Page 1 of Hunted by the Fallen
One
Flickersof red and orange line the edge of my vision. I ignore the warmth striking my skin as I walk through the burning warehouse. All I care about is vengeance. The need for it engulfs my soul. I stare with hatred at the creature who cut my mom’s throat. Black blood seeps out of his eyes; a side-effect of my burst of Angel Fire moments ago. I revel in the demons anguished cries. It deserves tosuffer.
I lift my arm and shoot a bolt of Angel Fire from my fingertips. The demon howls, and I grin. My angelic power burns a hole through the demon’s torso. I cannot wait to end its life. I step forward and hear a gushing sound. Looking down, I see the floor is covered in a stark red liquid. Mom’s blood is touching my sneakers. I suck in a breath. Then, Iscream.
I bolt up and slam my hands down beside me. My heart beats frantically. I try to identify my surroundings. Gradually, the familiar softness of my mattress and the pale gray walls comes into focus. I exhale, relieved to know I’m safely in mybedroom.
Still, the horror of seeing my mom die lingers. I may have saved her life with unexpected healing power, but I doubt I will ever be able to forget the way it felt to sink into her blood. The thick, red liquid had stained my clothes as I crawled toward her, agonized over herdeath.
I have to wipe my clammy hands against my blanket. Breathing becomes difficult as my mind continues to replay the night I agreed to meet my parents’ kidnappers—the night I felt a piece of me snap when I gleefully killed the demon who had tried to steal my mom from me. The night I feared I became amonster.
I throw my covers off, slipping my feet into slippers, and race out of my bedroom.Air... I needair.
I fly down the stairs. My family dog, Periwinkle, must’ve heard me open my bedroom door. Her claws click against the hardwood floor, following me as I seek refuge in thebackyard.
A cool, summer morning breeze touches my heated cheeks. I take a moment to breath in the soothing air, knowing the lower temperature is soon to disappear as the Texas heat rises with the sun. I collapse into a cushioned patio chair, and Peri trots onto the grass. I close my eyes and inhale through my nose and exhale out of mymouth.
You’re not a monster, I tellmyself.
The smell of fresh cut grass tickles my nostrils. Despite the effort, my lungs continue to constrict. I need to relax, but I’m not sure I can. It’s been a week since my ill-fated meeting with Lukas, a Light Fallen, but the violent event continues to haunt me each night I go to sleep. Lukas might not be the one who sliced my mom’s neck, but he is the angel responsible for endangering my parents in the first place. If he hadn’t kidnapped them and threatened to harm them if I didn’t agree to meet him, the demon would’ve never been able to hurt mymom.
But Lukas wouldn’t have abducted Mom if you weren’t an angel, either,the negative voice in the back of my mindwhispers.
Periwinkle wines, and I open myeyes.
The curly Goldendoodle peers at me. A bright orange ball is in her mouth, and she gently places it on my lap. I throw the rubber ball, watching it bounce as Peri chases after it. She returns quickly, eager for anotherthrow.
Mindlessly, I continue to play fetch with my dog. For a few blessed minutes, my head clears, and I feel somewhat normal. It’s almost like I never learned the truth about the conditions of my birth. Demons have never hunted me in order to drain me of my powerful blood. My adoptive parents were never abducted to blackmail me into submission. And I most definitely have not brought my mom back to life by using some unexplainable power residing within me. I’m just a typical teenager, enjoying her summer break before going to college in the fall. There is nothing strange aboutme.
I launch another throw and look at my palms as I lower my arm. How can I be simultaneously capable of such violence, as well as a miracle? It doesn’t seem like the two should coexist. I’ve learned a lot in the two weeks since my eighteenth birthday, but I struggle to rationalize the vast differences in my abilities—abilities my four angelic bodyguards believe I have yet to scratch the surfaceof.
I drop my hands in my lap, confused and ashamed of what I am able to do with them. My angelic powers first began to manifest on my birthday, and the experience had been painful. The emergence of my heavenly strengths debilitated my body and mind, and I’d thought I was sick until Mr. Cohen and his brother, Gabe, revealed the truth. Adrian and Zeke entered later, and all four of my bodyguards had mistaken me for a Nephilim–the offspring of some angel’s scandalous affair with ahuman.
I sigh into the cool morning air, watching the sun begin to peek over the horizon. The light, warm colors contrast greatly with the darkness in my mind. I wish the four angels had beenright.
At first, I wanted to deny their claim about my heritage. I knew I was adopted, but I refused to believe my existence was caused by anything more than two adults realizing a little too late that they didn’t want to be parents. I hadn’t wanted to be a Nephilim. I didn’t want to be anything but a normal girl, ready to embark on the rest of her life and leave my small lakeside town. But shortly after confessing the truth of my father’s other-worldly status, the Fallen dropped another bomb when they revealed I am not really Nephilim. In truth, I am a full-blooded angel. My birth parents are both Fallen, members of the race cast out of Heaven for disobeying God. And I’m not supposed toexist.
A shiver runs through me. I cross my arms and ignore Peri as she tries to motivate me to throw the ball again. After a minute of waiting and nudging my leg, she trots off to seek entertainment in the yard. I stare after her. If being a full-blooded angel is what enabled me to cause such violence, I’d rather be a Nephilim like the Fallen originallybelieved.
That’s not the only thing they believe you to be,the voice taunts me again, snickering. Images of the Fallen explaining our connections are more than links of shared angelic bloodlines fills mymind.
Before I can follow the thoughts down their convoluted and unbelievable path, my dad emerges from the house, He is dressed in his pajama pants and a t-shirt. The smell of his coffee reaches me, and I grin softly when I see him hold out a second mug for me. “Still having troublesleeping?”
I take the mug, careful to keep the dark brown liquid from sloshing over the side. “A little.” I blow on the hot coffee, freeing myself from the need to saymore.
My dad settles onto the patio chair next to me, cooling down his own beverage as he watches Peri frolic in the grass. “I’m starting to worry about you, sweetheart. It isn’t good to lose so much sleep. Insomnia is a real medical condition with real side-effects.” His voice morphs into that of a confident, medical professional. Dad is a dermatologist but, until recently, has never needed to use his physician skills on me. I was rarely, if ever, sick as a child. A fact which I now know is attributed to my angelicidentity.
I sip the coffee, ignoring the way it scalds my tongue. After I swallow, I say, “I know, but it’s getting better. I think I need to work out more… tire out my body during the day, you know?” I don’t say I’ve been going to the kickboxing studio every day when he and Mom go to work. He’d only reprimand me and insist I give my body abreak.
“Hmm.” Dad makes a noncommittal sound, but he doesn’t press the issue as he drinks hiscoffee.
For the fiftieth time since he and Mom were rescued, I scan my dad, looking for any evidence of his abduction. There is none. The Fallen used their powers to heal his bruised eye and mend his raw wrists completely. My dad had refused to submit to his captors, and he’d suffered injuries as a result. I choke back the knot in my throat, forcing my attention back to Peri. She is rolling in the grass, tangling her fur, unaware of the turmoil within one of herhumans.
“What are you doing up so early?” Dad’s alarm normally wouldn’t go off for another hour orso.
“I scheduled a mole removal at nine,” he tells me. “I figured I could use some quiet time before heading in to theoffice.”
“Don’t worry about keeping me company,” I am quick to say. “I’m okay hanging out bymyself.”
