Better Off Dead (10 page)

“
Then ye are hardly prepared,” he said as he studied me for a few more moments.

“
I’m afraid I’m not,” I answered as something occurred to me, something I should have asked Jason, but hadn’t. “Can I die?”

T
he bladesmith’s eyes widened, as if he weren’t expecting the question. Then he simply dropped his attention back to his lap again, but not before nodding. “Aye, ye kin die.” He faced the sleeping Bill. “Isna that why ye hae yer angel guardian?”

I glanced over at Bill whose leg was twitching as he slept
, giving him the look of a sleeping bulldog dreaming of running. I faced the man again and sighed heavily, now aware that Bill couldn’t really protect me with anything other than his magical light show. It was disconcerting. “Yes.”

Then
the bladesmith did something completely out of character, or what I imagined was out of character. He actually smiled, and the smile reached his eyes, brightening his face. At that moment, I could honestly say he was not only a handsome man, but incredibly so.

“
He isna mooch of ah guardian,” he said simply, the smile falling from his lips again. He continued to whittle as the silence in the room grew. Then he looked over at me again. “Fur ah thoozin poonds ah day, Ah will provide ye wif trainin’. An Ah will train ye how tae use yer sword.”

I swallowed hard, knowing I needed all the help I could get. I wasn
’t sure what my financial situation was, but remembered when Jason said AE would be in charge of my bills. “Okay,” I said quickly, immediately realizing that I needed training and then some. If I had any hopes of navigating the Underground City and returning, I needed the bladesmith and then some.

“Then was the fear a little quieted that in my heart's lake had endured throughout the night, which I had passed so piteously.”

—
   
Dante’s
Inferno

SIX

I awoke to find myself lying on my side, facing the log wall of Tallis Black’s cabin. The knots in the wood were still ripe with golden sap, which had crystallized into something that resembled amber. I sat up, rubbed my eyes and turned around, wondering if I were alone. I was. And, stranger still, I was sleeping on the mattress in the corner of the room. The same mattress Bill had his sights set on wh
ich Tallis had so unmistakably disallowed him. I was fairly certain I’d fallen asleep on the floor, with only the dying fire and a fur to keep me warm. As to how I ended up on the mattress? That was anyone’s guess.

I stood up, suddenly feeling my heartbeat in my throat as it dawned on me that Bill was nowhere to be seen. Did my angel guardian pack up and leave? In the depths of my soul, I couldn’t imagine he would, but fear of being left to my own defenses with the bladesmith continued to plague me. Not that I got any sort of vibe from Tallis to think he was interested in me in a ... sexual way (or in any way at all, really), but there was undeniably something not quite right about him. It was almost like a natural reflex built into me—that I shouldn’t trust Tallis Black.

“Okay, so just what in the hell do you want me to tell him, Conan?”

I heard Bill’s voice from outside the door and relief washed over me. Wasting no time, I hurried across the small house, opening the door wide as a gush of frigid air burst in. At the garish display of sunlight suddenly streaming into my face, I held my hand above my eyes. Once my retinas were able to refocus, I noticed Bill standing right in front of the door, his hands on his hips. He was glaring at Tallis, who was bent over a tree stump, an axe in one hand, the other holding a log in place. The demon herd were behind Tallis, scouting through the bushes like curious dogs. Tallis lifted the axe above his head before bringing it down on the log that rested on the tree stump. He split the log in half, one piece ricocheting through the air and landing beside Bill, who glanced down at it indifferently.

One of the demons lifted its head at the sound of the log splitting, then glared at Bill. Bill growled at it and the ugly thing disappeared back into the undergrowth.

“Tell him she isna ready,” Tallis said in a monotone, frowning at Bill before he returned his attention to the task at hand—apparently the chopping of firewood.

“An’ you really think he’s gonna listen to me?” Bill continued, shaking his head steadfastly. “Shit, I can’t even reach the bastard!”

“She needs trainin’,” Tallis answered while heaving the axe over his head again. His biceps bulged so much they looked like they were going to pop right off him. Not that I was paying any attention ...

“What are you talking about?” I asked finally, no longer wanting to play the role of detective, piecing the clues together. And besides, I really couldn’t say I was exactly comfortable with the fact that I couldn’t tear my attention away from Tallis’s well-proportioned upper body.

