The Hatter is Mad: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 2)

by J. A. Cipriano

  “Yes. You see the rain?” Rhapsody asked, pointing at the rivulets of rain that cascaded down the slope. “That’s time. It flows like rain. Always falling and getting everything all wet and out of sorts whether we like it or not. Then, sometimes the clouds soak it up and the process starts over.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I have no idea what that means. What am I supposed to do?”

  “Grow… soak up the rain and grow. I can lend you my power if you like,” she said.

  “And what do I need more power for? Every bit of power I have has only hurt my friends.” I shook my head as I said the words. I knew they were silly, but I’ll be honest, I still remembered the way Caleb had looked at me when I’d saved him. If Rhapsody was really offering me her strength, how much more powerful would I become? Would it be so powerful Caleb would never be able to forgive me? I swallowed, knowing it was a silly thought to have. Was I really weighing the fate of the world against what Caleb thought of me? And sadly, I knew I was.

  “You are a champion. Act like one.” Rhapsody smacked me across the face and breaking my train of thought. The force of it rang in my ears. There would be one hell of a bruise come morning. “Champions do the right thing. Always. They slay their dragons. They kill their demons. They reach down and do the right thing because it is the right thing.”

  She shoved me. I fell backward into the muck. The mud squelched beneath me as I fought to get up. Rhapsody turned on her heel. “If you decide you want my help, all you have to do is ask.”

  Chapter 24

  I shook my head to clear my hazy vision, and when I looked up Rhapsody was gone. Morgan, the Red Queen stood in her place. The hard lines of her face drawn into a look that made it clear she was unhappy with her current surroundings. “Well, it’s about time Rhapsody left. And all this rain, quite a bore, eh?” she said and her words chilled me. Morgan was supposed to be the most dangerous, the craziest of them all. I’d heard that compared to her, Blue was the definition of sane and calm. And here I was, alone with her in crazyland.

  She waved her hand, and the scene changed. We were both on the rooftop of a building, and what’s more, I was no longer covered in mud. My clothes were no longer sopping wet. That was a plus. Go, small victories.

  “If this is where you tell me it is all in my mind, and I need to jump across the buildings I’m going to be very disappointed,” I said as I got to my feet.

  Morgan quirked an eyebrow at me. Evidently, my nonsense was being dismissed, as it should be. She waved her hands over the expanse, nothing but buildings for miles and miles. I took a deep breath and glanced over the edge. It was a long way down.

  I turned to Morgan and swallowed. “I thought you guys weren’t allowed to help me,” I said.

  Morgan began to laugh. She punched me on the shoulder. It spun me around, and she reached out and held me still. Her hand was like fire on my flesh. The warmth of it radiated out from her grip and made me squirm. We were standing nearly eye-to-eye now, and I forced myself to make eye contact with the Red Queen.

  “Do I seem like someone who would follow rules?” She took a step backward and gestured at herself. Morgan, the Red Queen, was wearing a blood red miniskirt and a black baby doll tee. Around her waist was one of those black leather belts with silver spikes. Her ebony hair was done up with streaks of purple and red. She didn’t look very traditional. Then again, I guess the Red Queen could do whatever she damn well pleased.

  “Anyway, I’m not really helping you. I’m just sharing that what the Blue Prince really needs is a proper host. He doesn’t need someone truthful and good. He needs someone who is just screwed up enough that all his baggage will allow him to process Blue’s emotional strain without dissolving,” she said, smiling eerily at me and leaning her face so close that her nose touched mine.

  Her breath was hot on my lips. I swallowed and tried to keep from freaking out. She poked me in the chest. “You know anyone like that? And don’t say Warthor either. He’s definitely crazy enough, but he isn’t a good seat of power. The idea of giving that kind of power to a guy like Warthor? Ha! Unfortunately, your dad is much too serious to be a suitable host. That’s the problem. The Prince keeps trying to pick totally sane people.” She twirled back a few steps and grinned one of those giant Cheshire-cat-style grins at me. Yes, it was as creepy as it sounded. “Everyone needs a little crazy in ‘em from time to time,” she added.

