“You… you just don’t understand. Even my own mother cannot always separate herself from my past.” I put a hand on his chest and the feel of him made my knees go a little weak. Touching him had been a bad idea, but despite my best effort, I couldn’t quite pull my hand back. “It’s foolish to think that I could stay here with you—” I stopped short, heat spreading across my cheeks. My words had come out quicker than I’d meant them to. Damn.
Caleb grunted and leaned forward until we were eye to eye. Heat radiated off of him, and as it did, I could see myself falling into it and never letting go.
“Listen up, Lillim. I am going to say this one more time. I had to go down there to save you. Why? Because you got so mixed up in supernatural politics, you couldn’t swim to the surface even if you knew which way was up.”
“No. You look here, Caleb,” I spat his name though I hadn’t meant to. I guess I hadn’t realized how angry I’d become. “Am I a bad person for refusing to play by stupid rules that have done nothing but get more of us killed?” My eyes narrowed as I stepped back from him. “No, I think not. We are the ones letting it get bad down there. Not the vamps, not the demons, and not renegade Dioscuri. It’s us. By refusing to change, to bend, to help, we are sealing our fate.”
“That is not true, Lillim.” Caleb shook his head. “You know we’re trying.”
“If it’s not true, where is everyone? I’ve been down there for a year watching normal people get eaten by monsters, and I have yet to see a single Dioscuri step in and stop it.” I let a breath out through my teeth. “Half the monsters think we don’t exist and act accordingly Caleb, and those are the nice ones.” I pushed him slightly. “The bad ones? The ones we should be stopping? Well, they’re worse because they know we can’t stop them.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re not leaving.” Caleb’s hand went to his famous blade, Incinerator, and as he drew it from the sling on his back, a surge of anger exploded inside me like dynamite. How dare he threaten me?
I snatched my shotgun, calling upon my magic to augment my speed, so that by the time he had his sword at my throat, I had the barrel of the weapon pressed against his chest.
I eyed him carefully as he eyed the shotgun now in my hand. “You’re fast, Caleb. I won’t argue that. Of all the Dioscuri, your skill with a blade is the best, the fastest.” I waggled the gun emphatically. “How quick do you think you are against a shotgun, though? Do you think you could kill me before I pulled the trigger? Finally, remember who the fastest Dioscuri is, Caleb. I’ll give you a hint. It’s me.”
“I didn’t come here to fight with you. I just came to tell you that you aren’t going to leave without me.” He lowered his blade and smiled, but it never quite reached his eyes. “Before you start arguing, I want to ask you a question. Do you even know the identity of that dragon? No?” He must have taken my response for agreement because he continued. “His name was Valen. Ring any bells, Lillim?”
“He’s Valen?” I squawked as my head spun. It couldn’t be Valen… “I don’t believe you.”
“Yeah, because I care that you don’t believe me,” Caleb said, holding his hand up as if to count on his fingers. “One-eyed, has an affinity for vampires, was positively identified by HQ. What does he want from you, Lillim? Was he trying to take you away to his castle? I heard dragons do things like that.”
The rage behind my eyes reached a raging crescendo as I swallowed and tried to take another deep breath. Valen was known, in some circles, as the blood drake. He was rumored to give his followers immense power over blood. The Owls were already known for their blood magic… if they allied with Valen, their power would go from asteroid-sized to planet-sized in a hurry.
“I can’t take you with me. Even if you’re too stupid to show it, I can tell you’re hurt. I have a dragon to slay. I can’t be looking after an invalid,” I said, reaching out and touching his chest with one finger. He almost winced. Almost.
“Funny.” His eyes glinted as he pulled on a pair of dark glasses. “I don’t recall asking for your permission.”
17
My face was pressed against the car window. The city outside was lit up like a Christmas tree. I wasn’t quite sure what city we were in, but we’d arrived here only a few minutes ago. Caleb claimed to “know a guy” who knew the location of Logan’s base of operations.
