Devoted (Angel Academy Book 1)

by Emery Skye

  Classes seemed… so insignificant. Every second seemed like a lifetime. My general education classes bored the hell out of me. It was a miracle that I stayed awake at all, especially considering last night.

  I didn't sleep; I lay in bed, throwing and catching a ball; over and over. My thoughts were relentless; swarming like a million bees after their nest is hit with a baseball bat. There was an annoying, throbbing, stabbing pain in each temple.

  It amplified each of the Harbinger's voices so much that I thought my head would explode. I concentrated, trying to quiet Dr. Cloves’ shrieking voice, but it only got worse.

  Ring! Ring! Ring!

  Lunch.

  I jumped out of my chair, ran through the crowded halls to the refectory, and spotted Amalie and Taylor sitting at a round table. I rushed over to them.

  “There you are! What took you so long?” Taylor snapped.

  “Sorry, the halls were swarming with noviates. It’s amazing you two get here so quick. Come to think of it, how did you get here so quick, Taylor?” Amalie always showed up early on account of her ability to change super-fast after her combat training classes. I thought she just got out of her combat classes. She notoriously faked injury, and when that didn’t work, she got creative. Nonetheless, Taylor never arrived here early.

  “Oh, you know.” She mumbled, fidgeting with the dangerously low-swooping neckline of her blouse.

  “No, I don’t know. I don’t think I saw you in classes today,” I remarked.

  “That’s because you didn’t. I didn’t go.”

  “How can you be so stupid?” I heard myself getting loud. I took a second to calm myself. I glanced around to make sure no one was listening. I felt like everyone was watching me. Damn paranoia. “Do you really think it's smart to draw attention to yourself right now?”

  “Lay off! Damn! You act like I turned Dark or something.”

  My eyes must have projected the anger I felt because she recoiled immediately.

  “Don’t even joke,” I snapped.

  Going Dark meant that an angel chose to fall. It was nothing to be taken lightly. If an angel fell, the entrance to Bethel was closed for eternity, and he or she was a disgrace to the Heavenly realm and to their families.

  “Sorry,” her voice calmed, and she looked down at her empty blue bowl.

  “Don’t say anything like that again. End of discussion.”

  “Don’t you think we should talk about tonight,” Amalie interrupted.

  “I do not. It’s best if we act as normal as possible.” I tried to sound like the leader, but I felt dreadfully irresolute.

  I stood up, starting away until Taylor grabbed my arm. I looked at her. She tried to tell me something with her eyes. I didn’t care.

  “Taylor, I have no time for this.”

  “Anna, we should talk before tonight,” she begged.

  I looked at Amalie and spoke to both of them.

  “Fine, after last class, we can meet in my room.”

  She released her grip and I walked away.

  I went to Tactical Strategy with a new perspective. I realized that everything Dr. Norton said was the preferred, expected combat method I may be forced to employ, and I hoped with every fiber of my being that I would be precise if I had to.

  I observed the other noviates and envied their blasé attitudes. The disappearing noviates should have worried everyone, not just their relatives and friends. We were all connected. Didn’t they realize that? Didn’t they realize they could be next?

  I slumped in my seat. The other noviates were smart. They did as we were told—as we were taught. We were told not to concern ourselves with the disappearance of the other noviates. So they didn’t. The lines didn’t blur with them.

  In Weapons 300, I listened to every attack strategy Dr. Ezekiel described carefully. I knew the answer to every question he asked. It was strange, not seeing Alyosha. We weren’t friends, but he suddenly meant more to me in his absence. I searched the room casually for Taylor. She was nowhere to be found. She, as usual, thought more of herself than anyone else.

  Speak of the devil: Taylor stumbled in like a drunkard. Her spiky hair would have been less conspicuous if it were on fire. She randomly knocked people’s books off of desks or hit people. She could have been drunk. I wouldn’t have been surprised.

  “You're late, Noviate! Take your seat!” said Dr. Ezekiel, obviously irritated.

