Persephone (The Lily Harper Series Book 4) by H.P. Mallory Read Free Book Online Page B

he approached me.
    “Dude, didn’t you just hear a word I said?” Bill inquired, but Tallis ignored him, his eyes fastened on me.
    “Yer sword, lass,” he said, once he was a foot or so away. Then he turned to face Bill. “Ah will purify the contaminants from the water with the steel o’ her blade,” he explained.
    “Ah,” Bill nodded. “Good thinkin’, yo.”
    I reached for my sword, which was right beside me and resting against the embankment. I rotated it so that I was holding the blade end before I handed it to Tallis. Once he touched the grip, what felt like a bolt of lightning hit the sword and traveled straight up my arm. I heard myself gasping as I tried to release the blade, but couldn’t. It was as if my hands were superglued to the blade.
    I looked up at Tallis and saw him clenching his jaw and wincing. I tried to ask what was happening, but couldn’t open my mouth to form words. It was like my body was suddenly on strike. I vaguely recalled Bill freaking out beside me, but his voice sounded distant, like I was underwater.
    I wasn’t sure what prompted me, but I tightened my hold around the blade of my sword until I felt it cutting into my palms. Thinking I was in a dream, I glanced down at my hands, and my movements seemed overly slow and delayed. One thing I did not fail to recognize, though, was that I was bleeding. A wide line of bright blood trickled steadily from my fisted hand down my arms. Still, I couldn’t release my sword.
    A bright light suddenly blinded me and I didn’t know where I was. But I felt sure it wasn’t the Dark Wood. Nope, there was nothing dark about this place at all. Instead, the sky was a bright, cerulean blue, dotted with white, puffy clouds. A cool breeze that carried the scent of wildflowers and rich, moist earth refreshed my face. I found myself standing in front of an enormous lake that reflected the sky and made it look like the clouds were floating on the surface. The lake was surrounded by trees in every shade of green, and purple flowers accentuated the grassy areas beneath them. Off in the distance towered enormous verdant mountains.
    “Ta tu an talamh, an t-uisce agus an speir.”
    Hearing a deep voice, I turned to find Tallis standing beside me. Only he wasn’t the same Tallis that was with me in the Dark Wood. This Tallis seemed younger, and not quite so jaded or cynical. This Tallis also didn’t have the scar that ran from his eyebrow to his jaw.
    He repeated the words again, and I suddenly understood what they meant.
    You are the earth, the water and the air.
    He smiled at me and reached down to grip both of my much smaller hands in his. I glanced at our entwined hands and noticed neither one of us was wearing any clothing. But I didn’t feel any shame or embarrassment. On the contrary, I felt beautiful, so natural and right.
    “Ta tu an ceann. Ta tu tar eis teacht duinn,” Tallis said and inside my head, I understood the words.
    You are the one. You have come for us.
    Although his words were meant to encourage me, I was suddenly overcome with a wave of apprehension and anxiety.
    “How can you be certain?” I asked, not even sure what I was asking or why.
    “Is doigh liom e. Ta a fhios agam,” Tallis answered.
    I feel it. I know.
    Some of the anxiety began to evaporate as I took comfort in his words.
    “Is mar a bhi se I gceist I gconai a bheith,” he finished.
    It is as it was always meant to be.
    I blinked and the vision was suddenly gone, leaving me shrouded in pitch blackness. I blinked again, trying to make sense of the darkness that seemed to swallow me.
    “Lils!” Bill screamed as he suddenly appeared in my line of sight. “Snap out of it!” he yelled before grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
    “I’m … I’m okay!” I yelled back, bringing my arms up and extricating myself from his iron grasp. My breathing was no more than short gasps as I tried to understand what just happened.
    Tallis.
    His name suddenly made me wheel