Rebirth

by H. P. Mallory

  Alaire pulled his hand away and held his arms up in mock surrender. “Very well, very well. A small concession, I must admit.”

  Alaire walked back and stood over me, placing his crotch far too close to my face. I rolled my head against the wall and met his gaze squarely. Without another word, he held his hands over my head. His eyes glowed with pale, blue light and the space between us seemed to erupt with otherworldly power. His brilliant eyes rolled back into his head. He stood there for a few counts and slowly, something too difficult to describe began to tingle inside my being. Beyond my organs and into the region of my soul, I could begin to feel the aches and weariness leaving me. My muscles flexed and bulged as fresh strength returned to them, filling them with a power I had not embraced for far too long. My heavy eyelids shot open when a jolt of adrenaline coursed through my body, making the rest of me twitch involuntarily as if a battleaxe had been smashed directly into my brain.

  As quickly as the healing began, it ended. The glow and light in Alaire’s eyes faded and he stepped back with the smirk of a man who was all too pleased with himself.

  “Ah, some of my finest work,” he congratulated himself. Then he reached out and delicately put a finger under Lily’s chin. To her credit, she jerked away immediately with the same glare she gave him earlier.

  “Dinnae touch ‘er,” I growled.

  He did not bother to look at me but only stared at Lily. “As agreed, you now have twenty minutes alone with the Yeti. And don’t, not even for an instant, believe that I won’t be keeping a close eye on the time.” Then he brushed past her, running his hand along her leg before he finally stepped outside. I secretly wished the ceiling would collapse, raining stone on his head and knocking him out as cold as I was previously. But that was just my anger and sadness spinning hasty solutions in my mind.

  The door slammed behind him. Lily and I listened to his footsteps growing fainter for a full minute before she ran over to me.

  “Lily, why—”

  My besom intercepted my fool question by planting her lips on mine as she nestled into my lap. Her legs wrapped around my waist like a pair of snakes, strong as an oak, flexible as rope. Her tongue searched my mouth and I did the same to hers. I never realized until that very moment how famished I was for her flavor, her body… for her.

  Lily grasped my head as she pulled away and stared into my eyes with an urgency I had not witnessed before. “I love you so much, Tallis. Please don’t ever forget that.”

  My heart cried at the sight of her while realizing that our moment would pass far too soon. “Ye know this is madness, Besom,” I stated, shaking my head. “He’ll nae keep his word, nae matter whit he promises.”

  Her eyes hardened a little at hearing that. But the darkness did not return. Her anger and determination were all hers. “It was the only way to ensure that Alaire would restore your health, Tallis. Otherwise, you would have died!”

  A wave of grief overcame me like the high tide in Eire. “Ah could nae protect ye in the end,” I lamented. “Ah have failed ye, mah besom, an’ fer that, Ah am forever sorry.”

  “No, you didn’t fail me,” she argued as she held my face between her hands and looked into my eyes with a deep earnestness. A stream of tears rolled down her cheeks. It was all I could do to keep mine at bay. But I had to be strong for my Lily. “As long as I can swing a sword, so far as I’m concerned, you’re still protecting me.”

  “Ah will come back fer ye,” I whispered with the solemnity of all my oaths. My hands fisted at my sides and my jaw was tight. “Ye know Ah will nae allow Alaire tae keep ye here.” My jaw tightened further. “Ah am yer protector an’ protect ye Ah shall. From here oontil eternity.”

  “No, you can’t,” she said, her eyes widening with fear. “If Alaire ever sees you again, he won’t be so kind to you a second time.”

  “Ah care naethin’ fer Alaire an’ his orders! Ah never have.” I could feel my heartbeat escalating. “It’s ye Ah care fer. Ye alone.”

  “Shh, not now,” she said as her lips found mine again. We kissed and the sorrow between us transferred through our mouths. I could taste her worry as much as I could taste her love. She broke away and added, “Now… right now… we’re the only two people in this world. That’s the only thing I want to think about.”