  “Sitting is so overrated.”

  “Don’t play games, Taylor. Sit down or leave,” His irritation turned to full-blown fury.

  “Fine. Washed up has-been,” she added as a side-note.

  She said it under her breath, but I knew he heard her. Everyone’s eyes rounded. She sat next to me. I wished she wouldn’t have.

  “Hi, bestie.” A mischievous grin splashed across her face.

  “Be quiet Taylor,” I pleaded.

  “Fine,” she rolled her eyes as I stared at her, confused. Then, I hid behind my hands.

  Taylor refused to leave my side. I had no idea why or what she was planning. I kept praying she would behave. People looked at us like we were the newest exhibits at a freak show. Everyone knew we'd been enemies. Even Sarah Lee frowned when she saw us together. I know, Sarah Lee. It makes me sad too.

  After Weapons 300, I grabbed Taylor by the arm, ripped her out of her chair, and headed to the restroom.

  “What is your problem?” I yelled, letting go of her, and I started pacing.

  “Why don’t you tell me?” She went to the sink and washed her hands.

  My fists clenched.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know your little secret,” she dried her hands.

  “What secret?”

  “You know, about you and Legite Deror?” Her lips pursed like Cruella Deville’s.

  I relaxed.

  “Man, you really are an idiot. There's nothing going on between us.”

  My tone mellowed. I was exhausted. Of course, I may have wanted there to be something, but you can't always get what you want.

  “Yes, there is. I know there is. The way you two look at each other makes me sick! That fight should have gotten you both suspended. You planned it, Anna. I know you did. You two planned to run away together.”

  “No, we didn’t, Taylor. Deror and I don't speak outside class.” Well, except stretching, and after the whole jumping accident…and the hockey stadium trip. Shit. “Believe me. I left to find Alyosha. Amalie needs him. I think he’s her Chosen.”

  There were legends that certain angels were blessed with a sodalus like a soul mate. It was rare, but it happened. I pleaded for her understanding. Taylor, of all people. And then I said it, “Taylor, please help us. For Amalie. Please?”

  I had never asked Taylor for anything in our lives.

  Our eyes locked.

  “Don’t beg,” she glowered. Once a jerk; always a jerk. She glanced left, then right. “I didn’t know we were going to the Dark World.”

  “Well, you don’t have to go anywhere. You can stay here,” I reminded her.

  “Stay at the Academy? You can’t be serious!” her smoky, emerald eyes squinted.

  “Umm…Taylor, you live here. Remember?”

  “Yeah, but people are getting kidnapped. That is so not good. What if that happens to me?” she asked.

  I leaned against the cool wall and sighed.

  “So you’re telling me that you don’t want to stay here because you are worried about getting kidnapped and taken to the Dark World.”

  She nodded.

  “So, you'd rather go with us now.”

  She nodded again.

  Okay, there was something seriously wrong with her logic, or there was something she wasn’t telling me.

  “What’s really going on?” I asked.

  “I'm just… scared,” she said in such a quiet whisper I almost didn't hear it.

  I knew there was more to Taylor’s need than she was letting on, but I avoided the issue because I was
exhausted.

  “So am I,” I never admitted I was scared of anything. I could see this relationship was going to give me a lot of firsts.

  “You don’t have to go,” I told her.

  “But I do,” she leaned back on her heels.

  “Why?”

  “Because, as much as you and I fight… I don’t know. Look, I can’t let you have all the fame for yourself.”

  “Fame?”

  “Yeah, whoever rescues the noviates will be famous. Duh. Keep up.” She pursed her lips again, avoiding what was truly bothering her. Fine. Everyone had their story. I had mine. She could deal with her demons on her own.

  “Let’s go to class, okay?” I motioned toward the door.

  “Okay,” she smiled, her green eyes twinkling. Just before we passed the threshold, she asked, “This doesn’t mean we have to be, like, friends or anything, does it?” She stumbled on 'friends'. I didn’t think she had any.

