To Hell and Back (22 page)

“He did that!” Bill argued with Alaire, who started to shake his head. “Dude, I was there!” Bill insisted. “Nips lost her freakin’ mind an’ pulled her sword on you, remember?”

“Yes, yes, I remember it well,” Alaire said, sounding irritated.

When Alaire reached the single door at the end of the hallway, he unlocked it and opened it wide for Tallis and Bill to enter. Tallis carried me inside, and I recognized Alaire’s office immediately. I remembered the large, black desk that dominated the room, as well as the charcoal walls. Two black couches sat in front of Alaire’s desk and beyond them was a large pool table. It, too, was painted and upholstered black.

“So, what’s the big deal then?” Bill continued, throwing his hands into the air. “Conan kept his side of the deal, so that means you gotta give Lily the anti-venom.”

“A mere introduction was not the extent of our agreement,” Alaire clarified before turning to face Tallis. “Put her on the desk,” he instructed. He went to the far end of the room and unlocked a file cabinet with the same key he’d used to enter the room. Tallis laid me on top of the black lacquered desk and studied me for a moment or two, his face a blank canvas, as usual.

From my vantage point atop the desk, I saw three crystal chandeliers that hung in a row above the pool table. On the wall just below them were paintings of 1940s-style pinup girls. I was immediately reminded of the first time I’d visited this room, when I’d pulled my sword on Alaire. Knowing what I did about the Keeper of the Underground now, I half wished I’d run him through when I’d had the chance.

“Dude, you gotta give Lily the anti-venom,” Bill anxiously repeated, his eyes pleading.

“I do not
have
to do anything,” Alaire replied, sounding offended as he approached us again, a syringe in his hand.

“We dinnae hae time fer idle conversation,” Tallis started.

“A good observation, Black,” Alaire agreed. Gripping my arm, he held the needle just above it, pausing as he studied me. “Because your bladesmith is less than willing to negotiate a compromise regarding our expired agreement, I must have first your word that if I save your life, you will consent to owing me a favor,” Alaire stipulated as he eyed me narrowly.

“What kind of favor?” Bill asked, shaking his head as though he didn’t like where the conversation was going. In truth, I didn’t like it any more than Bill, but I hated the idea of one hundred years in Shade even more …

“Never mind the nature of the favor,” Alaire barked back at Bill before his eyes found mine again.

“Ah willnae allow Lily tae be indebted tae ye,” Tallis stated as he stepped in between Alaire and me. His eyes remained on the syringe Alaire still held in his hand.

“I don’t recall including you in this conversation, Black,” Alaire responded, sounding pissed off. Tallis took another step toward him, which served as a warning all its own. Alaire stood up straight, his posture going rigid as he hid the syringe behind his back. “Perhaps I should inform you, Black, that there is but one anti-venom prepared at this moment. Therefore, if I feel the need to destroy this one, our dear Ms. Harper’s chances for survival will also be destroyed with it.”

Tallis immediately stepped away from Alaire as the smaller man smiled in earnest. In response, Tallis glared at him and his chest rose and fell with his increased breathing.

“That’s better,” Alaire purred as he approached me again. “My dear, you have perhaps a few minutes left of your life. After that, the Hanuush demon who bit you will return for its dinner.”

“Yes, she’ll owe you a favor!” Bill said, his voice sounding panicked. “Just give her the freakin’ anti-venom already! She’ll agree to whatever you want!”

“Unfortunately, you cannot answer for her,” Alaire informed Bill before turning to face Tallis. “I need a legally sound agreement between us. The two of you will serve as witnesses, and nothing more.” Alaire brought his attention to me again and I glimpsed the iciness in his soul through the hollowness of his eyes. “Now, if you should agree to granting me this favor, Ms. Harper, all you need to do is simply blink twice. If you do not agree, blink once.”

Of course, it wasn’t a good idea to be indebted to Alaire for anything, but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel and accept death. I wasn’t prepared to live for the next hundred years in Shade. And as my eyes settled on Tallis, I knew with a calm assuredness that I wasn’t ready to never see him again.

I blinked once. Then I blinked twice.

“Very good,” Alaire observed with a genuine smile. He picked up my arm and rotated it so my wrist was facing him. Just as he was about to stick me with the syringe, Tallis gripped his hand.

“Yer life depends oan hers,” Tallis ground out, his eyes furious. “If she dies, ye die.”

