Ethereal Underground (Ethereal Underground Trilogy) (3 page)

As they approached their home, she paused and turned back to him and fiddled with the hem of her dress. Her form was small, thin, tanned with the light from the sky, stark white wings settled softly at her back, small enough for outside forces to harm her. Her blonde hair fell in waves down her back, tangled most of the time, except for when Leon would insist she sit down and let him brush it.  Water was her affinity, not something to utilize in battle and barely enough to keep herself safe. To others she appeared fragile, making her the perfect target for an attack. Although Leon was strong, appearing tough and slightly ragged, the thought made her worry about him while he was gone.  She kept her eyes low to the ground, trying not to show him her worry. Fallen were being seen more often lately, too close to home. More and more seraphs were disappearing every day. She knew that the missing seraphs were the result of the fallen hunting them down, and she did not want to see Leon be ambushed by those evil creatures. Worried, she forced the words out, “How was your journey?”

“Eventful, to say the least,” he started as he walked ahead in front of her and through the opening of the round stone residence, “My charge was drunk and heading towards a horde of fallen.”

He continued to speak, deep voice resonating through the home. Frowning to herself, she all but tuned him out, not wanting to know if or how he had fought a fallen. They were despicable creatures, once seraphs who now thrived on destroying her kind, devouring them to absorb their power. Annalise shivered at the thought of her partner battling such forces. She had never seen one, but she heard the stories: evil, deformed creatures who lurked in the dark of the night and sought out seraphs to sink their teeth into, or tempt them to change their ways and fall as well.

Letting her eyes trail up to the clear glass roof of the home, she was thankful to see the sky, thankful it was still its purest blue, and it made her feel like things would be okay, even if the fallen decided to attack. Leon was here and they were safe, Finlay’s home not too far away. Their home was built of a speckled cream stone, shaped into a large igloo with an additional circular room in the back where they could rest. The floor was soft and plush, a technology only known to the seraphs. No furniture was in the main room, only pure wood shelves that jutted out from the stone for them to use as they needed. All cooking was done outside in the fire pit and the tools for that were found there. They were a simple race, relying on nature to every extent they could, all of their clothing and bedding made in their town center. All was purchased at the market and could be requested to be made there as well. They would trade goods and services there, and each seraph helped out with what they could.

The sound of buzzing caught her attention and made Leon’s story come to a halt. She walked over to the center of the room and stepped over several pillows scattered around the large round globe in the center of the room.  It was made of magical glass and stood several feet off the ground on its
wooden stand. The wood curved around the bottom of the sphere and either seraph could look into it and see what they wished, including any mortal that she felt like watching that day. She could call her reapings by name if she knew them, and Leon could call his charges. Once they knew a mortal’s name and it was attached to them for duty purposes, they could call upon them again. Sometimes though, Annalise would find a random human to watch when Leon was not around. They fascinated her, the way they would let their emotions run them, working as she did but not letting that dictate who they were and what they did. She did not understand that. Seraphs were made with emotions, even though they were not felt as deeply as mortals could feel. With their emotions not being as strong, relying on them could cause a seraph to become a fallen. They were never taught to use those emotions, however. They were discouraged from using them and shunned by the Elders whenever one was caught expanding their feelings past what was accepted. Humans were taught to use their emotions and rely on them. Most of the time, Annalise could only identify those emotions that were normal to her kind, and she would struggle to understand some of the feelings the mortals displayed. The globe also would show her and Leon what their new assignments were, any new charges for Leon and any reaping opportunities assigned to her. She found herself excitedly chewing on her lip as she peered into the globe, watching as the pink and blue clouds parted to reveal a fight between a human and a creature that she couldn’t place. The larger being held a sword in one hand, the human was cornered against the wall. Turning her back to the scene, she looked over at Leon and forced a smile to her face. She could never stand to see the killing blow. Life was a prize, it was a privilege, sacred, and she hated to see it scuffed out. But it was always so exciting to get to travel to the human world. Each reaping was like an adventure to her, even though she would never allow herself to stay and wonder around. Leon had made sure that she was aware of the dangers of a fallen, and also the dangers of being made one if she did not promptly return home.

Annalise turned to give the brunette a small wave. Leon’s face fell slightly as he walked over to her, hand cupping her face and making her look at him, “Please be careful.”

“Am I not always careful?” she asked, pointing out the obvious to him.

He nodded, letting her go and taking a step back to give her space.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and tapping the large golden bangle around her wrist. Annalise pictured the place that the globe had shown her, excitement filling her up as she teleported there. It wasn’t anything new to her, teleportation was the easiest way to get anywhere, and she would rather do her job quickly. When she opened her eyes, she saw the larger unknown species walking away, the mortal laying in a pool of blood in the room. She was thankful for her strong stomach, it came with the job she supposed; otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to handle reaping. The excitement of being in the mortal world again crept up into her as she walked over to the being. Looking around, she took in the gray metal walls all around, and the fluorescent lit sky above. She knew she was deep inside of the planet, but wasn’t sure what layer it was. As she neared the mortal, she noted his slowed but labored breathing. He was trying to fight it. Even though she was invisible to him, her charges could always sense her presence, she could see it in his eyes. They were green, like Leon’s eyes, and he struggled to look through the slits and see what had come for him. She lowered herself to a kneeling position beside him, wings widening to create a shelter over them. For a minute, she wondered what his life had been like, who he had been. Was he good? Bad? She would never know. She badly wished that she could speak with him, heal him and ask him of the stories of his life. However, Leon’s words resounded in her ears as her thoughts continued to wonder.
Reap the soul and return. You must get back to the Grand Hall before the soul is stolen by evil forces.
She knew that she could never do the opposite of what she had been taught. Her counterpart was one of the highest ranking guardians, and she couldn’t disappoint him. To do so would risk losing her position among the seraphs, one she had worked so hard to have, and risk becoming a fallen.

