Ethereal Underground

by Briana Gaitan

  “The same way your precious Leon loved you, but his love could not run as deep since he was seraph. This overwhelming need in us to protect that which we cherish, the one that makes you watch after each other. It changes once we are made fallen. Once a seraph is cast out, they are cursed with mortal emotions. Loki has helped me to understand them and yes I have come to love him. You, however, have this deep bond with the mortal, which I will never have. This is just as good.”

  Annalise couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her old friend was in love with the king of the fallen, Loki. She agreed, he had been attractive when he was a seraph, he was looked up to and ranked among the same levels of Leon and Finlay. However, he was selfish and evil, and she could not wrap her mind around why a seraph would want to betray their kind to join forces with a fallen.

  “Anyway, you get me off track. I will let this one live, but only if you join us.” She pointed across the room where Annalise hadn’t looked yet.

  Ash was sitting there, tied up to a metal chair just as she was, but with rope. His mouth was stuffed with cloth, rope wrapped around his head to keep it in place. She wasn’t sure what to do. Her life was not going to be the same without Leon and she could not lose Ash as well, but she couldn’t be a fallen. No matter what happened. Annalise had thought that becoming a fallen was the worst thing that could happen to her. It was her biggest fear, but she had been wrong. She had also agreed with Ash when he said the bond was her fear. Although it was true statement at the time, it was not actually the worst thing that could happen to her. Losing the people she cared about most was far worse than anything she had ever imagined. She knew that now, but it could very well be too late. She remembered the way it felt as Leon’s wings were cut off, her own pain as if it were happening to her. The hot silver dipped dagger across her throat. She felt the tears burning at her eyes again as she closed them, Leon’s dead form flashing in her vision. But she would not let Natara see her cry.

  “I will never be one of you,” she clarified, “You are evil creatures. I will kill you. I will kill all of you for what you have done.” Her blue eyes opened to glare at her old friend. Now she understood that fire inside of Ash, the one that pushed him to bring them down here to find Endarial. They had not put an end to her life, but Annalise was determined that this would happen. And she would hold true to her promise, she would end Natara’s life as well. Show Loki what it was like to lose someone he cared for, if he truly cared for Natara.

  The fallen sighed, “I was afraid you would say that, Annalise. Now, I do not want to hurt you dear, but I must do as I am asked.” She walked over to the counter on the far side of the room and picked up a syringe.

  Once again the seraph struggled against her restraints, trying to get away. She didn’t know what was in that syringe and certainly did not want Ash to get whatever was in that. As Natara walked over to him, she cried out, “Stop, let me have it. Please, do not hurt him.”

  Natara paused and looked over at the seraph with a cocked brow, “Well if you insist.”

  Walking over to her, Annalise could hear Ash fighting against his restraints. She knew that he would help her if he could. She let out a sigh, she just didn’t care much anymore about what could happen to her. She had failed Leon, allowed him to be taken from her because she had become wrapped up in Ash’s world. Her breath became labored as fear washed over her. Natara lowered the needle to her arm and she felt a sharp prick, followed by a soft burning sensation as the fallen pushed the liquid into her vein. Annalise let out a scream as the burning continued, becoming more intense as it shot up her arm and through her body.

  “It’s silver, weakens the body. Somehow I knew you would choose it to spare the mortal. He would have been fine, I suppose.”

  “I do not care what you do to me. You have ruined everything. I hate you and I hate your Loki. I will have his blood flowing from Leon’s sword,” she spat.

  The fallen paused in shock of the harsh words coming out of her mouth, “Why Anna, I believe this mortal has corrupted you.” With that, she reared her hand back and slapped the seraph across the face.

  “Ugh,” Annalise muttered, determined not to let any semblance of fear drift off of her, but she could taste the blood and she knew it flowed down from her lip.

  Natara reared back and hit her again, harder this time, the air in the room changing to make it harder to breathe. “You will not speak his name. He is too good for you. Those seraphs that you think are perfect are not so wonderful. You shall see. They are just as selfish as we are.”

