“I’m taking a sabbatical.”
“From?” Finlay pushed for an answer. Ash didn’t say anything, and frankly was relieved when the waitress interrupted with the ale.
“Thanks sweetheart.” Finlay winked at the girl, making her almost spill the drinks. The girls here went crazy over Finlay’s good looks. They melted under his hazel gaze. She threw her fake blonde hair behind her shoulders and put her serving tray on the table. She let out a small giggle before throwing herself on Finlay’s lap. “Anytime for you, Fin.” She put her arms around the man’s neck and looked over at Ash waiting for the usual flirty banter, but this time nothing came.
Ash stared at the table, his hands on his drink. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t ignore any of the waitresses, but tonight he just wasn’t in the mood. He couldn’t take his mind off of the other night.
Noticing the awkward silence, the waitress shrugged before getting up and walking off. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“That was awkward…” Finlay slowly spit out. “What is it with you tonight, man? I’ve never seen you so…unflirtable with a waitress before.” He paused to give a few females a wave before focusing back on his friend.
Ash took a sip from the silver colored mug and sighed, he needed to get it this off his chest, and he couldn’t talk about it with Arie. The keepers had all but cut him off; Finlay was all he had right now.
“I think I’m dead.”
Finlay almost spit out his drink before leaning in closer across the table.
“Come again, old friend?”
“I think I’m dead. I mean I got into a fight the other night and the guy put a sword through me. Straight through me.” Ash put his hands on that familiar spot where it had gone through his chest. It sounded crazy coming out of his mouth, and he waited for Finlay to start laughing at any moment.
“When I woke- the wound was gone.”
Finlay pursed his lips together. “Man, I think you are smoking that mutant stuff in the hookah again. I told you to stay away from that stuff.”
Ash shook his head. He didn’t partake in drugs; he patrolled the trade ships so they couldn’t get in.
Ash had even considered the possibility that it was all a dream, but Arie had seen him get hurt too. “I don’t think so.”
He decided to change the subject before Finlay started to spread rumors about his sanity. He didn’t want to tell him about how he had saw the water float or even seeing what was supposed to be a fallen mythical creature. He pulled out the small piece of parchment from his pocket, the one with the blonde girl’s face on it. He had sketched everything he could remember about her, scared her face would fade from his memory. Her bright blue eyes hovering above him, her smooth skin shining like the suns; it was all impressed in his memory.
“Have you seen this girl before?”
Finlay took the parchment and held in a small chuckle when he saw the face. He did a bad job of hiding his emotions, too.
“You know her!” Ash exclaimed. He was excited, maybe he could introduce them. How well did Finlay know her? The jealous thought left as quickly as it entered. He didn’t even know the girl. He was going crazy over some girl from a dream.
“No, sorry friend. Never seen her before. But she looks good. Who is she?” He gave back the parchment.
Ash, somewhat disappointed, folded it back up. “No one- just some girl I saw here.”
This statement caused another snicker from Finlay. It was obvious that he was trying to hold it all in. Was he making fun of him? Finlay covered his mouth with his hand.
“What the moons, man.”
Finlay held out his hands in surrender. “I am seriously sorry, just- listen, all will be explained in due time, just be patient.”
Ash raised his eye brow, “When have you ever known me to be patient.” He didn’t know what Finlay meant, but he decided to let it go.
“Hello.”
Ash looked up just in time to see Arie slide into the seat next to him. Her red hair was pulled tightly into a bun on the top of her head and she wore a slim fitting black dress.
“What are you dressed up for?” he asked Arie.
Finlay let out a low whistle which caused a hateful glare from not only Arie, but Ash too.
“I was working. I had to go undercover,” she told them. She reached over to steal a sip from Ash’s drink. Finlay raised his hand to have the waitress bring Arie her own drink.
“Tell me Arie,” Finlay began “How is it a woman as beautiful as you has yet to get snatched up?”
Ash leaned back in his seat and grumbled. Finlay could flirt as much as he liked, Arie was not into games. She was straightforward, honest and a true believer in love. From the way she always talked about her parents, they had been madly in love. A prime example of what Arie wanted out of life. When her mother died, Sasha didn’t take it very well. That was when the drinking became more frequent. Losing the love of his life had really taken its toll on him.
“Your mind games don’t work on me. I’m not like those illiterate, fake waitresses you normally hook up with,” Arie told Finlay. Ash snickered quietly. She always spoke her mind.
Ash let his mind wander from the current conversation. To his relief, Arie seemed too engaged with Finlay to bother bugging him about what had happened the other night. He just wanted to find the blonde girl from the other night, if he could find her; maybe she would be able to give him some answers on what had happened. His curiosity had been eating away at him, and the next time he had a chance he was thinking about sneaking back up to the keeper conservatory to speak with his old partner. Jedzia knew every legend about their world inside out. Maybe she would be able to figure out why he was still alive. Ash took another swig of his drink in hopes that pretty soon all of his troubles would disappear.
All of a sudden, he felt a prickling sensation moving up the back of his neck. He had the strangest feeling that the mystery girl was nearby. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he stood up and started to look around just the same. He threw a few gems on the table for his drink.
