Falling For A Fallen

9 Nightmares

*Dedicated to DarkDreamer1031 for being a dedicated reader.

፠CHAPTER NINE፠

I’d have to say, thank God Chayn was out of the way for the rest of the school day. It seemed that he’d just come at that one time to torture me, rather than keep on guard. Something else bothered me for the rest of the school day, however. The figure from Harroway Woods, and the promise we’d made. I was still pondering on the decision on whether I’d help him or not. I was stuck between the choice of helping someone from Harroway Woods –certainly not good- and escaping, or not helping and having to stay here for the rest of my life, therefore, losing the one chance I had.

Another thought that lingered around was what ‘surprise’ Kaiti had planned for me after school. The obvious bags under her eyes certainly had something to do with it, which only bothered me more as beauty was something she always fretted about.

After school she made sure to tell me to meet her at the library located under the Campus A building. Nephilim did most of their research there. I certainly did, when I’d just arrived here for my first year. There was so much to learn –there still is- and there was no one really there to explain it all to me. So the library was where I’d spent most of my days.

I made my way down the narrow steps and into the dusty, still room. The room was lit up dimly, and the floor was covered with a maroon carpet. I ambled over to a random table and waited for Kaiti to enter. To be honest, I thought she’d be here before me, but as I looked around the room, I found that I couldn’t find her.

A couple of minutes after, she walked in and without hesitation, pulled me toward our old librarian, Miss Lorane. Miss Lorane was a Nephilim herself, and so, she wasn’t as prejudice toward us as others would be.

Bewildered, I followed along as Miss Lorane led us to a room and let us in. The room was a small, stubby place with books placed neatly into the walls, which were actually formed into shelves. At the center of the room was a polished wood table with two chairs and a lamp. It was much brighter in here than in the library. She told us not to damage the books, then quietly shut the door and left.

Kaiti didn’t wait. She skipped over to a shelf and pulled out a book the length of my whole arm. With a loud thud, she placed it onto the table and called me over. What kind of surprise was this? Millions of thoughts zoomed through my mind as I walked over, ever so slowly. She covered the title as I leaned in, waiting for the right time to reveal it.

“Since our plan failed, I figured you wouldn’t want to give up yet. So I decided to do some research and found this!” she lifted her hands up into the air and beamed at me. “Tada! It’s not a new plan. In fact, it’s nothing special, but I figured it could still help you.”

I squinted down at the golden-printed title before me.

Calambria: Legends, Facts and More. . .

Kaiti flipped open the cover, sending dust flying all around. I coughed as she winced and apologized.

“See?” she said pointing to the table of contents. “Everything to ever know about Calambria is in this book. Look, even the ‘Legend of Harroway Woods’.”

I brushed my hand over the table of contents, my eyes glimmering with excitement. If what she said was right, then this would surely be a help to me. I wouldn’t possibly need the figure from the woods, after all.

“Well?” she asked, waiting for a response, and that was when I realised that I hadn’t given her one yet.

“Thank you so much.” I said and squeezed her as hard as I could. I definitely owed her one now.

“You can’t take it back to your dorm, though. It’s very old and important here. Miss Lorane said that some things are missing, too, because of how old it is. That’s okay, right?”

“It really doesn’t matter, Kaiti. You’re the best friend that I ever had. You can’t imagine how happy I am.”

“No, but I figured you would be happy. These bags aren’t there to see you frown.” She pointed to her eyes.

I gave her an apologetic look and my glance fell back onto the book before me.

“While you scan over the subjects, I’ll have a look around. This room is a very important part of the library and holds a lot of interesting things. While looking around last night, I came across a book of spells. Spells! You believe that? But I don’t think Nephilim are able to do them.” She rambled on and on, so eventually her voice droned out as I pried deeper into the book.

Eventually, I stumbled on a page about the portal located under Campus C. My heart sped up slightly, and I read on, eager to see if there would be any information relevant to me. The only person who would be able to open the portal, though, would be the mistress, who was currently Mrs. Beccam. Of course, that was no surprise to me.

Kaiti settled down into the opposite chair and was engrossed in the spellbook that remained open.

I sighed and resumed my reading, but only the obvious was noted down. No revealing secrets as I had hoped. Kaiti seemed to have noticed the disappointed on my face.

“What’s wrong? Are you tired?”

I shook my head slightly and smiled. The last thing I wanted was for her to think that all her intense searching had gone to waste.

“Let’s come back tomorrow then.” She shut her book closed and put it away. I did the same, and though I didn’t find out much today, I left satisfied. The book was huge and I was sure of finding something useful soon.

Back in my dorm, I took a warm shower and dropped down on my bed. The rest of the day went well, mainly because there was no ‘guard’ to keep a close eye on me. Where was Chayn anyway? It didn’t matter. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow. A new plan, without having to worry about the figure from the woods.

--¤፥ º̊‡° ˚̈̇᎐፤•∙ⶑ†--

Pure darkness. Or so it seemed at first. I stood there alone for a couple of seconds, bewildered.

Suddenly a single beam of light covered me. A spotlight, if you could call it that. Around me, was nothing but the color of black.

“Our promise…” the words whispered around me, but I could see no one.

A black figure stepped forward, into the only light that surrounded me. He raised his face and I let out a gasp. Scarred and bruised, the person frowned at me. His deep red eyes pierced into my own. The pupils weren’t round, but lines, like those of a cat. He was hideous to say the least.

His wavy black hair was plastered onto his face. “Did you forget?”

A voice that was smooth and soothing, certainly unfit for his face. I meant to take a step back, but there was no ground beyond the light, and so, I went tumbling, mindlessly into the darkness. My hands flung from side to side and I let out a squeal.

The man, he jumped in after me and yelled, “You can’t run away now!”

He pulled back his hand and swung at me.

And then…

I woke up. I heard a scream, but it was only until I had a few minutes to steady my breathing, that I realised it was mine. I’ve barely had nightmares before, so what happened tonight? I casually wiped the sweat off my forehead and sat up quietly in bed. It was still night, and a cold breeze blew in from the window as the moonlight splayed across the floor of my dorm. Clearing my throat I walked up to get some fresh air and drew the curtain open. Naturally I turned my head to the gates leading to Harroway Woods, and my eyes grew wide with fear. A black figure stood behind it, and though I couldn’t see any eyes, I knew he was looking at me.