Ethereal Underground Part 21

Ash watched as Arie gave Finlay a hug. He was happy for them both. Finlay had really shown how far he was willing to go to protect Arie and in Ash's book, that made him an alright guy again. Arie examined the blue blood that had dried and stained the back of Finlay's s.h.i.+rt and pants. His wound had started to heal, but still looked nasty.

"I will get you something to clean your wounds." she said. She stood up to walk to the kitchen. Finlay reached out to stop her.

"I am fine. I will heal quickly," he tried to a.s.sure her. Arie only glared at him and stubbornly spun around on her heel to get the medicine anyway. Annalise excused herself to go freshen up in the bathroom, leaving both of the males sitting awkwardly in the living room. Ash looked at the ceiling and put his hands behind his head to stretch. He wanted them to go back to being friends again, before all the secrets and girls complicated things.

"So..." Ash told Finlay. He looked everywhere but at his friend's face. "I guess I should apologize for being such a jerk lately. I understand how much you care about Arie now." He gave his friend a smile, he usually hated these kinds of talks but lately it seemed like he was having them more often than not. The way Finlay was willing to give his life up for Arie; there was no way he could try and keep them apart.

Finlay nodded, "It's my fault. I should have told you about me and Arie instead of sneaking around behind your back.....and I'm sorry for almost getting you killed."

Ash sat up forward and put his elbows on his knees. "That was seriously messed up. You put both me and Arie in danger. Your Elders are all screwed up. Who gave them the right to say who lives or dies?"

Finlay didn't say much, he just stared into empty s.p.a.ce.

"I mean," Ash went on, "You aren't G.o.ds or anything. You're just a race. A much more evolved and stronger race, but we mortals have our own say in life."

Finlay ran his hands down his face and sighed like Ash was saying things that he already knew. "I agree, but what can I do? The Elders have had us guarding souls until they need them for almost two thousand years."

Ash crinkled his brow, "What do they do with these souls?"

"I don't know. I don't even think Annalise knows. I know you don't like the Elders, but they aren't that much different from your Officials."

"And if your Elders asked you to let Arie die?"

Finlay's jaw tightened, this was something that had bothered him. "I am certain- Finlay was interrupted by a knock on the door. They both stood straight up and pulled their weapons from the table. Arie didn't tell many people where she lived, and she certainly didn't live in the type of neighborhood that got friendly visits. Ash and Finlay both walked over to the door. Finlay grabbed the handle to open it while Ash stood at the opening ready to fight. He hoped it wasn't another fallen, they would be stupid to attack in such a public building. He remembered Endarial breaking down Jedzia's door, which eased the dread in his stomach. Fallen do not knock.

Ash kept his eyes open as the door swung open. He blinked in disbelief as the figure before him walked in without an invitation. The figure wore a long black robe with a dark hood pulled down over the front. Ash lowered his sword and nodded at Finlay to do the same. He knew who the visitor was; it was a face he knew quite well. How could he have forgotten that they were looking for him?

"Official Sune," Ash said with a nod. Sune reached up to lower his cloak and reveal his long black hair pulled tightly against his neck. The Officials always wore cloaks when they left the conservatory. It kept their ident.i.ties hidden. Sune didn't smile, his jaw was tight with concern.

"Ash. We have been looking for you. We were told that you were seen walking into your redhead's home." His voice was stern. Ash felt like a child being scolded. Behind Sune stood two other Officials hidden under matching cloaks and six keepers in uniform, who stood outside the home.

"Yes. I heard there was a bounty out for me," Ash lowered his head. As much as he wanted to tell the Official to go away, the man was and always had been the head of the keepers and therefore Ash felt nothing but diminutive around him. He had caused disappointment and sadness to those he had grown up around. Though they didn't act like a family, the keepers were the only family he had ever known. Ash had carelessly gone to Jedzia's home and brought the fallen behind him. He knew this would be coming when they got back, he just didn't think it would happen so soon.

Sune put a hand out to rest on Ash's shoulder. "My Ash, it pains me to do this. We must take you home, so that you may answer for your crimes."

Finlay leapt out from behind the door, his sword high in the air. "What crimes has Ash committed?" he asked Sune.

Sune stared at Finlay with distaste. After a moment, he started to speak. "You are a seraph. We have been interested to learn that your kind has been living among us for thousands of years," he stated. Finlay put the sword down and let a smile light up his face. The regular Finlay charm oozed out of him.

"Pleased to be at your service, Official Sune."

