Ethereal Underground (Ethereal Underground Trilogy) (30 page)

“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 dozen 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 way
s 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 ba
cked 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 c
an fly down,” Finlay suggested. He tapped his bangle and let his large wings fly out from behind him.

Ash scoffed at the seraph. “That’s great Fin, but what about the two of us who can’t fly? If we jump will you catch us?”

Finlay didn’t look too amused by the comment, looking at Annalise, who nodded in agreement.

“Leon will carry Ash, and I will carry Arie,” he said simply.

Both the humans’ mouths opened up in shock.

“I am not being held by – you!” Ash told Leon. Arie nodded in agreement.

“Well Anna’s wings are smaller than mine, and Ash you weigh twice as much as Arie, Finlay pointed out, Will you be satisfied if I carry you and Leon carried Arie?”

Ash looked over at Arie, a silent agreement passed between them. There was no way that Ash was going to put his arms around Leon, no matter what the situation.

In the mood to protest, but eager to get the whole thing over with, Ash walked up to Finlay and let the seraph scoop him up in his arms. He reluctantly put his arms around the large blonde and sighed.

“Fin- I swear if you try anything funny. I am going to stick my blade so far up your bender…”

Finlay rolled his eyes and turned to Leon. “Be careful with her. I am trusting you.”

Leon pulled Arie close and whispered something into her ear. Annalise tapped her bangle and let her wings fly out behind her.

“You first Fin,” she urged.

One at a time, the
five of them lifted a few feet off the ground. Their wings barely moved, but Ash could feel the wind flowing around them to keep them afloat. Finlay flew straight down into the small hole. Annalise was right behind them. Ash looked up to make sure she was okay. Sure enough, Annalise was majestically soaring above them into the depths of the pit below.

It was a
few minutes before they reached ground. As soon as he felt Finlay’s feet touch the ground Ash scrambled out of his embrace.

“Thanks,” Ash mumbled as he put his pride aside.

Finlay reached out to put a hand on Ash’s arm, “For what it’s worth- I really am sorry. I never meant to betray your trust. I wasn’t allowed to tell you what I was, just as you couldn’t tell me you were a keeper.”

As much as Ash wanted to hate Finlay, they were once good friends.
Deep inside, he wanted his friends to be happy. Ash gave a half smile.

“I understand- and I guess I overreacted over the whole Arie thing. She is free to be with whomever she pleases.”

The air was cleared and a burden felt like it had been lifted off of Ash’s shoulders. Annalise stepped by his side as they looked around. Everything around them was rock and dirt, the sounds of water dripping echoed from a distance. The overhead florescent lights were also gone, but a single torch burned on one of the nearby walls, as if their presence was expected.

“Are you okay?” Ash asked her. Annalise gave her arms a small shake and hid her wings.

“Yes. I am just tired.” Ash put his hand on her cheek and slowly swiped a bit of dirt off of it. The closer they got, the more Ash dreaded the finale. Annalise would go back home. Ash would return to the eighth layer and this entire trip would be a distant memory. He wanted to remember Annalise liked this in case something happened to him. He was certain that either Finlay or Leon would take care of her if he got hurt, but he still felt better when she was near him to protect.

“Let’s find this s
eer shall we?”

Each one of them drew out their weapons as they walked through the tunnel. Finlay once again pulled out his lighter
and branch to light up the pathway.  They hadn’t gotten far when a voice called out to them

“Who disturbs my slumber?” The voice
was old and dry.

No one answered.  Finlay nudged Annalise with his elbow.

“You are the nicest of us all,” he urged. “You sweet talk it.”

“I- I- It is Annalise. We are here to ask permission to
pass through your lair to gain entrance to the tenth layer.”

Finlay held the fire up higher and Ash squinted his eyes to make out the figure moving closer.

It was hooded and short, only coming up to Ash’s waist. It limped closer and closer at a slow pace. Within a few moments it stopped in front of the group. Two hands came out of the old and dirty gray cloak and lifted to take off the hood. Under the cloak was an old woman. Her skin was cracked and dry. So much, that her skin was starting to bleed and separate. The wrinkles hung off her face loosely and the sockets where her eyes should have been were empty. The seer smiled to show a toothless grin.

