by HP Mallory
I swallowed hard as those thoughts tortured my guilty mind.
I sincerely hoped Bill was telling the truth when he said my mother’s guardian angel was helping her endure the pain of losing me.
“Lily?” Tallis’s voice brought me back to the present.
“I’m here, Tallis,” I said, giving him a heartfelt smile. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that my survival depended on my remaining in the here and now. I couldn’t afford the luxury of reliving my memories and a life that no longer had any validation. “I just got lost in my thoughts.”
“’Tis okay, Besom,” Tallis assured me before pushing on in his typical fashion.
I put a hand on Tallis’s face. “I have a plan to get us out of here,” I started to explain. “It’s going to take me a little more time because I’ve got to work out a few kinks first. But I think it’s a good one.”
“Verra good, Besom.”
Of course, the first phase of my plan could become a little messy… I had to tell Bill I was back.
***
“Fuck you!!! FUCK YOU!!! FUUUUCKKKK YOU VERY, VERY, MUUUUUHHHUUUCH!” Bill sang loudly from his cell.
I tried to conceal my persistent smile but found it difficult when I heard my guardian angel . Only Bill could maintain his sense of humor even during the bleakest hours.
“I know you’re out there, Satan’s concubone! That’s why I decided to sing my favorite song about ya! Ya feelin’ honored!?”
Holding the key to his cell in my hands, I watched one of the Watchers walk away from me. I had to glare at him sternly until he got the hint. Once Alaire’s mobile surveillance unit was fully out of sight, I took a big breath, steeling myself for what I needed to do now: I had to convince Bill that I was back to myself. It wasn’t the easiest task with Tallis so I could only hope that it would be much simpler with Bill. Once I managed to persuade him of my identity, I had to precaution him and insist that he keep that information strictly to himself. Therein lay the rub.
I unlocked Bill’s cell and stepped inside. He stopped singing when I crossed the threshold and flipped on the light switch. In my absence, he had been strapped securely to a rack and left to dangle there. His bruised arms and legs were pulled out uncomfortably further than I ever imagined possible, especially for someone so short and stubby-limbed. Dressed in nothing but soiled boxers, all the scars and burn marks that covered his much-abused body were visible.
Bill’s expression remained defiant but I glimpsed the pain pulsing behind his eyes; it was palpable. As usual, he was putting up a tough front to hide his true feelings.
Good for you, Bill, stay strong.
We did nothing but look at each other for a while. I opened my mouth to speak several times but only shut it again when nothing came out. Then I finally just sighed and felt completely exhausted. Approaching the rack, I examined it forlornly. The straps binding Bill were extra tight, enough to cut off the circulation to his hands and feet. All four of his extremities were the same deep, painful shade of blueberry. My intention was to give Bill some much-needed slack, so I pushed against what looked like a wheel until Bill responded with a sudden grimace. I turned the wheel the other way until he sighed with genuine relief.
All I could do was stand there and look at him without knowing what to say or how to say it. Bill just stared back at me, studying me silently, his eyes narrowing and his expression becoming thoughtful.
“Lils?” Bill asked, his battered face growing softer. “Is it possible… that… that’s really you?”
Tears immediately filled my eyes, “Yes,” I managed to whisper as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Ah, thank my sweet fuckin’ ass,” Bill breathed as he smiled at me more widely. “Wasn’t sure if the constapain was messin’ with my head.”
“How did you know it was me?” I asked while freeing him from his savage bonds.
“I’m your guardian angel, Nips,” Bill reminded me before rubbing his freed hands, and wincing as he lightly fingered the raw spots. He shook his fingers out, trying to get the blood flow back into them. Little by little, the purplish hue regained its healthy color of pale cream. “And it ain’t like that Persephabitch would ever come in here an’ loosen this fuckin’ thing! She’d only come in ta make it tighter!”
I smiled at him while fumbling with his right foot, trying to loosen the restraints. Then I remembered something. “Wait… I came in here earlier to check on you and you didn’t recognize me. And I was back to myself then.”
