The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld (20 page)

“Ready?” Halston asked.

She gave a single nod. Her face was set. She would not turn away if she could help it.

“I understand you’ve always wanted to find out what happened to you when you were a child, but Koa, I am not sure you want to know. I’ve been protecting you all of these years. I just didn’t want to see you hurt.”

Koa’s lips parted. She stepped before Halston and looked up at him. He avoided her eyes. Koa could feel it. Halston cared about her. She almost squealed with joy. She contained her excitement and the desire to reach up and kiss him. He might even love her. She looked at her feet.

“No matter how painful the truth is,” she said. “I think it’s time I know. I want my memories back. My teenage years practically don’t exist!”

She thought of the black hole that was her younger years from age twelve to seventeen. Koa knew something horrible had happened, and whenever she tried to grasp those memories, she felt an overwhelming nausea. Koa felt that nausea now. She swallowed and tried to force it to go away.

 “I want my mother back, and this Jax-” she paused when Halston winced at the name. Koa frowned.

That’s very strange,
she thought.  She continued. “This Jax person is who can give me these things. I just want to help my mother and protect the mortal world.”

There was a long pause and finally Halston’s gaze met hers. She finally saw a hint of that smile she loved. He nodded. “Finally. I think you are actually ready.” He started ahead.

A mixture of emotions flooded Koa. She thumbed the hilt of her sword for courage. She couldn’t start doubting herself now, not after she had convinced Halston that she was ready for this. She took a deep breath and followed him.

Koa and Halston walked over the jagged rocks to the base of the gate. They were surrounded by a thick, white mist that swirled around their feet, hiding the ground. Blue strands of hair swept around Koa’s face. She pulled her hair back and wrapped a band from her wrist around it, making a long ponytail that reached the small crevice at the base of her back.

The setting, and even how the moved towards the Gate, felt familiar to Koa. The sky was a mixture of gray and white. She walked along the black soil and gazed up at the imposing black structure that stood before her. The Gate itself was a metallic structure with bars and webs of fiery tendrils laced in intricate patterns along the door.

Black trees lined the path to the Gate. Koa marveled at the fiery totems that reached towards the heavens. There were symbols that Koa didn’t recognize and paintings engraved in the smooth, dark, wood.

Koa was captivated by the way the paintings seemed to come to life whenever she passed one of the totems. The figures followed her with their black eyes and pointed to her.

Koa’s ears perked up. She heard whispering. She tilted her head and listened.

Someone played a violin. The soft melody was soothing. Whoever played it was a master violinist. The tune evoked emotions in Koa that left her in tears. She shuddered, confused by her wet cheeks. She realized immediately that the tune from her dreams was real. She’d dreamt of this very song for years. She hummed along to it.

As they walked closer, the song grew louder and vibrated against her very soul. Once Halston stopped, Koa was in tears. She couldn’t explain why, but warm, wet tears soaked her cold cheeks.

She held her breath. Koa was stunned by her reaction. Halston glanced over his shoulder at her. His icy blue stare seemed even more ethereal in the intensified light of the moon above them. He looked concerned.

“We are going on a journey to a place where most of the population would love to see you dead,” Halston said. “Granted there is a small portion that would love to see you placed on your father’s throne, but it would be more like a prison for you. Koa, do not be fooled by the things you are about to see. This is not a place of beauty. This is not a place of love. You forget that, and you will be a prisoner here. Or worse, you will die. Now, stay close.”

Koa nodded and he reached for her. She remembered when she was twelve. Her father had given her the same warning. She had no idea that this place that gave her nightmares had once been her father’s home. He was a king and had been exiled. Her father had held his hand out to her as well.

Koa gratefully accepted Halston’s hand and he curled his fingers in between hers. She instantly felt more at ease. She breathed a breath of relief. That relief didn’t last long.

A whistling sound swept through the valley. Out of the mists of the sky, a man landed with a soft thud. He stood. He was tall. He was even taller than Halston who was considered abnormal by human standards. His long legs and long arms were thin, as was his entire body. His long black hair was straight and reached the middle of his back. His eyes were too big to be human. His mouth was wide, with thin rubbery lips.

Koa gasped. He held a violin. He brought it up under his chin and Koa was transfixed the moment he resumed his song. The tune was jarring on her mind, weakening her. She clutched Halston.

“Halston. What’s happening?”

She was losing herself. Koa was afraid that she might pass out. Halston stopped walking and held her up.

“Make it stop!”

Koa was breathless. Cold wind slapped at her face as the mists swirled around her, dancing to the tune. The song made her feel as if her bones were cracking under a heavy weight. Her heart was breaking. Koa wanted to fall to her knees and weep with sorrow and pain.

Koa grabbed her chest and gasped. Her heart was beating too strongly. She could feel it beating on her rib cage. Such a feeling frightened her. She gripped her shirt and winced.

