To Hell And Back (The Lily Harper #3)

by H. P. Mallory

  “Ah amnae worried,” Tallis responded and shook his head as if to emphasize the point.

  “You aren’t worried?” I repeated and frowned at him to let him know I wasn’t following.

  “Aye,” he answered. “We willnae have any trooble in the toy store.”

  “Down to the foot of the malign gray shores”

  – Dante’s Inferno

  ELEVEN

  Even though Tallis seemed to think otherwise, I had a feeling that the fourth level of the Underground City would be no less menacing than the first three I’d had the misfortune of visiting. The Toy Store, which was located on the fourth level, was entirely surrounded by the muddy river, Styx. In order to reach its gloomy shores, Tallis stole a small wooden barge, which had been abandoned on the shore on the far east side of the Underground City. The barge was maybe five feet wide and four feet long. Considering it was rotted in places, and altogether missing slats of wood in others, I wondered if the thing would even float in the dirty water of the Styx.

  But float it did, and before I knew it, we were sailing down the gurgling current of the muddy river. At least, I hoped the murkiness of the river was from mud and not something more sinister. Even though the water didn’t move very rapidly, the current was strong enough to keep us cruising at a good clip. The water was the color of coffee and the small wake, which trailed us, crested in a murky foam.

  As we sailed along, Tallis kept the barge from ramming into the banks of the river by steering it with a long, wooden pole he’d found beside it. I sat in the front of the barge with my legs folded Indian-style while Tallis stood directly behind me. He didn’t say much of anything, in true Tallis style. Not that I minded—it was enough of a relief just knowing the Scotsman was there.

  The scenery around us didn’t reveal much other than the hulled-out remains of long dead trees that met the bank of the river, and the dirt terrain below them. The moonlight reflected off the water, revealing nothing in the abysmal darkness beneath the current. I had to wonder what kind of horrible creatures lived deep within the waters of the Styx, if any.

  Interestingly enough, as far as creatures were concerned, I still hadn’t seen even one inhabitant of the Underground City since starting our adventure, but that was just as well. It wasn’t as though I ever enjoyed hobnobbing with the nefarious creatures of the Underground.

  “I didn’t realize this place actually had natural land inside it,” I commented to my mostly silent guide. “I was getting used to seeing nothing but city streets and nondescript buildings.”

  “Aye,” Tallis agreed. “The Oonderground is mostly asphalt an’ concrete. Boot the Toy Store an’ its surroundin’ land is original tae the old city, the one that existed afore Alaire rebuilt it.”

  “Alaire rebuilt the city?” I asked, unable to conceal my surprise. I’d only ever known the Underground City as it now appeared.

  “Aye.”

  “Interesting,” I replied, my eyebrows reaching for the dark night sky. “How long ago did Alaire take control of it?”

  “Mayhap ah few hoondred years,” Tallis answered. The sound of his makeshift oar when it parted the water was almost soothing.

  “So he hasn’t managed it for very long,” I said, glancing back at Tallis. With his black kilt, the animal pelt over his shoulders and our swords strapped to his chest, he reminded me of some kind of warrior spirit, sent from Valhalla.

  “Aye,” Tallis answered before growing quiet again. As we continued down the Styx, a misty fog began to envelop us. The farther we sailed, the thicker the fog became, circling around us like thousands of ghosts. I started to wonder if the whitish vapor were something that should have caused us unease, but Tallis didn’t seem to even notice it, so taking my cue from him, I didn’t freak out. Instead, I just turned around and faced forward again, finding it difficult to see the horizon through the milky white haze that obscured it.

  But my mind wasn’t wholly focused on my surroundings. Instead, I kept thinking back to my dinner with Alaire and his observation that I should inquire with Tallis as to his history in the Underground City. “Tallis?” I said with a sigh, knowing he probably wouldn’t like my prying.

  “Aye?”

  “When I was having dinner with Alaire,” I started, but grew quiet once I noticed the sudden frown on Tallis’s face. “Um, he uh, he made some comments about you spending quite a bit of time in the Underground City,” I finished and hesitated because I knew Tallis was uncomfortable whenever discussing Alaire.

