by HP Mallory
“I never mentioned Sorcha to Lily before.”
I hopped up on the counter to reach the snacks Jolly Green decided to stash on the tallest shelf in the fucking apartment. “Right, well now Nips is gone, and it’s all yer fault.”
“Tis nae jist my fault! I recall ye were just as eager to talk Lily out o’ contactin’ her mother as I was.”
“Agree to disagree, but ya gotta admit that you did a shitty job while you was out there looking for her.”
“A shitty job?”
“Yeah, dude, you came back empty handed! Which, by the way, should be a crime. At least come back with food when an angel’s in the middle of a snackmergency.”
“She left her bloody phone so ‘twas nae as though I could track her!” he railed at me.
“Yeah, you ain’t so useful as a human, I gotta admit.” I shook my head at him as I opened the box of cheddar crackers and started in. “Anyways,” I huffed. “I’m running low on carbs, yo. An’ that means I’m runnin’ low on energy which means I’m gonna be in a shit poor mood here pretty soon an’ we need me functionin’ at my best soze I can figure outta way we’re gonna find Nips.”
“Are ye nae eatin’ carbs at the moment?” he asked and motioned to the box of crackers.
“These ain’t gonna last long,” I answered with a shrug. “All this business with Nips goin’ rogue is causing me to stress eat, and that ain’t good if I wanna keep my summer body.”
“I need to find her,” he said, his eyes settling on the view outside the window.
I gobbled the rest of the crackers down faster, letting out a belch that had some sour fumes on the kickback. “Yup. An’ I wouldn’t rely on man-bull to do the job, neither.”
He looked at me and glared. “O’ course I willnae rely upon the Minotaur!”
I shrugged. “He said he was gonna go after her.”
“I’m well aware,” Conan said, all pissed-off like. “Boot that dinnae mean he will be able to find her.”
“At least he’s lookin’.”
Conan faced me. “I could use yer help.”
Of course I was gonna help find my bestie. No way Dickwad was leavin’ me here. But I wanted him to beg me a little, just so I could feel important like. “What makes you think I can find her?”
“Ye’re an angel an’ ye possess otherworldly abilities.”
“It ain’t like I got a GPS built into my mind, yo.”
“Ye possess magic an’ I possess me sword which is tied to Lily’s. Nae to mention me own Druid magic. Together, we can find her.” A large palm gripped my shoulder and squeezed until I nodded. “We willnae fail.”
FIVE
TALLIS
The Dark Wood
The stookie angel and I had been searching the Dark Wood for me Besom for three days. Between me sword and the stookie angel’s abilities, we had picked up on her scent and were fast closing in.
I could not wait to wrap my arms around her and ensure she was safe. And then I was going to give her a healthy portion of me mind, as the saying goes.
I was angry. I was worried. I was confused as to why she would take this voyage upon herself and I was upset she had not consulted me.
The sound of laughter on the wind was eerie in a place like this.
I recognized the sound of me Besom’s voice and could not wait to set eyes upon her beauty. It was then I realized she was not alone. There was another voice—a man’s voice. I felt me rage begin to heat as the stookie angel and I turned a corner and there was me Besom standing before me, though she did not see us.
The Minotaur held her hand as she walked across a row of large rocks. Lily bounced from one rock to another with a smile spread tight across her lovely face. It struck me then how it had been quite some time since I last heard her laugh, or seen a true smile cross her lips.
“Ah, bull dude found her!” the stookie angel said with an awed expression from where he stood beside me.
Something akin to envy burned in me heart when Lily tumbled from the stone and into the Minotaur’s arms. She immediately appeared embarrassed and pulled away from him. But there was something there, all the same. Something in her eyes…
The lass was mine, and I intended to make me presence known.
“Lils!” the angel called out as he made his way toward her, taking the opportunity from me.