The man’s grin widened as he stepped closer to her. He wanted her, only her. Halston didn’t seem to exist.

Koa felt as if her soul was being ripped from her body. She almost cried out in surrender when Halston brought up his other hand and grabbed the man by his neck. The man seemed stunned. He squealed and before her eyes, his body shrank. He shrank, smaller, and smaller, until he was even smaller than Koa.

His skin hung loose from being stretched and his hair seeped into his head until he was bald. Grotesque scabs and patches of crust covered his scalp. His skin was a sickly green and dry like a lizard’s in the desert.

Koa’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t believe it. He had been an illusion. The man was no taller than a child.

“What…
who’s
there?”

Koa looked at Halston in disbelief. The man couldn’t see him. His eyes darted all around as he searched for whoever held him by his neck.

Halston’s body started to glow. Koa gasped and stepped back as heat radiated from Halston’s body. Discs of light as bright as the sun encircled Halston like crisscrossing hula hoops. Koa shielded her eyes and took another step away from him. The heat of his shield warmed her face. It was almost too much to behold.

Finally, the man saw Halston. The look of shock on the man’s face was appalling. His eyes widened until they appeared to be too big for his face. He started to tremble and dropped his violin. He dribbled drool and started stuttering incoherent apologies.

“It can’t be,” he sputtered. “What are you doing here?”

Halston brought the man closer to his face.  The man squealed as Halston’s glow started to make his skin sizzle. “Tunes, open the gate, or I break your neck.”

Koa felt chills run up her spine at Halston’s change of voice. He sounded dangerous. His voice lowered to a deep, grating, tone that made her shudder. She was almost too afraid to stand by when Halston was in this state. Right now, he wasn’t a friend, or a boss. Right now…he was much more. He was what he hid from the world. Halston was his true self.

“Master,” Tunes said in disbelief. He nodded and Halston set him back on his feet. He bowed low and backed away from the oppressive heat.

Koa stared at Halston, with her jaw hanging. Now she knew what it meant…to be an angel.

Tunes ran a hand across his burned and blackened face. When he rubbed it once, the skin smoothed and appeared much younger than it had before. He ran over to the gate.  “Master, I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. My apologies.” He kept bowing as he made his way over to the Gate. His back was curved like that of a hunchback. He used his violin’s bow as a key.

A loud lock clanked and the Gates pushed outward to open the path into the Netherworld. A swift wind blew by them and Koa shivered at the howling she heard it carry. Tunes bowed his head to Halston and peered at Koa. He blinked and his eyes changed. He looked at her with only sockets for eyes.

“Koa,” Halston warned. “Stop looking at him. He’s toying with you.”

Koa grimaced as she noticed that he didn’t have any eyeballs, just hollow holes that looked wet with a thick inky substance. He blinked again and his eyes returned, more bulbous this time. She winced.

“They’ve been waiting for you,” Tunes whispered.  He grinned at her. He had too many teeth to fit in his rancid mouth. His foul breath wafted to her nostrils. He smelled as though he had just feasted on raw fish and rotten eggs.

Koa looked away in disgust. She looked inside the Gate at the narrow path. All that she could see was a world of darkness and she could already feel the bitter cold. Her heart thumped as she followed Halston into what appeared to be a cave. She wished that she could hold onto Halston’s waist.

She felt exposed when the cold air cut into her. There was a brief moment of doubt, as to whether this was truly a good idea. There was no turning back.

Koa heard a low cackle as the Gate slammed behind them.

Koa’s eyes widened in terror, as Shadows, black and wispy appeared on both sides of the narrow corridor. She stiffened with a gasp as they reached out for her.

 
S
hrill sounds filled Koa’s ears. She covered her ears with her hands and turned to face an army of Shadows. The Shadows reached out for Koa with their thin, black, hands that were all knuckles and knobs. She coiled back against the gate and felt the cold steel press into her shoulder blades. The darkness of the cavern was only aided by Halston’s angelic glow.

Koa’s scream was trapped in her throat. She started to tremble as she stared into their faces in horror. This was the very moment from her nightmares. She felt lightheaded.

They had no eyes. They looked to be draped in a black film, as if they’d been suffocated by a black plastic bag. They howled and their mouths opened in wide circles revealing red, lizard like tongues. Koa gasped and reached for Halston.

He hissed. “Stay back, Koa!”

 “Halston,” she whispered, afraid to move. “What is happening?” 

Halston motioned for her to stand behind him. "You’re new to them. They want you." His glow intensified. “Step back, Koa.” She was blinded and felt the heat of his shield on her face. The rings of light shot up and down his body and the Shadows backed away with a piercing shriek.

Halston glared at them. They hissed at him. His glare didn’t falter until the Shadows made a path for them. They all lined up on either side of the path, and bowed.