Netherworld

by Amy Miles

  “Aed, think about this,” I called as I lost them to the darkness as they tumbled out of sight. “If ya kill him you will lose whatever leverage ya hold now with your da. You canna kill a human in cold blood! You’re a reaper yourself! The role of a reaper is to protect human life, not to take it!”

  Aed seemed to take little stock in that, so I tried another tactic.

  “The whole city will turn on ya. Not to mention the wrath your da will bring down on yer head!”

  He hesitated for a moment but then swung his blade. Devlin ducked and rolled back to his feet, but Aed was right on him.

  “Devlin, move!” I jumped and ducked, trying to see every move they made. Impaired by the darkness, I was terrified that one of them would finally land a blow that I wouldn’t see coming. Devlin knocked Aed aside and raced into his studio. For a moment, I thought maybe he had come to his senses and was retreating. When he returned with a tire iron in hand, I realised he was only trying to level the playing field.

  It wouldn’t be enough against Aed’s blade, but at least he wasn’t unarmed anymore.

  The clash of metal made me cringe as I rushed forward only to leap back as they tumbled across the yard in front of me. Their grunting echoed against the walls of Devlin’s house. I looked at the darkened windows, wondering if Devlin’s parents were home. Surely if they were, they would have come out by now.

  Aed cried out when Devlin head-butted him as they rolled into the light. Blood spurted from his nose and ran down his face. He wiped at his split lip. “You fight dirty.”

  “Says the man who brought a knife to a fist fight,” Devlin wavered where he stood.

  Their chests rose and fell. Both had sustained injuries but looked unwilling to give up. Our kiss may have triggered the fight, but I knew it was now about so much more. Men and their stupid pride.

  I wrung my hands, filled with anxiety as I watched them circle each other. I knew Aed had underestimated Devlin. He’d proven to be a far better match than Aed would have considered for a mere human. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  I had to do something.

  Stooping down, I grabbed a rock and hurled it at Devlin. It hit his back and he spun just in time for me to leap past him. I tackled Aed, driving him to the ground. Grabbing his wrist, I slammed his hand into the ground. Blood splattered around him, illuminated by the moonlight.

  “What are you doing?” He pushed back against me.

  “Saving your arse from your da,” I growled and fought to push Aed’s free hand away. With another slam, his dagger came free.

  He elbowed me and tried to roll me off, reaching for the blade, but I was faster. Having the upper hand from where I had him pinned, I pressed the blade to Aed’s neck.

  “Stop,” I shouted.

  His eyes were wild with rage as he fell still. His nostrils flared as he seethed.

  “Taryn, what are you doing?” Devlin shouted as he approached.

  “He won’t hurt me,” I called over my shoulder.

  Aed spat blood to the side. “You shouldn’t have interfered. This isn’t your fight.”

  “And ya shouldn’t be here either. You followed me, Aed. You had no right to do that.”

  “It’s lucky that I did.”

  “Lucky?” I shoved him back against the ground, keeping the blade close to his throat. “I am my own person, Aed. Ya need to remember that.”

  “I remember. And a decent fighter, too.” He glared up at me. “You can move the blade now.”

  “Can I? How do I know ya won’t just shove me off and go for him again?”

  “Stubborn and smart till the end.” His chest shook with laughter beneath me. Then he eyed me up and down. “Still, I can’t say I’m not enjoying the view.”

  Devlin made a step forward but stopped as I pressed the blade harder against Aed’s neck. “Enjoy it while ya can.” I leaned down over him. “If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I’ll be adding ya to my shite list right beside your da.”

  Aed’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. “Fair enough.”

  A shout from across the field made me tense. I looked up to see no less than ten reapers racing towards us, their whips and glass swords glowing in the dark.

  “Bollocks. Taryn, tell your pet human to get inside,” Aed commanded.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Devlin said, taking another step closer to us.

  “If you want to save her life, you will do as I say.”

  Devlin looked back at me for guidance.