“Then I had better get to it,” Alaire replied, his calm expression reflecting his lack of concern about Tallis’s threat. He yanked his hand out of Tallis’s grasp and faced me again. With a quick smile, he thrust the needle into my wrist. I didn’t feel a thing. Alaire pushed down on the plunger until all of the red liquid inside spurted into me. Once emptied, Alaire pulled the needle out of my wrist and smiled smugly.

“Now what?” Bill demanded.

“Now we wait,” Alaire answered as he walked back across the room and threw the syringe into the trash receptacle.

As far as I could tell, I didn’t feel any different. My entire body remained numb and I was still exceedingly exhausted.

“So, Conan,” Bill started as he nailed Tallis with an expression of curiosity mixed with suspicion. “What was Alaire talking about with that contract stuff? About you agreeing to bring Lily here to meet him or some shit?”

“Ah, that’s right!” Alaire called out from the opposite side of the room while clapping his hands together jubilantly. “We never did finish our conversation on that topic, did we?”

“No, we didn’t,” Bill said, his eyes on Tallis. But Tallis didn’t respond. He kept his gaze glued on me and acted as though he hadn’t even heard Bill. He lifted my wrist and ran the pad of his thumb over my veins, apparently searching for my pulse.

“Shall I inform them of the terms of our agreement, or would you care to do the honors, Black?” Alaire asked. His tone made it very clear how much he enjoyed tormenting Tallis. But Tallis didn’t so much as turn his head to acknowledge Alaire. Instead, he continued tending to me, watching me with hawkish eyes.

All of a sudden I felt something—pins and needles in the bottoms of my feet as well as my fingers. Little by little, the feeling began to spread to the tops of my feet, traveling up my ankles to my calves, and up my fingers into my hands and wrists. I tried to wiggle my feet and my hands, but to no avail.

“Very well,” Alaire continued. “I assume your silence means that you would like me to fill them in on the details.” He cleared his throat and faced Bill. “When I requested an introduction to your lovely Ms. Harper, the bladesmith obliged. You see, we had previously agreed that he would bring Ms. Harper to me and … leave her in my charge.”

I wasn’t sure if the feeling of shock that suddenly burst inside of me was due to Alaire’s announcement that Tallis had consented to leave me with him, or if it was a mere byproduct of the anti-venom as it started to work. I wasn’t allowed much time to ponder the subject, though, because Bill was already demanding the answers that I, myself, physically couldn’t.

“What does that even mean?” he inquired, shaking his head with a scowl on his face. His furious gaze alternated from Alaire to Tallis and back to Alaire again. “Why the hell would you want Conan to
leave
Lily with you?”

“For reasons of my own,” Alaire growled. His eyes warned Bill not to pry into his affairs.

Bill frowned at Alaire and faced Tallis, revealing ire in his features. “Is that true?”

It was the same question I ached to ask Tallis, myself, but was still unable to speak. Tallis didn’t take his eyes from mine and I could feel the weight of his stare. Even before he could answer the question, I saw the truth in his midnight blue eyes. It made me sick to my stomach.

“Perhaps you didn’t hear the angel’s question,” Alaire continued, his voice taking on a humorous tone, as if he were thrilled to be leaking Tallis’s secret. “Is everything I’ve just said true, Black? Have I stated the terms to our agreement accurately? Is there anything more you’d like to add?”

But Tallis refused to answer. He wouldn’t even look at Alaire or Bill. He and I just stared at each other in silence.

“Well?” Bill prodded.

“Aye,” Tallis finally admitted with a defeated tone. As soon as the word left his mouth, he broke eye contact with me and his gaze fell to the floor.

“What?” Bill asked, completely dumbfounded. He shook his head as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I could barely believe it myself. I never would have guessed, in a million years, that Tallis’s treachery could run so deep.

As soon as Tallis admitted that everything Alaire said was true, I felt as if someone reached inside my chest and pulled my heart out, before crushing it right there in front of me.

Tallis turned to face Bill. “’Tis all true.”

“What the fuck?” Bill railed, his voice shaking. It looked like he was mere seconds from crying. “You were going to just turn Lily over to the devil? Just like that?”

