Ethereal Underground Part 2

"You woke me with your awful singing," Ash complained. He felt his stomach grumble when he inhaled the scent of something delicious.

"Careful boy- I've got a pan of hot grease here. I'm making razda. Your favorite." She held out the small pan that had held the razda meat. Ash took a small sniff and let the aroma fill his nose. Razda meat was impossible to get on the planet. In fact, anytime Arie and her father left the planet for hunter business, he made her bring him back a case of it. Animals didn't live on their planet, and meat was practically nonexistent. Most things had to be imported from other planets, and it was up to the keepers to allow the traders to pa.s.s through the layers. These days, the keepers didn't allow many traders past the fifth layer. Something about the rebels who lived in the deepest layers. Whatever the reason was, the keepers kept a tight supply on any essentials the people needed. They claimed that they were protecting the planet from outside threats, but in recent years Ash felt that their methods had become extreme. There was the underground market though; one could get almost anything from them. If you needed a weapon, food or medicine, it could be easily found if you knew where to look. The underground market was where he had gotten his trusty dagger. He was just starting to get used to being without his keeper blade. It was hard at first, to not have that familiar weight hanging from his belt. Still, the dagger gave him a sense of security.

Ash leaned back and placed his hands behind his head.

"What happened last night?" He couldn't remember much, just a few flashes, and his head was in too much pain to process the memories.

Arie brought a hot plate of steaming red meat and a gla.s.s of water over to him and sat down. "You don't remember anything?"

Ash licked his lips hungrily and started to dig in to his food. "No, not really." Eating was much more important right now.

She wiped her hand across her forehead and sighed. Her red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she was rockin' a pair of tight pants and a tank. Ash tried hard not to instinctively stare at her, his stomach screamed out in hunger instead.

"Well, you have to be the luckiest man in the world because your wound is gone." Ash almost spit out his food; he took a drink from the gla.s.s to help him wash it down. That was right; he had gotten stabbed by Loki. He had seen a fallen last night.

"So that wasn't a dream!" he cried. Of course it wasn't. It was all coming back to him now. The fight, Arie looking for help, and then there was someone else. He struggled to grasp the small memory before it disappeared. A girl? He remembered a face with the bluest eyes he had ever seen, a girl with golden hair, and she was speaking. She was on top of him speaking words he couldn't understand. He placed his hand over his chest where the sword had gone through his body. There was nothing there. He lifted up the s.h.i.+rt he was wearing, which he presumed was Sasha's. His skin was smooth and unharmed. Looking up, he raised an eyebrow at Arie.

"Take a good look Raines, because you aren't gonna see abs this good ever again." He watched her roll her eyes before he slowly lowered his s.h.i.+rt.

"Your clothes were covered in blood, do you want to explain what happened, because people just don't magically heal from a sword wound."

Ash took the last few bites of his food and shrugged. Maybe people did magically heal, he knew that yesterday was not his time to die and it wasn't. Maybe a higher power knew that too. Still, he was hesitant to tell Arie about the girl. He almost missed Arie starting to lecture him. He recognized the familiar words and groaned.

"Maybe the blood was Loki's."

"You are lucky Loki didn't tear you apart right then. I've been studying the legends Ash- he is dangerous. That's why I didn't go running unarmed and with no backup. You have to be the most selfish, careless, immature little keeper on the planet." She stared at him with disbelief.

Ash stood up abruptly at the mention of the keepers. "I'm not with the keepers right now," he yelled, letting his temper get the best of him. "And if they come around here don't tell them a thing."

After the incident, the keepers had made it very clear that if he was caught breaking the rules again, he would never be allowed in the conservatory again. He knew what happened to keepers who were kicked out. Most were never seen or heard from again. He started to feel bad for yelling at his friend.

"I'm sorry, doll." He tried to smile, and took a deep breath to calm down. The keepers were already too curious about him and Arie's relations.h.i.+p. Romantic encounters were strictly forbidden; a keeper had to get special permission and an official pairing to get married. Keepers were supposed to focus on being warriors; not on emotional ties. He had done such a great job of hiding his secret life in the underground, but someone had betrayed him. The Officials knew everything now. The fighting, gambling, and the women.

"Finlay came by looking for you," she said. Ash perked up at the mention of his friend. Why would Finlay think to look for him here?

