Death and the Lady

Chapter 2: Ryo and Hachi

The darkness slowly lifted from around Lily and she became aware of soft sounds around her. There was the whirr of an ac somewhere above her head, the steady beep of a machine and a slow drip-drip sound somewhere nearby.

She became aware of a stiffness in her joints, as though she hadn’t moved for a long time. Her head felt fuzzy and strange, like she was trying to think through a thick fog. There as also another nagging sensation. Hunger and thirst panged at her. Her nose itched as though there was something in it.

Slowly Lily opened her eyes and was immediately assaulted by bright, blinding light. She must have gasped because there was a sudden movement and a cool hand touched hers. Her arms felt disconnected from her body.

“Lily?” a voice asked and she recognised it as her mothers.

“Mom?” she rasped and coughed.

This sent a spasm of sudden pain through her body. It was as though every nerve was suddenly on fire. She heard the beeping sound increase and heard her mother move. There was another beep and it felt like ice was flowing through her veins.

“It’s alright, honey. They said that it would be like this when you woke up.”

Slowly the pain was dissipating and she felt her head start to spin. “What’s going on?” Lily slurred and she heard her mother sigh.

“Try to take it easy, Gremlin, and don’t fight the morphine.”

Lily tried to frown. She hated that nickname. Her head was spinning faster now and she felt herself tumbling back into the darkness. She felt panic rise in her and she fought to stay awake. The nausea hit her suddenly and she felt the bile rise in her throat.

“Go back to sleep, Gremlin. You’ll feel better after you’ve slept a bit.”

“I’m not five!” Lily wanted to yell, but the darkness enveloped her again. She tumbled down into the dreamless sleep where the pain couldn’t touch her.

When she awoke again, she was more prepared for the pain. This time it didn’t catch her by surprise and she managed to stifle the gasp. She opened her eyes and braced the blinding light, but this time it was a soft glow in the gloom. The vibrant orange of a setting sun. She blinked a couple of times and then turned her head to look to her side.

Her mother was asleep beside the bed, head resting in her arms. The orange glow of the setting sun reflected red in her salt and pepper hair and smoothed the faint lines that covered her face.

Slowly Lily lifted a hand and touched her mother’s hair. Her eyes opened and she looked blearily at Lily as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

“Gremlin?” she asked as she sat up.

Lily managed a smile. “Hi mom,” she whispered. She saw her mother’s eyes flicker to the morphine pump and she touched her mother’s arm. “It’s okay.”

Her mom gave a relieved smile as she sat up. “How are you feeling, Gremlin?”

“Like a bus ran over me.”

Her mother chuckled, but Lily saw the tired lines around her face and mouth. She looked as though she hadn’t slept in days.

“How long have I been out?”

“About five days.”

“What happened?”

Tears sprang to her mother’s eyes and she quickly blinked them away. Lily got the impression that she was trying hard not to cry.

“There was a suicide bomber at the library, they took down half of the east wing.”

Suddenly the memories came flooding back. She remembered the smoke and flamed, falling through the floor and landing on something hard. She remembered the sudden pain in her leg and the terrible pressure that threatened to crush her. Panic started to flood her mind as the memories rushed past.

She remembered the darkness and the figure standing before her. The almost otherworldly calmness that she’d felt. The beeping grew louder and more frantic and her chest stabbed with pain as she started to draw short, sharp breaths.

She saw her mother reach over to the morphine pump and it felt as though her arm moved of its own accord. She grabbed her mother’s wrist and looked at her with wide, terrified eyes. She didn’t want to go back into the darkness again.

Why bother panicking now? a small part of her mind whispered. It’s already happened. You’re alive.

Coldness flooded her mind, washing over the burning panic. Slowly her breathing and heartrate settled down. She slowly let go of her mother’s arm and her hand fell limply back into the covers.

“I remember,” she whispered.

Her mother wiped at the tears that was flowing over her cheeks. “Oh, Gremlin, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “It’s a miracle that you’re alive! You’ve had three surgeries to try and save your leg.”

“Rebar went through it,” Lily whispered and saw her mother nod.

“We’re so lucky that it missed the artery and bone. Just a flesh wound, the doctor said. You were so lucky.”

“Did they save my leg?” Lily whispered and her mother gave a teary nod.

“It’s been healing fine,” she said and wiped at her cheeks again. “And there’s no sign of infection.”

“That’s good.” Lily lay in silence for a long time before looking at her mother again. “Did anyone else survive?”

