorted the girl to the faculty’s building, leaving Ember to take Ashley to the Academy’s infirmary.
Once in the faculty building, with Kim’s help, they locked up the Demon by putting her in an invisible-like cage that was secured with Kim’s powers.
They already knew why she was there and who she was after. Their best option would have been to send her to the Otherworld and trap her there, but that would bind her last memory to Academy grounds. If she somehow found a way back, the Academy is where she would return.
Letting her go wasn’t an option either. That would give Benjamin more information about the Academy. There was only one possible way to handle the situation and that was to admit their flaws, and hand her over to one of the other Academies; one of the older ones, with more experience handling these types of beings.
The Demon girl laughed when Daniels reached for the phone.
“You so much as tell them about my existence and I will tell them about your daughter.”
Daniels, who didn’t respond well to being threatened, glared at her.
“Kim, sweetheart, are you able to keep her trapped in this room until Ashley has her baby?”
Kim nodded.
“Very well then. You may be released once Ashley and the baby are safe.”
She laughed again.
“That is not the only thing Benjamin wants, you foolish Angelus.”
Daniels glared at her.
“Kayla?”
“If she is what will lead him to reach his goal, yes, but there is so much more… He wants to destroy what is most important to you, and considering that you have yet to check on your daughter, you should very well know what that is.”
“Benjamin is a spoiled brat. He does not know what he wants. He needs guidance.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah… Okay!”
“Enough,” said Daniels. “Ethan, warn one of the faculty members to let everyone know that things are under control and go check on Kayla.”
Demon girl giggled. “Ah, priorities!”
Daniels stayed with Kim while Ethan left. He didn’t say another word to the Demon girl and neither did she to him.
Kim secured her in that room, and went outside with Daniels.
“Mr. Daniels, Benjamin is after the Academy. You know that, right?”
“No, Kim. Benjamin is just a lost child. As I said, he needs guidance. He wants attention. It is always been that way. That is the only thing he is really after.”
When Ethan returned, he assured Daniels that Kayla was fine, but he said the faculty needed help with the haunted; that they were all scared.
Daniels left right away, ordering Ethan to stay with Kim until further notice.
“Is Kayla really okay?” she asked. You seem nervous.
Ethan nodded. “I’m sure she is. Earlier, when we spotted the Demon, Hunter told me to go after her and that he would hide Kayla until everything was safe.”
“So, you didn’t even see her when Daniels asked you to?”
He looked ashamed. “No, but I’m sure they are fine… and by the way, Hunter wants to leave tonight before they tighten security even more.”
“We can’t leave tonight! If that is his plan, I’m not going! Do you have any idea what will happen if those wards come back down?!”
Ethan sighed. He knew that as much as he wanted to leave, Kim was right. “I know.”
FIFTEEN
Kayla
I knew there was something majorly wrong when Hunter rushed into my room.
“What is going on?” I asked.
“One of Benjamin’s allies got in.”
I immediately started to freak out. “What? But—the wards? How can that happen?”
Hunter was pacing back and forth. “I don’t know! Kim and the others were supposed to be practicing. Something probably went wrong.” He made a fist and punched the wall. “Kim said the only Demon who was ever out there was Benjamin, but this one is a girl. We never accounted for the possibility of Benjamin either hiding or shielding others.”
“Oh My God. Well, where is she now?!”
“Ethan went after her. Everything will be okay.”
I took a deep breath.
“Kayla, I need to get you out of here tonight. Everyone will be too distracted with everything else, Benjamin included. They are going to tighten security soon. We have to leave.”
“What about Kim? Ethan?”
“They will go with us as planned.”
“But, Hunter, if Kim goes, Benjamin will be in here in a matter of seconds.”
Hunter sat down and looked up, meeting my gaze.
“I’m not gonna be able to convince you of going, am I?”
I shook my head. “Not unless I know that everyone else in here will be okay. I want to get out of here as badly as you do, but not at the cost of everyone else’s safety.”
I couldn’t remember ever seeing Hunter so mad.
In a desperate tone he asked, “What if we leave Kim behind?”
“I couldn’t do that. Hunter, please stop putting my life in front of everyone else’s. This whole Nephilim thing means nothing to me. I’m not that big of a deal.”
“You are a big deal to me, Kayla… and my taking you out of here has nothing to do with what you are.” He paused. “Will you at least allow me to hide you somewhere in the Academy until we know this Demon is no longer a threat?”
I nodded.
Outside there were a few fallen ones walking around. Everything looked almost deserted. Hunter grabbed my hand, shielded me, and took me to an abandoned building where they kept most of the Academy’s supplies.
In that building, there was an abandoned room at the end of the upstairs hallway. Hunter grabbed the keys that were hidden in a drawer and we entered the room, which was no different than the other dorm rooms.
