CHAPTER 27
Ilyana:
We take our time walking back to the enclave. After everything that happened last night I am afraid of what we’ll find. For the first time, since I can remember, I have no idea what happens next. I am mourning the loss of my friend but know that Ephraim wouldn’t want me caught up in my own emotions when there is so much work that needs to be done. I can feel Kailand watching me as we walk closer to the walls. I feel so numb that I don’t even bother coming up with any words to convince him that I am ok.
He reaches down and grabs my hands just as the enclave walls appear in the distance and speaks “He would’ve been proud of you, Ilyana and he would’ve been even prouder to have died alongside you in battle.” I refuse to cry at the thought so he continues on “It’s not his fault who he was, but his kind is treated as an abomination in our society, he would’ve been raised as a soldier – a slave even and our soldiers were always taught, at least in my time, that there is no greater honor than to sacrifice your life for something bigger than you. When you defeated those demons, you brought honor to his death.” I know he means everything he is saying but the words fall flat “He shouldn’t have been there, I shouldn’t have let him come with me. It’s my fault he’s dead, there’s no honor in being killed by the actions of your own sister and your student who never bothers to listen to anything you say anyways.” I stop walking for a moment and try to catch my breath as the tears spill out “I didn’t bring honor to his death, I brought shame to it. No matter how many Nephilim I helped free or how many demons I killed – practically on accident no less! I brought nothing but pain to his life. His own sister turned on him because of me.”
I wrap my arms around my torso in a protective motion and turn my back away from him. I can feel a panic attack coming on but can’t afford the luxury of losing control, I can’t even trust my own body not to betray me and kill the man standing beside me as a result. I stoop down and try to rest my head on my knees but the weight of all the pain I brought to Ephraims life is crushing down on me in ways I never could’ve imagined.
Breathe, Ilyana, just breathe.
Kailand senses the unrest in me and drops down to his knees in front of me and sits down until he is almost eye level with me he gently grabs the sides of my face and forces me to look at him “Ilyana, don’t. You gave his life purpose and doing so means he had purpose in his death. He was exactly where he wanted to be and the only way you could shame him is by denying him that. Ephraim was powerful and he was as stubborn as an ass, he never did anything with you or for you because he had to, everything he did was a choice he made because he wanted to.” He is brushing my face in a comforting gesture as my sobs continue to come. I nod my head in agreement. I want to believe he is right, I don’t want to discredit Ephraim in any way so I choose to believe he is right for now. My body is shaking as I try to calm myself down. Kailand pulls me down into his lap and holds me for I don’t know how long and just allows me to cry. Once again, the man I met in the caves that should’ve been falling apart is doing everything that he can to hold me together. I am appalled by my own selfishness as I continue to take all the comfort he offers me. The skies begin to darken before I am able to gain enough control to enter the compound again.
As soon as we pass the gates, we make a run for the apartments, Kailand never more than a step behind me. I sneak in the building as quietly as I can and nothing seems to be disturbed. I quietly walk into my apartment and Kailand carefully shuts the door behind him. We walk towards my living room where I see a small light in and as soon as I get there I see Levi furiously pacing the room. The moment he spots me he rushes over to my side and wraps me in a big, protective bear hug in a way that only Levi can get away with. “Oh my God, where have you been? I’ve been worried sick, I thought you were dead!” the words race out of his mouth quicker than I can even respond “It’s ok Levi, I’m here now! I’m ok. But, he’s gone Levi. I’m so, so sorry!” Kailand reaches past me and places his hand on Levi’s shoulder “I’m so sorry my friend, he died an honorable death.” A look of confusion registers on his face. “He’s not dead, Ilyana. He’s being held captive by Guinevere and Julius in Cairo.”
I grab the chair closest to me and sit down, the room around me starts to spin and I search his face for answers “How can that be? I watched the demon kill him in front of me!” I look to Kailand and he looks just as lost as I am. Levi sits down across from me “I don’t know what you saw, but you didn’t see him die. They’ve released photos and an announcement, Guinevere is accusing him of helping you lead a rebellion against the Counsel. She is calling for an alliance between the demons and the Nephilim they are calling themselves The Fallen Ones. She says it is for the good of all Nephilim, she says they will fight our wars for us and we will provide them with our resources. She’s gone completely mad and she’s requested that all Nephilim join her, that’s why the compound is so empty now, a lot of the younger, more fearful Nephilim have followed her and even more are making arrangements to leave. She told us you nearly killed everyone in the caves today.” I knew she was crazy, but I never would’ve thought she was capable of this. I want to be relieved that Ephraim is alive, but I am not sure if being alive as a pawn in her hands is any better than being dead. “What do we do, Levi? She’s crazy! We can’t let her do this!”
He leans back and lets out a huge sigh “ I was hoping you would say that, I’ve got a bit of a plan, but I’m fairly certain you won’t be too crazy about it…” I have no idea what he is about to say but know that I don’t have the option of being too picky right now, I grab his knee and look into his eyes “I trust you Levi, whatever you say, I’ll do it.” He lets out a small laugh “You may want to hear what I have to say before you agree to this, this is your last real shot at getting out of all this chaos. Once we do this, you’ll lose your shot at choosing.” I shake my head “I never had a choice in this Levi, from the minute my Mom and Dad died and I was hunted down by those demons, I lost my say in the matter. As long as I have you with me, I’m in this thing.” He smiles “That’s my girl! We need to call Marcus and Samuel. We’re going to need help working out all the details and they already came by here earlier, I know they’re on your side.”
I stand up from the chair “Okay, call them. Do you think since we still have Marcus, we may still have Lizzy too? I’m going to need some help getting things together for the other captives. They aren’t ready to come here just yet.” Levi reaches over and rustles my hair like I’m a small child “I’ll get right on that! Go get cleaned up and meet me back in here in an hour, we need to get started right away.” I start to walk off but catch Kailand out of the corner of my eye looking completely lost. I realize then how new everything must look to him. He has lived in a cave for thousands of years and I can’t even fathom everything that’s changed since the last time he was free. Levi catches me looking at an uncertain Kailand and before I have a chance to worry about introducing him to running water and electricity, Levi steps between us “You come with me, we’re going to get you cleaned up too.” Kailand nods his head at Levi gratefully and looks to me as though he needs my permission I smile at him and motion for him to follow Levi. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.
The Fallen Ones Page 28