  Then, there was nothing but the sound of our kisses in the unyielding stone chamber. Her hands explored my chest, running from my shoulders all the way down to my stomach. Finally, I could feel her smooth fingers fumbling their way into my ragged pants.

  I shook my head and withdrew as much as my chains would allow. “Besom, this is nae the time nor the place,” I hissed cautiously.

  She gave me an unflinching stare. “Interrupt me again, Tallis Black, and I’ll tape your mouth shut.”

  I had no doubt that she meant every word. I did not speak again as she returned to her fumbling with my trousers and her deep, wet kisses continued to warm me. A pleased smile spread across her face as she finally pulled my body free of my clothing.

  My member was as rigid as it could be. Had it been any stiffer, it could have knocked down the walls of the cell we were sitting in. Her hands worked up and down my shaft, with a grip as tight as her legs were round my waist. I groaned and my head rolled back as I let my dear besom take control of me. Something I would never have granted another woman.

  I did not miss the irony of knowing that we had done this before, when Persephone controlled Lily’s body. But this was nary the same. Persephone had used Lily’s body and me brutally for her own twisted pleasure. This felt right. It felt true. It was just between Lily and me, the way it ought to have been.

  Somehow, I knew that my besom was well aware of that already. Perhaps it was why she needed this encounter with me as surely as I did with her. We both had to make things right, had to force the images of me with Persephone out of both of our minds.

  Hiking her frock, Lily tore off her undergarments with a ripping sound. From the look of her panties, I doubted it took much of an effort. She grabbed my head again and pressed it firmly to her breasts. My mouth suckled her hard nipple like a babe eager to feed, and I kept switching between suckling and biting them alternatively. Each little nibble resulted in a satisfied gasp or a moan from her, which only encouraged me. My dear besom uttered all manner of sounds, fruitlessly trying to muffle them. It was clear she did not want Alaire to hear us but how I wished she were able to be free, to scream or moan as she saw fit.

  The familiar smell of my woman’s nether parts—mixed with something akin to rosewater—wafted into my nostrils, indicating her readiness for me. I was beyond ready for her. I had been from the moment I had met her but I was so bloody stubborn, I wouldn not admit as much to myself.

  But, looking upon her now, I realized how true it was. I loved this woman and I always had. And I would do everything in my power to protect her from here on out. She was the only reason I had to continue living and I would fight for her until the last breath exited my lips.

  Lily rested her head on mine, still panting from our mouth play, and her lips were only a few inches from my ear as she said, “I love you, Tallis Black, and I’m so sorry we never got the chance to—”

  I shushed her and stroked her lovely red hair. “’Tis as ye said, Besom… right now, we’re the only two people in the world.”

  When she arose, her nether parts were glistening with the juices I aroused in her. With the expert intent of a blacksmith forging a new blade, she guided my member inside her… at last. The impact of entering her, never mind that she was the only woman I cared about so deeply, nearly relegated me to the former weakened state Alaire just resurrected me from. She growled in frustration and her legs once more locked around my waist as her hands grasped the back of my neck.

  “Now,” she groaned, her voice suddenly so low that I feared Donnchadh was closer than a few moments away. “I need you, all of you…”

  I took her and she surrendered to me with the enduring passion of a fin
al goodbye. I felt like I was setting off for war, one that I would never return from. But I would return, I promised myself. I would return to rescue my lover from the likes of Alaire. I could only hope it would not take me long.

  Her growls and cries became more primitive and less coherent and I was no different in that respect. I tried my best to delay the inevitable moment we were rapidly approaching but Lily refused to be denied. For her, there could be no later. A loud, animalistic roar erupted from her throat when we finally climaxed in concert. It was the sweetest expression of female satisfaction I ever heard.

  As her exhausted body slumped against mine, finally spent from all that we shared with each other, I promised my Lily as solemn an oath as any I had ever contracted before.

  Ah will come back fer ye, Besom, come what may. Neither pain nor threat o’ death could ever keep meh from ye, the only woman for meh. For Ah love ye, Lily Harper.

