It hit the stage with a thud that echoed across the room. It lay there for a moment before rising and shaking out its lanky blue-black body. The entirety of it was covered in mottled scales and boney black spikes. It turned its enormous head toward me, piercing red eyes narrowed and angry.
“Now, shall we watch as the great Dragonslayer, Lillim Callina fights the evil dragon?” the Magician cried, gesturing at me with his tree branch.
I raised my hands, taking a step backward as smoke enveloped me once again. A wave of heat washed over me, and I flung myself to the side. I hit the stage hard, rolling to my feet, and as I turned to face the creature, it snorted black flame from its nose.
The lights dimmed, and a slow drum beat began to reverberate in the room like a beating heart. The dragon took another step toward me, and its immense bulk caused the stage to creak and strain. I glanced back toward the crowd, but they all stared at me transfixed, eyes glassy and unfocused.
“Great,” I mumbled as the dragon charged. I dodged, slipping by it as it crashed into the wall behind me. Wood shrieked and snapped as I charged at the magician. “What have you done with Caleb?” I cried as I reached him, my hand already arcing out in a punch.
“Borrowing his power to awaken Loki,” the magician replied, voice sober and cold. My fist lashed through his face… and nothing happened. It was like hitting a hologram.
“Yeah, that’s not going to work,” he replied, voice already fading away as his body vanished in a puff of crimson smoke. “Ta, ta for now.”
There was a creak behind me, and I whirled. The dragon stared at me, eyes filled with rage. It opened its hideous maw to reveal a mouth full of daggers and lunged at me, slamming into me with all its bulk. We crashed to the ground, and my head struck the ground so hard stars flashed by my eyes. It roared, fetid breath spraying across my face as it snapped at me, huge teeth crashing shut centimeters from my nose.
It reared back, thick black smoke pouring from its nostrils and opened its mouth wide. Flame roiled up from within, flashing out through the air between us. I screamed, shutting my eyes and throwing my arms up, desperate to try and stop the blow… only it didn’t come. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. My room stared back at me.
“Okay…” I murmured, sitting up in my bed. “That… was a dream?” I asked to no one in particular as I untangled myself from my nest of blankets. That was pretty much when I noticed I was still dressed in a blue-sequined bathing suit.
My heart hammered in my chest as I looked down at myself, running one hand over the blue sequin fabric just to confirm it was, in fact, real. There was a note attached to my left boot cuff with a piece of scotch tape. Very slowly, I pulled it free and stared at it because instead of words, it was nothing but a series of triangles and circles.
“Well, you’re not a very helpful note,” I told it, somewhat thankful that it was illegible because if it wasn’t… if it said something horrible, my head might just explode.
“Well, you’re not a very helpful person,” it squeaked at me in a voice that reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons.
I yelped, dropping the note like it was a live snake. “Everything is real,” it sang as it drifted toward the ground. “Everything is fake.” It added before vanishing in a flash of crimson flames.
“Great,” I said, staring at the burning ash that littered my carpet. “Just freaking great.”
My cell phone went off then, blaring at me from the nightstand. I glanced over at it, and my heart very nearly stopped because, somehow, school started in fifteen minutes. I stared at it, uncomprehending. Had the entire half of yesterday just vanished?
I snatched the phone from my desk and hit the green answer button.
“Hello?” I asked warily.
“Lillim?” the voice asked me back.
“Yes? Who is this?” I replied, wondering who the hell could possibly be calling me.
“It’s Connor. I’m outside, you ready?” he asked, and I started blinking like an idiot.
“What do you mean you’re outside?” I asked, dashing across the room and peering out my window. There was a black BMW sitting by the curb outside my house.
“I’m picking you up for school, obviously,” he huffed into the phone. “It’s part of my duties as escort, you see.”
“Uh huh,” I replied because, honestly, it was a little stalker-esque for me. I mean, how did he know where I lived? “Look, I don’t think I’m going to be going to school today. Something has come up.”