Bill looked away in embarrassment. “Uh, yeah, I, uh, kinda forgot I could see your aura.”
“My aura?” I scrunched my face in curiosity . Moments like this only reminded me how bad he was at his job. Bill held up his unbound hands.
“It’s not like it’s just there all the time, ya know! It’s not talking at me, sayin’, “Hey, look at me!” He cleared his throat. “If I concentrate real hard, I can see it and you shine like a lighthouse beam. Kinda like one of those gamer tags over your character in Call of Duty, ya know what I’m talkin’ about?”
Of course, I didn’t have a clue what he was saying but that couldn’t stop Bill.
“Anyway, I kinda saw it the first time you came in. And, yo, I’m real sorry I called you all those mean things I did, Lils. I was just thinking that bitch-devil was using some nu-magic to trickulate me.”
I could only stare at him as my guilt enveloped me. Bill’s horridly abject body condition was completely my fault. I was also responsible for him and Tallis being stuck inside this dungeon, rotting away. By letting Alaire trick me into fetching that crown for him, I’d doomed all three of us.
Bill lay his head on the rack with a world-weary sigh, more representative of Tallis. “Don’t give me that damn look, Nips! It ain’t your fault that you got trickulated too by that Persephabitch. We’ll just chalk it up to it being a long, couple o’… Wait, how the hell long have I been down here anyway, Pippi Long Legs?”
“I don’t really know, Bill,” I answered as I finally pulled the right leg restraint off him. “There, now you’re free.”
Bill’s leg snapped back into place. He massaged his visibly sore muscles before grinning up at me.
“Damn, Sugar-lips, it’s really good to have you back. And I’m not just sayin’ that because you cut me loose from the World’s Worst Shiatsu Massage.”
I smiled at him and tried to force the tears back. The urge to bawl my eyes out was strong but I knew it would do me no good. Not while there was so much left to do to make my plan work. “Bill, listen, we can’t get caught up in all of that sentimental stuff. Not yet, anyway. I have to keep pretending I’m Persephone for a little longer. But I swear to you, we’re almost out of here.” I took a deep breath. “Your only job right now is to convince everybody that I’m still Persephone. No one can find out I’m back, least of all, Alaire.” I exhaled audibly as I stared at him. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Bill nodded and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll keep my gob, as Conan calls it, shut but let me just say now that I am one happy, little chubber to see you’re back to yourself. Ain’t a minute too soon either,” he grumbled while shaking his head and rubbing his swollen ankles. “I don’t know how much you remem—”
“I remember all of it!” I interrupted solemnly. “Look, I just need you to play the part of tortured soul for a little longer, okay? And then I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”
Bill nodded with a dry chuckle. “No problem, Nerdlet! I’ll give you such a good performance, they’re gonna hafta toss the Academy Award for Best Actor to me!”
I wasn’t sure who “they” were but didn’t care to know.
Frankly, I was mostly just happy to see Bill smiling again. His big, goofy grin made my heart swell with emotion. Despite his obvious character flaws, he remained eternally hopeful and that made me more optimistic too. His presence alone lifted my spirits. He was a source of inspiration, motivation and yes, hope, all rolled into one.
His
color was rapidly returning, his cheeks brightening up to a warm, cherry-red. Of course, he was still filthy, and the bruises and scratches had not yet healed, but he looked much better.
Wiping a tear, I breathed much deeper than I had in who knew how long? I remembered my promise: I had to get Bill out of the castle. I had to get all of us out of the castle.
“So, Bill, about my plan,” I said as I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest, “how do you feel about flying?”
“I wander’d in a valley lost…”
- Dante’s Inferno
ELEVEN
Lily
I stood on a windswept outcropping of porous rock that jutted out over a fierce and turbulent ocean, the waves crashing ruthlessly onto the jagged rocks below. But I couldn’t observe the sheer drop. No, the creature in front of me had captured my complete attention.
