Rebirth

by H. P. Mallory

  “You are Tallis,” were my first words.

  Tallis kissed me and claimed me right there, in our special place—the only safe place that existed for us, far away from the dungeon walls and vacuum of my own spiritual imprisonment.

  For a time, this was my existence… okay, my half-existence. My days and nights were filled with the terror of seeing Persephone living inside my body, followed by a period of dreams that could have only been described as heaven…

  When I first found myself there, the mud that held me fast in place was thick and confining. Like wearing a full body cast most of the time. But once Tallis came to me, the mud became less constricting. I couldn’t explain how but I felt stronger even though I was still very much stuck in the ground, buried up to my neck like a fencepost.

  Once, when Tallis and I finished our lovemaking and before the darkness settled and he had to leave, he turned to me and said: “Ah’m almost ready tae free ye, lass. Have a wee bit o’ patience.”

  And then he was gone.

  Time passed ever so slowly in my prison. Painstakingly slowly.

  But finally, happily, the day arrived when Tallis came to me only to talk.

  “We moost trick Persephone intae thinkin’ Donnchadh is livin’ inside ‘er, Besom,” he explained. “If Ah can git her tae join meh in this place, Ah can trap ‘er fohevah.”

  Still stuck in the mud as I was, I had very few options so I agreed with his plan. Just the same, I was scared to death that it wouldn’t go as he intended. After all, wasn’t that how we both landed in this steaming pile of a mess in the first place? The last thing I wanted to do was endanger Tallis more than he already was.

  But, as I said before, I had little choice in the matter. Once I agreed, Tallis leaked a few more details. “’Twill take mah entire essence tae accomplish this, lass. Ah may even forget that Ah’ve done it. Ye moost make meh remember when ye are whole again.”

  And thus, the plan began.

  Reaching out from my prison by the lake, I began goading and calling Persephone in those moments when I could see what she was doing. Watching her fear at hearing my disembodied voice only egged me further as I realized this was the chink in her armor. For a woman who liked to call herself Queen of the Underground City, Persephone lacked basic self-confidence.

  But even though Tallis and I were victorious against Persephone and we interred her in the same hideous place in which she buried me, I was now faced with new obstacles.

  I took stock of my situation as I looked around the tower cell. I was surrounded by puddles of drying candle wax and a deathly still Tallis.

  Okay, Lily, I thought when I picked myself up off the floor, you’re now behind enemy lines. In the heart of enemy territory. You’ve got no friends left to rely on. Tallis is mortal and Bill? Well, when was Bill ever helpful before? And your trusty sword is lost in parts unknown… well, other than to Alaire, that is.

  At the thought of Alaire, my brain did an excellent impersonation of a skipping CD. Alaire.

  Alaire.

  Ugh. Alaire.

  I barely managed to get to my knees when the memories of what my body witnessed in my absence started to explode in my head. My hands dropped back to the floor as the events of the past rushed through my thoughts: Alaire’s treachery, the extraction of Donnchadh, the blood!

  “Oh, God, I drank your blood!” I said at the still-unconscious Tallis. I fought to keep down the small amount of food in my stomach as I remembered the warm, coppery taste of Tallis’s blood when it oozed down my throat and sat in my gut like a lump of warm coal.

  Then it dawned on me.

  Tallis’s blood was the vehicle that allowed him to reach me. It was also the reason I suddenly realized the increased strength I had against Persephone and how I managed to return to myself. It provided me with something I didn’t have at the caretaker’s quarters: a fighting chance.

  A fighting chance against Alaire.

  A ghastly scream ripped through my subconscious as my thoughts of Alaire led back to Saxon. Suddenly, I could see Saxon’s death all over again, Alaire’s thumbs were pressing into his skull through his eyes. My own eyes teared up and I had to physically shake myself to banish the horrible images away. At this point, I could only hope Saxon did enough in his second life to save himself the misery of Shade or, worse yet, any other level of the Underground City.

