by HP Mallory
“You mean Pandora’s Urn.”
“Aye,” I answered with impatience.
Gwydion nodded. “All anyone knows for certain is this: some months ago, the Spites broke loose and have been roaming the morgue ever since.” Going to the other side of me face, he added, “There was one other bit of information you might be interested in.”
“Go oan.”
“When I last saw Alaire, he took a rather inordinate interest in the Spites when he met with the Malebranche.”
“And?”
He frowned and tapped his cheek with the shears as though he were deep in thought. “Or was it the Council of Simon?” He shrugged. “Well, either way, it doesn’t matter now.”
I shook me head. “Nae, I dinnae sooppose it does.”
Gwydion’s smile indicated his smugness and I knew I’d been had. “No, I mean, it really doesn’t matter now.” He stepped aside to reveal Jedidiah and Jebediah’s rifle which was pointed straight at me head. I exhaled heavily as I turned right round and found the pack of Fenrir surrounding me. Further apace, the angel and our group emerged from within the tent, a pack of human soldiers at their backs. All of them were armed with weapons, from pistols to rifles.
“Ye broke yer word,” I said to Gwydion.
He shook his head. “I promised never to harm you whilst I cut your beard and hair. And as I have finished with both, my allegiance to you is thus ended.” He shrugged. “Though I still could make a case for the fact that I haven’t broken my word at all.”
“How sae?” I demanded.
He shrugged again. “Any harm that comes to you, Tallis Black, will not be from my hand.”
Jedidian kicked me blade out me lap, hard enough to knock it against the tree. I faced Jedidiah with disinterest. “Surprised yer still alive.”
A smirk oozed onto his lips. “I suppose I have you to thank. Braining me with your sword knocked me out of the Spites’ path. Most of the others weren’t so lucky.”
“And was the cardinal so unfortunate?”
“His holy flames protected him. And he asked me to tell you hello.”
While we were speaking, Harry raised his hands with obvious resignation as he eyed the soldiers surrounding him. Suddenly, his eyes went wide with recognition as he focused on one of the few girls among the human forces. She held one of those ridiculous machine pistols and appeared with a large frown upon her otherwise pretty face. Her skin was the color of coffee and her large, dark eyes gave her an innocent look. Quite ironic given the circumstances.
“Dahlia, what the hell?” Harry asked.
Her face was as unemotional as Jedidiah’s when she aimed her gun at Harry. “Don’t make this worse. Just get over there with the rest of them.”
Harry did as he was told and I started to rise to me own feet. Jedidiah ground his rifle barrel right into me forehead. “Not you.”
I gave him a tight grimace. “Now is that any way tae treat a man what jist saved yer life?”
Gwydion grinned at me as he leaned against the tree behind us, the shears still hanging from his fingers. “He does have a point!”
The slave hunter swung his rifle around at the Welshman. I started to move when the growls of the Fenrir made me stop at once. Oblivious to this, Jedidiah took careful aim at our betrayer.
“Unless you want to eat my first bullet, trickster, stay out of this.”
Mag’s nephew gestured around him. “If you insist I leave…”
Jedidiah tensed, and he appeared seconds away from pulling the trigger. “We both know why that would be a fatal mistake on your part.”
The Welshman crossed his arms and smirked at Cauchon’s flunky. “So we do. But have no fear, I wouldn’t miss what’s going to happen for anything.”
But there was something wrong. It took me a moment or two to put me finger upon it. But there was something off in the way Gwydion was baiting Jebediah. Gwydion only baited those he considered marks. Aye, he gave his allies plenty of grief, to be certain, but this baiting was different.
Jebediah pointed at the Welshman while looking at Dahlia. “He does anything questionable, shoot him.”
Dahlia nodded and trained her gun on Gwydion. His smile only widened as he nodded at her. He acted as though he had no fear of being shot. Actually, he acted as though he had nae fear of anyone or anything. Meanwhile, Jedidiah swung his rifle back towards me brow.
“Now, as to your question, I’m about to give you the best gift I can offer you: a quick death.”
