The Arliss

by Ann Bakshis

  “Who told you that bullshit?”

  “The Arliss did.”

  Wavern clearly wasn’t expecting that response. “He did?” he asks, stunned.

  “Why do you sound so surprised? Did you actually think anything that was taught to you by a Nathair was the truth? You’ve been fed lies your whole life, Wavern—we all have.”

  “My mother would never have lied to me,” he counters.

  “How old was she when Keegan’s grandfather took her into the mountains?”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “She was five,” he says, sinking back onto the couch. “She had me at seventeen. A lot of people back then had kids when they were young. My mother would tell me how the Nathair tried to save the world from dying, and that the Arliss was the only one who could do that. Especially if the Pheles rose from his tomb.” He lifts his eyes up to mine. “Keegan had a fit one day at the abandonment home and flashed a set of red eyes at me when I was called to deal with him, as I was the only leader available to help Haron at the time. That’s one of the reasons I took him… to keep an eye on him.”

  “How did you determine he was the Pheles?”

  “My mother wrote down all the stories she ever told me in a small notebook that I carry with me,” he says, reaching into a pocket, removing a well-worn pad no bigger than a deck of cards, and handing it to me. “She made notes on everything anyone ever told her, hoping one day it would be of use. I want you to have it.”

  “Why?”

  “It was meant for you,” he says, then stands and places a hand on my left shoulder. “Everything I have is yours, Sara. I love you more than anything.” He kisses me gently on the cheek. “You’re the only one I trust, so please don’t let me down.” He hugs me then heads for the door.

  “The Arliss is in Cody,” I blurt out as I turn to face him.

  “I know,” he replies sorrowfully. “And I wish I could change that.”

  The minute he’s gone, I head into the bathroom. I feel dirty, disgusting, and angry. I drop the bag on the counter and look for a place to stash the notebook, finally shoving it behind a loose board under the sink. I go to turn the faucet on in the tub when I catch my reflection in the mirror. It’s one I don’t recognize. I look tired, beaten, and old, and I feel the same way—which makes me wonder how much more my body can handle. I need to get back to the plateau, but how can I possibly do that if I can’t even get out of the compound? I’ll need help, but from whom? Wavern seems like my only logical choice but I don’t trust him anymore, no matter what he says to justify what he did. You don’t claim to love someone then feed them to the wolves, or in this case the Arliss.

  Keegan’s face joins mine in the mirror, and he wraps his arms around my waist. I try to fake a smile as he holds me tightly.

  “How are you feeling?” he asks.

  “Tired and sore. I was hoping to get cleaned up before I crashed for the day… or is it night now?”

  “It’s a few minutes past twenty-three-hundred, so it’s definitely night-time,” he replies before spinning me around. “As for showering you can’t get the bandages wet, so I was thinking I’d assist in washing you and get to the places you might not be able to reach.”

  “Sounds great,” I say, feigning delight.

  He helps me undress and we step into the tub. He turns the faucet on and has me stand against the tile wall face first, with my right arm above my head so not to get it wet. I retreat into my mind as Keegan bathes my body with soap, separating myself from the world around me as a way to cope with the truth that punctures my heart. I close my eyes as an image of a world on fire floods my mind, every inch of dirt dissolving before me. Hundreds lay slaughtered at my feet, their blood thick around my ankles. I try to pull myself out of the delusion, but I’m only drawn in further. The air I breathe is filled with ash, the blood coursing through my veins is hot, and all I want to do is destroy it all. I glance down at my hands and notice they’re covered in blood, dripping with the life of those I’ve just slaughtered. I’m no longer in the compound, but standing on the surface as entire cities fall before me. I know it’s not real but when I try to regain control of my mind, I fall further and further into the rabbit hole.

  “You’re safe here,” Keegan whispers in my ear. “Stay with me.”

  A sharp pain radiates down my neck, which pulls me into the moment. I’m still facing the wall, but Keegan has his naked body pressed against mine as his teeth sink into my flesh. A scream catches in my throat, and I feel my blood boiling. I push against the wall with my hands and wind up smashing the tile, which startles me.