"Really? What did he want?"

"To check on you. He helped me carry you back home last night."

"How convenient," he grumbled. When he had introduced them a few months ago, he had given Finlay strict orders to stay away from Arie. The last thing he needed was for Arie's heart to get smashed like the dozens of other girls Finlay left in his path.

Arie put her hands on her hips and scowled. "I'm not a child anymore Ash, I have been of age for a few years now. You can't keep protecting me from every guy out there. Besides, Finlay didn't even stay; he was in a hurry to get somewhere."

"I need to get out of here without being seen." He wanted to look outside, but the units in the eighth layer didn't have windows as it was too dangerous. Too many criminals, too many thieves. Ash wasn't sure who would be watching. Fallen or keeper.

"Are you afraid to be seen with me?" Arie whispered. The look on her face made Ash's eyes fall to the floor. He had always been afraid of leading her on, but she knew the rules; she also knew that he broke them quite often. He walked over to where she sat and pulled her into a tight embrace. He let his hand run through her hair and inhaled deeply. She always smelled like flowers, a smell that calmed him. Her body fit perfectly against his. She was his best friend and he would never hurt her.

"I'm not afraid of anything Arie; I'm just trying to protect you. The keepers are pretty mad at me right now. I don't want to give them reason to believe we are...together." She nodded and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. He knew she would understand. She had met the keepers before and knew how strongly they took the keeper oath.

"You know that's never stopped you with the girls before," she teased. Ash chuckled before letting her go.

"Well that was before..." He let his sentence trail off; he didn't want her to know about how much trouble he was in with the keepers, she didn't need anything else to worry about. All she knew right now was that he was taking a sabbatical while the higher up keepers, the Officials, decided what to do about Ash's recent bouts of dishonesty and unruliness.

"Let me wake dad, he can sneak you out through the tunnels." Arie started to walk towards her father's room; he quickly grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Uh, no thanks, last thing I need is your hung over father questioning why I was here last night and why I am wearing his clothes. I can make it through the tunnels myself." The tunnels ran below the city. They weren't too dangerous, but if you didn't know your way, you could get lost in them forever. Ash wasn't worried, he had used them a few times before and he was confident he knew his way home through them. He just wanted to stay away from the guards who were at the entrance to the ninth layer. The ninth layer was forbidden. All he wanted to do was to go home and take a hot bath. He needed a smoke and he needed some time to think about what had happened earlier. He also needed to travel up to the surface later that day to appear at the conservatory.

He was curious as to why Arie wasn't pus.h.i.+ng the situation. She was always so eager and excited about everything; that was why he liked her so much. They were alike in so many ways, but she didn't seem to push the fact that he had mysteriously healed. Trying to be helpful, he grabbed his empty plate and gla.s.s to clean up the table.

"Let me help clean up before I go." Unfortunately, his movements were a little too hurried and he knocked the gla.s.s of water over, spilling its contents all over the table.

He cursed and swiftly picked the cup up. "Sorry..." he mumbled. He put his hands out, not sure of what he was trying to do. He couldn't mop up the spill with his hands. He felt stupid for just standing there, but for some reason he couldn't move. He was frozen in that spot. All he could think about was how stupid he felt for knocking over the water and how badly he wanted to clean it up. He heard Arie scrambling through the kitchen, looking for a towel.

He felt his hands start to get warm and a tingling feeling shot through his fingers. The pain was dull, like his entire hand had fallen asleep. Within a matter of seconds, he saw the water lift up from the table. He was still in too much shock to move, so he just stood there staring at the water. It was floating in midair. It s.h.i.+mmered in a bulbous form a few inches off the table. Unable to believe what he was seeing, Ash blinked a few times and lifted his hands to rub his eyes. Maybe he was still dreaming. He looked at the spilled water again; it was back on the table. He was really out of it; maybe he needed to sleep this off. Deep inside, he felt that something was off. He didn't feel quite right or normal that is. Whoever or whatever that girl was, she had done something to him.

"I've got to go, I'll see you around." Ash spun around and bolted from the apartment. He needed to get out of there before anything more strange happened. He also had a meeting on the surface with the Officials, and he couldn't be late.

