Wardbreaker: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles) (21 page)

“But the Dioscuri will find me if I stay here.” I gestured outside to where the smoke was still rising from the downed helicopter. “Someone will come to check on
that
.”

“They won’t find you with me,” he said, a smile peeling back his lips to reveal his perfect teeth and something inside my chest thawed just a touch.

“You’re wrong—” I started to protest as he cut me off by pressing his finger to my lips.

“My apartment is warded. Even the Dioscuri won’t be able to find you there. You could stay as long as you like and no one will find you.” He pulled his finger away and still smiling, placed his hands at ten and two on the steering wheel. He began driving as I stared at him. He seemed so confident about it, I was almost willing to believe him. It made me hope he was right, but I couldn’t, could I? That would just make it hurt more when he was wrong.

I supposed I could spare a peek, you know, just to see if he was telling the truth. But if he was wrong? I wouldn’t have much time… and if he was right, what was I supposed to do? Play house? With him? And as I had the thought, I realized it didn’t sound as bad as I’d thought it would.

How had that only been a week ago?

I shook my head. Luc had been right about being able to hide me, at least as far as I could tell. The wards lining every inch of his apartment were more than enough to keep even the most ambitious Dioscuri from finding me. So I hadn’t left. For a week. It made me cringe as I stared at myself in the mirror and finger brushed my lavender hair out so it fell around my shoulders. It was longer than it had ever been.

Still, I wasn’t sure why he had been so nice to me. Maybe it was because he felt guilty about tricking me in the beginning? Then again, I still wasn’t sure why he was so special. Every time I’d asked him about why Ariel had needed him specifically or why she called him the Wardbreaker, he’d countered my questions, evading effortlessly.

Staying with him was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. I was starting to, well, to actually like him. I shook the thought away the moment it popped into my head. I mean, I didn’t like him
that
way. I was more getting used to having him there. I’d even learned to cook, granted I’d burned everything, set off a smoke alarm, and forced us to order Chinese food more than once, but I still counted it as cooking.

No, I was getting too close, too used to him being around. I adjusted my towel and bit my lip, remembering the night before when an old movie made me realize my problem. We’d been sitting on the couch, going through yet another movie marathon because Luc had wanted to show me all the cinematic genius the human world had to offer.

“How can you protect something you don’t understand?” he’d asked me when he’d learned I hadn’t even seen a movie before. The words still reverberated in my ears as the scene from last night’s movie replayed itself in my mind.

The woman on the screen came flying down the stairs, no longer the picture of poise and elegance. “Where shall I go?” she howled as I snuggled against Luc, his arm wrapped around me. “What shall I do?”

The man in the movie turned, a smile playing across his face as he eyed her. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

The words had struck a chord in me because I could see Luc doing the same thing to me. I could see him throwing me out and leaving me on my own. Why shouldn’t he? What did I have to offer him? What could I do to make him keep me? Nothing. I was existing solely because of his kindness. A shudder had run through me. I was depending on the kindness of a stranger.

Luc had gotten up then, leaning forward to grab the remote and move to the next movie like we’d done every night for the whole week. “Classic or action?” he asked, glancing at the half-empty popcorn bowl, probably trying to decide if he wanted to make another batch now or if he could wait for later.

“Um, is it okay if I go to bed?” I asked, extricating myself from the couch and leaping to my feet before he could respond. The sudden lack of his heat made me shiver, and I shut my eyes, making my way away from him. It was harder than it should have been. Damn.

“If you want,” he replied, sitting back down on the couch, and I could feel his gaze on me as I reached the little door that led to the only bedroom in the tiny apartment. His place really wasn’t very big, especially since the kitchen attached to the living room, and the bedroom was really little more than a closet.

He had given me his bed and slept on the couch despite my insistence that the couch was more than I’d ever had back home. It wasn’t true per se, but his couch was infinitely more comfortable than the hard as cement bunks back at base. According to the Dioscuri, soft beds made you, well, soft.

