The Fury was finally down for the count. She kicked the ground and air, trying to gain purchase but it was all futile. We had her pinned. The bitch hissed and squealed at me in vain.
I noticed that overhead, the other two Furies circled but neither made an attempt to land. It was as though they understood this wasn’t their fight.
“You will obey me!” I screamed in a voice that seemed familiar but definitely wasn’t my own. The Fury’s wings, which were pressed onto the ground beneath her, fidgeted. She was trying to open them wide and flap me away from her. But now I was too strong… or rather, Donnchadh was too strong.
“OBEY ME!” I screamed, digging my fingernails into the soft flesh of her arms.
The Fury reared back, launching her head forward, her hideous jaws wide open. Her teeth were small but sharp, like needles. I pulled back but unfortunately, not fast enough. The sharp canines clamped onto my cheek and I heard the sound of my flesh tearing away before I experienced a searing pain. Blood poured down my face, tickling my neck as it boiled from the newest open wound on my body.
Just then, the Fury ceased to attack me any further. Instead, she stopped fighting and I felt her body relaxing. It was clear that I had won the battle. I continued to hold her there, just to make sure it wasn’t a ploy. Donnchadh agreed with my decision and he tightened my grip on the creature. But after a few more seconds, we both understood. The Fury was submitting to our will.
I rolled off her and pushed myself along the wall, fresh blood and sweat dripping off me by the bucket load. I didn’t know how badly I was hurt but I suddenly felt very weak. I needed to get back to the castle to treat my wounds. Specifically, I had to see Tallis and ASAP.
I glanced at the Fury as she forced herself to her feet. Then she took a seated position, letting her wings down while her expression remained placid. She was now mine to command.
Now that she had finally submitted to me, I knew the others would soon follow suit. Just as I thought those words, I glanced up into the sky again and spotted the other two Furies floating overhead, circling and screeching at one another as well as the Fury who now sat silently at my feet. The Furies probably served Alaire because of his power and title as Master of the Underground City. This whole exercise was staged to prove to them that Persephone was the only one with all the power. Thankfully, their pack mentality allowed them to recognize a new alpha when they saw one.
Despite the infinite pain, I smiled.
My plan was finally coming together.
Now if I could only survive the fallout from Phase One.
Chapter Seventeen
Tallis
“Tallis!”
I thought I heard the faint call of Besom’s voice. Standing up, I attempted to go to her at once, forgetting that I was still chained to the wall and thusly, ineffectual. Mind you, the chains did not spare me any pain in alerting me to that fact.
“Aye, are ye well, lass?” I called out. I did not like the sound of her voice.
“No,” she said with a deep sigh and the clicking of her heels on the stone floor stopped. “And I still can’t get through this barrier that Alaire erected between us.”
“Whit is wrong with ye?” I demanded. The waves of her concern began wafting through the air, hitting me directly in my heart. The poor lass was weakening, growing more despondent by the moment. And I did not understand the reasons, which frustrated me all the more.
At the sound of the door opening, I cocked my head to the side, eager to see who was entering the dungeon beside her.
“Tell Alaire I need help,” she whispered to whatever manner of creature now encountered her. “I don’t know how much time I have left.”
At hearing her words, my stomach dropped. There was no response until I heard the sound of the door closing.
“Whit has happened?” I demanded again. My heart was racing inside my chest and I cursed my useless humanity! It was as much of a prison as these blasted chains and stone walls. But human or not, I still retained my Druid magic. That magic would now prove very useful. I needed only to reach my beloved before it was too late.
“I fought the Fury, Tallis,” she said dreamily. I could envision the triumphant smile in her proud words. “And I won. Donnchadh and I won.”
Depending on the extent of her wounds, there was a chance I could not assist her. If her injuries were life-threatening enough, I would need access to her body, something prohibited by the barrier between us.“Boot at whit cost?” I asked, my heart pounding inside my chest. “Ye are wounded badly?”
