The Lily Harper 8 Book Boxed Set

by HP Mallory

  Despite the sudden change in fortune, the woman refused to give up. The trident’s jabs weren’t getting all the way through, mostly because of her two gladiuses. One of those short blades went straight through the net, barely missing the man’s arm but getting closer all the time.

  Besom looked distressed. “You’re going to let her die.”

  Alaire held his hand up. “Do recall that she is already quite dead, dear Lily, in the same manner that you are.”

  “It’s Ms. Harper to you,” she corrected him again.

  Alaire just smiled at her and continued his explanation. “The worst that will happen is she will re-enter Shade for her allotted time, although that in itself can be a fate far worse than—”

  The net suddenly ripped open and the woman strode forth in all her martial glory. The man fought back with his shortened trident but it was now a much more even match between them. The blows coming from both were getting slower and slower with each stroke. The first to slip would be the loser. But I had no idea which of the two it would be.

  Lily turned towards something above the heads of the fighters. Despite the distance, it wasnae too hard for me to figure out what she was staring at: a large stone disk with a hole in the center.

  She tapped Alaire on the shoulder and pointed to it. “What’s that for?”

  Alaire flicked his eyes up but quickly returned them to the fight below. “A very special game we also play here… You will learn more about it in just a little while.”

  Eventually, both warriors fell to their knees in exhaustion, neither having bested the other. The crowd began chanting something in the Old Tongue, a language as ancient as humankind. Although I picked up a smattering of it over the centuries, I had no clue what this particular chant meant.

  A great spotlight fell onto Alaire, damn near blinding me with its brightness. The blond fraud looked into it as if it were a window. Dramatically, he held out his fist, the thumb extended to the side. How well I knew that gesture: the moment when the ruling Roman dignitary would decide the life or death of the poor sod in the arena below. Alaire held out for as long as he could, seeking maximum drama. Then he lowered his thumb and the crowd grew louder than ever.

  Besom appeared horrified and was about to draw her sword and rush down into the arena. I headed her off before she could. “’Tis all right, Besom,” I started.

  “All right?” she responded, her eyes as wide as her mouth.

  “Aye. Look!”

  I pointed down below to the arena guards who were coming to pick both of the combatants off the floor. Both the man and woman were led out of the arena through the opened portcullis at the far end.

  Lily looked at me and then at Alaire. “But I thought—”

  The light faded away as Alaire put his hand back down. “A common misconception… the truth is: the meaning of thumbs-down and thumbs-up are the exact reverse of the currently popular interpretation.” He turned his smile to me. “If one intends to honor Roman customs, it behooves one to be accurate in the honoring, yes?”

  I scowled and shot him a hateful stare. “Mayhap.”

  The angel must have seen the rage coming off me, going by how he got ‘twixt me and me most hated foe. “So now that the show’s over, howz about goin’ ta see Ash-Tear-We-On?”

  The Underground City’s Master rolled his eyes at the stookie angel’s mispronunciation and turned away from us.

  ###

  We walked through the tight corridors into an area that was much more oppressive than the large blocks of stone might suggest. A sensation of hopelessness and despair floated down into these cells, along with thwarted vengeance, impotent rage, and a wish to strike the first victim that came along. I wondered if the blood-soaked plains outside were the source of this feeling or mayhap ‘twas the constant matches.

  Pure roamed the corridors as guards, dressed in Roman legionnaire armor I was very familiar with in me own living days. Each one saluted Alaire with a closed fist to the breast followed by an extended open hand. Alaire merely nodded in acknowledgement.

  “So Asterion… he’s one of your prisoners? Or one of your possible recruits?” Besom asked the bastard.

  He glanced at her after nodding at another saluting guard. “Asterion is actually something far more valuable than either of those… he is this arena’s reining champion. And it is not just combat he excels in.”

  “You mean, that game you mentioned?” Lily asked.

  “Oh, yes, the one played by the Mayans, the Incas and the Aztecs over the centuries. I understand there has even been a recent revival of it under the name of ‘Ulama’.”

