Hollow Earth (Hallowed Realms Book 2)

by Amy Miles

  “But how is that possible?” I asked, waiting for her to come back from her daydream.

  She didn’t answer me for a moment, either lost in a memory or debating how much she should tell me.

  “I wish I knew. For reasons neither of us can explain, he can see me, and I him. There is no logic to it. I have never heard of this happenin’ before. He hasn’t been attacked by a lorcan, so he can’t possibly see us because of their connection to Netherworld, like his best mate, Seamus.”

  “Seamus? Seamus was attacked by a lorcan?”

  Taryn nodded once. “I saved him from dyin’, but I’d wager the poison left inside him has allowed him to see our kind as well.”

  My hand went up to my heart. Seamus was like a second brother to me. We had grown up together since babies. I had always wondered if he had a crush on me. If he did, he never told me. For which I was grateful. I loved the boy, just not like that. I hadn’t loved anyone like that. It dawned on me now, that I never would either.

  “He’s fine now,” Taryn assured me, mistaking my own self-pity for the concern I should have been having for Seamus. “My friend, Tris, is a healer. We snuck him back to Netherworld to treat his wounds, which were touch and go for a while. He’s safe now. He’s back on Earth with Devlin.”

  “So if the two of you can see each other…I don’t understand—”

  “Humans are forbidden to be here, Alana, just as my time in Moneyglass is restricted only to my job. If it was ever discovered that we had a connection…of any kind, it would be like signin’ our own death warrants.”

  Oh. That was problematic.

  “Besides,” she continued, “it’s not like we were together long enough to make a difference. He was a ship passing in the night. Nothin’ more. Best to let sleepin’ dogs lie.” Taryn’s jaw hardened for a second, showing me how hard she was struggling to push Devlin out of her mind. It was heartbreaking to watch.

  “Is there no way you can be together?”

  “No. It’s not possible.”

  “Oh! What about when he dies? Can you be with him then? Not that I’m wishing my brother dead,” I clarified.

  She gave me a small smile. “Not even then, I’m afraid. Devlin would be taken to the ferry and sent on his way to the Isle of Glass. As you were meant to be.”

  “But if he stayed…like I did?”

  Taryn touched my gloved hand, and I understood. If he stayed, he’d vanish away too.

  “Like I said. Best to put it out of mind. Come. Let’s get goin’. We can talk about what happened on your ship on the way back. I want to hear it all, just as you remember it.”

  I nodded, though I didn’t look forward to thinking about those beasts again.

  “Taryn.” Eivin poked his head into my room. “Everything okay here?” he said, looking between the two of us.

  I nodded. “She was helping me with my stuff,” I said, picking up everything myself.

  “Can I talk to you for a moment?” he asked Taryn. “I ’ave a gift for ya.” The smile that spread across his lips told me that whatever it was, she would love it. Devlin used to do things like that all the time for me. He’d throw a pot and glaze it in my favorite colours or sculpt me a figure I’d mentioned I’d dreamt about. I found myself longing to see that same smirk on my brother once again. I didn’t doubt Taryn felt much the same.

  Chapter 9

  Devlin

  By the time we got off the ferry taking us to the Transition Centre, night had fallen, which had been part of Tris’s plan. She needed the cover of dark to slip us out of the line for the Transition Centre and sneak us back to her place.

  “We have to move fast. If I’m caught with you two we’ll all hang.”

  Seamus and I exchanged a glance and picked up our pace. Since crossing into Netherworld, Seamus seemed to be perking right up. Granted his fever had broken on Earth, but I could tell he was still in pain, but now, he seemed closer to his old self.

  “I’m not far. This way,” Tris whispered.

  We hugged the shadows and hid whenever we saw someone on the road, which, mercifully, wasn’t often.

  “This is my house,” she said.

  She headed towards a house that seemed to be on the outskirts of the town. It didn’t stand out from any of the others; save for the overgrown hedges that indicated the house was neglected. From what Tris had said about her da, it made sense. He barely cared about his daughter, why would he care about the house?