Out the corner of me eye, I noticed a wee figure peeking from behind a tree. With all eyes drawn on us, nobody noticed the angel creeping his way up to the tree directly ahead of him.
I turned me full attention back to the man holding the gun on me. “’Tis a mighty peculiar way o’ sayin’ ‘thank ye’, Jedidiah.”
I could see his trigger finger tightening. “Compared to the alternatives? You should consider yourself lucky, Tallis Black.”
The click of his rifle was nae louder than the dry snap of a branch. And just as impotent. Jedidiah popped out the intact bullet and fired again. All he got for his trouble was another dry click. As he furrowed his brows and adjusted the lever of the gun yet again, I seized the rifle by the barrel, yanking me captor closer before headbutting the bridge of his nose. Instantly, a deluge of blood poured from his face as I pushed him away and he dropped his weapon, his hands moving to his face as he wailed in pain.
A dozen or so clicks came from the other weapons as Harry and the rest of our crew fell into a general brawl with the others. Jeanne slipped out of the fracas and ran towards me discarded blade. While I was swinging the useless rifle like a club to keep the Fenrir at bay, the Welshman laughed long and hard.
“Did I forget to mention the bladesmith put a gunpowder dousing charm on this area?”
I wasnae surprised the clever bastard had overheard me lick of Gaelic I’d muttered upon entering his encampment. What did surprise me was that he’d managed to keep that information to himself. What did he have to gain by pulling a triple cross like this?
I had nae time to ponder such things. The demon wolves kept coming at me. By the time I had beaten them back apace, I was bleeding from a dozen or more bites and the rifle butt was cracked clean in half. I was in dire need of a new plan.
A pair of strong hands seized me round the middle from behind. The smell of fresh blood told me ‘twas Jedidiah, ready to take his revenge.
“Get him!” The slave hunter’s shout deafened me left ear when the nearest Fenrir made a dive for me nethers. Something small leapt in front of the wolf’s jaws, yelling loudly as the latter clamped down. Despite his pain, the stookie angel reached out and thrust his stubby index fingers into both eyes of his tormentor, making the Fenrir instantly release him.
Meanwhile, I struggled to break loose from Jebediah’s manacle grip at the same time that I kicked back the other Fenrir, which wasnae an easy task.
Jedediah continued sidestepping me footstomps and dodging me backwards headbutts. And with both me arms pinned, I wasnae able to elbow him good and proper. A whistling in the air could be heard behind us, ending in a thud that made Jedidiah cry out. The moment his grip loosened, I slammed his ribs with both me elbows, feeling them shatter. He fell backwards just as one of his pet wolves launched itself at me face.
I punched me way into its mouth, knocking several of the sharp teeth down its throat. But its jaws were sae tight, I couldnae yank me hand out. Someone stepped out from behind me and I felt the cold steel of me blade being placed in me right hand. I wielded me blade as a flash of grey passed me eyes and cleaved right through the wolf’s neck. The wolf dropped, revealing Jeanne standing before me. She appeared stunned that me blade could cut down me attacker sae easily.
Even in death, the damned wolf wouldnae release me hand. I yelled at Jeanne as I threw me blade to the right of her and it buried itself into the green grass, “Keep them fiends off me!”
Jeanne nodded as she pulled me sword from the ea
rth and held it alight, swiping at the pack with me blade. The angel soon joined in, taking up the rifle and using it like I had, as a club.
Fighting to free the dead wolf head off me arm, me nose caught the scent of blood again. I turned to face Jedidiah, who pulled a hunting knife out from under his coat. ‘Twas bigger than a stiletto but half the size of a butcher knife. He made a feint for me stomach before shifting the jab towards me face. I stuck the wolf’s head between me and the knife point. The blade sunk into the demon wolf and severed something which, in turn, loosened the jaw, freeing me hand enough to slide it out. I threw a blind punch with me other hand. The blow landed right on the side of Jedidiah’s head.