  “He’s right,” I sighed. “The reapers canna know that you can see us. Go. Quickly. Before they discover you.”

  “I’m not leaving you with him,” Devlin said.

  I saw the determination in his eyes. If he didn’t leave now, it would mean both our heads.

  “As you can see, I can take care of myself. Now go. I’d rather not see ya die today.”

  Our eyes locked and he slowly gave me a nod before he turned and ran back to the safe shadows of his studio.

  “You might wanna take the blade away from my neck before the reapers see you,” Aed warned.

  I glanced up and saw the reapers coming at a fast clip. They had their weapons drawn. It was too late. They had already seen the threat against their prince. Letting out a breath of defeat, I lowered the blade and awaited my fate. There would be no talking myself out of this one. Even the prince couldn’t get me out of this. I had held a weapon on the heir to the throne. There were multiple witnesses. I had committed treason. There was little to do now but accept my punishment.

  ~

  A cold mist seeped through the barred window overhead, trailing towards the ground. I watched it shift in the dim twilight, flowing like water over the uneven paver stones that lined the dungeon floor. As far as prisons went, it wasn’t as bad as what I’d feared.

  I sat with my back to the wall, my head propped up and my eyes closed. My arms draped over my filthy knees. The ache in my tailbone grew with each hour, but I ignored it. That pain didn’t compare to the gnawing dread in my chest.

  There was no way I could get out of this. Nothing would save me now.

  Craning my head back, I stared up through the iron bars as footsteps approached. I listened to the shifting of pebbles as the guard moved on. That was the fourth time he’d been around in the past half hour. The castle was filled with unrest. I could only imagine how the king ranted to the council to let my punishment be swift.

  I should have known better than to antagonize Aed, but that one kiss changed everything. I’d never looked at Devlin as anything more than a cute, trusted confidant before that moment. But now...there was something between us. A spark, as cliché as that sounded. What was meant to be a rebellious statement for Aed backfired in a major way. I hadn’t expected to react so viscerally to Devlin’s kiss. I should have known Aed would fight him. Or even that Devlin would fight for me...but pulling a dagger on a prince? What was I thinking?

  I had wanted to save Devlin’s life. Plain and simple. That fact may now cost me my own.

  Wiping my hands down my face, I tried to erase the feeling of dread from when the guards dragged me through the streets earlier. I tried to drown out the sounds of chaos that fell upon the crowds. I still wore evidence of the fruit and vegetables that were tossed at me.

  I grabbed a bit of straw off the floor and bent it between my fingers, wishing it were something far more substantial. I wanted to break something. No. I wanted to stab something. What I wouldn’t give for a tussle with a Lorcan. Send me over the Wall. I was ready.

  A clanking from overhead drew my attention to the door. I peered through the dim candlelight.

  “Alright, you scum,” a gruff voice called as it descended the spiral stairs leading into my pit. Several cells were carved from the foundations of the castle, each one the same size and shape as mine. I’d yet to see more than a hand or foot protruding from the other cells, but I’d heard them speaking. “Dinner time.”

  Rising onto my knees, I waited for
the guard to approach my cell door. He was a squat man with a rotund belly, rumpled castle garments, and a bald head. A roll of fat lined the back of his head as he bent down to get an eyeful of me.

  “Well, what do we have here?” A wide grin stretched across his face, revealing a few missing teeth. “The traitor.”

  “I am no traitor.” I spat at him, satisfied when the glob smacked into his cheek.

  “That’s not very ladylike, is it?” His smile broadened as he wiped his cheek clean. “The king will hear of this, ya know?”

  I fell still.

  “It’s not right for a girl to know how to fight. To attack the crown prince…” he whistled. “That’ll get ya more than a little slap on the wrist. You can be sure the king will want everyone to see this!”

  Crawling forward on my knees, I gripped the bars. I could tell he knew something about my fate. “What do ya know?”

  When he shook his head, a double chin appeared, speckled with thick bits of oddly grown beard. “Not my place to say, is it?”