  “No. Definitely not. Now move! We're late!”

  She glared at me. I smiled. It was the first true smile I’d ever given Taylor.

  Before Combat Techniques, Taylor and I stood together on the mats. Erick glanced from me to her and back again, squinting like he must be seeing things. But, he wasn’t. Taylor and I stood together for the first time, ever, and we weren't opponents.

  We were silent as Deror walked into the gym. We each cloaked our grief and fear since Alyosha's disappearance. I hadn’t realized how many friends he had until now. The missing noviates began to affect some of us in a way that could no longer be ignored. Nathan walked over to the class and stopped directly in front Taylor and me. His face was expressionless, and his voice was distant.

  “Class is canceled for today.”

  “Seriously?” Erick asked, reeling with joy.

  Taylor and I glanced to one another; we weren’t joyful. We were puzzled.

  While I rode Sox, I sorted through my overwhelming, overflowing anxiety. Why did he cancel class? What was he going to do? Did he still feel the same way? I knew he loved his brother. I didn’t know if he would follow his heart, or do his duty. Which was which?

  Sox and I ended early and headed back to his stall. No one else was in the barn. I found the quiet blissful. I stroked Sox with his favorite brush while he ate grass.

  I saw a long shadow on the other side of Sox, near his door. As I moved to see who it was, Dr. Azrael came into view. Her silhouette was haunting.

  “Dr. Azrael?”

  “Anna. I wanted to give you a congratulatory present,” she stared at my hands.

  I didn’t realize until then that I had been clutching the brush low, like a weapon. My fingers were clenched tight. I loosened them immediately, embarrassed.

  “Thank you, Dr. Azrael, but, there’s no need. You’ve already given me one gift.”

  “Of course there is.” She smiled. “You haven’t opened it, have you?”

  “No, I haven’t.” I said.

  “Good. That’s for the best. I’m afraid I may have given it to you a tad bit prematurely.”

  “I’m sorry?” I said needing an explanation.

  “To be frank, that gift wasn’t from me.”

  I tilted my head in puzzlement.

  “Then who was it from?”

  “An old friend of mine,” she smiled nostalgically.

  “Why would an old friend of yours give me a gift?” I asked.

  She snapped out of her trance.

  “He was once a great rider as well,” she opened her mouth and shut it again as if mentally deciding to change direction with her speech. “He told me to keep that black bag until I met the right noviate and then give it to them.”

  “What makes you think I’m the right noviate?” I asked. I really needed to learn to stop asking so many questions.

  “Your curiosity for starters. So much like him. Other things, as well.”

  She pulled her hand out of Sox’s tack box outside his stall. She handed me a small, golden, feather-light, folded parchment. I started to open it.

  She put her hand on mine.

  “Don’t look at it now. Wait until you get back to your room.” She turned, paused, and turned back. “And Anna, don’t leave it for a second. You may need it sooner than you think.”

  She walked away but turned back toward me.

  “Don’t ever stop asking questions.”

  Maybe Dr. Azrael needed to take a trip to the funny farm.

  So odd.

  Chapter 16

  When I returned, I went to place the gift with the other one, but it was gone. I searched everywhere, and it was nowhere to be found. I lay on my bed and stared across my room to my desk where I put the small, golden package. It stared at me, mocking. I wanted to know what Dr. Azrael had given me, but I was scared. Something about the way she acted terrified me. It was so bizarre, like it held rattlers that would inject lethal venom in my blood. I mean, why wouldn’t she want me to open it in front of her? Where did the other one go?

  The door opened and Amalie came in. I smiled brightly

  “Hey sis,” I jumped up and gave her a hug.

  “Whoa, lovers.” Taylor said blandly, as she walked in behind Amalie. She actually tried to be nice, in her own way.

  “What do you mean he canceled class?” Amalie twirled her hair. That was her 'I'm confused' tell.