She reached out to him, took his face in her hands,
and closed her eyes. After saying a small blessing for him, she let her power flow through her and wash over him. She relished the power, unleashing it and letting it work its magic to pull his soul from the center of his body and lay it, round and glittering, in her palms as she leaned back and brought her hands together. It felt so incredibly good to be able to let herself go, let the power flow from her body and do as it was meant to. It was as if she was free, an open spirit and light in the darkness. This was the only time she could ever truly be herself and be free, other than around Leon. From the outside, if she were to allow herself to be seen, there would be a great light, golden and bright, shining around the two of them, until his soul rested in her hands.

She opened her eyes, and tapped her bangle to teleport herself again, and found herself in the Grand Hall. Other seraphs took the reaping job as an opportunity to walk among the mortals, glittering ball trapped in their bag until they made their way back to the netherworld. Annalise, however, always went straight back to the Grand Hall, making sure she got the soul back as soon as possible, because she did not want to risk losing it for a few good minutes in the mortal world. Even though she yearned to mingle with the mortals, she knew what the punishment held. She never broke a rule, always doing as she was supposed to.

As she stood up, she noted the cold gray metal walls all around her. It was the darkest place in her world, the coldest. Even though the lighting was bright, the tall dark walls always made Annalise feel small and unimportant. Still, she continued down the hallway until she reached the door where the souls were sent to their afterlife. Annalise fell quiet as she walked, knowing it was prohibited to speak in such a sacred place.  She nodded at the guard standing there. Tall and dark with dark gray wings, Slade was very menacing in appearance.

Slade nodded to her in greeting and pressed the button to slide the door open without saying a word. She gave him her best smile in return and walked inside, her heart still racing inside of these prison walls even after all of these years. She preferred the openness of the outside world; this place was one built of mortal means, sealed of alien technology. There was no outside entrance into here. Only those with teleportation keys set here could enter. She continued to look forward, her peripheral vision the only cue that there were others there, sending souls on. Other female seraphs bringing back the souls they had collected.  Each of them smiled at her as they passed excited to reap yet another soul and complete what was asked of them. Annalise smiled in return, the other seraphs
were the only thing that made this place feel like home. They were her people, her family in a sense. There was a loyalty among them that no other species knew, or so she had been told.

She knew this room well, making several visits here per day. It was perfectly square, bright florescent lights beaming down on her in an unnatural way, the walls lined with holes that somehow took the soul to the afterlife. She reached a circular hole across the room and gave one last look at the soul. It was continuing to glitter, the light bouncing off the wall in front of her and giving the only natural feel to the dark space, colors swarming in a circular motion. It made her smile to know that she had saved this soul and could
send it on to its resting place. The mortal would never again suffer. She held the ball out in front of her, offering it to the hole and continuing to watch it in awe. Carefully, she placed the soul into the hole and it was sucked away, off to the afterlife. Annalise took a step back, allowing herself to wonder where it really went, what really happened to them after she deposited them here. She turned around and walked back outside, giving a nod to Slade and wishing she could tell him goodbye. The two of them were acquaintances and he spent some of his free time with Leon. But this was a place of complete silence, and so she remained quiet, waiting until she was further down the hall before teleporting herself back home.

Chapter Two

Ash

The sound of Arie’s communicator stirred Ash from his trance. He had been so busy studying all of the drunks who walked to and from the
Underground entrance that he had spaced out from the real world. Arie nudged him softly in his shoulder before leaning into his ear close enough so she could whisper in it. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of flower perfume that drifted off of her skin.

“Dad says that Loki is at the back entrance. I’ll see you later.” She jumped off the railing and started to make her way toward the back door only a few yards away.

Ash, not even taking a second to think, jumped off and followed her.

“Arie, wait for me,” he called out.
He caught up with her quickly. Curfew was almost upon them and citizens were already making their way home.

She swung around, hitting him with her thick mess of red hair in the process.

“Ash, this is my job. I really don’t need to worry about saving your bender too.” Arie held up a hand to stop him from walking any further. Her small hand pushed against his chest, she was strong and her height nearly matched his, but she was no match for Ash.

“Arie, my bender is fine.” He gave his back end a soft tap and smirked, “So you can stop dreaming about it.”

Arie’s eyes flashed with embarrassment. She gave a small huff and shook her head before running towards the door. She was used to his jokes, and he couldn’t figure out if they really annoyed her or if she secretly enjoyed it. Ash continued to follow her.

He kept only a few paces behind her as she swung open the large, iron door ready to attack who ever or whatever was out there. The back alley was dark and quiet. There was only a bit of light that shone out from some apartment
doors a few stories above.  No one frequented the back alleys in this layer. They were notorious for muggings, shady dealings and the planet’s most wanted. Smoke drifted out from the bar as the door slammed shut.