“I have been waiting for you
, Annalise. You must have Ash with you also.”

Ash straightened up and gripped Annalise’s hand.
He looked at her, letting his strength fill her up.

“I am here,” he told the old lady.

She reached out toward them with her long bony palms.

“But there are three others I was not expecting….”

A lantern magically appeared in the woman’s hands. Finlay shrugged and put out his own light source.

“Finlay, Leon, and Arie are also with me,” Annalise confirmed.

Ash knew to keep quiet this time; he let her do the talking.

“No one ever asks to go down there. No one ever asks to come out. You sure this is what you want?”

Annalise took a deep breath, “Yes seer. This is something we must do.”

The seer nodded and walked closer to them.

“You must rest before you go down there. Make yourself comfortable.” She held out a hand as she gestured toward the tunnel behind her.

Ash looked around expecting to see some sort of living quarters, but there was nothing but the
rocky walls and dirt floor. Finlay put his hand on the ground and from the floor sprouted a large patch of soft willowy grass.

Arie
giggled at the romantic gesture and sat down. Finlay went around making the same soft spot for all five of them.

Once they were seated, Finlay put on his game face.

“So the plan is to sneak in quietly. We need to kill as many fallen as we can before they have time to react. The element of surprise is in our favor.” They all nodded in agreement.

Finlay leaned over to Arie and held her close. Ash could tell that being down here near the fallen was the last place he wanted him and Arie to be, but he was here to help clear his friend’s name. Ash was surprised at how loyal the seraphs were to each other, it was so different from most of the people on Cabalin. Everyone looked out for themselves. Even the keepers who claimed to have everyone’s best interest in mind, had lost sight of what loyalty really meant.

Annalise turned to Ash and reached out to place her hand on his.

“Let’s work on blocking our feelings again, this time without distractions,” Ash told her with a wink. He watched her face turn red. Her eyes darted quickly to Leon.

He closed his eyes and slowly started to clear his mind like he did when he was stressed.

“Close your eyes Annalise, clear your mind, don’t think about anything or anyone. Pick a safe place in your mind and imagine you are there. Be there, nowhere else.”
Ash took a few deep breaths, and channeled all of his emotions away.

He opened his eyes and watched as Annalise started to relax.
Gradually, he felt all of her confusion and fear melt away from her body until there was nothing left. He closed his eyes again and tried to focus his mind on the fight, and what he wanted to accomplish.

“If we are not distracted by the other person’s emotions we can concentrate better on the fight,” he told her.
He blocked out everything around him. The whispers from Finlay and Leon, Arie crunching on some food, at times Ash swore he could feel Leon’s gaze on the two of them. Nothing else mattered right now. It was only Annalise and him. The overwhelming tether of emotions between them was under control. After a few minutes, their quiet moment was interrupted by the seer.

The seer
sat down and moved clos
e
to Annalise. She roughly took her palm.

Ash grabbed for his blade, but Annalise put her hand out to stop him.

“It is okay,” she reassured him and patted him on the knee.

The s
eer made some noises in her throat and smiled that toothless grin. “Annalise. You have a path to choose. Make the wrong choice, and you will be alone and lose everything. The right one will satisfy your longing and save everyone you care for.”

Annalise looked at her friends in confusion. The unicorn
had mentioned the seer could foretell the future.

“I guess we impressed her,” Finlay said, nudging Arie slightly.
He reached down to make a flower appear at his feet. He picked up the red bud and presented it to his beloved.

At the sound of his voice, the s
eer’s head swung in Finlay’s direction. He had caught her attention, and she was curious.

She reached out to Finlay, her arm
not quite reaching far enough. She compelled Finlay to meet her half way with his hand. “Ohhh…” she moaned as their fingers touched, “You are a difficult one. Brave but so empty inside. Ahead of you lies betrayal, but be careful not to betray yourself.” She let out a long, deep moan one more time. Finlay looked at Leon with worried eyes. The seer was almost as creepy as the unicorn. Ash leaned in close to Annalise