Awake by Nightfall by Emilia Sherman (well read books .TXT) 📕

Leon was no ordinary Nephilim. I met him when I was training. He was also training to be a Seeker. He didn’t have any special gift so of course, he was training like the rest of us. But he was different from me; he had power over the other Seekers. I didn’t have a gift, so the other Seekers completely ignore my presence. Not Leon. Leon was the friend I needed during those horrible times. Everyone accepted Leon but despised me. Who could blame them? I hated the fact that I was weak also. And because of this thought, Leon helped me through most of those terrible times. He trained with me.

He only left my side when he had to train with Julius. Julius was trying to train me also but it didn’t go down that well. He was right, to throw me out of his class. He couldn’t train someone who didn’t have any gifts. Leon, on the other hand, had the most amazing strength and speed. We were all fast, but he was faster.

Even though, we were becoming distant from each other, Leon was always there after training. We would mess around, playing tricks on the other Seekers. Then one week, he disappeared. I became worried but my mother told me that Julius sometimes takes his students to Earth to train. So, I waited for Leon’s return.

When Leon finally came back, he changed. His attitude towards humans changed. We used to make fun of them, only small jokes here and there because we were also half-human. I didn’t understand what brought his anger on them. Leon hated them, and hated being half of one.

I ignored this though because I was his friend. He was there for me, and I would be there for him. Then, he convinced me to do something out of my power, my limitations. He wanted me to help him sneak into the courtroom where the Radiant Council holds their trails. Most of us were never allowed in there unless, we were given a mission. Unfortunately, he convinced me that I could sneak because my mom was part of the Radiant Council. I was nervous but he was friend so, I did it.

I got caught though when I arrived in the Hall of Knowledge. I thought he got caught too, but Leon disappeared in time. He was fast enough to get away.

The guards threw me into a prison cell. I waited there in the prison cell, wondering what happened to Leon. I didn’t know how much time had passed, because there was infinity of sunlight in our world. No darkness. So, I would never know when nightfall had arrived to claim another day.

Me being here in Cassie’s living room, I was in the prison cell all over again. That’s what I felt like. I felt locked in, misguided. Not knowing what was going to happened.

Moments later, I was set free from the jail. I expected to see Leon outside waiting to laugh at me. But I never saw his face. I went back into training and never knew what happened to him. Weeks passed, and I finally saw his face posted on the Fables List. I ran to my mother and demand her to tell me what happened. She could not say a word. I told her whatever Leon did was my fault.

I didn’t learn that my words were a mistake until I got my mission.

