by C. L. Coffey
The cuts had gone, including the one on my face. The fist-shaped bruise on my collar bone had turned to yellows and pale greens. Being part angel—even a fallen one—meant I healed fast.
Everything but the Lichtenberg fracture which was still as prominent as it had been the day I woke up with them.
When I jumped in the shower, I discovered my scalp was still tender too. Hopefully that wasn’t going to be as long lasting as the lightning scars. Massaging my hair gently, it felt a little better when I got out and carefully towel dried it. Deciding it wasn’t worth running a hairbrush through it, I pulled it back into a messy bun.
Although this was a college, there was a uniform. It wasn’t the worst uniform I’d seen, and I liked the colors—tartan in various shades of blue—but I was too old for the catholic schoolgirl look. At least it meant I didn’t have to worry about which of my three non-uniform outfits I had to wear in the world of rich kids.
I wasn’t in the bathroom for long, but when I walked out, Ty was gone. Leigh-Ann was curled up on my couch, sipping an iced tea while she waited for me. She had also changed into her uniform.
While I was in the same freshman class as Leigh-Ann, I’d joined late. At twenty-one, I wasn’t the oldest student in the class. That award went to Ty.
After grabbing my own glass of water, I went to join Leigh-Ann on the couch. She looked up at my hair, her lips quirking into an amused smile. “That’s not your usual look. It’s cute.”
“I got attacked by two fallen angels, and one of them took a liking to my hair.”
Leigh-Ann nearly spilled her drink down herself. “The ones that attacked the campus? Did you and Gabriel go after them?”
“We never really talked after the attack on the school.” I sucked in a deep breath, drumming my fingers on the side of my glass. “You remember that I told you I’m a nephilim?”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to forget that my best friend and my boyfriend are both nephilim,” Leigh-Ann told me, rolling her eyes. “Especially not after I saw you and Gabriel kick some fallen angel ass to save me and Harrison.”
Fair.
“My mom spent most of my life moving us around from city to city. It’s part of the reason I had been to so many schools and didn’t graduate.”
Much as I got frustrated with this college treating us like we were still at school, it was one of the reasons I put up with it. Because without Gabriel’s offer, there was no way someone like me would be able to attend a place like this.
“The reason she kept us moving was because she thought my father, the fallen angel, was coming after us.” I wanted to tell Leigh-Ann the whole truth: that I’d thought my mom was crazy and the only reason she was acting the way she did was because of me. But shame burned bitter in the back of my mouth, and I couldn’t get the words out.
“Do you know who your daddy is?” Leigh-Ann asked as I took a drink to try to wash the taste away.
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “My mom has never even told me his name.” I set my elbow on my knee and rubbed at my temple. “I didn’t realize until it was much too late, but while I’ve been here, my mom has continued to run and hide. We spent Easter traveling up the west coast to look for her.”
Leigh-Ann gave me a look of pity. “Oh, Kennedy, I’m sorry. What are you going to do now?”
Chapter Four
That was the million-dollar question.
She was my mom, and I didn’t want to give up on her, especially not when it was obvious someone was chasing after her. I was nephilim and had my ass kicked. She was human.
“I’m not sure she wants to be found,” I admitted, quietly. That was what Gabriel had said, and I was sure he was right.
But she was still my mom.
The truth was that I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.
“I wish you hadn’t gone through this by yourself,” Leigh-Ann said before her eyes widened. “Oh, I have a present for you.”
With no further explanation, she set the near-empty glass of iced tea down on the floor and then bounded over to her side of the room. She hadn’t been back in the dorm for too long because the couch below her bunk had two cases on it. Both were open and neither had been unpacked.
Leigh-Ann dove into them, rummaging around under the clothes until she pulled out a small black box. She hurried back, dropping it onto my lap as she sat back down beside me.
I stared at the iPhone box feeling uncomfortable. “What’s this?”