I took a bite of my cinnamon roll and shivered. Hey, don’t judge. I’d work it off later. Besides, I needed something sweet to keep from going crazy. Why? Because this ridiculous journey full of vampires, werewolves, and dragons had led me to dealing with the Dioscuri again.
Worse still, I technically had to follow the lead of a superior, like Caleb, if he was convinced he ought to thrust his company upon me. Admittedly, part of me was happy to have him along for purely selfish reasons. If I had to get into a fight, Caleb wouldn’t be a bad guy to have around. The fight with Bob would have gone a lot better had Caleb been there with me.
Still, if something happened to him, I was going to feel responsible, which was stupid because Caleb was a big boy who could take care of himself. Then again, he was male, and let’s just say that in my experience, males weren’t exactly known for making rational decisions.
“We’re here!” Caleb pointed out the window to a lot filled with bright lights.
At the edge of the parking lot, I could just barely make out a dilapidated building. Rusty bars covered the windows, but I wasn’t actually sure there was glass in the windows. I suspected they had been broken some time ago and never replaced. A torn green awning covered the front of the building, shielding the entrance from the weather only slightly better than nothing. Entire patches of plaster had broken off the walls revealing twisted rebar in several places. Who the hell lived here? Oscar the Grouch?
Without waiting for a response, Caleb parked. I smiled at the fact that a nearby parking space could be found so readily. Back where I lived there was tons of traffic. Then again, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would actually want to visit this dump.
“What is this place?” I asked, looking at the brightly lit monstrosity as we exited the car and made our way toward the entrance.
“It’s sort of a mystic pool hall. The guy who runs it is supposed to be psychic. Rumor is he can tell you exactly what it is you’re looking for if you can beat him,” Caleb said in the whimsical way he did when he was excited or avoiding the conversation.
“Okay…” I formed the word slowly.
Caleb didn’t give me a chance to say more before pushing us inside, completely ignoring the two rather burly bouncers at the door. I was a little surprised I hadn’t been checked for ID. Did I look like I was over twenty-one?
I looked down at my jeans and black tank top and unconsciously tucked my lavender hair behind my ear. It had lightened since I’d been in the hospital, and I hadn’t had time to dye it. Of course, one of the few times I decided to wear jeans instead of a skirt, I was dragged into a bar. It was probably better that way. After my fight with Bob, my legs weren’t exactly eye candy.
“You look fine,” Caleb said, glancing at me once we were inside. “Places like this tend not to ID girls, anyway.”
I smoothed my hands over my clothes once more. “I’m not sure why you think that makes me feel better.”
The bar itself was bright with shades of neon green and pink mixed with a subtler mango. Off to the left were several pool tables with various types of creepy looking monsters moving around them.
Caleb hadn’t wasted any time. He was already in the center of the room, arguing with a winged demon. Apparently, I was to be left to my own devices.
“What do you want, Dioscuri?” The demon poked Caleb in the chest with its pool stick.
“I’m here to play for information, Max,” Caleb replied as he sipped his drink. I hadn’t even seen him get one, and he wasn’t twenty-one either. Did the bar not ID?
“And what could you possibly offer in trade? You’re broken.” Max snorted and clapped Caleb on t
he shoulder.
A scowl flickered across Caleb’s face so fast, I almost didn’t catch it. He hid it behind a wide grin that showed off his perfect teeth as he turned and pointed at me. “Her.”
“What the hell?” I stammered, dumbfounded as I watched one of the Hyas Tyees of the feared Dioscuri use me as collateral for a bet with a demon! Whatever this was, it had better be damn well worth it. Being a slave to a demon in a pool hall was not high on my bucket list.
The demon looked at me and its long, black forked-tongue snaked out of its mouth to lick its lips. It was suddenly very hot in the room, but I was glad I was wearing my ugly jeans.
“She’ll do.”
“I think I need a drink,” I murmured to myself, turning toward the bartender.