She turned at the sound of his voice and a smile captured her face but worry was just a moment behind. It became quite clear then that she’d left us behind to protect us. Aye, I’d figured as much as soon as I’d read her letter, but now it was quite obvious.
But when she set her eyes upon me, her smile fell, and it was like a dagger being plunged into me heart by a ruthless foe.
“Tallis,” she said me name and there was shock in her voice. Shock and something else… guilt.
Bill and me Lily embraced and, strangely enough, I found I could not go to her. Instead, I just stood rooted to my spot and watched as she turned her eyes from the wee angel and focused them on me once again. I did not bother to look at the Minotaur. Nor did I greet him.
Me Besom excused herself and started toward me. There was disappointment or perhaps it was frustration in her eyes. “You weren’t supposed to find me,” she said as she looked up at me.
She made no motion to embrace me and the realization hit me… hard. I pulled her aside and wanted to throw me arms around her but I did not. Instead, I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. I felt awkward in a way I had not felt in a very long time. And I did not like it one bit.
“Ye moost have known I’d come for ye.”
“I wish you hadn’t,” she said as me heart fell for the second time. I could not understand what would lead her to say such a thing. Apparently my expression revealed the same, for she cleared her throat and explained.
“I left because I wanted to keep you and Bill safe, Tallis.”
“’Tis nae yer right to make sooch a decision, Besom,” I said, growing angry with her.
“It was absolutely my right!” she answered, becoming quite fired-up, herself. I had not known what I expected upon finding her, but this certainly wasn’t it.
Not wanting to find myself in an argument, I chose a softer path. “I’m sorry, Besom,” I said in a wee voice as her eyes widened with surprise. “I didnae see it sooner that ye needed me. Whatever I did to make ye angry, I apologize from the bottom o’ me heart. I never wanted to oopset ye.”
Her smile returned even though a bit of sadness still lingered in her eyes. “It wasn’t you, Tallis,” she said softly. The warmth of her breath touched the center of me chest. “We should talk at some point, but not right now,” she said and motioned with a nod of her lovely head to the Minotaur and the angel as if to say we had company.
“I oonderstand.”
“Thank you for apologizing.” Besom stole a chaste kiss and gave me an apologetic smile as she clasped me hand, squeezed it and then released it again, hurrying back to the angel and the Minotaur. Of course I wanted to get to the bottom of whatever ugliness was distancing us, but pushing Lily never ended well.
I watched the Minotaur as he openly stared at me lass. His feelings for Lily were no mystery. From the moment he first laid eyes upon her, he had made his interest quite plainly known. The unfortunate part was that it appeared she returned those feelings, though I could not say why. When I looked upon the Minotaur, all I saw was beast. I could only wonder why Lily did not see the same.
Regardless, he was far too comfortable with her, and I needed to make sure he understood she belonged to me. I approached him apprehensively, holding myself to me full height. He towered over me but I reminded meself I didnae care. If he simply wanted to bed me lass, then I could understand, for it was only natural for a male to lust after Lily, being as beautiful as she was. But I feared it was not his loins that drove his interest, but his heart.
“Asterion,” I said in greeting.
He nodded. “Tallis,” he said in response. There was no joy in se
eing me. Though I could not imagine my gaze reflected any joy either.
I strolled over to Lily and folded her smaller hand into me own larger one.
“Asterion and I are in the process of locating a band of rebels,” she informed me.
“Why?” I asked.
Besom shrugged. “Asterion says their leader will be able to give us something to cloak our actions from Alaire which will make reaching Jenny that much easier.” She took a breath. “I’m more than sure Alaire’s been tracking me.”
“Ye have nae phone any longer,” I pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter,” she responded. “I’m convinced Alaire has eyes everywhere.”
“Aye, probably ‘tis true.”
###
‘Twas mayhap three hours of walking until we reached our destination. Our destination was a two-story, dilapidated hovel of a place that I was, quite frankly, surprised to find still standing. It stood at the far eastern end of the Dark Wood and was quite a distance from the gates to the Underground City, thus I was surprised Lily had thought it important to come here. But, I supposed there was something to be said for whatever magic might allow us to remain unseen from Alaire.
