by HP Mallory
Ahead of me, I saw Tallis and Bill. They were yelling at me, flailing their arms, and screaming at me to hurry up. Whatever was chasing me was coming closer. I could see that in their expressions of shock and worry.
I tried to speak but wine and bile spilled out of my mouth, burning my throat, tongue and nostrils. An intense heat pressed against my backside, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I reached out for Tallis, calling his name as I lost my balance and fell forward. A white, hot light engulfed me. The last thing I saw was Alaire, who was naked from the waist up. He was smiling. As always, smiling.
***
“Lily.”
The voice that said my name was soft and gentle, far more than it needed to be. The accent expelled me from the nightmare. There was only one man who had that accent…
“Tallis,” I said as I opened my eyes. I was lying on my back beneath a stone ceiling. I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck as Tallis’s face came into view. It seemed take all of his strength just to keep his head up. I reached over and caressed his dirty face. Then I remembered where I was and why I was here. I tried to stand up but my body was still too weak.
“Besom,” Tallis whispered as he shook his head.
“Did you heal me?” I asked.
“No.” That voice came from directly behind me. When I turned around, I saw Alaire leaning against the stone wall. He was watching me curiously and didn’t look too bad after our fight previously. “This time, it was I who healed you,” Alaire said simply with a shrug.
“You?” I exclaimed in disbelief.
Alaire’s lips curled in disgust. “Look at him… and I mean really look at him. All optimism aside, he was in no condition to heal you. He is quite clearly only seconds away from his own death.”
“Tallis?” I asked as I faced him, feeling my eyebrows knitting together as an indescribable pain overtook me.
“That is correct. I was the one who healed you,” Alaire said, like he was addressing a slow-minded child.
“But… you were trying to kill me.”
He shook his head and his face relaxed. “A simple misunderstanding… when people share one another’s company long enough, things like that sometimes happen. Since neither of us was permanently damaged, shall we call it a truce?”
I eyed him with more suspicion as I reached out and nestled Tallis in my arms. I glared up at Alaire. “What are you doing down here?”
He shrugged again with a melodramatic sigh. “I thought you would have figured this part out by now… Very well, I merely followed you, my dear. And when I found you, you were already dispatched to the land of dreams. With Black in no condition to provide you any assistance now, I took it upon myself to heal you. Naturally, I also took the opportunity to question the Bladesmith regarding the angel’s disappearance.”
“Bill,” I said as the pieces began to fall into place in my head.
“The very same,” Alaire said. “By his account, the Bladesmith knew nothing more about the untimely departure of his good friend, your failed guardian, than you knew. Which I find very hard to believe, by the way.”
“Ah told ye the truth,” Tallis suddenly spoke up, his midnight blue eyes now more gray. I also noticed the ashen tone to his skin. Alaire was right. Tallis was quickly fading away right before our eyes. I had no idea how much life was left in him but it couldn’t have been much.
“You’ve got to heal him too,” I told Alaire.
Alaire looked at me and snorted derisively. “Heal the Bladesmith, my arch enemy?” he asked as he shook his head with a smile. “Why? What could have planted that idea in your head? Surely you must realize I would ever do such a ridiculous thing?”
“You must do it because I’m asking you to,” I ground out. “And if you care a whit for me—”
“Alaire cares for nae one, save ‘imself,” Tallis interrupted in a weak voice. “As true now as it always was.”
Tallis’s comment put another glare on Alaire’s face. “And you make that claim despite knowing that I followed your love down into this desolate, hideous location before obviously restoring her health?” The glare lessened in intensity as he added, “However, I do find it most curious that Donnchadh could heal you, Bladesmith, but apparently, he cannot heal Lily.”
“Donnchadh only strengthened me own Druid magic,” Tallis explained. “Besom has naught such magic tae strengthen.” I didn’t know how the healing subject (or lack thereof) worked with the fact that I was now immortal since Donnchadh was within me but figured it was a question for once Tallis was in better condition.
