Hardboiled: Not Your Average Detective Story (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 5)

by J. A. Cipriano

  The Emissary raged, slamming into the corners of my mind. Haijiku wriggled in my hand, the blade white hot and steaming. I wobbled backward as Lang’s broken body slumped forward onto the street, silver mist still rising off of him in plumes that coalesced into a cloud that glinted like platinum fog.

  The spell around us shattered. I felt it pop like a balloon. The air whooshed around me. All at once, the police in the area turned, focusing on me as the cloud drifted lazily toward the ambulance. I took off, racing toward the vehicle, Haijiku raised above my head.

  “Drop the sword!” a policeman called, and as I turned toward him, the sound of a gunshot ripped through the air. I heard it just after something slammed into my shoulder, spinning me like a broken top. Haijiku went flying from my hand, skittering across the broken lawn. I hit the ground a second later, molten hot pain surging through me as the cloud floated under the doors of the ambulance. I tried to move, tried to reach out toward it as a paramedic glanced at me from the window. His face contorted in alarm, and he threw the vehicle into motion, sirens blaring.

  I watched the ambulance fly away down the street like a bat out of hell as cops swarmed over me, weapons drawn. I thought about trying to resist, thought about trying to fight off the police, but it seemed impossible. Haijiku was lying only a few feet away, but I doubted I could get to it before I was riddled with bullets. Even if I could get to the weapon, my shoulder hurt so much that I could barely concentrate. There was no way I was going to be using my arm to fight, let alone use magic.

  Still, I was Lillim Callina, and I wasn’t going to go down like this. I tried to move, tried to push myself up on my good arm, and the world went all sorts of sideways. I crashed back down to the pavement. My forehead bounced off the asphalt and everything went dark.

  Chapter 19

  I woke up strapped to a hospital bed, wearing a scratchy white cotton gown. This should have scared me, but the sad thing was, I’d woken up like this more than once. It was not uncommon for me to wake up after a mission to find myself in a hospital bed. Granted, that usually did not follow a confrontation with the police where one of them shot me, but stranger things had happened.

  I tried to move, surprised at the lack of pain I felt, when I realized my right arm was bandaged to my chest so I couldn’t move it. My left arm itched, and as I stared down at it, I realized an IV was stuck in my flesh. All sorts of machines were hooked to me, but none of them were making angry beeps. That was good, right?

  “So you’re awake?” a female voice to my left said in the least threatening way possible. I turned toward it to see a nurse that reminded me of the one I had shot so many years ago. Her pudgy face was contorted into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She leaned down toward me and checked on my bandages. “I’ll go get the doctor. Then we can see about releasing those straps, okay?”

  “Where am I?” I asked, glancing around the room and realizing that the window had bars on it. Were they to keep me in here?

  “You’re at St. Simon and Simon’s treatment center.” With those words, she turned in a flutter of auburn hair and left the room.

  “What the hell is St. Simon and Simon’s treatment center?” I called, but received no response. I sighed and glanced down at my bonds. Even if she came back and released me, I needed to get out of here now. I had to find out what had happened with Lang’s dark passenger. I flexed my left wrist against the leather straps and tried to call on my power… only I couldn’t. Try as I might, nothing came. How was that possible?

  I glanced over at the IV in horror. Were they drugging me with something that made it so I couldn’t use my magic? Was that even possible?

  The nurse returned, a frown on her face as she saw me struggling. “Don’t do that, dear. You’ll reopen your stitches.” The doctor stepped in beside her. He was a tall bald man with skin like dark chocolate. His huge glasses made his dark eyes bug out of head as he stepped forward, a professional smile on his face. He grabbed a clipboard from the front of my bed, and as he read it over, his eyes darkened.

  “Do you know why you are here?” he asked, “or where you are for that matter?”

  I shook my head. “The last thing I remember was being on the street when the house behind me exploded.”