He had found his way through the underground tunnels easy enough. Once home, he tried to get cleaned up for his meeting. In the shower, he tried to recreate the control over the water, but he couldn't make it work. He was so curious as to what had really happened last night that it was driving him crazy. He needed to have a clear mind for when he met with the Officials. The blonde girl and Loki would have to wait for another day.

A short time later, Ash began his trip to the surface. The trip was surprisingly quick. The direct tunnels that Ash flew the s.h.i.+p up through were nearly deserted. The citizens of Cabalin weren't afforded the luxury of fuel, and the fuel that the keepers made on the surface cost as much as one normal person made in a day. This kept the citizens from moving around from city to city. It kept them stranded in one layer. Not too many people were willing to walk through the underground tunnels either. Ash's s.h.i.+p belonged to the keepers, and the only reason he was allowed to keep it was to appear before the Officials in situations like this. It had only been a few weeks since they had forced him on a sabbatical. At first, living underground had seemed exciting and adventurous, but after a few days Ash longed for the warmth of the suns on his skin. The lights that hung from the ceiling of the underground didn't feel the same to him. They were built to mimic sunlight, but it just wasn't the same. Each of the nine layers contained one city. Each city was completely different from the other. They had different layouts and temperatures. The eighth layer was the most populated layer. It was where Ash lived, in a small home near the Underground. It was easier for him to run home after a fight to get cleaned up. Most of his friends lived there also. It was an urban terrain with the highest crime rate, biggest stores, and where most of the trading happened. The seventh layer consisted of family units; the sixth and fifth layer contained the middle cla.s.s environments with factories and hydroponic gardens. All the layers above the fifth were considered superior. These layers were where the most important citizens live, and housed the sw.a.n.kiest stores, spas, and other luxuries that helped the rich pa.s.s the time. The important citizens never had to work for their gems, but somehow they always seemed to have enough. Gems were the official form of currency, and most of the citizens accepted payments with them or bartered with items.

As the surface neared, Ash could hear the rumbling of the generators as he left the underground sphere. The dome surrounded all the cities; it enclosed them in the ecosphere. The generators above the dome cleaned and recycled the air and another set of generators below the sphere recycled the waste. Ash had never traveled past the eighth layer to see the generators, and he never wanted too. The ninth layer was the home of all the banished creatures on the planet. Some of them were original inhabitants; others were citizens who had broken the law. The few openings out of the ninth layer were heavily guarded to keep the banished inside.

Once Ash had broken the barrier of the sphere, he noticed how bad the surface looked. It had only been a few weeks since he last saw it, but it had defiantly changed. The suns was brighter and the air looked dirtier. In the past few decades, the land had slowly started to die off. The soil became dry and the enrichment that once flourished across it had withered away into nothing. The oceans had dried up and the animals had disappeared. The aging process of the inhabitants had also begun to speed up. When the mortal species first came to the planet, they had all started to age slowly. Before, it wasn't unheard of to live for hundreds of years. When the planet changed, so did the lifespan of everything on it. Now most species were lucky to see age forty. Everything that had once been beautiful about the land was gone. Ash hadn't been born yet when the land flourished, but the stories he heard were enough to understand why so many people had once coveted the planet.

Ash parked his s.h.i.+p in his usual spot outside of the cube shaped conservatory and jumped out. He had felt so groggy that morning, but now his body felt full of life. He stepped outside and stretched his hands over his head. He straightened out his keeper uniform. When he appeared before the Officials, he was required to wear his dress robe. It was long and black with the keeper emblem st.i.tched in over the breast. The keeper's symbol consisted of a large triangle with a star at the top, and within it was a key with a "k" in the circular portion at the top. A pair of matching pants and b.u.t.ton up s.h.i.+rt completed the ensemble. Ash remembered to put on a serious face as he neared a few keepers that stood guard outside of the conservatory.

Ash gave a nod to one the guards as he walked closer. "I'm here to appear before the Officials." The two other guards stared at Ash with blank faces. "Always so serious," Ash thought. One of the guards, whom Ash recognized as a keeper a few years below himself moved to open one of the large doors. The sound of explosions in the air caused Ash to jump backwards. The sound of an attack was something all the keepers had grown accustomed to. No one else even flinched.

"Underground life has made you soft." A teasing voice caused Ash to straighten up and look over at the open door. In the doorway stood his former partner. Jedzia was dressed identical to Ash and her long black hair was pulled tightly into a bun on top of her head. She was almost ten years older than Ash, but she still looked young and vibrant.