Sune seemed to let his guard down for just a moment. He looked intrigued to see a seraph defending Ash. "Ash, you have been charged with treason and for leading the fallen enemies into our homes. You provided them with our keeper technology, stolen from our alchemist. A fallen was injured in the fight and after much interrogation he told us about the keeper who they had working for them. We tried to question our lead alchemist, but he too had disappeared."

Ash glanced at Finlay. They both knew it had been Jaron who had betrayed the keepers, not Ash. Ash tried to find the words to explain his innocence; or at least the energy to fight Sune if needed. He wasn't sure what to say, though. Finlay decided to interject and speak up for his friend instead.

"Ash is innocent. In fact, we just came back from slaying the fallen that took Jedzia's life. In that quest, we found out who gave out the keeper technology. It was Jaron, and I disposed of Jaron's body myself." Finlay reached over to hold Ash's hands up, the blue blood still stained them. The stain proved he had slayed a fallen.

Sune looked back and forth between the two who stood before him. Ash kept his face up, looking his former superior in the eyes. After a few minutes, Sune started to speak. "I believe that the seraph is telling the truth. I have always defended you, but I am afraid this time I cannot protect you."

Finlay held his sword up higher and pointed it at the other Officials who stood outside the door. "If you want Ash; then you will have to get through me," he demanded. Sune put his hands up and took a step back. His face remained calm.

"One moment, seraph. I will speak with the others."

Another Official pulled his hood down. It was Julian.

"Put your sword down. You have no proof that Jaron was the traitor. Jaron was one of our best keepers." Ash watched as the Officials bickered back and forth on who was to blame. He had so much he wanted to say, but in this case, he decided that it was best to remain quiet. Eventually, Sune turned around to speak quietly to the others. He could hear them bickering softly, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

He looked over at Finlay who seemed to be straining one ear to listen in. Ash opened up his mouth to ask Finlay what they were talking about, but one glare from Finlay changed Ash's mind. He kept his mouth shut again. He hoped that Annalise didn't walk in the room. He didn't want her to see him getting escorted away. It pained him that they wouldn't have a proper goodbye, but it was best she didn't remember him as weak.

After a few minutes, Sune turned back around. Ash tried to read his face, but it was emotionless.

"We believe you- well the majority of us do."

Ash let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the battle was now half over.

"Thank you, Official Sune," he said with a bow of his head.

Sune put a hand on Ash's shoulder, and lowered his head in regret. "Still, I am sorry to tell you Ash, the other Officials and I have decided that your sabbatical has ended."

Ash let all his hopes dissolve. He should have known. A keeper for life, that was what he had always been taught.

"We cannot offer you a place back among the keepers," Sune told Ash. "We realize your loyalties lie somewhere else. So we want to offer you a truce. In exchange for the sparing of your life, you will give us another life when the time comes."

Finlay smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Depends. What type of life truce are you offering Ash?"

Ash moved closer to stand next to Finlay and nodded for an answer. There was no way he would turn down whatever they were asking of him. If they wanted him to catch someone or bring in a traitor, he would do it. It would be like old times again. Just him and Arie. They had worked together many times in the past as keeper and hunter.

Sune didn't seem to like the pressure of being put on the spot. Ash a.s.sumed it was because Sune had thought Ash wouldn't ask questions and normally, yes, Ash would have taken the truce no questions asked.

"When the time comes, a favor will be called upon for you to bring us a life. A child with the keeper qualities to become one of us."

Finlay laughed, dropping slightly to put his hands on his knees and catch his breath. He rose up slowly and smacked Ash on the back. "Oh friend, this one is all you." He walked over to the chair and sat down, the smile never leaving his face.

Ash scrunched his face. "Like my child?" He had always wondered what families the keepers had come from. Is this how he came to be at the conservatory? Did Sune make a bargain with his own mother or father for their child? Did they put up a fight? The answer was pretty simple. Ash was never going to have any children, he didn't like them. He wanted to be with Annalise, who wasn't human and if he couldn't have her he would die alone.

"What's the catch?" he asked Sune.

"The keepers are essential to protecting the planet. We need to train more soldiers to replace the ones who grow old or die. If you make this life truce, you are bound to keep it; if and when we call upon the favor we will come to you and ask you to bring us a child of our choosing. This truce is not limited to your own kin, though your bloodline will be strong and proud."

Ash snorted, he forgot to mention short-tempered, erratic, disobedient, and moody.

"Sure. Whatever," he said with a shake of his head.

What could this life truce hurt? He wasn't having a family, and he didn't have any brothers or sisters who would have children.