  She reached over to the counter and grabbed another needle. She forced it into the seraph’s arm and taped it there. “If you are smart, you will change your mind about what side you are on,” she growled as she hooked up a clear tube to the needle and pressing a button on the machine next to her. Silver liquid began to flow through the tube, and Annalise began to scream.

  Natara stood there and watched for a moment as the liquid flowed, paused, and then began to flow again. Annalise began to scream each time it began to flow again. The pain was never ending, and she wasn’t so sure that she would make it out alive. It was hard for her to even care about that anymore. When the flow stopped each time, she was thankful, but then it would start again and she would scream and cry. There was no use in fighting it anymore, her world was upside down and would forever be miserable.

  She watched as Natara walked over to Ash, “You will be lucky if either of you survive.” Her voice and words were evil, so different from the girl that Annalise used to know and she knew then that the fallen really were evil creatures. The dark haired girl pushed a button beside the door which raised it up, and left the two of them alone.

  Ash

  The large ropes cut into his skin every time he moved, while Annalise’s screams tore his heart in two. He felt as if he were bleeding from the inside out. Closing his eyes long enough to focus on keeping his sanity; he tried to concentrate against the waves of pain that Annalise was feeling. The cloth that gagged him was stuffed in so deep he could almost swallow it. He lowered his neck down so the rope around his face rubbed against his shoulder. Gently taking his time and focusing on the goal he was successfully able to loosen the rope. It fell around his neck and he spit out the cloth. He tried to comfort her, but his mouth and lips were dry. Another wave of torment flew from Annalise. Ash closed his eyes in anticipation. The pain was excruciating. He didn’t know if it was the silver or heartbreak that was more painful.

  “Anna,” he said between gritted teeth.

  Her eyes were bloodshot and marks of smeared blue colored blood ran across her face and body. He couldn’t tell if it was hers or Leon’s but either way she looked to be in terrible condition.

  “Don’t focus on the pain Anna, clear your mind. Focus on my face.” Anna started to breathe heavily as she watched some more of the silver liquid run through the tube and into her arm. She screamed as it sizzled through her veins poisoning her entire body.

  “Anna!” Ash said with a bit more force. She slowly opened her eyes. They were empty and her usual sparkle of blue had dulled to a darker shade. “Don’t look at the silver, look at me. Only me.”

  “I should have left,” she mumbled. “I should have left…” She let her head fall forward. Ash watched as she sobbed causing her shoulders to shake uncontrollably. She was right. They should have never tried to come down here. He should have swallowed his need for revenge and kept Anna in a safe place. He thought they had a good chance of winning, but that stupid fallen woman had betrayed them. The fallen had been waiting for them to show up. She had run to them, and told them everything. Ash shook his head in defeat. Trouble followed him. He always caused pain to those who got to close. But not this time. He would get Annalise out alive no matter what the cost.

  “It will be okay. I can get us out of here. I’ve been in worse situations than this,” he reassured her. His voice was calm. It was true. Over the years he had been caught in battle twice. Once, he had barely es
caped execution before bribing a guard to release him. This situation looked just as hopeless, so surely they could figure something out. Ash slowed his breath and opened his mind. He focused on the task at hand, to escape. An idea would come, he just knew it. After a few moments it came to him. He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten.

  “Finlay and Arie!”

  Annalise looked at him with heavy eyelids. “What about them?”

  “I don’t remember seeing them when we were caught. I think they got away.”

  “It does not matter, nothing matters without him. Do you not understand? Nothing will be okay!”

  He had never seen her get so angry before, so emotional. She had kept such a tight cap on her feelings lately. It was then that he realized how much she meant to him. It was more than just wanting to keep the bond. Hearing her pain made him want to reach out to sooth her. But he couldn’t, all he could do was watch while she suffered. He continued to wiggle on his ropes, they were starting to loosen. Maybe if he kept on he would be out soon.

