Ethereal Underground Part 5

He watched her blonde head bob up and down in agreement before walking up close beside him and sitting in the shade under the tree. He sat down also, just now noticing how hot it was. In the underground, the temperature was always cold. This was a pleasant change in scenery.

"Listen, I don't think I was supposed to die the other night. I know it, I could feel it. Did you ever think that you saved me because you were tired of taking souls when you could save them?" He paused, but when she didn't answer, he continued talking.

"I can move water- control it now- but it's very hard. I've only been able to do it once before I showed you. It feels stronger when you are around- and who in the world is Finlay really?" His mind was spinning with a million questions all at once. He couldn't decide what to ask, but Finlay was his friend. Was he a seraph also?

"Finlay is the same as me, but a guardian," she replied. She turned to look at him with her serious blue eyes. Every time she did that, he couldn't help but want to grab her shoulders and kiss her. He wanted to melt into her and let the rest of the world fall apart around them. Luckily, he had learned a great restraint over the years and decided against it. Finishing off his last bite of the fruit, he grabbed her hand. She looked so frightened; all he wanted to do was comfort her. He bet that she had never broken any rules before in her entire life. Giving her hand a quick squeeze, he gave her one of his signature winks. She lowered her eyes to the ground in shock. Great, he thought, he would have to remember to tone it down so he didn't scare her off.

"Finlay lied to me. I can't believe this; I bet everything that has ever come out of his mouth has all been lies."

"Listen," she started, moving closer to him, speaking barely above a whisper. She was interrupted by the sound of a man's voice in the distance.

"Anna," it called.

"Who is that?" Ash jumped up, but didn't let go of her hand. He gently pulled her up next to him. He didn't know who it was, but he remembered that mortals were not supposed to be here and didn't want to get her in trouble.

In the distance, a man with light brown hair and green eyes fell from the sky only a few dozen yards away. He started walking toward them; his face was darker and serious. Another seraph perhaps? The man was still far away, but he could tell the look on his face wasn't a happy one. Ash felt Annalise pull her hand from his grip to cover her mouth.

"Leon..." He heard her gasp. She took a step back, almost tripping over a tree root. Ash instinctively reached out to catch her.

"Ash, we need to leave now. Do you have anywhere safe I can teleport us?" she spoke frantically with fear in her eyes. He didn't even need to think before answering.

"The surface, a place called the nook," he told her, his eyes not leaving the seraph walking toward them. The man looked at Ash, a wave of confusion pa.s.sing over his face. Whoever this seraph was, Annalise obviously didn't want to be near him right now. Ash tried to push her behind him. He just wanted to protect her. Last time he went up against an immortal being, he had lost. This time he would be more prepared for the strength and agility of the immortal races.

"Anna?" Leon was only a few yards away now. He held his hand out as he got closer. Ash felt Annalise grab him from behind. He closed his eyes, antic.i.p.ating the feeling before she ripped them away from time and s.p.a.ce. He was a bit more prepared this time as everything spun around him. As soon as he felt the ground reappear beneath his feet, he put his hands out in front of him to try and keep his balance. Annalise held him up tightly from behind, not allowing him to fall over.

"Take a deep breath. Your body is not made for this type of travel." He felt her place her hand on his back as he struggled not to lose his stomach. Inhaling slowly through his nose, he stood up and looked around. She had taken him right to the spot that had been in his mind. This place was as familiar as the back of his hand. It was the section of the surface where all the keepers lived, the place where he had grown up, and the place where the people he trusted had given up on him and had cast him out. He looked around at the tall metal buildings. This place was so different from the world Annalise had just shown him. There was no greenery or trees or flowers. The sky was dark except for the moons that shone from the highest point in the sky. It was late, so he knew most of the keepers would already be in bed. The buildings all looked alike, each was a two story home with two rooms and a kitchen, yet he knew the occupant of each small home. They stood in front of Jaron's home. The two of them had grown up together, trained together and eventually grown apart. Jaron wanted power, he had wanted to become an Official. Ash wanted freedom. The two men fought constantly to get the best jobs and over who got various promotions. In the past year, they had only spoken a few words. Ash suspected that Jaron might have been the one who had tattled on his nightly extracurricular activities, but he wasn't positive. He pushed Annalise back into the shadows as he noticed a curtain moving along one of Jaron's windows. Taking Annalise's hand, he pulled her behind him toward Jedzia's building. Her home wasn't far, but he still tried to move as quickly as possible. He didn't want to get caught lurking around in the shadows. Keepers killed first in the nook, asked question later. Sneaking into the nook without clearance was punishable by death. Then again, the keepers punished everything with death. The entire place was quite, except for the faint sounds of ships high in the sky. Not too many local people were allowed pa.s.sage off the planet, but enough travelers and traders came and went from other planets. The nook was surrounded by a force field to protect them, so he wasn't worried about an attack from one of the ships.

