The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld

by K.N. Lee

  She cleared her throat. She put on a brave face. “Well, I just need a few answers.”

  “Depends on the questions.” He swirled his finger in the bowl of blood as his dark blue eyes watched her.

  Koa shifted in her seat. Her knee started to shake under the table. She hid it as best as she could. He wasn’t so much as staring at her as he was leering at her. She hoped her voice would come out steady. “Tell me about this king from the Netherworld. You’re all hiding from him, I know that much.”

  He snickered. “I hide from no one.” He leaned in close as if he was going to tell her a secret. “Maybe some of them blokes fear this king, but not me.”

  Koa made a face. “Sure,” she said sarcastically. She instantly wished she’d kept the sarcasm out of her voice. He sat back and looked at her for a moment as his smile faded. His eyes seemed to darken. His voice seemed to deepen.

  He licked his finger of the blood. “What ya want with Greggan?”

  “I want to know why, you…I mean, those ‘blokes’ over there are afraid of him. Why does everyone know me?”

  He nodded and kept his face serious. “Good questions. I can see why ya’d want to know those answers, lass.” He tapped the table with a sharp, dirty, nail. “But, me question is why do ya think I would tell ya anything? Why did ya walk in here, all alone, and think we’d just become quick friends and whatnot?”

  Koa bit her bottom lip and tried not to look nervous. “Because,” she cleared her throat again. “We have the same enemy.”

  His grin returned. He lifted an eyebrow. He shook his head and chuckled. “Silly girl. Silly girl.” He came to his feet. “I sure thought ya’d figure it out. Thought you were all book learned an such.”

  Koa looked around. Everyone had stopped drinking. They looked like hounds, ready to pounce. Her palms started to sweat. She wiped them on her jeans.

  She tried to turn the tables. “We are allies. We both want to stop Greggan. He wants to kill you for some reason, and he wants me for some other reason. I simply wanted to compare notes, you know?” She kept talking, hoping to buy herself some time to think. “I mean, if we work together, we can send him back to the Netherworld.”

  He walked around behind her, as if pacing, and mulling over her words. The room fell quiet. Everyone stopped feeding and looked up at their leader.

  Koa prayed inside her head. There was something about him that just felt…evil. Something in his eyes made her feel worried. She should have told Halston where she was going.

  “Well said, lass.” He nodded his head as he thought. “But ya’ve still got one thing wrong missy. Me and me crew are mercenaries and we ain’t hiding from Greggan.”

  Something tugged at Koa…warning her. She gave him an odd look. Her eyes started to widen with realization. Her voice shook. “Who are you?”

  He grabbed her by her hair and yanked her from the chair.

  Koa panicked. This was not a good idea, she thought as she reached for his hands.

  “You’re right. It wasn’t.” He threw her across the room and straight through the wall. Koa cried out as she fell through the wall in a pile of crumbled stone. She squeezed her eyes shut. She saw lights behind her eyes. The pain was sharp and unwavering.

  “Call me Bund,” he said and Koa felt her face drain of color.

  Bund. Her father’s killer, stood only a few feet away.

  Koa started to count to herself. It was something she had done since she was a child. It sometimes calmed her when she was really afraid.

  One.

  She was terrified. She lay in a pile of rubble. Her heart raced too quickly for her to control her adrenaline.

  Two.

  Koa was outnumbered by Netherworld vampires that were ten times stronger than her.

  Three.

  She could barely move. Her head hurt from crashing into the stone wall.

  Four.

  Koa looked over at Bund who simply waited.

  “Get up, you sneaky, stupid, bitch. I’ve been waitin for this.”

  Five.

  Koa looked at that smirk on his white face and narrowed her eyes. “I won’t kill ya. Naw, I’ll slice ya up real nice, and present ya on a platter to King Greggan. How’s that? And then, I’ll roast that mother of yours right nicely.”

  Six.

  A spark ignited in her head at the mention of her mother. Rage boiled within her. He had killed her father and now her mother was in his sights. She would harness that fear. She would fight like a madwoman. Her rage filled every vein within her body, making her feel hot and sensitive to everything around her.

  Seven.

  Koa felt the power of her Lyrinian sword explode through her veins and let the rage loose.

  Chapter 9

  Her pulse beat loudly in her ears. Koa shot into the air. Her body moved too quickly for their eyes to even follow and grabbed her sword. She flew straight for Bund. He seemed interested in what she was doing but not afraid.

  Koa clenched her jaw. The hurt inside overwhelmed her. She missed her father.

  Bund smiled at her. He knew what she was thinking.

  Koa hated his hollow, pale, face. She hated everything about him. She wanted to gouge his eyes out with her nails and smash the rest of his face in with her boot.

  Read this you asshole, she thought…just for him. She ran the blade along spilled blood and it burned red with hunger. The Lyrinian blade started to glow.

  Bund smirked. He nodded. “Nice weapon. I’ll give ya that.”

