Fallen Academy: Year Three

by Leia Stone

  I whimpered. “Can you magically unlock it?”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked like she was about to smack me. “No. Then he’ll know it was me. I’m the only one powerful enough. Brielle. We. Need. To. Move. Now.”

  ‘Go, you idiot!’ Sera shouted.

  Reaching out, I gave the handle a quick pull to find it was indeed locked.

  ‘I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,’ I cried.

  ‘You’re forgiven. Always.’ Her ease at letting me go, letting me leave her in this godforsaken place, made me love her a hundred times more. It’s what I would’ve done for Shea or anyone else I loved.

  With a hard yank, Raksha pulled me away from the door. In that moment, I fully gave up on any notion that I might be taking Sera with me.

  We walked in hurried silence for the half-mile trek through the maze of tunnels until the light began to shine ahead, signaling that we’d reached our destination. Raksha stopped about twenty feet from the red door and spun to face me, tears in her eyes.

  “Tell my family I love them. Tell them not to worry about me, and this is all I’ve ever wanted for them. Promise me you’ll get them to Angel City.”

  My heart pinched as I realized that once I smuggled them across the border, she’d no longer be able to get letters to her wife and son. She was giving them up so they could have a better life; just as Sera was doing for me.

  I grasped both of her hands and met her eyes with a fierce determination. “Your family is my family. There is nothing that will stop me from getting them to safety but my own death,” I reassured her.

  She nodded, biting her lip. “You’re… quite exceptional, Brielle. Thank you.”

  I forced the sob in my throat to stay down. Now wasn’t the time. “No. Thank you.” I pulled her toward me and hugged her tightly.

  When she pulled away, there was something in her hands—my engagement ring from Lincoln, and it had no dark magic on it. I couldn’t speak. All words were lodged in my tight emotional throat, and she seemed to understand that as she slipped the ring on my left hand, squeezing it.

  Then she took a deep breath, red magic swelling and crackling in her palms.

  “Make this look real. My life depends on it,” she urged. With that, she threw the red magic at the wall. It scorched the upper half, leaving black charred marks in its wake.

  I’d grown to love this hardened woman. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I knew what was at stake here.

  “Stab me!” she whisper-screamed.

  There was no scenario in which I would stab her. I didn’t want her to die, but I would mess up her face good enough, so that the Dark Prince knew a battle took place here. I dropped my cane, deciding to leave it behind, knowing it would only slow me.

  With a wince and a mumbled apology, I reeled back my hand and cracked her in the nose. She yelped as crimson blood gushed down her lips, wetting the front of her shirt. Next I popped her in the eye, which hurt the hell out of my hand, but I knew it would leave a shiner for days. She didn’t cry out, just took it.

  “More!” she hissed. “He knows what you’re capable of.”

  “I’m sorry. I love you,” I told her for the first and probably last time. Then I pulled my fist back and hit her in the right temple, hard. Right where Lincoln taught me.

  She fell to the ground like a sack of bricks, unconscious.

  Quickly flipping her onto her side, I conjured my dark magic and produced an inky black blob that I threw over the lower half of her legs, and hands, keeping her pinned in place, so it would look like our fight was real. I hoped the burn marks on the walls from her magic, and what I’d done to her were enough for the Dark Prince to trust that she’d fought me hard.

  After dealing with her, I shook out my sore hand and pulled the steak knife from its hiding place. Mathias, the man who was always behind the red door, was a scary-powerful Dark Mage. I was going to have to kill him quickly; any second of hesitation and he’d pull his magic on me, overpowering me.

  I stood before the red door, no clue as to how many minutes or seconds were left until he would open it—Raksha was always the keeper of time down here. Adrenaline coursed through my body in waves; making me dizzy the longer I waited.

  ‘I love you,’ I told Sera, knowing once I was free of this place, I’d lose all communication with her. That knowledge alone broke my heart.

  ‘And I love you. Now slit this guy’s throat, and get the hell out of here,’ she encouraged.