"Where are you taking us?" Annalise cried, trying to stop him. Ash spun around on his heel and quickly put his hand over her lips. Her skin was soft and smoother than any humans. He made a small motion to be quiet. He had no doubt that Annalise could transport them away quickly if they were caught, but he didn't want to take the chance on not getting out in time. If the keepers had a seraph, who knows what kind of things they would do to her. Darting between the buildings, he finally saw Jedzia's home. He wondered if she knew whether the Officials had made their decision. He did regret that he had not asked her the other day about everything she knew. Now he was risking everyone's safety by bringing an outsider to the nook.

"This is an old friend's home," he whispered "she may know what has happened to me and may be able to help."

He looked at the emptiness around him for signs of movement. He tried to ignore the empty home to the right of Jedzia's, the place where he had once lived. A loneliness he didn't know existed tugged at his heart. If he was never allowed back home, this could be the last time he saw this place. When he was certain no one was around, he crept up to the front door and knocked twice as softly as he could. Like most of the keepers, Jedzia had a heightened sense of her surroundings. No doubt she had heard his movements already. He prepared for the worst as the door cracked open. He wasn't sure if she would slam it in his face or invite him in. Her head peeked from behind the door, barely opening it.

"Come in," she whispered, but the door didn't open any further. Still a bit wary, Ash squeezed through the opening of the front door. He didn't let go of Annalise's hand, but she pulled back as he tried to pull her along with him. He turned around to see what the holdup was. She was hesitant to go into a stranger's home. He looked into her eyes.

"Annalise, trust me. You will be safe here."

It took a few moments, but she reluctantly followed him through the crack. Ash bowed his head to his former partner. Even though it had only been a few days since he saw her last, she looked older and even more beautiful than he remembered. Her long black hair fell in soft waves on the sides of her round face, and she wasn't in her normal keeper uniform. She had on a plain black tunic. Her eyes were filled with adoration. He didn't even realize how much he had missed her until this moment. Jedzia lowered her head in return.

"Ash, you shouldn't be here. Until the keepers make their final decision, you can't be seen on the surface." Her brown eyes held worry for her old friend.

"Have you heard anything?" he asked Jedzia.

She gave him a rea.s.suring smile. "You are one of our best keepers. Everyone makes mistakes, plus I told you, you aren't the only keeper who has snuck off to hang out in one of the underground layers. They know you won't be the last. It's just what your excursions caused that-"

Ash made a loud coughing noise and nodded towards Annalise. The seraph didn't know much about why he was in trouble, and he wasn't sure he wanted to share all of the details just yet. Jedzia nodded to let him know that she understood. They were connected like that; it was what made them such great partners.

"I don't want to get you in trouble, but I- we- need your help." Ash gestured toward Annalise.

Jedzia's eyes scanned over the stranger in her home. She was the smartest keeper he knew. History, fighting, flying, she was the best at everything. If anyone knew what had happened to him, it was her.

"Anna- you need to show her who you are. You can trust her," he urged. He silently hoped that she would believe him. Annalise just stood there, only taking a step back to turn and glare at Ash.

Fine, be that way, he thought. "Jedzia, something has happened to me. I was hoping you might have some insight into what it is. You're the smartest person I know and trust."