She was tall, six-foot-plus easily. Her overtly feminine figure was more than a little curvy. Heavy breasts that managed to look perky sat on her chest and her face was gifted with high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose. She reminded me of the perfect models I used to admire and envy before I died. Her arms and legs terminated in clawed talons, the length of kitchen knives. Great, feathery wings sprouted from her back. Despite all the attention I was giving the Fury, her mind was on other things. She was perched on the edge of the rock, hunched over the kill she held in her hands. Bright red blood surrounded her fanged mouth, dripping dark crimson drops across her breasts.
My heart pounded so hard, I feared it might explode. In the distance, I spied the shack where I first came across that damned crown, and a traumatic flash of cold washed over me. I could see Saxon’s face. He was clean-shaven and sweaty, just like the first time I met him. But his eyes were gone now, no more than empty holes of torn viscera and mashed eye juice.
I’m sorry, I thought. The words were useless now. They only existed in my head and Saxon would still be dead regardless.
I stepped toward the creature. Her jet-black hair reflected the dim light, even in the absence of a sun. The Fury’s eyes glittered with animalistic spark.
You really think you can convince a hell demon to help your friends escape? Persephone’s voice yelled at me.
I was increasingly weary of her nagging. The constant worrying about Alaire popping up from one of his many covert business trips and Persephone’s relentless taunting every time she managed to get a spot in my head had me at my wit’s end.
I searched my brain for an appropriate motivational quote but for once, I was at a loss. Then a doozy from Winston Churchill popped up. It was like a Poptart in a toaster. “If you’re going through hell, keep going,” I whispered. More applicable words couldn’t have been spoken.
“Uh, hi,” I said as I smiled. The beast’s head jerked toward me, tearing off a piece of raw flesh. Her tongue clicked while she scanned me with eyes that seemed too bright.
I swallowed hard, prying my eyes from the bloody remains of whatever unfortunate creature had crossed her path and become her prey.
“I want to…” I hesitated. Dammit, I was doing this all wrong.
She thinks I’m Persephone so I must act like Persephone. C’mon, Lily, it isn’t that hard!
“I… I demand that you come to me!”
The Fury dropped her dinner and assumed her full, impressive height, staring down at me from her beady eyes.
Shit… not a good sign.
Her wings flared out and batted the air, rushing a fresh gust of hot air towards me. A sound like a screeching hawk pierced the silence when she opened her mouth.
“I am your Queen! You will bow to me, lowly subject!” I tried to invest as much of the queen-bitch tone as I could into my sentence.
The talons on the Fury’s left foot scraped against the rock, indicating her agitation.
“Bow, this instant…Bow to me!” My voice cracked as I once again commanded the devil creature. With a swoosh of her mighty wings, she took to the air and soared straight at me. Her talons elongating, she slashed through the air with a hissing sound, barely missing my face. I reacted with a squeal as I fell back, ripping the backless black dress I put on before leaving the castle.
The Fury held its position in the air right above me, flapping her huge wings to keep airborne and stationary. Raising one hand over her head, her claws were pointed to deliver the final blow. I wanted to crawl away as fast as I could from this disaster and unintended confrontation. But the Fury wasn’t flinching so I didn’t dare make a move either.
Then, the sharpness of her features seemed to soften and she looked at me with morbid interest. All at once, she flapped her wings and landed directly in front of me, crouching down as she stretched out a paw to me. I braced myself for the searing pain of the razor-sharp talon piercing my skin but her claws instantly retracted and an amazingly soft paw caressed my bare shoulder. I was so taken aback by what I saw that I failed to form a cognizant thought for several long seconds.
The Fury canted its head and clicked her tongue before sticking it out to lick her bloody lips. I noticed the forked end on it. She dropped the kill that she held in her other hand and pushed it toward me, as if she were offering the carcass to me.
I looked down at the bloody, pulpy mess, swallowing down the flood of bile that climbed up my throat. I smiled at the Fury but took a step backward. So what if I’d eaten stuff like that in the Dark Wood? There was no way I could eat whatever the hell now was placed in front of me. Especially with all the drool dripping off it.
