Ethereal Underground Part 22

"You are not."

"Still can't take a joke Anna? You need to lighten up," he laughed and ushered her up to the large entryway. Finlay nodded at the guards as they walked inside, but did not let go of her arm. She let herself take in the tall ceilings, miles above them, painted with depictions of seraphs fighting the fallen and winning. The mortal feelings in her made her want to laugh at that, thinking that the fallen would win in the end. They had shown her how strong they were, how advanced in technology. The seraphs had no chance against them once they figured out how to make more of them.

"I am sorry. I am just nervous."

"Don't let them see that," Finlay whispered as he pushed the doors in front of him open, flas.h.i.+ng a winning smile to the two beings whispering in front of them. "Demetria! Roman! How are things in the seraph lands?"

The two Elders turned to him, eyes opening in shock as they set their eyes on him.

The taller one, redheaded and the leader of the Elders, young and beautiful, opened her mouth first, "Finlay, what has happened to you?"

"Annalise and I have been in a great battle with the evil Loki himself. We have killed at least a dozen of the fallen. You should be quite proud of our little lady here, she has proven herself to be quite the warrior," Finlay boasted. He was careful not to use any mortal slang and stick to the formality of the way that the Elders approved of.

"I see," Demetria said, bright green eyes s.h.i.+ning down at her in curiosity.

"And Leon?" Roman, her counterpart, questioned. He stepped forward, his blond hair pulling into a tight braid down his back and blue eyes looking at her for an answer.

She tried to hold her gaze on his face and be sure in her answer, "He has been destroyed by Loki. His wings were removed and his throat slit." Even though tears stung at the back of her eyes, she knew she must remain calm with them so they did not think her insane. Seraphs did not cry.

"I see."

"I think that you should take in consideration the condition of Annalise at this time," Finlay said as he began to pace back and forth as he spoke, "This mortal has bound her to him somehow, like in the olden days. You need to know that she has not been completely in control of her emotions and such."

He was completely right, and she knew that, but she didn't want to admit it out loud. Hearing him say it made it real and she hated to think of the influence Ash had on her. He had been full of revenge and boastfulness, something she had never understood until she was around him. Yet, something made her sad inside at the thought of him and made her question the things her friend was saying.

"I see," Demetria said again as she crossed her arms and considered her in scrutiny. There was something that changed in her when Finlay mentioned the bond, made her appear to be more interested in what happened. Annalise took this opportunity to speak up.

"Madam," Annalise said after a few quiet moments, falling to her knees in honor, "Please forgive me for the loss of such a warrior. I tried to save him, but Loki had the battle advantage over me and there was nothing I could do. I would bring him back if there were only a way."

"There is not," Roman answered quickly, "He has served us well and will be well awarded in the afterlife."

"But you Anna, you need to be watched out for, yes?" Demetria suggested, walking forward and taking her chin in her hand as Ash had done before.

Annalise froze, not wanting to move for fear of being stuck down by the Elder.

"You have a bond with this human. This is not appropriate...I suppose you would not want another counterpart."

"No, I do not," Annalise said quietly, sadness filling her at the thought of someone else taking Leon's place. No one else could ever do that, be what he was to her. No matter how hard the Elders tried to make someone for her. He was her matching pair, the one who understood her, and no one else would be.

The Elder squeezed her chin harder and forced her to her feet, "Understand, Annalise, that I do not care what you want. You have ignored our efforts to bargain with you. You have not killed the mortal. This bond you have with him is dangerous and detrimental to our kind and I will not allow it to continue. You will have another counterpart."

She glanced over to Finlay, to see his head hung low, saddened at the thought that this friend could be replaced so easily to them, that they did not care enough to let her be on her own. He had been allowed that choice, but not her. She was too much of a liability at this moment in time.

"And you," Demetria said and walked over to where he stood to take him by the cheeks and squeezing him hard, "You will continue to do as you are instructed, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"You need to stop all of this so called 'partying' in the mortal world and concentrate on your duty as a seraph. This is your last chance, Finlay. You are a true warrior, competent in battle and one to keep the fallen under your thumb. Do not disappoint us again."

"I will not, you have my promise," Finlay stated and bent over to take her hand and plant a kiss on it, charming hazel eyes focused on hers.

Annalise was the only one to see him cross his fingers behind his back.

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Look for Realm of Deceit (Book Two of the Ethereal Underground Trilogy, May 2014).

Acknowledgements.

We would like to thank our wonderful friends and family who have supported us in our efforts to get our book published! For sharing our endless posts on Facebook and Twitter and telling those you know about the novel. To our families for putting up with us ignoring them for countless hours at a time.

To our awesome design/artist team, Eric Coppinger, Chad Kennedy, and Jayme Baldwin, who without we would have horrible artwork/website to show you and an awfully boring cover. Our wonderful photographer, George Furman, who captured our characters essence on camera.

To those who modeled for us to represent our dear Annalise (Jennifer Dyer) and Ash (Jordan Rattanavong), and those who have volunteered to be beta readers. Those who have spent countless hours helping us rewrite and edit out story, reading it and making it what it is now.

To our awesome editing team, Alyson Hale and Kirk Wright.

And Ben and Jerry, without which, we may never have started writing together.

Brooke and Briana.

Brooke Kennedy and Briana Gaitan are southern natives, self-proclaimed geeks, and have been writing together for over 10 years! They have written short stories, fan-fictions, novels, and plays both together and separately. They are avid fans and writers of supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy, and romance novels. One of their goals is to write stories where there are no limits to the imagination, giving you something new and fresh each time.

Briana enjoys books, shopping, fas.h.i.+on, adventures and has spent countless hours dreaming of a life in s.p.a.ce. She finds time to write in between hanging out with her three children and her husband, as well as finis.h.i.+ng up a degree in marketing.

Brooke enjoys music, books, family & friends, and spending time with her husband and incredibly entertaining guinea pig. She has obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in mental health counseling from Tennessee Technological University.

Delve more into their adventures on Twitter (EtherealUBook), Facebook (Ethereal Underground), and www.etherealunderground.com.

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