To Hell and Back (10 page)

He reached down and took both of my hands, dwarfing them in his. He rotated them around until my palms faced him. When he focused on my chapped skin, which was uneven with blisters, his cheeks began to grow red as he gritted his teeth. “’Twas mah fault that yer innocence was nearly taken frae ye.” He glanced up at me with hollow eyes.

“No, I’m not an innocent,” I argued, remembering how the handle of his blade hadn’t hurt when he, er Donnchadh, had pushed it into me. From what I could recall, I also hadn’t seen any blood. “Well, my body isn’t a virgin anyway,” I rephrased my comment. Technically, my soul still was since I’d never actually committed the deed.

Tallis chuckled before the laugh died and a slight smile took its place. “Ye are the embodiment o’ innocence, Besom, nae matter whit yer body may tell ye,” he said in a tone that brooked no arguments. A second or so later, the smile vanished from his mouth. “An’ Ah am yer protector. Boot ye needed tae protect yerself frae meh.” He shook his head again and dropped his attention to my hands, where they still lay clasped in his.

“It’s true I had to fight you off,” I said with a quick nod. “But you weren’t yourself, Tallis. I wasn’t fighting you; I was fighting Donnchadh.”

“We are one an’ the same,” he argued.

“No,” I almost interrupted him. “No, you aren’t. Donnchadh isn’t you. Donnchadh is nothing like you! And you know I’m right.” I paused for a second. “You have to know I’m right?”

“Ye had tae protect yerself ’gainst meh, lass, because ’twas mah fault Donnchadh took control o’ mah body in the first place,” he answered sternly, as if wanting to ensure that he disproved every nice thing I said about him.

“What do you mean?” I asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

“Ah invited Donnchadh tae take ova,” he continued, dropping his gaze to the floor as he exhaled and faced me again. “Afta Ah left the tavern, Ah got mahself as blootered as Ah could because Ah knew ’twould be harder fur meh tae control Donnchadh oonder the influence o’ the whiskey.”

Frowning, I tried to make sense of his words. “You wanted Donnchadh to take control of you?” He nodded, and I suddenly felt ill. “Why?”

“Because Ah gave oop,” he answered simply.

“You gave up because Jason and Alaire didn’t grant you the absolution you expected from them?”

He shook his head immediately, letting me know I was far off base. “Nae, Ah could give ah bludy damn ’boot Jason an’ Alaire.” He took a breath and continued to shake his head. “Ah gave oop because Ah wasnae strong enough tae fight mah evil feelins fer ye, lass. An’ havin’ these feelins fer ye made meh realize Ah was nae better than Ah ever had been.” He chuckled acidly as his midnight-blue eyes met mine. “Ah realized all the time Ah was repentin’ was fer nothin’.”

“You’re a man,” I argued, thinking Tallis Black had issues, and then some. “Men have sexual feelings, Tallis. It’s completely natural.”

“Ah thought Ah was strong enough tae overcome mah humanity,” he lamented. “An’ Ah thought Ah could be strong enough tae overcome them fer ye.”

“What you’re asking of yourself is impossible,” I pointed out, not understanding how he could even think he was capable of something like that. “Even though you might have the immortal spirit of Donnchadh inside of you, you were, and are, human, Tallis.”

“Nae,” he started to argue again, but I interrupted him.

“I don’t care if you’re a Druid and two thousand years old. I don’t care if you’re possessed. I don’t care about your history. I don’t care if you’re this or you’re that. At the end of the day, you’re human,” I finished. My terse tone warned him not to argue with me. He didn’t respond, so I continued. “And,” I started, but my voice died away as embarrassment set in. But I had to ditch the sudden awkwardness I felt because I needed to tell Tallis how deeply my emotions ran for him. “And I care about you.” I held my chin up defiantly. “I care about you more than I’ve ever cared about another man and it’s important to me that you … know that.”

“Lass,” he started, exhaling deeply, but I interrupted him by grasping his hands in mine. My blisters burned as soon as I touched him but I ignored the pain.

“I want us to be more than what we are,” I explained, suddenly surprising myself for being so direct, but I figured there was no turning back now, so I should say exactly what I was thinking. “I don’t want us to just be friends, or whatever we are.”

He immediately shook his head. “’Tis wrong tae ever think that ye an’ Ah,” he began, but his voice trailed away. I could already tell what he was thinking.

“Tallis, you aren’t darkness,” I declared unwaveringly. I glanced down at his forearms, which were covered with dark, wiry hair that did nothing to hide the sinewy muscles. “You are a good man,” I stated simply. When I looked back up at him, Tallis immediately shook his head again.

