Pursuit: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 4)

by J. A. Cipriano

  Masataka dodged, and the spear changed course, suddenly darting to the left. The purple and blue ribbons wrapped around Masataka, tripping him up. He sprawled to the dirt again as my mother slammed into him like a hurtling comet.

  She caught him square in the back with both fists, punching him down into the sand of the killing fields. The arrows came down a second later as my mother grabbed hold of him and flung his body in front of her. Masataka’s arrows slammed into him and exploded.

  I turned away because it was so bright that spots danced in front of my eyes. As the dust cleared, my mother stood there, her boot on Masataka’s neck. He wasn’t moving but his eyes were open. “You came here to kill my child, Masataka Mawara, and you foolishly thought you could beat three of the most powerful Dioscuri by yourself?”

  My mother stared down at him for a long time before moving her foot a fraction of an inch. He gasped and then like a crazy person began to laugh. “No,” he coughed between fits of laughter. “I want you to kill me.”

  “That is something I can do,” my mother said, kneeling down next to him, her knee on his throat. “I’m going to crush you throat and leave you here to die, alone and unwanted.”

  “Something’s wrong,” I said.

  “Diana, don’t do it,” my father said at the same time. My mother turned, glaring at both of us. “This is too easy. Masataka isn’t this stupid,” my father added.

  “What’s the matter with you two? We need to kill him now, while we still have the chance.” My mother very nearly screamed in frustration.

  “Something’s wrong,” I said again and stared at Masataka for a long time. “I don’t know what it is, but he wants you to kill him. Why?”

  “Because if he dies, then you will die too, Lillim” Caleb’s voice echoed across the killing fields. We all turned our heads to see Caleb standing there. “That’s what he isn’t telling you. Something about the spell they did to bring you back tied your lives together. If he dies, so do you.”

  “You mean I’m bound to a psychopath that wants to kill me?” I screamed and watched as my mother removed her knee from his throat.

  “It doesn’t matter, my daughter,” Sabastin Callina said, wrapping one arm around me and hugging me close to him. “I’ll put him in a deep dark hole, somewhere he can’t escape.”

  “It’s Masataka Mawara, Dad. He can escape from any hole you put him in,” I cried, suddenly so angry I didn’t know what to do. So we were just supposed to let Masataka live even though he killed his brother and tried to kill me because to execute him would make me die? That was crap!

  “Or we do things my way,” Caleb said, a huge grin on his face. He bent down, leaning close to Masataka Mawara and poked him in the chest. “The Prince and I talked it over. And you know what we realized? You’re a dick.”

  Caleb stood, and his waved one hand. The scenery around us melted together, sliding into itself like gobs of melted crayons. Then it all snapped back together, flicking back in place like a humongous rubber band. The air whipped around us, crashing down on me like a tsunami, driving me to my knees in the dirt. Masataka screamed, his body arcing upward. Blue fire lit across the ground, swallowing both of us in icy heat.

  “What are you doing?” my mother yelled, turning toward Caleb, her eyes narrowed in fury and began stomping toward him.

  “Cleaving the bond between them,” he said amiably. “See, us gods.” Caleb jerked a thumb at his chest. “Bound them together. I’m just… unbinding them. Well,” Caleb added, smirking. “The Blue Prince is doing that. He thinks it will be delicious.”

  “Then what happens?” my father asked, glancing from me to Masataka as blue fire danced across our skin.

  “Then you do whatever you want to Masataka and it won’t hurt Lillim?” Caleb offered with a shrug.

  The blaze died away, leaving me in a rush. I lay there, sweat clinging to my body and shivered as the cool air struck me. Beside me, Masataka seemed to be in no better shape. He rolled over, his face still in the dirt, hands clutching at the soft sand. He turned his head toward me, and his face was split by a grin so large that I couldn’t believe the size of it.

  “Finally,” Masataka cooed, his Vajra beginning to glow the color of rusty metal. “Finally, the chain is broken. I’d come to terms with the fact that killing you would kill me. It’s why I’ve been going about it in a somewhat non-serious way. But now, that won’t be a problem.”