Alaire pushed himself off the wall and sneered. “Well, it’s not as though that matters anyway now. I was perfectly capable of rescuing her myself in the end.”
“I want you to restore Tallis’s health now,” I said to Alaire again, my expression unwavering in my determination.
“And I shall repeat my answer, why would I do that, my dear?” Alaire replied matter-of-factly. “You still have to give me a truly compelling reason. And I’m afraid caring for you does not qualify.”
I held my chin higher. “Now that Persephone has left my body, never to return, you almost have everything you want.”
“Almost?” Alaire asked, genuinely curious now.
“Donnchadh resides inside me,” I reminded him, tapping my chest. “Which means you’ll never fully possess me. One,” I said as I flicked up my index finger, “as you just saw in the dining room, Donnchadh makes me as physically strong as you are, which is the last thing you want to admit. And two,” up went the next finger, “Donnchadh’s rage taints my innocence, which we both know is the first thing you must insist upon.”
“Go on,” Alaire muttered, his eyes riveted on mine.
“So, as long I’m filled by a spirit, you may never truly pervert my innocence,” I argued. “First Persephone, now Donnchadh… what’s the difference? The only thing you’ve managed to accomplish is putting the object you’re trying to defile completely out of your reach.”
“A salient point,” Alaire said reluctantly and very displeased because I was right. “So… what can be done to remedy the situation?”
I took a deep breath, hoping he would agree to my offer. “First, you have to heal Tallis,” I said as I faced the Bladesmith. He had collapsed on the stone floor and was now panting. “And then I want you to release him.”
“I’m sorry but putting their mutual history aside, what exactly does that have to do with Donnchadh?” Alaire inquired, a brief flash of anger glinting in his eyes.
“If you do both of those things,” I continued, turning back around to stare Alaire down, “I’ll allow you to extract Donnchadh from my body.”
The Master of the Underground City scoffed. “And what exactly would I do with Donnchadh’s soul afterwards?”
“You’d release it into the Underground City, of course,” I replied. “From there, his soul would be incarcerated and he could receive the punishment he escaped all these centuries in eternity. After you did that, I’d have to remain your prisoner within these walls for as long as you choose to keep me.”
“Nae, lass,” Tallis protested as he struggled to sit up. But he was much too weak so he quickly collapsed on the stone again.
I could see the gears in Alaire’s head spinning. “I have to admit that is a very interesting bargain you are attempting to sell me. Naturally, I will require a little time to debate the pros and cons of this plan with myself.”
“You don’t have any time,” I snapped as I pointed at Tallis. “This bargain preserves Tallis’s health and life, but right now he is dying. Time is absolutely the most essential factor.”
Alaire studied Tallis for a few seconds before he sighed and nodded. “Yes, I believe that is a fair observation.” Then he approached Tallis, crouching down to my beloved’s level. “I do not understand what it is, Bladesmith, but despite all my efforts, I never can permanently dispense with you.” Then he looked at me over his shoulder. “Then the deal is…”
“You heal Tallis and release him first,” I stated, more insistently now. “Once I’m convinced that he’s safe and on his way out of the Underground City into the Dark Wood, I’ll allow you to separate me from Donnchadh.”
I raised my index finger and added, “Not before. We both know how much you like to cheat. But once you fulfill your end of the obligation, I’ll voluntarily remain yours forevermore.”
“… with hunger keen…”
- Dante’s Inferno
TWENTY
Tallis
“Lily, nae!” I called out with the minimal strength I could still muster. I was rather surprised I had managed to utter even those two words.
Lily’s face was cold as stone, and she did not even look at me as she stipulated the terms of her surrender.
Foolish besom! Why are ye givin’ oop?
Tears, the last salt and water I had in all of my body, welled in my eyes.
Alaire smiled, his eyes darting between the two of us. He clapped his hands together and chuckled with mirth.