  “Stay,” Keegan continues to whisper as he releases the pressure from my neck. “And we can rule together.”

  He turns me around just as I sense my eyes changing, turning red like his. He smiles with pleasure at the sight of them and forces himself inside me. Conflict rises within and a battle ensues with such ferocity that my scream shatters the glass enclosing the tub and the mirrors on the wall. Our bodies are nicked and bleeding, but Keegan won’t let go.

  “He tried to turn you, but he failed,” Keegan says breathlessly. “The Arliss will die, as will all creatures on this earth, just leaving the two of us together… forever.”

  I stop speaking as he bites me again, this one lasting minutes. My blood washes down the drain with the water and I feel the Arliss’ hold releasing.

  “You knew?” I finally mutter.

  Keegan brushes the hair from my face. “Who do you think put the idea into Wavern’s head about marking you? Why else would you have run off into Lymont if not to fulfill the destiny I planned from the very moment we met? Andra knew you’d go through her things because I told her you would. She gave you the time you needed to find the monitors, just as I instructed her to. The Arliss thinks it was his idea to return to the surface when, in fact, it was mine,” Keegan says. “How else do you kill a snake but by chasing it out of its hole.”

  “Why me?” I ask as he presses into me harder.

  “The Pheles only has one love, and I chose you long before that bully of a child stumbled upon my tomb. But he made everything so much easier,” Keegan says before covering my mouth with his.

  I can’t help but kiss him back and I grip his head, as it feels like he’s too far away from me. He picks me up and carries me to the bedroom, leaving a trail of water and blood behind us. As he lays me on the bed I pray that the walls are soundproof as this is going to be a long night.

  Twelve

  “You’re going to need to learn to hide those,” Keegan says as he kisses me. He strokes my hair as he lies on top of me under damp covers. “Just close your eyes and pull them back slightly; the red will retract. When you want to show them, do the opposite, like this.”

  He closes his eyes and when they reopen the irises are as red as blood, but then he changes them back to their natural color. I do what he suggests and I can feel the color going back to green. When I reopen my eyes, Keegan is smiling.

  “What do we do now?” I ask as I rub his back.

  “We clean up and go kill the Arliss.”

  “You know where he is?” I ask, surprised.

  “Of course.”

  “But he won’t die,” I mumble. “He’ll simply go back to the Fomorian Plateau until he gets another host.”

  “So, that’s where he’s been hiding,” Keegan says slyly.

  “You know the place?”

  “I was created there when the world first erupted into life. We both were. When we found our way to the surface we divided the world, but the Arliss got reckless and was murdered by those who feared him. After his death, word spread about my existence, so I was betrayed by those I called friends and sealed in the Kai Mountains.”

  “Why didn’t you return to the plateau after the Levo entombed you?”

  “Only those who die a violent death can get to the plateau. My host died of starvation, so I was trapped in the mountains
until a viable one came along.”

  A pit forms in my stomach. “Do you know what he did to me down there?” I ask somberly.

  “I know he has to bite you like I did for his poison to transfer. Why? What else happened?” Keegan asks with great concern.

  “He tortured me,” I say quietly. “In more ways than I care to remember.”

  Keegan’s face turns to stone. “I’ll make him pay for hurting you,” he says harshly. “He’s going to regret his entire existence when I’m done with him. We’ll need to come up with a plan before we put Cody’s body through hell, so the Arliss can suffer. Then we’ll kill him so he can’t return.”

  I was hoping he hadn’t figured out who the Arliss’ host was, but given that Cody and I are the only ones who’ve experienced trauma in the last twenty-four hours, he was the logical choice. I kiss Keegan deeply just as there’s a knock on our bedroom door.

  “Go away!” Keegan shouts.

  “Andra is looking for you,” Grimm says from the other side.

  “Tell her I’m busy fucking my wife,” Keegan says with sincerity.

  “Now, Keegan. That’s an order.”