  “So you don’t remember saying you killed a police officer because, as you said, ‘he was infected by a body snatching octopus that escaped in a cloud of silver pixie dust?’” he asked, glancing up at me, disbelief etched in his eyes. “Or how you swore up and down that your friend was a werewolf and had been shot with silver bullets?”

  “No…” I replied, swallowing because I didn’t remember any of that. The last thing I remembered was the fight with Lang. Everything after that was just gone.

  “You were quite adamant about it yesterday,” the doctor replied, moving to a chair beside me and sitting down. “Even though it is impossible because you’ve been here for two days, and prior to that, you were at Mercer & Mercer for years. I know it’s hard because they shut down, and you had to come here, but we’ll work hard to make it nice for you.”

  “Um… what?” I asked, swallowing the terror rising up in me.

  “You’ve been at St. Simon’s for two days. I know it’s a little different, but all your friends are here too.” He smiled at me, though the edges of it were brittle, like he’d had this very conversation several times. “The look on your face makes me think you really don’t remember any of this, and that concerns me greatly, Miss Callina.”

  “How could I have been here for two days and not remember?!” I snapped, trying to sit up but the straps kept me from moving. I almost said that what he was saying was impossible because let’s be real, I was in Fairy, and Hades during that time frame. Hell, I’d been in the floating city of Lot for most of my life. How could I have been at a place called Mercer & Mercer for years?

  “That is the question,” he replied, shaking his head and sighing. “Let’s start this over. I’m Doctor Emile Bartz.”

  “Hello, Dr. Bartz,” I replied, glancing from him to the nurse and back again.

  “Please, Miss Callina, call me Dr. Emile.”

  “Hello, Dr. Emile. You can call me Lillim.”

  “Okay, Lillim. Do you think that if we release you, you can make it to your room without violently attacking anyone?” He almost added more, but thought better of it.

  “I have a room?” I asked, swallowing down my fear.

  “Yes.” He smiled at me, revealing a mouthful of huge white horse teeth. “You have a room in the orange wing. It’s where we put new arrivals. If you behave, we can move you to the yellow wing. In the yellow wing, you’ll be able to have visitors and interact with the other patients. You’ll be able to play games and watch television and listen to music. That will only happen if you’re good. Do you understand?”

  I swallowed, shutting my eyes for a long time and counting backward from ten. “I’m in a mental hospital, aren’t I? You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

  “You are in a treatment center, not a mental hospital. And no, we don’t think you’re crazy. We just think you’re confused.” He reached out and patted my hand with his own. “We want you to remember what really happened and tell us the truth. That’s all.”

  “If you unstrap me, I’ll behave,” I replied, wanting them to detach me from whatever serum was making it so I couldn’t call on my magic. Then it wouldn’t matter if I was locked up in the looney bin because I could just fight my way out if I necessary.

  “Okay,” Dr. Emile said and glanced up at the nurse. “How about you go get Bernard to escort her to her room?” he asked even though it was really an order. Without a word, the pudgy nurse turned and strode out of the room.

  “She seems nice,” I said with a strained smile.

  “Miss Lana is very nice. She even has a commendation for it from the board.” He bent close to me so that his lips were inches from my ear. “But try not to kick her in the stomach this time, and she’ll warm up to you.”
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  I was pretty sure the color drained from my face. Evidently, I’d had some kind of episode. Was that why I was going to the orange ward? Nurse Lana returned a moment later with a huge orderly. He was big in the way that reminded me of a football player a few years after he’d stopped playing. He was still muscular, but there was a layer of chub over his features. Instead of that making him seem soft, he just seemed huge.

  “Hello, Lillim,” Bernard said, voice calm and reassuring. “Are you going to behave? I’d hate to have to drug you up and leave you strapped to the bed again.”

  “I’ll be good,” I replied, smiling at him as best as I could.

  “Okay. I’m going to trust you this time.” He smiled at me, and it actually seemed somewhat genuine. He began to undo the straps, and a moment later, helped me sit up. The nurse brought over a wheelchair and locked the wheels so it wouldn’t move. Bernard helped me into it and unlocked the wheels.