“That something better be going to school, Lillim. If you’re honestly telling me I drove across town to get you and you’re blowing me off, I may never help you to class again,” he said, a whiny edge skimming across the surface of his voice.
“Look, Connor, I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all, but I really need to find my boyfriend. I’m worried something happened to him.”
The silence on the other end of the line filled my ear, so long and absolute that it made my head spin. There was a weird sound that I couldn’t quite place, a sort of buzzing that reminded me of static. “Lillim, you need to come to school today. It’s really important.” He swallowed, voice a little higher-pitched than normal. “If you don’t, I’m pretty sure something bad will happen to you.”
I pulled the phone away and looked at it, trying to make sure I’d just heard him right. “Are you threatening me?” I asked a moment later.
“No,” he replied, voice half-strained, half-annoyed. “I’m just pretty sure it’s a horrible day to ditch classes on your second day. That kind of thing will get around and then none of the teachers will give you any slack.”
His argument was, of course, perfectly reasonable. But I needed to find Caleb. Pissing off a couple teachers was the last thing on my mind. Besides, it wasn’t like I was going to go to college. Despite what my dad wanted for me, I was a Dioscuri, a supernatural warrior. It wasn’t like I could just turn that off and go to class. That was crazy, right?
“Lillim, do I need to come up there and get you? Because I will.” He took a deep breath. “Look, please just come. If you don’t I’ll get marked down and I really can’t afford that this late in the year…” he trailed off, but for some reason, his words reverberated in my mind over and over. I didn’t really want him to get in trouble over me…
“Connor, I really just…”
“Lillim, just come to classes. Whatever it is can wait until school is over. I’m sure it will be fine.”
“But…” I swallowed because maybe it could wait. I mean what was a few hours? I shook my head. That was a weird thought, right? I shouldn’t be thinking thoughts like that, right? Caleb was in trouble... I opened my mouth to tell him that it was impossible and that I was sorry, and well a whole host of other excuses because who the hell was he to tell me what to do, but when I opened my mouth, I said, “whatever, I’ll be down in a second.”
“Good, I’ll be waiting,” he said, and the phone clicked off, leaving me in silence. Had I really just agreed to going to class with him after what had happened? Just like that? What the hell was wrong with me…?
Whatever, I could just get changed and ditch him. I threw open my closet door to do just that, and my jaw hit the floor and rolled under the bed. All of my clothing had been replaced by sequined swimsuits in every color of the rainbow.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” I mumbled.
A few minutes later, I burst out the door, blushing. I glanced up and down the street before hightailing it toward Connor’s car.
“Why are you wearing a trench coat?” Connor asked, staring at me through the passenger window of his black BMW, a confused look on his face. “Wait…” he swallowed as red spread across his face. “You’re naked underneath that, aren’t you?”
My face turned bright scarlet as I edged toward the car, one arm gripping the top part of the trench coat closed. I wasn’t naked, per se, but since I didn’t feel comfortable strolling out of my house wearing nothing but a sapphire blue sequined bikini, my
options had been pretty limited. Thankfully, my dad’s trench coat was lying on the floor beside his bed. I say thankfully because all of his other clothing had mysteriously vanished.
Still, as I leaned down to look at Connor through the window, I couldn’t help feeling like a stripper. What was next, being the girl who pops out of giant cakes at parties? “So…” I said, glancing nervously away from him as his eyes drifted toward my chest. “How do you feel about ditching class and hanging out with me this morning?”
He gulped so hard I could actually hear it. “Are you screwing with me?” he asked, mouth agape.
“No,” I replied, kneeling down so that I wasn’t bent over his car like a hooker. “I need you to take me to buy some clothes.”
He blinked at me for several seconds. “You want me to take you to the…” he trailed off for a moment and shook his head. “You are naked under there!”
