The Chronicles of Koa: Netherworld

Chapter One

"Mmm," Koa said as she opened a bag of freshly popped popcorn. She breathed in the buttery aroma and groaned in delight. There came a low purr from behind and she glanced over her shoulder at the stoic black cat. The cat jumped onto the dining chair.

"Smells good, Raven. Doesn't it?"

Raven stared back with her ethereal green eyes. The cat blinked, as if she was bored.

Koa shrugged and blew her dark blue bangs out of her eyes. "Fine." She rolled her eyes. "I know you're still mad at me for coming home late last night. I said I was sorry. But I'm a big girl now."

Raven blinked again.

Koa scoffed. "Be that way. This popcorn is all mine and you're just jealous." She smirked. She poured the popcorn into a large bowl and carried it out of the massive kitchen which had once been filled with staff and a private chef.

Through the archway and into the grand hall, Koa shuddered at the chill in the air. The sound of her soft footsteps echoed through the empty manor and she found herself humming as she always did.

She didn't pay any mind to the gothic statues that glared down at her on either side of the wide corridor. There was a time when Koa had been frightened by her father's relics. As a girl she would avoid walking down the hallways at night for fear that they would awaken and grab her with their cold stone hands.

Now, Koa was used to the statues of angels and demons. She barely glanced at them anymore. Such things were a part of her daily life and she no longer feared their artistic replicas.

It took her a few moments to cross the cold marble floors to the large den she had converted into an entertainment room. Koa used a remote to turn off all of the lights. She lit a scented candle just as Raven brushed past her leg. She rubbed her soft fur onto Koa's bare flesh.

The scent of vanilla made her smile.

Koa flopped onto the plush sofa and put her feet up on the ottoman. She sank into the cushions and closed her eyes in bliss. "Halston has given me a few nights off." She turned on her television. "Finally, I get to catch up on some reality TV!"

Raven seemed to roll her eyes and Koa grinned. "I know," she said as she relaxed her back on the orange pillows and popped a handful of popcorn into her mouth. "I can be such a girl sometimes." She laughed to herself. She was happy. Life had been so busy lately with the rise of supernatural crime that a single moment of solitude was rare.

Koa glanced at Raven and held her arms out. "Come sit with me. Pretty please?"

Raven snuggled next to her and rested her head on Koa's lap. Koa smiled and stroked her black fur. Sometimes it seemed as if Raven was all she had left in the world, besides Halston. "Maybe I'll order you some Chinese. You always loved it. How about some roasted duck?"

Koa just started to crunch on a kernel when she heard the faintest creak in her hallway. It was so faint that she almost didn't catch it. She didn't want to catch it. She wanted the night to go smoothly, but it was the way Raven's ears perked up that confirmed that Koa had indeed heard something.

Scrunching her small nose, Koa grumbled and put her bowl of popcorn down on her glass coffee table. All of her senses were heightened. There was a definite warning deep in the pit of her stomach. She sniffed the air. There was the faint stench of coal and something rancid.

Odd, she thought, frowning. She had smelled that distinct odor before. It was not from this world. Very odd.

Raven looked down the dark hallway and made a low sound of warning deep in her throat. Her black fur stood on end. Koa shushed her with a hand.