“I’ve got to run, Fin, I’ll see you around. Later, Arie.”
Without taking his eyes off his surroundings, he made his way to Arie’s favorite spot in the bar, the metal staircase railing. If she was here, he would certainly be able to see her from up there.
Annalise
She watched him from her spot across the bar in the Ethereal Underground. This wasn’t a place Annalise had ever been before, and she had made sure her wings were hidden when she arrived. The moment she had laid eyes on him, however, she also made herself invisible. She wanted to watch this boy, the one who had flipped her whole world upside down, try to figure out what he was all about before she approached him. He had spent most of the night with Finlay which was surprising to her. She knew that her fellow seraph frequented the place, but he fit in so incredibly well one would have thought he was mortal. It was something she could only hope she could do herself. She had never been around the mortals, except for reaping and healing as needed, watching them in her globe when Leon wasn’t around and she had some free time. However, she just needed to blend in enough to get across the room to the mortal and figure out what was going on. A girl joined them as well, one that Finlay was flirting with, but Annalise could tell that the mortal was protective over her. The redhead was the same one that had been walking the streets with him, minutes before he had been stabbed by the fallen’s sword. She bit back her irritation at the girl and turned her attention back to Ash, who was walking away from them. The air here was thick and smoky, unnatural to her in the worst way, and it made it difficult for her to breathe.
When she had taken Finlay’s advice and came to find the mortal, it hadn’t occurred to her what she would say. Should she walk right up to him and demand that he tell her what kind of trick he pulled, or should she hide in the shadows and see if she could figure out what he was up to? Controversy had never been her strong point, never being one to con
front others and leaving that up to Leon. But she had gotten herself into this and she was determined to show everyone that she was mature enough to handle her own problems.
Letting herself shimmer into reality, she followed a few steps behind the young man up the staircase. Her eyes were glued to the back of his head as she followed him, mind blank and focused solely on keeping him in her sites. Once they reached the top of the stairs, she reached out to tap him on the shoulder, but he turned on his heels as if he sensed her presence and stared at her. He stopped in his tracks, taking her in as she tried to catch her breath. She felt herself lose her senses for a moment, looking into his beautiful blue eyes as they tried to place her.
“It’s you,” he said simply, not giving her much information to go on.
“Annalise,” she replied, as if explaining everything, but unable to say anything else. This was a bad idea she decided. Being this close to him alive showed her he wasn’t just a boy, he was a man, strong and cunning, everything she was not. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. It was such a bad idea. She was out of her element and if the fallen were to attack, she would be….
“Annalise,” he repeated, her name rolling off his tongue made her blush slightly for an unknown reason, as he stood up a little straighter, composing himself, and making her feel even smaller than she already was, “you are more beautiful than I remember. I’m Ash, small time star in the galaxy. Welcome to my territory.”
Before she could reply, he had his hand at her waist, leading her the other way towards a series of tables. She followed him willingly, even though she was more conscious that she was still clad in her pale pink polka dotted dress. It made her stand out among the other patrons, several species of women wearing completely different ensembles were looking at her oddly. Thankfully this was the only mortal she had ever shown herself to, so no one else knew what she was.
Ash paused at one of the tables, pulling out a chair and motioning to it. Annalise furrowed her eyebrows and looked back at him, confused, “You are the ruler here?” She was so very confused; she had been told he was a keeper. They were not rulers, they were enforcers.
He gave a little laugh and took her hand, not answering her question, leading her to the seat and forcing her to sit in it as he took a seat across from her. Ash cleared his throat before he spoke and nodded, “Quite the star actually; fight winner, jewel gatherer…you name it, I have it wrapped around my fingers.”
“Your fingers?” Annalise questioned, leaning closer to him to observe his fingers, “But I do not see anything there.”
“You’re not from around here are you?”
“Definitely not.”
Annalise was surprised when he reached over to play with the hem of her skirt, “This is a color you don’t see every day, where did you get this?”
“From the market where I am from,” she said, slapping his hand to make him stop. Every time he touched her, it seemed as if her brain couldn’t function properly. She would forget her reasoning for coming here.
He frowned at her, obviously bothered by her smacking him, but she did not know why he insisted on touching her clothing. “What are you?” he demanded suddenly as he leaned over on his elbows.
It took her aback, his blatant questioning of her as if she had any reason to tell him anything. She had always been taught not to tell mortals anything about the seraphs, but this one had her questioning everything she had ever learned. She leaned back in her seat, uncomfortable at the closeness of him. “I do not know exactly what you are meaning. I have come here to ask you the same thing. What is it that you have done to me?”
“Done to you? I’m the one who woke up from being stabbed with a sword with no sign of a wound and you straddling me,” he laughed, pulling a piece of parchment from his clothing and setting it on the table. “Which of course you are more than welcome to do again if you’d like another shot,” he said as he unrolled the paper and slid it across the table to her.
Not catching on to his innuendo, she took the parchment from him and saw the sketching of her face. She let out a shocked breath, rolled it back up and held it to her chest, “You must never show this to anyone.”
