Ethereal Underground Part 7

"I will protect her," Ash insisted, reaching for his own weapon and pulling it out to display to Leon.

Leon frowned at the dagger in Ash's hand, "I suppose that will do." He paused and gave the mortal a knowing smile, "I'm also sorry about your friend."

"Leon," Annalise said hurriedly, begging him to stop talking so they could go.

He turned to her, sword lowered to his side, and took her cheek in his hand, "I will come for you. I will have Endarial's head, and Loki's as well for harming you." Then his lips were on hers, rough and pa.s.sionate, something he had never done before. And Annalise froze, unsure of how to respond. She could feel Ash's anger rising up in him and his sudden grip on her arm, jerking away from her counterpart and insisting they leave in a less than pleasant voice.

She gave one last shocked look at Leon, and apologized with her eyes, unsure of what to say to him, before she teleported them out of their realm and left him behind.

Ash The third time around, Ash was pretty much used to the whole teleporting thing. The moment he opened his eyes, he knew exactly where they were. On many parts of the planet, manmade oceans lapped up against the land in an orderly fas.h.i.+on. Back and forth, back and forth, the waves crashed against the rocks near the sh.o.r.e.

"It's my favorite place on the surface. How did you know to take us here?" Ash gave a small smile, but it faded quickly as he realized how drained he felt. He hadn't slept in so long, and now the exhaustion had finally set in.

"I felt you're longing for this place, I just let your thoughts show me where to take us. I do not know exactly. I have never done anything like it before."

It was only a few hours till sunrise; still the moons shone brightly against the planet. The beach was where he normally took all his conquests, a way to ooh and ahh the women. This time it was different. He was with a girl he liked, but he had more on his mind than impressing her. After the conversation he overheard between Annalise and Leon, he was mixed up inside. Either she was going to kill him or let him live and lose everything she believed in. He just didn't believe she would choose him over her Leon. When Leon had kissed her, he had to fight the urge to attack Leon and claim Annalise as his own. He had no right, and he had to keep reminding himself of that.

"I'm sure Leon will be okay. He seemed like a...tough seraph." He wasn't sure of what words to use, what to say to comfort her. Annalise nodded, but didn't look his way. Her eyes stayed locked on the waves in the distance.

"Leon is a brave warrior. No fallen could harm him."

Ash nodded in agreement. His entire life, he had been taught never to run and to always protect those around him. He had learned to be a keeper and a keeper's job was to keep the planet safe. In his early years, he had fought alien races and piloted s.p.a.ce crafts. He had killed armies that threatened the safety of the planet, stopped riots in the layer, yet here he was running from the fallen. He felt like his masculinity had been ripped away from him. When the fallen soldiers had come running toward the house with fire, ice and electricity flying from their hands, his first instinct had been to stay and fight the fallen h.o.a.rd that had ruined his life. He wanted to make them pay for killing Jedzia, but when he remembered that Annalise wasn't strong enough to fight he knew he needed to protect her, so he agreed to go with her to safety. Just the thought of the last few days made him cringe. He would not run anymore, he would kill every last one of them. He just needed to be more prepared. All his weapons were at home or at Arie's house. Once he was prepared, Endarial would regret ever touching Jedzia. He sat down in the warm sand and rested his hands behind his head. He needed a plan. If he could find out as much as he could about the fallen then he would be able to search them out. He also needed help. Arie was one of the best, and she was already searching out Loki. If she knew where Loki was then he could lead them to the others. The antic.i.p.ation of killing Endarial weighed heavily on his mind.

"Sit, Anna. I won't bite you. I promise."

Annalise narrowed her eyes and slowly lowered to the warm sand.

"Do you bite others often?"

Ash snorted and decided to ignore her burst of innocence, but she didn't let go too easily.

"Should I want to be bitten? Is that some sort of mating ritual?"

Ash shook his head and decided to put the poor seraph out of her dive of curiosity.

"No- It was a figure of speech. If I wanted to 'mate' I wouldn't be biting you..." He looked at her with serious eyes and watched her squirm under the pressure of his gaze. He loved watching her. After a few moments, he broke the silence.

