Persephone (The Lily Harper Series Book 4)

  I rested on top of the sandy soil of the mound, and noticed Tallis squatting down beside the river. He opened his sporran and produced what looked like a hide. It was twice the size of his hand. Standing up, he took a few steps into the river, until the water reached his mid-calf. Then he leaned over and folded the sides of the hide up, making it into a cup of sorts. He dipped the makeshift cup into the water and stood up again. Taking a few long steps, he approached me.

  “Dude, didn’t you just hear a word I said?” Bill inquired, but Tallis ignored him, his eyes fastened on me.

  “Yer sword, lass,” he said, once he was a foot or so away. Then he turned to face Bill. “Ah will purify the contaminants from the water with the steel o’ her blade,” he explained.

  “Ah,” Bill nodded. “Good thinkin’, yo.”

  I reached for my sword, which was right beside me and resting against the embankment. I rotated it so that I was holding the blade end before I handed it to Tallis. Once he touched the grip, what felt like a bolt of lightning hit the sword and traveled straight up my arm. I heard myself gasping as I tried to release the blade, but couldn’t. It was as if my hands were superglued to the blade.

  I looked up at Tallis and saw him clenching his jaw and wincing. I tried to ask what was happening, but couldn’t open my mouth to form words. It was like my body was suddenly on strike. I vaguely recalled Bill freaking out beside me, but his voice sounded distant, like I was underwater.

  I wasn’t sure what prompted me, but I tightened my hold around the blade of my sword until I felt it cutting into my palms. Thinking I was in a dream, I glanced down at my hands, and my movements seemed overly slow and delayed. One thing I did not fail to recognize, though, was that I was bleeding. A wide line of bright blood trickled steadily from my fisted hand down my arms. Still, I couldn’t release my sword.

  A bright light suddenly blinded me and I didn’t know where I was. But I felt sure it wasn’t the Dark Wood. Nope, there was nothing dark about this place at all. Instead, the sky was a bright, cerulean blue, dotted with white, puffy clouds. A cool breeze that carried the scent of wildflowers and rich, moist earth refreshed my face. I found myself standing in front of an enormous lake that reflected the sky and made it look like the clouds were floating on the surface. The lake was surrounded by trees in every shade of green, and purple flowers accentuated the grassy areas beneath them. Off in the distance towered enormous verdant mountains.

  “Ta tu an talamh, an t-uisce agus an speir.”

  Hearing a deep voice, I turned to find Tallis standing beside me. Only he wasn’t the same Tallis that was with me in the Dark Wood. This Tallis seemed younger, and not quite so jaded or cynical. This Tallis also didn’t have the scar that ran from his eyebrow to his jaw.

  He repeated the words again, and I suddenly understood what they meant.

  You are the earth, the water and the air.

  He smiled at me and reached down to grip both of my much smaller hands in his. I glanced at our entwined hands and noticed neither one of us was wearing any clothing. But I didn’t feel any shame or embarrassment. On the contrary, I felt beautiful, so natural and right.

  “Ta tu an ceann. Ta tu tar eis teacht duinn,” Tallis said and inside my head, I understood the words.

  You are the one. You have come for us.

  Although his words were meant to encourage me, I was suddenly overcome with a wave of apprehension and anxiety.

  “How can you be certain?” I asked, not even sure what I was asking or why.

  “Is doigh liom e. Ta a fhios agam,” Tallis answered.

  I feel it. I know.

  Some of the anxiety began to evaporate as I took comfort in his words.

  “Is mar a bhi se I gceist I gconai a bheith,” he finished.

  It is as it was always meant to be.

  I blinked and the vision was suddenly gone, leaving me shrouded in pitch blackness. I blinked again, trying to make sense of the darkness that seemed to swallow me.

  “Lils!” Bill screamed as he suddenly appeared in my line of sight. “Snap out of it!” he yelled before grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

  “I’m … I’m okay!” I yelled back, bringing my arms up and extricating myself from his iron grasp. My breathing was no more than short gasps as I tried to understand what just happened.

  Tallis.

  His name suddenly made me wheel around and I found him standing right before me. He was panting too, and staring at me.

