Annalise gasped and pulled her hand from her his grip.
“I told you; I will not do that!” she cried.
Ash groaned at how stubborn she could be and grabbed her by the shoulders. He looked into her blue eyes so she could see the fierceness behind his face. She was seeing the warrior inside of him now, not the cocky, fun Ash. She trembled slightly from fear.
“What are you going to do then? Do you want to be made into a fallen? You made the choice to save me, Anna. Now you must deal with the consequences. If it comes down to it; you will kill me. I let you come along on this journey because you want so badly to clear your name by killing an enemy. You have two choices. You give it all up and we can be together; or you do anything you can to get back home.” He released her suddenly. She wouldn’t say anything to that. He knew her well enough now to know he had just rendered her speechless. In a perfect world, they would kill the fallen and go home and live happily ever after. In this dying world, one of them may not make it home from this journey alive. If they did make it home; there was no guarantee that their own kind wouldn’t kill them anyways.
The sound of Arie’s laughing make Ash groan. He laid back on the dirt floor and covered his ears.
“I need to get some rest.” He turned toward the direction the couple had walked off to and yelled. “I hope you two get eaten! Could you get any louder?”
A low hissing noise from the corner of the cave knocked Annalise off her log and onto the floor with Ash. He put his arm around her protectively.
“If you do not be quiet human,” the unicorn growled, “I will be the one to eat you all.”
Ash scrunched his eyebrows and laid his head back down. The stories of the ancient creatures that were banished to the ninth layer were all fresh in his mind. How many other nightmare creatures were lurking close by? Pulling Annalise’s warm body closer, he let himself fall into a deep sleep. He had been so anxious for morning, but now morning would come all too soon.
A light kick in the ribs caused Ash to stir from his sleep.
“Get up, we need to get going,” said a male voice. Ash slowly opened his eyes, where was he? Why was he on the floor? He looked up to see Finlay grinning ear to ear. His head was killing him, and his body ached all over.
“What the moons are you so happy about?” Ash asked angrily. He sat up realizing where he was and rubbed the back of his neck. The floor had been so uncomfortable and now he had a cramp in his neck and shoulders.
“The unicorn says we have another day or so of walking. We should be at the entrance soon.”
Arie walked up to Finlay and placed a hand on his back.
“Did you tell him,” she whispered.
“Not yet. I’m getting to it.”
“Well…tell him.”
Finlay turned to glare at his red-haired companion; she was almost as tall as he was. “I said I was getting to it woman.”
Ash, sick of the needless banter, stood up slowly and dusted himself off. “Will you two just shut your mouths already and tell me whatever it is.” That ale they had drunk last night was strong. He was relieved there wasn’t much light in the ninth layer.
The two of them looked at Finlay in anticipation.
“Ash, I’m sorry for slamming you around the other day.”
“And?” Arie crossed her arms in front of her and cocked her head to the side. She tapped her foot impatiently.
“I didn’t break his hand. He did that all by himself!” Finlay argued. Her irritated expression didn’t seem to agree.
“Okay, I am sorry my face was too hard for your mortal hand. Next time I decide to hook up with one of your friends I will ask you first.” Finlay gave him a wink before Arie pushed him forcefully.
“Thanks for kicking me in the ribs to tell me that,” Ash said, confused and still half asleep. Arie tossed a small red fruit in his direction, which he caught effortlessly. He was starving.
“Don’t you guys feel so much better? Now Ash…” She gave a nod in Finlay’s direction. Ash scowled. First he was woken up by a kick, now he was being forced to apologize to Finlay.
“No, I won’t do it,” he replied. “I don’t have to do what you say Arie. I’m not trying to impress you.” He took a big bite of the fruit and smirked.
Ash turned his head to look at the other side of Finlay. It was then that he realized there was another person in the cave with them. He instantly recognized the tall man with brown hair and green eyes. Leon. “What are you doing here?” he asked. Had he come to take Annalise back home?