  “You can’t give up now, you hear me?” he told her, “Where would I be without you? You are such a good person. Everyone loves you, when you talk, people listen. When you smile, everyone else smiles. When your face lights up with that cute little dimple, I fall in love with you every time I see it. You make me a better man, I can’t do this alone Anna- please.” Ash didn’t cry, but if he could- there would be tears running down his face. As a keeper, they weren’t allowed to show weaknesses and he had gotten so good at holding back the tears. Now he wished he could let the dam break loose and show her all of the pain she would cause him if she gave up. He looked around the room, in a corner table all of their belongings were laid out. Their guns, knives, and his keeper blade all foolishly within reach, he just needed to move the chair a few feet to the left.

  “No,” she replied “I messed everything up.”

  The sound of the door slamming open and hitting the wall made them both jump in fear. In the doorway stood a fallen with his wings spread out around him. His eyes were pitch black and he wore only a pair of black cotton pants. He had long brown hair that flowed down his back. A long scar ran down his left cheek. He had high cheekbones and a cleft chin. The fallen cracked his knuckles, it drew attention to the large black ring on his middle finger.

  “My, my, what do we have here?” he teased. His eyes were dead set on Ash as he walked closer. The fallen was big, the muscles on his arms and chest were chiseled to perfection and in his hands he drew a small ball of fire.

  “When Natara said she had found a bonded pair I didn’t believe her, but here you two are. Pretty soon you will both be one of us and if we can figure out how you were bonded, we can start turning humans into fallen and get out of this hole.”

  Ash felt a half smile creep over his face. He needed to distract the fallen from the fact that his leg ties were now loose enough to step out of. The fallen, they didn’t know how tie a knot to save their life. And really, it would have saved the fallens’ life because now that he was out he would kill each one of them.

  “Just spill your entire secret plan while you’re at it.”

  The fallen didn’t find Ash funny; he held up the fire ball in his hand and brought it close to Ash’s face. He could feel his face start to get hot; a small trickle of sweat fell down his forehead.

  Just as quickly as it appeared, the fallen let the ball of fire burn out. His black eyes turned green in color, and he walked over to Annalise. He took the silver contraption out of her arm. He pulled a few small bottles filled with a colored liquid from his pants pocket. “Too bad my orders aren’t to kill you. Instead, I get to interrogate you and Leon’s counterpart.”

  Ash bit his lip as to not make the fallen angry, but his curiosity got the best of him.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked plainly.

  “I want to know how you both were bonded, but most importantly Leon’s counterpart is going to tell me how the seraphs strip our powers and make us into fallen.”

  Ash snorted and shook his head. “She doesn’t know anything, why would she know? She was just a healer.”

  The fallen’s eyes turned black again and in a flash his wings expanded and he flew across the room to just a few inches in front of Ash’s face. His wings knocked a few bottles onto the ground.

  “She was with Leon for over a thousand years!” He shouted. “You think there is any way she doesn’t know what Leon did? Leon casts us out, changes us, and makes us into what we are today. Our own alchemist can’t even replicate the potion used. He can give us all the potions we need, but not this one. And…” The fallen walked over to a small table and started to play with a few metal instruments. “If we are going to take over- we need to increase our numbers…starting with her.” Ash screamed at the mention of Annalise. He struggled against the loosening ropes with every fiber of his being.

  “You are not going to touch her! If you do I will kill you.” He roared. This only made the fallen laugh.

  “If she tells me everything, I will make this…less painful.”

  He pulled out a tube similar to what Annalise had in her arm from his pants pocket. He stretched it out and bent over to insert it into Ash’s arm.

  “Let’s see if silver affects a bonded human as well,” the fallen said.

