Demon Born (Hellfire Academy Book 1)

by C. L. Coffey

  The stairway led to another door, but this one opened when I tried it. I had mentally prepared myself for something akin to a medieval torture chamber, so I was once again surprised when the automatic lights also stretched to the basement and lit up the cavernous room we were now in.

  Aside from the missing windows and a few less tables, it was like there was a duplicate library below the regular one.

  “Is there anything in print you don’t have?” Ty asked, looking around, though he didn’t sound impressed—rather, disgusted.

  “I can assure you that there are millions more books in the world than there are within the library of Greenwood Preparatory University,” the librarian told him. She pushed her glasses up her nose and waved her arms around, gesturing to the room. “Welcome to detention.”

  “I think I preferred the idea of a dungeon,” Ty muttered in my ear.

  The comment earned us both a glare. “Who can tell me what the Dewey Decimal System is?”

  “A system for ordering non-fiction books,” I replied. “Recognized worldwide,” I added.

  Behind me, Ty coughed, an action which sounded very much like the word ‘nerd.’

  “Very good, Ms. Kennedy,” the librarian said, finally offering me a smile. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. “These are the rarer volumes the library owns.” She gestured to the shelves behind us.

  Without waiting to see if we would follow, she began walking past the first set of shelves and came to a stop about eight rows in. Instead of organized shelves, there were boxes and boxes stacked on top of each other, which seemed endless. From where I stood, I could also see that after that point, there were hardly any books on the shelves.

  “We finally had the approval from the University Board to extend the library so we would have space for these books. Now they need organizing.” She turned back to us. “And that’s where you two come in.”

  “This will take months,” I said.

  She gave me a withering look. “I don’t expect miracles,” she said before quickly giving both Ty and I the once over and promptly turning up her nose. “I do, however, expect the two of you to be frequenting detention on a regular basis. I believe I’ve got you until next weekend as it is,” she said, addressing me.

  I nodded.

  “I’ve already numbered the shelves, and those iPads have all the titles in them.” She started to leave then stopped, turning to glare at us. “Seeing as you don’t seem to understand basic library decorum, let me make this perfectly clear: there will be absolutely no food or drink in here. I realize it’s against the rules anyway, but smoking is also forbidden. These are books. Treat them with respect, or you will never leave this room.”

  She then strode out of the room, leaving me alone with Ty and a mountainous pile of boxes. I let out a sigh and dumped my satchel under the small desk the iPads were sitting on. I pulled one of them over. The black screen just stared at me despite my prodding.

  “Sweet baby angels,” Ty muttered, pulling the iPad from my grasp. “Please tell me you know how to work these?”

  I contemplated lying and saving myself from his mocking, but in the end, I just shrugged, my cheeks flaming. Ty studied me for a moment before pointing to a button.

  “You press this,” he explained, before walking me through how to use it.

  Half of the schools barely had functioning computers, much less iPads. I’d also never been in a position to buy one, so I’d never bothered walking into an Apple store. Hell, the cost of one of them would cover my mom’s medication.

  I shouldn’t have been embarrassed, but my cheeks were still red when I took the iPad from him, and I hurried over to one of the stacks, pulling a box off the top. I turned around, tablet in one hand and a box in the other, and found Ty staring at me in disbelief.

  “It’s not that heavy.” I quickly took it to one of the small tables. “How about you grab a box, and I’ll do this one.”

  “We are in an unsupervised detention, and you choose to do the punishment set for us?” Ty scratched at his jaw. “We shouldn’t be in detention to begin with, this is college.”

  He had a point. I was quickly coming to the same conclusion everyone else had: this wasn’t your normal college. I wasn’t about to admit that to him, though.

  Ty’s disbelief turned into realization. “You’re a nerd.”

  I couldn’t stop the burst of laughter. Me? A nerd? I had to set the iPad down so I could brace myself against the heavy table.

  “You don’t know a thing about me.”

  “You’re not a nerd?” The question sounded more like a snort.

  “I’m in detention for being out of my room after hours.” I was still laughing. “And I’ve been in enough detentions in my life to know this is a test. If we look like we’re making an effort when that librarian comes back, that will be it. Otherwise this will be a painful experience under her supervision. And that’s the best-case scenario.”

  “We’ve been abandoned in the dungeon.” Ty scoffed. “She’s not coming back until it’s time to finish up for the night.” He took the second iPad from the table then made himself comfortable against one of the boxes, stretching his legs out in front of him. Seconds later, I hear bleeping noises coming from the device.

  I stared at him in disbelief before glancing at the door. It wasn’t the most exciting of tasks, and slacking off was more tempting, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. With a sigh, I opened the box and pulled out a stack of books. I already had one strike today, I wasn’t going to risk getting another.

  Call me crazy, but despite everything, I still wanted to graduate. Even if it was this weird place. Opportunities were available to people with degrees that weren’t available to those without. And yet here I was with this one.

  I worked in silence, emptying out three boxes and walking miles around the shelves in the lower levels as I placed the books in their appropriate homes. When I returned with empty arms, ready to unpack my fourth box, I was surprised to find Ty had removed himself from the floor, having abandoned whatever game he had probably been playing, and was now opening a box of his own.