“No, he wasn’t going to just turn her over to me,” Alaire mocked Bill with a frown. “And as I’ve already clarified to our dear Ms. Harper, I am hardly the devil.” He walked over to a black lacquered cabinet against the wall and retrieved a crystal tumbler. Then he reached inside the cabinet and produced a bottle of brandy. He held the bottle up to Bill and Tallis, offering them a drink, but neither noticed. With a shrug, he started pouring himself a glass. “The bladesmith does nothing without personal gain,” Alaire continued. He brought the glass to his mouth and studied Tallis with a contented smile. “In return for bringing Ms. Harper to me, I was to grant him absolution, and free him from the torment he endured from the demon lodged inside him.” He took a sip of the brandy before placing the glass back on his desk. “All of this was with the endorsement of Afterlife Enterprises, of course.”

“But?” Bill interjected, taking turns at spearing Tallis and Alaire with his furious expression.

“But, as you may recall, the bladesmith did not keep his end of the bargain,” Alaire continued as I remembered the moment as if it were yesterday. Bill, Tallis and I had been standing in Alaire’s office and when Bill and I started to leave, I found Tallis in a heated, private discussion with Alaire. Although I hadn’t been able to discern Tallis’s words, Alaire had been loud with his responses.

“I’m afraid the answer was no, Bladesmith,” he’d said with a shrug. “I did try to argue for you, but alas, Afterlife Enterprises is the ultimate decision-maker on these sorts of things, aren’t they? Of course, there has been new … activity that has quite changed the scope of our original agreement,” Alaire had explained, his eyes firmly planted on me. “Perhaps I can pull a few strings if you can manage to pull some of your own.”

But Tallis had shook his head immediately, letting it be known that he wouldn’t help Alaire.

“You were going to trade me for salvation?” I suddenly blurted out. My voice was laced with torment, the kind that comes from a broken heart.

It seemed like forever before Tallis turned around to face me. When he did, his eyes hung heavy and it appeared to take every ounce of his willpower just to hold my gaze. “Aye,” he answered in a voice that was rough, a voice that sounded as if he were choking on it.

“The souls of those whom anger overcame.”
– Dante’s
Inferno

FOURTEEN

As the seconds ticked by, I could feel my vitality returning. Now I was able to inhale fully, whereas before, my breath came in short, quick gasps. The former sensation of pins and needles in my appendages slowly gave way to a slight burning sensation and then, a heavy pressure. Shortly afterwards, the pressure blanched and my skin felt extremely tender. The numbness that previously incapacitated my entire body faded, and pretty soon, I felt the cold hardness of Alaire’s desk underneath me. When I attempted to wiggle my toes and my fingers, they quickly responded.

“You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?” Bill seethed. He glared at Tallis, his eyes spitting fire. “Lily trusted you! And I trusted you!”

“Ah’m sorry,” Tallis said in a small voice. It seemed to sap all of his strength just to look the much smaller man in the eyes.

Bill shook his head, throwing his hands on his hips. “You’re lucky I’m not a violent dude, ’cause if I was, I’d come over there an’ show ya zactly what I think o’ you!”

Tallis didn’t respond but simply stood there, allowing Bill to abuse him. For myself, I didn’t know what to think. I was still astonished by Alaire’s account of what had happened; and hearing Tallis’s admission of the truth had my head spinning. That, and a bad case of exhaustion had taken hold of my entire body and refused to let go.

Bill turned to face me, anger still contorting his features. Once his eyes met mine, though, a sad smile took hold of his lips. “Guess the joke was on us, Lils.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was still so stupefied over everything that had occurred in the last half hour that it seemed like my brain had abandoned me, refusing to allow me any more thoughts.

“Forgive me; I must apologize, but I had to reveal the truth regarding the bladesmith’s true nature,” Alaire told me. If he were doing his best to act disappointed, I knew him well enough by now to see he was secretly gloating over his victory.

“Ye would dae well tae keep yer mouth shoot,” Tallis spat out at him, the resentment in his eyes almost palpable. His hands fisted at his sides and I could see him breathing in short spurts.

“Do not blame me for lifting the curtain up on your web of lies,” Alaire responded.

“You have no right to say anything,” I fumed at Alaire, finally finding my voice again. Rolling over, I pushed myself up on my elbows, and then my hands, panting with the exertion. Tallis and Bill immediately approached me, with worried countenances, but I waved them away, and focused fully on Alaire. The self-impressed smile plastered on his face made me ill. “Your agenda in all of this is plainly clear,” I sputtered before taking a big breath and exhaling it. “You got exactly what you wanted.”