Ash walked through the doors and felt a tremble of fear as it slammed shut behind him. "I didn't expect you to be here," he told her.

"I am here to witness on your behalf. It is rumored that the keepers are in disagreement about your sabbatical." Ash had been afraid that would happen. A rouge keeper was not unheard of, and those that could not keep their emotions under control or take the job seriously were never heard from again. Ash reminded himself to keep a straight face. The last thing he wanted the Officials to see was his anger, or even worse, his fear.

Jedzia glanced over at him with a perceptive look. "Calm down Ash. Your offence is not too serious. You think that other keepers have not gotten curious and snuck underground?"

"This is different, and you know it." He didn't want to talk about the situation out loud. When he talked about it, it made it seem even more real. He stopped in the hallway and looked around. The keeper conservatory was a huge cubed shaped building that housed the training facilities and all of the war supplies they used. It was brown on the outside to mask it from attackers, but even if a neighboring planet made it on the surface to attack, a large force field s.h.i.+elded it. A few factories sat on the outskirts of the perimeter, which were used as trading posts. The walls inside were white and bare. In fact, everything in the keeper conservatory looked the same way. They were not into decorations or aesthetically pleasing environments. If the object didn't have a definitive purpose; it was not needed. Jedzia continued to walk, not bothering to stop when Ash had paused.

"They will not get rid of you. You have a strong keeper bloodline. The keepers are fading, that is why they insist we not mingle with the other races. We are the future of the planet. Without us, the war would surely destroy this planet." She recited the words like they had been bore into her head since birth. They probably had been. Ash had always thought that power had gone to the many of the keepers' heads. He sometimes forgot that she was one of them; Jedzia had been trained from day one to become an Official.

"I'm not sure there is much of a planet to save anymore," he mumbled under his breath. The planet was dying; he didn't understand why everyone was so insistent on staying here. He didn't feel the same loyalty to his homeland like many other did. The rebels, an underground terrorist group, wanted the planet to be returned to how it was before the wars, but Ash felt like it was all a few thousand years too late. The rebels only made his job as a keeper that much harder. He looked over at the keeper blade that fell from Jedzia's side. He longed for the return of his own blade; if he was ever allowed to come back.

They neared the large white doors at the end of the hallway. This was it; another hearing to discuss his future with the keepers. They would gripe about Ash sneaking around and breaking his oath. Ash would complain about how the keepers should be allowed to socialize. They would answer with something similar to what Jedzia said. How they were the glue holding the planet together; and they had vowed to save it from destruction. It was all the same to Ash. He would tell them he didn't understand why they stayed on a dying planet. The war would never end, and the other planets would never stop trying to gain control over Cabalin. Jedzia tried to give him a rea.s.suring smile, but it didn't calm Ash's nerves. The large double doors opened automatically to the Official Court. Ash let a neutral expression take over his face as he walked inside. The round room was large with the same plain white walls. On each side were rows of metal desks; each with an Official placed neatly behind it. There were twenty Officials all together. Each Official had once been a promising keeper who now governed the laws and made all of the decisions for the people and planet. The keepers began as a warrior race that had traveled from far to find a new home. The race had once been pure, but throughout the centuries interspecies relations.h.i.+ps had resulted in tainted bloodlines. Only a few full-blooded keepers had remained.

In the last hundred years, the Officials decided that the keepers were to live on the surface away from the other cities. They still needed to supply a growing army, and most of the population had at least one ancestor of keeper decent in their lineage. When a child was born underground, parents would sometimes get their children tested to become keepers. These babies were stronger and more intelligent than normal. They also had limited capacity for emotions. Recently, Arie had heard a rumor that some of the keeper children were stolen from parents who didn't want to give up their babies. No one was for sure if it was true or not. Ash sometimes wondered who his parents were and where they lived, but he knew there was no point. He didn't feel any emotional ties to them. Ash slowly reached the other side of the room and stepped up onto a large white platform. It was only one step off the ground, but it gave all the Officials a good view. He turned around to face both rows of Officials. He pushed his nerves away, and cleared his mind of emotion. It was a trick that all keepers were taught. He was thankful for it though; it had lessened the pain when he had been attacked by Loki. One of the Officials stood up and walked out from behind his large desk. He was a shorter man with long, red hair that fell down his shoulders and piercing green eyes. As he walked, his robe dragged along the polished white floor. Ash bowed his head and put his hands behind his back. He didn't recognize this particular Official by name, but Ash knew he was important.