“Yes,” she started.
“Lily, where the bloody hell is Alaire?” I roared in protest. He was the only person who could heal her now unless the blockade between us were removed. But only Alaire could manage that.
“I don’t know. He said he had some business in the city and wasn’t sure when he’d be back.” She coughed and the sound of spluttering made me wonder if there was already blood in her lungs. “I sent one of the Watchers to find him… Hope he’s closeby.”
“Verra good,” I said as I breathed in deeply. I did not know what Alaire would make of her wounds or knowing that she battled with a Fury. As with all things that involved Alaire, I could only assume the worst. “Ye moost come oop with ah fabrication tae tell ‘im when ‘e arrives,” I started.
“Yes, I’ve… already thought… of what I’ll tell him,” she responded. “So don’t… don’t worry about that.”
“Besom, in yer moost honest terms, tell me… how bad is it?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I can’t die, right?” She laughed when she said the words but it sounded hollow, and I knew she was very frightened.
“Nae, boot we both know Donnchadh can take advantage o’ yer weakened state,” I said as I closed my eyes. I used my Druid magic to make the connection that united Lily and me. It was a longshot and I expected the invisible bulwark between us would probably neutralize my magic, making it completely ineffectual, but it was worth a try all the same. “Close yer eyes, Besom, an’ imagine Fergus Castle.”
When she did not respond, I assumed she was doing what I asked—for once. I squeezed my eyes shut even more tightly and visualized the castle that my family had occupied for centuries.
In response, the chilly wind blew against my face and I opened my eyes to find myself standing on the shoreline, the loch far off in the distance. As ever, the castle looked so proud against the azure sky.
“Tallis.”
My heart leapt to hear Besom’s voice. I turned to find her standing before me. I went to her and held her tightly in my arms. When I looked down at her, she was pale and feeble. While I could not see her life-threatening wounds, I knew her very life was rapidly slipping away from her. By all the gods, she was worse off than I ever imagined. Donnchadh would surely use this to his advantage unless I could save her before it ever came to pass.
“Ah can heal ye, lass,” I whispered to her, grateful that it was so.
“How?” she asked as she glanced up at me, tears blurring the deep green pools of her eyes. “Out in the real world, you’re still too far away.”
“Through our connection, Besom,” I said as I held her closer to me. “Be it down the hall or the ends o’ the earth itself, distance dinnae matter. Now close yer eyes an’ open yerself tae meh.”
I only hoped I spoke the truth for I did not know for certain whether I could heal her with the barricade separating us in the earthly plane. But try I would.
She did as she was told and I gently lay her down at my feet. Holding my palms over her body, I allowed her inner light to guide me to her most serious wounds. As I scanned her body from the top of her head, something began pulling me towards her cheek. I focused my hands above that spot and chanted healing lore in the old language. Blue light began to radiate from my palms and strings of light beams fingered down Besom’s cheek. They buried themselves into her skin until her veins lit up blue, resembling the great web of a spider. I watched the blue light begin
to dissipate before it bled into nothing but the smooth porcelain of her alabaster skin.
I cupped my hands again and continued moving down the lines of her body, feeling another pull when I reached her right arm. Just as I was about to concentrate my healing energy over the wound, I heard the sound of footsteps from the real world and realized we were no longer alone.
“Lily?”
It was Alaire! Damn him for choosing this moment to make his grand entrance. I could have finished the job without him being the wiser.
“My goodness, what has happened to you?” he asked, voicing genuine concern in his tone. I tried to remember the last time I heard anything like concern in his voice. Mayhap never…
“I went outside,” she started to say, her voice still weak but with a note of fear now in it. “I didn’t know what was out there. I… I got confused.”
The traitor’s voice went from concerned to suspicious in the blink of an eye. “Were you trying to escape, my dear?”