Jedzia smiled and took a step closer to him. She put her hand to his cheek, it was soft and warm to the touch. Ash closed his eyes and smiled. Her touch was always comforting.

"Anything for you, my partner," Jedzia told him. Ash took an uncomfortable step back, and hoped she wouldn't be offended. He had once thought about getting permission from the Officials to take Jedzia as his own. Eventually all keepers grew old and settled down, but the idea never sat right with him. It was expected, since she had been his partner for so many years, but that was a lifestyle he never wanted. He was sure that she felt a feeling of exile and criticism when her partner was banished as a keeper, and for that he was truly sorry. But he never wanted to hide who he was and what he loved. He loved being with regular people, doing regular things. He loved the attention and the gems. As a keeper, he had questioned too much. The keepers had told him that he didn't have the greater good at heart when they had banished him. Maybe they were right. Maybe he wasn't good enough to be a keeper. He had broken too many oaths.

"I died, or I guess I was supposed to die- at the hands of a fallen," he began. He spoke slowly to let her take it all in, and get over the shock of what he was saying.

"You're kidding right? A fallen. The fallen are extinct." Jedzia started to pace like she normally did when she got excited.

"No. They are not. They are very much...not extinct," Annalise piped in from where she stood. "A very bad fallen name Loki put his weapon through Ash, and I was supposed to take his soul, but I could not."

Jedzia stopped mid-pace. "You- that means- oh my- that means you're a- and he's a?" She didn't finish a single phrase.

"I am a seraph. Yes." Annalise smiled.

Jedzia rushed over to her table and sat down. "This is a lot to take in," she muttered.

Ash smiled, he knew he could count on her to believe him. He motioned for Annalise to come closer, but she still wouldn't move away from her spot by the door. It was as if she was waiting for trouble.

"She saved me- and now something is wrong. I can move water like Annalise, she can do this transport thingy with me to her world and something is off about me. I can feel it deep inside, something is not right. I've hardly eaten or slept in days."

She took a few deep breaths before she began to talk, and like always she knew the answers.

"The seraphs. They were the original inhabitants of this planet. Legends say that when the colonies first came to this planet, the seraphs created their own plane of existence and sealed off the entrance to their world. They were have always been rumored to exist, but I never believed it until now."

Ash grew a bit impatient. He was afraid the keepers would find out he was here; he didn't want to stay long. He didn't want to get Jedzia in trouble. He already knew about the rumors, he wanted to know the secrets.

"Has anyone ever been saved like me?" he urged.

Jedzia shook her head "No, I've never even heard the slightest rumor of something like this, but I would a.s.sume that if she had saved you, she gave you a portion of her seraph essence. If that is the case, I would be careful. You are now part of a world you were never meant to know."

As cool as it sounded, he didn't want to be a seraph. He wanted to rewind his life back a few weeks. Back to a time when he was a keeper during the day, a fighter at the Underground on his nights off, and the biggest trouble he got in was helping Arie catch that month's criminal. His heart wrenched at the thought of Arie. He hoped that she was staying out of trouble. She was searching for Loki, and he didn't know how prepared she was for his strength. She was a smart girl though. If she wasn't fully prepared, she would have never taken the job.

"Why did you save him?" Jedzia bluntly asked Annalise.

"I do not know."

Ash turned towards the blonde who still stood in the corner of the room; why did she save him? If he was supposed to die like she insisted, would the powers that be send someone else to take him instead?

"Ash- I just wanted to let you know. Jaron..." Jedzia acted nervous, something very unlike her.

"It's okay, you can say it."

"Jaron has been made my new partner. It's hard fighting with him. Especially when he hates you so much."

The mention of Jaron's name sent Ash's mind into frenzy of emotions. Anger, betrayal, and hurt all mixed into a ball that he just wanted to throw at Jaron to kill him. He shrugged as if he didn't care. He knew Jaron would never protect Jedzia like he could have. Jaron would look out for his own interests first and forget about his partner.

"I figured. Jaron has always had his eye on you."

Jedzia blushed slightly, the rosy glow making her pale skin light up with even more beauty.

