by HP Mallory
“If you are as familiar with my work as I suspect you are, fraulein, then you already know how the mind often cloaks its true meaning by using the language of symbols. The mutable nature of your pursuer in this dream alone is proof of that, ja?”
I held up my hand. “I’m not arguing otherwise. But I can’t help thinking this castle and the consistency of the setup goes back to another famous concept of yours… synchronicity.”
“Synchronicity, yes,” he said and hummed. He appeared impressed. “By this statement, you mean to say that while you have yet to see this castle in your true life, you suspect that you will sometime in the future?”
A wave of relief washed over me. “Yeah, exactly! I mean, you’ve had lots of cases where that sort of thing happened, right?” God, it felt so good to be understood! Finally!
He shrugged. “The term ‘lots’ may be a slight exaggeration, but such cases have come under my purview, yes. If I may posit a theory of my own…”
“Okay.”
“Could the castle in which you find yourself being chased possibly be the Fergus Castle of your shared visions with Herr Black?”
Jung’s question made me catch my breath. Hearing the words out loud made the idea seem so obvious. Yet it hadn’t occured to me once until the doctor mentioned it. I licked my lips as I considered his words. “I… I really don’t know. I mean, the only times I’ve ever seen Fergus Castle was at a distance. I was never close enough to make out the stonework; not like I could in the dream.”
“If that were the case, how would knowing this Castle was Castle Fergus change your perception of this dream?”
Now, I had to really think about my answer. “It’d make a weird kind of sense. Like, the castle symbolizes me and I’m being chased by people who don’t want me to be me or…” I stopped. I wasn’t sure where I was headed with that logic. It just sort of occurred to me and I hadn’t had any time to shape the thought. Plus, I had no way of knowing that my theory wasn’t just based entirely on pure bullshit.
Doctor Jung stood up from his seat and walked back to his desk. He spoke again as he opened up his briefcase before stuffing his notepad and pen back in it. “There is something else to consider: the source of your dreams is likely pointing you towards issues that predate your employment with Afterlife Enterprises.”
Now I was back to being confused. “But I thought my past issues were the whole point of me going through all those tough love sessions with The Self! So I could get past those issues once and for all?”
Jung closed his briefcase and sighed. “Alas, the subconscious is not as straightforward as we might wish it to be. While I am convinced your Self has acted as a catalyst to propel you towards inner progress, your dreams indicate some underlying issues that still need to be addressed.”
I growled as I threw up my hands and rose from the couch. “But what are they?!”
Jung took a steadying breath before clasping my hands. “Fraulein, I appreciate your urgency in this matter. But one of the great mistakes made by my previous mentor was his tendency to frame the available evidence to fit a predetermined conclusion. I respect my patients far too much to do the same. Therefore, I suggest you make a list of associations to every major element of this dream. Perhaps when you make that list, you shall uncover a better grasp of the dream’s overall meaning.”
Before I realized what I was doing, I leapt off the couch to give him a hug. Shocked and equally mortified, I realized tears were rolling down my cheeks but there was nothing I could do to stop them. It was like all the fear and stress and anxiety of the last couple of weeks was suddenly raining down on me and the dam that was holding my emotions back had just burst. Jung hugged me back, whispering soft German phrases into my ear and rocking me back and forth. Finally, I released him and wiped my eyes. “Sorry, I… I don’t know what came over me.”
Jung smiled and patted my shoulders. “It is fine, fraulein. May I take your reaction as a sign that my counsel is valued?”
I nodded dumbly. “Yes, greatly valued.”
He nodded, dropping his hands back down to his sides. “Then, I think we can both agree that I have done my job correctly.” He reached inside his coat pocket. “I shall submit my report this afternoon. Given the pending nature of this case, I believe AE shall reach their final conclusion no later than twenty-four hours after I have done so.” He pulled out a professional business card that was made from heavy paper stock.
I nodded as I took the card.
Jung escorted me to the door and opened it for me. On the other side of the door, in my living room, Bill was lying on the couch, playing with his AE phone like I asked him to. Tallis was methodically washing the dishes in the sink and cursing all the while. My new doctor quietly said goodbye before closing the door.