"Excellent." Sune held out his hand and Ash gripped it firmly. He had never made a truce before, but knew that they were to be taken very seriously. Sune pulled out his keeper blade and started to make a small cut on Ash's forearm. Sune etched the outline of the keeper symbol on the skin. Ash winced as he felt the blood start to appear. Sune pulled a gla.s.s bottle from his cloak and caught a few drops of blood inside it. He watched as Sune did the same to his own arm. The alchemist magic that spelled the keeper blades would bind the truce, not allowing either one of them to break it. Sune turned to Finlay and held his hand out again.

"You will be a witness to this life truce? You will bear this responsibility?" he asked Finlay.

Finlay gave the Official a dirty look, "How did I get dragged into this?"

Sune gave him a smirk. "We will ask the redhead in the other room, huh? We know she will do anything to save her friend's life."

Finlay jumped up and came forward to stand right in front of the Official, his face mere inches away. "You will do no such thing. I will witness this life truce," Finlay whispered firmly. They joined forearms in agreement, the look of hate never leaving Finlay's face. Finlay didn't even move as Sune ran the blade against his arm, the blue blood pooled into the gla.s.s bottle. Sune looked pleased, as did the other Officials behind him. Ash was certain they had other motives to taking the seraph's blood.

"As long as all three of us are alive, the truce cannot be broken. If something happens and Ash cannot fulfill his obligation, Finlay will be forced to bring the child instead."

Finlay pulled his arm out of Sune's grasp. "I know what a witness for a truce is," he said sharply. Sune placed the bottle back into his cloak. As Ash watched the bottle disappear, he couldn't help but feel like he had just done something terrible. He was now under the obligation of the keepers.

Arie walked into the room with her father. They were both smiling and catching up. Her eyes centered on the cloaked man in her home and Finlay hovering over him, angered.

"Who are you?" she spat out. She dropped the salve in her hands. In the blink of an eye, she pulled a knife from her boot and raised it in the air.

Sune turned to face Arie. "You must be Arie. We have heard much about you."

Arie's father pushed her behind him and held out a laser gun. It was a good thing the man wasn't drunk or else they would all be in danger. "Sune," Sasha said with a nod. He and Sune continued to stare at each other, each daring the other to look away.

"Sasha. Long time." The Official's voice did not waver, but Ash could tell how uneasy he felt. There was something there. The two had met before and it wasn't on good terms.

Sune was the first to break the gaze by turning back to Ash.

"When the time comes, we will call in our favor." The cloaked man turned and walked out the door. He pushed past the other Officials and keepers. Arie ran up to the door and closed it behind them. She locked it quickly.

"That is Sune? Seriously? No wonder you have so many messed up intimacy issues," she told Ash. When she noticed the look of relief, confusion and disbelief on Ash's face she looked at Finlay and then back to Ash again.

"What's wrong?" she asked them both. Finlay shrugged and playfully grabbed Ash.

"Ash here," he said and squeezed Ash's shoulder firmly, "Just agreed to a sacrifice in order to keep living in the underground." Finlay let out another smirk and grabbed Arie by the waist, swinging her around. Arie rolled her eyes. She thought they were joking.

"Jokesters..." She wriggled out of Finlay's grip before Sasha killed him. "Come meet my dad, Fin." She tugged at Finlay's hand as she pulled him across the room and dragged both of them into the kitchen for an introduction.

Ash didn't follow them. He was still trying to process the situation. The keepers were going to let him go, just like that? Maybe it was luck of the draw, but the keepers hardly ever let a crime go unpunished. It was how they scared the people into living underground. Jedzia had always told him that the Officials treated him differently, but until now he hadn't really noticed.

"Ash?" The small voice made Ash snap out of his thoughts and look up into the eyes of the small seraph standing across from him. She walked closer to him, and Ash smiled. She was the one that had made this all worth it.

"Anna, are you feeling okay?"

She nodded. Ash felt a wall slam in front of her emotions, it was sudden but it wasn't quick enough to hide everything. Ash pursed his lips as he processed the feelings he just got from her.

"You're going back. Aren't you?" he asked her.

Annalise nodded.

"You're not coming back here, are you?"

She shook her head. She kept her head down and kept the wall up. Ash felt like he had been run over by a s.h.i.+p. Everything inside of him wanted to throw something, hit someone or yell. He didn't want to scare her, so he tried to clear his mind. He struggled to control his breathing, but the tightness in his chest made it too hard to bear.