  ###

  Alaire returned just as Lily pushed herself off me. I had no doubt that we had ravaged one another for the full twenty minutes we were allotted, although it felt like no more than twenty seconds. And now we faced a separation that would seem like an eternity.

  But eternity it would not be. As God was my witness.

  This time, Alaire was not alone but flanked by two of his desiccated Watchers along with an ogre who was carrying my sword. He took one look at Lily and me with our disheveled hair and sweaty, red faces and Alaire’s confident smirk instantly disappeared, replaced by a hard, flat line. It warmed my heart to see him so obviously displeased.

  “It is a very good thing, Black, that I am not, by nature, a jealous man,” he said with a voice as flat as his hips. He snapped his fingers and one of the Watchers approached me, obediently unlocking my restraints and releasing me. I rubbed my hands together for the first time since being captured.

  Alaire snapped his fingers again, making the Watchers jerk to attention. “As time is a small luxury, my barbarian acquaintance, these fine fellows will escort you to my Maserati waiting outside. It will transport you across the desert that surrounds the inner city of Dis. You shall be safely deposited on the outskirts of your precious Dark Wood.”

  I permitted myself a small smile. “Come now, Alaire. We both moost agree that naught was ever precious aboot the Dark Wood, not even in the best o’ times.”

  I stood up, half expecting my legs to collapse under the burden of my weight. But Alaire’s magic was good. My legs held firm and my stance was balanced. Nodding at my escort, I walked toward the door. The Watchers, the ogre and Alaire followed close behind me. So did my Lily.

  At the doorway, I stopped, and my heart seemed like it was ready to burst in my chest. I turned to face the woman who had so surely stolen my heart and I nearly swayed under the weight of her sadness. Alaire glared at me in obvious annoyance but I simply ignored his hateful, suspicious eyes.

  I took a deep breath, raised my head and spoke in the old language: “I love you, Lily Harper. May the fibers of strength run through you and bless you with victory over your enemies.” Whether she understood my words or not, I did not know.

  “Tallis,” she sobbed.

  I looked down and closed my eyes. I had said my piece. Now I was ready to face my next round of punishment. Punishment because I could never trust Alaire’s word. Being safely delivered to the Dark Wood was certainly not part of my destiny. I plodded onward, pushing my weary feet through the tar of my bleak desperation and melancholy.

  There was nothing more I could do for Lily, not here and now. Furthermore, I owed it entirely to her good grace, quick wits and strength of character that I now walked out of this place as a free man. To honor her sacrifice, I intended to leave, regroup, and devise a plan that would surely secure her freedom. But I was currently far from feeling up to the task. It would require more than a mere human to defeat Alaire. And on that point, I was stuck.

  This plan would require time and clear thinking. I was pleased to know that Donnchadh was within Lily because he would ensure her survival. But it was Alaire’s desire for my Lily that had me mostly concerned. I did not know how she could avoid his advances. For all I knew, perhaps had not been able to avoid them since she had been returned to herself. It was a subject I chose not to ponder as it interfered with my ability to plot.

  I could hear my besom sobbing as I walked out of the dungeon, down myriad hallways of what was once my castle. Her whimpers haunted my mind like restless ghosts, urging me to take my vengeance sooner rather than later.

  True to Alaire’s word, there was a vehicle awaiting me at the main gate. The Furies and more Watchers escorted the vehicle and patrolled the bridge that connected the castle to the mainland. I could feel every one of their eyes tracking me as I walked out to the open passenger door. The ogre strode ahead of me, placing my sword in the rear of the vehicle, as carefully as one might handle freshly spun glass.

  Before climbing into the vehicle, I stopped and looked back at the castle for the last time. Standing at the main gate were Alaire and my Lily. His smile mixed with her tears had become a painfully common theme now. I nodded reassuringly to Besom, trying to silently reassure her that everything would be all right. I would come for her. As soon as I could.

  I watched her drop her head down. It broke my heart as surely as did her pitiful sobs that still pealed inside my head.