  The other vamps were up and ready for a fight. More than a dozen leisurely reached for weapons. Guns, crossbows, Netherworld weapons she’d never seen. Koa wouldn’t wait until they grabbed them. She swept through the room like a cyclone of rage. Her sword glowed red hot and screamed for more blood. It was an extension of her. Her actions were no longer her own. The blade used her in order to quench its thirst.

  Koa didn’t mind. She needed the Lyrinian swords collection of skills to make it through this night. Her body ducked and dodged oncoming attacks. Her legs kicked through bodies, slamming organs to the floor. Her free arm grabbed loose hair and smashed heads to the tiled wall. The sword…it slashed with red hot, lightning, speed.

  Bund took a step back.

  The lights in the room went out and Koa paused. She hovered in the air for just a moment, to get her bearings and let her eyes adjust. She couldn’t see as well as them, but the Lyrinian sword worked like a heat missile. It would find its target no matter what.

  She dove back in and closed her eyes. Like a blade dance, she swirled in and out of the crowd, listening to only cries of pain and angry shouts. She heard bullets. It didn’t matter, the sword deflected it all. The bullets clinked against her blade and sizzled into dust at contact. Her movements were fluid.

  Koa was as loose as a rag doll, and no one could touch her. Every time they tried to grab her, she would swirl out of their reach and dive to another vamp. Their hands tried to hold her, and it was as if she was as slippery as a marble, they hadn’t a chance, when Koa was in her trance.

  There was so much blood that in the end, Koa was drenched in it. When all was quiet she came to a stop and held her sword up. The red glow of the sword bathed the room in its dim light. There were bodies everywhere. Arms, legs and heads were sprawled about in a big mushy pile.

  Koa nodded in satisfaction. She was surprised that she had killed them without suffering any serious wounds. Her arms were sore and she had a cut on her calf, but other than that, she felt fine. Her father had trained her in the ways of the sword. He had taught her well.

  Koa felt her heart skip a beat when Bund reappeared before her. Her other hand slid a stake from a holster attached to her back. She threw it at him before he could even blink.

  The stake lodged right into his heart and she grinned triumphantly. Koa would have cheered, but to her surprise, Bund grinned as well.

  He looked down at the stake and his shoulders bounced lightly with his snickering. At first he laughed li
ghtly, and then it became louder and louder until his laughter filled the room. “You stupid, stupid girl.” He laughed even louder.

  Koa gasped and covered her ears. His voice seemed to be everywhere. It filled her ears and made her shiver. His voice seemed to grate on her eardrums. There was something purely evil within it. Something she’d never encountered.

  “What?” Koa breathed in disbelief as he pulled the stake from his chest.

  Bund shook his head with a smile spread across his face. He tossed the stake to the floor and took a look around. “Nice job, you’ve done here lass.” He clapped and took a step forward.

  Koa sucked in a breath and held her sword out in front of her, hoping it would stop him. She was confused. A stake to the heart always worked. At least, she thought it did. Her only hope was that her sword would work.

  Bund made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Sorry, Lyrinian blades only work on the dirty nephilim.”

  Koa knew he was reading her mind. All she could think was, what are you then?

  Koa heard something. She stepped back and looked around with wide eyes as the carnage around her started to…move. She clutched her sword.

  “Holy shit,” she breathed as the pieces of bone started to reform. She looked at Bund with wide eyes. “What’s happening?” She started backing away. She jumped when a hand reached for her shoe. She yelped and kicked the bloody thing away, sending it crashing into a wall.

  She looked back at Bund. Her face was twisted in worry. This was not how she imagined this night going. This was not how she imagined she’d take out her revenge. Bund blocked the door. Koa hoped there was another exit.

  Bund looked around and held his arms out. He lifted a brow. “Don’t tell me this was ya first time killin Netherworld vamps?”

  Koa gulped. The bodies were reforming into grotesque creatures. The crunching sounds and squishing noises turned her stomach. She couldn’t bring herself to speak. The fear clutched her even tighter than before.

  When she looked back at Bund, his face had darkened. Red lines stretched across his face like pulsating red veins. His smile was gone. His face looked different, as if all the shadows in the room had absorbed into his flesh, turning it into an ash-like gray. His hair had already been dark before, but it seemed to become even darker, and shinier like gloss had been applied.

  “What are you?”

  His shoulders jutted out and she could see his bones mutate.

  Koa knew then, that she was about to die.

  Bunds voice deepened. He no longer sounded like a man, but a creature of darkness. The voice that she had heard in every nightmare she’d had as a child echoed through the room. His was the voice that one imagined a monster would have, like that of a…

  Koa covered her mouth as a horrified squeal escaped her lips. She knew what he was, and she knew that she was not strong enough to kill him. Bund wasn’t a New World vampire, he wasn’t a Netherworld vamp.

  Bund was a demon.