As he fell, I caught a glimpse of the fight happening in front of the tent. Our side was losing against Jedidiah’s. All the while, the Welshman leaned against his tree while smiling in amusement as though he were watching a film. A glance over me shoulder revealed Jeanne and the stookie angel losing ground to the Fenrir. I yelled at them, “Git intae the tent!”
Jeanne obeyed first, running past me to help the others. Jedidiah attempted snagging her ankle but she slipped out of reach and kept going. The angel made a point of whacking the slave hunter on the back of the skull before running past himself. The rifle butt was completely cracked off now, leaving naught but a jagged stub with a bit of a sharp edge.
Jeanne began wailing on the attackers with the flat of me sword, which must have been the same way she’d used it against Jedidiah. Though ‘twas nae the way the sword was meant to be wielded, ‘twas effective enough. The angel attempted something similar by clubbing our enemies but the damn rifle was sae heavy, he could barely keep his balance.
Hearing the growl of the Fenrir behind me, I raced towards the fighting meself. A pair of hands grabbed both me ankles before yanking me straight down again. I lacked any time to protect me head before I struck the hard, broken ground with me jaw.
Dazed momentarily, I felt me legs being pulled forward and when I looked down, I saw Jedidiah. Alas, the man was exhaustedly strong. How I wished for Donnchadh’s power at that exact moment! But ‘twas nae to be.
Jedidiah released me and I thrust me right leg back. It caught Jedidiah’s shoulder right before he grabbed me left leg again. ‘Twas enough. I rolled meself over with me right hand before aiming me second kick right at the slave hunter’s face. It landed true on his broken nose which made him pause but didnae stop his bloody wolf pack from running straight at me. Just over Jedidiah’s left shoulder, Gwydion suddenly appeared. As he grinned broadly, he made a circling gesture with his hand.
“Now how is this fair?”
Jedidiah instantly transformed into a hog, squealing in disbelief at the sudden unexpected change of circumstances. The fresh pork on four legs made the wolves instantly forget about me and, instead, turn their hungry gazes to their former master. With another horrified squeal, the Jedidiah hog turned and ran into the ruins. He barely managed to stay ahead of the Fenrir pack, which was right behind him. I heard a new chorus of hog squeals and a quick glance over me shoulder revealed me group standing over a pack of hogs and staring at them in wonder.
As I struggled to stand up to me feet, I looked at the Welshman. “Ah dinnae oonderstand,” I managed.
He shrugged and smirked. “I just didn’t want you to miss the good part.” Before I could ask him which part that was, he vanished from sight.
At that moment, a whip wrapped ‘round me right wrist. I yanked the other end with a tug to the left but wasnae able to do much as a second whip struck me back before a third wrapped ‘round me other wrist.
As the lash slammed into me back a second, third and fourth time, a figure stepped out from behind the tree Gwydion had just vacated. This figure had curled ram horns as pale as porcelain, the horns the same lack of color as his skin. He was easily me same height and build. The muscles encasing his bare chest looked like white marble. He wore leather breeches and his white feet were bare. His most prominent feature was his tail: a long and great, scaly snake that thrashed back and forth like the whip that beat me.
“Malecoda,” I said to the Malebranche Duke who stood before me.
He smiled with straight, even teeth that didnae match his other monstrous features. “Tallis Black, I believe you have something I want.”
“That this dark wave resounded, roaring loud…”
-Dante’s Inferno
TWENTY-ONE
LILY
As convenient as it was to have a physical object that acted like a tactile GPS, being yanked around by my blade was more than annoying. The compound Perenelle had put on it made it less annoying, but it still felt like I was being tugged by a big dog on a short leash. I looked back over my shoulder at the Flamels. “Are you sure you two can keep up?”
Despite catching her breath, Perenelle managed to smile. “If such were not the case, Mademoiselle Harper, I assure you we would say as much.”
Nicolas was huffing and puffing a little more than his wife. “Just the same, Perenelle, I have to admit one regret: that I never followed your sensible advice regarding the importance of exercise.”
She grinned and playfully poked his chest. “Your wife does know best, you see?”
The sword pulled me around the next corner and the landscape changed drastically. To the point that I couldn’t actually believe my eyes.
