“You will be a witness to this life truce? You will bear this responsibility?” he asked Finlay.
Finlay gave the Official a dirty look, “How did I get dragged into this?”
Sune gave him a smirk. “We will ask the redhead in the other room, huh? We know she will do anything to save her friend’s life.”
Finlay jumped up and came forward to stand right in front of the Official, his face mere inches away. “You will do no such thing. I will witness this life truce,” Finlay whispered firmly. They joined forearms in agreement, the look of hate never leaving Finlay’s face. Finlay didn’t even move as Sune ran the blade against his arm, the blue blood pooled into the glass bottle. Sune looked pleased, as did the other Officials behind him. Ash was certain they had other motives to taking the seraph’s blood.
“As long as all three of us are alive, the truce cannot be broken. If something happens and Ash cannot fulfill his obligation, Finlay will be forced to bring the child instead.”
Finlay pulled his arm out of Sune’s grasp. “I know what a witness for a truce is,” he said sharply. Sune placed the bottle back into his cloak. As Ash watched the bottle disappear, he couldn’t help but feel like he had just done something terrible. He was now under the obligation of the keepers.
Arie walked into the room with her father. They were both smiling and catching up. Her eyes centered on the cloaked man in her home and Finlay hovering over him, angered.
“Who are you?” she spat out. She dropped the salve in her hands. In the blink of an eye, she pulled a knife from her boot and raised it in the air.
Sune turned to face Arie. “You must be Arie. We have heard much about you.”
Arie’s father pushed her behind him and held out a laser gun. It was a good thing the man wasn’t drunk or else they would all be in danger. “Sune,” Sasha said with a nod. He and Sune continued to stare at each other, each daring the other to look away.
“Sasha. Long time.” The Official’s voice did not waver, but Ash could tell how uneasy he felt. There was something there. The two had met before and it wasn’t on good terms.
Sune was the first to break the gaze by turning back to Ash.
“When the time comes, we will call in our favor.” The cloaked man turned and walked out the door. He pushed past the other Officials and keepers. Arie ran up to the door and closed it behind them. She locked it quickly.
“That is Sune? Seriously? No wonder you have so many messed up intimacy issues,” she told Ash. When she noticed the look of relief, confusion and disbelief on Ash’s face she looked at Finlay and then back to Ash again.
“What’s wrong?” she asked them both. Finlay shrugged and playfully grabbed Ash.
“Ash here,” he said and squeezed Ash’s shoulder firmly, “Just agreed to a sacrifice in order to keep living in the underground.” Finlay let out another smirk and grabbed Arie by the waist, swinging her around. Arie rolled her eyes. She thought they were joking.
“Jokesters…” She wriggled out of Finlay’s grip before Sasha killed him. “Come meet my dad, Fin.” She tugged at Finlay’s hand as she pulled him across the room and dragged both of them into the kitchen for an introduction.
Ash didn’t follow them. He was still trying to process the situation. The keepers were going to let him go, just like that? Maybe it was luck of the draw, but the keepers hardly ever let a crime go unpunished. It was how they scared the people into living underground. Jedzia had always told him that the Officials treated him differently, but until now he hadn’t really noticed.
“Ash?” The small voice made Ash snap out of his thoughts and look up into the eyes of the small seraph standing across from him. She walked closer to him, and Ash smiled. She was the one that had made this all worth it.
“Anna, are you feeling okay?”
She nodded. Ash felt a wall slam in front of her emotions, it was sudden but it wasn’t quick enough to hide everything. Ash pursed his lips as he processed the feelings he just got from her.
“You’re going back. Aren’t you?” he asked her.
Annalise nodded.
“You’re not coming back here, are you?”
She shook her head. She kept her head down and kept the wall up. Ash felt like he had been run over by a ship. Everything inside of him wanted to throw something, hit someone or yell. He didn’t want to scare her, so he tried to clear his mind. He struggled to control his breathing, but the tightness in his chest made it too hard to bear.
“You don’t want to go. You are good for me, Anna- and I’m good for you.”
He refused to beg, there was no way he was going to beg her to stay. He tried to catch her eye, but her eyes darted everywhere but on him.
Annalise let a few small teardrops slide down her cheek. “I know you say I make you a better man, but all I have brought you is death and destruction. You are better off with someone else.”
Ash’s body tensed up. Is that how she really felt? That all she did was hurt him? She had saved him. She had made him so much better than he was. She was the calm in his life.
“I know how you feel Anna. I lost someone too, but we need to stick together. This bond between us, it’s meant for us to be together.”
Annalise only shook her head as small tears began to stream down her face. Ash hated seeing her so upset. He reached out to wipe them away.
“It’s not the same. Leon and I were together for so much longer. I made him a promise, a promise that I would return home. I need to go back and face the Elders for my crime.”
“This isn’t just about Leon is it?” he continued, “You’re scared of what you feel.”