  “Whit did he say?” Tallis asked. His tone of voice was curt, to the point of sounding almost abrasive.

  “Actually nothing,” I answered with a shrug, “and that’s sort of the point.” When Tallis’s eyebrows furrowed, I figured I needed to explain. “He seemed surprised that I didn’t know more about your history in this city, since you know it as well as you do. And, I guess, I was surprised that I didn’t know more about it too, so I’m asking you now.”

  Tallis was quiet for a few seconds, the expression on his face revealing nothing. When he spoke, his voice was deep and monotone. “Ah dinnae like tae discooss mah backgroond.”

  “I know you don’t,” I admitted with a frustrated shrug. I’d had a feeling I’d come up against a wall as soon as I asked him the question. “But I was hoping you’d open up to me about your history here, just like you’ve opened up on other subjects regarding your past.”

  “Ah have buried that part o’ mah past, lass, an’ Ah will ne’er revisit it,” he stated firmly, his jaw set in a stubborn hold.

  “Okay, I didn’t mean to upset you,” I replied, sighing. The moonlight shone directly on him, revealing his narrowed eyes and stiff countenance. His jaw looked tight and the moonlight illuminated the uneven scar that bisected half his face. To me, the scar made him gloriously handsome. “I’m sorry if I brought up any bad memories,” I said softly, my heart aching for him. It suddenly seemed horribly unfair that despite basically admitting our feelings for each other, we couldn’t act on them.

  “Ah amnae oopset, lass.”

  I was spared the chance to respond when I felt the barge bumping into something hard. When I faced forward, I could barely make out the bank of the river. I glanced back at Tallis, only to find him in the process of mooring the barge in the dense fog. I faced forward and gripped my makeshift crutch, not wanting it to fall into the river. At the sound of something in the water, I glanced to my right and noticed Tallis had jumped into the river and was now pulling the rest of the barge up onto the sandy ground.

  “Dinnae lit the water tooch ye, lass,” he reminded me. He laid the oar beside the barge and retrieved the crutch from me. I still didn’t know why I couldn’t let the water touch me, but figured the consequences probably wouldn’t be good, so I left it at that.

  “I remember,” I answered as I held my hands out to him. He lifted me up and deposited me on the bank, a few feet up from where the river lapped at the dark sand. Then he helped me secure the crutch beneath my armpit.

  When I looked up again, I could see a large hill directly in front of us. At the top of the hill was a dilapidated, one-story, wooden structure that reminded me of the lean-tos along the river in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I was just waiting for two banjos to start dueling.

  “Why did Alaire spare this section of the Underground City, but not any others?” I asked in a quiet voice. I wasn’t sure if anyone or anything could hear us, but in general, it wasn’t a good idea to announce your presence in the Underground.

  “He made ah deal wif the owner o’ the Toy Store,” Tallis answered, pulling the animal pelt from around his shoulders and spreading it out on the barge. Why? I had no clue.

  “The owner of the Toy Store?” I repeated quizzically. I thought it odd that there was someone, other than Alaire, who was in charge of a section of the Underground City. “I thought Alaire owned, er managed, all of the city?” I stared down at the pelt covering the barge again. “Why did you cover our raft with yo
ur fur?”

  “It carries mah scent,” he replied, as if that were explanation enough.

  “So what if it carries your scent?”

  “’Tis mah way o’ guardin’ the barge, lass,” Tallis answered and sounded flustered. “Mah scent is ah warnin’ ta others that the barge is olreddy spoken fer.”

  “Oh,” I answered with a nod, before remembering the question I’d asked him earlier. “So going back to Alaire … So he doesn’t own or manage or whatever it is he does all of the Underground City?”

  “Afterlife Enterprises owns the Oonderground,” Tallis corrected me. He eyed the barge narrowly before looking up the hill at the shanty that stood looming over us.

  “I know,” I snapped, wanting to get to the point. The longer we stood around in the fog, the more nervous I became. “Alaire manages it, or whatever! You get what I’m trying to say …”

  “The owner o’ the Toy Store has lived in the Oonderground City longer than anyone,” Tallis answered. His crooked smile seemed to be in response to my frustration. “Alaire simply paid ’er the respect she was due.”