Alaire chuckled, but didn’t argue with any of my accusations. Calmly, he took another sip of his brandy and his eyebrows arched higher. “How nice to see our lovely Ms. Harper responding so well to the anti-venom.”

I pushed all the way up from Alaire’s desk until I was in a sitting position and no longer leaning on my hands. Feeling dizzy momentarily, I closed my eyes before the light-headedness passed. When I reopened them, I found Tallis and Bill both facing me. They looked anxious as if they were merely seconds away from assisting me.

“I’m fine,” I grumbled, refusing to allow anyone in my personal space. What I needed most of all was some fresh air. Not that I would find any in the Underground City … I took a few shallow breaths and waited for the fogginess to clear from my mind. Then I extended my hand and bent my fingers out in front of me, happy to see the color of my skin quickly returning to normal. I rotated my body on the desk and allowed my legs to drop off the edge while Tallis and Bill stood by. Both looked like they intended to scoop me up should the occasion arise.

“Lils, you need to take it easy, girl,” Bill suggested as he took another tentative step toward me. “You were, like, dead about ten minutes ago, so don’t go thinkin’ you’re gonna hop off dickhead’s desk an’ like, start doin’ some twirls or shit.”

“I’m fine, Bill,” I managed between deep breaths. I extended my legs out before me, taking comfort in knowing that not only could I feel them, but I could control them as well. Bracing my hands on the corner of Alaire’s desk, I jumped down and my knees instantly buckled as soon as my feet touched the floor. I gripped the desk before collapsing against it, somehow managing to find the strength to keep myself from falling onto the floor. Tallis was at my side instantly, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me against him.

“You get away from me!” I roared defensively, the emotional pain feeling like a tsunami as soon as he touched me. Gulping visibly, his eyes clouded with what looked like sincere regret, but he didn’t release me.

“You heard her,” Bill said in a cold tone. He forcibly removed Tallis’s hands from around me and pulled me into
his
arms. “You’re never gonna ever touch her again,” Bill scolded Tallis, his eyes burning with sadness and anger.

Wrapping my arms around Bill, I tried to take a few steps forward, but it was more than difficult because my legs kept wobbling like jelly. Strangely enough, it wasn’t my ankle that caused my discomfort. Actually, I couldn’t even feel my ankle anymore. It made me wonder if the anti-venom might’ve, somehow, healed the inflammation and damage from when I’d twisted it earlier.

“I want to get out of here, Bill,” I whispered to my guardian angel. The weight of the world suddenly plopped down on my shoulders, or at least, it felt that way. Now I only wanted to get as far away from Alaire and the Underground City as possible. I longed for the comfort of my quaint and cozy apartment in Edinburgh. I couldn’t wait to lick my wounds in grim isolation, somewhere safe that would allow me to deal with my broken heart in solitude.

“You got it, baby doll,” Bill replied and we started for the double doors leading out of Alaire’s office.

“And remember: I will call you for that ‘favor’ in due time,” Alaire yelled out after us. His voice grated on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Feeling utterly physically and mentally fatigued, I couldn’t even think of an answer, but it turned out that I didn’t have to. Bill answered for me when he lifted his left hand high above his head and flipped Alaire the bird.

Alaire only began chuckling, apparently not the least bit offended by Bill’s gesture. “You will find the Tesla waiting for you outside my building,” Alaire added. “Have a happy and safe trip home, Ms. Harper,” he purred. Then he paused momentarily, probably to take another sip of his brandy. “And do strive to keep Ms. Harper alive during your journey through the Dark Wood, angel,” he said to Bill before another acidic chuckle sounded through the room. “How ironic it would be if I saved her from the Hanuush demon’s bite, only to lose her to one of the nefarious creatures in the haunted wood. Especially knowing that she still owes me a favor …”

Bill responded by lifting his other hand high above his head and flipping Alaire the bird again. “You’re gonna be just fine, baby doll,” he whispered to me. “Billy’s gonna make sure that nothin’ in that evil forest gets you, ’kay?”

I nodded, although his words provided little to no consolation. When it came to fighting off scary things that went bump in the night, Bill wasn’t exactly my best bet. But I knew who was … At the sound of heavy footfalls, I turned and saw Tallis, just as he caught up with us. Walking past me, he opened one of the double doors for us and I hobbled through it. The longer I stood upright, the more I needed to lean on Bill, although I hated to admit it.