“Mah past,” he started, but I interrupted him.

“So you have a past!” I spat the words out, surprised at the vehemence in my tone. But I was frustrated. It was hard listening to Tallis talk about his eternal faults, and even more difficult trying to convince him that he wasn’t the pariah he claimed he was. “So what? You’ve repented for your past, Tallis. I know you have! And you know you have, too, regardless of what Alaire and Jason Streethorn think! Regardless of what anyone thinks!”

He shook his head more fiercely this time.

“I’ve seen you repenting!” I protested, the image of him flogging himself in the snow flashing through my brain.

But Tallis refused to change his mind. I could see as much by his stiff composure. “Some things can ne’er be forgiven.”

“Yes, they can,” I insisted. “All things can.”

He dropped his gaze to the floor and inhaled deeply, as if straining for more air. His attention settled on my yoga pants, precisely where I’d stitched them back together after Donnchadh attacked me. “Did Ah?” he started.

“Donnchadh,” I interrupted him. “It wasn’t you.”

“Hoo far did he git?” he asked, his shameful eyes meeting mine.

“I was able to fend Donnchadh off,” I answered with a smile intended to convey that everything was okay.

“Whit did Ah do tae ye?” he demanded, his eyes forbidding me from avoiding the question. “Ah need ye tae tell meh, lass.”

“Nothing regrettable, Tallis,” I answered with another consoling smile even though I wondered if I was actually telling the truth on that point. “I’m okay.”

His eyes followed the line of my body down to my feet. “Ye’r naethin’ boot ah small lass an’ ye defeated Donnchadh, the most powerful o’ warriors,” he said, almost skeptical of his own words. When his eyes found mine, I could see the pride in their depths. “Ye are ah fighter, Besom. Ah hae trained ye well.”

“Yes, you have,” I immediately concurred. He was damn right; he had trained me well.

We both fell silent for barely a few seconds before he spoke again. “Efter Ah touched ye in the tavern, Ah forced mahself tae leave ye there because Ah was afraid ’twould happen again.” He paused temporarily, obviously collecting his thoughts. “Ah left ye because Ah thought ’twas best fer meh ta dae so. Ah didnae want tae, lass, boot Ah knew Ah couldnae troost mahself near ye.” He paused for another second. “Ah was able tae keep mah feelins fer ye tae mahself oontil that night at the tavern. Wif the whiskey, Ah had tae act on them.”

“I understand why you left us now,” I replied as I nodded. “And you were right to think that something … of a sexual nature would happen between us again. I’ve thought about that, myself,” I admitted with a deep breath before I impulsively blurted out the rest of my thought. “But what if I wanted,” I started, and quickly corrected myself. “What if I
want
something to happen between us again?”

Tallis immediately shook his head and took another step away from me. “Ye dinnae know whit ye’re sayin’, lass,” he began.

“I do know exactly what I’m saying,” I argued, irritated he wasn’t responding the way I’d hoped and fantasized he would. I’d already made my mind up that I wanted Tallis—I’d wanted him from the moment I’d met him. Granted, there were times when I’d more wanted to kill him, but the truth of the matter was that those times were few and far between. I had never met anyone like Tallis and I knew I never would. He was my paragon of the perfect man, complete in all his flaws.

“’Twill never happen ’gain, lass.”

Instant disappointment snaked through me. I wondered if the reason why it would never happen again had something to do with me being “the light” and him being “the darkness.”

“Why not?” I inquired.

“Ah made mahself ah promise.”

“A promise?” I repeated, eyeing him pointedly.

“Aye.”

“Do you care to elaborate?” I persisted, fully aware that the tone of my voice couldn’t conceal my obvious disappointment.

“Ye saved meh frae mahself,” he started. I figured he was referring to the incident when Donnchadh took over his body and I helped put Tallis back in rightful control. “Ah owe ye ah great debt.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Tallis,” I replied sadly, but he shook his head in that stubborn fashion of his.

“Ah might not hae been granted the absolution Ah expected from Jason Streethorn an’ Alaire; an’ now Ah verra mooch doubt Ah will ever see it. Boot Ah hae decided that Ah willnae give oop. Ah will seek the pardon Ah need … through ye.”

“Through me?” I repeated, frowning. I didn’t like the sound of that at all and, further, I didn’t understand how I could offer him an ounce of salvation.

