“A bad idea? It was a terrible idea!” she seethed at me. “And it was something which was a complete lie!” She adamantly shook her head until she reminded me of a dog with an ear infection.
I cocked my head to the side and shrugged, figuring there was no use in denying the truth or attempting to defend myself. Now all I could hope for was that the blood Persephone had ingested was enough to replenish Lily. Based on my dream, which I translated to be a vision of sorts, I had to believe it had been enough. Only time would tell now, though …
“You have nothing to say for yourself?” Persephone demanded.
“Cannae say that Ah dae,” I responded with a frown.
“So you must have believed your blood could save Lily?” Alaire asked as he crossed his arms against his chest and eyed me with a blend of amusement and intrigue. “I imagine that was the reason you bothered with such a task in the first place? Certainly, bleeding oneself is not an enjoyable enterprise.”
I didn’t respond. The less they knew, the better.
“Nothing will save her,” Persephone responded, not bothering to take her blazing eyes away from mine. “And I will feel nothing but thrilling excitement as her essence fades away into nothing.” She took a deep breath. “And I will experience the same feeling when I watch you fade away into nothing.”
I felt my eyebrows furrow as I brought my attention from the floor back to her face. “Ah dinnae follow.”
“I have no further use for you,” Persephone insisted as a malicious smile danced over her lips.
“And I reminded our lovely queen that you had but one wish,” Alaire added. “Do you recall what that wish was?” When I did not respond, he continued. “It was to see yourself divorced from Donnchadh.” He feigned a smile that seemed suddenly beyond wicked.
“Ah already decided ’gainst it,” I informed him as a huge knot began to form in my stomach because I knew exactly where this conversation was headed. “Boot ye already know that.”
“Yes, well, we reconsidered it and decided that the choice should not be yours to make,” Persephone nearly interrupted me, apparently extremely excited to relay this information.
“We believe in granting absolution to anyone who desires it strongly enough,” Alaire added as his smile broadened and I realized there was nothing but darkness within him. “And you, my friend, have desired redemption for so long now, I believe it only fair to grant that which you request.”
I had to admit that I was not surprised it had come to this. I knew I was simply a sitting duck, waiting for the moment when Alaire would decide it was time to do away with me. Alive, I was nothing more than a threat to him.
“What’s going on? What the hell is he talking about?” the angel called out from his cell. “Tallis, you okay?”
“Sae git oan with it,” I said as I glared up at Alaire, not bothering to respond to the angel. He would discover what had happened soon enough.
“Do you have any last words?” Persephone asked with the same demonic grin displayed by Alaire.
“There is no need for last words,” Alaire responded as he faced me with interest. “There is no need because I am not going to take your life.”
“But,” Persephone started, but Alaire held his hand up to quieten her. He never took his eyes away from mine.
“I will separate you from Donnchadh, but I do not want this to mean your death, dear bladesmith,” he started.
“Mayhap ye are more daft than Ah gave ye credit fer,” I started, shaking my head as I glowered up at him, hating the position he had me in. I had sworn to myself that I would never be subjugated to Alaire and yet, that was the exact position in which I now found myself. How far I had fallen. Once the king of the Underground City and now no better than a helpless prisoner who was near the end. “If ye separate Donnchadh from meh, Ah will die.”
Alaire chuckled and shook his head. “You underestimate me, my dear sir,” he started as the laugh left his lips. Then he faced me squarely. “Donnchadh’s power and his strength interests me greatly,” he started. “I seek to harness that power for myself. But, I do not bear you any hard feelings. At the same time, though,” he continued with a shrug. “I have to ensure that you do not interfere with my plans, and the only way I can rest assured you will not attempt to trifle with me is by removing that which makes you omnipotent.”
“By removin’ Donnchadh,” I answered the silent question, still unsure where Alaire was going with all of this.
“Yes, very good. It seems you are quite astute,” the braggart continued.
“Ye still havenae explained how ye hope tae sever Donnchadh from meh an’ yet expect meh nae tae die.”
“Perhaps it would be better to show you rather than to explain,” Alaire finished as he eyed the pulley system which kept me chained in place.
He brought his attention back to me as he approached, extending his hand toward Persephone and gently pushing her out of the way as if he meant to protect her from something. I was worried about just what he felt he needed to protect her from.
He stood perhaps a foot or so in front of me and then reached inside his pocket, producing a bright green pill that was maybe the size of my thumbnail.
“Whit is that?” I demanded.
“This is your absolution,” he responded as he approached me. “Sent direct from Afterlife Enterprises as soon as I requested it.” He began to nod, his smile broad. “Yes, they sanctioned your redemption as well.”
“This isnae redemption,” I spat back at him. “Sae quit referrin’ tae it as sooch.”
“Tomato, to-mat-toe,” he said with a shrug and then reached down, gripping my cheeks between his fingers. He pinched my lips, forcing them together so I resembled a fish. Then he shoved the pill inside my mouth and clamped my nostrils, forcing me to release my jaw if I wanted to breathe. I did not fight him. There was no reason to attempt it. He had me exactly where he wanted me. Fighting would simply postpone the inevitable.