"He is a good keeper, but he is hiding something from me. He sneaks off a lot when we are on missions. He spends a lot of time with the alchemist at the conservatory. I don't know what they are doing. I can't explain it, but I have the feeling he is into something very bad. I- I just wanted to let you know, so you can stay clear of him."

Ash understood the instincts a keeper had, and trusted Jedzia's with all of his being. The alchemists were a coveted species who were also original inhabitants of the world, but the Officials had a few who lived in the conservatory. They were experts on science and the world, but also known for being paranoid. They spelled the keeper blades to make the beholder stronger; they also created a lot of the technology that the keepers used.

"I will. You be careful also. Don't let him suck you into anything."

In a split second, Annalise teleported to his side. "Someone's coming. Ash we need to leave now."

She desperately clung to his side, trying to pull him out of the chair.

Ash grabbed her tightly; the fear trickled from her body. She was scared, and he could feel it too.

He turned to say goodbye to Jedzia, but a pounding on the front door stopped him.

"It is them. I can feel it," Annalise whispered, "It is a fallen."

Annalise The words had barely left her lips before the pounding became more insistent. "Please, Ash, we must go, there is no time for pleasantries," she insisted, wanting to teleport them out of there but also wondering what they would do about his friend. Annalise certainly did not want her to suffer on their behalf, and she was not sure she could teleport the both of them.

Trying to be brave, she turned towards the door and stepped in front of the mortals as the metal material came crashing to the floor. She opened her mouth to try to warn them, get them to understand how serious this was, when the figure walked through the door and confusion crept over her body. Unable to believe what she was seeing before her, she took an unconscious step forward and felt Ash grab her by the arm as if to stop her.

Inside stepped a tall and athletically built female, clad from head to toe in black, strawberry blonde hair pulled up into a tight ponytail at the top of her head. She had a sword strapped to her back, something that Annalise found odd considering that female seraphs had no use in such weapons. The blonde could feel the fallen energy radiating off the girl in front of her, although she looked much the same as she did when she was a seraph herself. "Endarial," she whispered, confused at why the girl did not look like a monster as she had been taught the fallen looked like.

"In the flesh," the fallen smirked, placing her hands on her hips and looking around the room, "Now what do we have here?" Her blue eyes trailed over the room as if she were making it her own with every glance, finally settling on the boy behind her. Annalise lowered her eyebrows, taking a protective step backwards toward Ash. "Well, well, well, looks like we have an almighty seraph mingling with the lowly keepers," she mocked, eyes locking on Ash's hand on her arm and giving a laugh, "Oh Leon would not be happy about this would he, Annalise?"

Annalise glared at her, not wanting to mention that Leon had already seen the two of them together. She could not think of what was going on in his mind, or she would be unable to concentrate on the situation at hand; the thought of Leon made her sad inside.

"You know this girl?" Ash asked from behind her, "She doesn't look so tough."

"She was an acquaintance of mine before she fell. Do not let her looks fool you. The fallen are evil creatures." This was something she was sure of, even if the girl did not look like a monstrous creature, she knew that Endarial was dangerous.

Endarial shook her head and rolled her eyes, "What do you know of good and evil? You are so sheltered that I'm surprised you found yourself here with the mortals. And to bring his soul back when it should have been taken, Annalise, tsk tsk."

Letting her mouth fall open in shock, Annalise pulled her arm from Ash's grasp and took an angry step forward. "How do you know of these things that have come to pa.s.s?" she demanded, blue eyes locked on the fallen in front of her.

"Because Loki killed this keeper, he is supposed to be dead. Yet, here he is alive and well. The great Loki has chosen me as his partner, the one to help him bring us back into power. You fools have cast us out because you think you are so great, so mighty. Your kind cast me from my home," Endarial exclaimed, taking a step towards Annalise and balling her fists at her side.

"If you are a fallen, you have no powers," Jedzia insisted, coming to stand beside of Annalise.

Endarial lowered her head to look up at them through lowered eyelids, "I think you are mistaken." Before Annalise could warn them to get down, she felt the power radiating somehow from the fallen. Endarial pulled a lighter from her pocket and flicked it open. The fire roared to life, a menacing laugh coming from the fallen as she held up her hand and directed the fire towards the trio in front of her. Annalise threw herself out of the way of the fire and against the far wall as Ash pushed Jedzia to the ground, toppling over with her as she fell and rolling off to the side.