"What are you going to do? We can't keep running away. Eventually we are going to have to face the situation."

She nodded. "I understand. I am just...disoriented."

When he felt the confusion radiate off of her, Ash scooted closer to her. He hated to see her so out of sorts, so unlike the seraph who walked up to him demanding to know who he was and why she had saved him.

"I don't know about you, but I am going to find Endarial and any other fallen I can get my hands on and eradicate that entire species." The words sounded certain and brave when they left his mouth, but inside he wasn't so certain. He was confused. Confused over this connection he felt with Annalise and confused over what he should do. Ash was pretty certain Jaron would tell the Officials about his part in Jedzia's death and how he led the fallen to their homes. That meant he would never have the chance to be reappointed as a keeper. Strangely, Ash didn't care as much as he thought he would. He did care that he wouldn't have that sense of authority he once had. No more keeping the peace and order among society. He wouldn't miss the rules and the tyranny from the Officials.

"Are you well, Ash?" Annalise grabbed his s.h.i.+rt with her hand and shook him violently. It was then that Ash realized he had probably been sitting there for minutes not moving.

"Geez, Anna, I'm fine. I was just thinking." He rubbed his neck in pain. "You're pretty strong for a little girl," he joked.

"I am not a girl. I am a seraph," she corrected.

"Right a seraph. Sorry," he repeated. This girl needed to loosen up. He watched her stare at the small s.h.i.+ning stars up above, the sky filled with distant planets and burning stars. These were the same planets that fought in ancient wars for control, and the stars that were slowly burning up one by one.

He picked up some sand between his fingers and let it fall to the ground.

"This used to be a desert you know. A few years ago, the keepers made the ocean and beach, hoping to grow sea life on the planet. This was all a body of water, hundreds of years ago. When it dried up, they tried to recreate the ocean. It was a huge failure. Nothing grows here. Now it is just a reserve for the ecosphere."

Annalise followed his movements with the sand.

"We do not have this in my realm. I have never seen water this big, or these objects in the sky." She pointed to the moons which shone high in the sky.

"You don't have moons?"

"It is only green. Only day. Everywhere."

Ash snorted "You say that like it's a bad thing. My world is dying. Nothing grows here. People live in darkness underground, breathing fake oxygen and scrambling for real food." Ash stopped as he realized that he was now going to be one of those people. This may be the last time he would ever get to see the surface. Only keepers lived on the surface, to protect the planet from invaders. He was no longer a keeper.

"You mortals are interesting though," Anna pointed out. "You are free to pursue hobbies and relax and go to that bar you like and play games. Seraphs are all about duty and traditions."

"That must be a pain. I understand though. That's the way the keepers are. But when I found my way into the underground, I realized there is more to life than duty."

She shook her head, "No, there is nothing more important."

If she could stop feeling so guilty for what she did, maybe she could have some fun, he thought. He wanted her to branch out like he did and experience the fun in life.

"One day with me, and you will learn there is more to life."

Annalise didn't look too a.s.sured.

"One day with you. I have turned my back on everything I believe in, watched your partner die and mine walk away from me," she said.

Ash raised an eyebrow; this was the first burst of emotion he had ever seen from her. He didn't know what he could do to thank her for saving his life.

"I am sorry, okay. I am sorry that I am so irresistible." He said it with a joking laugh. Considering she was a little nave when it came to sarcasm, he stopped when he saw her puzzled look.

"Uh, that was a joke," he clarified.

"Do you want to be my mate?" she blurted out and then threw her hands over her mouth in shock. Ash sat up abruptly and looked at Annalise, who stared back at him wide-eyed.

"Your...mate?"

"Yes, what you mortals call....love?"

Ash gave a small shrug, unsure of what to say. Her question was so forthright and out of nowhere. Maybe he had taken his flirting and jokes a little too far. He decided to be frank. Even if there was something between them, and even if he hadn't been able to get her face out of his memory since she saved him, it would never work out.

"Listen- I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. You are great Annalise, but we come from two different worlds. When this is over, we will go our separate ways." He wanted to say the opposite of what came out of his mouth, but he couldn't do that to her. He could tell that she had a hard time breaking even one rule.