  “Whoever packed the box did so without thinking of it,” I told him. “They’re all jumbled up.” I stopped and rubbed at the back of my neck as I arched an eyebrow at him. He was reading one of the books. “Don’t tell me. It explains how to get to the next level of your game?”

  “Karma Sutra,” he told me, giving me a wink.

  I rolled my eyes. “As if they have that in this place. Did you read the welcome pack?”

  Ty’s eyes went wide, shining in amusement. “No, but you did?”

  I could feel my skin heating up. “So what?”

  “So I was right about you.” He closed the book and faced me then walked over and dropped it on the table next to me. “You are a nerd.”

  I glanced down at the book. It wasn’t the Karma Sutra. It also wasn’t something I expected it to be. The title was Protecting Yourself So You Can Protect Others.

  “Something you want to tell me?” That was an interesting choice of books, and I was just as surprised to see Ty reading it as I was to see it in this library at all.

  “Nope.” He quickly picked up the iPad and opened the database.

  Seconds later the librarian appeared, looking around the room. “Flatten the boxes you’ve emptied and bring them up with you. You’ve got ten minutes left before lights out.

  She followed us up the stairs and locking the door behind us, so I didn’t have a chance to speak to Ty again. In the seconds it took me to prop the flattened boxes against the wall, he disappeared.

  “Bye,” I muttered to the librarian, trying not to yawn.

  Tired, aching, and covered in dust, I left the library. The librarian had told us we had ten minutes before lights out, and I really wanted to stop by the infirmary before bed. I was hoping Leigh-Ann would be well enough to come back to our room. If she was being kept overnight, I wanted to see her first, and I didn’t want to l
ose any precious minutes. I needed to see if she was alright and accident or not, I needed to apologize.

  I hurried along the hallway again, the only person in sight, and went to the infirmary. No sooner had I started to push the door open, the handle flew from my grasp and a nurse stepped out, forcing me to step backwards.

  “Can I help you?” She pulled the door closed behind her. “Are you ill?”

  “No ... ma’am.” I squinted as I read her name badge. Nurse Surant. “It’s just that my roommate is here, and I wanted to see her before bed.”

  Nurse Surant folded her arms under her large chest and scowled at me. “This is the infirmary,” she told me. “Not a holiday camp.”

  “I ... know...” I offered, uncertainly. Surely that was obvious given the golden lettering on the door.

  “The infirmary has strict visiting hours, of which are over. Your roommate is settled in for the night. You will have to wait until classes tomorrow to see her.”

  My eyes lit up. “She will be well enough for class tomorrow? I heard she broke her nose.”

  The nurse gave me an impatient look. “A broken nose does not warrant more than a day of classes missed. However, a racquet to the face, a black eye and a headache will have her under my observation overnight.”

  “Okay,” I said, unsure whether I should feel relief that I hadn’t broken her nose, or guilty for giving her a black eye. “Sorry.”

  She turned around, returning to the infirmary, shutting the door in my face.

  I stared at the door, hoping I never fell sick if that was her bedside manner. Knowing that Leigh-Ann was at least being looked after, I made my way back to my room and collapsed on the sofa, weariness suddenly washing over me. I decided to rest for a few minutes before washing the smell of old books from my hair.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The light was still on when I woke hours later, and it took me a moment of shielding my eyes from the sting of it before sitting upright. I got up, ready to drag myself into my bed and a more comfortable position before I caught a glimpse of the clock.

  Somehow it was already 4:45 a.m.

  I gave the still unused bed a longing look then, and instead of curling up under the covers, I pulled my closet open and went searching for my gym clothes. I dressed quickly, sticking my feet into the new running shoes. Finally, after pulling the hood up over the top of my messy ponytail, I made my way outside.

  There was a cloudless sky, and the stars and moon were still out. I could see my breath in the air in front of me. Out of habit more than feeling the cold, I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, wondering if I had time for a hot drink.

  That plan was canceled when I heard the crunching of snow under Gabriel’s feet as he approached me. “You’re late, Kennedy.”

  “I’m here now, aren’t I?” I said through gritted teeth. I wasn’t the best person first thing in the morning, much less at stupid o’clock. When I finally looked up from under my hood, my mouth fell open.

  The moonlight made his skin and hair glow. He was easily the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He was also glaring at me with his arms folded and his legs, slightly apart.

  “We’re running,” he said, and with that, he turned and started out down the drive.

  “Beautiful pain in the ass,” I grumbled. Then, with an irritable sigh, I took off after him. I easily caught up. “Running or jogging?”

  He ignored me and continued his path out the drive.

  “So, where are we going?” Again, silence. “Am I even allowed off the campus?” More silence. “Okay. If you’re going to ignore me the whole way, at least let me know how long this run is going to last.”

  Gabriel stopped abruptly, and I ran straight into the back of him.

  “What’s surrounding us right now?” he asked.

  I took a step back, rubbing my nose. “Snow?”