“I am not naked,” I said. My cheeks burned so hot that I was sure I could roast marshmallows on them. “I’m wearing a very tasteful blue one-piece swimsuit.”
“Uh… why?” he asked, then shook his head again. “You know what, never mind,” he added, opening his door.
“Why are you opening your door, getting out of your car, and coming toward me?” I said, my words falling out of my mouth so fast it was just a jumble of sounds in my ears. I took a step back as Connor smiled, reached out, and opened the passenger side door. With a flourish he gestured for me to get inside.
“After you, Lillim,” he said, and his voice was very strange sounding. I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it was definitely off.
I stared at him for a long time before getting into the car. “No one’s ever held a car door open for me before.”
“It’s the polite thing to do,” he replied, shutting the door once I was seated. The sound of it made a small whimper escape my throat. It made me feel trapped, and as I reached up, grabbing the seat belt and securing it in place, the feeling grew demonstrably stronger. Had I really just gotten in a car with a boy I met yesterday wearing nothing but a bathing suit? That didn’t seem like me.
When he got back in the car, he smiled at me. “Okay, pretty lady, where are we going?”
“Okay…” I swallowed, shutting my eyes. “Here’s the thing. I don’t have any money.”
“You want me to take you shopping, but you don’t have any money?” he asked, eyes narrowing at me.
“Yeah…” I replied, drawing out the word. “It got stolen along with all of my clothing.”
“And how, exactly, do you plan on buying anything without money?” he asked, and I could see gears start to turn behind his eyes. His cheeks reddened, and he turned away from me and stared out the windshield.
“I was hoping…” I said, but before I could say I would pay him back when my dad got home, he started the car. We lurched forward so quickly that I was thrown into my seat.
“Look, um… I’m flattered and all, but yesterday you said you had a boyfriend and today you’re throwing yourself at me in my car,” he said, voice flat and angry. “You come out here dressed like a stripper, saying you want me to buy you things because you have no money. It doesn’t make any sense, Lillim. It only makes sense if you realized who my parents are.”
“Your parents?” I asked, confusion lacing my words as I stared at him.
“I’ll buy you your clothes, or whatever, but don’t ever do this again. It’s not cool,” he said. “And find a new ride home from school.”
“Connor, what are you talking about?”
“You aren’t the first girl to throw herself at me when she found out who my parents are,” he replied, not bothering to look at me as he stared ahead with laser-like focus. “It’s never happened quite this fast, but still…”
“Connor, I have no idea who your parents are,” I said. “All my clothes really were stolen by a crazy magician who kidnapped my boyfriend last night.”
He gave me a look that was mostly annoyed and only slightly amused. “Look, you don’t have to lie and make up some crazy story now.”
“Connor,” I said, blushing because I knew how ridiculous my request was. “Do you want to go look in my closet?”
“What?”
“Evidently, I have somehow convinced you that I am a raging slut who wants you because of your parents’ money. So stop the car and let’s go up to my room. I’ll let you look in my closet,” I said, my voice cold and empty. It was weird because I’ve been angry before, but not like this. Never before had someone made me so… so… “Besides, I planned on paying you back.”
“Um…” he said, looking over at me as pretty much every emotion in the world swam across his face.
“I thought you were a nice guy. A little forward maybe, but a nice guy nonetheless.” I turned away from him and stared out the window. “But you aren’t. You’re just messed up in the head.”
“I am a nice guy. It’s why I’m taking you to buy clothing.”
“Whatever,” I said.
“Look, Lillim,” he swallowed, “my parents own the biggest car dealership in the state. I’ve had lots of people pretend to be my friend just because they’re so rich. I even had a girl come knock on my door wearing nothing but whipped cream.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s a made up story,” I said, glancing at him. His cheeks were bright red.
“You keep thinking that,” he said, and for some reason, I didn’t think he was lying.