  “Tell me!” The colour fled from my knuckles as I pressed against the cage door.

  The man snorted and shook his head. He planted the soup tureen on his ample hip. “Don’t you be worrying that pretty little head of yours, lass. Ya won’t be keepin’ it for long.” He started laughing at his vulgar use of words.

  “A public beheading?” I felt cold. They hadn’t done anything so barbaric in ages.

  “Aye. Should be exciting. The whole town will be rounded up to come and see. Lucky me, I’ll have a front row spot.”

  That cold became bubbling bile rising in my throat. “Aed would never let that happen.”

  “Aed, is it?” His eyes grew wide. “Pardon me. I didn’t realise ya were on such personal speakin’ terms with the crown prince.”

  “I need to speak with him.”

  The man laughed. “Are you daft? Your head’s gonna roll for attackin’ him and now you think you get to talk with him? Did ya hit your own head on the ground a few times, lass?”

  “I deserve a trial.”

  “Ya assaulted a member of the royal family. There’ll be no trial for the likes of you. The king will decide your fate and that of your family.”

  “What?” My voice broke. “What about my family?”

  “Can’t let a traitor’s family live so close to the castle, now can they? No. They’ll be going over the Wall, sure enough.”

  “No!” To be banished over the Wall where they would be sitting ducks for the Lorcan was a fate worse than mine. At least my death would be swift. They would be left to endure the ruthlessness of the beasts before their souls were sucked out for good. “This isn’t right! They did nothing!”

  He ignored me as he slopped his ladle into the soup and dumped it through the bars into a small metal bowl at my feet. I didn’t move back as it splattered my dress.

  “Please! My family is innocent!”

  “They all are,” he called back over his shoulder and swept his arm towards the other cells. Hooting and the banging of soup bowls against the bar drove me back into the recesses of my cell. I ignored my meal, the aroma turning my stomach rancid as I slid down the wall and curled my knees into my chest.

  “They won’t survive a day over the Wall,” I muttered, beginning a slow rock. “I can’t let this happen.”

  Hours passed as I turned inwards, mourning the loss of my family. I didn’t like my sisters or my ma much for that matter, but I didn’t want to see them killed. I had to find a way to save them. No matter the cost.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  DEVLIN

  I WAS PISSED. I’D been out much of the night, trying to find out where Aed’s men had taken Taryn by the dying light of my mobile, but I had come up with nothing. Taryn had told me I’d never find the way in, but I couldn’t just stand around doing nothing, knowing that she was in danger.

  When my phone rang in my hand I answered it a bit too fast, somehow thinking Taryn would be calling, which was preposterous.

  “Hello?”

  “Devlin?” It was my da.

  I glanced down at the phone and noticed the hour. It was nearly ten. They would have returned from dinner with the O’Sheas and were likely checking to find out why I hadn’t come home yet. I had no idea what I was going to tell them about why I was out in the fields, or about the shiner I was sporting thanks to my tussle with Aed.

  “Thought I’d ring and let ya know your ma and I decided to stay with the O’Sheas tonight.”

  “Oh?” I asked. They never did stuff like that.

  “Well, they brought out a bottle of whiskey after dinner and your mother worried I had a few too many so we’re playing it safe. You okay?”

  “Aye. Thinking of turning in actually.” I rubbed my head against the throbbing there. “I’ve a bit of a headache.”

  “Me too.” Da chuckled. He had, indeed, had one too many.

  “Da, I may not be home when ya get back tomorrow,” I said, turning back towards the house. There was nothing more I’d be able to find out here in the dark.

  “Why’s that?”

  “I’m gonna take a bus to Dundrum Bay in the morning. Seamus is out there with a mate,” I lied. “I’m gonna see if he’s okay. Hopefully, I can convince him to come back with me. Ma said he could stay with us till things got sorted out with his da.” I knew she would have told him about our earlier conversation. They didn’t keep secrets. Or tell epic lies like I was.

