Free Forsaken by Daniele Lanzarotta Page A

through the Otherworld.  Follow the most painful
     shrieks; they are your guide.  You’ll know once you are there.”  
    “Thank you,” says Hunter.  
    “Now you are going to do something for me,” says Ben.  
    Ethan steps forward and I can tell he doesn’t like this at all.  
    “Don’t leave until Steph portals us out of here.  I don’t want them coming after her.”  
    Ethan and Hunter both nod and I approach Ben, wrapping my arms around him and taking
     us out of there.  
     

EIGHTEEN  
    HUNTER  
    The fallen can feel as soon as they are gone.  By the time we turn around to leave,
     they are already walking into the cabin.  Ethan faces me and shrugs.  “I’m already
     damned anyway.”  He grabs my arm and just like that, we are out of there and through
     the portal that takes us to the Academy, straight to Xavier.  
    “What’s going on?” asks Xavier.  
    Ethan sighs.  “We have no time to explain, but we need you to come with us.”  
    Xavier nods and Ethan portals us out of there and into the cabin that belongs to the
     Erza… the one where Kayla was last.  
    Within seconds, Chase shows up with Jennifer.  
    Xavier gasps at the sight of her.  This is the first we’ve seen her since she fell
     and something about her falling is all wrong.  In spite of the black wings, she radiates
     goodness… and sadness.  
    Her expression softens once she looks at Ethan, but anyone can tell it’s just a façade
     to hide her sadness from him.  She walks over to him and he puts his arms around her,
     pulling her close to his body and what they have, makes me miss Kayla even more.  
    “You called,” says Chase.    
    “I’m going to get Kayla,” I say.  
    “How?” Chase and Xavier ask at the same time.  
    “Benjamin said I can get to where she is from the Otherworld.”  
    Xavier shakes his head.  “There are rumors that it can happen, but you can’t seriously
     take a demon’s word for it!”  
    “It’s all I have to go on,” I say.  “I’m doing it.  Chase helped me get her from the
     Otherworld before, so at least that part is familiar to me.”  
     
    Xavier is right.  We don’t know if this will even work, but I’d go through hell and
     back to find her and now it’s time to prove it.  
    Chase nods.  “Just like last time?”  
    I nod.  
    “I’ll see you there,” he says and vanishes.    
    Ethan has limited abilities because of what happened to Jennifer.  Once she fell,
     for being with him, his wings darkened even more.  He can no longer send me to the
     Otherworld without help, so Xavier helps him.  
    I grab Kayla’s dagger and hold it close to me.  Shortly after I close my eyes, I can
     feel that I’m in the Otherworld.  It’s dark, but I can hear Chase right next to me
     and I’m glad that at least for now, things are moving along as planned.  
    “So, I guess we just wander around and see if one of the lost souls knows something
     that will help us get there,” says Chase.  
    “If we can even get there…” I pause.  “Benjamin said we would be able to tell the
     direction based on their sounds.”  
    We walk for a while in the darkness, guided by nothing but the cries and screams of
     lost souls.  It makes me wonder just how much worse is the place where Kayla has been
     trapped and I start to prepare myself for the worst.  She won’t be the same.  Not
     after something like this.  
    We walk in silence trying to find anyone who can help us.  I suddenly hear Chase’s
     voice, “What is that?” he whispers.  
    I look to the other side of where we were heading and see a light.  
    “I don’t know.  Should we check it out?” I ask.  
    I have Kayla’s dagger in hand, just in case we need it.  
    “Let’s go,” says Chase.  As we move toward the light, we notice that it’s moving toward
     us at a fast speed.  
    I freeze as soon as I realize that it’s a person, and that the light is radiating
     off him.