  Ash felt the prick on his skin and while the fallen was concentrating, he pulled his legs from the rope and stood up abruptly. He knocked the fallen backwards and onto the ground. Ash knew he only had a few seconds to spare before the fallen would be back up, so he took a hop to the left. His arms were still tied to the chair arms. Suddenly, he felt a ball of fire nearly miss the chair. He ran to the corner of the room to grab the silver blade he had been eyeing. As soon as the blade was in his grip he felt someone grab the chair he was attached to and lift him high up in the air. Ash used his free legs to kick the fallen below him, but he didn’t seem to notice the kicks. The fallen tossed Ash against the wall head first. Ash prepared for the blow and gripped the blade tighter. He couldn’t drop it. A sharp pain radiated throughout his body as he felt his head make impact with the white wall. He let himself fall to the ground and stayed as still as possible. He had been trained to fight his entire life, he knew to keep calm and wait for the opportune moment to strike. He wouldn’t let anything distract him this time. Just like he knew he would, the fallen walked over to Ash’s body and began to pick him up. As the fallen turned the chair around to face him, Ash plunged the blade deep into the fallen’s hip. The silver in the blade was enough to stun the fallen, causing him to fall and temporarily paralyzing him. Ash stood up and kicked the fallen in the ribs as hard as he could. All that tossing around had caused his ropes to loosen considerably so he wiggled the rest of the way out and ran over to Annalise.

  He undid the restraints that held her against the chair. He threw her over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure how long the fallen would be stunned, but he didn’t want to be around long enough to find out.

  He opened the door gradually. He was unsure of who stood outside that door. The room outside was completely white, so different from the ancient ninth layer they had walked through. The room was circular in shape with doors all around the perimeter. In the middle of the room sat one plain white desk, behind it stood one really pissed off fallen. He looked small with blonde hair and blue eyes like Annalise. The fallen immediately threw up his hand and water flew from the bowl of water at his side and toward Ash. Ash tried not to smile; it was like fate was truly looking out for them. Ash fell to the ground, careful to move Annalise so she didn’t get smashed by his large body. Annalise cried out once, but the silver still left her weak and unable to move much. Once she was safely on the ground Ash stood up, his eyes blazing with anger. He didn’t like being attacked, and he sure as moons didn’t like getting wet. The water splashed off the wall behind him and trickles hit his back. Clearing his mind, Ash used his new powers to reach out and move the water from behind him straight toward the fallen. It flew qu
ickly in a stream back to the fallen. The look of pure shock on the fallen’s face was priceless. It was hard to manipulate the water this time, when another was trying so hard to do the opposite. Ash could feel his concentration grow weak, but he knew he couldn’t give up. If he made one wrong move they would both be back in the room locked up and tortured. He struggled to pull the remaining strength from his body and with his hands in the air he pushed the waves of water back toward the fallen, surrounding and trapping him with it. Ash pulled the silver dagger from his belt and ran it through the wall of water, straight into the chest of the fallen enemy. When he felt like he had done enough damage he let the water fall to the ground. Ash fell to his knees along with it, the affinity had left him feeling faint, but he knew they wouldn’t be safe until they out of there.

  Ash stood up and ran back to Annalise. He grabbed her tightly by the shoulders. Her clothes were tattered and torn; her hair was pulled out of the ponytail and fell over her face. She needed to wake up out of this emotional mess she was in. He had never seen her like this; her emotions were out of control. Ash felt a bit responsible for what was happening to her, but she needed to get control of herself. Pity would not bring Leon back.

  “Wake up Anna!” he said, shaking her. She moaned slightly and moved her head. A few more tears fell down her face, but she didn’t come to.

  “Wake up Anna. I can’t do this alone. I know I like to pretend I’m all big and bad, but I need you.” He kissed her forehead gently, making her sob a little harder.

  The sound of movement from the room behind them made Ash tense up. Was it a fallen?

  “Snap out of it!” he demanded. Without thinking, Ash raised his right palm and brought it across Annalise’s face. He felt bad for going to such extreme measures, but he needed her to get up and help him find a way out.

  Annalise put her hand to her cheek and opened her blue eyes. “Did you just smack me?”