The first thing I noticed was the trees: big, green, beautiful trees.
Life.
And life that didn’t belong down here, in the Underground City. The trees were like a Greenpeace sign in a toxic waste dump. Below the trees was a flag with an image of a pale horse dancing against a dark background. Before I could further question what the flag was and why it was here and, furthermore, how it was possible that trees were growing all around it, I heard the unmistakable sounds of a brawl: shouts, punches, and growling.
My heart skipped a beat as I tried to prepare myself for whatever we were about to encounter. My blade continued to yank itself forward, nearly pulling my arms out of their sockets. It was all I could do to stand in place.
The blade seems to think Tallis is down there which means he could be in the middle of that battle, I told myself as a wave of fear and worry overtook me.
And then I heard his voice.
“Get them fiends off me!”
My heart sped up as tears started in my eyes and my blade about pulled itself right out of my hands.
“He’s here!” I yelled back to Nicolas and Perenelle.
As I started running in the direction the sword was pulling me, I heard Nicolas cry out “Mademoiselle Harper, wait!”
Yeah, no thanks.
I’d done all the waiting I could stomach just to get to this point. I didn’t care if I was walking straight into another fight. I had to see Tallis and make sure he was safe and if not, make sure I helped him through whatever it was he was facing, no matter what the consequences.
The trees were about two blocks from my location. Despite the demolished buildings in front of me, none of the debris piles were low enough to allow me to see what was going on. I heard Tallis shout a second time, something about getting to “the tent,” and I hastened my pace. For all I knew, that could mean he was losing the fight.
All of a sudden, a swarm of pigs rounded the corner in front of me. Stunned and wondering where in the hell they’d come from, they damn near ran right into me. I had to leap onto a nearby pile of rubble just to avoid their stampede. That indignity caused Donnchadh to turn up my anger a couple of notches.
Just before the hog horde disappeared down the road, the Flamels finally caught up with me. This time, even Perenelle was panting heavily. I pointed at the departing drove of pigs. “What the hell was that?”
Nicolas looked at me with unmasked surprise. “You no longer have pigs in your world?”
I ignored my tugging blade for a moment so I could reply to the scribe-turned-alchemist. “I know they’re pigs, Nicolas,” I said with a “duh” tone. “My question i
s: why are they here and where did they come from? Last I checked, there wasn’t such a thing as livestock in the Underground City.”
Perenelle pursed her lips before answering. “My guess is they are transmogrified beings; they were something else a few moments before they became pigs.”
The next sound I heard caused my stomach to drop yet again: Tallis’s agonized grunts. I also detected the signature crack of a whip. Before I could start in the direction of Tallis’ cries, Perenelle gently grabbed my wrist.
“You will benefit no one by carelessly rushing in.”
I frowned, knowing she was right. But if I waited too long, Tallis might be dead by the time I got to him. Nicolas fished out the Devouring Lion mixture from his apron. Perenelle released my hand to reach into her own apron pocket. She pulled out a vial and faced me with interest. That was when I understood. They weren’t telling me to go slow so much as they were asking me to let them back me up. I nodded and we all made fast tracks towards the trees.
***
When we arrived, I was glad I’d waited for the Flamels. At least a dozen of those worm demons were all over the green glade of trees. Half of them surrounded a group of clearly frightened people, possibly Soul Retrievers, near a tent. I could only imagine it was the same tent I’d just heard Tallis mention.
It was then that my eyes narrowed on my guardian angel.
“Bill,” I said in a whisper as I took a deep breath and tried to keep the joy from overcoming my entire body. I still had work to do and from the looks of it, my angel was in trouble.
He was currently being guarded by two of the worm things. Each of Bill’s arms were being restrained by the ends of a whip on either side of him. Meanwhile a strange plastic case lay in front of him.
Beside Bill was a girl who was wearing a muddied, medieval-looking peasant style of clothing that seemed outdated even down here. She was getting the same treatment as Bill, where she kneeled beside him. Her eyes remained fixed on the ground like it had the solution to their dilemma. Tallis’s blade stood next to the tree behind them—unattended.