  “What happened?” I asked, my voice coming out raspy. “What was that?”

  “Whit did ye see?” he replied as he eyed me narrowly.

  I shook my head and looked at my hands when I realized that somewhere along the way, I’d released my sword. Blood covered my palms, but when I searched for a laceration, I couldn’t find one. My skin was completely whole, as if it had mended itself in mere seconds.

  “That was some next level bullshit that I, for one, was not ready for!” Bill announced, shaking his head as he started to pace back and forth. “You were like speakin’ in tongues, Lil!”

  “I was?” I asked, inhaling deeply and trying to calm my frantic heartbeat.

  “Yeah!” Bill shouted back at me. “You were goin’ on an’ on! Like you done got freakin’ possessed by the flippin’ Rosetta Stone!” He shook his head and looked like he was about to cry. “Why the hell’s can’t we just get back to Edinburgs? I just wanna eat a real meal, an’ service my selfie stick, an’ sleep in a real freakin’ bed. Why does this shit gotta happen now?” He was quiet for a second or so before he started shaking his head so quickly, I was afraid he would give himself whiplash. “I can’t take no more of this shit, Lils. I really can’t!”

  “Whit did ye see, lass?” Tallis repeated, completely ignoring Bill’s protest.

  I faced him and took another deep breath. “The same thing you did,” I answered with newfound assurance.

  “Nips, you looked just like Linda frickin’ Blair! You were actin’ and soundin’ possessed by the devil,” Bill continued, the pitch of his voice rising to glass-breaking status. “Does this mean you got some demon livin’ inside you now an’ you’re just gonna like start randomly pukin’ everywhere?”

  “No, Bill, it doesn’t,” I replied with a quick glance at him, even though I didn’t know what it meant either.

  “’Cause I ain’t prepared for any o’ this shit. I don’t know nothin’ ’bout exorcisms an’ poltergeists, or how the hell to get Satan the hell outta you!”

  “Bill,” I started, but seeing he was already off on one of his rants, I figured he’d be busy for a while.

  “I never signed up for this shit!” he railed at me. “Fuck, Lils, you scared me so bad when you were talkin’ all that crazy shit. What the hell language was that anyways?”

  “Gaelic,” I responded, since there was no doubt in my mind.

  “Whit did ye see?” Tallis inquired, and his expression looked very determined.

  “You,” I answered. “I saw you and me. We were naked. And we were surrounded by mountains and a lake.”

  Tallis’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed even more. “Go oan.”

  “You were telling me that I was the earth, the water and the air, and I was the one, and that I had come for you, or for us, or for something that didn’t make any sense,” I finished.

  Tallis nodded as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes while shaking his head.

  “What did all of that mean?” I asked, suddenly afraid to hear his answer.

  “You both were naked?” Bill interrupted, his eyebrows pointing to the center of his face. “Were you doin’ the nasty?”

  I opted to ignore him and continued focusing on Tallis because I wanted answers. “What did it mean?” I repeated the question.

  Tallis opened his eyes and stared at me for a few seconds. His gaze was so penetrating, it felt like he could see right through me. “Ah dinnae know,” he answered.

  “Thou who through the city of fire goest alive...?
??

  - Dante’s Inferno

  FIVE

  “What do you mean, you don’t know?” I demanded, not at all happy with the fact that Tallis was purporting not to know what the vision meant. He didn’t respond, and wouldn’t even look at me, but charged back through the river and up the crest of the embankment. He seemed like a man on a mission, which was to get as far away from me as possible. I wondered if he intended to stop and wait for Bill and me or not.

  “Tallis!” I yelled after his fast retreating figure.

  He wheeled around to face me finally, holding his lips tight. “How else would ye like meh tae say it, lass?” he asked as he glared at me. “Ah have nae explanation fer whatever ’twas ye saw.”

  “What I saw?” I repeated, shaking my head. “You mean what we both saw!”

  “Ah am still nae convinced we each saw the same thing,” he argued haughtily.