“Oh, this is too good.” He looked me over as he continued to kneel at my side, lifting up my head. Alaire tsked, damn him! “It’s almost touching, really. Well, almost.”
Lily regarded me and her eyes sparkled with their own tears, which soon spilled onto her fair cheeks. She brought her hand to her mouth and shook her head. Emotion danced in her eyes like the wee folk around a fairy ring.
The traitor finally released my head and stepped away from me. “Very well,” he said, holding his hand out for Lily to clasp. “We have a deal.” She narrowed her eyes and hesitantly put her hand in his.
Still holding his pasty hand, Lily spoke, “Just to recap the terms, you must heal Tallis first, and send him to the Dark Wood, back to his home, before I consent to stay here with you. That’s the deal.”
“I am a man of my word,” Alaire said behind his bared teeth. His grin was more like a rictus and it reminded me of a jackal… He was no more a man of his word than I was a man with a spotless history.
“I also want twenty minutes alone with him after you… heal him,” she added.
Alaire’s left eye twitched and his smile fell. “I don’t appreciate bargains with appended clauses.”
“Do you want me to stay with you here or don’t you?” Lily growled, the full force of her anger smacking his smug face. Her eyes flickered black ever so briefly.
Alaire pulled his hand away and held his arms up in mock surrender. “Very well, very well. A small concession, I must admit.”
Alaire walked back and stood over me, placing his crotch far too close to my face. I rolled my head against the wall and met his gaze squarely. Without another word, he held his hands over my head. His eyes glowed with pale, blue light and the space between us seemed to erupt with otherworldly power. His brilliant eyes rolled back into his head. He stood there for a few counts and slowly, something too difficult to describe began to tingle inside my being. Beyond my organs and into the region of my soul, I could begin to feel the aches and weariness leaving me. My muscles flexed and bulged as fresh strength returned to them, filling them with a power I had not embraced for far too long. My heavy eyelids shot open when a jolt of adrenaline coursed through my body, making the rest of me twitch involuntarily as if a battleaxe had been smashed directly into my brain.
As quickly as the healing began, it ended. The glow and light in Alaire’s eyes faded and he stepped back with the smirk of a man who was all too pleased with himself.
“Ah, some of my finest work,” he congratulated himself. Then he reached out and delicately put a finger under Lily’s chin. To her credit, she jerked away immediately with the same glare she gave him earlier.
“Dinnae touch ‘er,” I growled.
He did not bother to look at me but only stared at Lily. “As agreed, you now have twenty minutes alone with the Yeti. And don’t, not even for an instant, believe that I won’t be keeping a close eye on the time.” Then he brushed past her, running his hand along her leg before he finally stepped outside. I secretly wished the ceiling would collapse, raining stone on his head and knocking him out as cold as I was previously. But that was just my anger and sadness spinning hasty solutions in my mind.
The door slammed behind him. Lily and I listened to his footsteps growing fainter for a full minute before she ran over to me.
“Lily, why—”
My besom intercepted my fool question by planting her lips on mine as she nestled into my lap. Her legs wrapped around my waist like a pair of snakes, strong as an oak, flexible as rope. Her tongue searched my mouth and I did the same to hers. I never realized until that very moment how famished I was for her flavor, her body… for her.
Lily grasped my head as she pulled away and stared into my eyes with an urgency I had not witnessed before. “I love you so much, Tallis. Please don’t ever forget that.”
My heart cried at the sight of her while realizing that our moment would pass far too soon. “Ye know this is madness, Besom,” I stated, shaking my head. “He’ll nae keep his word, nae matter whit he promises.”
Her eyes hardened a little at hearing that. But the darkness did not return. Her anger and determination were all hers. “It was the only way to ensure that Alaire would restore your health, Tallis. Otherwise, you would have died!”