  While the overgrown hedges might be a visual eyesore to her neighbors, they proved to be excellent for us to hide behind. Tris removed a window box filled with what looked like herbs and put them on the ground. She looked over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear and then opened her window and slid inside, as though she had done this a million times. Seamus and I followed suit, though not as easily as she had done. The window was small and we were not.

  Once we had bumbled our way inside, Tris called out for her da to see if he was home. When she got no answer in response she gave us the ‘all clear.’

  “My guess is he’ll be down at the pub for the rest of the night. He got paid, so today he’ll take his time pissin’ that away.”

  Tris put her hands on her hips and scrunched up her face as she looked at Seamus and then at me.

  “This just might work,” she said to herself.

  “What will?” I asked.

  “Stay here,” she said and then disappeared from the room.

  Seamus and I looked at each other.

  “Okay then,” I said, laughing a little bit. “So far, our heads are still attached.”

  Seamus nodded and flopped onto Tris’s bed while I took in her small room. It was clear to see that her family wasn’t wealthy from the condition of her worn furniture. It reminded me a lot of Seamus’s room. Only the bare necessities were present.

  What must it have been like to grow up as a banshee? To live in a world governed by a king who could be so cruel. He’d already threatened to take Taryn’s head off, banish her parents, and Tris if she was found with us. If she was, there would be no trial. No time to plead her case. We had to be careful.

  “So,” I asked, “this is where you stayed after your lorcan attack?”

  “Aye, but not this room. Tris set me up in her ma’s healing room.”

  “Did Tris ever tell you what happened to her?” They had both seemed tight-lipped about it, so I didn’t want to pry, but I was also curious about their relationship.

  Seamus shrugged. “Not much to know. She went out to work one day on an assignment for the queen and…never came back.”

  “Does Tris think she ran off or…?”

  “Did the royals have something to do with it? Aye, Tris thinks they know more than they’re letting on, but she’s helpless to find out more. That’s the thing with this place. They want you to believe everything is under control.” He looked at his scars. “Which you and I know is bull. They’ve got a big problem, and they don’t seem to want to admit it. So yeah, I think they know exactly what happened to Tris’s ma.”

  The door opened then. I flexed my fists, ready for anything.

  “Calm down, you big oaf, it’s only me.” Tris shook her head and then tossed what looked like a saddle at me.

  The leather material landed hard against my chest. It was surprisingly heavy.

  “What is it?”

  “These,” she said, holding a similar garment up to Seamus, “are your disguises for the ball tomorrow. Taryn will be travellin’ to Odran to meet another contender there with Aed. That gives us enough time to come up with a plan and find passage there ourselves. Now, try them on. I need to see if they’ll fit.”

  I watched in horror as Seamus unfolded a pair of leather pants and a vest.

  “You’re having a laugh,” I said. There was no way we were squeezing our way into leather pants.

  Tris glared at me. “It’s the only logical disguise, Devlin. Men of your age and build”—her eyes darted to Seamus’s chest—“woul
d be trained to be reapers. Nothin’ else would be believable. Besides, Seamus already has the scars to work in his favor, so we won’t need to hide those.”

  I looked down at the garments.

  “Trust me,” she said. “Reapers are next to royalty here, and that’s the sort of freedom we’ll be needin’ to move around Netherworld without being asked a lot of questions. Combine that with the fact it’s not uncommon for banshees and reapers to walk side by side and it’s a no-brainer, as ya humans like to say. So put it on or you’ll not be goin’ anywhere with me.”

  “Fine, we wear the chaps and then what?”

  Tris sighed as Seamus began to disrobe, making Tris lose her focus for a moment. “They’re not chaps, ya daft fool. Though I wouldn’t mind seein’ ya in a pair of those.” Tris giggled at Seamus.

  “That’s a visual I could have done without,” I said, shaking my mind of the thought.