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I may be gone a few days. Not sure. He’s a stubborn mule sometimes.”

  I could hear the phone shift in his hand as he traded ears. Ma was laughing in the background. I smiled despite the situation. It was good to hear her enjoying life again. If only for the night.

  “I’d say take as much time as you need to bring him back, but don’t you have orders to fill?”

  I groaned thinking of all the work I had left to do in my studio. It would take several days to get caught up, but I had more pressing matters. My art seemed so trivial in the grand scheme of things.

  “I do. I’ll get to it. And if I don’t, well, then I don’t.” I sighed.

  “Some things are more important than work,” Da said quietly.

  “Aye.”

  We said our goodbyes and I made my way back into the house.

  After a shower and tending to the shallow cut on my arm, I wanted nothing more than to lie down and pass out. I was going to need my strength tomorrow. I’d find a way to Taryn. Somehow. There had to be something I was missing.

  I was just about to crawl into bed when there was a pounding at my door. Glancing out of my window at the front stoop, I wondered who the hell would be ringing at this hour. I saw only the light of a fire-lit torch. My heart started to race.

  Without a second thought, my feet flew to the front door. I ripped it open and saw the prince had returned. There was another figure with him in the shadows, but I couldn’t make them out. The torch was sticking up out of the ground, casting dark shadows at odd angles.

  “Come to finish what you started?” I asked, joining him outside. My fists had curled themselves, ready to fight.

  The prince’s expression gave nothing away. His creepy silver eyes glowed in the light of the fire, giving him an appropriate otherworldly air.

  “I have come to end this, yes, but not in the manner you are thinking.”

  He gestured to the person behind him and I discovered it wasn’t one person, but two.

  “Seamus!” My eyes nearly fell out of my head at the sight of him. He looked a bit worse for wear, but he was standing before me, alive and well. He was without a shirt, so I could see that his shoulder had yet to fully heal. Bandages laced with black ooze still lingered, but he was alert and walking.

  A girl stood beside him, her thin arm wrapped around his waist. She appeared to be trying to help him walk, but Seamus seemed to be managing just fine. When she got closer I recognized her as Taryn’s friend, Tris.

 
“Are you alright?” I asked, taking a step towards him.

  “He’ll be fine,” Aed assured me.

  I ignored his assurance and took Tris’ spot to hold up my friend. She didn’t seem keen on giving up her position.

  “I’m alright, mate. I have a killer headache and I’m only now starting to feel my arm again, but I’m okay.” He glanced back at Tris. “Thanks to my guardian angel over there.”

  Leave it to Seamus to flirt with a bird even as he was on his deathbed.

  I walked him over to the front stoop and forced him to sit down.

  “We’ve done all we can for him,” Aed said. “The poison was not allowed to reach his heart thanks to Taryn’s quick thinking. It will take a few more days yet, but he will make a full recovery. Because of Taryn’s efforts, he’ll live.”

  At that, I turned my attention back on him. “And just where is Taryn?” I hissed. “What did your thugs do to her?” I marched over to where Aed was and stood nose to nose with him, daring him to lie to me.

  He narrowed his eyes, but he answered.

  “She’s in the dungeon for treason against her prince.”

  “Why, you son of a—” My fist was ready to throw a punch, but the sharp stab at my side caused me to stop. He’d pulled a blade on me.

  “I wouldn’t advise that.”

  I took a step back, giving myself and his blade a healthy distance apart.

  “While you are a skilled fighter in hand to hand blows, I fear you would be no match against me and my sword.”

  “Not in the mood for a fair fight today then?” I spat.

  He sheathed his blade.

  “I didn’t come here to fight. Only to tie up loose ends.”

  I glared at him but waited for him to explain.

  “Your human has been returned to this realm as per Taryn’s wishes. Our business here is done.”

  “Like bloody hell it is. You’re not leaving here until you tell me what you plan on doing about getting Taryn out of that cell.”