“Mornin’, Pollyanna,” Bill said, eyeing me with a huge smile. I noticed Tallis didn’t even glance up. I just smiled nervously at Bill, still worried about the subject of their conversation.

“Morning,” I answered quickly. “What are you arguing about?”

Bill sighed, glancing at Tallis once more, then turned to face me. His eyes were laced with worry. “Skeletor texted me with our first retrievin’ mission,” he answered, eyeing me sharply as if to judge my reaction.

“Our first retrieving mission?” I repeated, my heart dropping to my feet as sweat started beading along my forehead and the small of my back. “You mean to the Underground?”

Bill bit his lip and nodded, the expression on his face telling me he wasn’t happy with the news either.

“But,” I started, shaking my head against the idea. I was about to find myself en route to the equivalent of hell. I had a feeling it would end up being a one-way ticket.

“Ye cannae go,” Tallis interrupted, still refusing to so much as look at me. Instead, he picked up another log and held it in place. “Unless
ye want tae take Streethorn oop oon his offer ah a hundred years in Shade.”

Roughly translated, that meant Tallis thought I would surely die were I to venture into the Underground City. And even though I didn’t know what awaited me in the Underground, I had to agree with him.

“I thought you were going to train me?” I started, my voice sounding strained, panicked.

Tallis finally glanced up at me, his left eyebrow arched in obvious irritation as his navy blue eyes burned with something I had yet to put my finger on. “Trainin’ ye will take time ... months. Ye donnae hae months.”

“So what’s the answer then?” Bill demanded, kicking at a demon when it chanced a little too close to his foot.

Heaving the axe over his head again, Tallis cleaved the log in half and tossed both pieces into a pile beside him. Then he lifted the axe one more time and hefted it into the tree stump, standing up straight to face us, all seven feet of him. I guessed his chopping chores were finished for the day.

“Ye take meh wif ye.”

“You would go with us?” I blurted out, surprised down to my toes as a wave of relief rode through me. Tallis, in and of himself, was something fearful, and if anyone could take on the Underground City, I was convinced he could.

Tallis nodded and wiped the sawdust from his hands onto his kilt. I felt my eyes stray to the valleys of broad muscle on his pectorals. My gaze slowly strayed downward, eating up the beauty of his rock-hard stomach to his belly button. I didn’t miss the trail of black, wiry hair, which disappeared beneath his kilt either. Catching myself checking him out, and very obviously, I pulled my attention back to his face, suddenly embarrassed when I found his navy eyes studying me intently.

“Aye. Fur ah price.”

“Of course!” Bill railed, throwing his arms up in the air. “Forget philan ... philantrop ...”

“Philanthropy,” I finished for him, offering a small, but encouraging smile.

“Thanks, nerdlet,” he said with a frown, facing Tallis again. “What’s yer price this time? Her firstborn?”

Tallis appeared to ignore Bill and simply faced me. “Fifty thoosain poonds.”

“Fifty thousand! Fuck, dude!” Bill railed out, covering his heart with his hand as if he were having an apoplectic fit.

“Fifty thoosain poonds an’ Ah also want th
’ credit fur retrievin’ the sool Streethorn wants ye ta retrieve.”

“Okay, done,” I piped up instantly, placing more importance on my life than the money and the soul combined.

“What the hell are you gonna do with fifty thousand pounds? You got plans ta buy Sherwood Forest?” Bill continued. “An’ for that matter, it’s not like you’re a Retriever; so what the hell do you want the credit for?”

Tallis finally faced Bill and his expression wasn’t a happy one. “Mah reasons are mah own.”

“Whatevs,” Bill answered, shaking his head before he apparently thought better of it. “Fifty thousand clams is a lot of money, Conan, how do we even know you’re worth it?”

“Ah hae traversed the Oonderground moony times,” Tallis started, offering his explanation to me entirely. Apparently, he was well aware of who owned the checkbook. “Ah am extremely str
oong an’ nae one can wield ah sword sooch as Ah kin.”

“This ain’t an interview, Braggadouche,” Bill coughed.

But Tallis ignored Bill and faced me, his jaw tight. “Ye will be safe wif meh.”