  “Good girl,” he sneered. His hands turned into bony claws and his legs bent like that of a beast from ancient myths.

  Koa’s brows furrowed. She felt like she might cry for her mother.

  Bund tossed his head back and let out a feral laugh. “Go, on, cry for ya mother for me. I love it when little girls cry.” He pounced. His weight knocked Koa off her feet with such power that her scream was cut off. She fell backwards into the blood. She banged her head against the cement floor and cried out. Lights flashed behind her eyelids as she squeezed her eyes shut to block out the pain.

  Bund slashed her face and drew blood. She could smell the poison on his claws. She felt the blood leak from the wound. He licked her face, sopping up the blood with his rough, leathery, tongue. Koa felt as if she was looking into the eyes of Satan himself.

  She held up her sword and closed her eyes. “This is it then,” she whispered to the sword as she prepared to fight with every ounce of life she had left, even though she knew the odds were against her. She opened her eyes and whispered a prayer. “It was a good run.”

  Bund cackled and held her face down with one strong claw. Koa stabbed him with her sword. Nothing. Not even a drip of blood.

  He laughed louder and she held back a sob. His other claw jabbed her in her side and ripped upwards until it reached her underarm, splitting her skin to the muscle. She felt hot tears soak her face. Her wounds stung as her salty tears pooled into them.

  Koa was tired and weakened. She was completely exerted. She couldn’t move. So, she lolled her head to the side and prepared for the end.

  Bund leaned down to her ear. “Your blood will repair me men, and when they are whole once again…I will keep me promise, and roast that mother of yours.”

  Koa felt her face heat. Her eyes narrowed into slits of hate. She couldn’t let him escape into the night and kill her mother. She would give anything for the strength to stop him. She wanted to scream out for Halston, but she knew that he would not hear her.

  “But have no fear…” he licked her ear. His hot breath came out in a whisper. “I will not kill ya, love. No, you will be my prize and I will keep you as a pet for all eternity.”

  Koa felt her blood chill. Every inch of her flesh crawled with disgust and horror. The studio door crept open. Koa’s eyes searched the doorway. No one was there. She looked out to darkness.

  She screamed so loud that it made her ears ache. “No!”

  Raven walked into the room and her green eyes started to glow. Koa frowned. It wasn’t the normal glow that she was used to. There was something different about it.

  Bund paused and looked over his jutted out shoulder.

  “Run mother!” Koa shouted. She realized her mistake when she saw the look in Bund’s eyes.

  Bund looked stunned. “Mother?” He reached out a hand to Raven. “No. It can’t be.” There was real fear in his voice.

  Raven sat. Everything stilled.

  All sounds were sucked from the room and Koa started to shake. Koa didn’t know what was happening. She thought that she was going mad. After all that Bund had said about roasting her mother and killing her, he sounded, afraid.

  Koa’s vision started to fade. Her vision became blurry. “Raven…run!”

  Halston stepped in behind her mother, and Koa nearly shouted for joy. He was like her guardian angel, always there when she needed him. She wasn’t sure if she was dreaming but the room filled with the most radiant light she’d ever seen. Everything turned white in her eyes and she felt as if she was being lifted up to Heaven. Her vision cleared.

  Bund glared at her and howled. Then, he dropped her and flew from the room so quickly that he looked like nothing more than a black shadow.

  Halston stepped into the empty space that Bund left behind and grabbed Koa into his arms.

  Koa clutched his neck. “Oh, Halston, you came,” she whispered and her eyes fluttered closed.

  Chapter 10

  Halston felt his heart break when he saw Koa in such agony. She passed out in his arms and he held her there, close to him. He was furious. He was hurt. Koa had lied to him, and now she was injured. Bund’s poisonous wounds would not be easy to heal.

  Too many emotions filled Halston. More than he was used to feeling at the same time. Anger and grief. Fear and frustration. He no longer felt…in control.

  Bund had escaped. Bund, a demon from his past, and a demon by nature, had escaped Halston…yet again. Halston had spent centuries hunting him down. Once again, he had failed. He balled his hand into a fist and pounded the ground. The entire room shook.

  Bund had seen Halston. Halston had taken his prize…Koa. Now, Halston feared that the demons revenge would be more than they would be prepared for.

  Raven ran over to him. “Halston! The vamps! They’re taking their second form!”

  Halston looked up from under his brows. His eyes were full of rage. He watched the pieces of bone reconnect in a new form. The Netherworld vamps, had taken their second form. They had…reanimated themselves.


  Twelve reanimated men stood before him. They were deformed creatures. They looked like giant, feral, wolves. All muscle and bone. No skin or fur, or anything but large fangs, yellow eyes, and sharp claws. Their legs were bent in, and even though they stood on all fours, they were nearly as tall as Halston.

  Halston held Koa up with one arm and pulled out his infinity gun with the other. A metallic ring echoed throughout the room as the silver infinity gun was loosened from its holster.