"You don't want to go. You are good for me, Anna- and I'm good for you."

He refused to beg, there was no way he was going to beg her to stay. He tried to catch her eye, but her eyes darted everywhere but on him.

Annalise let a few small teardrops slide down her cheek. "I know you say I make you a better man, but all I have brought you is death and destruction. You are better off with someone else."

Ash's body tensed up. Is that how she really felt? That all she did was hurt him? She had saved him. She had made him so much better than he was. She was the calm in his life.

"I know how you feel Anna. I lost someone too, but we need to stick together. This bond between us, it's meant for us to be together."

Annalise only shook her head as small tears began to stream down her face. Ash hated seeing her so upset. He reached out to wipe them away.

"It's not the same. Leon and I were together for so much longer. I made him a promise, a promise that I would return home. I need to go back and face the Elders for my crime."

"This isn't just about Leon is it?" he continued, "You're scared of what you feel."

"This is your home, Ash. Back there, is mine. I do not know what to believe anymore, there is just so much I wish I could take back. I would do anything to keep from losing Leon."

No matter how hard she tried, Ash could feel her wall crumbling. She felt tremendous blame for Leon's death. She had been the one to ask him to fight the fallen. Now he was dead and she wouldn't let herself be happy.

There was nothing left to say. She had already made up her mind and Ash was helpless to change it. Her words cut into his heart like a knife. But he also knew how loyal she felt to her kind, and he knew that nothing he said would stop her from going home. They had both known from the start how things would turn out; this was not an unexpected surprise.

"If this is what you want, I understand. I hope you will find me someday; when you've gotten everything figured out," he told her. He pulled her close and ran his hands through her tangled blonde hair. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, he didn't dare kiss her anywhere else. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to let her go. As she pulled out of his grasp, he couldn't help but wonder what might have been if they had both come from the same world. If they had both had the same duties, maybe they wouldn't be saying goodbye right now. He wondered for a brief second if maybe it was the bond that made him feel so strongly for her. It connected them in so many intimate ways already. Ash gave her a small smile full of regret as the others entered the room.

"Ready to face them?" Finlay asked her, holding his hand out to Annalise. Finlay looked at Ash with a straight face. He had known all along what Annalise's choice was going to be. Ash cleared his mind and pushed all of his emotions into the corner. He wasn't happy with her leaving; but that didn't mean she had to feel his pain too. She would come back though. He knew it, and when she did, he hoped that it wouldn't be too late for them.

"I'll be back, my beloved," Finlay told Arie with a wink. His hazel eyes sparkled with amus.e.m.e.nt as Ash's face turned down into a scowl. With that final word, the two seraphs disappeared into thin air. All that remained were two humans whose worlds would never be the same. A former keeper, whose taste for danger finally caught up with him, and a young hunter who had finally met someone to love and take care of her.

Epilogue.

Annalise.

When she opened her eyes to see home again, Annalise was relieved to say the least. She let go of Finlay and dropped to the ground to feel the soft gra.s.s beneath her fingers. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried not to cry. She had missed the sky, the gra.s.s, nature surrounding her. There was no way she could trade it for the world of the underground. This had been, and always would be, her home, but it hurt to know that neither Leon nor Ash would be there with her. Even though he asked her to come back, she was still unsure if she could ever do so. But she had made a promise to Leon, and Ash struggled to understand that. He couldn't understand how strong a seraph's loyalty really was. There was no way she could promise him she would be back, not like Finlay promised Arie he would be. She wasn't even sure if the Elders would let her live, or make her become fallen. Neither sounded like a positive choice at the moment. She just wanted to go to sleep, and never wake up, because she feared that what he said about her being afraid of these feelings for him was true. Annalise was convinced, however, that what Leon said was right. If Ash had wanted her to stay, he would have asked her.

"Anna, get up," Finlay encouraged her as he bent down in front of her, sadness on his face, " I know this is horrible. Awfully so. But you need to get up and come with me. We have to go see the Elders."

"I know," she agreed, "I just need a minute."

He stood up and waited in silence until she had pulled herself together and stood up with him to make the journey to the Elders.

"What will you say to them?" she asked as they neared the large castle made of rock and crystal in front of them.

"I don't know yet. They've just about had it with my antics so I'm sure this won't help, but you've never done anything wrong. They will take pity on you."

She grabbed his arm and made him stop and turn to her, "I could not stand it if they took you from me as well."

Giving her one of his charming Finlay smiles, he shook his head, "Don't worry about that, my dear, I'm invincible."