The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld (24 page)

It was done.

Halston cut through the masses and made his way to one of the staircases that led to the path towards the Gate. He paused at the bottom of those stone steps that had been built thousands of years ago. It was time to summon those that had all sworn secrecy and allegiance to him and his cause. It was time to bring together the forces which the world had been blind to since the beginning of time.

He felt around in his jacket’s inner pocket. He felt something cool and gripped it. Halston took out a pen. It was long and silver, and caught the light that came from the Disc Moon. It was a dim disc that stood at the very top of the dome, shedding light onto each level of the world and regulating time, so that everyone within its range aged much slower.

Halston hoped that one day she might forgive him, for keeping so much a secret. It was all to protect her, Halston thought to himself. He took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. It wasn’t all for Koa. She was a big part of it, but he couldn’t deny that it was supposed to be for the human race, and Koa had somehow taken precedence over even that. Still, he had done what was right by bringing her back, or at least he hoped he did.

Koa was returned to the place where she belonged. Now, it was time to set other events in motion.

Halston pointed the thin tip of the silver pen before him and narrowed his eyes. A tiny blue light blinked and cut on. He swept the pen up, gracefully, and wrote along the darkness before him. The air tightened, examining the light that sliced into it. Halston tried again, drawing with a delicate curve of his wrist as if he was painting a masterpiece. The darkness accepted the script, upholding tiny blue text.

The soft wind whistled as if curious about this oddity. Like an inquisitive child, it gathered around Halston and made his jacket flap open. His infinity shotgun was revealed. Annoyed, Halston covered it back up with his free hand and continued his message. The wind seemed to shiver with glee and floated each word along. It carried his message up the steps and down the tunnel, back to the human world. It was time to notify his Netherworld agents, it was time to recruit.

Raven knew her role in this. She would be waiting. She was never human, nor vampire. She was something...different…something that would change both worlds. Now, it was her time to shine.

Halston finished his message and lowered the pen. He hoped that Raven was ready, that she would uphold her part of the bargain. So much depended on Raven and her daughter. They were like two secret keys that the evil of the world fought to swallow.

Halston tightened his jaw. He hated to think of what was ahead for Koa. He could imagine that she was afraid, and yet hiding it very well. She was good at that.  He almost smiled. She would be all right. He had taught her well.

Halston looked up towards the cavern. It was a cool night in the Netherworld. It was always a cool night. Daylight didn’t exist here. Each level of this world led to more darkness and even more horrific creatures.

Vampires, demons, War-Breeders, ghouls, and fallen angels…like himself, buzzed by. They came and went up those stairs, returning to their homes in the maze-like city that was the Netherworld.

Halston shot a look at a flash of light. He let his guard down, when Evina stopped before him.

“What do you think she’ll do, when she finds out the truth?” Evina stepped off her flying disk and stepped before him. She had a serious face. She had put her life at risk for Koa, but still, she could never resist a little challenge. He had almost thought that Evina would ruin everything with her little show in front of Koa.

Halston put his hands in his pocket. He took them out and folded his arms. He couldn’t get Koa’s face out of his head. That beautiful little face haunted him. There was no way that he could forget the first time he laid eyes on her. He felt his insides twist.

“Everything will work out according to plan,” Halston answered. “It has to.” He raised a brow. “She’s already asleep?”

Evina folded her arms across her large bosom and tossed her hair out of her face. “Of course. I’m not a novice, Halston.”

“No. You’re a temptress, and you cannot resist games.”

Evina rolled her eyes. “I don’t have another century to wait. I wouldn’t put the plan in jeopardy.”

Halston raised a hand, shushing her. He listened to something.

She frowned. “As I was saying…games. I don’t have time for them,” Evina said.

“But you love them more than anything.”

She fought a grin. Instead, Evina sighed and turned her face. “You really think you know me Halston. Just because I had a crush on you as a girl doesn’t give you the upper hand. I’m not a child anymore. I’ve been a woman for quite a while now.”

Halston smirked. “You had a crush on me?” He feigned surprise.

“You’re horrible, Halston.” She gave a soft laugh and looked at him with a warmness that she didn’t reveal to many. “I cannot believe that I am actually entrusting my life to you and my brother’s.”

“You are a smart woman for doing so. You need me. Therefore you will follow me to the end. Right?”

Evina didn’t answer. She met his gaze and searched his eyes. She gave a slight nod and pulled her disc from her belt. It was like a fan. She flicked it out and set it down. It buzzed and hovered.

The creatures around fled. Vampire mothers grabbed their children and ran into the safety of the many alleys.