I recognized the pub at once as I used to frequent it many moons ago, before I had sworn off the company of others. When we opened the door and walked inside, I realized the old tavern was virtually unchanged over the centuries.
The floor was made of old wooden beams that matched the Viking-esque decor. A pelt-covered throne sat upon a small platform beside a large hearth at the far side of the room, iron chandeliers hung from vaulted ceilings, and stained-glass windows created a warm atmosphere.
The grand staircase of The Barren Heart was intricately carved from the same wood as the floors, but symbols had been etched into the design. Symbols of a long forgotten language—one I knew well.
There were not many people within the walls of the old place. But when the Minotaur nodded to a table of folks in the far corner of the place, I felt me anger begin to grow. I immediately recognized those around the table. They were cheats, cutthroats and otherwise ne’er do wells.
Had the Minotaur led us into a trap purposely or did he not realize the danger he’d placed us in? I could not say I cared at the moment, for me anger burned and it burned hot. Before I could realize what I was doing, I was in motion. I tackled the bull-man through the front door.
“Get off me!” he railed as surprise flickered through his expression, to be replaced with anger as he defended himself by pushing me away.
“Ye take me lass to rebels who would turn Lily over to Alaire for coin?!” A solid punch landed against me jaw, and I saw colors dance behind me eyelids for a minute. I rolled the Minotaur onto his side and rammed me elbow into his ribs.
He flipped to his feet, dropping into a fighting crouch before he charged me. I hit the wall and dust fell from the impact. The lights flickered above me head as me boots stuck to the floor where ale had become thick and congealed.
“Tallis!” I heard Besom’s voice but it sounded far away.
I stomped on the bull-man’s knee, and it buckled. But it did not keep him down, the bastard.
He was up and heaved me off me feet as he tossed me onto a table that cracked and broke beneath me weight. The bull-man grabbed me by the throat, but I broke a bottle of mead over his head.
The patrons within the pub cheered, eager this fight. I lifted a hand to cast a spell with me Druid magic, but me magic did nae work.
I looked over to the doorway, and I saw runes glowing above the frame.
The Minotaur, meanwhile, recovered and brought his fist against me jaw, and the fight began anew.
###
LILY
Over the commotion of the fight, my ears picked up on the sound of Bill’s voice as the angel took bets on who would win between ‘the Minotaur’ and the ‘Druid’. I’d run low on patience about two punches ago.
“Tallis!” I yelled at the giant as he fell backwards under the weight and strength of Asterion’s fist. When Asterion looked as though he was going to complete the job and knock Tallis unconscious, I intervened by grabbing his arm.
“That’s enough,” I said.
Asterion heaved in a breath or two and continued to glare at Tallis, but eventually backed away as I stepped between the two.
“Told you the Minotaur would win!” Bill said as he started walking around the room, collecting his spoils.
“What the fuck, Tallis?” I asked, glaring down at him. I made no motion to give him a hand up. He didn’t deserve it.
“No one here will harm Lily,” Asterion said as he glared at the Scotsman who pulled himself up and ran his arm across his bleeding nose. I wasn’t sure if it was broken but there was very definitely a purple bruise starting on his cheek as well as swelling. Luckily for Tallis, his Druid magic would heal his wounds quickly.
“They are known rebels,” Tallis started. “An’ rebels cannae be troosted.”
“They are my friends,” Asterion insisted. “And they can be trusted.”
“Well that was quite the entrance,” a woman’s voice sounded from behind us.
We all turned to look at her as she strode toward us, draped in exquisite robes fashioned from black and purple silk. Her robes were trimmed with golden thread and jewels that twinkled beneath the amber light of the chandeliers. There was definitely an air of regal beauty about her, even though she wasn’t very tall and was more curvy than narrow. Her auburn hair was piled high on top of her head.