  “It’s the middle of the night—what could she possibly want?”

  “How the hell would I know? She just told me to get you.”

  “Fine,” he grumbles. “I’ll be right out.” He turns his attention to me. “You’re going to want to hide that love bite, especially from asshole out there.” He kisses me, gets up, dresses, and is in the process of leaving the room but stops because Grimm is blocking his path. “Why are you getting me and not Wavern? Or was I transferred to your squad unexpectedly?” Keegan’s tone drips with hatred.

  “Wavern is on his way to Demos with Jules and I’m the only squad leader up, so she had to use me,” Grimm responds heatedly.

  “Well, then, let’s go,” Keegan says, shooing Grimm away from the bedroom.

  “Not until I check on Sara. You go ahead.”

  “What, you couldn’t hear how happy she is?” Keegan smirks. “I’m sure the whole compound did.”

  “You’re disgusting, you know that?” Grimm comments, scrunching up his face. “Get going before Andra wakes the entire compound with the intercom, searching for you.”

  Keegan shakes his head as he leaves the apartment but I remain under the covers while Grimm leans against the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest.

  “As you can see, I’m fine,” I say, gesturing down the length of the bed and its slightly red-stained sheets from additional bites Keegan bestowed upon me during our lovemaking.

  “I’d hardly say you’re fine. What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing, except for being shot twice and nearly drowning. Otherwise, I’m good,” I say as I slide off the bed, wrapping the sheet around me. “What?” I ask as I pass him and head towards the bathroom, the door to which is closed, thankfully. I dread the interrogation I’d get if Grimm saw the blood all over the floor and walls, as well as the shattered glass and mirror.

  “Care to explain this?” he asks, pointing to the puddles of diluted red on the floor as well as the sheet.

  “My sutures started seeping after the bandages got wet, so I’m taking care of that now,” I say hastily, and show him my stained bandages.

  “You’re a horrible liar, Sara,” he says, trying to follow me.

  “It’s nothing. I’ll get it cleaned up,” I respond, blocking him from seeing into the bathroom. “Now go away.”

  I slip into the bathroom and lock the door. I have to put on the clothes from the medical ward since I don’t have anything clean, then I change my bandages and brush my hair so that it’s covering my throat. When I open the door, Grimm is still standing there, so I have to quickly pull it shut behind me.

  “Why are you still here?” I ask, annoyed.

  “Because I’m concerned about you,” he says.

  “That would be a first,” I mutter as I sidestep around him and make my way into the living room.

  “Excuse me?” he snaps. “I’ve always had your back.”

  “Yeah, maybe eight years ago, but not since then,” I say, sitting on the couch and flipping through the channels on the screen.

  Grimm rips the remote from my hands and turns off the display. “You know that’s not true,” he says furiously. “Why are you acting like this?”

  “Because I’m sick of pretending,” I say as I push myself up off the couch. “I’ve finally realized after all these years that I’ve been fooling myself into believing that anyone actually gave a damn about me. I’d been holding out hope that maybe one day you’d see me as someone you could be with, but you never did. I was always your buddy, your friend, so when Keegan showed the slightest bit of interest in me I jumped at it.” I get close to Grimm. “You asked me why I married Keegan. What I see in him. He’s the only person who seems to care about me, even though he really doesn’t. He only wants to control me.” Tears fill my eyes. “I just couldn’t wait for you any longer.”

  Grimm’s mouth hangs open in shock. I’m also puzzled by my brazen comments. There’s no way I would’ve openly admitted any of this before, especially to Grimm. What’s the point of doing it now? Keegan has won, I’m his for all eternity, so what could my ramblings possibly accomplish except to stab Grimm in the heart. Maybe that’s why I said it, to make him leave me for good, so I won’t have to make that decision myself.

  His tongue invading my mouth isn’t the response I was expecting. He pulls me in closer as an intensity develops between us, almost to the point of combustion. Grimm pulls away as we both try to catch our breath, and he practically bolts for the door.