“Action it is,” he said to himself, and I spared a glance over my shoulder to see him settling against the couch to watch the television. His muscles stretched against the confines of his t-shirt as the lights from the parking lot outside shined through the blinds and illuminated him in gold so he looked like a well-muscled angel. My breath caught in my throat as I spun on my heel and flung myself inside the bedroom and slammed the door shut, chest hammering. What was wrong with me? What was I thinking?

I slumped to the ground with my back to the door as I sucked in a deep breath that smelled like pine trees and roses. It was his scent, and instead of comforting me like normal, it made my heart sink into my toes.

This was all going to go away and soon. Even if he didn’t leave me or kick me out, something was going to come and cause problems for us. This life, after all, was a lie. I mean, I was a Dioscuri, trained from birth to stop the preternatural forces of evil from taking over the planet. Every minute I spent with Luc was at best a lie and at worst the cause of untold deaths.

“So was it wrong of me for wanting to stay?” I asked the mirror, shaking away my memories. Everything about him was too good to be true, and as I turned toward the bathroom door, the smell of bacon wafted through the air, making my stomach rumble. He’d fed me, let me stay here, shielded me from the Dioscuri and hadn’t asked for anything in return.

Well… well, this might be wrong, but I had one thing I could give him in return, one thing I could share with him. I swallowed and dropped the towel as I reached out and gripped the door knob with one trembling hand. I stepped out into the cold air. My naked body reacted to the chill instantly. I looked out into the kitchen for him. Only he wasn’t there.

My gaze moved to the couch, but he wasn’t there either. He must be getting dressed. He must have put breakfast on the table and changed while I was showering. He had impeccable timing like that.

Good, that would be a better place anyway. I turned toward the bedroom and ran my fingers through my hair one last time. What if he didn’t like me? I swallowed, perishing the thought before more could spin up into my brain and make my resolve shatter. No, this was decided. I was going to go through with it… if he would have me.

I threw open the door to the bedroom.

He wasn’t there.

Panic leapt up inside me as I looked around furiously. He had to be here somewhere, but where? It wasn’t like this place was very big.

Maybe he stepped out to get the mail or something?

I moved out of the bedroom and ambled into the main room. The television was off and a plate sat on the tiny kitchen table. A single plate. Heaped with bacon and eggs. There was a note next to it. Relief started to wash through me. He’d just gone out. He’d left a note. He’d be back. A smile played across my lips as I sat down on the chair and grabbed the piece of paper. Well, I’d have time to set up a proper surprise then. A grin played at my lips.

“Dear Lillim,

I’m sorry. So very sorry. I can’t stay. I would love to stay with you, but it isn’t part of the plan. Something has come up that I
must
attend to. I’ll be back, but not for a while. I’m sorry. I should have said something, but you were sleeping so peacefully and then you were in the shower. I know this note is all sorts of cowardly.

Still, I want you to stay here. It’s protected. You’ll be safe. I’ve already shown you all my secret hiding places, where all my artifacts and weapons are hidden. The rent is paid up through the end of the year.

Love,

Luc

P.S. I want you to have my overcoat. I’ve modified it so it’s about your size. Its wards will keep you safe.”

Water spattered against the paper as I held it in my shaking hand. That was weird. I tried to wipe it away but more fell. It was then I realized I was crying. Tears ran down my cheeks and splattered across the page. A cry tore from my throat as I popped to my feet and moved toward the window, pushing the blinds apart. His truck was gone. An empty parking space stared back at me.

He’d left. He’d left me when all I wanted was for him to stay. How… how would I repay him now? No, no, how could he do this to me? Didn’t he realize… didn’t he realize what he’d meant to me?

“He knew,” the ethereal voice of my soulbound ghost, Mattoc said. “I overheard him talking on the phone to someone. If it makes you feel any better, Lillim. If it does, even though I know it doesn’t, he didn’t want to leave. Someone made him go. Someone he couldn’t refuse.”