“It’s exactly what it says on the box,” she replied. When I made no move to open it, she leaned over and eased the lid off. “Before you say anything, I switched it over to a pay as you go thing and put a whole twenty dollars credit on it.”
Twenty dollars, I could probably handle. An iPhone was a whole other level of expense that I would never be able to pay back.
That must have shown on my face because Leigh-Ann looked up at me and then instantly reached out to pat the back of my hand. “It’s not new. It’s not even the last model. It’s one of my old ones that I found in my room over the break, and I was going to send it to one of those phone-recycle places but then one night, when I really needed to call my friend, I couldn’t because I had no way of getting in touch with her.”
Chewing at the inside of my cheek, I pulled the phone out of the box. I didn’t know much about smart phones. The back was a rose gold color, but it was covered in a few small scratches.
At least it really wasn’t new.
“You really don’t mind?”
“It’s all yours.”
“Thank you.” I set the box to the side so I could hug her. Then I pulled back and cocked my head. “What did you need to call me about?”
Before she could answer, Leigh-Ann’s phone chirped at her. She pulled it out of her pocket and frowned. “We need to walk and talk because we’re supposed to be down in the gym for Dean Pinnosa’s meeting in ten minutes.”
Leigh-Ann was back on her feet, grabbing her jacket and pulling her shoes on. I quickly followed suit then the two of us left our room.
“What happened over the break?” I asked again as we walked down the stairs to the back door.
“Ugh,” Leigh-Ann exclaimed somewhat melodramatically. “My mom pitched a fit and nearly stopped me and Harrison from returning here. The school left out the part that it was fallen angels that attacked but told the rest of the story.”
“How’d you get her to change her mind?”
Leigh-Ann shot me a look like she’d been stabbed in the side. “I didn’t. My daddy did. With Cash.”
“Your dad bribed your mom?” I knew being rich meant Leigh-Ann lived in a completely different world than me, but that was a whole other level of crazy I wasn’t expecting.
The hair on Leigh-Ann’s head seemed to vibrate at the speed she was shaking her head. “No, Cash Sinclair.”
“I still don’t understand. You have another brother?” Leigh-Ann’s father was one of the Senators in Texas, and I didn’t recall ever seeing anything about another sibling. That and the fact she’d never mentioned another brother.
Then again, Cash sounded like a dog’s name. Maybe he was a golden retriever?
“Leigh-Ann, Kennedy,” a male voice called before Leigh-Ann could explain.
Turning, we waited as the owner walked over to join us. Harrison Sinclair was Leigh-Ann’s twin brother. Whereas she was petite and blonde, Harrison was tall with dark hair. They both had the same bright blue eyes, but aside from their matching Texan twangs, that was the only similarity the two had.
Harrison Sinclair was also my charge. The guy I was supposed to protect. At least that was one job I had successfully accomplished. Last semester when the school was attacked, I’d stopped the Fallen from taking him.
I just needed to work out what they wanted him for.
“Hi Harrison,” I said as he drew close.
“You must be Dora.” From nowhere, a guy seemed to appear.
He had dark hair like Harrison, only it re
sted on his shoulders in a gentle wave. He was about Harrison’s height—an inch or so shorter than me—and was just as good looking. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had a different accent, they could have been brothers.
“It’s Kennedy.” I stared at him suspiciously.
“Cash.” He offered me his hand.
I glanced at Leigh-Ann, who nodded.
“Do we like Cash?” I asked her.
Leigh-Ann gave me a mischievous grin. “Most days.”
Her comment resulted in the guy capturing her in a headlock and giving her a noogie.
“Cash is our cousin,” Harrison explained as Leigh-Ann squealed loudly.
That would explain why they looked so similar.
“Mom didn’t want us to come back to the college after everything that happened, but she agreed when Daddy said he’d get Cash transferred in,” Leigh-Ann told me. She smoothed her hair down before punching Cash in the shoulder.