"Ash, you have been called here today to discuss your treason. You are accused of violating your vows by partic.i.p.ating in forbidden acts in the eighth layer including, not but limited to; gambling, consorting with criminals, unlawful fighting and not putting your duties above all else to protect your peers." As the words flowed from the Official's mouth, Ash flinched. Hearing all of it in one sentence made it sound worse that it really was. Ash didn't say anything. He stared at the keeper symbol that was engraved on the platform below his feet.

"Ash," said a recognizable voice, "do you understand why we sent you away?"

Ash looked up to see one of his mentors, Sune, standing next to the redheaded Official. Sune wore the same robe and his black hair fell against his shoulders. Ash nodded. He was on a sabbatical to understand how blessed the life of a keeper really was, and how horrible the day to day life underground could be.

"Yes, Official. I understand."

"The opportunities we can provide outweigh anything you may receive down there." Sune walked closer, his eyes were gentle and understanding. Sune was one of the only people that seemed to stand behind him in this scandal.

"He is plotting with that redheaded hunter! We should get rid of him now, before he betrays us all!" Ash felt his fists tighten behind his back in anger, but he tried to keep a straight face. He watched as a silver haired Official stood up and marched next to Sune. He pointed at Ash and continued on. "We do not give second chances. Why are we allowing him one? We need to get rid of him and the girl both."

"Control yourself, Official Julian. Do you want to be next on Sasha Raine's personal bounty?" Sune's threat seemed to calm Julian down. Julian meekly took a step back and lowered his finger. He gritted his teeth instead.

"He is a liability," Julian pointed out.

"He is a warrior who has proven himself to us, and been more helpful than many of the keepers we have. We cannot afford to lose another good keeper."

"He will cost us a lot of good keepers," one of them yelled out. Ash stood there as the two men argued back and forth. He didn't like how they were speaking about him, but Ash knew his place and stood quietly. The redheaded Official slowly turned to look at Ash and he started to circle him while staring at him dead on. Ash felt a chill run up his spine as the man made his way around the platform. Something about this Official scared Ash. When he had made his way back to his original spot, he started to speak. "We should let the traitor defend himself."

All of the keepers stopped talking and looked at Ash. Ash took a deep breath. He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to be a keeper, but not at the price of his freedom. Being told what to do and what not to do every second of his life was not the way he wanted to live.

"I do not understand why we have to be so distant from the citizens?"

"We are better than they are. We stay here because our ancestors vowed to protect the planet. We do not break a vow, so until the war ends, we stay here."

Ash had to fight not to stomp out of the room. The war was getting better each day. He continued to reason with them. "The war isn't that bad. We are so close to signing a peace treaty, and declaring our planet a neutral zone." Ash knew the treaty was years away from being signed. In fact, he had been the one to deliver the original treaty to one of the nearby planets. Cabalin's greatest threat, the Zornk, hadn't reacted nicely. Ash and Jedzia had barely made it out alive.

"The Zornk have not agreed to anything yet. They only agreed to consider," Julian said.

"That is the first step." Ash took a death breath and decided to say something that was completely out of place for a keeper. "The people underground are getting restless; I have learned this over the past few weeks. They need supplies."

All of the Officials looked at him with empty gazes. It was apparent that they didn't care too much about wellbeing of the citizens.

"They have food and adequate air and clothing. If we give them much more, we are giving to the rebels as well." One of the keepers shouted from the back of the room. All of the Officials took turns looking at each other and nodding.

"It seems to me that you have locked them inside their own prison so that you do not have to deal with them. People are dying and starving, they are sick of being suppressed."

"They do this to themselves. Many of the layers live peacefully."

"Most of the layers are allowed supplies," Ash yelled out. He tried hard to calm his anger, but it was no use. They all saw his emotions written on his face. The Officials treated the citizens like a pet they promised to watch for a neighbor. They didn't care about anyone they considered inferior. Ash looked over at Jedzia, who stood in the corner with a helpless look on her face. None of them had the capacity to empathize as Ash did.

