Ethereal Underground

by Briana Gaitan

  “That would make life easier, running on no sleep. That’s how I’ve been for two days now. I’ve not slept at all since you healed me.”

  Annalise let out a small giggle despite herself, amused yet confused that he could stay up without sleeping. She had been sleeping for the past few days and it was as if they had traded places for that time.

  He raised an eyebrow at her outburst, as though he was not completely sure what to think of her. Even she wasn’t sure what to think of herself and her sudden outpouring of laughter. She tried to make her face serious as she spoke again, “It is not healthy for mortals to go without sleep. It-”

  “I don’t know that I would drink too much of that if I were you, sweetheart,” a voice rang out from behind her. A large hand reached over her to the drink in front of her and took it away. She turned her head to see a familiar face, she couldn’t help but smile.

  “I can take care of myself just fine, Finlay.”

  “Is that right?” he asked, downing the drink and placing the now empty glass back on the counter as he eyed Ash disappointingly, “That’s a good amount of alcohol in there. I’m surprised she couldn’t taste it.”

  “You said that you didn’t know who she was,” Ash exclaimed, standing up from his seat at the bar and earning a clearing of the throat from the bar owner.

  Finlay put his hands up in front of him in defense but couldn’t hide the amused grin that crept over his face, “Relax friend, some things have to be kept quiet until the time is right. I couldn’t very well go around giving out a secret that isn’t mine, now could I?” He put an arm around Annalise’s shoulders and leaned in to her with a laugh.

  “Why would you put that filth in my drink?” Annalise asked, confusion showing on her face and interrupting their conversation. She did not care that the two of them were friends, this was unacceptable to her.

  “Because he wants to take advantage of you,” Finlay laughed.

  “He what?” she asked with confusion, looking up at her friend.

  Ash interrupted with a quickly mumbled, “Nothing,” as if to dismiss the accusations and once again took hold of Annalise’s hand. He pulled her off of the bar stool and away from Finlay.

  “Annalise,” Finlay said with a sigh and a shake of his head, “I should have prepared you in advance for this. I’m truly sorry, I have failed you.”

  “What are you talking about?” Ash spat, not giving her the chance to answer.

  “I believe I’m talking to our little blonde over there,” Finlay said with a laugh.

  Annalise peered around Ash’s large form and looked at him. She was having a difficult time understanding the dynamics that were going on. She certainly did not need protecting from Finlay because he was her friend. If anything, she needed protecting from the mortal. She tried to pull her hand away from his to no avail. Ash looked back at her as if to ask her to stop and the two of them turned their eyes back to the blonde guardian seraph.

  “You have not failed me, Finlay. I just do not understand what you mean,” Annalise said.

  “Here, a quick lesson in mortals. Let’s call it Mortals 101.” Finlay held up a hand, three fingers up in the air as he used his other hand to count them, “Number one: Do not take anything they say literally. You really need to work on this. Number two: Always assume the mortal has another motive. They usually do. Number three: If they try to kiss you, always kiss them back.”

  Annalise rolled her eyes, “I am not kissing a mortal.”

  “Suite yourself, my dear. If that’s all you got out of that lesson, then we have a problem already,” he said, eyes moving to Ash.

  The two of them looked at each other for a moment before Ash forced the blonde girl behind him and stood up tall, “Listen, what we do is none of your business. What is your problem Fin?”

  “Actually,” Finlay said, stepping closer to Ash and letting the smile fade from his face, “what you two do is one hundred percent my business.”

  “I can’t believe you are going to stand there and try to take control of this situation. It’s not your place. You are a liar and you’ve betrayed me,” Ash accused.

  Annalise cocked her head to the side, partially confused at the way they were acting and finding herself getting irritated as well. Finlay was her friend, it was okay if he wanted to stand up for her if the keeper was trying to poison her drink and she was still unsure if she could trust Ash. She knew one thing for sure, that she did not want either of them hurting themselves or the other one. Finlay would not hesitate to fight the mortal, she knew that for a fact, and he would destroy Ash if he got too wrapped up in it. If the mortal was hurt, she would never have her answers. Opening up her hands at her sides, she felt the power flow through her body; that warm tingling sensation taking her over as a thick rain began to fall on the brunette in front of her. There was no cloud, no sky for it to come from, but she thought if she could snap him out of it, they could talk about what she really came here for: answers.

  Bursting out into laughter at the drenched keeper, Finlay couldn’t help but comment, “She sure cooled you off.”