He was a big, ape-like man, covered in piercings and tattoos. In fact, he looked more like a brightly-colored pincushion than a man. The knuckles on each of his hands even had letters tattooed on them. The left hand read “FOAD” while the right one read “BTTW.” The air shimmered around him, glimmering off his bald head. He was just the sort of guy my mother would have brought home before she had met my dad.
Slowly, the ape removed his sunglasses and tucked them into his shirt pocket. His eyes squinted at me, like he was trying to decide something.
“I can tell just by looking, you’re not old enough to drink,” he told me in a very no-nonsense voice. “Buzz off.”
“Don’t tell me about underage drinking. I’m like technically over twenty-one,” I grumbled. It was true if you added my past life to my present one.
“Technically, shmechnically,” the bartender repeated. “You’re lucky you’re even in here.”
I glared at him with what I hoped was a look that could kill as he set a root beer in front of me. Then, almost as a joke, he filled a shot glass with root beer and set it in front of me, too.
“That’s so you can feel like a grownup.” He was lucky I couldn’t hate someone to death.
I glanced over the bartender’s shoulder to a sign that read “Demon Scratch.” So that was the name of this place. I didn’t really know how I’d wound up here. The second Caleb had transported us out of Lot, we had found ourselves in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
Now I was stuck in this brightly lit bar waiting for Caleb do his whole “macho guy” thing with the demon in exchange for information. One glance around was enough to make me hope he succeeded soon.
It wasn’t just that the ground was sticky with old beer and other things. Or even that all the blood-red booths had an almost creepy amount of privacy to them. I was pretty sure that if I got pulled into one, someone could gut me without anyone noticing. I could even deal with the light being dim enough to shroud most of the room in shadow, so it gave the impression the place was way bigger than it actually was.
The thing that bugged me was I was pretty sure we were surrounded by vampires, and not the ones like Logan or Bob. These vamps were only a few years old. The ones who hadn’t really learned to control their bloodlust yet. To them, I was little more than food, and I could feel the weight of their gaze on me, weighing and measuring me like one might do with a selection of steaks at a store.
Unconsciously, I hung my head. “Please God, let me live through this…” I whispered to myself. The bartender was looming over me. I fidgeted.
“You’re Miss Meilan aren’t you?” he asked, pushing the root beer toward me. “I thought you were dead.”
I found myself unable to speak for a moment. I hadn’t been mistaken for the actual Dirge Meilan in at least a year. Most people knew what had happened, or at least that I’d been reborn after a fashion. I tried to swallow, but my throat went dry. I glanced at Caleb for help but he wasn’t paying attention to me.
“No,” I said forcing the words out a little too fast. “She is dead.”
“Ah… you look just like her.” The big man smiled, his face suddenly lighting up. “That would make you Diana’s brat! You’re Lillim Callina!” The bartender rubbed his chin. “Heard you ran away. How’s that working out for you?”
“Fine!” I growled and turned my back to him. Max was busily racking up the balls at a giant, red pool table in the center of the room.
“It’s nice to meet a man willing to take up the challenge for his girlfriend,” Max cooed in a voice that reminded me of singing cartoon animals.
Caleb narrowed his eyes. “It’s not like that,” he said emphatically.
“I would never have guessed,” Max responded with a chuckle before draining his drink in one long swallow and placing it on the bar. Max nodded to himself and grabbed a pool stick off the rack while I wondered if I could shove myself into my now empty root beer glass and disappear completely. I decided another drink would be good.
“Can I have a water and a Bloody Mary?” I asked after a moment. “I’ve always wanted to try one.”
“With real blood?” the bartender asked, his face a mask of perfect professional courtesy.
“Bloodless will be fine,” I responded, while mentally steeling myself so I wouldn’t gag. Real blood? Ugh.
“Very good, ma’am,” he replied, placing the drink in front of me. “One virgin Bloody Mary.”