Leon smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in delight. “I was just witnessing Finlay apologizing and groveling at a mortal.” Leon swiftly slapped Finlay on the back and smiled proudly. Finlay looked embarrassed and he uncomfortably tried to shrug off all the attention. As Leon and Finlay caught up, Ash scanned the nearby area for Annalise.
Annalise. She stood near the unicorn, talking. Ash was seriously disturbed by the rainbow haired creature and he didn’t want her alone with him. Walking over to where they stood, Ash put an arm around her shoulders.
“Morning Sunshine,” he teased, poking her in the ribs. Annalise looked around the cave confused.
“Sunshine? Where?”
Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t hurt yourself Anna, It’s only a greeting.”
“Oh…” She nodded in agreement before bringing her attention back to the unicorn.
“The unicorn was sharing a few forgotten ancient legends. He is quite the storyteller.”
The unicorn smiled proudly, showing his razor sharp teeth.
Ash tried not to look so disgusted, but couldn’t hold back the shiver of revolt that pulsed through his body. The unicorn noticed the negativity from the man and frowned in reply.
“What about the one Natara talked about?” Ash asked her. “The one about how the fallen are killed.”
That story was pretty fascinating, the fact that there had been others like him and Annalise. Even though it was long ago, it helped to know he wasn’t the only one.
“Ah,” the unicorn stated, “I have never heard a story about the end of the fallen race, but there are so many stories it is hard to remember them all.”
Annalise nodded in agreement. Ash knew he should make Annalise aware of the newest member of the party.
“Uh, Anna. We have a visitor.” Ash nodded his head toward the other side of the cave where Leon stood. Leon’s gaze was centered directly on the two of them. It was hard to get a read on his emotions, but Ash knew that Leon being here would make things a bit uncomfortable. Annalise’s eyes widened; her face lit up in happiness. Without a hesitation, she ran across the cave and jumped into Leon’s arms.
Leon tried to hide his excitement, “I am so glad to have found you. A reaper saw you and the others and she told me where to find you.” Leon wrapped his wings around the two of them to hide them from the other’s eyes.
Ash couldn’t see or hear them, but he could feel how happy she was. He didn’t get angry though; if it had been Jedzia who walked into the cave he would have reacted the same way. Ash walked closer and stood awkwardly near the counterparts.
“We have traveled so very far. Natara has helped us and we are so close. You have come to join us?” Annalise asked him as she stepped back from his embrace.
“No, I’ve come to take you home,” Leon stated, taking her hand and turning to look at the others.
“I don’t think so,” Ash said, stepping up to the two of them and looking back and forth between them. “You aren’t going to go with him are you?” They were so close to the fallen and their bond had grown tremendously. If she walked away, Ash didn’t know what he would do.
Annalise stopped to think for a moment. She took a breath and stepped away from her counterpart, “I cannot go, I must help clear my name.”
“I don’t believe killing the fallen will help your case against the Elders.”
“It is my only option.”
Leon’s smile dropped,
his hand going to his sword, “I thought you might say that.”
“Do not hurt him, Leon. If you have ever trusted me, know that my heart is set on this mission. I-I know that you care for me.”
The cave was suddenly completely silent as he stared back at her. Ash couldn’t believe his ears, his hand gripped his weapon tightly in case Leon decided to attack.
“And it should not be a surprise,” Annalise finished, looking to Ash quickly and back at Leon, “that I care for you as well.”
Dropping his hand from his sword, her counterpart nodded, “Okay, I shall help you here. Then you will return with me.”
“I promise,” she agreed. Ash took a step away from the two seraphs. Anna had just agreed to go back home after this was all over. He had only been kidding himself when he thought that just maybe they had connected over the past few days. It was hard to get a read on her emotions now. She was trying hard to hide something.
“Alright,” Finlay exclaimed, “This is going to be just like old times. Me, you, and the fallen.” Leon tried to hide a smile.