  I chuckled to myself. Sera was my greatest cheerleader. Always.

  Just then, I heard a slight popping noise and a shuffling behind the door.

  Oh God.

  My heart jumped into my throat, and I tightened my grip around the knife as I half crouched.

  When the door opened, I didn’t think, just reacted.

  Exploding from my lowered stance, I surged forward, kicking the door open wider with my foot and lunging for the Dark Mage.

  He gave a cry of surprise and tried to step back, but he held something in his hands, and wasn’t prepared for my calculated attack. With one slash, I gored his neck open, bringing him to his knees in a mess of blood.

  Remorse rolled through me as he bled out quickly right then and there, but then I reminded myself of what this man did. He brought things like Archangel Michael’s blood to the Devil.

  Screw him.

  Wasting no time, I leapt over his body and into the shimmering portal that led to a sparse bedroom. My body sailed through the space, landing hard on the ground, which made my bruised legs ache. Walking without my cane was going to hurt, but I didn’t care in the slightest. I was free.

  Glancing around, I saw only a twin mattress on the floor with a ratty blanket thrown haphazardly atop it.

  ‘I made it out!’ I sent to Sera in case she could hear me.

  ‘Good, now run!’ she shouted as the portal started to shrink closed behind me.

  I took gingerly steps toward the door and opened it slightly, tiptoeing out into a hallway. When I heard loud voices, I froze.

  ‘I’m not alone,’ I told Sera.

  No response.

  ‘Sera?’

  The portal had closed, and it seemed my connection to one of my best friends had as well.

  Shoving away the mental breakdown I really wanted to have at that thought, I crept down the hall, heading away from the voices to find that it only led to a bathroom with bars on the window.

  Shit.

  Okay, I’ve faced worse. I can do this.

  Creeping back down the hall toward the voices, I proceeded with caution, trying to get a layout of the apartment. I passed a kitchen that was empty of people, and then slowly peered out into the living room. Just beyond it was the front door and my freedom, but there were two men sitting on a couch playing cards. One was an Abrus demon and the other a Dark Mage.

  Lincoln wasn’t there to guide me, and neither was Sera, but I had a bloody kitchen knife and one hell of a determination to live. I was going to make a run for the door. There was no other way. There was no balcony or back door off the apartment, and all the windows were barred.

  “What’s taking Mat so long?” the Abrus demon asked. I knew I needed to just go for it or I’d lose my nerve.

  I burst from my hiding spot, and streaked across the space, reaching the door in record time. If it’d been unlocked, I would’ve made it.

  But unlocked it was not.

  As I fiddled with the deadbolt, two hands clamped on my shoulders, and I decided I was going to have to kill them too. I spun quickly, lashing out with my knife, and catching the Abrus demon in the arm. The Dark Mage seemed to have a better idea of what was going on, as he’d quickly built up a red spell in his hands and flung it at me, before I could even think to jump out of the way.

  The moment it crashed into my skin, I knew I was screwed. A slow, paralyzing tingle worked its way down my body. I’d felt the same sensation once before, though to a lesser degree, when Tiffany tried to drown me at the be
ach games.

  “No!” I cried out, dropping the knife as the spell made my hands go limp.

  Both of the men stood nearby, taking stock of me.

  “Is that Lucifer’s girl? The one with black wings?” the Abrus demon mused.

  Technically my wings were half white now, but I wasn’t going to argue.

  My legs gave out then and I started to fall forward only to be caught by the Dark Mage. His arms came around me and he immediately dragged me backward onto the couch.

  The spell seemed to leave me breathing and with my ability to speak, so I tried to talk my way out of it. “No, that girl is still down there. I’m a Necro.”

  The Abrus demon rolled his eyes, reaching over to peel my T-shirt down a little bit and show the devil mark tattoo on my chest.

  Dammit.

  “I’ll go and tell him. We’ll be promoted for this,” the Abrus demon added excitedly.

  “No, wait!” I screamed. I’d come too far to be caught now.