“Ye cannae hope tae survife the Dark Wood aloyn,” Tallis stated. His eyes were focused on me and his lips were tight. He closed the door to Alaire’s office behind us as I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, at least, I no longer had to deal with the Keeper of the Underground City. Well, that is, for the foreseeable future.

“Dude, I made it all the way here without you; soze, don’t you worry, I can make it all the way back,” Bill answered, without sparing a glance at the Scotsman. Instead, he kept his eyes glued to the elevator at the end of the hallway. “Keep goin’, Nips, you can make it,” Bill whispered to me softly.

“Ah amnae worried aboot ye,” Tallis told Bill as his eyes narrowed on me and I realized he was making a good point. It would be impossible for Bill and me to survive our trek through the Dark Wood when I could barely even walk. What was even more readily apparent? Bill couldn’t defend me if he were busy helping me take each painful step.

“We’ll manage,” Bill said. We made it to the elevator and Tallis pressed the button to call it.

“Lily is in nae shape tae travel through the woods,” Tallis insisted. The elevator doors opened and Bill hauled me inside, propping me against the elevator wall while he shook his arm out. He was, apparently, already finding it difficult to transport me which didn’t bode well for the four day trip that still awaited us. “She’s woonded, an’ as sooch, makes an easy target,” Tallis explained.

Bill started to shake his head, but I interrupted. “He’s right, Bill,” I admitted before suddenly feeling extremely dizzy again. I closed my eyes until the discomfort passed and then opened them again, only to find Tallis and Bill studying me. “I’ll only slow us down.”

“I don’t trust him,” Bill said as he glanced at Tallis from the corners of his eyes. “He sold us out once before! Who’s ta say he ain’t gonna do it again?”

“Regardless o’ yer failed troost in meh,” Tallis interrupted, “lit meh lead ye tae safety. Efter that, Ah promise ye will ne’er see meh agin.”

Hearing his words made my stomach churn and tears began filling my eyes. As ridiculous as it sounded, even now, I hated the idea of never seeing Tallis again. I was just as much in love with him as I had always been, despite his plan to sell me down the river.

Yes, but he didn’t go through with it!
I argued mentally.
Regardless of what his original intentions were, he chose not to hand you over to Alaire! That has to mean something!

I shook my head, losing the strength of mind and body to continue arguing with myself.

You can’t think about it now, Lily,
I decided.
The only thing you should be focused on is healing. Especially if you’re going to traverse the Dark Wood for the next four days, or however long it will take us, considering I can’t travel as quickly now.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened when we reached the lobby floor. Bill wrapped one of my arms around his neck and hefted me against him again. As the seconds became minutes, I felt my energy waning and found it increasingly difficult to walk.

True to Alaire’s word, we found the Tesla parked right outside of the building, its motor running silently. Tallis opened the glass doors and pulled his sword free from its scabbard across his chest. He checked both directions before turning back to Bill with a nod to let him know the coast was clear. Bill started hauling me forward, his respiration increasing as sweat began to trickle from his brow.

Tallis opened up the rear door of the Tesla and Bill crouched down, helping me into the seat. I collapsed into the warm leather, incredibly relieved that my legs didn’t have to support me any longer. Bill closed my door and ran around the car to open the other door before taking a seat beside me. “How ya holdin’ up?” he asked as he patted my shoulder.

“I’m okay,” I replied, watching Tallis sit down in the front passenger side. Once he closed his door, the driverless Tesla smoothly pulled out onto the street. I noticed a few of the Watchers as they patrolled the city streets, each of them paying special attention to us and, no doubt, reporting back to Alaire.

It was maybe five minutes before the Tesla pulled up to the city gates and parked. Tallis opened his door first. He got out without waiting for Bill and immediately opened mine. When Bill glanced over at him curiously, Tallis shook his head. “She needs tae be carried an’ ye arenae able tae soopport ’er weight.”

Bill appeared ready to argue, but apparently realizing Tallis was right, slowly sighed with a quick nod. He opened his car door and hurried around the back of the Tesla to join us at the gates of the Underground City. The Tesla silently pulled into the street again, disappearing from view only moments later.

Even though I hated to admit it, I was much more comfortable in Tallis’s arms. I rested my head against his broad chest as he approached the gates, which opened automatically. We walked through them, none of us saying anything.