Hardboiled: Not Your Average Detective Story (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 5) by J.A. Cipriano Read Free Book Online Page B

grin. “Okay…”
    “Okay,” I repeated, shutting my eyes and allowing my magic to flow around me, spinning it into a web of sticky spidersilk-like thread that shunted away the brute force of the power coming from the school.
    A loud explosion from the center building shattered my concentration, and without thinking, I sprinted toward it. Connor, that liar, was right behind me as we raced through the parking lot toward the building. A thick plume of black smoke rose from the building, though it was still shielded by what looked like a coffee shop. Why a high school had its own coffee shop was beyond me.
    I reached down to grab my magical swords, the twin blades of Shirajirashii, and realized much to my horror, that I didn’t have them with me. They were still sitting at home, tucked away under my bed. I hadn’t bothered to grab them because, well, I wasn’t sure why…
    “Dammit!” I cursed as I rounded the corner, my chest heaving from the effort.
    Connor was still a few yards away, which was good because what was getting to its feet just outside a pair of twisted metal doors was a freaking cyclops. I’ll admit, I was a little worried about regular humans seeing the monster, but usually, people tended to rationalize away what they saw. If I got rid of this guy quickly enough, I was sure the damage control wouldn’t be that difficult.
    The cyclops stood nearly twelve feet tall and had skin like tarnished bronze. Glinting golden armor hung about his frame in such a way as to suggest it was more for show than for actual usage. At least, I was pretty sure that’s what it was for because cyclopean flesh was harder than steel.
    The cyclops took a step back toward the door, one massive three fingered hand reaching back to grab an enormous hammer from a sling on his back. The weapon glittered like a huge sapphire as he pulled it free. His steps were so loud on the concrete, I couldn’t figure out why no one else had shown up yet. Then again, lots of monsters had a way of distorting reality so that no one noticed them. It was why they could pick off normal people without anyone noticing.
    “Hey jackass!” I called, stepping around the corner, my hands clenched into fists. “What the hell do you think you’re doing on my turf?”
    The creature’s massive head swiveled toward me. His huge neck muscles corded as he regarded me with an insolent glance.
    “Who are you?” the cyclops thundered in a voice that made me think of rumbling volcanoes. His giant blue eye roamed over my body, taking me in. The creature inhaled once, nostrils flaring, and I was pretty sure the creature was smelling me. A grin spread across his face, revealing a mouthful of huge teeth, each one as big as my thumb. “A Dioscuri…” he said, taking a lumbering step toward me. “It’s been ages since I’ve eaten a Dioscuri.”
    “Well, I’m not on the menu,” I said, calling upon my magic to enhance my strength and speed, but instead of finding it… I found nothing. It was less like a huge wall had fallen down around me. There was no magic to be found… anywhere, like there was a great thing inhaling it just behind the cyclops. That seemed bad. If tall, bronze, and ugly was just a minion, I was going to be screwed without Shirajirashii.
    The cyclops chuckled, a huge belly laugh that made his jowls jiggle as he hefted his hammer in front of me so that it caught the light from the sun. A thousand sapphire sparkles flitted across the concrete between us. I just stood there. I was about to do something, really I was, when Connor rounded the corner and came to a stop with a choked squeal.
    “W-what is that?” he stammered, eyes wide in fright. He began to back away, but tripped over his shoes and collapsed onto his butt. “Lillim… what are you doing? We have to run.”
    The cyclops cocked his head at Connor and thoughts swam beneath the surface of his huge eye. He glanced over his shoulder, and a shiver warbled down his body as he turned