by HP Mallory
“Do many of the creatures in the Underground City travel on the subway?” I asked Tallis, thinking it was a valid question.
“Nae,” he answered, his lips still tightened in a line. “They arenae allowed tae leave their respective levels.”
“Then why have a subway, or a train station, at all?” I inquired.
“Fer the watchers, Alaire an’ oos,” he answered, and his body language told me he wasn’t interested in any further discussion. I figured by “oos,” he meant visitors to the Underground City, aka Soul Retrievers.
“It stinks in here,” Bill said from where he was walking beside me.
“Well, we should be out in a second,” I answered as I glanced over at him, giving him an expression that said I couldn’t deal with nagging or whining at the moment.
“It’s kind of dis … gusting,” he finished with a wide, annoying grin.
“If through this blind prison though goest…”
- Dante’s Inferno
THIRTEEN
After we wended our way through the maze of the subway, we found ourselves outside again, in the dark, never ending night of the Underground City. It was just a short jaunt to the train station before we boarded the train, headed toward the City of Dis, and more specifically, the graveyard.
The Watchers continued to follow us, keeping a distance of maybe five feet, but I didn’t concern myself with them. Instead, with my hand wrapped tightly around my sword, I tried to convince my heart to stop beating so fast. Fear and panic couldn’t help me. The only thing that could was a clear and level head.
“Angel, ye stay right behind Besom an’ Ah will take the lead,” Tallis ordered Bill as the smaller man fell behind me. We started to walk in single file, like schoolkids on a field trip. None of us said anything. We were all too busy scanning the perimeter, trying to perceive any potential threats. I didn’t notice any.
We started up a ramp that led into a structure with an oval roof, which, I supposed, was the train station. There were no signs, lights, or anything else to hint at the nature of the building, but I didn’t ask any questions. I figured Tallis knew where he was going. Thank God for that because without him, I wasn’t sure what we might have done.
You would have found the train station alone, Lily, I chastised myself as I immediately heard the truth in my own words. It’s great that you have Tallis with you, but never forget that you’re very capable, and if you didn’t have him, you’d still get along just fine.
Right, I answered my better self. But it would take me a whole hell of a lot longer.
There was no arguing that point, as demonstrated when the argumentative side of me remained silent. That was just as well. I needed all my senses tuned in to my current situation.
When we reached the top of the ramp, I managed to see through the somewhat narrow entryway that led into the train station. We continued forward, still marching in single file, which was just as well. I doubted we could have fit through the doorway walking side-by-side. It was that narrow.
Inside, the station was lit by a few tall streetlamps that looked ancient, as if they were constructed right around the same time that Edison invented the lightbulb. Other than the waning, blinking, jaundiced light emitted from the streetlamps, the place was desolately dark. The walls were constructed of brick and featured a row of windows at eye level, but I wasn’t sure what the point of having the windows was, considering the surroundings were perpetually dark in the Underground City. Windows were sort of useless.
Once we entered the station, Tallis started walking up the wooden plank floor, which creaked with every step he took. He didn’t falter once, though, which I figured was a good sign. I hoped it meant he knew where he was going … I just continued to follow him, with Bill right behind me and a good twenty or so very silent and ominous-looking Watchers trailing behind him.
Tallis strode up to one of the ten or more columns that appeared to be supporting the ceiling of the station. I didn’t notice the red button that was mounted on the center of the column until he pushed it. Then he turned around and faced me.
“Now we wait,” he announced flatly.
Neither Bill nor I said anything. Well beyond our comfort zones, we were both perfectly content to take orders. I just nodded as I wondered how long we might be waiting; not to mention whether or not we were actually safe. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I had to scoff at my stupidity. No one was ever safe in the Underground City.
A cold wind blew through the two large openings on either end of the train station and sounded like a wailing ghost. I glanced behind me and noticed the Watchers were all standing side-by-side, at the edge of the platform, silently awaiting the train. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of metal scraping on metal and turned to my right to see the train pulling into the station.