When we got in, Hunter locked the door and hugged me. “Why do you have to be so difficult, Kayla. I just want to make sure you are safe.”
“I know, but there are kids living here. Most are defenseless. We can’t just leave them.”
Hunter pushed the hair off my face and smiled.
“What?” I asked.
“You may say that being a Nephilim means nothing to you, but that is changing you.”
“What do you mean?”
“There is more good in you than most of the fallen combined. You are starting to put the others before you… to defend this place like it is your home… I sense your willingness to protect these people, the haunted and even the fallen, like they are your family. Not to mention what you are willing to do to help Ethan with… it is reckless!”
“It is the right thing to do, Hunter…. And deep inside, you know it; otherwise you would be dragging me out of here… or at least trying to.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Really?”
“Kayla, that is who you are. I will stand by your side no matter what you decide… no matter how reckless your decisions are, I will always be there.”
I don’t know what came over me, but feeling the vulnerability of having one of them now in the Academy got to me, “Hunter, let’s say I make one of those so-called reckless decisions... If this was to be our last night together, how would you want to spend it?”
“I would want to spend it with you. Even if we had thousands of nights, I would want to spend every single one of them with you.”
Hunter approached me with his gaze locked on mine. He was looking at me differently… with more intensity. My heart started beating faster and then he kissed me with such intensity that it was as if that night was the last night of our lives.
SIXTEEN
It was only about a few hours later when we heard a knock on the door. “Hunter, it is me… Ethan.”
I didn’t want to move at all. I just wished that Hunter and I could for once spend more than just a few hours without worrying about everything else falling apart.
Hunter walked to the door and let Ethan in.
“No one saw you come in, right?” asked Hunter.
“No.”
“So, what happened? Is she gone?”
“No, she is still in the Academy, but she is restricted. They are using Kim to make sure she doesn’t get away.”
I grunted at the sound of that.
“Ashley had her baby and… well, Daniels just got back a few minutes ago from talking to officials from another Academy. They are coming to get Ashley and the baby to keep them protected, at least until the child is safe from Benjamin.”
“Oh,” I said, “How are they going to get in without Benjamin stopping them?”
“There are a few coming to guard the outside and let the others get in safely.”
Hunter looked pale. “This is not good; not good at all.”
“Daniels would agree with that. He is not happy at all. When he returned, I had to tell him that you are keeping Kayla here. He said that everything is secure now. He sent me to make sure that Kayla goes to her dorm and stays there until further notice.”
“Why?” I asked.
“He has a lot that he needs to hide, Kayla. One of them being that there is a Nephilim in this Academy. They would know that you are a Nephilim as soon as they lay eyes on you… and Hunter, he wants to see you.”
“I’m not leaving Kayla alone in her room while there is a Demon around!”
“There is a little problem with that,” said Ethan.
“What?”
“Daniels wants you with Kim while I get the officials from the other Academy to Ashley.”
“Why can’t someone else do this?”
“Beats me. He seems to be keeping a very specific group of people hidden from the Fallen ones coming in… as far as to why he wants you with Kim and not Kayla, it is probably because Kim needs someone there and he thinks she trusts you more than anyone else.”
“I knew we should have left last night!”
“Hunter, look at me… I will be fine.”
SEVENTEEN
Hunter
Ethan walked with Hunter to the place were Kim was staying. With her, there was Daniels and the Demon, who was locked up.
Hunter froze when he first saw her. The girl smiled at him.
Feeling uncomfortable, he turned his back to her and met Ethan’s gaze.
“Benjamin is well prepared,” said Hunter.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“They sent ‘her’ for a reason.”
He paused and looked at Daniels.
“None of you know what she truly is, do you? You know… besides the fact that she is a demon?”
They shook their heads. Daniels looked intrigued at Hunter’s knowledge.
Hunter glanced at the girl, who stood up with her arms crossed, looking as if she was enjoying the show.
“She is one of Lilith’s daughters,” he said with disgust. “One of the child-stealing ones… She is not here for Ashley, she is here because they want the kid one way or another.”
Daniels faced Ethan. “Go and stay with Ashley and the baby until I get there. I won’t be long.”
Daniels then ordered Hunter to stay with the Demon the entire time, and for Kim to stay right outside of the room along with one of the faculty members. He didn’t say the reason, but he didn’t want to take any chances of Kim being influenced by the Demon’s strong glamour. To him, Kim was like a daughter… but Hunter was expendable.
After everyone left, the Demon glared at Hunter. “You are different,” she said as she stared at him. “Too smart to be here.”
Hunter ignored her.
“You can stop referring to me as the ‘demon’, you know? My name is Hannah.” She paused and smiled. “You are not afraid of me, are you?” she said in a seductive tone.
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