“This is your home, Ash. Back there, is mine. I do not know what to believe anymore, there is just so much I wish I could take back. I would do anything to keep from losing Leon.”
No matter how hard she tried, Ash could feel her wall crumbling. She felt tremendous blame for Leon’s death. She had been the one to ask him to fight the fallen. Now he was dead and she wouldn’t let herself be happy.
There was nothing left to say. She had already made up her mind and Ash was helpless to change it. Her words cut into his heart like a knife. But he also knew how loyal she felt to her kind, and he knew that nothing he said would stop her from going home. They had both known from the start how things would turn out; this was not an unexpected surprise.
“If this is what you want, I understand. I hope you will find me someday; when you’ve gotten everything figured out,” he told her. He pulled her close and ran his hands through her tangled blonde hair. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, he didn’t dare kiss her anywhere else. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to let her go. As she pulled out of his grasp, he couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if they had both come from the same world. If they had both had the same duties, maybe they wouldn’t be saying goodbye right now. He wondered for a brief second if maybe it was the bond that made him feel so strongly for her. It connected them in so many intimate ways already. Ash gave her a small smile full of regret as the others entered the room.
“Ready to face them?” Finlay asked her, holding his hand out to Annalise. Finlay looked at Ash with a straight face. He had known all along what Annalise’s choice was going to be. Ash cleared his mind and pushed all of his emotions into the corner. He wasn’t happy with her leaving; but that didn’t mean she had to feel his pain too. She would come back though. He knew it, and when she did, he hoped that it wouldn’t be too late for them.
“I’ll be back, my beloved,” Finlay told Arie with a wink. His hazel eyes sparkled with amusement as Ash’s face turned down into a scowl. With that final word, the two seraphs disappeared into thin air. All that remained were two humans whose worlds would never be the same. A former keeper, whose taste for danger finally caught up with him, and a young hunter who had finally met someone to love and take care of her.
Epilogue
Annalise
When she opened her eyes to see home again, Annalise was relieved to s
ay the least. She let go of Finlay and dropped to the ground to feel the soft grass beneath her fingers. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried not to cry. She had missed the sky, the grass, nature surrounding her. There was no way she could trade it for the world of the underground. This had been, and always would be, her home, but it hurt to know that neither Leon nor Ash would be there with her. Even though he asked her to come back, she was still unsure if she could ever do so. But she had made a promise to Leon, and Ash struggled to understand that. He couldn’t understand how strong a seraph’s loyalty really was. There was no way she could promise him she would be back, not like Finlay promised Arie he would be. She wasn’t even sure if the Elders would let her live, or make her become fallen. Neither sounded like a positive choice at the moment. She just wanted to go to sleep, and never wake up, because she feared that what he said about her being afraid of these feelings for him was true. Annalise was convinced, however, that what Leon said was right. If Ash had wanted her to stay, he would have asked her.
“Anna, get up,” Finlay encouraged her as he bent down in front of her, sadness on his face, “ I know this is horrible. Awfully so. But you need to get up and come with me. We have to go see the Elders.”
“I know,” she agreed, “I just need a minute.”
He stood up and waited in silence until she had pulled herself together and stood up with him to make the journey to the Elders.
“What will you say to them?” she asked as they neared the large castle made of rock and crystal in front of them.
“I don’t know yet. They’ve just about had it with my antics so I’m sure this won’t help, but you’ve never done anything wrong. They will take pity on you.”
She grabbed his arm and made him stop and turn to her, “I could not stand it if they took you from me as well.”
Giving her one of his charming Finlay smiles, he shook his head, “Don’t worry about that, my dear, I’m invincible.”
“You are not.”
“Still can’t take a joke Anna? You need to lighten up,” he laughed and ushered her up to the large entryway. Finlay nodded at the guards as they walked inside, but did not let go of her arm. She let herself take in the tall ceilings, miles above them, painted with depictions of seraphs fighting the fallen and winning. The mortal feelings in her made her want to laugh at that, thinking that the fallen would win in the end. They had shown her how strong they were, how advanced in technology. The seraphs had no chance against them once they figured out how to make more of them.
“I am sorry. I am just nervous.”
“Don’t let them see that,” Finlay whispered as he pushed the doors in front of him open, flashing a winning smile to the two beings whispering in front of them. “Demetria! Roman! How are things in the seraph lands?”
The two Elders turned to him, eyes opening in shock as they set their eyes on him.
The taller one, redheaded and the leader of the Elders, young and beautiful, opened her mouth first, “Finlay, what has happened to you?”
“Annalise and I have been in a great battle with the evil Loki himself. We have killed at least a dozen of the fallen. You should be quite proud of our little lady here, she has proven herself to be quite the warrior,” Finlay boasted. He was careful not to use any mortal slang and stick to the formality of the way that the Elders approved of.