  I was racking my brain with anything to say, when the door was kicked in harshly. It splintered apart, sending shards of wood left and right, and in stepped a glowing white angel in tattered clothes. I stared in shock at the creature, and his bright white wings that seemed to be made of light, until I finally found the words to speak.

  “Bernie!” I shouted.

  The Abrus demon and Dark Mage burst forward collectively, going into full attack mode, but Bernie, once homeless and blind, but clearly not human, stood at the ready. He lashed left and right with a sharp sword, cutting the two men down quickly, as if they were nothing but a mere nuisance.

  When he’d incapacitated them, he kneeled over me as I lay frozen on the couch. One touch from his hand and the spell was broken over my body. Now able to move my limbs, I bolted upright, wide-eyed and openmouthed.

  “Bernie?” I questioned.

  His eyes were a bright blue now, and it was clear he had full sight.

  He nodded. “Others will be coming. We need to leave.” Without another word, he hauled me up, and started to drag me toward the front door.

  Reaching down, I picked up my battered kitchen knife, but Bernie shook his head.

  “This is for you.” He handed me the sword he’d struck down the two men with, but it was magically free of any blood. “On loan, until you can be reunited with Sera,” he said.

  What the hell?

  I dropped the knife, taking the large sword in my hands, and a jolt of power coursed through my veins. I raised my eyebrows at Bernie, and he grinned. I’d never seen him look more alive.

  “Bernie? What the…?” I gestured to his wings. Was he a Celestial this entire time? His wings looked like they were made of light, not feather and bone like mine. “What are you?” I finally asked.

  Reaching out, he gently grasped my face in his hands. “I’m your guardian angel, Brielle. You were never alone down there, I just couldn’t reach you.”

  His words slammed into me like a truck and a sob caught in my throat.

  “Come. We must get you to Angel City.” He pulled me after him and out the apartment.

  Guardian angel.

  The homeless man I’d thought I was taking care of all these years, was actually taking care of me?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bernie produced a black cloak out of nowhere and threw it over me, pulling the hood up to cover my hair.

  “What about you?” I asked, looking up and down the busy Demon City street. It was raining as per usual, so nearly everyone was walking with a cloak or umbrella.

  “They can’t see me.” He winked.

  That knowledge was too much for me to process.

  “I need to pick up two friends before we go to Angel City,” I told him, then started walking in the direction of Raksha’s wife’s apartment.

  He gave me a knowing side glance. “I know.”

  Weird. Very, very weird.

  As soon as we reached the corner, I took a right. It wasn’t far from Elodie’s apartment.

  “What day is it? How long have I been gone?” I asked Bernie as we took a right onto Walnut Street. I had no idea what kind of power Lucifer had over here, so I didn’t dare take a bus or cab for fear of being recognized.

  He placed a hand on my back in a comforting gesture. “It’s Saturday, March second, and you’ve been gone about a year.”

  I stopped walking at his words, as the scenery started to sway. A year? Lincoln, Shea, my family, they’ve been without me for a year?

  “What?” I fought back the tears. How much had I missed? Had Lincoln moved on? The very thought had my breakfast threatening to come back up my throat.

  Bernie’s face, which was normally dirty and tired-looking, had a soft glow to it as he frowned. “Time in the underworld is different than it is up here, as you know.”

  A siren sounded off in the distance, and the urgency of our mission hit me. I needed to get Raksha’s family out of here before Lucifer retaliated. I also needed to get to Shea, my mom, and Lincoln, make sure he couldn’t hurt them in his bid to get back at me.

  “Let’s run,” I told Bernie and took off.

  As we jogged side by side, I tried not to trip out at the fact that blind Bernie was in fact not blind… and was my guardian angel. I never thought those things were real. If they were, why did they let so much bad shit happen to us?

  That would be a question for another day.

  We reached the apartment building fairly quickly, the ratty green awning hanging in limp strips above me.

  Please be home.