  Morgan spun herself toward me and slid so close that our bodies were nearly touching. She ran one hand gingerly across my back and leaned down to coo in my ear. Her warm breath sent shivers running down my spine. Not the good kind either. Creepy, ice-cold shivers.

  “So what you need is a willing ‘kinda-crazy’ person to take over voluntarily, someone who has done more than stick his big toe in the crazy pool, but hasn’t dived in. The only problem is, Blue doesn’t know what he needs. It’s been obvious for a millennium or more that he needs someone who needs him as well. It’s got to be symbiotic. Why do you think we haven’t changed hosts in so long? I wouldn’t spend thousands of years combined with the Red Queen if I didn’t enjoy her company. Zef wouldn’t stay paired with the Black Prince either. Same with Rhapsody, though she may not know any better.” Morgan paused for a second to tap her finger to her lips. I took that moment to try and disengage myself from her. She took that as a sign to sidle in close to my back and wrap her arms around my waist. She rested her chin on my shoulder, and I felt her grinning.

  “So that’s the thing,” she said. “All his hosts rebel because they aren’t crazy enough. They don’t need him enough, and he doesn’t need them enough either. He always wants to be in control, but really what he needs is for someone to tie him down and make him the bitch for once.” She smiled at me in such a way I was pretty sure she was having a mental picture flash through her mind I would not like very much.

  “Okay,” I said. I took a deep breath and tried unsuccessfully to worm my way out of her grip. “So what does a host need to do to be suitable? How do I find the right host?”

  Morgan pouted. “My dear Lillim, I’m beginning to think you don’t like me.” She spun me around and somehow dropped me into a dip. Her eyes bore into mine, and it was one of the scariest things that ever happened. In her eyes, I saw nothing. I saw emptiness. I saw a barren wasteland. “You don’t have to do anything. Challenge him. Challenge the Blue Prince and see what happens.”

  “Uh huh. I tried that last time,” I replied.

  “Yes!” She interrupted me. “But you tried wrong. You need to try right this time. Let your voice resound. Break all the chains that keep him bound. Let him be free. Oh, and don’t forget Rhapsody’s promise to help. It’s important. I promise.” Her words struck me a little strange. How had I tried wrong before? Still, it wasn’t like I wasn’t going to try again anyway. If she said Rhapsody’s promise was important, who was I to ignore it?

  Above her head, the crimson moon reminded me of the orcish world, where both the sun and the moon were painted in blood. I gulped. Could that have been why the orcs were so scared of me? Was it just a fluke that Shirajirashii’s spell happened to look like the bleeding light of their home world?

  Grollshanks probably could have outlasted me if he tried. He would have kept healing over and over and after a couple minutes, I’d have run out of gas. He should have killed me. That should have been what happened. Why had he conceded after my first attack?

  Morgan laughed as she pulled me to my feet and twirled me so close to the edge of the building, I actually held my breath. “I see thoughts bubbling in your little brain, Lillim. Let me tell you the truth. It’s right in front of you. Just put it all together.” She pulled me close to her. Her grin was so huge on her face that it was stretched beyond reason. “But, I could give you a hint,” she said, licking her lips.

  “A hint?” I asked, and she nodded. “What would this hint cost?”

  “Everything.” She grinned and ran her finger down my cheek, her nail scratching against my flesh in
a way that made me tremble.

  “Can I pay it later?” I asked, barely resisting the urge to push her creepy hand away.

  “Sure,” she cooed. “Grollshanks works for Zef. The Blue Prince might have brought him here, but his loyalties have always been with Zef.”

  She vanished in a flurry of red smoke, and I was left standing on an empty building. Wait, what? Grollshanks works for Zef? Well, that almost made sense since Grollshanks held the Death’s Edge, which if I had to guess, was probably one of Zef’s artifacts. The Death’s Edge did seem like something Zef would have created.

  If that was true, it could mean Zef had ordered Grollshanks to come after me. I swallowed. If that was true maybe the big orc never worked for the Blue Prince. Maybe my confrontation with Grollshanks was Zef moving both of us around on a chessboard. But why?

  “It makes sense if you remember something very important.” Zef’s voice crashed into me, and I whirled around to look for him. There was nothing but empty sky all around me. “You have to remember why you are here, Lillim Callina.”