  “Ready?” Bernard asked, and when I nodded, he began pushing me. The orange hall wasn’t very far, and before I knew it, I was wheeled into a room that had a small, twin-sized bed and nothing else, not even a window. I glanced up at him, and I’m not sure what emotion Bernard saw on my face because he smiled at me apologetically. “I know it isn’t much. But if you’re good, and I think you will be, you’ll be able to move to the yellow wing in a little while.”

  “Um… can I ask you a question?” I asked as he moved around to help me out of the wheel chair.

  “Of course,” he replied, sitting me down on the bed and standing back far enough to give me my space, but still seem engaged.

  “Um… why orange and yellow?”

  He chuckled, a grin spreading across his face. “They are supposed to be soothing colors. I’m not sure if that’s true, but apparently colors like blue and purple are too dreary and make people depressed. Orange and yellow are supposed to be bright and cheery.”

  “Is that so?” I glanced around the eight by eight room and shivered. It was more of a cell than a room.

  “That’s what the doc says anyway.” He shrugged. “Anyway, the bathroom is just outside your room. Go two doors to your left. It’s the one with the picture of the girl on the door that I’m sure you’ve seen a bunch of times. There is a men’s room, but the boys are in a separate hall so you won’t have to worry about that. It’s mostly there for compliance reasons. Meal times are at 7:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM, and 6:00 PM. For your first day, I will come back to bring you to the cafeteria. Is that okay?” He glanced up at the wall where a wall clock was set into the wall and covered by a pane of thick plastic with those metal wires running through it. It read 9:53.

  “Looks like I missed breakfast, already.”

  “Unfortunately, yes. If you’re really hungry I can speak to the nurses. They’re a little more lenient about that on your first day.” He smiled at me, and his smile actually reached his eyes. “But whatever you do, don’t try to bring back food to your room.”

  “Um… I think I’ll be okay,” I replied, and as he got up, I realized soft music was floating through the air. So quiet I couldn’t hear it without concentrating, but it was definitely there. “Is that music?” I asked as he reached the door.

  “It’s coming from the yellow hall. I’m surprised you can hear it,” he said, smiling at me as he shut the door. Though the sound of it was soft, an almost indistinguishable click, it might as well have been the slamming of a dungeon gate.

  I leapt to my feet and surveyed the room although nothing had changed. In the far corner of the room was a white device that sort of looked like a smoke detector, but I was pretty sure it was a camera. It had to be, right? I mean how else could they keep an eye on us? If I was in basically solitary confinement because they expected I might be a danger to someone, then they had to, had to, be watching me.

  So I forced myself to sit calmly back down on the bed to avoid suspicion. There was no point in arousing an army of nurses who might pump me full of medication, right?

  I swallowed, and laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Okay, I needed a plan. I needed to get out of here, but I couldn’t do that without my powers. I mean, okay it was technically possible my father would come bursting in here to sweet talk me out of here, but I was pretty sure that if they thought I was crazy, they weren’t going to just let me go.

  I concentrated, trying to reach out with my magic, but there was nothing there. It wasn’t like feeling a hole where my powers should have been. No, it was like they had never even existed at all. That was bad.

  I glanced around the room one last time, trying to fight off the fear that crawled up my throat and threatened to suffocate me. I had powers, right? I wasn’t just a crazy person, was I?

  Chapter 20

  “That’s the last one, good job,” Bernard said as I opened my mouth so he could make sure I’d swallowed my paper cup full of horse pills. Originally, I’d faked taking the medication, but after a week without them, my powers still hadn’t returned. That was when they had found out I’d been flushing them down the toilet. Now, they were making sure I was taking them, and like a good girl, I’d been doing that for the last two weeks. Why? Because I wanted to escape, and I had no way of doing that from the orange room. But if I could just get to the yellow room…

  “Do you know what this means, Lillim?” Bernard said, reaching out to touch me lightly on the shoulder. At first he hadn’t done that, but when he realized I didn’t react violently to being touched, he’d started patting me on the shoulder from time to time.