  “So what’s it like? Football? Volleyball? Soccer?” Lily continued.

  Alaire shot her a smile that nearly made me yank me blade free. “Given his great success at these contests, it is best to let Asterion educate you on that subject.”

  I wasnae certain why Alaire was being as courteous as he was. Given our past, one would have expected him to kill us on sight. I believed there were two reasons why he did not—one, he was still thoroughly taken with Lily. ‘Twas quite obvious. And two, he was afraid of Minos. Even though Minos had been banished, he was still powerful, in his own right. And Minos had provided us with protection which meant we were nigh untouchable to Alaire.

  The room we finally came upon was luxurious: fine cushions, costly-looking rugs, golden furniture, plates of fruits and jugs of wine appeared on the table. In the shadows, a big, bulky man who could barely fit on the couch, helped himself to a goblet of wine. He sipped nearly as loudly as the angel had earlier.

  Alaire politely cleared his throat, making the shadowy head of the man turn. I couldnae tell in the shadows but something seemed odd about the shape of his head. Alaire gave him an elaborate bow.

  “Emissaries from Minos, Asterion. I shall leave you all to become acquainted.”

  Too late, I noticed Alaire took a couple of quick steps back before a portcullis fell in place behind us. The man rose from his couch and walked out of the shadows to reveal he was no man at all. The head of a bull with long, pointed horns sat atop his massive, muscled body.

  Alaire smiled in triumph from beyond the bars that locked us in with this creature. “I take it Minos failed to mention that his wife’s son is none other than the fabled Minotaur?” Alaire asked with a smile. I launched meself at the bars, jabbing me blade between them at the traitor. He casually sidestepped and made a point of staying beyond the blade’s reach.

  I all but smashed me face against the portcullis. “Let oos outta here now an’ Ah might consider lettin’ ye live.”

  Alaire looked at me with mock shock. “What? And cancel the next match I have planned for all of you?”

  The angel pushed his face against the bars. “How’s sendin’ us out ta do some bloodshreddin’ anything close to a good deal fer you?”

  “Oh, it is anything but, little angel. And that is why you will all be participating in a round of the ancient game instead. Pitting others against those who are already under Minos’s protection into a straight battle would hardly be a fair fight, now would it?” Alaire’s attention shifted to Lily. “There is one way you all could earn your freedom.”

  “What?” she demanded.

  His smile turned ugly. “You give yourself to me, right here, right now.”

  “What do you mean?” she demanded.

  He shrugged. “I want back inside of you. But I want you as you, not as Persephone.”

  “Nae,” I answered immediately, shaking me head.

  Alaire didnae take his attention from Lily. “You could earn the freedom of yourself as well as your… companions. All you need to do is agree and I will lift the bars. Then you walk over here and you bend over in front of me. I will take care of the rest.”

  “Lils, no way,” the angel started as he looked at her.

  Lily’s eyes burned as she stared at the asshole who stared back at her.

  “She will do nae sooch thing, ye detestable,” I started.
>
  “Your answer, Ms. Harper?” Alaire demanded. “Seems like a very easy one from where I’m standing.”

  “You would say that!” she responded.

  He shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve remembered the feel of me inside you? I’m sure there are nights when you dream of sex, when the dreams in your head bring you my face instead of his,” he continued, motioning towards me with a nod. “You were wet for me, Lily. And you know that wasn’t just Persephone. It was you. You wanted me just as much as she did,” he continued, eyeing her in such a way that ‘twas revealed he was out of his damned mind!

  “No,” she said as she glared at him. “I never wanted you. I will never want you.”

  “You will not admit it, perhaps,” Alaire continued as he took a step towards her, being careful to avoid my blade. “But, how about we find out? How about I touch you and I will reveal the truth?”

  Besom looked as outraged as the rest of us but she didnae budge. She concentrated enough hatred in her gaze that snake venom would have been as palatable as mother’s milk in comparison.

  “One fuck, Lily,” he said the word and his eyes narrowed. “For old time’s sake.”