  Guilt washed over me as I recalled how easily Saxon surrendered to Persephone—he’d basically been no more than an eager lapdog to her. Even with all of that, I still wasn’t sure why he remained so willing to do her bidding. Was it possible that Persephone had her own magical way of influencing people? If Tallis had the Druid touch, maybe Persephone possessed her own version of the Siren song?

  A new feeling, that of nausea, crept up my throat as I remembered more. Night after night, I had sex with none other than the sleazeball of the millennium: Alaire. I had to swallow hard in order to keep the bile from rising in my throat.

  Regardless of my feelings, whatever memories Persephone created were now all mine too. I could recall things as clearly as if I’d experienced them myself. When this was finally over, I’d have to learn how to live with them.

  I stood up and straightened the gaudy dress Persephone chose for us… me… prior to her fateful meeting with Tallis.

  Alaire tricked me into going for the crown. He tricked me into becoming possessed by Persephone.

  At this realization, anger and shock raged through me. It was the first time I’d been able to finally ponder the preamble of events leading to the moment when I no longer manned the helm of my body.

  At the time, I didn’t know I had a choice. Alaire clearly threatened to go to Afterlife Enterprises over my killing some of his employees if I didn’t take him up on his request. Now, with that perfect but too-late-to-help-me visual aid known as twenty/twenty hindsight, I realized I should have taken my chances with AE and told Alaire to stick it where the sun don’t shine. That would have been Bill’s advice, I was sure.

  “Bill!” I searched my… Persephone’s… memories. What had she done with my guardian angel? My answer came almost immediately. He was being held in another cell next door to this one.

  Yes, Bill was obnoxious, cowardly, chauvinistic, lazy, gluttonous, cheap, foul, dirty and utterly useless at his day job. But he was also my useless guardian angel and best friend.

  I looked down at the burnt candles surrounding Tallis and me. As much as I would have liked to keep the candle circle intact to serve as a reminder to Tallis of what we just accomplished, I couldn’t risk the chance of Alaire coming across them.

  One by one, I scraped the candles off the floor as I decided today would be a good day to light a fire in the fireplace of my bedroom. Yes, a nice, big blaze would ensure that any and all evidence of what happened earlier would be stomped out.

  That’s when I noticed one other glaring problem: Tallis’s unchained arm. I had to remind myself of Tallis’s warning that he wouldn’t remember our ritual or that I’d reclaimed my rightful body. I realized he was a danger I couldn’t face at the moment. I painstakingly snapped the manacle back over his wrist, already rubbed raw from who knew how many days of captivity?

  Yes, I saw the blood all over the floor of his prison, but I wasn’t as concerned with that. I mopped up what I could with the skirts of my skanky dress and figured the rest of the blood stains wouldn’t alert too many suspicion. This was a dungeon, after all.

  “I’ll be back for you soon,” I whispered to Tallis, unsure if he could hear me. Deciding I’d already dawdled long enough in this cell, I split.

  ###

  Reluctantly leaving Tallis behind, I made my way through the stone halls of the main castle. I wanted to find Bill but the cleanup I’d done in Tallis’s cell made it necessary to at least wash off my hands. And the only private washing basin I knew of was in my room.

  Along the way, I passed several of Alaire’s business suited, spaghetti-haired Watchers. It wasn’t difficult
to get past them as they lurked in corners or paced the halls, steering clear of me. But their eyes were always fastened on me—and they continued reporting my comings and goings to their master. That was why I had to convince everyone that I was Persephone and still firmly at the helm of this ship. I couldn’t just rely on my hair, which stayed black, for some reason… And quite likely, one I didn’t want to think about.

  Once my hands were as clean as I could get them, I walked back to the dungeon. The closer I got to Bill’s cell, the more I wondered what to do or say when I got there. I had the key—it was an old brass number, worn and discolored with age. Getting in wasn’t an issue. But how would he react to me?

  Much as I wanted to tell him the truth, I had to make sure Bill believed I was still Persephone. He had the biggest mouth in the universe and the moment he discovered I had actually been restored to myself, the rest of the castle would be well aware of it less than three seconds later. Maybe less than two. So yeah, for now, I had to keep up the charade. But just for now.