Judging from the decrepit station, I figured the train would look like something right out of a nineteenth century Hollywood western, but that was definitely not the case. Instead, the train was as sleek as a bullet and took the same shape. It was painted white, with two red stripes running horizontally down its sides. There were headlights mounted on its rounded nose; and when the thirty or so automatic doors suddenly slid open, I noticed it had no driver.
Tallis didn’t hesitate, but immediately boarded the train. I didn’t miss, however, that his hand was on the handle of his sword, which was tucked into the scabbard he wore across his chest. Not wanting to delay, I immediately followed Tallis onto the train. I could hear Bill shuffling right behind me, and I saw the Watchers entering the train through the various other doors.
“Sit,” Tallis commanded as he motioned to a row of empty seats that were opposite us. They were directly underneath the windows on the other side of the train. It made sense that Tallis wanted to sit there because the other seats faced forward, making them more susceptible to any threats from the rear.
I immediately sat down in the middle of the row and Bill sat on my right. I noticed that Tallis remained standing, holding onto the metal post, presumably to maintain his balance once the train started moving. Seconds later, the doors slid shut and we were off.
The train was surprisingly quiet, but I could feel it gathering momentum in the way my body was suddenly propelled toward Bill. I glanced to my right and noticed half the Watchers were seated while the other half stood, and all of them were facing forward and staring at us.
“What does Dante say about this level?” I whispered to Bill, not wanting to pay any more attention to the Watchers. Even though they weren’t a threat, they still made me uneasy.
“Lemme tell ya all about it,” Bill said as he pulled the tattered copy of The Inferno out from underneath his arm. He made a clicking noise as he rifled through the pages, some of which were missing and others torn. I did notice, with mild annoyance, that the book was in much better condition before I handed ownership of it over to Bill. But c’est la vie.
Bill continued to flip through the book until he finally stopped on a dog-eared page. Holding the book up to eye level, ostensibly because it was otherwise too dark in the train to see, as soon as he lifted it, what looked like a trading card fell out and landed on his lap. He picked it up and a huge smile spread across his face.
“I’ve been wonderin’ where the hell you went!” he announced to the card happily before turning to face me. I glanced down and noticed it was a Garbage Pail Kids collector card, this one entitled, “Adam Bomb.” It featured a kid in a blue suit, sitting down and pressing the button on a remote control as the top of his head explodes.
“Really, Bill?” I asked with a frown and a raised-brow expression to let him know I wasn’t amused.
“Yeah, really, honey loaves,” he replied in the same judgmental tone I’d just used on him. “I’ve almost collected the entire set!” he boasted as he tucked the card back into the book. Then he started scanning the ancient-looking pages. “Okay, let’s see what Dante says about the shithole we’re about to find ourselves in.”
>
He started humming the melody to “Back in Time” by Huey Lewis and the News before clearing his throat. “Dante says: Now onward goes, along a narrow path between the torments and the city wall, my Master, and I follow at his back. O power supreme, that through these imp …” Bill quoted before tripping over one of the words. “Imp … pie … ous,” he sounded out.
“Impious,” I affirmed with a quick nod.
“These … impious circles turnest me,” Bill continued. “I began, ‘as pleases thee, speak to me, and my longings satisfy; the people who are lying in these tombs, might they be seen? Already are uplifted the covers all, and no one keepeth guard.’" Then he stopped reading and glanced up at me. “Now maybe you can tell me what the fuck that load o’ garbled shit means!”
“We are goin’ tae the level o’ the heretics,” Tallis announced flatly as he turned to face Bill before frowning.
Bill faced him with a frown of equal potency. “Stop speakin’ Dante and start speakin’ English, foo!”