Arie looked at the two seraphs in confusion. “You two have killed fallen together often?”
Leon shook his head at Finlay as if to keep it a secret.
Finlay only scowled in response. “I am going to tell her Leon. She is my charge and holds my heart,” Finlay told him. “Leon and I are high ranking seraphs. We are the guardians on the frontline whenever there is battle. With the two of us here, there is no need to worry. We can take them.”
Ash never worried. “Old Leon to save the day,” he thought sarcastically. Ash watched as Finlay grabbed Arie around the waist and pulled her in for a long kiss. Why did their relationship have to look so much easier? Annalise seemed to struggle every time she took a step farther from her upbringing, while Finlay seemed to enjoy making the Elders squirm. Then again Annalise felt a loyalty to Leon that Finlay didn’t have. Ash wondered if maybe things could have been different if Leon was out of the picture. Ash pushed the thoughts from his mind, when this journey was over, and everyone went on with their former lives, where would that leave him? What would become of their bond? The sounds of crunching behind of Ash caused him to spin around. The unicorn stood and slowly lowered his head to Leon.
“You will take us as far as the entrance?” Finlay confirmed to the unicorn. He was answered with a slight nod.
“I will take you no farther, I dare not enter the tenth layer. If you five are so insistent on dying, it would be better to let me kill you now. I promise to make it quick.”
Ash’s hand gripped the stolen keeper blade in his belt. If the creature attacked them, he wanted to be ready.
Finlay scoffed and puffed out his chest.
“Try it. I dare you,” he bragged. By this time, Arie had also pulled out her gun ready to shoot.
The unicorn looked at them for a long time. Ash could swear he saw saliva pooling at the corners of his mouth.
“I will not harm friends of Leon the guardian. It’s your lucky day.” He turned around slowly and walked toward the cave’s exit.
“Yeah, let’s all trust the hungry unicorn creature,” Arie said, sarcastically.
Annalise nodded in agreement, “Arie is right, He will not harm us.”
Her statement was well received with laughter from the group.
“Did I ever tell you how cute you are when you try and talk human?” Ash teased. He didn’t care if Leon was there or not; Leon held no claim to Annalise. Staying close together, with Finlay bringing up the rear, they all crept from of the cave. They didn’t know how many ancient creatures or mutants they would run into, but they were sure to find at least one or two. The group was covered in dirt from the journey. They hadn’t run into many water sources, but when they did they weren’t allowed the privacy of a bath.
After a few hours of walking, Ash noticed something strange about their surroundings. The dirt ground around them became more and more littered with bones. The piles of bones were scattered carelessly across the ground as if they were thrown from way up high. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
Finlay was only a few inches behind him. Ash turned around to look at him.
“What?” Ash asked. If he wanted to play the apology game, Ash definitely didn’t want to participate.
“The bones, they are becoming more frequent.”
Ash slowed down a bit so Annalise couldn’t hear them talking. “I noticed. Think it’s a trap?”
Finlay poked at a pile of bones near his foot. “Possibly, but these bones aren’t of any creature I have ever seen. Unicorn! What creature lies ahead?”
The unicorn twisted his head 180 degrees so that he was staring back at him. Even though his head was turned at an unnatural angle, he didn’t stop walking.
“That’s gross,” Arie cried.
Annalise agreed, “That is very unnatural.”
The unicorn ignored the comment. “We are about to reach the seer and her lair.”
Ash pulled out his blade and pointed it at the unicorn. “Why did you not mention this sooner? You are leading us straight to the home of a creature, why didn’t you warn us?”
“You simply did not ask.”
Ash felt Annalise put her hand on his arm and gently push his blade down.
“Ash, calm down please.” The warmth of her touch was enough to cause his anger to dissipate. She gave him a comforting smile and turned back to the unicorn. It was easy for him calm down when he looked at her.