Chapter 5
A couple hours later, we were at school. I was dressed in jeans and a grey t-shirt that said Orange. I’ll admit I didn’t quite understand the new shirt, but Connor had insisted on it because the cute blonde sales girl had insisted on it first. Evidently, orange was the new pink.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t be heading to class?” I asked as we sat in his car in the very farthest corner of the parking lot.
“Look Lillim, we’re already late. The best option is to just wait for the next period to start and walk in like nothing happened. Do you really think the teachers are going to notice you were gone?” He smiled at me, trying to be comforting. Instead, he just made me feel ridiculous. “You’ve been here all of one day, after all. Most of the teachers have a hundred and fifty different kids. Even with your hair, you’re hardly noticeable. Welcome to facelessville, population us.”
I was about to respond to that as soon as I thought of something to say, honest. I was opening my mouth, words on the tip of my tongue when a scream ripped through my mind. It obliterated my senses, throwing me backward against the seat. I grabbed onto the ‘oh crap’ handle above the door for support as what felt like a nuclear bomb went off inside my skull.
I sucked in a breath through clenched teeth as Connor stared at me, open-mouthed. “What, what is it?” he asked, voice high-pitched and scared. His hands reaching out to… what? I’m not sure.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, forcing the words out even as my stomach filled with dread. There was so much power radiating from the main building I could scarcely see. Everything was tinged with a sort of reddish, green haze. I yanked open the car door and staggered outside like a drunk. The sunlight was so bright in my eyes, I had to squint. Connor threw open his door and clambered out of the car.
“You don’t seem fine, Lillim,” he said, stepping up to me and taking my hand in his. Which, while a little unexpected, actually helped me calm down. “Let me take you to the nurse.”
“She…” I gritted my teeth together. “She won’t be able to help,” I finished, turning toward him as I pulled my hand away and clapped it down on his shoulder. “Stay here, Connor. Promise me. You’ll stay here where it’s safe. I don’t want you to get in my way, you could get hurt.”
“Um…” he said, his eyes going as wide as dinner plates as he stared at me, mouth threatening to twitch into a grin. “Okay…”
“Okay,” I repeated, shutting my eyes and allowing my magic to flow around me, spinning it into a web of sticky spidersilk-like thread that shunted away t
he brute force of the power coming from the school.
A loud explosion from the center building shattered my concentration, and without thinking, I sprinted toward it. Connor, that liar, was right behind me as we raced through the parking lot toward the building. A thick plume of black smoke rose from the building, though it was still shielded by what looked like a coffee shop. Why a high school had its own coffee shop was beyond me.
I reached down to grab my magical swords, the twin blades of Shirajirashii, and realized much to my horror, that I didn’t have them with me. They were still sitting at home, tucked away under my bed. I hadn’t bothered to grab them because, well, I wasn’t sure why…
“Dammit!” I cursed as I rounded the corner, my chest heaving from the effort.
Connor was still a few yards away, which was good because what was getting to its feet just outside a pair of twisted metal doors was a freaking cyclops. I’ll admit, I was a little worried about regular humans seeing the monster, but usually, people tended to rationalize away what they saw. If I got rid of this guy quickly enough, I was sure the damage control wouldn’t be that difficult.
The cyclops stood nearly twelve feet tall and had skin like tarnished bronze. Glinting golden armor hung about his frame in such a way as to suggest it was more for show than for actual usage. At least, I was pretty sure that’s what it was for because cyclopean flesh was harder than steel.
The cyclops took a step back toward the door, one massive three fingered hand reaching back to grab an enormous hammer from a sling on his back. The weapon glittered like a huge sapphire as he pulled it free. His steps were so loud on the concrete, I couldn’t figure out why no one else had shown up yet. Then again, lots of monsters had a way of distorting reality so that no one noticed them. It was why they could pick off normal people without anyone noticing.
“Hey jackass!” I called, stepping around the corner, my hands clenched into fists. “What the hell do you think you’re doing on my turf?”
Hardboiled: Not Your Average Detective Story (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 5) Page 4