Once I swallowed the horse pill, Alaire reached both of his arms forward, propping his palms on my shoulders. I felt my head suddenly lift up involuntarily and found myself staring him in the eyes. The longer I looked into his, the more I started to realize they were glowing. The glow began as a faint light which then brightened into a radiance that seemed to emanate from his pupils. I tried to divert my gaze but found myself unable to shift my eyes from his. It was as if he had locked our gazes, forced me to hold his stare.
I began to feel a slight buzzing in the pit of my stomach. It almost felt as if my stomach were hungry and growling. But little by little the buzz began to intensify until it felt like I had swallowed a power saw. The reverberations echoed through my entire body, causing me to shake. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but my lips would not comply. It seemed as if Alaire had complete control of my body.
“How dae ye have this power?” I was able to rasp out because I had never possessed such abilities when I was leader of the Underground. And Alaire had never been as magically inclined as I was.
“I was gifted with certain … abilities in honor of my service to the Underground City for these last few centuries,” he responded.
“Afterlife Enterprises,” I grunted as I realized my hunch had been correct. Alaire was in cahoots with AE.
He tightened his fingers on my shoulders as he continued to stare into me, as if seeing through me. My breath hitched as a tremor suddenly ripped through me and I felt myself jolted forward as if pushed by unseen hands. Then I was swarmed with what felt like outrage. Outrage and extreme power. Strength.
Donnchadh … I thought his name as I realized what was happening. Alaire, or perhaps it was the pill I had just swallowed, but something was releasing Donnchadh inside me.
I felt like I was drowning, attempting to keep my head above water only long enough to draw a breath or two before the unforgiving waves pummeled me back down again. Donnchadh was surging through me now, rising to the surface of my body and suppressing me, forcing me back into the undertow. I was losi
ng myself …
I fought to maintain control, but I was sputtering. I could feel my essence growing dimmer, my soul beginning to fade away into oblivion as Donnchadh usurped control of my body. It was becoming difficult to breathe now.
And just like that, I was able to come up for air again. I opened my mouth and inhaled as deeply as I could. I was panting, my chest rising and falling as I fought to catch my breath. My heart was palpitating within my chest, feeling like it might burst any second. I hung my head as I closed my eyes and tried to discern whether or not I was still at the helm of my body.
I could not understand how it was possible that I was still the captain of my ship, but I was. The realization made no sense because only moments earlier, I had felt Donnchadh’s power, felt my own impotence as he subjugated me, stole me away from myself. And yet now I felt nothing but a light airiness. It was a feeling I had not experienced in a very long time. One I did not recognize.
“Whit,” I started, still finding it difficult to speak because I could not quite catch my breath. “Whit happened?”
“You and Donnchadh are no longer one and the same,” Alaire admitted, somehow looking no worse for wear.
“Nae,” I said and shook my head. “That cannae be so. Ah am still alive.”
He nodded. “It is so,” he insisted. “How do you feel?”
I marveled over the fact that I felt wonderful. Better than I had in centuries. But this was impossible! “If whit ye say is true, Ah should be dead.”
Alaire shook his head. “Did I not promise you that I would ensure you did not meet your end?”
“Tallis!” the angel called from his cell, his voice panicked. “What’s going on? What the hell are you sons of bitches doin’ to him?”
No one responded. For myself, I was too baffled to even begin to form a response. I still did not understand how I could be separated from Donnchadh and yet still be alive. “’Tis nae possible,” I breathed out.
“Anything is possible if only one is powerful enough to make it so,” Alaire responded with a self-impressed smile.
“Boot if whit ye are sayin’ is true, why am Ah nae dead? An’ where is Donnchadh?” I insisted.
“You are alive, my dear man,” he started, emphasizing the word “man.” “Because I separated Donnchadh from you but allowed you to maintain your humanity.” He shrugged as he studied me. “As to where Donnchadh is, he is contained. You need not worry yourself about Donnchadh any longer.”
“Ye allowed meh tae maintain mah humanity?” I questioned him as I shook my head, trying to understand what this meant.
“This is not what we agreed to!” Persephone spat at Alaire as she faced him in anger. “I told you I wanted him dead!”
“He will be no trouble to you in his human form, my queen,” Alaire responded as he offered her a smile before turning to face me again. “Yes, you are human now, Tallis Black. You can rely on none of your former abilities nor your immortality. You are as you were when you came into this world.”
I said nothing. There was nothing left to say. I sat there in stunned silence as I watched Alaire offer his arm to Persephone. She continued to glare at me for another few seconds before she accepted his proffered arm and the two of them sauntered out of my cell just as leisurely as Alaire had first walked in.
I watched Persephone turn and lock the door to my cell, but I could not say that I really saw her. I was so enveloped in my own thoughts that I could think of nothing beyond them. Even as I heard the sound of the iron door to the prison wing closing behind Alaire and Persephone, I still could not focus on it.
“Tallis, are you okay?” the angel rasped, but I did not respond. “Dude, please answer me! I gotta know you’re still alive!”
“Aye, Ah’m still here,” I said, my voice sounding suddenly foreign to me.
I was still here. I swallowed hard as the weight of the realization struck me.
I was human.
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
H.P. Mallory, lily harper 04.5 - the bladesmith
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