She didn't react, only stared at him. He broke the silence.

"Now it's my turn for the awkward questions. Do you want to be my mate?"

She c.o.c.ked her head to the side and uncertainty crossed her face before she shook her head. "That is not your business, but no."

"So just go back to your old life. Reaping souls and growing veggies with Leon." Ash shuttered at the thought. He didn't like to think of them both together, if anyone could make her happy it wasn't that straight laced and scary looking seraph. She needed someone who wanted to share in her newfound adventures and curiosity. He had a feeling that Leon was not the type to stray from tradition, but Ash was.

"I cannot go home right now; the Elders are looking for me. I want to stay here with you."

"Yeah I know my adorable dimples and swoon worthy eyes...." Ash batted his eyes at her and smiled.

Annalise only shook her head.

"Your soul was different. It was so strong and alive. Your face, it was so...beautiful. I could not take your life."

Her words were touching, but it didn't make him feel any better. If his death would have saved Jedzia, he would gladly die ten times over. She reached out to put a hand on his face. Her hand was smooth and warm. Ash reached up to hold her hand. She looked at him with a puzzled face; it was as if she were trying hard to find an answer. He wanted so badly to kiss her. She needed a good kissing, and Ash was certain he was the person for the job. He had never seen anyone so beautiful before. When she was near him; he felt calmer. When she touched him; he felt stronger. He leaned in closer to test the waters. His lips got within a few inches of her face when her hand started to tremble. Ash pulled her hand off of his cheek and kissed the back of her hand instead. She wasn't ready for any other type of kiss just yet.

"My life has cost a lot. So I must repay the debt. As soon as we, or I, catch up on some sleep, I am going to gather supplies and find Endarial," he told her.

"Do you think you can take them? They are stronger than you."

Ash didn't care. "I underestimated them twice, I won't do that again. Plus, I will have the element of surprise on my side this time. I really doubt they expect me to seek them out."

Annalise agreed, but his words seemed to make her face light up with remembrance, "Back at the fight- that man Jaron. He said something strange to Endarial. They were speaking like they knew each other."

Ash gave her a baffled look. That was impossible. Neither Jaron nor any of the other keepers for that matter had ever met a fallen. But then, Jedzia did mention he was hiding something. Could it be possible that he was working with the fallen?

"That's odd, I don't know why..." he decided to change the subject. "What are you going to do Anna?" he asked. She must have misunderstood what Jaron was talking about. Jaron couldn't be working with them.

"Maybe if I kill a fallen also, the Elders will let me come back home," she thought aloud.

Ash turned to look at her with concern. "You have never fought though?"

"I have my affinity to protect me and we can learn to fight with water together. You can also teach me, I am a quick study." She got excited and sat up straighter.

Ash didn't want her anywhere near danger, but just the thought of being away from her panicked him. The longer they were connected the stronger the pull had on him. The emotions he felt from her were stronger now and he was able to sort them out easier. Still, he wasn't in the mood to argue with her tonight. The sleepless nights were catching up with him.

"Maybe..."

Ash ran his hands along the rough patches of sand that lined the sh.o.r.es of the water. Scattered among them were millions of tiny pieces of sh.e.l.l from the aquatic life that had once prospered in the bodies of water on Cabalin. They were all broken and dead now, the force of the moons above caused the tide to kiss the sh.o.r.e roughly. It broke the sh.e.l.ls up and disintegrated the remains. This was one of the things that had caused the land to be so coveted. Ash reached down to pick up a broken sh.e.l.l in his hands. He rubbed his fingers over the rough edges. "These are all the dead remains of the aquatic life for thousands of years, all the sand is crushed up bone and sh.e.l.l," he said gently. He could feel Annalise scoot a bit closer and take a bit of sand in her hands. She let the small pieces fall back to the ground.

"Do you remember my world being prosperous?" he asked curiously. She looked up at him and paused for a moment to think.

"I did not pay much attention to Cabalin at first. I was so focused on my duties as a seraph, but it is forbidden to hang among the mortal world for pleasure and enjoyment."