  “But she doesn’t really own the Toy Store because AE does?” I asked, confused by his words.

  “Jenny owns the Toy Store,” Tallis reaffirmed as his eyes came to rest on the crutch beneath my arm.

  “How is that possible?”

  “Ye an’ yer questions, Besom!” Tallis exclaimed with a huff.

  “Well, if you would be clearer with your answers, I wouldn’t have to ask so many!” I said, throwing my hands in the air with frustration.

  Tallis didn’t respond right away but offered me a quick smile before he faced the hill and looked back at me again, shaking his head. “Ye cannae walk oop this hill yerself,” he announced. Then, without so much as a warning, he approached me, pushing the crutch out of my hand, and grabbed me around my waist. He hoisted me over his shoulder like I were a sack of gifts and he was Santa Claus, albeit a much less jolly one.

  “Tallis!” I scolded him, or rather, his backside because that was exactly what I was facing.

  “Ah’m hopin’ all the bluid rushin’ tae yer head will keep ye from askin’ meh sae many bludy questions!” he answered with a deep chuckle as I swatted him on his butt.

  “That’s not nice.”

  “Och aye! An’ neither are yer relentless questions!” Squatting down to pick up my crutch, he started to ascend the hill.

  “Ugh,” I grumbled, not exactly comfortable slung over Tallis’s shoulder with Bill’s phone jabbing into my stomach from inside my fanny pack.

  “Whit now?”

  “Bill’s phone is jabbing me in the ribs,” I grumbled.

  Tallis chuckled and smacked me right across my butt.

  “Ouch!” I yelled in mock offense. “What was that for?”

  “In return fur ye smackin’ mah arse.”

  “That wasn’t a smack!” I argued with him, playing affronted. “That was a little tap compared to the number you just did on me!”

  Tallis continued to chuckle. “Next time, hit harder.”

  “I’ll remember that,” I promised him and started grumbling while his continuing chuckle drowned out my complaints.

  “Tae answer yer question, lass,” Tallis began in an obvious attempt at a truce. “Jenny owns the Toy Store, boot she does agree tae work wif AE … well, mostly …” Then he chuckled again as if the idea of Jenny being in compliance with AE was amusing. I didn’t know why but his apparent glee began to irritate me. “Boot Jenny is ah woman wif ah mind o’ her own …”

  “She works with AE?” I repeated as we crested the hill and he set me down on my feet. “How?”

  “She’s in charge o’ the fourth level o’ the Oonderground whaur she keeps watch over the souls o’ the wrathful.”

  He helped me reposition the crutch beneath my arm again as I faced the shanty and exhaled my pent-up anxiety before addressing Tallis. “You know, I’m going to slow us down; and I can’t do much with my sword attached to your chest.” I reminded him of the same point I’d made earlier—when I’d received Jason’s text informing me about this mission.

  “Ah amnae worried, lass,” Tallis responded, echoing the same sentiment from the first time I’d brought up the subject. “This is the only section o’ the Oonderground City where we willnae roon intae any trooble.”

  Taking a few tentative steps forward, I did my best to place most of my weight onto the crutch, which I found difficult. The bottom of it kept sinking into the soft, muddy soil. Surprisingly, after his statement that there was nothing to be concerned about, Tallis unsheathed his sword from around his chest and held it poised anyway. I figured it was just to be prepared rather than sorry …

  “Why won’t we run into trouble here?” I asked before my foot rammed into something that went rolling. When I glanced down, I noticed it was the severed head of a baby doll. Its black hair was matted and there were water stains all over its face. The socket of one of its eyes was broken, which made it look like its eye was dripping onto its cheek. My heart instantly started to speed up as I sincerely hoped that Tallis was right in not expecting any trouble in the Toy Store.

  “Jenny is an auld friend o’ mine,” Tallis answered. I stepped over another doll, this one with clumped, faded blond hair and bright blue eyes. Just like the doll head I’d kicked with my toes, this one was also filthy. Although its torso was still intact, it was missing an arm and one leg. The arm was resting on the ground directly beside the doll, but there was no sign of its leg.