  Masataka Mawara stood, getting to his feet in a flash. He inhaled, breathing in deeply through his nose. The whole of Lot shuddered, shaking beneath our feet. He lifted his left hand, and his trident was just there.

  “Mom,” I screamed as she turned toward him, hands still gripping her weapons. Shock burst across her face.

  “Boo,” he said, driving his trident up under her ribcage. The triple prongs exploded out her back, just under her neck. He released his hold on the trident, and my mother fell back against the dirt of the killing fields in a fountain of blood.

  Chapter 16

  “I’ve been planning for this moment since the day you were born, Lillim,” Masataka Mawara said. “And this time, there won’t be any demons to save you. I’ve gone ahead and sent your buddy, Ordain, back to Hell.”

  He stepped over the fallen body of my mother as breath shuddered out of her. My heart stopped then and everything faded into a sort of weird gray color. I tried to speak, tried to move my body but I couldn’t do more than lay there, only now, I couldn’t see because tears were clouding my vision. No. I swallowed and shook my head. That wound might look bad… but it was my mother. She could heal that, right? Right?

  I looked up at Masataka, and my blood pounded so hard in my temples that I thought I was going to explode. I tried to move toward him. How dare he do that to my mother! Demonic healing or not… he didn’t have to stab her like that.

  “What have you done?” my father asked, his voice strained with so many emotions it was hard to quite pinpoint one. Anger, sadness, fury, despair? Take your pick, they were all there.

  He took a step forward, and the sky around us darkened. Storm Heart blazed in his hand like a living bolt of lightning, making shadows leap across the horizon.

  Masataka waved his hand and pretty much every Dioscuri in Lot appeared around us. So there had been an army with him. Somehow, he’d hidden all those people with glamour.

  “Seize him,” Masataka commanded. The army surged forward. So many people pounced on my father that it was hard to see him under the mass of Dioscuri. More stepped up beside me, but none of them touched me because I was still too busy curling into a ball on the ground.

  “To answer your question, Sabastin, I was hoping tall, blond, and dopey there,” Masataka said, glancing at Caleb, “would cleave our bond. I knew he wouldn’t let you kill me, not if it meant destroying Lillim too. So I hid the army. I kept placing all of you in ridiculous situations over and over so he’d release me.” Masataka flicked his wrist, and the shadows seemed to bend around him. “Admittedly, I was starting to lose hope. But I knew Diana wouldn’t be able to resist. She’s like a feral dog.”

  “You used me?” Caleb said, but it wasn’t his voice. It was deeper, throatier. His head cocked to the side.

  “Yes,” Masataka said. “Your host is weak, and you’re an ass. I knew Caleb would be able to talk you into it because he thought I wanted to die.” He shrugged. “That was never in the cards.”

  “You killed your brother,” I said, flopping onto my back to stare at him. For whatever reason, I still felt too weak to move. So how was he hopping around like the goddamn energizer bunny?

  “That was… regrettable,” Masataka said after a long moment. “But he would understand.”

  “Oh, you don’t really think that,” Caleb said, his voice thrumming with wicked intentions. “You’ve boxed that tasty little morsel up for now, haven’t you, Masataka?” Caleb smirked, his face twisting into the same grin I’d seen spread across so many faces in the past. That… wasn’t Caleb, at least
, not right now.

  “Say what you want, Prince,” Masataka said. “Mitsoumi was a weak leader. I will use the throne to drive a stake through the heart of the underworld. He never… could have done that. Years from now, people won’t even remember this day.”

  “Talking, talking,” Caleb said, sliding up next to Masataka and trailing one hand up Masataka’s chest. It happened so fast that I didn’t even see Caleb cross the distance between them. “So much talking.”

  Masataka’s eye twitched as Caleb licked his cheek. One long, slow movement that left Masataka’s face covered in saliva. “You taste like arrogance, Masataka,” Caleb crooned. “It’s very nearly my favorite flavor after greed and strawberry-vanilla swirl.” Caleb poked Masataka in the chest. “But there is chocolate too. I do so love chocolate. I should dip you in chocolate before I suck the marrow from your bones.”