  Just a quick check, a fleeting glimpse to ensure that Bill was okay before I move on, I affirmed to myself. I also prayed to anyone who was listening that I’d have the conviction to stick to my plan.

  Finally, I reached his cell. The antechamber was dark and it reeked of feces, making me wonder what other guests Alaire or Persephone might have left down here. With a clank, I unlocked the door and swung it open. I reached around and flicked on the light switch, which crackled and flickered like the set of a mad scientist movie.

  When I saw Bill, I wished I’d left the light off.

  The first thing I noticed was that he’d lost a lot of weight. His usual, roly-poly form that reminded me of a beach ball with legs was gaunt and thin with the skin stretched over his bones in a tanning rack kind of way. And his face looked even worse. It was swollen and bruised with deep scratches that ran up and down and crisscrossed. His puffy eyes were purple in their hollows while his lips were chapped and cracked in multiple places.

  A flash of memory in my mind showed me holding a jagged, rusty knife to draw shapes into Bill’s legs. At that moment, I wanted to cry and scream.

  I was just about to say his name when the little man stirred. “Come ta fuck me up some more, ya pansy bitch? Nexterday, your ass is gonna be mine. An’ then we gonna see if you can take it as good as you dish it out.”

  His words were whisper soft, but I could hear the fight inside them. He lifted his head to look at me, the disgust in his fractured face plainly evident.

  “Look, I get that you’re ambitchous,” he continued, his voice breaking. “Don’t know what that means?”

  “No,” I stated, pouring every ounce of willpower into making my voice monotonous and disinterested.

  “It means you’re strivin’ to be bitchier than the average bitch but, dude, you like now hold the world’s record.” He began wheezing as he inhaled a coughing breath. “But no matter what you’re aimin’ at, you ain’t gonna... break ol’ Bill….” His head dropped back with an audible thud where it remained. “Nips, if you’re in there, give this bitch a fuckin’ aneurism already, fer fuck’s sake.”

  “Bill,” I spoke his name softly and so quietly, I worried he didn’t hear me. Actually, maybe I should have been worried he did hear me because Persephone wasn’t exactly mild-mannered.

  “You don’t get to say my name!” He exploded with renewed vigor, his beady eyes going wide, the whites a stark contrast to the deep purple beneath them. “That honor is only reserved for my friends! And you ain’t even close to bein’ one of those!”

  “Bill…”

  Damn it, I need to stop this! I berated myself. But I couldn’t help it. The sight of the angel’s body overrode the need to provide a convincing performance.

  “You’re even worse than a sideline hater! Someone who pretends to be your friend but secretly wishes you fail at everything!”

  “Stop,” I said, wondering exactly how best to interact with him. The way I was feeling, imitating any of Persephone’s cruel games was right off the table. I figured it was best if I engaged as little as possible with him, that is, if I wanted to keep up my disguise.

  “You are just a slut-walking pile of ass-sweat.”

  Bill’s insults had certainly seen better days, but given his condition, I didn’t blame him. I let a smile pop onto my face as I just stood there, staring at him and pretending to revel in his pain. Meanwhile, I inwardly soared at his undying defiance. Persephone and Alaire hadn’t defeated him, no matter what they threw at him. He was still the same Bill he always had been, albeit much dirtier and thinner and more battered. But the true Bill he still was… and that made me happy.

  I stood for a few seconds longer, memorizing every single injury on his withered frame. I added it onto the same list where I’d been noting every other crime and indignity Alaire had inflicted on me and mine. Someday the asshole would pay. Eventually, I turned around and started for the door again.

  “Yeah… you better fucking run, bitch-ass! Just seein’ you leavin’ is givin’ me a justice boner!”

  I shut the door and locked it behind me, telling myself that it wasn’t so much to keep Bill locked in as to keep Alaire’s minions out. I then made a mental note to provide him with some additional food and water. A skinny Bill was something I’d rather not see.