“In the middle of a semester?” I arched an eyebrow. My gaze swept over him, trying to work out who he was that his presence here was enough for Leigh-Ann’s mom to suddenly be okay with them being back.
Harrison turned, walking backwards so he could point back to the main school building. “Guess who’s funding that?”
I gave Cash another sideways glance. Was he a cousin, or was he a secret bodyguard?
Cash caught me staring and winked.
With hot cheeks, I focused on where I was walking. We were nearly at the gym and the closer we got, the busier it was. The four of us filed into the building, taking a seat together on the bleachers halfway up.
Greenwood Preparatory University was a small, exclusive college. The entire student body was only about two hundred students. As I looked around the gym, I realized there were a lot less present. There weren’t even two hundred chairs set out.
“Where is everyone?” I asked Leigh-Ann as my gaze scanned the room. There were students from each class, including several from mine, but it seemed like we were down to about two-thirds of what it should be.
“Maybe their parents didn’t want them to come back either?” Leigh-Ann offered with a shrug. “Maybe they didn’t want to come back?”
Chewing at my lip, I turned and looked up at the bleachers behind us. There was a definite morose atmosphere in the gym. Considering how many students had been killed, it was understandable.
My gaze fell on two familiar faces, sitting together in the back of the room: Lottie Tseung and Cody Gibson. There used to be another two in their clique. Harrison, Lottie’s ex-boyfriend, and Simone.
Simone got killed by a fallen angel right in front of me.
I didn’t exactly consider any of the four my friend. Not even Harrison, because until the night of the Spring Ball, and the attack on the college, he’d been wrapped around Lottie’s little finger.
Now that he was away from her, I was prepared to give him a chance, if only because of Leigh-Ann. But he’d been a complete dick to his sister, and he had a lot of ground to recover.
I might not have liked any of them, but they’d been the first ones to welcome me to the college in their weird way. More importantly, Simone hadn’t done anything to deserve her death, and Lottie and Cody didn’t deserve to lose a friend.
Lottie caught me staring. The sadness in her eyes was replaced with instant distaste as she turned her nose up at me. Angling her body away, she turned to Cody and whispered in his ear. Whatever she said, it was most likely about me considering he instantly looked in my direction.
Sighing, I turned back to the front. There was clearly no love lost between us.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees as a familiar figure walked out into the center of the gym where a small podium and microphone had been set up.
Dean Ursula Pinnosa was no ordinary dean. The middle-aged woman with an immaculate navy-blue suit and hair that sat in a perfect bob just above her shoulders, was a saint. She might have looked like she was in her forties, but apparently, she was closer to a thousand years old.
The room fell silent before she called for it.
“Have you seen Ty?” Leigh-Ann asked.
I looked past her towards the empty seat she’d saved next to her and then shook my head. “Not since he was in our room earlier.”
“Dora Kennedy?” Dean Pinnosa’s voice rang out across the room, making me cringe. “If you’re done gossiping, I’d like to start.”
Giving her a weak smile, I sat upright and made myself look like the exemplary student who was paying attention.
“Welcome back,” Dean Pinnosa said, addressing the small collective in a somber tone. “I know what happened last semester was a very difficult situation for many of you, but I’m proud to see so many back at Greenwood Preparatory.”
A very difficult situation?
“We will be holding a memorial service on Sunday in the church, which you are all encouraged to attend. We’re also going to have a counselor on campus should any of you need someone to speak to.” Pinnosa raised her hand gesturing to the side.
Standing along the far wall were some of the professors. I hadn’t even noticed them join the room because I was trying to keep my attention on the dean, seeing as though she kept looking at me.
Next to Gabriel, who looked like he was glowing with the sunlight streaming in from the window above, was a woman who appeared close in age to him. The top of her head came up to Gabriel’s shoulder. Her eyes were hidden behind huge circular glasses that made her round face look small. She was cute. She was also staring up at Gabriel like he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
She wasn’t wrong.
Gabriel looked down, catching her staring, then flashed her a smile.