Continuing to laugh as if this was all a game, Endarial set her eyes on the mortal couple on the ground. Annalise reacted before she could think and threw her arms out in front of her and called on her magic. She felt the rush of energy flow through her body, a gush of water flying out to hit Endarial's lighter and knock it out of her hands. The fallen glared at her, turning to face her once again, "Your feelings for these mortals will get you killed."

"How is it that you have become so cold? That you continue to have powers although they were stripped from you?" Annalise demanded, her voice more intense than usual.

The girl held up her hand to show a large red ring on her finger, the black metal enveloping it wrapped around her pale finger. "This was fashioned for me. Each of us has one and it brings back that which you have taken from us. We are still unable to hide our wings, unable to teleport because you have taken our bangles and grounded us."

"I have done nothing to you," Annalise insisted, trying to reason with her before more destruction came upon this place. "Please leave us and we will leave you alone."

Feigning a yawn, Endarial patted her mouth with her palm and looked down at her wrist as if there were a watch there, "I'm so tired of talking," she said and reached for the hilt of the sword at her back and pulled it from its resting place.

"You have no chance against us. You are just a little girl," Ash laughed.

"Do not mock her," Annalise insisted. She looked over to where he stood. He stood in front of his friend in a protective fashion, much like he had done for her on several occasions in the short span of time they had known each other. The way he and Jedzia were around each other had made Annalise uncomfortable. Part of her wished that could have been her that he was protecting at this moment. She had never been in a battle in her life. She had no idea what to do about a sword, but she was the one who was immortal, and she would let him protect his friend. "Stay there, she is dangerous." Still, as she said this, she saw him reach into his cloak and pull his weapon, steel and shining, and hold it out in front of him. Annalise saw the keeper in him then, ready to fight and win, that excited gleam in his eyes as he did so.

"I will be fine."

"You do not understand," Annalise started, wanting to remind him how he was almost killed by a fallen just days before, when she felt a sharp pain in her side. She let out a cry as she looked down at her body, seeing the sharp edge of Endarial's sword sticking out from her body. It was unlike any pain she had ever felt before, sharp and burning, the fire seeming to spread throughout her body. She would be able to be healed, she a.s.sumed, so she was not too concerned. However, she felt herself become unbalanced, falling to the ground. The pain continued to circulate through her body, eliciting gasps from her.

"Annalise!" she heard Ash exclaim. She looked up and saw Endarial turn her sights toward the boy and let out a laugh.

It was then that Annalise realized that it was not just the four of them. The fallen female had brought a horde of soldiers with her, and before she could warn the mortals, the large fallen men stepped into the room, their large wings spanning out from their back, each with a different colored ring on their finger, signaling they had control of their powers. Their eyes were black pits, making fear seep into the heart of Annalise. Two of them turned towards her, one of them licking their lips as they marched over to her. She backed away from them, trying to stand up but still feeling weak. Her eyes darted to Ash, still guarding Jedzia as Endarial approached them, her sword held high. Annalise used the last of her strength to send a jet of water at the girl, knocking her to the ground before she could run the sword through the boy. He gave a worried nod to her, but the other two fallen were on him, pulling him away from Jedzia as he protested.

The other two grabbed Annalise. She tried to fight against them, slip out of their large grasp, but she couldn't get away. She had heard horror stories about seraphs being eaten, their powers being absorbed by the fallen, and she did not want to perish. She thought of Leon, the recent increase in fighting between them, and then fleeing from him with Ash in tow. There were so many bad things she had done over the past few days, and she wanted to be able to make them right. She closed her eyes and intended to teleport away from this place, go home so she could be with her counterpart, get back to her normal life. When she opened her eyes, however, she was still being held back by the two fallen. This had never happened before. Why couldn't she teleport?

"Ash!" she exclaimed, "Something is wrong, I cannot teleport." She let the concern show in her eyes as she watched him also struggle against his captors.