  “Why does my better judgment doubt that?” I rebutted as Tallis turned his back on me again. Then he rubbed the nape of his neck as he always did when he was frustrated while muttering something unintelligible. I figured he was probably speaking in his native Gaelic tongue, not that it really mattered. After another few seconds, he started forward again.

  “What’s wrong with Tido?” Bill asked me, frowning at Tallis who continued walking ahead of us.

  “Who knows?” I replied. I figured I should get back onto my feet. It took me a few seconds to flip around from where I’d been lying on my stomach so I was on my back again and facing the dark sky. Once I managed to roll over, I heaved myself upward and into a sitting position. I had to catch my breath because even such a small amount of exertion took its toll on me.

  “Pro’lly cause he’s had to be mabstinent this whole time,” Bill said with a shrug as we watched Tallis steadily widening his distance from us.

  “What?” I asked, still fighting to catch my breath. I hated feeling so exhausted.

  “Dude’s had to abstain from masturbating!” Bill translated before he started shaking his head. “But, shit, Conan needs to like get over it, yo! Just look what a hell of a long time it’s been since I got to service the account! And ya don’t see me actin’ like a little bitch about it!”

  “Somehow, I don’t think that’s what’s wrong with him, Bill,” I answered.

  “Well, how the hell could you know?” he snapped, throwing his hands on his hips. “It’s not like you could even begin to understand what it’s like to own a freakin’ demandin’, insistent penis.”

  “You’re right,” I said immediately, seeking an immediate end to the conversation. “I know nothing about it.” Thank God.

  I perched my sword in front of me, the blade poking into the dirt, and used it as a crutch. Then inhaling the biggest breath I could manage, I heaved myself onto my feet. I had to struggle just to maintain my balance.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tallis watching me. He muttered something to himself and approached me, looking irritated all the while. Leaning down into a semi-squatting position, he gathered me into his arms, bridal style, and stood up. I looped my arms around his neck and reflexively leaned into him. The smell of his skin was as seductive as any aphrodisiac—nothing cloying or chemical-smelling. No, Tallis smelled like the richest earth, combined with the trees and the air that surrounded his cabin on the periphery of the Dark Wood. That was the only place where wildlife actually thrived. I leaned my head against his massive chest and snuggled into him, grateful for his huge arms as he wrapped them around me.

  I always felt so safe in his embrace. He was like a massive, impenetrable bulwark. I tightened my hold around his neck and inhaled his scent as deeply into my lungs as I could. In response, I felt his breath catch as his posture suddenly turned rigid, and I immediately realized my mistake.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I lifted my head up and released my arms from around his neck.

  “Lass,” he started, but soon swallowed the rest of his comment.

  “I already know,” I said with a quick and embarrassed smile. “I make you uncomfortable and nothing can happen between us,” I quoted him pedantically. I was so beyond exasperated where Tallis was concerned. With sad resignation, I sighed out all my frustration and just figured the situation was what it was, and nothing could change it. And the sooner I accepted that reality, the better. “It’s okay—I get it.”

  “Nae, ye dinnae fully oonderstand, lass …”

  “What the frickin’ hell is that?” Bill yelled from where he followed behind us, and Tallis immediately turned around. Bill didn’t say anything, but simply pointed toward the river.

  I followed the direction of his finger and immediately spotted the large shape sticking out of the middle of the river. It was spherical and looked like a very large egg. Except it had to be at least five feet tall. Unlike a chicken’s egg, though, it was a dark purplish-black, and the texture looked almost leathery. It bobbed in the dark water for a few seconds before floating toward the bank.

  “Looks like we’re gonna be eatin’ omelets an’ scrambled eggs for the next few months,” Bill said as he rubbed his stomach and looked at Tallis optimistically.

  “Somehow, I doubt we’ll want to eat that,” I answered. As soon as I replied, the object reached the shore. When it rolled onto the surface of the mud, it started to shake, as if whatever lay inside were wrestling to come out. A hairline crack appeared from the top of the sphere and soon ran down to its center.