“That was English, Bill,” I muttered before taking a deep breath and exhaling it slowly. “Heretics are people who don’t believe in what is generally prescribed by religion,” I started but then paused. I was trying to remember what heretics had to do with Dante as per my high school English class. “If I remember correctly, the heretics in The Inferno didn’t believe in an afterlife, like Dante believed they should have.”
“Thrilling,” Bill responded with a yawn before he turned to Tallis. “So, Tido, what the hell are we gonna find there?”
Tallis glanced back at him but didn’t respond right away. By the expression on his face, he looked downright bored. “The furies.”
The train suddenly slowed and, a few seconds later, the doors slid open. I could see something waiting on the platform of the train stop, but it was so dark that I couldn’t make out exactly what it was. It stepped onboard and I was finally able to see it more clearly in the lamplight that kept glaring through the window. Immediately, my heart plummeted to my feet at the same time that it frantically raced, as if it wanted desperately to free itself from my ribcage and get the hell outta Dodge.
The creature was maybe as tall as I was and wore a grey cloak that covered its torso and reached down to its toes, while also sheathing its arms. The grey frock was the same dull pallor as its skin, which was corpselike at best.
“What the fuck is that?” Bill asked, but no one responded.
As soon as the creature’s taloned toes scratched the floor of the train as it walked, it lifted its head. I could just make out its features. Its face looked like a lizard—wrinkly, scaly skin with two holes for a nose. Its eyes were deeply set and the same colorless hue as its skin. Its mouth didn’t possess lips, but rather rows of small, needlelike teeth that appeared on both its top and bottom gums. It had no hair to speak of, but strange, sucker-like extrusions on one side of its head. The suckers reminded me of miniature toilet plungers. They were arranged in rows of three across, and three up, and all of them had the same desiccated grey hue as the rest of the creature. On the other side of its head, I saw ten or more cylindrical tubes that were possibly a half an inch thick and two feet long. They seemed to move completely of their own accord.
It opened its mouth and a long, pointed tongue unrolled, rising into the air as if it were a cobra. Its nostrils expanded and it appeared to inhale.
“I smell flesh,” it said in a raspy, deep voice.
Tallis took two steps to the side, placing his body directly in front of mine. He’d already drawn his sword and now had it pointed directly at the creature.
“Shrezor, we wish nae trooble with ye,” Tallis said, and his voice sounded steely and harsh.
It seemed to take the creature a moment or two to fully focus on Tallis. I wondered if it were blind, given the cement color of its eyes. As it attuned itself to Tallis’s direction, the plugs on its head began to wave this way and that, as if they were floating on an invisible sea.
“Bladesmith,” the creature growled.
“Aye,” Tallis replied, not bothering to shift his sword from where it was aimed directly beneath Shrezor’s nose. “Take yer seat in the back o’ the train an dinnae boodge from it.”
“It has been a long time since you showed your face in this part of the city,” Shrezor answered without making any motion to take a seat at all.
The train doors slid closed and with a slight lurch, we were off again. Even though Tallis wasn’t holding onto the handrail, the increasing momentum didn’t seem to throw him off balance. He firmly held his ground, as did Shrezor.
“Ah amnae interested in ah conversation with ye,” Tallis announced, his posture growing rigid. His entire back appeared so stiff, it almost looked like he’d had the misfortune of accidentally gazing at Medusa and, consequently, being turned to stone.
“No?” Shrezor asked, the tone of the creature’s voice sounding amused. “That is quite a pity as I am certainly interested in discussing some matters with you,” it continued. Taking a quick step to its right, it continued to eye Tallis, while its bizarre hair snaked around it. “Why are you here, Bladesmith?”
“’Tis none o’ yer business,” Tallis responded, nearly spitting the words out like acid.
“Has election time come again?” Shrezor asked. “Have you come to seek office? To convert our citizens into die-hard believers?” Shrezor was quiet for a few seconds as he appeared to study Tallis. “Have you come back for that which you abandoned so long ago?”