“N… no!” she stammered. “I just wanted to get some fresh air.” I was not certain whether Alaire would believe her alibi or not. It was public knowledge that, unlike the suave Alaire, Besom was a terrible liar.
“And you were attacked by a Fury, no doubt?” Alaire added. The tone of his voice sounded more amused than annoyed. Maybe that would bode well for her.
“Yes.”
“And you came to the Bladesmith so that he could heal you?”
I failed to hear her response, so I could only assume that she gave him a nod or some comparable gesture.
“Of course, you found you could not move beyond the partition I erected,” Alaire continued, sounding more than a little uninterested. “I am certain you must understand why I found the need to separate the two of you in my absence. It simply would not do to have both of you scheming behind my back, now would it?”
“No,” she whispered, sounding even fainter than before.
“Alaire, she is sufferin’ greatly an’ growin’ weaker by the second,” I called out to him. “Bring her tae meh, man, sae that Ah may finally heal ‘er!”
“Or shall I do the deed myself?”
“Aye,” I responded. “Boot who would ‘ave better loock in restrainin’ Donnchadh an’ keepin’ ‘im from overtakin’ the lass?”
“I have woven my own magic within her runes; or have you forgotten that fact, my good man?” Alaire asked.
“Aye, boot would ye rely oan yer magic or me own thousands o’ years oove experience?”
“You have a good point,” Alaire conceded. “And I suppose we should be quick about this.” Then he sighed.
I heard a pop and fizzle and I pictured the partition dissolving. Then I watched Alaire come into my line of sight . He was carrying Besom in his arms, and she was covered in her own blood from head to toe.
“Ta do this proper, ye will need tae release meh o’ mah bindings,” I snapped at Alaire who regarded me coolly.
“Really, Bladesmith, I would think that much should be obvious,” he replied as he carried Lily toward me. He gently lay her down at my feet. “I do hope you can heal her before the barbaric warrior that resides within her breast takes control of her entirely? I prefer not to endure another awkward situation on my—.”
“Aye, man, now wouldja git on with it!”
Alaire approached me and pulled a key from his pocket that he placed into the lock of one of my manacles. Before he turned the key, he narrowed his eyes at me. “I assume you will not attempt anything funny?”
“Nae,” I answered.
“I trust I need not remind you that you are human and therefore, easily overpowered by someone so superior as I?”
“Ah am aware,” I said, glaring at him. “Now are ya done wastin’ all me time!?”
He shrugged and turned the key in the lock, finally freeing me from my bonds. I patiently waited for him to free my other wrist before finally toppling to the ground beside Besom. I held my palms above her and began my work. The blue light that formerly appeared in the dreamscape did not appear now. But that did not mean my Druid magic was any less potent in this world. Magic just manifested in different ways on the visionary plane.
As I glanced down at the beautiful woman below me, the dark shadows of my cell hid her face from me. Or perhaps it was the blood that covered her entire body.
“Oh, do get a move on, man,” Alaire said as he watched us, revealing his obvious irritation with his voice. My only answer was a quick glare to remind him that interrupting me couldn’t hasten the process.
I channeled my healing energy into both of my hands, reciting the words I learned as a young man to myself at the same time. Then I focused on Besom and watched the shadows pulling away from her face. When she opened her eyes, they were tinted with black. Jet-black.
I jerked forward. “Donnchadh!”
“Oh, dear,” Alaire remarked with a disinterested grunt. “Are we too late then?”
“Ah dinnae know fer certain,” I replied as I studied her closer.
She blinked until the verdant green of her eyes returned. I sighed with unconcealed relief. She had not yet been consumed by Donnchadh but the time was drawing near and rapidly so.
Besom pulled herself up to me and rested her head on my chest while I held her there. I noticed Alaire’s sudden uptight composure as he shifted from one foot to the other. I channeled the last of the magical strength I had inside me into an incantation, which I whispered under my breath. Then I poured my life’s energy into Lily through our deep connection. The power surged through me like an electrical current, emptying into her body in a flash. She drank down my sustenance as if it were ambrosia… and under the circumstances, it could scarcely be considered any less magical.