“It doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said, turning toward the ghost who didn’t so much as look me up and down even though I made no effort to cover myself. What did it matter, he’d probably seen me naked lots of times. “Enjoying the show?” I snapped because I was hurt and angry. I walked through him toward the bedroom so I could grab my things and get the hell out of here.

I don’t know how I had missed it before, but his blue trench coat lay across the bed. It had been one of his most prized possessions, and he’d given it to me.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mattoc asked as I grabbed my thrift store clothes off the floor and pulled them on.

“Leaving,” I snapped, tears still running down my face. “I can’t stay here.”

“Don’t,” he said, reaching out to me like he wanted to comfort me, but his ghostly fingers just passed through my cheek. “Or if you do, give it a few days to make sure you really want to leave.”

“Why would I even consider that?” I asked as I looked around at all Luc’s stuff. Just seeing it hurt in a way I had never expected. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment as I stared at my ghost, knowing he probably knew what I had been planning on doing with Jean Luc. Somehow, that made everything worse.

“Jean Luc wanted you to have this.” He gestured at the apartment. “It’s safe. It’s what you wanted. You can’t even ‘pay’ him for it.” His lips quirked upward for a second before he turned his back on me and made his way into the kitchen. He sat on the table. “We both know that if you leave this place, the Dioscuri will find you, and I
know
you don’t want that.” He pointed to the still warm food Luc had left for me. “Now eat, and we can spend the rest of the day eating ice cream and watching cartoons. We can watch whatever you want as long as it’s the one with the sparkly ponies.”

I stared at him for a long time, and he kept smiling at me like a dumbass, and somehow, it made me relax. This could be my home, and it was safe… and maybe one day, Luc would come back… I didn’t have high hopes, and his betrayal hurt in a way I knew it’d take a long time to recover from, but well, thanks to him, I had time.

I had all the time in the world.

If I stayed.

Thank you for reading 
Wardbreaker,
 If you wouldn't mind, please leave a review. If you are wondering what happens to Lillim next, check out 
Kill it with Magic
. As a special bonus, the first chapter is included on the next page.

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May Contain Spies
. It is currently 
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.

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What kind of a tip do you give someone you’ve just blown up? 
That’s the thought that ran through my mind as I frantically rummaged through my pockets for something,
 
anything
 
to give the delivery boy I’d just blasted into the brick wall outside my tiny apartment.

It wasn’t my fault, I swear. It’s not like my day planner reads: brush teeth, shower, get dressed, blow up delivery boys. No, if anyone was at fault, it was him. When something that looks and smells like a rotting corpse lumbers out of the bushes beside my apartment, I freak.

It was reaching toward me with one translucent hand, splattering bits of gelatinous goo that smelled like rotten eggs. Those are not the normal actions of delivery personnel. Besides, I’ve never seen a UPS guy with an enormous, milky eye in the center of his chest before.

So what had I done? I’d taken a deep breath, forced my heart to stop trying to beat its way out of my chest, and made up a new rule of thumb. When in doubt, poke the thing in the eye. I hadn’t even waited a split second before I jabbed it in the chest-eye with my finger.

“Boom,” I’d whispered.

This wouldn’t seem like a big deal to most people, especially coming from a five foot nothing teenage girl in a gray cardigan and black skirt. Unfortunately for Mr. Tall, Green, and Disgusting, I’m Lillim Callina, and I know magic.

Yeah, that’s right, I said magic. Some people might call it different things, but I’m a simple girl. So I’ll stick to the M-word, even if it gets me horrified glances from old people feeding pigeons in the park.

That’s pretty much when the arc of electricity exploded from my fingertip. Time seemed to stop for a moment as the delivery boy turned his head to regard me curiously, as though he couldn’t figure out what I was doing. I suppose, in retrospect, he had a right to be confused as he was flung backward into the brick wall outside my apartment building with a horrifyingly wet squelch.