Surrendering to my curiosity, I opened the door again. The only thing I saw outside was the early Scottish morning sunlight. As I closed it once again, I felt happy. Staring down at Doctor Jung’s card, I concluded that meeting one of my heroes was just about the best thing that could happen to me.
Bill looked up. “Did it go okay, Nips?”
Tallis interrupted his dishes with the same question on his face.
“Yeah, it went pretty well.”
As I flipped the card over, however, I got a surprise. On the other side was feminine handwriting, which didn’t match Dr. Jung’s penmanship. The handwriting consisted of merely two lines, an 800 number on the top line and a message on the bottom: “Polyhymnia and Thalia, conference call, 7PM, say hi to Billy for me!”
As Tallis and Bill approached me with curious expressions on their faces, I began to understand why Bill trusted Dr. Jung so much.
THREE
Tallis
I wasnae thrilled at having me cellphone used as our link to the conference with the Muse sisters. Whilst the stookie angel knew and trusted them infinitely, I had nae reason to do the same. Benevolent or nae, they were still employees of AE, the very organization that had thrown us all to the wolves during our last trip to the Underground.
Still, there wasnae denying the logic for why we were phoning them on my mobile. Of the three mobiles Besom bought, mine was used the least often… which is to say, not at all. Hence, ‘twas the least likely to be traced.
For meself, I fail to follow how technology works unless the explanation is put into terms I can understand. Thankfully, me Lily was good enough to define what tracing a call meant. She said ‘twas similar to tracking prey across the Dark Wood. This I understood in an instant.
At the appointed hour, using something termed “speakerphone” me device began buzzing loudly. On the fifth ring, a prim lass’s voice called out, “Hello?”
The stookie angel took the lead. “Poly, it’s us.”
A chirpier lass’s voice hummed thoughtfully. “That’s funny… I don’t recognize this number.”
I figured now was as good a time as any to make the introductions. “Aye, ‘tis the idea, ma’am. Ah barely use this phone so Besom an’ the stookie angel reckoned it’d be best tae use mine.”
The prim lass—Poly, as the bampot angel called her—was all business in her reply. “And whom might I have the honor of addressing?”
A familiar young man’s voice answered. “Yo, what up, Tall-Boy?”
I couldnae contain the grin that spread across me face. “Harry, lad! Good tae hear yer voice agin!”
“Same, man, same. ‘Course, after bein’ cooped up in my place since I got back, I’m glad to hear anybody’s voice.”
“Hey, we all got cabin fever,” another familiar voice announced. This one belonged to Kay. “I mean, I’ve been passing the time with reps and cardio drills but—”
This group of lads and lasses had assisted Besom, the stookie angel, and me on our last trip to the Underground City. I was quite fond of them.
A loud clearing of the throat ended that thought. “As fascinating as your bodybuilding activities are, Miss Kay,” Poly said. “I never did receive an answe
r to my original question from Bill’s… companion.”
I sighed. “Ah’m Tallis Black, one time Master o’ Fergus Castle an’ the Oonderground City.”
Besom picked that moment to introduce herself. “Lily Harper, one time Mistress of the Middle of Nowhere and currently situated in the Depths of Nowhere.”
There was a laugh at Besom’s colorful description. “Thalia of the Muses, but please call me Sally. The stick-up-the-butthole you’re hearing with me is, of course, Poly, my sister.”
Poly’s tone was sharp enough to cut through steel. “Polyhymnia, if you please. I barely tolerate that nickname from Bill, thus I would very much appreciate everyone else calling me by my proper moniker.”
“You wanna be known as Monica now?” the dunderheid angel spoke up with a shrug. “Fine’s by me, I guess.”
“No!” Poly yelled. “Call me Polyhymnia!”
“Fines. Make up your damned mind!” the angel roared as those remaining on the mobile laughed.
That got a growl from Poly. “Can I just say that I have not missed your pathetic desecrations of the English language?”