“I see,” Demetria said, bright green eyes shining down at her in curiosity.
“And Leon?” Roman, her counterpart, questioned. He stepped forward, his blond hair pulling into a tight braid down his back and blue eyes looking at her for an answer.
She tried to hold her gaze on his face and be sure in her answer, “He has been destroyed by Loki. His wings were removed and his throat slit.” Even though tears stung at the back of her eyes, she knew she must remain calm with them so they did not think her insane. Seraphs did not cry.
“I see.”
“I think that you should take in consideration the condition of Annalise at this time,” Finlay said as he began to pace back and forth as he spoke, “This mortal has bound her to him somehow, like in the olden days. You need to know that she has not been completely in control of her emotions and such.”
He was completely right, and she knew that, but she didn’t want to admit it out loud. Hearing him say it made it real and she hated to think of the influence Ash had on her. He had been full of revenge and boastfulness, something she had never understood until she was around him. Yet, something made her sad inside at the thought of him and made her question the things her friend was saying.
“I see,” Demetria said again as she crossed her arms and considered her in scrutiny. There was something that changed in her when Finlay mentioned the bond, made her appear to be more interested in what happened. Annalise took this opportunity to speak up.
“Madam,” Annalise said after a few quiet moments, falling to her knees in honor, “Please forgive me for the loss of such a warrior. I tried to save him, but Loki had the battle advantage over me and there was nothing I could do. I would bring him back if there were only a way.”
“There is not,” Roman answered quickly, “He has served us well and will be well awarded in the afterlife.”
“But you Anna, you need to be watched out for, yes?” Demetria suggested, walking forward and taking her chin in her hand as Ash had done before.
Annalise froze, not wanting to move for fear of being stuck down by the Elder.
“You have a bond with this human. This is not appropriate…I suppose you would not want another counterpart.”
“No, I do not,” Annalise said quietly, sadness filling her at the thought of someone else taking Leon’s place. No one else could ever do that, be what he was to her. No matter how hard the Elders tried to make someone for her. He was her matching pair, the one who understood her, and no one else would be.
The Elder squeezed her chin harder and forced her to her feet, “Understand, Annalise, that I do not care what you want. You have ignored our efforts to bargain with you. You have not killed the mortal. This bond you have with him is dangerous and detrimental to our kind and I will not allow it to continue. You will have another counterpart.”
She glanced over to Finlay, to see his head hung low, saddened at the thought that this friend could be replaced so easily to them, that they did not care enough to let her be on her own. He had been allowed that choice, but not her. She was too much of a liability at this moment in time.
“And you,” Demetria said and walked over to where he stood to take him by the cheeks and squeezing him hard, “You will continue to do as you are instructed, do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You need to stop all of this so called ‘partying’ in the mortal world and concentrate on your duty as a seraph. This is your last chance, Finlay. You are a true warrior, competent in battle and one to keep the fallen under your thumb. Do not disappoint us again.”
“I will not, you have my promise,” Finlay stated and bent over to take her hand and plant a kiss on it, charming hazel eyes focused on hers.
Annalise was the only one to see him cross his fingers behind his back.
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Look for Realm of Deceit (Book Two of the Ethereal Underground Trilogy, May 2014)
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our wonderful friends and family who have supported us in our efforts to get our book published! For sharing our endless posts on Facebook and Twitter and telling those you know about the novel. To our families for putting up with us ignoring them for countless hours at a time.
To our awesome design/artist team, Eric Coppinger, Chad Kennedy, and Jayme Baldwin, who without we would have horrible artwork/website to show you and an awfully boring cover. Our wonderful photographer, George Furman, who captured our characters essence on camera.
To those who modeled for us to represent our dear Annalise (Jennife
r Dyer) and Ash (Jordan Rattanavong), and those who have volunteered to be beta readers. Those who have spent countless hours helping us rewrite and edit out story, reading it and making it what it is now.
To our awesome editing team, Alyson Hale and Kirk Wright.
And Ben and Jerry, without which, we may never have started writing together.
Brooke and Briana
Brooke Kennedy and Briana Gaitan are southern natives, self-proclaimed geeks, and have been writing together for over 10 years! They have written short stories, fan-fictions, novels, and plays both together and separately. They are avid fans and writers of supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy, and romance novels. One of their goals is to write stories where there are no limits to the imagination, giving you something new and fresh each time.
Briana enjoys books, shopping, fashion, adventures and has spent countless hours dreaming of a life in space. She finds time to write in between hanging out with her three children and her husband, as well as finishing up a degree in marketing.
Brooke enjoys music, books, family & friends, and spending time with her husband and incredibly entertaining guinea pig. She has obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in mental health counseling from Tennessee Technological University.
Delve more into their adventures on Twitter (EtherealUBook), Facebook (Ethereal Underground), and www.etherealunderground.com.
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