The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld (17 page)

“Going somewhere, darling?”

“Yes. I need to go and choose a new pet. Ian must do the same. Want to come?”

Raven blinked. “I don’t think so. Why were you screaming anyway?”

Koa turned away and fumbled with her wardrobe. “You heard me?”

“Yes, the entire village heard you, Koa.”

Koa shook her head. “It was just a bad dream.”

“You’ve been having those ‘bad dreams’ a lot more often, lately.”

“Well, consider all that I’ve been through in just the past month! Who wouldn’t be a little traumatized?”

“Was it about the Netherworld again?”

Koa sighed and nodded. She lowered her eyes and stared at her feet. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her mother. Raven was intuitive though. Koa could never keep anything from her. Even when Koa was a child, Raven always knew when something was wrong.

“Don’t drag the boy into this.”

Koa’s brows furrowed. “Into what?”

Raven was silent and Koa grew suspicious.

Koa huffed. “Fine. Be vague. I was just trying to have a real talk with you. I’m sick of all of the secrets. I’m leaving.”

“Wait.”

Koa paused and glanced over her shoulder with a frown. “What?”

Raven sat up and looked at her for a moment. “There’s something I need to tell you, Koa.”

Koa’s eyebrows lifted. She knew that finally, her mother was going to reveal whatever secret she’d been keeping. She felt nervous and excited.

Raven nodded to the door that was open just a crack. Ian waited outside.

“Close the door.”

Koa did so and sat down on the chaise lounge in the corner of the room. She folded her hands across her knee and sat up straight, like an apt pupil prepared for the lesson of a lifetime.

Raven took her time. Koa could tell that she was thinking of how to say what was on her mind.

“Koa, the first thing you should know…is your father wasn’t just another vampire. He was a Netherworld vamp. He was a king.”

Koa slumped back in her seat and watched her mother with wide eyes. She felt her palms start to sweat and rubbed them on her knees. Her throat was dry. This was one thing, she never expected to hear. Maybe she was suspicious that her father was a Netherworld vamp, because of the Lyrinian sword he left her, but she could never have guessed that he was a king.

“He was king of the Northern dominance, a major kingdom in the Netherworld, and was overthrown by King Greggan. He lost his kingdom and was banished to the mortal world.”

“Wow,” Koa said as she sat back up. She couldn’t think of what else to say. All she knew of him was the difficult life without him and a privileged life with him. Still, although her time with him was short lived, she had grown to love and respect him. She remembered how much he loved her mother. That was a memory that stood at the forefront of her mind.

“That makes you not just half vampire, but half Netherworld vamp. You have one of the strongest strains of blood running through your veins.”

Koa sat up. “Is that why I can fly, and other vampires cannot?”

Raven shook her head. “No, Koa. Not even Netherworld vamps can fly. That brings me to …your other half.”

Koa tensed. She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?” Koa stared at Raven, and all she could see were those green eyes that had glowed so bright in Bund’s lair. Her skin started to crawl. The air in the room seemed to still with the anticipation she felt.

What are you, mother
?
What are you
? Koa was almost too afraid to know…but she had too.

“Before I was cursed…” Raven took a deep breath. “I wasn’t human.”

Koa stood. She looked down at Raven in astonishment. She couldn’t even speak the words she was thinking. Her throat tightened.

What are you
? Koa shouted in her head. The suspense was maddening.

“I don’t know what I was, Koa. But your father did, and so did Greggan, and that is why he wants us both. We are the only beings that can mate with a vampire and create day walking spawn.”

Koa’s shoulders slumped. She grimaced. “That’s what he wants? What the hell are we?”

Raven shook her small head. Her feline eyes closed and she sighed. “I wish I knew. I was an orphan. I was abandoned, Koa. I never had a mother or father. All I had was myself and my talents…” her voice cracked. “And I lived a hard life before I met your father. It was even harder when you were born, with no one to turn to for help, but
you
gave me a reason to live.”

Koa bit her lip. She had never heard her mother speak so bitterly about her past. She never knew her mother was an orphan.

“Who was Hayan then? I always called her grandmother.”

Raven sighed. “All of the children did, Koa. She was a kind woman, and she helped me from time to time. She knew there was something special about me. I returned her generosity whenever I could.”

Koa felt cheated. She never even had real grandparents.

