Fallen

Kandace took in a big breath, mustering all her courage and leaned around the frame. Inside the room, a boy sat hunched over on a bed, headphones over his ears, books spread out around him, as he wrote on a notebook on his lap. Kandace slowly let her breath out, pressing her lips together in indecision. He only looked to be a kid, thirteen, maybe fourteen, tall but skinny, from what she could tell in his sitting position. Slight but for his height, with the smooth skin of a young teen who hadn’t yet sprouted his first whisker. She didn’t think he necessarily posed a physical threat if push came to shove. But who was he and would he call someone who was a threat? Would he scream when he saw her so that Jasper the hellhound came running?

Perhaps she should make a break for the door, hope it was easy to fling open and escape before he’d even gotten a good look at her face? They all wore the same uniform and had the same God-awful short, shaggy haircut, even if he came out of the room and saw her from the back, would he really be able to identify her later? Yes, if it’s already been noticed that you’re missing.

As though he sensed her presence, the boy’s head came up, his gaze clashing with hers, eyes widening with surprise. He ripped the headphones off and leaped to his feet. Kandace drew back, glancing once at the exterior door and then back at him.

As they stared at each other, Kandace saw not only the surprise in his gaze, but fear as well. Her shoulders lowered and she raised her hand as though attempting to calm a frightened animal. “It’s okay. I’m just . . . lost.” She inclined her head toward the door. “I see an exit, so I’ll just—”

“You’re not supposed to be down here.”

She nodded. “I know. I’ll be in trouble if I’m caught. Don’t say you saw me, okay?” She tilted her head, giving him her most flirtatious smile, but she could feel that it fell flat. She didn’t exactly feel like a girl who could convince anyone of anything using her feminine wiles at the moment—even a boy in the throes of puberty.

Vanity will not be tolerated.

Oh yes, they’d stripped her of that, no doubt there.

He narrowed his eyes at her, appearing torn. “I’m supposed to tell if I see one of you in a place where you shouldn’t be.”

One of you. She nodded. “I get it, and I’d ordinarily never ask someone to be dishonest, but . . . I’m really not doing anything wrong, and if they get the idea that I am—”

“You’re sinning.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll be punished.”

Kandace bobbed her head. “Yes. I will.”

His expression registered another flash of confusion, but it melted into what appeared to be concern. He wet his lips, pausing for several beats. “Don’t go out that door,” he finally said in a rush of words, nodding toward the one she’d been headed toward. “Ms. Granger has a direct view from her classroom and she might see you. If she does, she’ll report to Ms. Wykes. I know a better way.”

Relief made Kandace’s breath come easier. He wasn’t going to rat her out. In fact, he was going to help her. “Are you a . . . student here?” she asked, curiosity overwhelming her as she stepped into the room. “I was told there weren’t any boys.”

“There aren’t. That is . . .” He cleared his throat, embarrassment flashing in his eyes. “We, I mean, myself and two others . . . we weren’t sent here. We were born here.”

“Born here?” she breathed, her eyes roaming his young face. She’d thought him a good-looking kid when she’d first caught sight of him, but she could see now that he was beyond that. He was a beautiful boy. “What do you—?”

His fingers clamped down on her arm at the sound of a door opening and shutting, and then feet descending the wood steps. Kandace’s heart rate jumped. Shit, someone was coming down the same set of steps she’d taken ten minutes before. Someone looking for her?

The boy pulled her, putting his finger up to his lips as he met her eyes. Shh. Kandace nodded, letting him lead her toward the door, where he then turned right. From there, he walked her toward a wall and pulled at a board. What had just looked like a planked wall, had a small secret door that swung outward on hidden hinges. He pointed inside, indicating that she should crawl in. Kandace hesitated. She’d thought she could trust this kid, but how did she know he really wasn’t just some nutjob? There seemed to be quite a few of them at Lilith House. And she wasn’t talking about the students. How screwy did you have to be to teach at a place like this anyway?