Fallen Stars

Chapter One

CAMANO ISLAND, WASHINGTON STATE.

My life was pretty average, I got exceptional grades in school, I had a few good friends, and I never fought with my mom. I liked school, but I loved seeing my two best friends every day.

"So, how did your summer go?", Rose asked me while surprise hugging me from behind. She had been gone all summer in California visiting relatives and I had missed her like crazy.

I turn around to meet my best friend's eyes for the first time in two and a half months, and I immediately noticed that she has bleached her dark blonde hair to a very white-blonde color.

"Wow! If I go to California will they bleach my hair, too?", I said with a smile. Rose rolled her eyes and continued on talking.

"Tell me everything! How was your birthday? Doesn't it feel great to be sixteen, finally!"

"I guess you could say that... Sam is the only one who showed up to my sleepover, but I did get this for my birthday...", I lifted up the bottom of my shirt and showed her the tattoo I had just gotten for my birthday, a feather the size of my hand. I had gotten it a week before, so it was still red and a little swollen.

"Woah! Your mom is way cooler than mine!", she said poking at my back

"Hey, hey! It's still sensitive!", I replied laughing while smacking her hand away. Mrs. Ramsey took her place behind her desk and that's when I knew that class was about to start. I gave Rose a small smile and sat down at a desk in the middle of the room with Rose trailing behind. But before I reached the desk, Mrs. Ramsey called me up to the front.

"Cassandra, you're needed in the office. The principal would like to.. have a word with you I suppose." Mrs Ramsey shooed me out the door, bag in hand.

When the door to the classroom was shut completely, Mrs. Ramsey locked it. Strange. I turn to head towards the office, but a very built man stood at the end of the hallway, staring at me. His deep green eyes stare into mine, and his jet black hair is styled nicely. I guess he is around 6'4, and looks to be in his early twenties.

"Cassandra, we need to talk.", he says with an emotionless face.

"W-what do you want? I don't know you...", I said stammering. I always mutter when I'm nervous, and when the hottest guy I've ever seen with my own eyes talks directly to me I've got reason to be.

"Your father told me that one day you would need me. I've been watching you for weeks, and he was right. God, you have no idea what you are, do you? You don't know the power you hold.", he said while walking closer. He came so close that I had to look up just to stare into his mesmerizing eyes.

"W-What are you talking about? How do you know my father? When did he tell you that I would need you?" I said, finally able to talk without struggling to say each word.

The man looked deep into my eyes, and said,

"Your father was a good friend of mine. We used to be like brothers, back in the day. Then one day, about seventeen years ago, he met this girl. She wasn't like any other girl to him; he saw something in her. They fell in love, and then the girl got pregnant. Your father payed the price for having relations with a human. He had his wings torn out, and was sent to live life as a human. The Gate Leaders believed the baby wouldn't survive, being half human and half Angel the odds were against it. The odds were against you. Your father left the day you were born, but he left a guard to act as your guardian. He pretended to be your father and your mother's spouse for the sake of appearances, but when your real father died, he had to leave because the connection between you and your father had been broken. He no longer had to protect you by oath, so he left." He said, still staring into my eyes.

It felt as if he was looking into my soul, I felt him invading my thoughts, and all of a sudden I hear his voice.

"My name is Blake Grant ." He whispered, only his lips didn't move.

"How did you do that?" I ask with a hushed voice.

Yet again without moving his lips, he says,

"You being able to hear my voice only proves that you are your fathers daughter. You know, I spoke to him just before he died. Do you want to know what he told me?"

I nod my head in response, and he speaks out loud this time,

"He told me to take care of you. You need me, Cassandra," he moved closer to me, and placed a hand on my cheek. Electricity migrated through my entire body at his touch.

All I could say is, "Woah."Now, I'm sure you're thinking I'm absolutely crazy for believing what this insanely gorgeous guy is telling me. It's just that somehow I feel like I can trust him. And the fact that I can hear him in my head seems to seal the deal pretty tight.

"So will you come with me? I'll explain everything on the way to our destination, but I'm afraid I can't reveal where we're going just yet." He says as he pulls his hand away from my cheek. I immediately miss the feeling of his warm skin against mine.

I look into Blake Grant's eyes as they stare deep into mine, and I barely manage to nod my head. He turns towards the door as if expecting me to follow, but my feet stay glued to the floor. Blake turns to face me with an annoyed look on his face.

"Well, what are you waiting on?" He asks, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.

I cross my arms in attempt to look tough enough to challenge him, "Why do you seem so familiar?"

Blake shifts on his feet while running his hand through his seemingly perfect hair. Frustration fills his face, and I begin to realize that might have been the wrong question to ask.

"I've been watching over you your entire life. The guardian who took your father's place left when your father died because he had fulfilled his duties, but I chose to stick around. Not because of an obligation I had to your father, but because you and I have a special bond. A once in a lifetime connection. It's a lot to explain, but I stayed for you. Not for your father's sake, or for some stupid vow I took. Now, can we hurry and get out of here? None of this will matter if we don't escape the Cadentibusque."

"Wait, what are the 'Cadentibusque'?" I ask with a questioning look on my face.

Blake gives me a look that parents give their children the first time they ask about sex.

"You mean to tell me that you don't know who the Cadentibusque are? They're the children of Adramelch. Cadentibusque is Latin for 'Fallen Ones', and Adramelch is an alias for their leader." Having explained himself, Blake now seems less agitated with my poor knowledge of The Fallen Ones.

"So what is Adramelch's real name?" I ask hoping to not get an entire lecture on how I should already know the answer to this question.

Blake looks into my eyes when he answers.

"The Devil."