“Aye,” he said with a firm nod. “Ye are the best example o’ ah human Ah have come across, lass. Therefore, Ah am makin’ it mah business tae become yer protector an’ tae ensure that nae harm comes tae ye durin’ yer missions tae the Oonderground.”

“My protector?” I restated, thinking he’d already assumed that role. True, in the beginning he’d said I’d have to pay him for his protection, but it wasn’t as though he’d ever come calling for that fee …

“Aye, Ah am forever in yer service,” he announced, matter-of-factly.

“But that isn’t what I want, Tallis!” I said, glaring at him. “I don’t want you to be my protector!” Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but I didn’t bother to correct myself because I figured he got my gist.

“Ah doonae,” he started and it was his turn to frown at me.

“I want us to be equals!” I yelled, amazed at how dense he could be. I’d basically spelled out my wants and needs for him a few minutes earlier. “I want us to be equals, yes, and friends and, um,” I started to lose my nerve so I took a deep breath, and stood up taller before forcing the rest out. “I want us to be lovers.”

“Lass,” Tallis started as he shook his head. He took another few steps away from me as if he were suddenly afraid I might reach out and grab him.

“I have never had sex with a man, Tallis,” I explained, dropping my gaze to the ground. Then I remembered that I needed to be strong, and forced my eyes back to his. “I trust you. I feel safe with you and I know you would never hurt me.”

“Ah would never hurt ye,” he concurred.

“I know,” I answered. “And what’s more, I’m very … attracted to you. I want my first time to be with you, Tallis, and no one else. I want you to teach me how to please you as well as you taught me how to wield my sword.”

It seemed like all the color drained from his face and I couldn’t read his expression because there really wasn’t one. He just stood there, looking like a statue. My heart pounded inside me and I tried to quell the feelings of humiliation that were already invading and threatening to take over.

When Tallis finally spoke, his voice was gentle. “Ah cannae be yer lover, mooch though Ah want tae be.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before opening them again and focusing on me. “Ye hae nae idea how badly Ah wish Ah could be yer man, Besom,” he said before taking another breath. “Boot Ah can never be. Ye are tae good fer meh,” he finished softly.

I never thought in a million years that it could be so difficult to lose my virginity.

“The water was more sombre far than perse”
– Dante’s
Inferno

SEVEN

“Okay,” I said with resignation to Tallis.

I’d finally given up our conversation and, in so doing, sounded completely deflated. Yes, the thought did occur to me that maybe I’d given in too soon. And, yes, I imagined there had to be something I could have said that would have changed his mind about how he viewed himself and us … But after further consideration, nothing came to mind. That was because there really wasn’t anything more to be said. I couldn’t think of a single thing that could change Tallis’s prerogative; and rather than chasing my tail, I figured it was time to concede victory to Tallis. At least, for now.

I started for the door again and couldn’t help pausing when I noticed Tallis didn’t try to stop me this time. That realization felt like an enormous rock settling right down into my gut.

He’s letting me go
, I thought.
Just like that.

“Where are ye goin’?” Tallis demanded as I halted at the threshold of the doorway. My heartbeat was racing and it felt like maybe only mere seconds stood between it simply exploding right there in my chest. In what felt like slow motion, I turned around to face the man who possessed my heart. I didn’t say anything right away because I was so overcome with emotion. All I could do was stand there, wishing things could have turned out differently between us.

“Lily?” he repeated my name for the second time in the last thirty minutes, yet it still had the same impact as the first time he’d said it. He took a step closer toward me as he eyed me curiously.

“I’m going to see Alaire!” The words just flew from my mouth as if they had a mind of their own. In fact, I couldn’t even remember trying to formulate a response in the first place. As soon as the words were out of my mouth and clinging to the air between us, I knew I’d said them merely to make Tallis jealous. Yes, it was wrong, but I couldn’t help being thrilled at Tallis’s sudden pinched expression. His eyes narrowed in obvious anger and his breathing instantly increased.

“Alaire?” he repeated, his eyes burning. They were tapered into such tight slits that I could barely make out their midnight blue any longer. “An’ whit are ye goin’ tae see Alaire fer?”

As soon as he asked the question, I berated myself for answering so honestly in the first place. I’d just opened a huge can of worms. Knowing I was on my way to see Alaire, there was no way Tallis was going to let me go easily.

“I, um, I agreed to have dinner with him,” I started. When I noticed the sudden redness in Tallis’s cheeks, I realized they probably weren’t the choicest of words to start out with.