  Chapter 25

  Just like that, I was standing before Mitsoumi Mawara and his brother Masataka. They were both wearing the typical skin-tight Dioscuri fighting suits, but neither of them were wearing any insignia of rank, which was odd being that Mitsoumi was heir to the royal throne. Why were they being incognito?

  I took a step closer, peering at him when it struck me like a punch in the gut. Mitsoumi still had both hands! I swallowed and reached out to touch him as the scene sped up to real time. My hand passed straight through Mitsoumi’s arm as he took a step forward. The feeling of icy cold ran down my fingers, stabbing me with tiny pinpricks, and I snatched my hand back.

  Okay… so I couldn’t interfere with this one either. The last time I was sent back in time to witness something that occurred before I was born wasn’t exactly butterflies and sunshine. Well, at least I wouldn’t get disemboweled this time.

  Mitsoumi turned toward his brother and sighed the most powerful sigh I’ve ever heard. Masataka’s sea green eyes turned upon his older brother, and he scowled.

  “What now, Mitsoumi?” Masataka said, voice cold and annoyed.

  “Masataka, we are going to go into the Nether to retrieve the Revenant’s Diadem from the Blue Prince, and we don’t even know how it works or what it does. We’re just trusting Warthor that this relic will bring Dirge back to life,” Mitsoumi said and ran both his hands through his blue hair, making it shimmer like a handful of sapphires in the sun. “I mean, the likelihood that this won’t work, and that Warthor is insane, is extremely high.”

  “Well… if you’re too scared, Mitsu, you can always go back home and wait for me to return. I’ll be fine without you,” Masataka said, taking a few steps past the stopped form of his older brother.

  “Brother… you owe her nothing,” Mitsoumi said before sighing again. I was beginning to think sighing might be his thing. “I know Dirge was your mentor for years, but this…”

  Masataka’s face turned into an emotionless mask as he stared at his brother. Like Caleb, Masataka Mawara was a prodigy, and as such, he was trained directly by a Hyas Tyee. So who trained Masataka Mawara? Dirge Meilan.

  That was probably one of the reasons he loathed me so much. He expected to get his old teacher back, and instead, he got me. I could see how it would be upsetting.

  “It isn’t that…” Masataka shrugged his shoulders, and the scruffy mop of black hair on his head fell in front of his face. “I have the feeling that Dirge was destined for something more. There is no way that the sum of her life was simply so she could be snuffed out stopping a bunch of demons. I also don’t think Warthor would send us off on something we couldn’t handle, especially considering how much we need this thing to bring her back. What I’m trying to say, dear brother, is that sometimes you just have to have faith in what you are destined to do. No one ever gained anything by running away or declaring that it was too difficult,” Masataka said, shaking his fist.

  “Brother, after her death, you didn’t even get out of bed until Warthor came up with this crazy scheme to bring her back to life,” Mitsoumi said with a shrug. “I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. No one’s ever been brought back from the dead.”

  Blue lightning exploded through the horizon painting the Nether’s skies indigo, and I jumped. In the distance, streaming balls of light scoured the horizon.

  “The red brick road is supposed to lead us to the Prince,” Masataka said as he knelt down and stared off into fog so thick that I couldn’t see through it. “I can feel he is close. We just need to go a little farther, brother.”

  “This… this seems very bad,” Mitsoumi said, taking a step forward.

  I was inclined to agree. The fog was warm and sticky on my skin. It was like someone was perpetually licking me. It was unnerving, and not just in the normal way, but in the make the hairs on the back of your neck sort of way.

  In the distance, a figure largely obscured by fog and shadow swept closer. Great arcs of lightning split the fog in front of him, throwing up great plumes of pinkish smoke where they struck gravel-hewn rock.

  He was well over six-feet-tall and long flowing black hair swept off his head like there was a spring breeze. His deep blue eyes twinkled like twin stars, and the air around him sparkled. He bowed, swinging one arm behind his back as he did so. “I cannot imagine why you would travel to this place. However, you must be most tired, allow me to accommodate you while you are here,” he said.