A French-accented man’s voice spoke up. “To be fair, English is the most mutable tongue, always changing with the times, making any mastery of it quite a challenge.”
A woman’s voice with the same accent followed. “A good thing that such challenges are what invigorates us, oui, mon husband?”
“Nicolas and Perenelle,” Besom said with a smile. “Good to hear your voices again.”
“Yours as well,” they both said in unison. The angel and I also made our greetings.
“I presume I am addressing Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, late of the Morgue?” Poly’s tone this time sounded less irritated but the undertone indicated she wished to get things back on track.
Nicolas answered for both of them. “The very same, Mademoiselle Polyhymnia… I trust we are not unfashionably late?”
Sally took that question. “Oh, not at all, Monsieur. We’re just waiting for one more—”
“And now you need wait no longer.”
The sensuality of the voice instantly told me to whom it belonged. Man or woman, the sound of that particular voice crawled into your head, down your pants and made you feel things you didnae think possible. Er, or used to. Now ‘twas only me besom who made me loins stir.
“Hello, Jenny,” I said.
The stookie angel immediately started laughing. I glared at him and he pointed at me. “You sounded like Forrest Gump! ‘Hello Jenny!’” He finished, imitating me in a strange voice. Then he began losing himself to a fit of giggles again. I just shook me head.
“How have ye been?” I asked me old friend, Jenny.
When Jenny spoke again, I heard something in her voice that I’d nae heard before… weariness. “Tallis, good to hear your voice. There are days when I feel as though we’re just hanging on by our fingernails.”
Poly’s response revealed how little she cared about Jenny’s exhaustion. “If you’ll kindly state your name for the record…?”
“Beelzebub’s dick, Poly! You already know who I am!” Jenny yelled back.
The stookie angel nearly lost his lunch ‘twas laughing so hard.
Besom leaned over the phone. “But most of the people on the line don’t know who you are, Jenny. And I doubt you want them to know you as Beelzebub’s dick?”
A little more joy crept back into Jenny’s voice. “Good to hear from you too, Lily. And to the rest of you, I’m Jenny, Mistress of the Toy Store.”
Poly chimed in with, “The Toy Store being the Fourth Circle, correct?”
Jenny’s answer came out as an exasperated sigh. “Yeeeeesssss…”
Judging from the look on her face, Besom was more than tired of the delays. “Not to overstep my bounds, Polyhymnia and Sally, but I imagine you called all of us here to talk business? So if the introductions are over, how about we get down to brass tacks?”
Sally’s voice lost a bit of its bubbliness. “She’s got a point, sis. Now that everybody’s here…”
Poly sighed. “Very well… let us begin.” She cleared her throat. “First item on the agenda: there’s an ongoing campaign to put Soul Retrievers under the auspices of the Department of Requisitions.”
Jenny’s cackle was anything but pleasant. “Yeah? I don’t see the likes of Streethorn agreeing to that one!”
“Without question, Streethorn poses our chief opposition in this matter. What’s even more surprising is the clout he’s receiving from AE’s upper management,” Sally responded.
That statement prompted Harry to ask a question. “Whoa, hold on! From what I’ve ever seen of Streethorn, he didn’t look any higher in AE than a middle manager. How could he be bringing heat like that to this fight?”
Poly’s tone softened at the young man’s question. “I would dearly love to know the answer to that myself, Harry. It was a struggle just to transfer the four of you under our department’s umbrella.”
‘Twas me cue to ask the important question. “Would servin’ the Requisitions Department provide these lads an’ lasses more protection than afore?”
“In a manner of speaking, Mr. Black,” Poly answered. “It would give us the opportunity to screen any Soul Retrieval assignments for risks, up to and including unprovoked ambushes. Should we deem the assignment too dangerous, both Thalia and I have veto power over any attempts to enact the legislation.”
Lily glowered into the phone. “I could have used some of that protection before I got possessed by Persephone.”
The angel put a reassuring hand over Besom’s as he leaned into the phone. “Yeah, what she said. I mean, I’m glad the kids are covered but how’s it comin’ on gittin’ Nips her protectnology?”