  I didn’t respond to Tallis’s admission that Jenny was an old friend. Instead, I just continued crutching forward, trying not to sink into the mud or trip over the various dismembered toys that littered the ground. A cool breeze blew around us, and the trees in the distance shook their leafless branches, sounding like rattling bones. The smell in the air was one of damp mustiness, not necessarily bad, but not good either.

  We reached the front steps of the lean-to, which were constructed from some kind of ancient wood that was now rotting and broken in some areas. Regardless, Tallis started up the steps, so I followed. The wood creaked loudly underfoot, as if it were mere seconds away from simply collapsing.

  The shack was surrounded by a three-foot railing. Most of the slats were missing and those that weren’t were in clear disrepair. Sitting atop the railing, and leaning against one of the columns that flanked the staircase and held up the overhang, was a toy monkey. It wore red-and-white-striped overalls, which were ripped and falling apart. It held a cymbal in one of its hands, but the other cymbal was missing. Its face was dirty and stained, but its eyes were even more off-putting. Both pupils were painted black with rings of red around the white parts that made the toy look as if it were completely crazy.

  We approached the front door of the shack, which was just as faded and worn as the walls and the staircase, and Tallis knocked on it. The paint on the house looked as if it were once white, but now the wood showed through in most places, while in others, the white paint was permanently stained with dirt and age. The front door hinted at shades of pink; but now it, too, was a much dirtier and run-down representation of its former self.

  When the monkey suddenly slapped its hand into the cymbal, it made a high-pitched, tinny sound, and I heard myself utter a little cry before nearly jumping right out of my skin. The monkey’s eyes started to spin, and the red lines around its pupils looked like they were meant to hypnotize the onlooker. Tallis glanced back at the offensive thing with a frown before he simply knocked it off the banister with the tip of his sword. It crashed into the dirt with another tinny sound from the cymbal.

  When he faced forward again, the front door opened, and seemingly of its own accord. Tallis glanced back at me and nodded, tacitly indicating that it was safe to proceed forward. When we entered the room, I was surprised to find it completely empty, as in it was devoid of any furniture or … toys. There were three doors in the room, but all were shut.

  “For a toy store, it looks
like your friend could use some inventory,” I snickered to Tallis.

  He smiled and I couldn’t recall a time when he looked more striking. Smiles on Tallis were such rare occurrences, yet he looked absolutely beautiful whenever one happened to visit.

  You have to stop thinking like that! I reprimanded myself. You and Tallis are and only ever will be friends. He’s already made that abundantly clear.

  “We hae yit tae enter the store, lass. This is merely the vestibule,” he replied as I forced my sudden depression down, refusing to grant it power. Instead, I turned my attention to the paintings decorating the wall farthest from me. The four paintings were assembled right next to one another and were in a single word—odd.

  The first one depicted a little girl who was maybe ten years old. She had platinum-blond hair that was cropped to her chin. Her skin was pasty white and her dark greenish-blue eyes were so large, they dwarfed her small face. She wore a birthday party-style hat on top of her head, but the placid expression on her face suggested she wasn’t very happy. Her dress was black and white, which contrasted nicely next to the backdrop of green clouds behind her. In her hands, she held a marionette doll, but the doll’s head was severed, a replica of the girl’s birthday hat also atop the doll’s head. The doll’s body, which was clad only in pantaloons, lacked one arm, which lay beside it.

  I couldn’t help the dread that settled in my stomach after viewing the macabre painting. The next three pictures featured the same little girl with the same placid expression; and in each instance, she was represented in off-putting ways.

  “A huge needle and shears hidden behind the skirts of her dress,” I announced, looking back at Tallis with arched eyebrows to say I found the artwork distasteful. Tallis didn’t respond so I simply started viewing the picture directly beside this one and continued my commentary. “A pink nurse’s uniform, a pig and a bloody knife.” Tallis didn’t say anything, but shrugged as if to reply he hadn’t been the one to choose the artwork, so why was I bothering him about it? “Somehow this one evokes a whole Fatal Attraction sort of vibe, doesn’t it?” I asked him even though I figured he had no idea what I was talking about.