  He turned around, shaking his head. “Just west of us, there in the woods, are eight deer, including two fawns. To the east, an owl.”

  I looked around, not knowing my north from south, and waved my hand in the direction of the woods in front of. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Because you think runs in the moonlight are fun?” I tried my best impression of his low tone. As he folded his arms, his eyes narrowing further, I sighed. “To protect Harrison Sinclair.”

  “And do you not think part of that means you have to spend time with him?”

  “I’ve been here a couple of days, and I’ve spent most of that either in class or with you, trying to catch up so I can stay. I have been trying to spend time with him, and I will continue to try, but unless you’re expecting me to work miracles, you can’t hold that against me.”

  Plus, I don’t think I like his friends …

  Gabriel’s expression softened. “I’m not holding your schooling against you, although if you had better attendance at any of your previous schools, maybe you wouldn’t be in as bad a situation as you are.” Once again, I found myself biting my tongue. Yes, I skipped school to look after my mom, but I had worked my ass off to earn my GED.

  “What I am holding you accountable for is that your roommate spent last night in the infirmary rather than her own bed.”

  “I feel horrible about that, and I’ve tried to apologize, but that was an accident.”

  “An accident that should never have happened in the first place, and should never happen again,” he said. “You are correct, you are here to protect Harrison Sinclair. You are in a unique situation—humans who can become angels are rare. I have never heard of a nephilim who has been in your situation.”

  Considering he was going to kill me the first time he saw me, I was sure there was a good reason for that.

  “I don’t know what you think nephilim do, but until you attacked me, I was working in a diner trying to save enough money to go to college.” I looked around at the snowy mountains lining the horizon. The sun still hadn’t risen, but it was starting to turn the skyline pink. “That was my goal, and still is. I don’t want to kill all the humans on the planet, or whatever you seem to think. I want to get a degree so I can get a good job and support my mom.”

  “That’s the thing, Kennedy. In front of you, lies the opportunity to be better than that. I don’t know how it came to be that a nephilim could become an angel, but you are that: an angel in training. And you are being held to a higher standard because of it.”

  “Because you don’t trust me.” I finished for him. “We’ve already established that.”

  “I want to,” he said, staring at me so hard, it had me shifting uncomfortably. “But trusting you means trusting you around humans. Only some of the students at the college are nephilim like you. They are stronger than humans, and they heal faster. The rest, like your roommate, are not. You’re lucky it’s only a minor injury, and she will be out of the infirmary soon. Anything else could have had her transferred to a hospital.”

  I bit down on my lip, forcing myself not to point out that she was in the infirmary with a broken nose. Most humans wouldn’t have spent the night in there.

  “If you can’t control your strength and your speed,” he continued, gesturing at my running shoes. “If you can’t hide the fact that you’re different than humans, how can you be trusted?”

  I stared at him, and then slowly shook my head. “There’s more to it than that. I’ve managed to go twenty-one years without anyone other than you discovering what I am. Hell, even I didn’t know what I was. The fact is, you don’t trust me because of what I am, not who I am.”

  Pursing his lips, Gabriel shook his head. “I trust you enough for you to have a charge.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What makes him so special? What makes him need me to protect him? He’s a senator’s son, too.” I frowned.

  Gabriel shrugged. “All you need to know is that you must do everything you can to stay here and to keep him alive.”

  “What am I protecting him from?” I ask
ed. “Terrorists?”

  “I wish it were that easy,” he said. “I wish I could say that hidden away here, he’s safe, but if we know he’s important, there’s an equally as good a chance that the Fallen know he’s here.”

  “Then why have him in a place surrounded by nephilim?” I asked in disbelief. “Aren’t the Fallen likely to come visit their kids?”

  When Gabriel gave me a pointed look, I rolled my eyes.

  “Yes, they’re evil, but they’re also their parents. Surely not all of them will abandon their children?” I scratched at the back of my head. “And surely, you’d recognize them when they turned up at the school.” My eyes widened. “Okay, I take it back. If he’s at the school, you’ll see them coming. I mean, they are your brothers and sisters after all, right?”

  “Kennedy …”

  I took a step towards him, peering at his face before pointing. “You’re hiding something from me. There’s more than what you’re saying. What is it about Harrison Sinclair that I need to know?”

  “The truth is, I don’t know why he needs a guardian.” Gabriel glanced over at the mountains before looking back at me. “I do know that if I ask, then I will have to reveal what you are. I’m still trying to convince myself I’ve made the right decision, and if I can’t convince myself, then there’s no way I can convince Michael. Even with Angel on our side, he will need evidence, and I can’t give him that yet.”

  “And we go back to you not trusting me because of what I am,” I told him, folding my arms.

  Gabriel glanced behind me, causing me to look over my shoulder at the school in the distance. There were a handful of lights on that hadn’t been earlier. When I looked back to the archangel, he was jogging. I took off after him, again, easily catching up. He gave me a disapproving look. “This run is not for your health.”

  It took me a moment to realize that I’d caught up with him faster than a normal person would have done. “Sorry.” I fell into step with him.

  “Do you remember what I said about angel’s vessels?”