"If we allow your redheaded friend to live among us, will you be happy?" Sune asked. This offer resulted in an alarming gasp among the others. Ash considered the possibility, but remembered the other people he had grown to care about. These taboo emotional attachments controlled too much of his life now. He shook his head. How could the keepers be so heartless? How could they allow such awful things to happen? Ash couldn't believe that he once felt the same as them. He couldn't defy them to their faces. He was too scared of the consequences. Sure, the others who had defied them had done much worse, but Ash couldn't help but feel like he was in the same situation. Ash shook his head. Arie loved the surface, but she would never agree to live among the keepers.

"Fine then. We will need to discuss your future here," Sune said. He walked up to Ash and put a hand on his shoulder. "You are still the chosen one to take over my seat for the Officials. Remember that. Jedzia will take you home. Your transportation will stay on the surface. We will call for you when a decision is made. "

Ash felt as if he had let Sune down. He knew he could never truly feel the same as the others. He was a strong warrior, but would make a bad Official. The Officials all stepped back to allow a path for Ash to leave. With another bow of his head, he slowly walked from the room and out the large white doors. He stopped when he heard the slam of the doors behind him. He took a few deep breaths to steady his shaking hands. If they let him back in, he wasn't sure he could ever truly be one of them. Jedzia walked around him and slowly continued toward the exit. He followed behind her. He had meant to ask her what she knew about the seraphs, but it seemed a little untimely now. Once outside, Ash looked up at the sky and took a good hard look. The sunlight warmed his face. Though most of the danger was unseen, he knew it was up there in the sky. He quietly looked around. All he could see for miles was dirt and rock. Nothing was left for him here. He didn't truly belong anymore. He climbed into the small silver s.h.i.+p and closed the hatched behind him. Once inside, Jedzia started to drive off of the surface. They both sat in silence the entire way down. Ash stared at a cup of water that sat in a holder between them. Something inside of him itched and longed to touch it. He remembered what had happened at Arie's and the beautiful blonde who had haunted his dreams the night before. There was no way he made her up, she was real. Something or someone had saved him the night before and he had to know what it was. Jedzia looked over at him, but still refused to look him in the eyes.

"You know," she said "If you would just do as you are told, this wouldn't be so hard. You aren't easily replaced."

Ash didn't comment. He would have to speak to her later about everything that was going on, not now when he was so upset. She stopped the s.h.i.+p at the eighth layer entrance and pushed the small b.u.t.ton to open the hatch on his side.

"I will see you soon," he promised her. With his final words, Ash jumped out of the s.h.i.+p and made the short journey back to his home. He ran the entire way, he needed to unwind. There was so much energy in his body and there were no fights scheduled at the Ethereal Underground. If the Officials decided against him, he wouldn't be around much longer. He knew he needed to find the blonde girl before they made their final decision.

Annalise "Anna...Anna..."

Annalise's eyelids fluttered open slowly, her blue orbs trying to focus on the green ones staring back at her. Those familiar lips pursed in concern, eyebrows lowered as well. Leon. She was thankful to be at home, knowing that Finlay had made sure she was there and safe. She had no doubt that Leon was concerned; it was written all over his face. He knew that there was no reason for her to be sleeping; her job was not normally so draining. Seraphs did not need to sleep, only when they had been depleted their powers. This is something that Leon did often after returning from his duties, even though she wasn't sure what had been so tiring if he was not doing much fighting these days.

Letting her eyes close again for a second, she listened as Leon stood up from where she lay and walked over to whisper to Finlay. Annalise had to strain to hear, but she wanted to gauge just how upset he was before she sat up.

"She's been out for a while," Leon whispered, followed by a sigh.

"I know, friend, but she will be fine."

"What if the fallen got to her and she is hurt?"

Finlay let out a breath, "It has nothing to do with that, I'm sure."

Annalise was thankful that their friend wasn't giving her up so quickly, and that she would be able to talk to Leon about things. Normally Finlay would just let all the secrets out and leave a mess in his wake. This time he was keeping his mouth shut, and she knew that must be hard for him.

"But there have been several more seraphs disappear this week. I do not want her to be one of them."