  “Neat,” Masataka said, trying to push Caleb away, but the bigger man’s hands clamped around Masataka’s wrists. He spun Masataka around in an instant before cradling him like a dancer.

  “Oh no, my play thing, we’re just getting started,” Caleb cooed, mouth only inches from Masataka’s throat. Masataka shivered as Caleb’s tongue snaked out again and slid along the flesh of Masataka’s neck.

  Masataka shut his eyes for a split second, his body trembling as he reached one hand up behind Caleb, digging his fingers into my boyfriend’s back. “Is this what you want, Caleb? Is it really?” Masataka asked, voice husky as he kissed Caleb full on the mouth.

  “Oh my god,” I said as some very complex thoughts whipped through my mind at breakneck speed, none of which I was too keen on examining in the near future.

  Caleb’s eyes shot open as a mixture of blue and orange flame began to dance along his flesh. Bits of him started to flake away, flitting through the wind like ash. He reached out, shoving Masataka away with one stilted, jerky movement. Masataka hit the dirt and sat there, grinning like an idiot.

  “Stop,” Caleb growled in his normal voice… and I don’t think he was talking to Masataka.

  “But we’re just getting started, Caleb,” Masataka cooed, looking up from the ground and smiling coyly, curling one finger at my boyfriend.

  Caleb took a step back, stumbling backward in the dirt as his body actually caught fire. It was like watching someone struck with a match after being doused with gasoline. My boyfriend took one step, two as blue flame whipped around him, chasing away the dancing oranges that had been there a second ago.

  “You will do as I say, Caleb,” Caleb said, but it wasn’t his voice. It was the voice of the Blue Prince “I am the master. You are the puppet.”

  Caleb grunted, falling to his knees in the dirt. “No,” he said, fingers clawing at the black sand of the killing fields. “We’re supposed to be partners,” my boyfriend whispered, voice barely louder than the sizzle and pop of the flames.

  “So Lillim, how about we finish this once and for all?” Masataka asked. He was a few feet away, walking toward me. His trident dragged along the dirt, leaving a trail in the sand. “This time, I won’t hold back.”

  I groaned and pushed myself onto my knees. My stomach sloshed so hard that I felt bile rise up in my throat. I fell forward on my hands as my belly emptied itself. I kept retching long after there was nothing left, the muscles of my stomach bunching together so tightly that it physically hurt.

  “Gross,” Masataka said as he circled around me, still dragging his trident. “You’re just gross.”

  I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. “I don’t really care for you either, Masataka,” I said, but my words were like whispers in the wind.

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t bother me,” he replied as he returned to stand in front of me. With a flick of his wrist, his trident completed the loop, and a circle of power sprang to life around us. Energy the colors of a rainbow burst from the ground and shot into the sky.

  “Now, no one will be able to get inside,” he grinned at me. “Not Caleb, not your father, not anyone.”

  “Pity,” I said. “Now you’re trapped in here with me.”

  I got to my feet and wobbled to the side like a drunk, stretching my left hand out for balance. Little stars exploded in the back of my head, throbbing in my temples as I tried to steady myself.

  “Put up your dukes,” I growled, throwing my hands up in front of me like a drunken boxer, fists half-clenched.

  “Did you know that duke used to be another term for fork? And a fork used to be another word for hands?” Masataka grinned at me. “I was sad when I found that out. I was hoping it was a war term from when kings battled. Like I’ll see your Duke of Yester with my Duke of such and such.” He shrugged.

  “Thanks for the lesson,” I spat and swung at him, my fist lashing out at him with all the finesse of a sandbag falling to earth.

  He stepped casually to the side, and my blow missed him. My own momentum carried me forward, and I stumbled, collapsing to the ground as my legs gave out beneath me. Nausea swelled up inside me, and I gripped the dirt with my hands as I retched. Nothing came out, but that didn’t stop my body from trying.

  “Still feeling the effects of the cleave, eh?” Masataka knelt down next to me and patted my head like I was a puppy. I would have turned and glared at him if I could have. “What, no snappy one-liner?” he asked after a moment. When I didn’t respond, he shoved me, and I fell over, flopping onto my side like a dead fish.