  “We’ll have to book passage on a merchant ship set for Odran. The two of ya can get passage by helpin’ to load cargo. I should have enough to cover my own fare.” She went into one of her drawers, her undergarment drawer by the look of it, and pulled out a bag of coins and dumped them onto the bed. “Aye. That should do it. Once we get to Odran, we’ll find a room at the inn. There should be a shop there where I can find some Chinois Root.”

  “What do we need that for?” Seamus asked.

  “For you. For your healin’.”

  Seamus frowned. “But I feel fine.”

  “Of course ya do. Once that poultice runs its course, though, you’ll be sicker than ya were.”

  That didn’t sound good. She never said he was going to get worse before he got better. Seamus seemed to be thinking the same thing judging by the look on his face.

  “You’ve got poison in your blood, Seamus. It needs to run its course. It’s the only way it will go away. It’s a lot like withdrawal for drug addicts in your world. The Chinois Root will help make ya more comfortable. The poultice will keep the fever from killin’ ya, but it’s our healin’ mists that will save ya. And that is goin’ to take time. More than it takes for the reapers to heal because you’re human.”

  “How long will it be till he’s better?” I asked, wondering how this might put a kink in our plans.

  “I don’t know. It takes our reapers only a few days to recover, but he’s human, so there’s no way of knowin’ how long this might take.”

  “The ball is tomorrow night,” I said.

  “Aye. So if Seamus is not well enough to go, you’ll have to do it alone. I won’t be leavin’ him.”

  “Thanks for the concern,” Seamus said, pulling her in for a kiss. “I’ll be fine, though. Don’t worry about me.”

  Tris snorted. “Spoken like a bloke who has no idea the pain he’s in for.”

  “I remember a fair bit of it from last time. I’ll tell you this, though. The suffering will be worth it if I’ve got you to nurse me back to health.”

  They exchanged another sweet kiss before she composed herself and helped Seamus get into the vest as his arm was still covered in the wrappings she’d put on him back in Ireland.

  “So, this ball…who will be there?” I asked, trying to get the lovebirds back to the present.

  Tris seemed to take the hint as she paid more attention to getting our outfits properly positioned.

  “It will be held at the manor house of Hannigan. Their daughter, Betha, is next in line for Aed’s tour. Their family will be there puttin’ on airs and have an elaborate spread of food. Everythin’ will be done in an attempt to impress the prince, or more importantly, the king. He’s in control, whether Aed chooses to believe that or not. The only reason Baylor’s allowed his son to go through with this charade is because then he gets to sample the local variety as well, if ya get my meanin’.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

  “Gross,” I said, though it shouldn’t have surprised me with someone as vile as the king.

  “How many women has the prince ‘sampled’ so far?” Seamus asked.

  The question garnered a grumble from me.

  “This will be stop number six.”

  “Six!” I shouted but then remembered my volume. Even though her da may not be home, she had neighbors. “He’s seen six other women to consider marrying so far? How many will he need to see before he makes his choice?”

  “As many as it takes to find someone suitable, I reckon.”

  “This is unbelievable,” I hissed.

  Tris came over and put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Devlin, I know you’re smitten on Taryn. But remember. We want the prince to choose her. Her marriage to Aed is the only way her head doesn’t get chopped off and her entire family banished.”

  I pushed her hand off my shoulder.

  “So you’d have her marry someone she doesn’t love?”

  Her eyes gave me a look of pity.

  “Aye. It’s better than death, isn’t it?”

  I shook my head, determined that there had to be another way.

  “When I find her…if she wants out of it, then I’ll—”

  “You’ll what? Break her away from the royal guard and carry her off on your white stallion? What then? Bring her back to Moneyglass and live happily ever after with a woman no one else can see but you?”

  I hadn’t thought about what I’d do after I found her, to be honest. I was so focused on finding her, I hadn’t considered I might also have to leave her as well.