This comment piqued her interested; so he was worried about her, not upset, and perhaps she would find out if he knew for sure what was happening to these seraphs. She turned her head to the side and peeked through a lowered lid to see her counterpart shake his head in worry, look back at her, and then back to his friend. He lowered his voice even more then and she wasn't able to hear what was said. Still, she was surprised at what she'd learned: one, that Finlay was not spilling her secrets, which was odd; and two, that there were more seraphs missing. It was terrifying for her. Some had spoken of closing off the realm for a short time to see if they could figure out what was killing them off one by one. Others argued that would send the world into chaos, mortals living as if immortal or souls floating about, mortals dying when they weren't supposed to or following a path other than their destiny. Most agreed they couldn't survive without the seraphs, so they would not close off the realm. Still, it was something that worried Annalise now that she knew Leon was concerned. He was so brave, so ready for battle, and his apprehension had her mind spinning. Maybe she should stay home, not go out on reapings, especially if she couldn't do it right.

Pus.h.i.+ng herself up on her elbows in the large feather mattress, she heard him dismiss Finlay and then turn his attention back to her. She gave Leon a small smile as he walked back over to her.

His calloused hand reached out to grip her chin, locking his eyes on hers, "You have been asleep for two days, Anna. Are you okay?"

"I am fine," she insisted with a nod of her head. She was shocked to hear that she had been out so long, but she tried not to let it show. She knew he was concerned, so she placed her hand on his and gave it a small rea.s.suring rub, "I just over exerted myself. No need to worry."

He pulled his eyebrows further together as he shook his head and sat back from her on the bed, "You are not being honest with me."

She had tried to hide the worry that crept up on her as she remembered the reason for her being so tired. Two days was longer than she had ever slept. It was normal for Leon to sleep that long after battle, after protecting his charges at times, but never her. She understood his concern, but she wasn't sure what to say to make him feel better. There was no way she could stand it if he hated her, if he was disappointed in her. There had never been a time that she had ever been less than honest with him, and she wasn't sure where to begin. Even as she spoke, her thoughts drifted back to those blue eyes in that boy's face. His face had been youthful, but the way he carried himself shown that he was a man and had seen many battles. It was something she had to tell her counterpart, he would know what to do. Maybe it was what was meant to happen, a prophecy maybe. She continued to try to convince herself that maybe this was supposed to happen, and that her counterpart would understand. Even though she felt an overwhelming sense of sadness at betraying what she had always known.

"Leon..." she started, but stopped, not wanting to let the words flow form her mouth for fear of his rejection.

"Anna....please tell me. What happened to you for you to become so tired? In two days' time, I have not left your side. Finlay has been covering my charges as I tended to you. There is no reason for you to be like this and he would not answer any of my questions. Also, the council has been here...but I would not let them in," he explained, still looking to her for answers.

So the Elders were looking for her. They knew what she had done and they had come to punish her. Annalise had known there was no way for her to get out of this, no way they would not have noticed the soul missing. She wasn't sure what happened to the person once they were brought back to life when they were supposed to be taken. Not sure what kind of kink she had put in the way of the world, she was scared to even think about it. It was possible she had thrown everyone's futures off. She was terrified to know that Leon had asked the Elders to leave.

She reached out to grasp the cloth of Leon's s.h.i.+rt as she looked up at him desperately, "You cannot turn them away. You will be cast out and made a fallen for protecting me."

His eyes opened in shock, grabbing her arms with his hands, just as the mortal had when he had awoken. Her eyes slammed shut with the memory, wanting to erase it from her mind. She was ashamed of herself, for stabbing her kind in the back. Leon....

"What are you talking about?" he insisted, his grip getting tighter on her arms.

She opened her eyes, begging him with them to remain calm, "I raised a soul, Leon, one that I was supposed to take." Her breath caught in her throat, scared to hear his response.

He let her go, stood up from the bed, and walked across the room. She watched as his hands went up to his head to rub it, his wings rigid with tension. She had seen this gesture before, one that had never been directed at her, and she dreaded what would be said next. It showed that he was very agitated. He turned back to her, arms crossing in front of his chest and looking down at her, "Why would you do that?"

Annalise slid off of the bed and onto the floor, moving over to where he was and wrapping her arms around his legs and letting the tears fall from her eyes. She had to show him how very sorry she was, that she regretted bringing this mortal back to life, even though she wasn't sure what had gotten ahold of her. "I do not know. I have no excuse. Please do not hate me. I could not stand it."