Ash understood those types of restrictions all too well. "Did you ever try?" he teased.

She looked down to the ground and ran her hand along the grains of sand. "No," she said meekly. "I always wanted to experience mortal love and life, but it is not the way of the seraph. I would watch mortals sometimes from my home though."

"What? Not even once? How old are you anyway?" Ash couldn't believe it. If the seraph world had been so freely within his reach, he wouldn't have been able to go long without his curiosity getting the best of him.

"I am about...1500 mortal years. Though we don't keep time as you do."

Ash let his jaw drop as the numbers came out of her perfect mouth. She sure didn't look 1500 years old, but it was an advantage of being a seraph he supposed.

"And your kind they live forever?"

"We can, but we have our weaknesses just as everyone else."

"How old is Finlay?"

"He was created before me."

"And you are created, not born?" he asked. Annalise looked confused by his questions.

"I- I do not know. I am not allowed to know such things. I am only a reaper seraph. "

"Do seraphs look the same as mortals all over, are you anatomically correct? I mean, you don't have twenty toes or anything, do you?"

Annalise gasped and put her hand to her mouth in shock. "You Ash, are too bold, but I can feel how curious you are about my race, and not intending to be rude, so yes we are similar to your humanoid forms, but we have wings.

"May I see them?" Ash sat up in antic.i.p.ation. His heart was beating wildly the more he thought about it. A majority of the shock had faded away. The fact that a legend was sitting right here in front of him.

Annalise smiled at him, glad that he wasn't afraid of their differences but intrigued.

"Okay." She stood up slowly and pulled her hair over one shoulder. Ash raised up with her as she turned around to show her back. With her hair out of the way, he could see two small slits in the back of her dress. He watched her tap on the golden bangle around her wrist, and then mysteriously two large white wings stretched out from the slits. They were white and soft looking, and made her look even more magical.

"They complete you," he said. He reached out to stroke one of the wings and reveled at how strong they felt beneath his fingertips. She tapped her bangle once more, making them retract. He wanted to ask her what happened to them, but he was certain that he had asked enough questions for one night. She turned around to show a pinkish blush on her cheeks. He could tell that she liked his touch.

"My turn," she said. She was trying to change the subject, and Ash enjoyed watching her squirm.

"Why are you not with the keepers, Jedzia talked as if you were in trouble, like I am."

Ash shrugged, he didn't want to go into depth with the seraph. He wanted her to think of him as better than he actually was. There wasn't any use in dwelling on his past and he didn't want to scare her so he simply said, "Keepers are not allowed to frequent the lower layers, I did so. No big deal."

"It is not because of the redhead I have seen you with because you love her?" she probed. She started to walk along the sand; so Ash kept up.

"Arie? No, she is like a sister to me. Nothing going on there." He hated how vague all his answers sounded, so he elaborated a bit. "From the things I gather, love isn't something you seraphs have. Think of it this way, we mortals love deeply, and hate just as strongly. I haven't experienced romantic love, but I know what I feel for Arie isn't that. On Cabalin, if you love someone you become married. It's a huge drawn out process that I think is a waste of time. The female's parents receive lots of gifts and there is a ceremony that involves permanent family marks on the back of the couple's hands." He grabbed Annalise's hand and pointed to the back of it to show where the marks went before continuing.

"Keepers, such as me, are only allowed to marry other keepers with permission. Citizens are only allowed to marry within their layer or cla.s.s. A marriage is forever."

Annalise stared at the back of her hands with excitement in her eyes. Ash traced a small pattern onto the back of her hand. Her skin felt soft beneath his rough fingertips. "How wondrous," she told him. She was lost in a trance, a dream inside her head that Ash couldn't see.

He only shrugged; he didn't see anything exciting about love.

"Whatever has happened to us," she said "It has changed us both. I can feel strong human emotions, as well as your emotions."

Ash nodded, he had felt the same from her. An emotional connection that grew stronger the longer they were together.

Ash let out a big yawn and stretched his hands above his head. When morning came, he wanted to be out of sight. Even though this would be the last place the fallen or keepers would look for them. They would be searching in the underground for them.