Evina was daughter of King Greggan, a very powerful vamp and they feared her even when she was nothing like her father. With a quick hop onto the disc she looked down at Halston. “I’m going back…to check on things.”

Halston frowned up at her. “No meddling. You can ‘check,’ but that is all. Don’t use too much of your power on her. I don’t want her remembering things just yet. It’s best that we let Jax open
Pandora’s box
.”

Evina grinned. “Ah don’t worry, love. I won’t harm her. I promise.”

Halston shook his head and she flew away, above the masses. His mind went to Evina’s brother. Jax was prince of the Central Dominace of the Netherworld and locked away for all eternity. He cringed. All of the things Jax would tell Koa could undo Halston.

Koa still believed that the night he found her drunk on a park bench had been the first time they’d met. Halston could never bring himself to tell her that he had known her since she was a child. Furthermore, he couldn’t tell her that she had in fact been poisoned that night he found her and fed her the antidote while she slept.

At that time, telling her the truth had been out of the question. If she knew that he had been watching her for decades, secretly protecting her, she’d believe that he was some sort of stalker. It was ironic that their little joke, the nickname she had given him was truer than she could have imagined. Somehow, Halston had become…her guardian angel.

“Halston,” a familiar voice called.

Halston turned. His message had worked quicker than he had anticipated. Halston turned and his eyes widened at the sight of a familiar, welcome, face.

“H
oly shit,” the War-Breeder exclaimed. Seven feet tall and all muscle, the War-Breeder rubbed his eyes and stared at Halston in disbelief. “It is you! Don’t tell me…it’s time?”

Halston wasn’t sure how to react when Tristan, his oldest friend, beamed at him. He had expected him to show up.

Tristan looked the same. No one down here really aged, unless they went up to the human world, where the sun had its effects. Tristan’s bald head was tattooed, a common trend in the Netherworld, to display your social standing in its ancient hierarchy. His skin was a deep bronze, as if he had an eternal tan.

Scars covered almost every inch of his flesh. The scars didn’t come from battle. Tristan never lost a fight, or a war for that matter. No, those scars were from a ritual from his childhood. His own mother was forced to do that to him, to teach him about pain, so that he’d never experience it again. The ritual lasted as long as the child could stand it. The instant they started to cry from the pain, the mother could stop.

Tristan never cried. The ritual had gone on and on. He had become a legend, and his mother had become the proudest woman in the village.

To Halston, it just made Tristan look like a runaway slave, who had been whipped too many times but to the War-Breeders, it served as a reminder that this was the strongest of their clan.

Halston sucked in a breath as he was swept off his feet by the big man. His bones nearly crunched in Tristan’s abnormally strong arms. Once Tristan put him down, Halston couldn’t help but return the smile. Tristan held him at arm’s length. His thin brown eyes examined Halston with wonder.

“You look different,” Tristan whispered with a perplexed look. Halston lowered his eyes. He was different now. He wished he could forget the past.

Tristan’s look of wonder was quickly replaced with alarm. “Halston! What are you doing out here in the open? Someone will recognize you.”

“Not likely,” Halston said.

Tristan’s lifted a brow. “Right…” He folded his arms. “So, what’s it been like up there with the humans?”

Halston stepped back. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Tristan clapped his hands together. “Let’s get on with it then! You’ve brought her back?”

Halston looked down at his feet. Koa. The child he had stolen.

Tristan let out a long breath. He shook his head with a side smirk. “Leave it to you, Halston, to get yourself in a mess like this, and to get me to go join you. What’s so special about that girl anyway? Why did you smuggle her out of the Netherworld anyway? You know you started this war.”

“I didn’t start the war. I just put the inevitable in motion.” Halston sighed at Tristan’s expression. There was so much that even the War-Breeder couldn’t know. The burden rested on Halston and his race of fallen angels. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“That girl is going to get us killed, isn’t she?” Tristan shook his head. “She almost got us killed the first time we dealt with this foolhardy plan.” He pointed to his chest. “I still have a nice scar to remind me.”

Halston wore an eerie smile, hinging on bitterness. “I can’t be killed. Remember?” If only he could, things just might be easier.

“Well lucky you, Halston.” Tristan’s eyebrows bunched. He nodded. “I just love how you flaunt that when you know that I can be killed!”

Halston lifted his chin. “So what are you saying? You’re no longer with me?”

Tristan rolled his eyes and shook his head. He hooked his thumb in his belt. “I’m just saying that this plan of yours better work. Farrow got killed shortly after you escaped with the girl. She got swept up by Greggan’s guard one night and decapitated in the citadel square.”

Halston just stood there, feeling numb. He felt a lump in his throat.

Tristan cleared his throat. “I haven’t kept touch with the others.”