When I found out that I was the one that helped him get that information. I felt unwanted. How could I have helped him? He wasn’t my friend anymore, he was the enemy and I was going to catch him. No matter what. Even if it meant sacrificing Marina, I was willing to let one girl go to save others, because Leon needed to be caught.

~~~~~

In the distance, I could hear footsteps rushing up the stairs to the apartment. I could feel the corner of my lips curving up. Finally.

“Did you guys finally catch him?” Gabriel asked after bursting through the door.

“No.” I answered in an annoyed tone of voice. It was obnoxious hearing that same question over and over again every week. This is why I hated the fact that we had to deal with a young human in our mission. He had jumped to conclusions too fast. He is such an unintelligent being.

“So, you guys still can’t find him, can you?”

“There have been complications.” I said.
Leon was somewhere near here. I was certain of it. My Attain necklace had warmth every time we visited Marina in the hospital. Someone was lingering close by. Stalking her. I made sure no one else was using their gift. But no luck. The necklace would be warm for a moment then cold instantly. Someone was here in Florida watching Marina.

“Complications? Right. You guys have been here for three weeks and still no progress.”

“I have a feeling you don’t like having us here.” I said mockingly.

“I believe you guys are just here to cause more problems for us.” He replied. But his thoughts didn’t stop there. “You’re not doing your job very well.”

“My job is no concerns of yours.” I said this last part somewhat defiantly. I wanted to challenge the human to see what he would do in his defense of his beliefs. I did not, however, let him know how much I wanted to smash his head in.

His brown eyes glared at me. What a time waster this guy was. Before Gabriel could continue, Cassandra told him to take a seat. He did as he was told. I smiled. He knew he lost.

“Now, what happened that you needed to see us?” Cassandra asked.

“I have news about the events that happened today. The Heartless are here.”

“What?” Gabriel asked stupidly.

“Anyone I might know?”Cassandra said ignoring Gabriel’s remark.

“Julius Neverwood. He claims to have witnessed Marina’s accident and saw me rescuing her.” I stared at Cassandra’s eyes. They were alert. She knew who he was. This is what I wanted to avoid. “There was also something else that occurred today at lunch.”

“Did Julius do something to Marina?”

“No. Maybe. Do you know what his gift is?”

“Of course. He was the one that trained me. He pushed me to make me stronger. He made me use my gift to find out some of the others past memories. It was horrible.” She moved her hand over her back. Tracing her hand where her wings would be. “He was the one that ripped my wings off.” She cringed at the memory.

“I didn’t know.” I was shock to learn this information. No wonder she was down here for so long. Even if she wanted to chance going back to our kingdom, she wouldn’t be able to. Some of the Fables go back because they don’t want to give up immortality. When they reach the Day Star though, they were trialed in court. Most don’t survive. “How did you become a Fable?”

“I failed Julius on a mission. Instead following him, I escaped. I ran right into a human boy. He helped me hide from the others. He kept me company. Then I made the biggest mistake. I fell for him. The others finally found me but before they could reach him, I erased his memories of me. Julius took me to the Council right away. I was sentenced to death. But instead of killing me, Julius ripped my wings and left me here. He told me that he will need my gift some day.”

“Do you think he’s back for you?”

“I don’t know.” She looked away and frowned. This news was unpleasant but I had a feeling Cassandra just stopped herself from telling me something. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. “But what happened today?” Clearly changing the subject, even though, she needed the news.

“A boy was possessed today. Complete possession.”

“How could this happen on Marina’s first day?” Gabriel said quite lamely and quickly got up from his spot. “She barely gets to school and they are already on her.”

“We knew this was going to happen. I did suggest last week that we should have watched her more closely at school. But you turned down my suggestion.”

“Marina is going to know something is up.” He moved closer to me. I caught a whiff of his scent. He smelled like wet dog, with a mixture of some type of cologne. “If all three of you have the same classes, Marina would have noticed. She will start asking questions.”

“Well, I didn’t see you there at lunch offering her your company.”

“I was held up in class.” He replied with a quick look at his mother.

I was taken aback. He was with her. That’s why he didn’t come to pick up Marina for lunch. What is with these people? What were they hiding?

“So what happened to Marina? What did the boy do to her?” Cassandra said immediately.

“The boy gave her invitation to a party this weekend.” I replied. They eyes looked bewildered and stared at me wanting more of an answer.

“Is that all?” Gabriel snickered. “A party?

I controlled my frustration and stared at him. “Don’t you understand? Whoever possessed this boy wants to get Marina alone. Marina doesn’t understand. She is mostly human after all. If he asks to come up to the room, she will most likely follow.”

“Gabriel, Darien has point. We are not letting Marina go to this party.” She paused and went to the breakfast bar. She grabbed some newspapers and handed them to me. “I know Nephilims get their gifts when they are young. Some of these articles might be helpful for your search. They are some missing teenagers around this area. Some are missing since two years ago. I don’t know how your mission is doing this but I think you’re right about him creating an army. Marina would be next. She is the perfect shield.”

I walked over to the window. The sun was glistening through the cracks of the blinds. I looked over one of the articles. There seemed to be a lot of pictures of girls and boys. All teenagers. If Leon was creating the army, he was moving quickly. I don’t know how he was making all these girls and boys join him but Marina needed to be next.

But before Marina went to this party, I had to make sure Leon was the one who wants her there. I wonder if I can convince her to go. Maybe play toy with her feelings. Cassandra and Gabriel didn’t want her to go to this party. I just had to up the game. Make her think that they weren’t the only ones wanting her to go. She would get mad and think we are ganging up on her. All I needed her to do was get angry.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs again. Softer than Gabriel’s had been. I listened intently. The person footsteps