  Tallis immediately placed me back on my feet and took a few steps in front of me, pulling his sword from the scabbard across his chest. Narrowing his glare at Bill, who stood off to my right, maybe ten feet away, he ordered, “Ye will watch over Besom.” Then he whirled around again and looked directly at me. “Ye keep yer sword by ye a-tall times; an’ dae yer best ta wield it, should the need arise.”

  “Okay,” I said with a quick nod. My heart started to slam against my ribs as I tightened my hold around my sword. Bill dutifully approached me while Tallis returned his attention to the strange orb in the river. I did the same. “What is it?” I asked.

  “Ah dinnae know,” he answered as he held his sword up high and took a few steps towards the river. “Boot Ah am bettin’ ’tis nae friend.”

  “Ya think it’s eatable?” Bill inquired as I nailed him with a discouraging glance.

  “Ah dinnae know,” Tallis repeated, not bothering to look back. Instead, he kept his gaze trained on the object before us.

  I did the same and noticed the egg was still quaking, and the fracture spanning the length of it was rapidly becoming deeper and wider. A few seconds passed by before a chunk of the leathery shell broke away and dropped into the mud below. I heard Bill’s gasp when a hand pushed through the opening. The hand, like the shell, was also a very dark purple; but aside from the color, it looked remarkably human. The creature jutted out its forearm before the entire length of its upper arm came fully out of the shell. Huge, thornlike horns poked out from the sides of its arm. It continued to break through the confines of its shell, revealing a shoulder that was also covered with spikes.

  “I think I’ll revise my dinner plans,” Bill announced as he glanced over at me and frowned sourly.

  The shell of the egg began to chip away on the opposite side as the creature frantically struggled to free itself. Seconds later, it punched its right arm out and buried its hand into the mud of the embankment. The shell started to shake even more violently until the whole top split apart as the entire spinal column of the thing inside emerged. Thorns ran down the length of its spine, becoming ever more prominent as the creature arched itself upward. I could see the underside of its belly, which resembled that of a turtle. It busted one leg through the shell and then the other, revealing humanlike feet attached to overly muscular and swollen thighs that were also covered with sharp spikes.

  “Okay, kittens, I’m about to shit my pants, so why don’t the three of us make like a tree and get the hells outta here?” Bill asked, his attention resting on the quie
t Scotsman.

  “Ah dinnae wanna take any chances,” Tallis responded, his attention strictly fastened on the creature.

  “Right! Neither do I, an’ that’s why I’m sayin’ we needs to make our exit, like yesterday,” Bill argued. “As in right now!”

  “It would merely follow oos,” Tallis answered as he shook his head. “’Tis betta tae meet the monster head oan.”

  “Ya gotta be fist-fuckin’ me,” Bill replied in disbelief, his tone hinting at his combined awe and overwhelming fear. “This is like watchin’ the evolution of fugly ass species.”

  The entire egg fell away from the creature until only its head was left concealed. With a vehement shake, the rest of the shell dropped and the thing was finally hatched for all to see.

  “Ah!” Bill cried, shaking his head, when the hatchling looked directly at us. Its face looked faintly human. It had two eyes and a prominent mouth, but no nose. Truly, its mouth was more like a snout, and shaped almost like a cat’s. Underneath its eyes, the bones protruded into spikes and resembled a horned lizard. Its cranial area was much more pronounced than a human’s, and it almost looked as if its head were splitting apart beneath its leathery skin.

  “It looks like it’s half man and half something else,” I whispered, and the sound of my own voice seemed suddenly foreign and strange to me.

  The creature immediately stood up on its legs and turned toward me. Staring at me with huge, alien eyes that glowed purple; when it blinked, an inner, black eyelid eclipsed the pupil.

  “I don’t think it likes you, nips,” Bill whispered before taking a few small steps until he was directly in front of me. He held his hands up as if the thing were a cop, ready to bust him. “It’s givin’ you the bitch face.”

  “I think that’s just its face, Bill,” I managed to reply.

  The hideous creature opened its mouth and made a horrible hissing sound; and seconds later, it leapt straight into the air, probably a good ten feet high. It landed with a loud thud directly in front of Tallis, who readied his sword, if it decided to attack him. But it didn’t act as if it even knew he was standing there. Instead, it kept its eyes trained on me.