Leon turned to face the group. “Do not worry. The seer is harmless. I do not believe she is the source of these bones.” He bent down to pick up a bone and began to examine it. Annalise walked over to Leon. She leaned down over Leon to take a closer look at the bone. Ash darted his eyes away from them and clinched his hands at his sides.
“Have you ever met the seer?” he asked Leon. Leon narrowed his eyes at the mortal and stood up slowly.
“The seer has prophesized many things for the seraphs over the centuries. Of course, that was long before she was banished to the ninth layer by you mortals.”
“Well I suppose that makes her harmless then,” Ash shot back, “I still think we should be careful.”
Arie stepped beside Ash and pulled her gun out. “I agree, I would rather not take my chances,” she said.
Ash turned to smile at his friend. He loved that she always had his back. Leon turned his solemn gaze away from Ash and looked at Arie. His eyes lit up with amusement.
“Finlay is lucky to have found someone who is not such a risk taker. Maybe that will calm him down a bit.” Leon grinned at Finlay, who in return made a playful jab. Leon blocked the jab. He threw the bone on the ground and sighed. “I still believe something else has caused these bones.”
Annalise nodded and turned to speak with the unicorn. “Why are you leading us toward the seer?” she asked. Ash liked how she took control of the situation; he decided to let it play out.
“The entrance is past her lair.”
The entire group walked on in peace, hardly taking a break to rest. In the distance they could hear the echoes of beasts and breathing. One could never tell where exactly the sounds were coming from; it seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The ground became dry and cracked; their surroundings looked as if someone had once lived here thousands of years ago, but had since let the place become nothing more than piles of rubble. Once they passed through an area that looked like it had once been a city. There were the remains of ancient building all clustered in a circle. Dirt and bones littered the ground and crunched beneath their feet. No one dared to explore though, so they continued on, following the unicorn.
A few times along the way, they were attacked by odd looking creatures. Each time a creature showed up, everyone except Annalise would run toward it hoping to be the one to claim the victory. Finlay was successful at slaying a three headed beast. Ash cut the head off of a mutant worm like creature that slithered along the ground, and Arie had taken down a doz
en small pixie creatures. Annalise stepped in to help her this time. She used her water to keep the creatures off of everyone’s back. When the creatures were dead, they pretended not to notice as the unicorn sucked the remaining essence from each carcass.
They each took turns talking about how they would attack the fallen once they got there. Annalise mentioned she would drown them quietly with water. Arie wanted to feed them to a beast. Finlay decided he would cut off their wings slowly and feed it to them. Thoughts of violence and destruction filled their minds the further underground they went. A good ways on, they reached a section of the underground where the ground dropped off into a deep cliff. Ash peered off of the edge of the cliff, into the dark void. He couldn’t see a bottom. Across from the cliff, about eight feet away, stood another mountain. This one was taller than the cliff they stood on, and it appeared to touch the top of the layer. Consequently, the opening could easily be missed if you didn’t know where to look. The unicorn motioned his head to the hole in the ground.
“Down that hole is a tunnel. Keep walking straight to reach the opening of the tenth layer. There is only one tunnel, and it is not a labyrinth like the other tunnels below each layer. This tunnel is the home to the seer. She is very old and very wise. Interest her, and she may tell you your future.”
The unicorn backed away from the edge and looked toward the center of the layer.
“This is your last chance to turn around. For a piece of the redhead’s essence; I may be persuaded to guide you back home.” He looked at each one of them as they shook their heads in disagreement before baring his teeth and running off into the darkest parts of the layer.
Arie scrunched her nose. “I feel like I am in a dream, this place is unbelievable. I am actually in the ninth layer.”
Yesterday, all the strange creatures that they had happened upon were just myths and legends. Today, the frightening images burned in their minds.
“How will we get down there?” Annalise asked. They had no rope or gear to climb down, only the small bag of food and weapons Arie carried.
“We can fly down,” Finlay suggested. He tapped his bangle and let his large wings fly out from behind him.
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