  “That would be wonderful, but we are kind of on a limited time table. We have come seeking the Blue Prince.” Masataka’s voice was gentle, yet firm. How could he be so calm in the face of this stranger?

  The man paused before speaking as if adjusting himself to a familiar yet undesirable taste. “I can take you to him. You may call me Raul.”

  “Okay, but how do we know we can trust you?” Mitsoumi asked, tilting his head carefully, drinking in Raul’s visage.

  “I wouldn’t trust me if I were you,” Raul said and his cheeks reddened. “I’m not what you’d call ‘trustworthy,’” he added, making air quotes with his fingers.

  “We really are in a hurry. We must find the Blue Prince. He’s the only one who can help us,” Masataka said, staring hard at the man in front of him, studying him like a complex math equation.

  “And what would you ask of the Blue Prince? I happen to know he isn’t fond of helping people. He’s a little crazy, as they say. Aren’t you afraid he’ll just take you over and wear your body like a little meat puppet?” Raul asked and his grin was so large that it very nearly encompassed his entire face as he made a walking motion with the fingers on his left hand.

  Masataka shut his eyes and rubbed his temples very slowly. “It doesn’t matter,” he said finally.

  “It doesn’t matter?” inquired Raul.

  “Correct,” Masataka affirmed. “I must find the Prince so that I can retrieve the Revenant’s Diadem. Only one of the Lords of Death can give it to us, and only he is crazy enough to do it. I’m willing to suffer to get it. I’m willing to do almost anything to get it.”

  “It would seem so,” Raul agreed.

  I did not like Raul at all, not even the tiniest bit, and the more he spoke, the more it grated on my brain like nails on a chalkboard. Masataka offering to do almost anything was crazy, but telling it to this guy? That was crazier.

  Raul turned, sweeping his arm into the distance. “I will gladly take you to the Blue Prince if the matter is as urgent as you say. I just don’t think it’s going to matter much. Into the spider’s web we go…”

  Mitsoumi scratched his head. I could tell he was thinking, could see thoughts flashing through his eyes. Unfortunately, his brother was already following along after Raul. Mitsoumi moved next to his younger brother and elbowed him, trying to get his attention. “Psst,” he said.

  Raul turned abruptly, casting a sharp glance at Mitsoumi. “Are you coming?” he asked. “The tea will be gett
ing cold.”

  “You’re the Blue Prince, aren’t you?” Mitsoumi blurted out.

  The scene froze so abruptly, Mitsoumi very nearly walked into his brother because Masataka was as frozen as the dust particles their feet kicked up. Raul held his hand up and smiled.

  This must have been how the Blue Prince looked back then. Apparently, he’d been wearing the body of this Raul person. Part of me felt bad because I knew Raul’s body had long since been burned up and been discarded. I swallowed, if I didn’t save my father soon, he was likely to share a similar fate.

  “I’m torn between asking ‘how you knew’ and ‘what took you so long.’ No matter though, because I’ll know soon enough,” Raul said, turning and walking around Mitsoumi, circling him in a way that reminded me of a wolf circling prey.

  “What just happened?” Mitsoumi asked. He looked like one of those display animals at a meat auction.

  “I stopped time,” Raul said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Alright, level with me. Tell me why you are looking for me?” Raul’s voice slurped over the words as if caressing them with his tongue.

  “It’s a long story. My brother could explain it better,” Mitsoumi said.

  “No, that won’t do. He is much too attached. I can feel the emotion dripping off him. You however… you don’t really care, do you? You just care about him,” Raul said, sidling up next to Mitsoumi and jerking his thumb at Masataka.

  “That’s not true. I care,” Mitsoumi grumbled and it sounded immature… even to me.

  Raul regarded him carefully. “I wonder if that’s true. I could absorb all your memories and then, in turn, learn why you are after me, specifically. Oh, I do wonder, I do, I do… I think that we should perhaps test this out. Yes, we simply must, it would be bad if we didn’t when such a thing most certainly needs testing.”

  “Or I could just tell you,” Mitsoumi squawked.

  “Or you could just tell me,” Raul agreed. “In fact, I’m counting on it. It’s either that or our time together is going to be ever so delicious. Now then… less threaty and more talky.”