The rebels dropped down to one knee in honor of the woman, who I supposed was their leader. She looked... familiar as she came to a stop just beside me.
How was it possible that she looked familiar? I’d never seen her before and yet… there was something about her face—about her eyes maybe. Just something about her that… seemed familiar.
She lifted her arms slightly, and an invisible force shoved Asterion and Tallis against opposite walls.
“That’ll be enough of that,” she said. I watched her with rapt fascination. A show of magic like that was rare to see in someone who appeared to be human.
“We’re done,” Asterion answered and then looked at Tallis as if to make sure such was the case. Tallis merely nodded.
“As Asterion said,” the woman started as she faced Tallis. “No one will hurt Lily.”
I supposed she’d picked up my name when Asterion used it, but it was strange to hear her say it when we hadn’t yet been introduced.
The woman turned her unsettling gaze towards me. “Follow me.”
“I’m coming too!” Bill said as he pocketed the cash he’d just made and led the way after the strange woman. Clearly, he was taken with her. And I couldn’t blame him. She was older than I was—maybe in her forties or so but she was very pretty in an almost dominatrix sort of way. The lines of her face were sharp but her cheekbones were high and her eyes were large, as was her mouth. And with the way she was dressed, she looked like she belonged at the Renaissance Faire.
I faced Tallis. “Are you going to behave?”
“Aye.”
The four of us trailed after the woman as she led us to a room at the back of the pub just beyond the kitchen. A large, circular table at the center took up the bulk of the area. I felt the urge to say something. Anything. “I apologize for my companions. They aren’t usually so… violent.”
“Oh, I very much doubt that,” the woman chuckled. Her laughter was like calm waves washing over a riverbank. “Please have a seat, all of you,” she said and motioned to the table.
“And who might you be?” Bill asked, clearly ready to put the moves on her.
She turned back and smiled… at me. “My name is Annice Harper.”
The universe seemed to hold perfectly still for several heartbeats. “Harper…” I repeated, frowning.
“Lils last name is Harper,” Bill supplied as he sat down beside me. I noticed Tallis made a quick dash for the seat on my other side. Asterion simply looke
d at me and smiled placidly as he took the seat beside Annice. Before she sat down, she closed the door and locked it.
“Yes, I’m Lily’s aunt.”
My heart started to pound as I tried to make sense of what she’d just said. But I couldn’t make sense of it and gave up trying. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember having an Aunt Annice,” I said, immediately on edge. It wasn’t everyday random women claimed to be related to you and, furthermore, my mother had never mentioned having a sister.
An expression of grief overcame her. “Yes, well there’s a reason why you don’t remember having an aunt.”
“My mother never said she had a sister.”
“She didn’t know she did,” Annice answered with a shrug.
“Didn’t know?” I asked.
“Your mother was adopted, Lily,” she explained with a knowing smile. “Our mother, your grandmother, placed her up for adoption because she thought it was best at the time… in order to keep your mother safe.”
None of this made any sense and because none of it made any sense, I had my doubts and misgivings. The first thing you learn when dealing with the afterlife is that everyone seems to want something from you and very few things come free.
My knee bounced nervously beneath the table, and I toyed with the hem of my shirt. “My mom never mentioned she was adopted…”
“She didn’t know,” Annice answered, nearly cutting me off.
“I… I don’t understand.”
“You come from a long line of gifted women, Lily,” Annice said as she nodded to me with a serious expression.
“Gifted women?” I repeated. “Gifted in what?”
“Magic,” Annice answered. “And it was my job to teach you this, but then I died in a car accident before I ever got to know you,” Annice continued, sighing. “Such a shame.”
“A car accident?” I repeated. “Like me…”
“Yes, like you,” Annice replied. “I was brought here for the same reason you were, but I failed where I believe you will succeed.”