  “Nae, Besom,” I whispered to her. At the idea of watching Alaire take her, my woman, right in front of me… I couldnae even imagine what that would do to me.

  “You can look at your bladesmith in the eye as you feel my cock sliding into you,” Alaire continued and I felt me hands fist at me sides. “You can tell him you love him while my cock glistens with your juices.”

  “No,” she managed at last, the anger in her voice and eyes palpable. Relief suffused me. I would rather die than watch this beast force himself inside of her.

  Alaire just looked at her and added one final jab. “Should you decide to join me later, Lily, simply call for the guards. Otherwise… au revoir.”

  He stalked off from the gate, laughing the whole way.

  TWELVE

  Lily

  Alaire sickened me.

  And watching him turn around and leave us to our fate was preferable to the thought of feeling him inside me again. Yes, I’d just possibly sealed our doom, but I knew it was the only way. I could never have sex with him again.

  “Besom,” Tallis said as I turned to face him. “Ye chose right.”

  I swallowed hard. “It was just sex,” I started, wondering if I had made the right choice. I mean, it was right for me but I’d also just endangered Tallis and Bill. Maybe they wouldn’t see things the same way?

  “You should have taken him up on his offer.” The voice was deep and growly and came from just behind us. I turned to face the Minotaur and felt my heart about drop to my feet.

  “It was just a fuck,” he finished.

  Just going by the name, I expected Asterion to be, I don’t know, an ancient Greek version of a romance novel cover model. But the Minotaur, the human-devouring man-bull? Definitely not what I had in mind. He stood at least half a foot taller than Tallis, and his clothing was restricted to a loincloth that was big enough for me to wear as a dress. He had muscles on top of muscles. I could see the anger in his eyes as he glared down at us. But I saw something else behind it, pain.

  “It’s never just a fuck,” I answered. “Not with Alaire.”

  Bill got between me and our new acquaintance, leveling the rocket launcher right at the big guy’s face. Asterion bared his teeth at my little guardian angel and leaned down a bit more. “Step aside, little man.”

  Bill didn’t even flinch as he put the tube closer to the monster’s face. “Not happenin’, Taurus-zan. I’m the lady’s protector.”

  The Minotaur swatted the rocket launcher aside, causing both Tallis and me to go for our blades. The man-bull slammed my little angel into the nearest wall and demanded, “Give me one good reason why I should not rip you in half.”

  I saw something in Bill’s eyes that I never thought I’d see… defeat. “Y’know, I can’t think of one.”

  “Asterion!” The voice calling the Minotaur’s name seemed to come out of nowhere. Then its source emerged from the shadows: a lovely woman with copper skin, flowing, jet-black hair and a leather bikini that showed off her ample curves.

  The man-bull snapped his head around, looking more startled than angry. Though this woman was half his height, she walked with an authority that was surprising. She stretched her arm up and he leaned over, allowing her to gently stroke his face.

  “It would be unwise to cause harm to people upon whom your survival could depend, true?” she asked.

  The Minotaur responded to her, closing his eyes, snorting through his nose and leaning into her hand. Gradually, he put Bill back down, who ran away to grab the rocket launcher that had been knocked aside.

  Tallis waved him off. “Ach, leave it, stookie angel. Firin’ that thing off in here’d only blow us all up.” Bill grunted but put it back down.

  When Asterion opened his eyes again, he was calmer. A sullen indifference replaced the anger from earlier. He gestured towards the food and wine on the table. “Take what you want.”

  The woman pulled her hand back and gave him a disapproving stare. “Speaking of taking things, how much wine have you been drinking?”

  A flash of anger shone in his eyes. “What does it matter?”

  “It matters because you only become hostile when you drink.”

  Tallis strode over to the table, looking at the wine jug before he faced the woman. “In all fairness, ‘twas nae jist the wine that inflamed Asterion.” The bull-man looked over at him, his curiosity rivaling the woman’s. Tallis continued. “Alaire did make a point o’ mentionin’ that we were sent by Minos.”