“Dinner?” he repeated as he glared at me. He didn’t say anything more but took another step toward me as I retreated from him, which put me directly on the other side of his front door. He stopped and just stood there like a giant A, his legs spread wide and his enormous arms crossed over his equally ample chest. “An’ jist why the bludy hell are ye havin’ dinner with Alaire?”

“Well,” I started before exhaling the breath I’d been holding. I scoured my mind for a plausible explanation for why I would have agreed to be wined and dined by the equivalent of the devil. Tallis cleared his throat, which made me instantly lose my train of thought. I made the mistake of glancing up at him, only to behold his obvious anger. I tried to smile, but surprisingly, it felt more like a wince.

“Aye, ye were sayin’?” he demanded impatiently as it took me another few seconds to remember what we were even talking about.

“Oh, um,” I paused before remembering we were discussing Alaire’s dinner invitation. “Well,” I started again.

“Aye, ye’ve used yer fair share o’ that word, lass,” Tallis ground out. “Nae more stallin’.”

“I’m not stalling,” I barked and then figured this conversation was now inevitable so I’d better start spitting the words out. “I … I agreed to have, um, dinner with Alaire after he made it very clear that if I refused, I’d be sure to receive an infraction for killing one of his … ‘employees’ during my last trip to the Underground.” I huffed out a breath and crossed my arms over my chest, pleased with my response but still feeling defensive, all the same.

“Alaire has nae plans tae see ye receive that infraction,” Tallis replied, his eyebrows furrowing in the middle of his forehead as he continued to glare at me skeptically.

“What?” I started, sounding completely flustered. “Of course he’ll insist I get that infraction!” I shouted before swallowing hard. “Well, that is, if I refuse to have dinner with him.” I was en route to losing all the bravado I’d flaunted a few seconds earlier. In fact, I was more than sure I sounded more sheepish than a sheep itself could possibly sound.

“Alaire will see tae it that ye dinnae end oop in Shade, lass, ’cause if ye do, he loses.”

“He loses?” I repeated, eyeing him curiously.

“Aye.”

“How does he lose?”

Tallis sighed, shaking his head like I was a little dense or something. “’Tis ah difficult thing tae maintain ah fascination wif someone when the object o’ yer fascination exists in ah different world!”

“Oh,” I said, letting my shoulders fall as I realized that maybe Tallis did have a point. I mean, if I weren’t around, Alaire couldn’t exactly make dinner plans with me, could he? “Well, if I were out of commission, I’m sure Alaire would just find some other Retriever for his … muse.” The word “muse” actually paled in comparison to whatever odd relationship Alaire and I shared.

“Aye, he would,” Tallis agreed with a nod. “Boot he would have tae give oop on ye first, Besom, an’ Alaire is accoostomed tae gettin’ whit he wants.”

I already knew that much was true. But while I could see how it would benefit Alaire to keep me out of Shade if he wanted to maintain some sort of … relationship with me, I didn’t dare bank on it. Not where my future was concerned, anyway. “I’m not going to take the chance of pissing Alaire off just to prove you’re wrong.”

“Ye are puttin’ yerself at risk, lass,” Tallis ground out, his jaw set just as stubbornly as I’m sure mine must’ve been.

“Well, there’s even more risk if I don’t agree to meet him,” I rebutted. “If I so much as caught Alaire on a bad day, that infraction would probably have my name on it. And in case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you: two infractions equal one hundred years in Shade.”

“Ah know that!” Tallis yelled at me as he shook his head more vehemently and looked like he was rapidly losing his composure.

“Then you see my point?”

“Och aye,” he answered, nodding. I felt my eyes widening with surprise to find him in agreement with anything I had to say where Alaire was concerned. “Boot whetha o’ not Ah see yer point, Ah will nae allow ye tae go anywhere near Alaire or the Oonderground City,” he finished and held his chin up in such a way that warned me not to argue with him.

“But!” I started, my voice cracking. I shook my head as plumes of anger began blossoming inside me. Just who did he think he was?! Forbidding me to go near Alaire? Granted, he’d taken it upon himself to become my protector, but that didn’t mean he was the boss of me! Oh, he and I were going to have a few words about this little arrangement of ours … Well, after I got back from my dinner with Alaire, anyway.

“Ah will hear nae more aboot it,” Tallis finished firmly.

“
You
will hear no more about it?” I railed back. “In case you weren’t aware, Tallis Black, I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions!”

“Apparently noot,” he answered. I saw a smirk appear temporarily on his mouth even though he still held his arms crossed rigidly against his chest.