  “An’ don’t forget the fuckin’ light, Skeletor-whore!” Bill grumbled from the other side. “Ain’t exactly easy ta sleep in here. Fucking Helliday Inn.”

  I quickly unlocked the door and obliged him. For some reason, however, watching the light turn to black was worse than seeing Bill’s injuries.

  “I miss my iPhone,” he finished in a high-pitched voice that made me wonder if he were sobbing. I knew it wasn’t the iPhone he really missed.

  At the thought of Bill crying, my anger consumed me. I didn’t need to look in a mirror to know how red my face was. My hands were white-knuckled fists, my teeth grinding and gnashing against each other. A fire raged in my belly and seemed to build higher until it took over the rest of my chest.

  Alaire had to pay for this… all of this. I wasn’t quite sure how though, not just yet. But when I finished with him, that immortal conman would be begging for death’s sweet release.

  Deep in the back of my mind, I could have sworn I heard cackling laughter.

  Chapter Eight

  Lily

  Having just emerged from a much-needed shower, I couldn’t wait to scrub myself from head-to-toe. The need to do so had become almost overwhelming. First, however, I washed out the blood from the previous dress I’d been wearing and spread it out on my bed to air dry, making it appear innocent of any wrongdoing. Well, except that the thing was about as skanky as skanky gets.

  Standing in Persephone’s bedroom, I had a towel wrapped around my head and another around my body. Turning to the subject of what to wear, I approached her closet and opened the double doors wide. I could only shake my head in silent disbelief as I pushed past one slutty outfit after another. Oddly, it felt like someone was watching me and I could have sworn I heard a whisper coming from somewhere in the room a few times. Eventually, I whipped my head around, fully expecting to see someone there. But no, the room was just as empty as it was when I entered it. Apparently, my frayed nerves were playing games again with me.

  Turning back to the dresses—most of which were little more than glorified lingerie—I finally settled on a simple, flat black, strapless dress. Placing the dress on the bed, I approached one of the three dressers in the room and pulled open a top drawer in search of some actual underwear. Imagine my lack of any surprise when all I could find was more lingerie. Actually, I hesitate to label what I saw as “lingerie.” Why? Because the word is entirely too clean to characterize the actual contents of of what I saw in that drawer. Persephone’s pantie drawer contained nothing but G-strings, mostly crotchless, see-through, edible or in some combination of the three. One item consisted only of pearls, for crissakes. It could have do
ubled for a very fancy slingshot.

  “How the hell can those be comfortable?” I asked as I lifted the offensive garment with my index finger and thumb. I inspected them more closely before my only response was a frown. When I remembered that it was my body that had actually worn them, I started to get grossed out. I dropped the pearl panties back inside the drawer before slamming it shut.

  I continued to rifle through her other drawers, my mind long beyond belief. At this point, it was getting absurd. Drawer after drawer held garter belts, teddies, transparent negligees, some S&M kind of leather gear and cupless bras. Cupless bras? I could only wonder if Persephone had personally stocked this room or maybe Alaire took the credit for it.

  “Alaire,” I answered to myself as I shook my head. I was still trying to force my Persephone memories of Alaire out of my head.

  “Yes, my dear?” his voice sounded from the doorway.

  A squeal left my mouth and my heart dropped down to my toes before it sprinted away from me. I jumped up, bumping my chest against the open drawer much harder than I expected, before finally being able to turn around.

  The sight of his ogling eyes made me glad that I still had the towel securely wrapped around me.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he smirked with a laugh. That jolted me to remember the character I was supposed to be impersonating.

  “And just how long have you been standing there?” I demanded, using my best bitch voice I could muster. A toddler in her first school play would have probably sounded more convincing.

  “Long enough,” he replied, remaining in the doorway, casually leaning against the door like it was his room, not mine. “Do you require my assistance in selecting your apparel?”

  “No, I’m quite suited to handle that task myself,” I said. But the thought of him standing there watching me undress made me physically ill. “However, your queen would greatly appreciate the courtesy of seeing you leave me alone that I may dress in peace.”