Of course, I had no idea what Shrezor was talking about, but I also couldn’t deny that I was curious. It seemed the creatures of the Underground City all knew or, at the very least, recognized Tallis. I’d always attributed that to Tallis having been on hundreds of missions to the Underground City over the centuries; but now I wasn’t so sure …
“Nae,” Tallis said again, his voice sounding eerily concerned. “Take yer seat.”
“You have not changed, politician,” Shrezor taunted with a high-pitched laugh that sounded like it could shatter glass. “But I admire your courage in coming here to the deep city where you know you will never be welcomed.”
“Ah care not.”
“Beware, my friend,” Shrezor warned, its eyes narrowing and the tubes jutting out of its head suddenly lying still. “While I do not believe in carrying grudges, the same cannot be said for my comrades in the City of Dis. You will find yourself most assuredly unwelcome here.” It paused for a second or two before a huge smile appeared on its mouth. I had to wonder if the smile was merely intended to show off its sharklike grill. “The past is still alive and well in our city,” Shrezor continued. “And you have not been forgiven.”
“Take yer seat afore Ah decide tae roon ye through with mah sword,” Tallis replied, his tone icy cold.
Shrezor didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but tipped its head back into the air as the tendrils on its head suddenly lurched upwards, as if awakening from a nightmare. Shrezor opened its mouth and that repulsively pointed tongue appeared again at the same time that it inhaled deeply.
“I smell meat,” it said as it focused on Tallis. “And it cannot be you that I am scenting.” Without waiting for Tallis’s response, Shrezor slowly turned its head to the left, looking past Tallis. Its unseeing grey eyes shifted above my head and then back down again as its tongue continued to identify the air molecules, sending feedback to its eyes and showing it where to focus. Once its tongue pointed in my direction, its alarming eyes settled on me.
“Flesh … I smell human flesh,” it said again. All of the tendrils on its head aimed in my direction as it took a step forward and extended its clawed hands out in front of it.
“You best back the fuck up,” Bill said as he narrowed his eyes on the creature. “Otherwise, I’m gonna bust out some serious angel whoop-ass, bitch!”
Shrezor didn’t spare Bill a glance. I wondered if it even heard Bill based on its complete lack of interest in him. Instead, it continued to eye me like a freshly grilled
steak.
Drawing up against the glass windows behind me as far as I could, my heart started to pound against my ribs. My breathing was now coming in sporadic gasps and I felt light-headed. I wrapped my fingers around my sword and imagined the best way to defend myself should this creature lunge at me.
“Shrezor,” Tallis said, obviously attempting to draw the creature’s attention away from me. But the creature didn’t budge. It continued staring at me while its tongue tasted me on the air.
“Whit are ye doin’ ootside o’ the morgue?” Tallis finished. “Ye know ye arenae allowed tae leave.”
Shrezor didn’t bother looking at the bladesmith although it did respond, and in a very haughty way. “I am on my way to meet with the master of the city, himself.”
“Aboot whit?” Tallis continued, eyeing the creature suspiciously.
“None of your business,” the creature taunted Tallis.
“Come now, Shrezor,” Tallis started, a purposeful smile creeping across his lips. “Ye have always bin boastful, why change yer spots now?”
“My business with the master does not concern you,” Shrezor answered, finally glancing over at Tallis, who studied him pointedly.
Tallis shrugged. “Mayhap there isnae any truth ta yer claims,” he said, obviously playing Shrezor.
“You’re calling me a liar?” the creature hissed, and all of its snakelike tendrils began suddenly flailing around its head.
“Ah know ye tae be ah proud braggart,” Tallis started, his smile still in full effect. “Ye have never bin any guid at concealin’ yer victories. Ah cannae help boot ask mahself why ye would start concealin’ them now?”
“Not that you have any business being in mine,” Shrezor started, and its eyes returned to me as the coils on its head followed suit. In no time, all of them were pointing straight at me. “But the master and I have entered into a business partnership.”