  “The only reason I brought ya here, Devlin, is so you can say your goodbyes. Ya need to make your peace with the situation.” She glanced over at Seamus, who was struggling with the leather pants. “Just as I have to come to peace with mine.” Her last words were whispered. She wasn’t as delusional as I was. When this was all over, she knew she was going to have to leave Seamus.

  “So, if this is a ball to show off another bride, what makes you think Taryn will be there?” Seamus asked, not hearing Tris’s last words.

  Tris’ smiled, which told me her guard was back up. Matters of the heart were now gone and buried. “The prince travels with all the potential candidates. To try them on, as it were.”

  My nostrils flared. “Try them on? You mean they have to have sex with him?”

  Tris rolled her eyes. “No. Nothin’ like that. Though knowin’ the prince I’m sure he’d try.”

  “Why that son of a—”

  Tris gave me a quick shove. “Calm down. Taryn’s not like that. Besides, he might be on his best behavior for this. After all, a royal bride would have to be pure before she could become princess.”

  “So he can’t sleep with them, but he can put his hands all over them without a second thought.” My jaw tightened at the thought of his paws on Taryn. Prince Aed was the sort of guy who took what he wanted. My only comfort was that Taryn was not the kind to allow unwanted advances.

  “Ya have to tread lightly, Devlin. The royal family is not someone ya want to pick a fight with. Ya canna go into that ball with your guns blazin’. If ya make any move of aggression towards the prince, the guards will cut off your head before ya even knew what was happenin’.”

  “Aye. I can’t touch the bastard, but he’s free to grope anyone he bloody well likes.” I seethed, unable to stop my anger from seeping out.

  Tris walked over to me and looked me dead in the eyes.

  “That’s right. He is the prince and he can do as he pleases. You’re a human, Devlin. Never forget that. Listen well. If ya die here, I dunna know if your soul can be transported to the Isle of Glass. Do ya understand? Your very soul is at stake. So best hold your tongue and keep your fists to yourself or you won’t be comin’ with us.”

  I took a few breaths to calm the jealous beast raging inside of me. She was right. I had to get a grip.

  “I understand,” I said after a moment. “This is your world. I’ll play by your rules.” As much as I’d love to go head to head with the cocky bastard, I wasn’t about to risk my soul or blow my only chance to see Taryn. I
had to see with my own eyes that she was okay. If she was happy…even if it was with that womanizing prick, then I would have to let her go. Somehow if I knew she was happy, I would be able to move on.

  Satisfied that my anger had been quelled, Tris went to help Seamus with the rest of his uniform.

  “Where did you get these blasted clothes from anyway? Reapers R Us?” I asked, reaching a hand behind my back and pulling off my own shirt.

  Tris rolled her eyes at me.

  “They were my da’s.”

  “Your da was a reaper?” I’m not sure why this news came as a shock to me. Judging by the few reapers I’d seen and the way she described her da as a drunk, the two images didn’t seem to reconcile.

  “Aye. It was a long time ago. When my ma left, though, everythin’ fell to pot.”

  Seamus pulled Tris into a hug. In many ways, the two of them had lived parallel lives. No mother and a drunken father. They understood each other on a level I never could. I was happy they had found each other, if only for a moment in time.

  Tris stepped out of the room then so I could stuff myself into the leather pants. While they were hard to get on, they were remarkably smooth once on. The fabric felt like velvety butter against my skin. If they weren’t so tight that my voice likely rose an octave, they would be the best feeling pants I’d ever worn.

  “How are we supposed to move in these?” I asked then, trying to squat in them but falling short.

  “I can’t even find the button on mine,” Seamus grumbled.

  “There’s no buttons, mate. Tie those strings together,” I said, motioning to the thin leather strands near the waist.

  “That doesn’t seem very secure,” he said, frowning at the small bow he’d tied.

  Tris knocked a few minutes later to make sure we were decent and then came in.

  “Oy, you sure my junk isn’t going to fall out of these?” he asked her.

  She smirked, eyeing the final product with delight.

  “If it does, I’ll help you put it back in.”

  At that, Seamus grinned wickedly, causing me to groan.