  The woman nodded in understanding while Asterion looked at Tallis in surprise. The Minotaur whisperer added a sigh with her nod. “That does explain much.”

  Asterion rumbled deeply in his throat. “And why would you bother to explain my behavior? Am I not a monster?”

  While he spoke, Tallis began pouring two goblets of wine. “Bein’ half bull doesnae mean ye cannae think.” He handed the man-bull a goblet of wine. Asterion cautiously took it before joining him and swallowing the wine in one gulp.

  As expected, Bill made a straight run for the wine jug. Unfortunately for him, the nearest goblet was right beside Asterion and I could tell Bill was petrified of him and didn’t want to go anywhere near him. The woman stepped over to retrieve it.

  “Oh, please… allow me,” she said.

  Bill couldn’t stop staring at her while he poured some wine. When the cup threatened to spill, I stepped in to yank his arm back. “Bill!”

  Bill shook his head, like he was coming out of a trance. “Wha? Oh! Thanks, Nips. Want some?”

  I grabbed the grapes from the table. “Think I’ll just stick with these.”

  It was then that Asterion turned to face me. I could feel the heat of his gaze and I turned to meet his eyes. We held each other’s gazes for a long while. I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes and I wondered if he was friend or foe. I imagined he was wondering the same about me.

  “Alaire seemed taken with you,” he said.

  “Alaire is crazy,” I answered.

  Asterion shrugged. “You are a beautiful woman, therefore he isn’t that crazy.”

  “Thanks, I guess,” I said and I didn’t understand why but I felt drawn to him. Maybe it was the pain in his eyes or the gentleness of his tone when he talked with me.

  “He made it sound as though he’d… had you before?” Asterion continued.

  I felt my cheeks color. “He has.”

  “Oh?”

  “Well, he didn’t have me,” I corrected myself and then realized I was probably making zero sense to Asterion. I wasn’t sure why but I wanted to explain to him. I wanted him to understand that Alaire meant nothing to me. “I was Alaire’s prisoner,” I started.

  “Seems we have that in common.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, only when I was his prisoner, he had me possessed with the spirit of a woman he
thought he loved. Only when she took control of my body, he realized he didn’t love her and he…”

  “Wanted you returned to him?” Asterion finished for me.

  I nodded, impressed he’d figured it out. “Yes. So, when he said he’d already had me…”

  “He had her, not you,” he finished.

  “Right.”

  Asterion nodded. “I see.”

  Feeling slightly uncomfortable under his pointed stare, I turned to see Bill taking a big gulp of wine as he smacked his lips.

  “Oh, this is the good stuff. Thracian Vineyards, 2000 BCE, a really good year fer wine.”

  Asterion, now settling back on his couch, gave Bill a critical eye. “You know your vintages.”

  “Hey, what can I say, Taurus-zan? I gots a nose an’ a tongue an’ an eye fer the good stuff.” I noticed that even though Bill’s tone was casual—comfortable, he took a few steps away from the Minotaur.

  It looked like Asterion was doing his best not to laugh. Definitely a step in the right direction; if someone amuses you, you’re not as likely to kill the guy.

  The woman sighed as she looked at us. “I believe proper etiquette requires that we make formal introductions to each other. I am Coatlique.”

  Tallis nearly spat out his wine. “Ye mean the goddess that was here long afore there even was an Oonderground City?”

  Not to mention the second person Cassandra mentioned in her prophecy, I thought. But now wasn’t the right time to bring that up.

  Coatlique gave Tallis an amused smile. “I see that my reputation precedes me. And you are?”

  “Tallis Blackprevious holder o’ Alaire’s job.”

  She nodded and looked at me. She wasn’t the only one. I felt Asterion’s heavy gaze and I swallowed hard. I felt like a kid introducing herself on her first day in kindergarten. “Lily Harper, former prisoner of Alaire’s castle.”

  She smiled at me. “You made the right decision,” she offered and then nodded. “A woman should never rely on the flesh between her legs to solve her problems. Men seem to sometimes forget there exist brains between our ears.”