When Gabriel smiled, it changed his whole face. The archangel was gorgeous, but that smile was a whole other level of beautiful.
And this woman was the one on the receiving end of it.
Despite everything that was currently happening, and ignoring whatever Pinnosa was saying, I couldn’t stop my mind drifting back to the night of the Spring Ball—before everything went to hell.
My memory of being in Gabriel’s apartment was fuzzy. There was a chunk of that night I still couldn’t remember, including most of what I said in his room. Even the memory of the kiss was barely there. But I could remember the feel of his lips on mine.
Why couldn’t he have just told me he wasn’t interested? Why did he have to say that it wasn’t a good idea?
What wasn’t a good idea?
My head slumped into my hands as I stared miserably at the podium. At least this was a ‘normal girl’ problem to be encountering.
I nearly laughed at that.
Fighting fallen angels was almost a desirable alternative.
Refusing to dwell and be a lovelorn girl, I made myself focus on what Pinnosa was saying before I missed something and there ended up being a quiz at the end. I wouldn’t have put that past her.
“. . . such, you will be seeing many changes to the campus. The first is that for some of you, lectures have changed. If this applies to you, you will receive an email with your updated schedule later today. The second is that going forward, the gates to the campus will be locked, and we will have security posted there twenty-four hours a day. Only those with approved access will be allowed to enter the grounds.”
Pinnosa paused, looking around the room. Whispers were starting up, but I couldn’t work out what they were saying until Lottie’s voice rang out across the gym. “What about getting off campus?”
The dean nodded at Lottie. “Which brings me to the final change. Normally, after Easter when the weather is better and it’s safer to travel down to Greenwood, students are allowed to go into town in their free time. As of today, we are revoking this privilege for your safety.”
There weren’t many people in the room, but when it erupted into protests, it was suddenly as loud as a packed game night.
I was still trying to adjust to the ridiculous number of
rules and restrictions placed on the students at this college—Pinnosa didn’t seem to be in any hurry to treat us like adults—but leaving the campus had felt like a right, not a privilege.
One of my goals this semester was to get a part-time job. Seeing as how they didn’t have any opportunities on campus, that left the local town of Greenwood.
Another thought suddenly occurred to me.
What about my mom?
How was I going to continue searching for her?
As the angry conversations continued, I turned to Leigh-Ann. “Doesn’t it bother you?”
Leigh-Ann shifted uncomfortably before looking at the empty spot beside her. “I wonder where Ty is?”
“He’s allergic to the gym,” I said, as I looked over at Gabriel.
Seeing that my attention was elsewhere, Leigh-Ann’s gaze followed mine. “Oh yeah.” She wrinkled her nose as she looked back at me. “Gabriel wouldn’t really try to kill him, would he?”
Ty was the son of Beelzebub, who, aside from being one of the most infamous fallen angels, was also the one responsible for killing the Archangel Raphael. Ty had been pretty certain all of the angels—Gabriel included—were out to get him, which was why he was hiding away here.
Despite the time I’d spent with Gabriel over the past few weeks, I’d never brought it up. When Gabriel had found me, he’d tried to kill me. I might not have been Ty’s best friend, but I didn’t want to ask. Just in case.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But you know what Pinnosa is like. If Ty isn’t careful, he’s going to find himself kicked out of here.”
“The dean is strict, but she seems intent on keeping Ty here. Did you know she sent him to a doctor over the break to look at his hand?”
“I know doctors are good, but I don’t think there’s one gifted enough in the world to make his hand grow back,” I told her.
Leigh-Ann cracked a smile.
I hoped she would, even though what I said wasn’t funny at all.
She nudged me with her shoulder. “No, a prosthetist.”
“Silence.” Pinnosa’s voice boomed around the room, making me jump. “I understand that many of you are upset by this new restriction, but as you can see when you look around, there are many students who are not here today that should be. This is being introduced for your own safety.”