  I sat down in the vehicle and watched the door close by itself. The engine started a moment before the vehicle rolled forward, driven by an unseen entity. The Furies cawed and took flight while the Watchers and the ogre turned to see me go. I spotted a state-of-the-art video screen that was installed in the center console. As the horseless carriage barreled across the barren landscape, the screen suddenly flickered on. Once again, I was confronted with the hateful visage of Alaire.

  “Tallis Black, my oldest adversary,” he began with a thick sigh. “Right now, I could ask if you are surprised to see me but A: I know you aren’t; and B: I couldn’t hear your answer anyway.”

  I rolled my eyes while the recording prattled on. “Now, I hope you aren’t getting too comfortable with this free ride home I offered you. Given our shared history, you must have expected me to provide you with a plot twist, am I correct?”

  “Of course,” I muttered. In the end, all of his promises were vapid and empty.

  “I’m not sending you back to the Dark Wood by the most direct route,” he continued. “I know, I know, don’t even say it! As a prior master of this city, you must know every possible exit from every level that would return you to your place of exile. But I am quite sure you must have already guessed that I’m not interested in watching you wend your way home… not anytime soon… actually, not at all.”

  I could not say I was surprised.

  His face darkened as he went on. “No, I seek a different type of sport altogether. I want to watch you howl and rage, my old friend. I want to watch you beg for your life while it is slowly taken from you.” Then he chuckled. “Of course, you never expected anything less from me.” He leaned forward toward the camera, his fists balled at the sides of his head. “Long ago, I decided to not only fuck you harder than you fucked me those many centuries past, but you are going to feel every painful inch of my proverbial dick when I shove it up your ass.”

  The locks on the doors clicked into place and a seatbelt spontaneously wrapped around me. The strap strained audibly as it tightened over my chest and waist.

  “This Maserati will take you to the one place in which you can’t take a shortcut or find your way home.”

  I squeezed my hands into my own fists as soon as I realized the final destination of the vehicle.

  That insufferable smirk popped up on his face. “Do give my best to everyone.”

  I yanked one arm free of my restraint and slammed my fist into the console screen. The screen warped before breaking around my hand, and Alaire’s smug expression became a collage of purple, green and red. Pulling my fist back, I saw the blood on my knuckles. I glanc
ed back at the broken screen just in time to see it blink off.

  The engine revved again as it picked up speed.

  While I was expecting the worst, even I never considered the lying bastard would send me to the place where I was now going. The darkest, coldest, harshest place in the Underground City: the ninth and final level.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tallis

  I greedily scarfed down the last power bar I found in the glove compartment, before I could see my breath freeze in front of me. My body shook with the cold as the pervasive chilliness of the the Underground City’s lowest level filled the vehicle.

  I turned up the temperature on the heater, aiming each vent directly on me, and setting the gauge as high as it could go. But despite all my effort, the windows continued fogging over with the unrelenting frost. Snapping the seatbelt back into its vacant position, I took a moment to wipe the window so I could take a glimpse of my new surroundings.

  It was on a rare occasion that I ventured this deep into the City, even when I was its master. Once every few decades was enough for me. And I only traveled here for good reason.

  The Asylum, as we called the ninth level, was not a relaxing or happy place to visit, not by any stretch of the imagination. No, a massive, conglomerate structure, it was comprised entirely of hospital insanity wards. The whole level was continuously dark and freezing, housing the worst of the worst, including those from Terra and the rest of the Underground City.

  Dwelling in those cells were the traitors and bastards that betrayed everyone and everything they ever knew. Any souls found inside these walls were truly beyond redemption of any sort. Alaire probably considered this his version of poetic justice, given our history.

  A thick fog descended over the entire complex. I could not see much; only vague shadows and gray walls of mist when they passed the car. More than once, I caught a fleeting image of something odd, one of the local denizens avoiding the headlights from my transport, I assumed. I wondered if Alaire programmed the car to take me right into the center of the compound… directly to Him.