That’s when an idea occurred to me. “And you think this is the way to my heart?” I asked as I glanced down at myself. “Do you really think this is the best way to achieve what you’re seeking?”
“I told you already. I take what I want.”
“So do you want just my body? Or do you want my heart and soul too? Do you want to use me sexually or do you want me to come to you of my own free will? Do you want me to hate you or do you want me to love you? Because if the answer to any of those questions is Option Number One, you should have just left Persephone where she was.” The words poured out of me, propelled by an urgent fear. I sorely hoped he would go for the bait. It was the only idea I had to protect myself from Alaire’s unrelenting sexual advances. I had to buy some time to scheme anew.
Alaire was quiet for a few seconds as he digested everything I’d just said. His face went blank, probably to record all the answers my words provoked. Finally, he replied with, “Very well… I admit that I want you to give yourself to me willingly. Then—and only then—will I know I have truly won.”
“Then you need to learn a few serious lessons in the proper courtship of a woman,” I said with sincerity as I inwardly marveled over the beauty of my hastily conceived plan. I wasn’t sure how or why but somehow my impromptu ruse was working. “Because I will never come to you willingly if you treat me like chattel.”
Alaire slowly released a low laugh that boiled out of him like a dry cough. Then he stood up and crawled off me before starting for the door. He turned back and announced, “I will send someone to release you from your shackles… eventually.”
That’s when he left me. I was glad because I could finally consider how and when I would pay a visit to Tallis. I needed to learn everything there was to know about the warrior spirit residing inside me. Specifically, how I could free him.
Chapter Sixteen
Lily
The next day, Alaire left the castle. Again, he claimed he had to tend to “business,” as he termed it. What he meant, I didn’t know and didn’t care to know right then. I was just glad that he was away, meaning, I could finally pay a much-needed visit to Tallis.
At the thought of seeing my bladesmith, my heart nearly began to sing. It had been far too long since I could gaze into those midnight blue eyes, and too long since I’d heard his deep, melancholy voice, and too long since I last touched him.
My heart hammered in my chest as I hurried down the hallway. The Watchers were out in full force but I did get to enjoy one of the few benefits of having Persephone’s memories. It was knowing which places they didn’t patrol as often. I could slip around them until I took the stairs to the first floor. Once I determined that Alaire’s surveillance mummies were mostly upstairs, I ran across the open expanse of stone floor until I reached the dark, wooden door that led to the dungeon. I pulled it open and waited for my eyesight to adjust to the sudden darkness once I crossed the threshold.
The door creaked as it closed behind me. I listened carefully for any signs of Alaire’s stooges but there was only dead silence. It made sense, I guess… Why would anyone look for trouble in the most secure and furthest floor of the castle? Once my eyes adjusted to the dark, I took the stairs that descended the prison quarters slowly, being careful not to trip…
I should also mention that I was wearing a long, skin-tight velvet outfit that could have once been found in Elvira’s closet. Ironically, it was one of the more conservative dresses that Persephone owned. But the slits on both thighs ran up all the way to my stomach. Given how revealing all her clothing was, I wondered why Persephone didn’t just prefer to go without clothes altogether.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I darted forward, being careful to avoid seeing any Watchers. As soon as I took a step forward, though, I was repelled by something, a barricade of sorts. I fell backwards, landing on my butt,before I could right myself against the stairwell wall. Shaking my head to clear the shock that ran through it, I stared straight ahead but saw nothing that could explain why I just felt like I’d run headlong into another wall.
I stood up and started forward again, holding my hands out in front of me like a mime on the streets of Paris. And that was when I touched it. Beneath my fingertips, the invisible barrier felt like plastic. A large sheet of it seemed to cover the whole entrance. Keeping my fingers on the invisible barrier, I traced it to the ground and then up again, as far as I could reach when I was on my tiptoes. Whatever barricade this was, it was invisible to the naked eye and completely impenetrable to my current resources.
“Tallis,” I called out, suddenly afraid for his safety. “Are you there?”
“Aye, lass,” he responded immediately. “Are ye well?”
“I can’t come in to see you!” I responded. “There’s an invisible wall in the way.”
“Aye,” Tallis answered in a tone that told me he wasn’t surprised. “Alaire moost have warded the passage.”
“Warded the passage?”
“Aye, he set up a barrier tae keep oos apart,” he explained. “Cannae say that Ah am surprised.”
Renewed anger suddenly shot through my body, and I had to take a few breaths to cool it down again. “Alaire,” I whispered. I hated the way his name sounded coming from my mouth. But not nearly as much as I hated the impenetrable barrier he’d erected between me and the man I loved.
“Are ye well, lass?” Tallis called out. “Has he hurt ye?”
I didn’t want him to worry but I also didn’t want to lie to him. So I figured I’d answer as benignly as I could. “I’m okay,” I said. “Has he been down here to visit you?” After the interrogation in the bedroom, I seriously worried how Alaire might funnel his anger over my persistent attachment to Tallis.
“Aye,” Tallis answered, his voice sounding just as strong as it did a moment ago.
“Why?”