"It's going to be fine, Annalise," he said, eyes connecting with hers for a split second before he lunged at the oncoming fallen. Jedzia did the same, the two of them working together to battle the stronger forces opposing them. She had a weapon, a dagger similar the one Ash had, but hers had some sort of symbol on it, and she seemed to be filled with a sort of energy as she lunged forward.

She was quick and agile, more so than Annalise had antic.i.p.ated since she was older than Ash was. How was it possible she could be moving so fast? She had thought older mortals were more fragile, but Jedzia was quite the fighter. The fallen threw his fist out towards Ash, but Jedzia was there, pushing him out of the way and shoving her dagger into the larger creature. He let out an anguished cry as it sank into him, Ash coming quickly up behind him and stabbing his own dagger into the fallen's back. It was as if the two of them were one being, unable to read each other's minds as far as Annalise knew, but able to work together without a word. She supposed it was all of the years training together that made them such a good team. It made her hope that she could be such a helpful partner to Leon if the time came that she needed to help in battle.

Pulling their daggers from the fallen as he fell to the floor, they turned their sights on the next one coming. Jedzia jumped up into the air, flipping over the large creature so that the two of them could surround him.

"You are no match for me," he growled and reached out to grab Jedzia by the arm. She pushed him away from her before he could close his hand, slamming him into Ash. The boy lifted his dagger up, shoving it into the fallen's back and letting a smirk take over his face.

Annalise wanted to beg him again to go, as she suspected the fallen were toying with them. The keepers were really good fighters, she could see that, and she wished she could pry herself from the grip of her captor to help them out.

One of the males leaned down in front of her and blocked her view from the battle raging on only a few feet away from her, "You, my dear, look absolutely scrumptious. Leon will be so sad to see you dead. And I will make sure he feels every second of your pain."

"You are a filthy creature. You need to leave here before Leon comes and rips each of you to pieces," she said, eyeing him and trying not to let him see the fear that she was feeling inside. Maybe if she did not show it, they would leave her be, but it was so hard. Her emotions had been so confusing and out of whack since she had saved Ash.

The sound of metal hitting the floor, a weapon lost, made her freeze. She heard Ash continuing to struggle, and then she no longer heard that either. Only his voice showed any fight in him now, "Don't you dare touch her. You need to leave before I kill all of you monsters."

The fallen in front of her smiled, moving to turn his attention to what was going on in front of them. Fear and anger were swirling around Annalise, choking her, making it hard to breathe as she raised her head to see Endarial was backing Jedzia up against the far wall. The older woman was trying to find an escape from the fallen, but there was none. Her dagger was out of her reach, her eyes were searching for a way out as the fallen grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

"Stop! Put her down!" Ash insisted, being held back by two fallen guards. Annalise was caught off guard by the wave of emotions flowing off of him and somehow into her. He was angry, scared, worried, confused, rarely having been in a situation where he was not in control.

Doing all she knew to do, Annalise sent out her water again and it beat against the fallen's back. Endarial laughed, loud and cold, and it filled the room with its terror. The fallen holding the seraph moved his hand to her throat, "I will rip off your head if you do not stop using that pathetic excuse for an affinity."

In fear for her life, Annalise released her powers, finding herself almost suffocating under the weight of Ash's emotions and her own mingling with it. She wasn't sure how she was feeling his emotions, but they pained the seraph and confused her as they slammed into her. Suddenly, Endarial went quiet, moving her face closer to Jedzia and whispering loud enough for the room to hear, "You will be my witness to them all. The terror of the fallen has begun, and no mortal or immortal can stop us now."

Annalise slammed her eyes closed as she heard the snapping of the older woman's neck and Ash's desperate screams. He was threatening them, demanding that they tell him what they wanted, who they were, his words jumbling over each other as she tried to fight back her own tears. She didn't know what to do, didn't know what she could do until the fallen let her go, her body dropping to the floor as she covered her eyes. She didn't want to see the scene before her, hearing it and feeling it from Ash was bad enough.

A new voice rang throughout the room, "What have you done?"