Sally replied. “The same way it’s been for the rest of the Soul Retrievers, Billy! Slow and grindy. Despite the official report about what happened to Lily, Streethorn is still fighting us tooth and nail while trying to keep her strictly under his management.”
“But we are fighting for it,” Poly added. “Extra pull or not, the senior and junior VPs of Requisitions still outrank the likes of Streethorn. And we’re using our status to argue for putting all Soul Retrievers under our banner.”
Kay chimed in, “Yeah, all of us who were down there… we’ve been through a lot.”
“Way too much, Ms. Kay, and it will continue until someone does something about it,” Poly continued. “That motivation alone is enough to prompt myself and Thalia to keep struggling on your behalf.”
Harry seemed less than happy. “Hey, look, this is great and all. But what good is working for you fine ladies if we’re just going to stay under house arrest?”
Poly’s voice actually sounded compassionate toward the lad’s concerns. “That, I am happy to report, is an issue that will be sorted out by tomorrow morning. Thanks to the reports of our own Dr. Jung, all the Soul Retrievers on this call will be cleared for duty.”
Kay didn’t appear to take the news very well. “I’m… not so sure that’s a good thing.”
“Kay, did you miss the part about pre-job screening that they’ll be doing for us?” Addie, one of their compatriots, asked.
“Oh, I caught it, believe me. It’s just… well, shit happens.”
The compassion in Poly’s voice remained strong. “Very true, but we can certainly cut down on the quotient of shit you are expected to put up with.”
Jenny’s laugh this time held a wee bit more hate to it. “Wow, the prude Muse using a bad word! I never thought I’d see the day.”
Poly’s answer demonstrated how little love was lost between them. “If you have something pertinent to contribute to this discussion, Jenny, be my guest.”
“Fine,” Jenny responded. “How about the next item on the agenda, that is, the absolute shitshow I’m dealing with down here?”
The stookie angel’s brow creased at hearing those words. “Yo, how bad is it, Jenny?”
The weariness I heard earlier in Jenny’
s voice crept back in. “The word ‘bad’ barely covers it, Bill. Ever since Alaire decided to dump all those extra monsters into every Circle of the Underground City, mine included, the Toy Store has become a virtual refugee camp-slash-trauma center.”
Besom’s face turned grave. “You’re talking about Soul Retrievers?”
“Who else? Their job was already difficult before all those… ‘extra security measures’ I think Alaire called them?” Jenny continued. When nae one had anything more to say, Jenny kept going. “The Retrievers who make it to my little corner of the city are physically, mentally and emotionally scarred at best, but nearly broken at worst.”
“Sounds like the perfect guests for you,” Poly responded.
Jenny’s voice took on the type of dark tones only a true demon’s can. “Not like this, they’re not! These are people whose only crime is having extremely shitty luck and being taken in by AE’s BS about having to choose between this place and Shade. What kind of choice is that again?”
Besom’s mouth was a flat line as she answered, “No choice at all.”
Jenny’s voice sounded lighter at the validation. “Thank you, Lily. Anyway, we’re doing what we can to treat them down here but they need to get back to the surface. Normally, I’d reach out to Tallis so he could grant them passage through the Dark Wood, but…”
She let that word hang in the air, baiting me for an explanation. “Aye, Ah’ve nae been ta me cabin since we all escaped the Morgue. Ah’ve been stayin’ close tae Lily’s place, in case o’ trouble.”
Jenny’s voice grew dark again. “And I’m sure she requires extremely close protection.”
Sally piped in with, “Hey, given everything that’s happened to Lily, I’m glad she’s got someone watching over her.”
“Sure, Sally, but what about all those other kids who are still strait-metal-jacketed to Blondie’s crew?” The angel asked.
“Wait, there were more people than just us being used for slave labor?” Harry asked, sounding alarmed.
Addie’s answer carried a weary wisdom that could only come from a lifetime of hardship. “The Underground City’s gonna be needing folks to do all that manual labor they think they’re too good for. So why stop with us?”