The Fury, unhappy at my rejection of her gift, howled before taking to the air. She let out another long shriek that chilled me to the core. Clearly, she was more than a little pissed. And maybe two seconds away from taking it all out on me.
Run, Lily, run!
I whipped around and got to my feet. Kicking the hooker pumps off, I sprinted back towards the castle. The wind howled in my ears whenever the flapping wings above me ceased to flutter.
You should have accepted her offering, Persephone’s voice scoffed at me, her malignance echoing in my mind.
“Shut… up…” I panted, forcing myself to go faster.
More flapping wings were followed by a burning sensation across my right shoulder. Then, before I could comprehend what was happening, I was off my feet and soaring through the air. Moments later, I found myself sprawled across the rocky ground. My shoulder burned in agony, and a sticky warmth began to spread across my neck and drip down the front of my dress. I tried to crawl forward and stand up. I was breathless, my lungs burning almost as badly as my shoulder. But seeing the castle gate just in front of me was enough to rekindle my hope.
The Fury howled above me as I turned to see where she was.
“Leave me alone!” I screamed, dropping all pretense of command. The Fury screeched as she dive-bombed me, wielding her claws and missing my spine by bare inches. I heard her slice the air with her razor claws as she screeched.
Just a few more feet and I would be home free. In the end, I literally fell through the gate, which automatically latched shut behind me. The Fury, denied her prize, circled the castle, calling out to me in her predator bird language. All I could do was lean against the stone wall and wince at the pain now radiating from my shoulder. It felt like a third degree sunburn. My first look at the damage nearly resulted in me fainting. A deep rift was split through the meat of my collar. Blood was oozing in slow but steady rivulets. I felt lightheaded. Whether it was from the blood loss or from observing the damage, I didn’t know. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I needed help… right now.
Tallis can help us, Persephone said, without the usual bitchiness in her voice.
For once, we were in total agreement.
***
“Ye did whit?!” Tallis lurched forward, his chains rattling as he stared at me wide-eyed.
“I know it was...” I started to explain. I hissed when a fresh jolt of pain shot through my shoulder. “I had to try.”
“Ye joost thought ye could walk oop
tae ah Fury an’ convince her tae help ye?” Tallis looked at me with an incredulous expression that indicated what he thought of my plan. It was anything but a compliment.
“I guess… yes?” I asked in a mousey voice. It was true—I figured I could summon the Fury and make her transport the three of us as far away from this godawful place as we could be. But apparently, that wasn’t the case.
“Furies respect boot one thin’, Besom… that is strength.” He shifted a little in his bonds as he continued to glare at me in a critical manner. “Nae joost strength o’ body boot o’ soul. They moost have sensed the doubt in ye.”
I had to agree with Tallis on that point. There was certainly more than a little doubt in me. “I probably would have been less ‘in doubt’ if Persephone would just shut up. But she’s a constant thorn in my side.”
“Aye,” Tallis said as if he understood. Given what or who he’d kept inside him all those centuries, he most likely did.
“Tallis, how do I get rid of her?”
He took a deep breath as he shook his head. “Ah dinnae know, lass,” he sighed.
Then he flexed his fingers at me in a beckoning motion. “Come here, Besom. Let’s bind up the wounds.”
I moved closer to him, until he could reach my shoulder. It was a shame he still had to play the part of a prisoner but it was what it was. Soon enough, that would end. At least that was what I promised myself.
Tallis closed his eyes and muttered something in Gaelic as he rested his hand on my wound. Initially, it stung from the salt of his skin pressing against the gash in my collar. Then I began to feel the skin knitting itself back together, the muscles binding and strengthening. There was no pain after that.
In a few short moments, it was fully done. The blood on my dress was the only evidence that anything serious had ever happened. But even that was difficult to see, owing to the black fabric. Well, there was also blood on my neck and chest as well but that would wash away easily enough. I rotated my shoulder a few times. It seemed a little bit stiff but definitely workable.