“Does he know what he’s doing?” I asked as Caleb’s break resounded throughout the hall. He had knocked only two balls in. I didn’t know if that was good or not, but I was probably screwed. I shook my head and noted another curious and more disturbing fact. My drink was already empty. Even when they were non-alcoholic, the damn things were mostly ice.
“You don’t seem as worried as you should be,” the bartender said, his voice a little more troubled than I’d have liked.
“Eh. If something bad happens, I’m going to kill everyone in here,” I muttered under my breath.
Caleb shot again and sank another ball. Max didn’t appear to be worried. His face was stony and imperceptible except for a very tiny smile that sort of tugged at the edges of his lips. It was almost like with every move Caleb made, Max was softly saying, “Yes, yes!”
“I think that’s your friend’s plan, too. Probably also Max’s. You supernatural types never really get beyond the whole, ‘let’s kill everyone’ phase of the plan do you?” the bartender asked me, having turned surprisingly friendly once he’d learned who I was. Well, it was about time I got some respect.
I shrugged. What else could I do? He was mostly right. I looked around anxiously. There were a lot of normal people here. A type of magic glamour mostly hid the monsters’ appearances. Most normal people couldn’t see through magic, but that wouldn’t keep them from getting incinerated by a fireball.
There could be a lot of collateral damage if things got out of hand. I took a sip of my water and hugged myself a little bit. I was suddenly very aware of just how many people could die if I started a fight here. It was just like a demon to surround itself with mortals. That way, when you showed up to kill them you looked crazy on the nightly news.
A collective gasp rose from around me as Caleb cleared the last of his balls, leaving only the eight ball. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but it seemed surprising to the crowd at least. I swallowed and stared at Caleb, trying to read his face. It was stony and unexpressive. I swallowed. That was his “hiding something” face. Not good.
“Don’t worry, your friend did fine. He’s done until Max finishes his turn. If you keep trying to stare a hole in him though, you’re just going to get yourself worked up.”
I blushed, suddenly annoyed. I was not staring at Caleb. So what if he was really handsome in his thin, black button-up and low-slung jeans? I was only watching him play the game because he had bet my freedom on it.
“You should be worried about who is going to pick up that eight ball when the game is over.” The bartender slowly shook his head like he wasn’t looking forward to it. “Someone has to pick it up.”
“Why is that? What happens when someone picks it up?” I asked, suddenly curious.
He didn’t answer, but
now I was worried. Was Caleb planning on picking it up? Would it hurt him? The poison was already too much for him. I couldn’t let him make that kind of sacrifice for me.
It was Max’s turn now. I tried not to panic, but my hands were starting to sweat as Max lined up for his shot. The cue struck the ball with a crack like thunder. It shot off the stick and slammed into two balls in the corner, sending them flying. They zig zagged across the table, bouncing off the sides before careening into two side pockets.
Max moved around the table and with one move, knocked in two more balls. Every time he hit the white cue ball, it zeroed in on the other balls and hit them in just the right way to get them in the pockets. I wondered if he was cheating.
In a moment, only the eight ball was left on the table, and it was still Max’s turn. The big demon looked over at me and wiggled his tongue suggestively. I blushed and crossed my arms over my chest. I was horrified. At this rate, I was going to be slave-girl Lillim.
Max curled his finger toward me. I shot a worried look at Caleb and took two steps toward them. I started to sweat as I got closer to the demon.
“Whatever it is you are imagining I am going to do to you,” Max cooed, leaning against the pool table with a shark-like grin spreading across his face, “isn’t even close to what I’ll do to you in reality.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth as I approached him. Now our faces were mere inches apart. I needed to do something. “Is that so?” I pushed the demon backward coyly. With one deft move, I plucked the eight ball from the table.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Caleb screamed, fear and horror filling his voice.
Pain exploded through my body and spots danced across my eyes. My hand was on fire, welded to the ball. I couldn’t drop it. Searing pain exploded through my mind and body. The ball was trying to rip out my very essence, and it was winning.
The Lillim Callina Chronicles: Volumes 1-3 Page 12