  “Yes,” I replied, and my heart felt like it was going to burst. Today was the day I was getting transferred to the yellow room. I could have books, and movies, and talk to someone who wasn’t Doctor Emile or Bernard. It made me so happy, I felt like I was going to burst.

  “Well then, I won’t keep you waiting, let’s go speak with Doctor Emile, and if he says it is okay, then you can go to the yellow hall.” He reached down, took my hand, and squeezed. I glanced at our hands as he let go and moved to get my wheel chair. When he had it ready, I slid into the seat, practically bursting with excitement. The yellow room also meant one other thing, less monitoring. Since I’d been playing it cool, eating my vegetables, and taking my vitamins, I hadn’t wanted to try regaining my powers for fear they’d give me even more medication.

  Doctor Emile looked up from his brown recliner when Bernard wheeled me into the room. I never really liked this room. It was mostly bare except for a book case on the far wall that held volumes of old kids’ books from the fifties and sixties. It looked heavy. I was pretty sure it was anchored to the wall so some enterprising patient couldn’t topple the thing without serious effort. Other than that, the only objects in the room were Dr. Emile’s recliner, a small table to his left and an ugly orange couch that always felt damp when I sat on it.

  Bernard squeezed my shoulder and whispered, “good luck,” before exiting the room. I stood and moved to the little orange couch and sat down. It was hard because my arm was in a sling. I wasn’t sure why. No one had told me. It had to be because I’d been shot, but if that was the case, why was it just a sling? And besides, wouldn’t it be obvious I was telling the truth about Lang if I had a bullet hole in my arm?

  “How are you today, Lillim? Is your arm still bothering you?” he asked, sitting forward so his chair straightened and put his hands on his knees.

  “No, it feels a lot better, though I still don’t remember how it happened,” I lied because I knew exactly how it had happened. I’d been shot… right?

  “You fell when we were taking you out of the transport bus. The nurses tell me that in a few days you won’t even need the sling anymore.”

  When I didn’t say anything, he sighed and shook his head. “So, while it concerns me that you don’t seem to recall the last several years, you seem like you’re getting better. I just have a few more questions before I can transfer you to the yellow ward. Is that okay?”

  “Yes,” I said, smiling sweetly at him.r />
  He sat back, and I caught my reflection in his glasses. My black hair was greasy and unkempt, draping down over my head like dead spaghetti. The sight of it made my breath catch in my throat. Didn’t I have lavender hair? I reached up and touched my hair. The oily feel of it made me cringe as I tried to look at it, but it was too short for me to actually see it.

  “Is there a problem?” Dr. Emile asked, looking me up and down, concern filling his dark eyes.

  “No, sir,” I replied, dropping my hand to my lap because I didn’t have a place to put it.

  “Okay, Lillim. Can you tell me about the Dioscuri?” he asked, glancing down at the yellow notepad in his hand.

  “Isn’t that some kind of Greek Mythology thing?” I asked instead of telling him the truth. The Dioscuri was a supernatural fighting force that killed monsters on Earth.

  “It is the group of supernatural monster hunters you claimed to belong to just a few weeks ago,” he said, staring at me so hard I wondered if he was trying to bore into my brain.

  “I don’t recall…” I said trailing off.

  “Okay.” He shrugged at me and smiled genially. “Who is Warthor Ein?”

  “He was this guy I met in a video game a while back. He was the strongest on our server, and he was basically invincible.”

  “Are you sure he isn’t your teacher from the Dioscuri?” Dr. Emile thumbed through his notes. “You said he helped you kill a dragon about a year ago.”

  “In a video game, yeah. We fought a giant dragon in a video game.” I smirked and shook my head. “Dragons aren’t real, sir.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “How about Orcs? Can you tell me about Grollshanks?”

  “Grollshanks is from the same game,” I replied, glancing up at the ceiling for a second.

  “What’s the name of the game, Lillim?”

  “The Chronicles,” I replied. “You play as a hero trying to stop monsters from taking over the Earth. It was a Korean game so not very many people in America played it.”