All at once, the wounds upon her began to heal, flaps of flesh growing back together, the deep gouges sewing themselves shut. Her cheek wound knitted new flesh in front of our eyes, blossoming like the trees surrounding Fergus in the springtime. At last, the healthy color of her skin returned, and the rosy cheeks and vibrant flesh tones of her rightful state prevailed. My body began to ache as I lost the last of my energy reserves. I successfully extracted what little was left of my life force and poured it into Lily. But during the process, I also depleted myself completely. Now I needed food, water, sustenance and rest.
“Are you feeling well, my dear?” Alaire asked as he pulled Besom to her feet.
She nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. “Tallis?” she asked.
“Aye,” I answered, lacking the strength to look up at her. I saw exploding stars dancing in my vision and my feet suddenly felt as if they were miles away from my head.
“Are you okay?” Lily asked me.
“He will be fine in good time, my dear,” Alaire announced before leading her toward the cell bars and the door that led to my prison. “Thank you for your good deed, Bladesmith,” he called out over his shoulder.
“What’s wrong with him?” Lily inquired, turning to look at me before Alaire escorted her from the dungeon.
“He is in dire need of rest and nourishment,” Alaire answered. “And thus, for that good deed, he shall receive them.”
I was far too experienced in dealing with this scheming snake to believe him. And I was unmoved by that realization. My primary mission was to deliver Lily from Donnchadh’s control and I had surely done that. When it came to my Besom, my own life meant little to me.
The stars began to double in my vision. Fairly soon, I found myself collapsing on the stone floor. Darkness eclipsed my peripheral vision and all too quickly, the whole world went black.
###
“Tallis?”
The voice from the darkness belonged to Lily.
“Tallis, stay with me.”
“Lily?” I mumbled, opening my eyes and finding myself on the shores of the loch again. Fergus Castle stood behind me and the woman I loved stood before me. “Are ye well, mah Besom?”
“Yes, Tallis.” She smiled. Watching her lips curl up made me
almost forget the terrible pain I endured, and continued to endure. “I’m okay. I don’t hurt anymore and I have Donnchadh under control. Thank you.”
She leaned in and kissed my chapped, parched lips. I was very weak but not so feeble that I could not return her kiss. Her lips breathed life into my aching, mortal body. But of course it was a fleeting pleasure. I was dying. I felt the weakening of my pulse, the slowing down of my heart, and the soft rise and fall of my chest, almost like an ebbing tide.
Still, for all that, the sensation of holding her in my arms was its own reward. Yes, I weakened myself, and probably beyond the point of return, but I did not care now. No more than I did when I accomplished the deed. If I actually received the care and nourishment from Alaire that he promised, perhaps my tale would have a different ending. As it stood now, I was literally on the brink of death; yet I would not trade my position for anything.
So no, I doubted I would be rescued from this particular plight. Whereas death had always been a welcome haven to me, now I could finally admit I feared it as any man should. I did not want to leave the earthly plane; not just yet. I still had work to do and people that I had to ensure would remain safe. But as with all men on the brink of death, the choice no longer belonged to me.
Chapter Eighteen
Lily
I was so nervous, I could barely breathe. The word “nervous” repeated in my head like an over-scratched vinyl being played by the most spasmodic disk jockey of all time.
Of course, seeing Alaire sitting across the table from me only heightened my anxiety.
He was staring at my chest (as per freaking usual), his characteristic smirk cracking his pale lips into an expression completely devoid of happiness. I picked at the grilled asparagus on my plate while Alaire sipped his wine and studied me. It seemed as though he expected to learn something about me through my body language, which I found unnerving to say the least.
“So,” I said, forcing a gulp of wine down. “Have you told someone to tend to Tallis’s needs?”
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