Ethereal Underground Part 15

"Uh, Anna. We have a visitor." Ash nodded his head toward the other side of the cave where Leon stood. Leon's gaze was centered directly on the two of them. It was hard to get a read on his emotions, but Ash knew that Leon being here would make things a bit uncomfortable. Annalise's eyes widened; her face lit up in happiness. Without a hesitation, she ran across the cave and jumped into Leon's arms.

Leon tried to hide his excitement, "I am so glad to have found you. A reaper saw you and the others and she told me where to find you." Leon wrapped his wings around the two of them to hide them from the other's eyes.

Ash couldn't see or hear them, but he could feel how happy she was. He didn't get angry though; if it had been Jedzia who walked into the cave he would have reacted the same way. Ash walked closer and stood awkwardly near the counterparts.

"We have traveled so very far. Natara has helped us and we are so close. You have come to join us?" Annalise asked him as she stepped back from his embrace.

"No, I've come to take you home," Leon stated, taking her hand and turning to look at the others.

"I don't think so," Ash said, stepping up to the two of them and looking back and forth between them. "You aren't going to go with him are you?" They were so close to the fallen and their bond had grown tremendously. If she walked away, Ash didn't know what he would do.

Annalise stopped to think for a moment. She took a breath and stepped away from her counterpart, "I cannot go, I must help clear my name."

"I don't believe killing the fallen will help your case against the Elders."

"It is my only option."

Leon's smile dropped, his hand going to his sword, "I thought you might say that."

"Do not hurt him, Leon. If you have ever trusted me, know that my heart is set on this mission. I-I know that you care for me."

The cave was suddenly completely silent as he stared back at her. Ash couldn't believe his ears, his hand gripped his weapon tightly in case Leon decided to attack.

"And it should not be a surprise," Annalise finished, looking to Ash quickly and back at Leon, "that I care for you as well."

Dropping his hand from his sword, her counterpart nodded, "Okay, I shall help you here. Then you will return with me."

"I promise," she agreed. Ash took a step away from the two seraphs. Anna had just agreed to go back home after this was all over. He had only been kidding himself when he thought that just maybe they had connected over the past few days. It was hard to get a read on her emotions now. She was trying hard to hide something.

"Alright," Finlay exclaimed, "This is going to be just like old times. Me, you, and the fallen." Leon tried to hide a smile.

Arie looked at the two seraphs in confusion. "You two have killed fallen together often?"

Leon shook his head at Finlay as if to keep it a secret.

Finlay only scowled in response. "I am going to tell her Leon. She is my charge and holds my heart," Finlay told him. "Leon and I are high ranking seraphs. We are the guardians on the frontline whenever there is battle. With the two of us here, there is no need to worry. We can take them."

Ash never worried. "Old Leon to save the day," he thought sarcastically. Ash watched as Finlay grabbed Arie around the waist and pulled her in for a long kiss. Why did their relations.h.i.+p have to look so much easier? Annalise seemed to struggle every time she took a step farther from her upbringing, while Finlay seemed to enjoy making the Elders squirm. Then again Annalise felt a loyalty to Leon that Finlay didn't have. Ash wondered if maybe things could have been different if Leon was out of the picture. Ash pushed the thoughts from his mind, when this journey was over, and everyone went on with their former lives, where would that leave him? What would become of their bond? The sounds of crunching behind of Ash caused him to spin around. The unicorn stood and slowly lowered his head to Leon.

"You will take us as far as the entrance?" Finlay confirmed to the unicorn. He was answered with a slight nod.

"I will take you no farther, I dare not enter the tenth layer. If you five are so insistent on dying, it would be better to let me kill you now. I promise to make it quick."

Ash's hand gripped the stolen keeper blade in his belt. If the creature attacked them, he wanted to be ready.

Finlay scoffed and puffed out his chest.

"Try it. I dare you," he bragged. By this time, Arie had also pulled out her gun ready to shoot.

The unicorn looked at them for a long time. Ash could swear he saw saliva pooling at the corners of his mouth.

"I will not harm friends of Leon the guardian. It's your lucky day." He turned around slowly and walked toward the cave's exit.

"Yeah, let's all trust the hungry unicorn creature," Arie said, sarcastically.

Annalise nodded in agreement, "Arie is right, He will not harm us."

Her statement was well received with laughter from the group.

"Did I ever tell you how cute you are when you try and talk human?" Ash teased. He didn't care if Leon was there or not; Leon held no claim to Annalise. Staying close together, with Finlay bringing up the rear, they all crept from of the cave. They didn't know how many ancient creatures or mutants they would run into, but they were sure to find at least one or two. The group was covered in dirt from the journey. They hadn't run into many water sources, but when they did they weren't allowed the privacy of a bath.

After a few hours of walking, Ash noticed something strange about their surroundings. The dirt ground around them became more and more littered with bones. The piles of bones were scattered carelessly across the ground as if they were thrown from way up high. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

Finlay was only a few inches behind him. Ash turned around to look at him.

"What?" Ash asked. If he wanted to play the apology game, Ash definitely didn't want to partic.i.p.ate.

"The bones, they are becoming more frequent."

Ash slowed down a bit so Annalise couldn't hear them talking. "I noticed. Think it's a trap?"

Finlay poked at a pile of bones near his foot. "Possibly, but these bones aren't of any creature I have ever seen. Unicorn! What creature lies ahead?"

The unicorn twisted his head 180 degrees so that he was staring back at him. Even though his head was turned at an unnatural angle, he didn't stop walking.

"That's gross," Arie cried.

Annalise agreed, "That is very unnatural."

The unicorn ignored the comment. "We are about to reach the seer and her lair."

Ash pulled out his blade and pointed it at the unicorn. "Why did you not mention this sooner? You are leading us straight to the home of a creature, why didn't you warn us?"

"You simply did not ask."

Ash felt Annalise put her hand on his arm and gently push his blade down.

"Ash, calm down please." The warmth of her touch was enough to cause his anger to dissipate. She gave him a comforting smile and turned back to the unicorn. It was easy for him calm down when he looked at her.

Leon turned to face the group. "Do not worry. The seer is harmless. I do not believe she is the source of these bones." He bent down to pick up a bone and began to examine it. Annalise walked over to Leon. She leaned down over Leon to take a closer look at the bone. Ash darted his eyes away from them and clinched his hands at his sides.

"Have you ever met the seer?" he asked Leon. Leon narrowed his eyes at the mortal and stood up slowly.

"The seer has prophesized many things for the seraphs over the centuries. Of course, that was long before she was banished to the ninth layer by you mortals."

"Well I suppose that makes her harmless then," Ash shot back, "I still think we should be careful."

Arie stepped beside Ash and pulled her gun out. "I agree, I would rather not take my chances," she said.

Ash turned to smile at his friend. He loved that she always had his back. Leon turned his solemn gaze away from Ash and looked at Arie. His eyes lit up with amus.e.m.e.nt.

"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 pa.s.sed through an area that looked like it had once been a city. There were the remains of ancient building all cl.u.s.tered 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 carca.s.s.

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 ways 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 backed 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 can 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 pa.s.sed 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 seer 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 pa.s.s 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.