“He had questions regardin’ the runes ye bear on yer forearm,” Tallis answered. “Questions regardin’ Donnchadh only Ah can answer.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I feared Tallis had been abused at the hands of Alaire. “I’ve come for the same reason,” I said, breathing out deeply. “Tallis, I need to understand how these runes work. I have to learn how to control Donnchadh so I will know how to release him.”
###
My heels clicked on the stone floor and I started to pick up the pace as I passed door after door in the hallway of the castle, making my way to the double doors that led outside. Occasionally, a Watcher gave me a curious stare as I passed but I refused to think about that right then. My mind was a veritable battleground of thoughts and worries colliding with each other until I wanted to scream. My heart was pounding and my nerves were fully stimulated. I could feel the rush of blood as it flushed my fair, pale skin.
Everything Tallis told me about the runes on my forearm as well as Donnchadh in general continued to race through my head. I was scared to death that I would forget something or possibly confuse what Tallis told me and wind up doing what I needed to incorrectly. But each time I replayed the memory of Tallis explaining the runes, I realized there was nothing to confuse. He’d been crystal clear in his explanation and I understood every last detail he said.
I approached the small gate and ran through the plan in my mind for the nth time. It wasn’t too complicated, no more than Tallis’s instructions. It just relied on a few things going exactly the way they should when I needed them to. No biggie, right?
First, I had to get one of the Furies to help me. That represented obstacle number one. Of course I remembered Tallis’s utter mortification upon hearing that I even tried to recruit a Fury to help me in the first place. And, yes, despite his reaction, I had to revisit that plan again if only because it was the only feasible one I had. However dangerous they were, the Furies were the only creatures strong enough to transport all three of us away from this abominable hellhole. Without the help of at least one of them, we would slowly rot in this prison with absolutely no hope for escape.
The Watcher was silent, stiff as a board, and unmoving. It just stood there, blankly staring at me with a shriveled, mummy-like face.
“Get out of my way!” I screamed at it. Despite my change of hair color, it most likely assumed I was still Persephone. Hence, the more attitude I displayed, the better. The longer the monster looked at me, the more I realized how much it resembled a sickly version of Alaire. That thought made me swallow hard.
Alaire…
He was still the wild card. I wasn’t sure how long he’d hold out in his quest to woo me. As with all things involving the Master of the Underground City, the breaking point would eventually come when he would decide to take what he wanted . Hopefully for me, that day wouldn’t come anytime soon. For the time being, I couldn’t be bothered worrying about it.
The Watcher made no motion to move, but just continued blocking my path. I could only gaze at the huge, wooden double doors that led to the courtyard beyond.
My hands balled into fists and I allowed Donnchadh’s rage to flow through me. An unbridled strength coursed through my arms. Clarity filled my head as I figured out what I needed to do. The Watcher reacted to none of this. It just stared at me, still unmoving and even unblinking. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my nerves in an effort to assure myself that I could really do what I needed to accomplish.
I reviewed everything Tallis told me, all the words he used when he explained how I could grant Donnchadh power over my body. I glanced down at my forearm and fisted my right hand. Using the fingers from my left hand, I tightened them around my right elbow, creating a crude tourniquet. Then I focused on the runes just above my grip and closed my eyes, imagining a bright white light emanating from each tattooed letter.
I repeated the Gaelic words in my head, the ones that would release the warrior spirit from inside me. I wasn’t so much worried about releasing Donnchadh as I was in regaining my control over him right away. I couldn’t be sure he’d stick to the rules of the game and for this plan to work, he had to color strictly within the lines.
That sounded like a tall order to me when Tallis mentioned it. But my Dark Woods hermit seemed to think it was possible. As he explained, the runes adorning my forearm were woven of his own Druid magic as well as the Norse magic that belonged to Alaire. Together, the wards that locked Donnchadh inside me were about as strong as such wards could be. And that strength translated into the fact that, technically, Donnchadh should have been my (figurative) bitch.
That was the only reason Tallis agreed to my plan when I explained it to him. He was convinced that the runes would protect me and also allow me to regain control over Donnchadh when I most needed it.
I’m granting you power over me, Donnchadh, but I will still remain your master. You may use my body but you must abide by my rule, I mentally whispered. I had to be sure to convey my intentions to the ancient spirit that resided within me.
Immediately, I felt heat welling up from deep inside my core, bubbling over my stomach as it traveled down my legs and up my arms. Waves of red-hot anger accompanied the heat and I could feel Donnchadh swelling inside me, his ever-present anger becoming increasingly palpable. That anger only magnified tenfold when he hit the walls of the runes on his rise up, the same walls that allowed me to maintain a semblance of myself.
With Donnchadh’s strength and rage boiling inside me, my clenched hand shot up and out, my knuckles driving through the Watcher’s mushy face. I jerked my hand back through the hole where its face used to be. The Watcher twitched involuntarily before collapsing into a heap like a discarded ragdoll. The rage that gave me strength instantly evaporated, leaving me feeling somewhat hollow.