A wave of grief overcame me like the high tide in Eire. “Ah could nae protect ye in the end,” I lamented. “Ah have failed ye, mah besom, an’ fer that, Ah am forever sorry.”
“No, you didn’t fail me,” she argued as she held my face between her hands and looked into my eyes with a deep earnestness. A stream of tears rolled down her cheeks. It was all I could do to keep mine at bay. But I had to be strong for my Lily. “As long as I can swing a sword, so far as I’m concerned, you’re still protecting me.”
“Ah will come back fer ye,” I whispered with the solemnity of all my oaths. My hands fisted at my sides and my jaw was tight. “Ye know Ah will nae allow Alaire tae keep ye here.” My jaw tightened further. “Ah am yer protector an’ protect ye Ah shall. From here oontil eternity.”
“No, you can’t,” she said, her eyes widening with fear. “If Alaire ever sees you again, he won’t be so kind to you a second time.”
“Ah care naethin’ fer Alaire an’ his orders! Ah never have.” I could feel my heartbeat escalating. “It’s ye Ah care fer. Ye alone.”
“Shh, not now,” she said as her lips found mine again. We kissed and the sorrow between us transferred through our mouths. I could taste her worry as much as I could taste her love. She broke away and added, “Now… right now… we’re the only two people in this world. That’s the only thing I want to think about.”
Then, there was nothing but the sound of our kisses in the unyielding stone chamber. Her hands explored my chest, running from my shoulders all the way down to my stomach. Finally, I could feel her smooth fingers fumbling their way into my ragged pants.
I shook my head and withdrew as much as my chains would allow. “Besom, this is nae the time nor the place,” I hissed cautiously.
She gave me an unflinching stare. “Interrupt me again, Tallis Black, and I’ll tape your mouth shut.”
I had no doubt that she meant every word. I did not speak again as she returned to her fumbling with my trousers and her deep, wet kisses continued to warm me. A pleased smile spread across her face as she finally pulled my body free of my clothing.
My member was as rigid as it could be. Had it been any stiffer, it could have knocked down the walls of the cell we were sitting in. Her hands worked up and down my shaft, with a grip as tight as her legs were round my waist. I groaned and my head rolled back as I let my dear besom take control of me. Something I would never have granted another woman.
I did not miss the irony of knowing that we had done this before, when Persephone controlled Lily’s body. But this was nary the same. Persephone had used Lily’s body and me brutally for her own twisted pleasure. This felt right. It felt tru
e. It was just between Lily and me, the way it ought to have been.
Somehow, I knew that my besom was well aware of that already. Perhaps it was why she needed this encounter with me as surely as I did with her. We both had to make things right, had to force the images of me with Persephone out of both of our minds.
Hiking her frock, Lily tore off her undergarments with a ripping sound. From the look of her panties, I doubted it took much of an effort. She grabbed my head again and pressed it firmly to her breasts. My mouth suckled her hard nipple like a babe eager to feed, and I kept switching between suckling and biting them alternatively. Each little nibble resulted in a satisfied gasp or a moan from her, which only encouraged me. My dear besom uttered all manner of sounds, fruitlessly trying to muffle them. It was clear she did not want Alaire to hear us but how I wished she were able to be free, to scream or moan as she saw fit.
The familiar smell of my woman’s nether parts—mixed with something akin to rosewater—wafted into my nostrils, indicating her readiness for me. I was beyond ready for her. I had been from the moment I had met her but I was so bloody stubborn, I wouldn not admit as much to myself.
But, looking upon her now, I realized how true it was. I loved this woman and I always had. And I would do everything in my power to protect her from here on out. She was the only reason I had to continue living and I would fight for her until the last breath exited my lips.
Lily rested her head on mine, still panting from our mouth play, and her lips were only a few inches from my ear as she said, “I love you, Tallis Black, and I’m so sorry we never got the chance to—”
I shushed her and stroked her lovely red hair. “’Tis as ye said, Besom… right now, we’re the only two people in the world.”