  She expected Ash to turn around and chastise her; that was what she normally got from males when she stood her ground. However, the keeper turned around, shocked blue eyes boring into hers full of questions, “How did you do that?”

  “It is an affinity I have. I can create water.”

  “Annalise, something has happened,” he said and brought up one hand to hold it over his now drenched clothing.

  Annalise wasn’t sure what he was going to show her, probably just wipe the water off his clothing. However, what happened next shocked her completely, and further threw off everything that she thought she knew about the universe. The droplets on his clothes began to gather in places, struggling to compose themselves and shaking as it happened, but some of them lifted off of him as he looked at her as if she should explain something to him. She had nothing to say. No mortal should be able to control the elements. No species could do such a thing but the seraphs, and Ash certainly was not a one of her kind. Determined to find out how he could do such a thing, she did the only thing she could think of.

  “Oh dear me,” Annalise exclaimed and reached out to grab his shirt frantically, “We need to go. We have to figure out what this means.”

  Finlay shot his arm out, as if to stop them, his eyes frantic. “Wait, don’t do that here-“

  But before he could stop her, she teleported both of them out of the Ethereal Underground.

  Chapter Five

  Ash

  The world around him was spinning, a blur of colors and lines blending together without shape. Ash felt a tugging inside of him as Annalise grabbed him tighter. It only took a split second, but he felt nauseous. It reminded him of times when he was younger, he and the other keepers used to spin around in circles for as long as they could before their sprinting exercises. When the feeling stopped, he leaned over to put his hands on his knees and struggled to catch his breath. The last thing he wanted to do was vomit right here in front of this pretty girl. It wasn’t like he hadn’t already made a fool of himself. He couldn’t help it. The second he saw her, he wanted to impress her. He could have slapped himself when he had told her this was his territory. He cringed at the memory. It was obvious that the poor girl had grown up way more sheltered than he had. She didn’t even seem to understand most of his wit. Taking a slow breath, Ash stood up gently.

  “What in the…unnamed worlds…did you do to me?” he cried. He took a step away from her, scared. He didn’t recognize any of his surroundings. There was light shining down from above but no sun. The land was green and beautiful. It looked like nothing he had ever seen before. The surface he grew up on was dark and dead and empty, this place was breathtaking. The air smelled clean, there were clouds and flowers and even a clear stream running beside the tree line.

  “Where are we?” He reached out to run his hand along a huge brown plant that was growing out of the ground. It was rough,
but felt sturdy. He recalled seeing a picture of these things in books. They were once called trees. The brown, rough stalk morphed into a mesh of green and yellow shapes that covered the top of the tree. He bent down to rub his hands along the green ground. It was soft and slightly wet. Ash ran over to the water and dipped his hands inside. He had never seen water so clear, it sparkled like diamonds when the light reflected off of it. Had she taken him to some distant planet? All of the planets in their vicinity were just like his home world. They were obscure, dying and virtually extinct. The wars had all but destroyed them.

  “This is my home, and you should not be here. We should go.” She looked around with nervous eyes. “I could not think of anywhere else to go.”

  “Why, I say…” Ash smirked, “Are you afraid to be alone with me?”

  “I can take care of myself,” she told him boldly. Ash nodded and leaned against the tree.

  “Well, what are we going to do? You brought me here.”

  Annalise put her hands on her temple and closed her eyes. “Give me a second; I am trying to figure this out. Why do you have my affinity now? Why did I heal you? What is it about you?”

  Ash pulled a red fruit from the tree and took a bite of the sweet flesh. It tasted similar to some of the fruit he had back home, but sweeter.

  “Come on. Your feelings are normal. I make many of the females…excited,” he joked, but all he got in return was confusion in her eyes. He didn’t want the poor girl to worry. Obviously, something was wrong. But he knew exactly who to talk to. Whenever he had gotten in trouble in the past, Jedzia had been the one to help him get back on track. His partner was obsessed with alien races. She always talked about the seraph and fallen myths, if anyone knew what was going on, it would be her.

  “Chin up blondie. I don’t know your answers. But I told you I would tell you everything you need to know, and I will, when I find out myself, but for now I want my own questions answered. Got it?” He didn’t mean to be so sharp with her, but he was used to taking charge. He often led missions as a keeper, and this felt just like another one of them.

  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 passing 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, anticipating the feeling before she ripped them away from time and space. 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 passage 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, b
ut 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.