I stepped over the dead Watcher and walked forward, grabbing the ornate iron handle on the door. I pulled it open and the darkness of the Underground City immediately enveloped me. As soon as I stepped foot outside the doors, I knew I would be subjected to whatever atrocities awaited me. There was no protection beyond the walls of the palace now that my sword was temporarily lost to me. A thought that both sickened me and caused my heart to beat faster with hope.
Donnchadh, you are awakened within me and you will do my bidding, I thought the words and felt the same stirring of rage and resentment that caused my stomach to turn. It was the exact sign I was looking for.
Smiling in spite of myself, I fearlessly stepped into the darkness.
###
I let Donnchadh flow through me, taking control of my body as much as I would allow him, while I received flashes of images and memories that were totally alien to me. It was almost like watching a movie from a long, long time ago.
In some ways, it was a less benign, less coherent version of the images I occasionally glimpsed of Tallis’s checkered past. Snapshots of pictures continued to unravel before my eyes, as if they were taken through the lens of a shaky camera. I saw things I couldn’t explain; they moved too fast for me to fully comprehend. As soon as one image entered my brain, it disappeared and another would take its place.
Rinse, wash, repeat.
When the images finally ceased, I found myself breathing heavily and covered in sweat.
I heard something screeching from above me. Glancing up, I had to duck to avoid the claws of the Fury. I hit the ground and rolled onto my back as the creature flapped its huge wings and circled the air above me, preparing to attack again. It was the same fury I’d had the skirmish with the first time.
The Fury swung low at me but I dodged her. However, I reacted just a second too late and her claws caught my arm, tearing into my flesh as I extricated myself from her tenacious grasp. I screamed and my entire body burned with stinging, searing pain. I looked down and realized I was bleeding. From my shoulder to my elbow, I was covered in deep gashes and scratches.
Then something fierce washed over me, and I knew I couldn’t fight the formidable force I saw before me. I had to offer myself to her in undisguised submission in order to win her loyalty. I wasn’t sure where that counterintuitive feeling was coming from but I absolutely hoped that it was Donnchadh and not some ridiculous notion I created all on my own.
I swallowed hard as I stood up, holding my wounded arm and glaring up at the Fury as she continued to soar over my head, circling like a vulture after spotting its next meal. At the rate I was bleeding out, it might not have been too far from the truth. My heart slammed into my chest and I heard my pulse inside my head. I breathed deeply. My conviction in the decision I was making was all that bolstered me.
I meekly acquiesced, appearing docile and honest to this magnificent creature. The Fury eyed me narrowly and her wings began to slow down before she landed in front of me. I couldn’t get over how huge she was, easily towering at two or more heads above me.
The Fury kept her distance and regarded me suspiciously. Nevertheless, she approached me, hunched over in a peaceful show of undeniable force. I raised my arms, something I was certain revealed that I had no fear. We were only a matter of inches from each other. The Fury sniffed me, a grimace wrinkling her beautiful face. With a flash, her claws were suddenly in front of me, striking up and then down. When she pulled away, the talons were dripping with fresh blood. My breast flinched with the intense pain. So much for peaceful resolutions! The fight was on.
Backing up, I slowly glanced down, noticing my right breast had three deep puncture wounds. The blood was really spurting out of me now, and my feelings of panic were increasing by the second. Maybe I made a mistake? Maybe this hadn’t been Donnchadh’s surety at all! What if it had just been a stupid idea that randomly entered my head? If that were the case, I supposed I was about to pay for my ignorance.
&
nbsp; I pulled myself up by the gaps in the stone wall beside me and leaned against it, fresh tears running down my dirty, blood-stained face. The salt in my tears sharply stung my open wounds. I couldn’t win this fight. Not alone. I never could have to begin with. I wasn’t strong enough. However, I had someone with me who was much stronger than I.
Donnchadh, I whispered in my head. I need your strength and power. You have to show your dominance over this creature and make her submit to our rule.
His response was a fiery anger that once again consumed me. I glanced down and noticed the runes on my inner arm beginning to glow fluorescent green. I had to figure that was the sign that Donnchadh was taking over my body, just as I’d willed him to.
I began standing up and the pain that was formerly incapacitating me suddenly dissolved into nothing. I strode forward as the Fury squawked at me, holding her hands up so I could see her bloody talons. But Donnchadh didn’t care. He wasn’t intimidated by the sight of a little blood. He just strode onward.
The Fury attacked me—well, us, technically—but Donnchadh commanded my body in a superb way and one that I never could have managed. He grasped the creature by her wings and held her off as she kicked and clawed at us. Despite all the rage boiling through him, there was a clear understanding between us that we couldn’t break the creature’s wings. She had to transport us so we needed them intact. We just had to show the Fury who was truly in charge. We had to bend the Fury to serve us.
I started wrestling the creature down to the ground, being careful to avoid her razor-sharp talons as she tried to snag me with them. I released both of her wings and gripped her wrists with my hands, shoving them down before I forced myself on top of her. There was a raging power inside me that I’d never felt before, something so fierce that I knew it would not back down. And, God help me, I loved it! I reveled in it even.
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