“No worries darling, you answer my questions, and I will show you around. Like I said, this place is all mine, and you are just in luck that I am free tonight.”
Annalise eyed him curiously, not sure what to make of him. One minute he was kind and playful and the next he was upset and demanding. From what Finlay had told her, he was not at all as powerful as he was saying he was. “I will not tell you anything about myself,” she said clearly with a wave of her hands.
“Come on, whatever this is that’s happened between us is out of this world. You can’t just keep it to yourself,” he insisted, blue eyes boring into her.
She dropped her eyes to the table and away from the intensity of his gaze. He was making her uncomfortable. “There is no reason I should tell you anything. You are the one who has bewitched me.”
“Bewitched you?!” he exclaimed, a smile coming over his face, “Darling, you haven’t seen nothing yet.”
“I must go,” Annalise said and shook her head, “It was a bad idea to come here.” He wasn’t cooperating with her at all, not even answering her questions.
As she stood up to leave, he reached out to grab her wrist, “Wait.”
She looked down at him in shock and grimaced, “You are being difficult and I am not going to waste my time here.”
“Don’t be so worried,” he said. His voice grew serious and the smile faded from his face, “You can trust me. I’m not going to tell anyone anything. Do you think I want others to think I’m crazy?”
Annalise paused for a minute and considered her options. If she left now, none of her questions would be answered. She would have no reason as to why she would betray her people and save this mortal. If she stayed with him and gave him information on herself, it would help them both figure out what had happened. It was obvious to her that he was just as confused as she was. However, she would try to take control of the situation and keep him from trying to distract her with his silly comments and gestures.
Sitting back down, she looked him directly in the eye and whispered, “I am a seraph. I am sure you have heard of us.”
“I knew it,” he said, a smile taking over his face, “Whatever you’ve come back here for, just know I’m not interested.”
“I want to know why I saved your life when I was supposed to take it,” she said bluntly, shaking her head in confusion and irritated that he was being so nonchalant about the whole thing.
“You did what? What are you?”
“I told you, I am a seraph. A reaper to be exact.”
“So you are a soul saver?” he asked, laughing as he said it.
“Do not laugh at me. You should be thankful.” How could he not see that he was supposed to die, and that without her, he would be dead this very moment? He was acting as if something serious had not happened just a couple of days before.
“Oh I am darling, happy to live another day and be able to show you around this place,” Ash said as he stood up from his chair abruptly and almost fell over.
Annalise teleported without thinking, finding herself behind him and grasping for him before he fell. Their eyes met and she jumped back from him, confused at why she was so quick to make sure he was okay. “I do not need you to show me around anywhere,” she said defensively, irritated with him for not staying on topic, “I just want you to answer my question.”
“I will tell you everything you need to know,” he insisted, taking her hand and leading her over to the bar. He sat down and she did the same, still keeping her eyes on him so he didn’t disappear. He leaned over the counter and demanded to see the owner of the bar and turned back to her, “I know the owner, she makes me special drinks and makes sure I have a spot at the bar.”
“Quite impressive,” Annalise said with a smile, even though she never again intended to drink that horrible subs
tance that Finlay had tricked her into tasting. She hoped that mortal drinks tasted better.
A small lady floated over to where they were and Annalise couldn’t help but reach out to Ash’s arm to ground herself. She had never seen a race of mortal such as this lady before, and she wasn’t sure if she was welcome in her bar.
“Maize, I need the usual for myself and some simple Jadza fruit for my friend here,” Ash said, flashing a smile at the bar owner and then looking over at Annalise.
“No problem Ash, not too much going on tonight so whatever you are up to, don’t cause a scene. I don’t need any trouble here with such a small crowd,” the small woman said, moving over to make their drinks.
“Thank you,” Annalise said as she lowered her eyes down to the counter top and removed her hand from his arm. It was a gesture she would have had with Leon, grabbing his arm for comfort, and even though this Ash was mortal, he gave off the same air that he would keep her safe. She wasn’t sure she liked that.
“It’s no problem, it’s a small favor for saving my soul back there,” he laughed, “I knew I wasn’t supposed to die that day.”
“But you were,” she interjected insistently, ignoring his boastful attitude, “I saw it. That is my job as a reaper. I take the souls and I place them in the Grand Hall.” She threw her hand over her mouth, aware that she was saying too much and turned her attention back to Maize who had brought their drinks over and sat them in front of them.
“It’s on the house,” she smiled, but then looked over at Annalise and gave a sigh. “Watch this one,” and with that she turned around to serve the other customers nearby.
Annalise reached for her drink, trusting in the young man to have ordered something good for her. She took a sip, pleased with the juicy taste that filled her mouth, similar to the fruits that were in her realm but different as well. “This is delicious, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Do you normally eat and drink things?”
“I do not require such things as that and sleep, only for recreation and also for replenishing my spirit when I have exhausted it,” she explained as she took another sip. It was delicious indeed. Just a hint of sour.
Ethereal Underground (Ethereal Underground Trilogy) Page 8