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son of God, preying on a human.”
    “Preying?” he asked startled
    “Well... a Fallen one would have benefits over any human, right?  The divine look, thousands or maybe even more years of experience, knowledge of human behavior… It hardly seems fair.”
    He nodded.  “You certainly put on a good argument, but the choices, the inability to fight your feelings, it is just not like that.  Let’s take you for instance…”
    I looked at him alarmed and he went on to confirm that he knew about me.
    “You are a Nephilim.  You will soon learn that you have powers of your own.  Would you necessarily be characterized as evil if you fell for a human?”
    “Well, that is hardly the same thing!”
    “How so?”
    “For one thing, I’m mortal.”  … and that was when it hit me.  I was mortal, but Hunter was not.  In my mind that was not evil.
    Mr. Azazel noticed my startled reaction.
    “Do you care to share your thoughts?”
    “I – Okay, maybe it is not all black and white… but if it is not evil, why get cast out of heaven because of that?  Why do those choices make you a fallen one?”
    “Because it makes us a liability.  Falling in love impacts our judgment, our choices… our priorities.”
    I nodded.  “So, what is the deal with this place?  I mean… why would you continue to serve the good after being cast out?”
    He smiled.  “That, I can only answer for myself.  We each have our own reasons, but I will always serve the good because what was once called a mistake helped shape the best part of me.  It made me a better being.”
    I nodded again, noticing how I enjoyed this discussion much more than I had anticipated.  He then went into the topic of Nephilim.
       There were not many around, but the ones who did exist were trained from the beginning on how to unlock and use their powers.  I was the only one he had ever met who was raised by humans and he had no idea how that would impact my ability to reach those powers, besides the one I stumbled upon once I met Carolyn.  He said we would soon talk more about it and try to see what all I could do.
    After class I walked alone to my room.
    So, I pulled it off.  Ember’s things were all gone.
    I knew that getting a room of my own would make things a little better.  At least it would give me space, although it didn’t make me hate this place any less.
    I skipped dinner that night and just lay in bed, thinking about what to write to Andrew and Kelly.
    I only had ten minutes to get ready for bed before the lights went off.  As usual, it was too foggy outside for the moonlight to make a difference.  Either way, I found it creepy to go to sleep with the blinds open.  I just felt as if I was being watched.
    That was the first night that I wasn’t paranoid about going to sleep in a very long time.  My door was locked, and Ember and the other fallen, as far as I was concerned, had no way of getting in my room.
     
    I worried about Kelly and Andrew, and then moved on to thinking of ways to get out of here.  I wondered if I exposed the truth about what I was, if I could create a commotion large enough that they would want me to leave.  If I could only be that lucky!  And then, I started thinking about Hunter.  Questioning whether bringing me here was really his only option.  Wondering what I would have done in his place.  Remembering that night when we kissed, and that was the last thing I remember before falling asleep.
     
    The girl in my dream seemed familiar.  She reminded me of Carolyn, the ghost who then reincarnated as my little sister.  I knew it wasn’t her, mostly because something about her appearance was odd.  The dream was so vivid.  I was walking by the front gates of the Academy when she appeared at the other side of the gates.
    “Hello,” she said.
    I ignored her.
    “Your name is Kayla, right?”
    I nodded.  “Do I know you?”
    “No, but I would like to come in.”
    I tried to fight it, but soon, her familiarity