“You see, I could do things that no one else could. I could…make people disappear. Bill collectors, enemies,” Raven cleared her throat. “Abusive husbands…”

“Why tell me all of this now, Mother?”

Raven hissed. “How many times do I have to tell you? Do not call me that, ever again!”

Koa’s eyes widened at her mother’s tone. She looked down at the wooden floor.

“Not even in private.” Raven settled and lowered her voice. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. “You never know who is listening.”

“I’m sorry.” Koa reached for her. “What are you so afraid of?”

“Koa, you don’t understand what I’ve done to protect you. There are so many creatures that want you dead, and then, there are those that wish to see you brought back for your birthright.”

Koa folded her arms across her chest and walked to the window. Her mother could make people disappear. She thought of how Bund fled when he saw her mother. She wondered what that meant. She wondered if he was still out there somewhere, ready for revenge. Then she thought about what an amazing skill that was. She began to smile.
My mother is a nephilim
…

“There goes every shred of my humanity.” Koa whispered and her smile faded.

Koa pulled the heavy drapes open and looked out into the darkness. She glanced over at the neighbor’s garden a few yards away. She could see lights and candles set up as they had a party of some sort. She could even hear the music playing and the people laughing and talking. She stared out at them and pressed her forehead to the cool glass. She sighed as she watched the happy people.

They looked so content. She wished she could feel even a fraction of that kind of happiness.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Find Jax.”

Koa swirled around. Something sparked inside her mind, but she couldn’t decipher what it was. There was something familiar about the name, Jax. Something ignited both a longing and a fear within her. She felt uncomfortable. She shifted her weight onto her other leg and looked down at her mother.

She frowned. “Where have I heard that name?”

Raven stared at her. There was a long pause and Koa frowned.

“What is it?”

Raven shook her head. “Nothing.” She hopped off the bed and walked over on all fours to stand before Koa. “I don’t know why you would have heard that name.”

Koa looked at the ceiling and tapped her chin with her index finger. The name sounded so familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She hated that.

“Who is he then?”

Raven hesitated. “He is Greggan’s son.”

Koa watched Raven. She could tell that there was more. She gave Raven a look and held her hands out, expecting her to elaborate.

Raven remained silent. She was still keeping secrets.

Koa pulled her hair and slammed her hands on her thighs in exasperation. “Out with it!”

Raven glared up at her. “He is the one responsible for my curse.”

K
oa drove all the way to Wryn Castle in silence. Ian tried to start a conversation but she could only give him short, one-worded answers. There was too much going on inside her head.

Jax. The name repeated itself in her head a thousand times throughout that long ride. Her face was set with anger and her hands clutched the steering wheel so tightly that the leather grooves were engrained in her palms by the time they stopped. She looked down at her reddened hands and traced the grooves.

Ian stared at her.

“Koa?” He spoke in a timid voice, as if he was afraid that she might lash out on him.

Koa turned to him and gave him a blank expression. Ian looked afraid of her. She didn’t care. He got out of the car and started to walk up the long stone pathway that led to the castle’s entrance without her. He glanced back once and Koa was still staring off at nothing at all, with a scowl on her face.

Jax had cursed her mother. For years Koa had missed her mother’s face. She had craved her mother’s embrace for so long that she had forgotten what it felt like, what she used to smell like, and how she used to stroke her hair.

Koa slammed her fist on the steering wheel and screamed. Her breath came in quick gasps as she tried to control her rage. She wanted him dead. Koa wanted her Lyrinian sword to feast on his blood. She repeated Raven’s words over and over again.

“Do not be hasty. Jax is Greggan’s son. He is a Netherworld vamp and faster than anyone you’ve ever encountered,” Raven had said. “Still, you must go to him.”

Koa had asked many questions, and still, Raven only told her that she must go to him, and she must learn for herself the secrets of her past. Only Koa could find a way to break the curse and set things right with both the Netherworld and the mortal world. Koa leaned her head back against the headrest. Even Raven knew Koa had to go to the Netherworld. Raven had even tried to convince Halston that it was necessary. Halston would never let her go. He would never risk it.

Koa wasn’t sure how dangerous the Netherworld was, but Halston’s reluctance was an indicator. She frowned. She didn’t need his approval. Halston had abandoned her. She needed to start making her own decisions.