  “That’s what we mean. He walked in, nonchalant, looked specifically at us, and canceled class,” Taylor recalled.

  I lay on my bed and studied up the shapes in the plaster ceiling. I saw a smiley face.

  “Do you think he'll show tonight?” Amalie switched from her hair to my sheets.

  “Oh he’ll show all right. The question is whether he shows up alone,” Taylor grabbed one of the balls on my dresser, threw it against the wall, and caught it repeatedly.

  “What do you mean?’” Amalie asked.

  “I mean—little girl, will he come by himself or with the entire Council of the Academy?”

  “You really think he’d do that? Bring the Council?” My sister really did sound childish.

  “No,” I said. They both looked at me. I continued staring up at the ceiling.

  “How can you be so sure?” Taylor asked, confused.

  “I just am,” I replied, detached, not bothering to look at either of them.

  “Anna, I don’t think we can trust him. Maybe we should leave before ten and hope he isn’t there,” Amalie’s meekness and weariness rang in her voice.

  I shot up to a sitting position.

  “How can we trust Alyosha, Amalie? Can you answer me that?”

  She snapped her body forward.

  “That’s different, Anna. I know Alyosha. You don’t know Deror.”

  “What do you really know about Alyosha? Maybe he’s working for Lucifer. Maybe he’s already decided to turn Dark, and we’re his initiation test. Maybe he’s just using you. Have you thought about it??”

  She cringed, and her eyes filled with tears. I immediately regretted my words.

  Surprisingly, Taylor came to the rescue. She sat between us.

  “We're all stressed. That’s all. Cool it, divas,” She stretched and yawned.

  “I think we should get some sleep before tonight,” I advised and laid my head on my cool pillow.

  “Yeah,” they agreed simultaneously.

  Amalie snuggled next to me and burrowed her head into the pillow next to mine.

  “I’m sorry, Amalie.”

  “It’s okay. You can think that, but I know the truth.”

  I said nothing.

  “Night, sis.”

  “Night,” my eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but I opened to see Taylor still sitting on the bed, unsure.

  She got up slowly.

  “I am going to be in my room, love birds. See you at 9:45,” I knew I should have said something, but I was too tired.

  The blackness slowly dissolved, and the cave came into view. The scarlet red chair was clearly discernible now. I didn’t try t
o scream or run; I knew it wouldn’t help. A buzzing of anticipation rattled my bones. I needed to hear the voice I dreaded.

  A tall toe-headed man with bright, blue eyes sashayed into the room. I carefully analyzed every aspect of the gorgeous man that walked in. He was immaculately dressed in a black on black, sheik suit. He looked like a twenty-year-old supermodel, nothing like the other creatures I'd seen before.

  “I applaud you, sire. Everything is going exactly to plan,” his voice was silky and vaguely amused. He came closer to the chair, clapping his hands slowly.

  “Yes. Everything is going to plan, without your help, Ferrin. Do you know where she is now?” The voice sounded attacking.

  “She is on her way, Sire.”

  “I know that, idiot. Where?”

  “She should be at…” His voice faded and I heard something piercing ricochet off the walls.

  I smashed my alarm clock. Ugh. That’s funny. I didn’t remember setting it. The numbers 9:40 gleamed in red. Crap. I turned over and frantically shook Amalie.

  “It’s time to wake up, Amalie. Wake up!”

  Her eye lids fought against the sleep in the corners that glued them shut. Her hair was spread over her face, her arms and legs spread across the bed. “I’m awake; I’m awake,” she mumbled.

  “We have to go! Now! Go get your bags, and meet me in the lounge. I’ll get Taylor!”

  Her eyes shot open, but her body was still lazily spread across my bed.

  “You mean we’re still taking Taylor? Now is our chance.”

  “Chance to what?” I knew what she insinuated. We should ditch Taylor. But for some reason, I couldn’t do that.

  “What’s the deal with you two? I mean, you’ve been, like, civil.” She sat up.