  I entered the building, grateful there weren’t any demons milling about the entryway. Knowing it was only three floors, I decided to take the stairs rather than possibly ride the elevator with an Abrus demon and blow my cover. Once at the top, I was winded and my legs were throbbing, but I dug deeper and pushed myself to keep going.

  My hand stilled over the door of 3B. What if she didn’t go with me? Would I have to take them by force? Because I would. I’d made Raksha a promise, and I was keeping it.

  Bernie’s hand came out and covered my raised fist. “We’ll get through this together,” he assured me, and then we knocked.

  Quick footsteps sounded through the apartment and then there was a pause.

  “Who are you?” a short-clipped voice asked from the other side. She must’ve been looking through the peephole.

  I cleared my throat. “A friend of Raksha’s. Please open up. We don’t have much time.”

  The door flew open, and a short woman with a lean build peered at me with suspicious eyes. Her gaze never fell on Bernie, so I was guessing he was invisible. Which made me feel a bit more psychotic than I already did. What if he was a figment of my imagination?

  Her eyes were wide but leery as she looked at my bloodstained clothes with apprehension. “What did you say?” She held a small pocketknife in her hand, as were the ways of living in Demon city.

  I sighed. “I wish I had more time to explain, but I’ve been with Raksha for the last several months in Hell and… she helped me break out, now I need to get you and your son to Angel City.”

  She laughed, lowering her knife. “That’s a sick joke. Why don’t you eff off.”

  “Mommy?” a small voice behind her said.

  She started to shut the door when I shoved my boot inside to bar it.

  “She said you wouldn’t trust me. Not until I did this.” Reaching out, I dragged my finger down her forehead to the tip of her nose.

  She flinched at first, but once she realized what I was doing, her chest sagged as she fought for composure. Tears welled in her eyes, which widened as she looked at me with absolute shock.

  “Is she okay?” she asked me, opening the door wider to reveal the most adorable little boy I’d ever seen.

  This is the time where it’s okay to lie. Right?

  “She’s fine. But we need to go. Now.”

  A flustered look crossed her face, but she nodded, gesturing for me to come in with her.

&nb
sp; I stepped inside, and Bernie slipped in right behind me before shutting the door.

  Can he walk through walls?

  “Of course I can. I’m an angel,” he answered.

  Oh my God. Another mind reader. Just what I needed in my life.

  “I’ll pack some things quickly,” Elodie told me. Clearly she hadn’t heard Bernie speak.

  She bent down to their little boy. “Remember the day we went to Angel City?” she asked him.

  He nodded shyly, clutching a little stuffed penguin. He didn’t look more than four, or five years old.

  “Well, we’re going to go there again today and live there. But we can only pack a few things, and we need to hurry.”

  His brows scrunched. “Is it a race?” he asked in a tiny sweet voice.

  She nodded, smoothing his hair. “Yes, exactly. It’s a race, and it starts now.”

  With that, she burst into the bedroom and began to pack a quick bag.

  While she was doing that, the little boy walked over to an entryway table, pulling down a framed picture. Upon further inspection, I saw it was a picture of Raksha, the boy, and his other mom. They were standing in a park somewhere, smiling happily.

  My entire heart shattered then. Raksha was just like me, someone wishing she could be home with her family. But she wasn’t, she was freaking demon-bound to the Devil himself. I decided right then and there that if it were within my ability, I would try to free Raksha from that place. She deserved it.

  “All right, I’m ready.” The woman came out with a small suitcase and two backpacks. After she put the boy’s raincoat on and placing the framed photo in his backpack, we were ready to go.

  “How are we getting across?” she asked as we made our way down the stairwell of the apartment.

  I looked at Bernie, who nodded. “I’ll assist you,” he told me.

  “I’ve got some help at the border” was all I said to Elodie.

  She seemed to be okay with that answer.

  “Do you have a car?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “We take the bus.”

  Bernie groaned. “That won’t work. They’re checking all the buses for you.”

  What? How did he…?