  “I’m going to kill you,” I growled, trying to get back to my feet, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t quite get them under me. It was like trying to stand on an oil-slick in butter-shoes.

  “Doubtful,” Masataka said, reaching out and grabbing me by the chin. He twisted my face toward him, not hard, mind you, but forcefully enough that I couldn’t resist, and he squeezed my cheeks so that my lips bulged outward. “I know everyone says ‘you look just like Dirge,’ but I don’t think that’s the case. I mean, okay, you have lavender hair, and your face is similar,” he shook his head, “but other than that, you don’t look that much alike. At best, you’d be cousins.”

  “Mmmph,” I replied but what I’d really said was, “thanks jackass, now let me go so I can rip out your spleen and beat you with it.”

  Masataka stood, dragging me to my feet with him. I just sort of dangled there, unable to do more than grip his wrist weakly. Behind him, the energy of the circle was so bright and hazy, I couldn’t see through it. Not that it mattered, I was pretty sure nothing could break through it anyway. That’s why people used circles after all, to keep things either inside or outside of it.

  He reached back and hooked his trident to his back, his Vajra swarming over the weapon and securing it into place in an instant. He looked down at me before leaning his face close to mine and blowing the hair out of my eyes.

  “You know, if I was willing, I could probably pretend you were Dirge. The problem is that every single time I see you, it tears me up inside. It makes me remember that she chose death.” He flicked my ear with his free hand, and the shock of it zipped through my body. Then he did it again like a jackass. “Say something,” he said.

  He released me and I stumbled forward into him, unconsciously wrapping my arms around his body for stability. His Vajra oozed beneath my fingers like a slimy toad, and my forehead hit his chest. He must have been stunned because he stood frozen, unable to move as I held onto him, desperately trying to stand.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and the words were muffled against the flesh of his Vajra.

  “What am I supposed to do with that?” he asked. “Your apologies are worthless to me.”

  “No,” I whispered, pushing myself away. “I’m sorry Dirge didn’t love you. I’m sorry she died and left you.” I fell back against him as my legs gave out. I tightened my grip on his back so I wouldn’t slide to the ground. “I’m just… sorry.”

  “You don’t know what it’s like,” he replied after a silence so long that I could have used it t
o circle the earth… twice. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose someone.”

  “Mattoc’s gone,” I whispered, and even as I said the words, I felt tears starting to fill my eyes.

  “What do you mean he’s gone?” Masataka asked, gripping me by the shoulders and holding me away from him. He stared at me. There was a very strange mix of emotions on his face.

  “He sacrificed himself to stop Crom Cruach in Fairy,” I bawled, my words blurring together in a whirlwind of sobs. “He just… just gave up and cut his cord.” I looked up at Masataka. “Why would he do that? Why would he sacrifice himself? Why would he do that to save me?”

  Masataka swallowed and shut his eyes. His chest heaved as he took one giant breath and let it out through his teeth. “He probably wanted to save you more than he wanted to live. He probably didn’t know another way.” His words came out slow, too slow.

  I shook my head, my fists lashing out and smacking weakly against his chest. “But I didn’t want him to die, Masataka. I didn’t want him to sacrifice himself for me.” I snuffled as his arms tightened around me, pulling me close.

  “No one ever wants someone they love to die, Lillim. No one wants to be sacrificed for. It sucks because you’re still alive and they are gone… and all you can do is try to pick up the pieces. You…” He paused, and I looked up at him. He smiled bitterly. “Was this your plan?” he asked.

  “My plan?” I asked, trying to wipe away my tears but wound up just hitting myself in the face with my wrist.

  “To make me justify Dirge’s death? To make me try to understand it? To make me realize that part of the reason she gave her life was to save me?” he said in a low voice. A shiver rushed over his body as his head dropped forward, smacking against the top of my shoulder. “Was this your plan, to make me forgive her?”

  “No,” I snuffled. “It really wasn’t. My plan was to kill you.”