“There’s no way I’m going to gamble over that infraction!” I yelled at him, shaking my head and throwing my arms in the air until I’m sure I looked like I’d lost my mind.

“Ah will take yer case tae Jason Streethorn mahself tae save ye from troublin’ yerself wif Alaire,” Tallis replied, any trace of his smile now gone.

“Yeah, and a whole lot of good that’s going to do me! Have you forgotten what happened the last time you approached Jason about keeping his end of the bargain after you retrieved your thousand souls?!” I took a deep breath before slamming him with the rest of what I had on my mind. “I know better than to trust Jason to do the right thing because he did absolutely nothing for you!”

Even though it was a low blow, Tallis’s expression didn’t change. He looked just as furious as he had right before I said anything. “Ye are bein’ ah foolish lass,” he managed between clenched teeth. “Ye are puttin’ yerself right where Alaire wants ye,” he continued. “Right in the middle o’ the lion’s den.”

“Don’t think I haven’t already thought this through,” I answered with as much confidence and authority as I could muster.

“Obviously, ye have nae, or ye would’ve made the right decision.”

“One hundred years in Shade isn’t an option for me,” I spat back, my shoulders rising and falling with my rapid breathing. Even I was a little surprised by how livid I was.

“An’ neither should be suppin’ wif the devil.”

“Alaire is hardly ‘the devil,’” I argued with a frown, trying to quell the argument within myself that I often referred to Alaire as exactly that. But, in this case, Lily divided against herself wasn’t going to stand, so I decided to ignore my own hypocrisy. Instead, I turned around to search the perimeter for any sign of Alaire’s shade, thinking now would have been a great time for her to show up.

“That’s what ye think,” Tallis replied while spearing me with another fierce glare. “Boot ye dinnae know Alaire like Ah do,” he finished, setting his jaw tight. “Ye dinnae know whit he’s capable oove.”

“Come on, Tallis,” I said with a slight laugh that suggested I thought he was overreacting. “What’s Alaire really going to do to me? You think he’s going to kill me and feed me to his legion of demons?”

“Nae.” Tallis’s lips pressed into a tight white line, making every muscle in his jaw look overworked. “He is warmin’ ye oop tae him,” he responded. “He wants ye tae think he is nae so bad in ordah tae drop yer defenses.”

“For what purpose?” I inquired, actually intrigued by what Tallis had to say because I had pondered the subject of why Alaire found me so interesting more than once and I always came up empty-handed.

“’Cause he seeks tae pervert ye, lass.”

“He seeks to pervert me?” I repeated facetiously. My eyebrows reached for the sky in disbelief as the visual of an innocent girl from Po-Dunk, USA, relocating to Hollywood before getting involved with the wrong crowd suddenly interrupted my thoughts like a bad Lifetime movie. “What does that even mean?”

Tallis shook his head as he released a breath filled with obvious frustration. “It means Alaire wants tae rip ye o’ yer innocence.”

“Ironic to hear there’s actually someone who doesn’t want to preserve my innocence,” I muttered mostly to myself. I couldn’t help thinking I wanted nothing more than for my innocence to be ripped right out of me. Well, not by Alaire, of course …

“Alaire is nae laughin’ matter,” Tallis said in a tone that failed to mask his annoyance.

“I never said he was,” I fired back. “And even if Alaire intends to strip me of my innocence, it’s not like he could accomplish that after one dinner!”

“Aye, boot one dinner leads tae two, which leads tae three; an’ afore ye know it, ye troost him.”

“I will never trust Alaire,” I told Tallis, angry that he would ever think I could be so stupid. “So you can stop your pep talk. I’m more than aware of who and what Alaire is. And I’m also suspicious about what he wants from me. But I’m also not a stupid or naïve woman …”

“Ah never said ye were, Besom.”

“Maybe you haven’t actually said as much, but sometimes you imply things,” I corrected him. “Anyway, it’s not like I don’t realize I’m dealing with the Keeper of the Underground City, Tallis.” I heaved a sigh, now well beyond tired of arguing with him. My mind was already made up. Nothing could change it at this point. I would simply dine with Alaire and save myself the infraction that I was more than sure awaited me if I flaked. “My defenses are up,” I said before taking a deep breath. “But I have to play Alaire’s game to ensure that I avoid Shade.”

“Ye are tae stubborn fer yer own good,” Tallis ground out in reply.

“I could say the exact same thing of you.”

“Ah am nae the one suppin’ wif Alaire!” he yelled at me, shaking his head. “Ye should take heed o’ mah advice.”