  “Just so you know,” he starts, his hand around the door knob, “you’re the only person I ever cared about in this whole damn place. Leaving you in the abandonment home was the hardest thing I could’ve ever done, but now… seeing you with him… hearing you with him—I wish I’d never met you.”

  He slams the door as he leaves. I pick up the closest object I can find and hurl it at the plasma screen, smashing it to pieces. I sink onto the couch and cry like my best friend has just died, because in a way he has. I’m losing control of my life and I need to find a way to get it back. Can I undo what Keegan did, or is it permanent? He freed me from the Arliss, so there has to be a way to save me from being a Pheles. No matter what, though, I can’t stay in the compound—I’ll be too distracted by Keegan’s happiness and Grimm’s anger. But where do I go? And, more importantly, when? If I do it too soon it’ll look suspicious, so I’ll need to time it just right.

  I decide I need to stop thinking about it all and get cleaning, so I start with the glass from the plasma screen. I’m in the middle of collecting the shards when Keegan enters, a scowl on his face. He pauses on his way to the bathroom when he notices the display.

  “How’d that happen?” he asks curiously.

  “I was aiming at Grimm’s head and missed,” I reply.

  “Wow, you attacked Grimm? I’m impressed,” he says, grinning.

  “What did Andra want with you?”

  “She’s asked me to take her to Demos. We’re leaving in about twenty minutes.”

  “Why do you have to take her?”

  “Because Wavern, Jules, and the other squad leaders with the exception of Grimm, are already in the city. Andra doesn’t have anyone to take her, as she needs Grimm to watch the compound while everyone else is away, and you’re out of commission with your injuries, so I was the next logical choice.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why she chose you specifically. Why not another sub-commander from a different squad?” I ask nervously.

  Why am I afraid to be left alone? Keegan being away has never bothered me before, so why does it now? Is this one of the effects of him branding me a Pheles? If so, it’ll make my escape that much more difficult.

  “Don’t sound so worried, babe,” he says, kneeling beside me on the floor. “Remember, I’ve got Andra under my thumb so, of course, she’d ask me
to escort her.”

  “Why is everyone in Demos?”

  “Myr called an emergency meeting.”

  “Did she mention what the meeting is about?”

  “Nope,” he says as he gets back to his feet. “I’ll be back before you know it.” He kisses me and heads towards the bathroom.

  I hear him cleaning up the glass before turning on the shower. I finish what I’m doing and take the debris out to a trash bin beside the laundry room. When I return, I gather all my dirty clothes and go back to the laundry room to start a load. Keegan hugs me before leaving and says he’ll be back by tomorrow night at the latest. I spend a good part of the night scrubbing blood off the floor, mopping, straightening out the rest of the bathroom, and putting clean sheets on the bed. I’m bothered by the idea that Myr had to call this meeting, and that Andra delayed in attending.

  My arm and shoulder start to throb, so I take some pain medication, finish my laundry, and head to the mess hall as breakfast is now being served. The room isn’t as crowded as it normally would be so I ask someone about it, only to learn that Squads Nine and Ten were moved to the farms under the Factory yesterday morning to help control a supposed uprising that started the night of the memorial. Maybe that’s why Myr is having the meeting this late at night; so she can have the leaders entering Demos when all its residents are asleep and not draw any attention to why so many leaders are in one place.

  “There’s a rumor going around that a body was discovered in one of the machines in the manufacturing section of the Factory,” the woman says. “It was the greeter. He’d been practically cut in half. There’s never been any type of incident like it before and some are questioning how the body actually got there, because his wounds don’t correlate to what would be done by any of the machine blades.”

  I quickly lose my appetite as the image of the greeter coming out of the lake in the plateau floats into my mind, along with what he said as to how he wound up there. Wavern killed him, but why? Something about the old man screwing Wavern’s girlfriend? I don’t really recall Wavern ever getting violent, or having a girlfriend, but I haven’t regained all my memories yet either, so anything is possible. There are security cameras all over that place, so surely something would’ve been noticed.