They were exactly the words I needed to hear.

“Okay, so what’s stopping you from leading us into the Underground and then just leaving our sorry asses there?” Bill continued. “Why should we trust you?”

Tallis never pulled his gaze from mine. “Ye have m
ah word,” he said softly. “Ah willna leaf ye.”

I swallowed hard as the truth in his words appeared in his eyes. It wasn’t like I knew Tallis Black at all, but there was something about him that made me believe that his word was something he never broke. Or maybe that was just my own dumb wishful thinking.

“Ye kin pay the debt in installments,” Tallis added softly.

“Okay,” I said, knowing there was no other alternative. I didn’t want to end up in Shade. I didn’t want to become another AE Retriever statistic. I wanted to succeed and I was smart enough to realize that I wouldn’t succeed without the protection of this man.

“Yer word,” Tallis said, his eyes narrowing on me.

“You have my word.”

Tallis simply nodded and glanced at Bill, who grumbled something unintelligible, fisting his hands in his pockets as he apparently engaged in a whispered argument with himself. Tallis returned his midnight blue gaze to me again and neither of us said a word, just stared at one another for four seconds ... not that I was counting.

It was Tallis who finally broke the silence. “First things first ... ye will need yer sword.”

“What in the hell are we wastin’ time with a freakin’ sword, yo?” Bill interrupted. “Make her a machine gun!”

Tallis glanced at Bill indifferently. “Ye are an angel an’ yit, ye ken verra little aboot th’ Oonderground City.”

“Yeah, dude, I’ve never been there,” Bill said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “We’ve been through this.”

Tallis frowned more intensely, taking a deep breath as if it were all he could do to maintain his personal space without wringing Bill’s thick neck. “The oonly way tae kill a
h demon is by way ah a sword forged frae iron ah this forest.”

“Then you will forge me a sword?” I asked softly, the words dying on my tongue as Tallis approached me. I felt myself gulp when he was only a mere foot away, studying me with those intense eyes, eyes that reflected a deep, dark void. Somehow, and I’m not sure why, the scar bisecting his cheek seemed more pronounced.

“Then get on it, yo,” Bill interrupted from directly behind Tallis, coming closer to ensure I was safe, I guessed.

“Yer bo
ody will dictate how Ah create yer sword,” Tallis said quietly, taking another few steps towards me. It seemed with each step he took, my heart rate increased. It was just off-putting and slightly uncanny how he seemed able to stare right through me.

“What do you mean?” I whispered, feeling as if I were succumbing to the seductive tone of his voice.

He said nothing, but held his hands out, so each of his palms were an inch or so away from my face.

“What the hell,” Bill started.

“Ah willna hurt her,” Tallis snapped at Bill although his eyes were still on mine. Then he simply closed his eyes and dropped his head slightly, as if he were centering all his attention on his palms. I could see his lips moving, as he chanted something only known to him. He pressed his hands even closer to my temples although he never touched me. He brought his hands down my neck to my shoulders, hovering a fraction of an inch above my body. He hesitated only briefly above my breasts before continuing his descent down to my navel where he paused a moment longer. He spread his hands out to encapsulate my hips and stopped, his brows knotting in the middle. Then he opened his eyes and his lips were suddenly tight as he inhaled deeply.

“Ye canna go
o ta the Oonderground,” he said simply, dropping his hands as he took a few steps away from me.

“What?” I ground out, my eyes going wide. “What do you mean I can’t go? Why?”

Bill stepped forward and threw his hands on his hips. “What the hell was that, Bubba?” he demanded. “First you’re a blacksmith, er a bladesmith, and now a fuckin’ mime?”

But Tallis ignored Bill,
instead studying me with eyes that were so piercing, I couldn’t hold his gaze.

“Ye hae never known ah man,” he said simply, his eyes narrowing on me with an unreadable expression.

“She ne’er knew what man?” Bill gurgled.

“The lass doesna ken wh
it it ’tis ta be wif ah man,” Tallis said again.

“What the hell are you talkin’ ’bout, dude?” Bill continued, grilling Tallis with his beady-eyed expression.

Tallis rolled his eyes. “She is ah virgin, man!” he finally roared out.