“Some did, those who were far enough from the blast to avoid the collapsing floor.”

“Anyone else near me?”

Her mother shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I guess that they didn’t pass the test,” Lily whispered and her mother looked up with a confused frown.

“What was that, Gremlin?” she asked and Lily shook her head.

“I just had… a funny dream,” she said. “Do they know why?”

Her mother shook her head. “They haven’t figured out who it was yet. They’re still investigating.”

Lily nodded. “Alright.”

Just then the door opened and a youngish man stepped inside. He was dark haired and wore a white coat. He was talking to a nurse and didn’t seem to notice that Lily was awake yet.

He was Asian by the look of it, with delicate features and large eyes. His eyes were magnified even more by the frameless oval glasses he wore. He must have felt her gaze on him because he suddenly looked up from his conversation.

His face lit up when he saw Lily looking at him. “You’re awake,” he breathed and gave her the widest smile she’d ever seen.

Lily’s mother suddenly stood up and gestured to the man. “This is doctor Khan,” she said and the man nodded at her.

“Good evening Miss Knightly,” Dr Khan said and Lily managed a nod at him.

“Good evening.”

His dark eyes lit up at the sound of her voice. He walked to the end of her bed and picked up her chart. He flicked between the pages and spoke a few words to the nurse. The nurse answered him and left the room. The doctor smiled at Lily again.

“Your vitals look good, all things considered. Miraculous, even. No one should have been able to survive what you’d gone through.”

“I keep hearing that,” Lily muttered and caught the stern look her mother shot her.

Dr Khan laughed. “I understand,” he said and put her chart down. “No one want to be reminded that they were very lucky in the face of disaster.”

He regarded Lily in silence for a moment, as though measuring her, then he turned to her mother. “There are some officers waiting outside to question your daughter. Unfortunately, we don’t have to ask for your permission because she is no longer a minor, so I will have to ask you to step out of the room for a moment.”

Lily’s mother drew herself up haughtily. “I must disagree…” She stopped when Lily took her hand.

“It’s okay, mom.”

Lily’s mother gave her a searching look for a moment, sighed and dropped a kiss onto her forehead. “Alright, Gremlin,” she said and turned to leave the room.

Ryo watched her leave before turning to Lily. “Please call my Ryo,” he said, his smile back on his face.

Lily nodded. “Call me Lily,” she said and tried to sit up. Pain stabbed through her and Ryo shook his head.

“Don’t try to move just yet,” he said and walked over to her. “You sustained quite a few injuries, even given your luck. We’ve managed to salvage your leg, but you’ll have a nasty scar. You’ve also broken a few ribs and amassed a good number of bruises. By all accounts, you should be dead. If the rebar had been half an inch to the side it would have torn through your artery.” He seemed to want to say more and then thought better of it.

“You have months of intense physical therapy ahead of you and will need to see a counselor to help with any lingering mental trauma.”

“I understand.”

He regarded her again. “Yes, you do, don’t you?” he signed and sat down in the chair her mother had been sitting in moments before. “The stitches will come out in a week or so and then you can start your physical therapy. I’ll ask the nurse to remove the catheter so that you can be more comfortable. Take things slow and don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

Lily nodded. “Thank you, doctor.”

“Call me Ryo,” he repeated with a ghost of his smile and got to his feet, “I’ll let the officers come in to talk to you now. Please not let them exhaust you. If you feel that it is getting too much for you, you can send them away.”

“I will, thank you.”

Ryo nodded, made a last note on her chart and then left the room. The two officers walked in and greeted her. The questioning was brief and relatively painless. She’d been on the third floor when the blast had happened, so she couldn’t give any information.

After a while they nodded and left. Her mother bustled into the room and fussed over her as a couple of nurses busied themselves around them. They changed the sheets, bathed her and did everything else nurses usually did. Then they brought in the wheelchair and gave very stern instruction that she not try to do anything without assistance. Then they left, taking the last of Lily’s energy with them.

Her mother sat beside the bed, holding her hand and looking worriedly at her. “Are you okay, Gremlin? You look awfully pale.”

“I’m Okay, mom, just tired.”

“Then go to sleep, you’ll feel better once you wake up again.”

“Alright,” Lily said and allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to the sound of voices. Her mother was talking to someone, a man by the sound of it. The voice was deep and gravelly and somehow very familiar, although she knew for a fact that she didn’t know it.

She opened her eyes and looked at her mother and the guest. He was a big man, tall and very well built. His face was strong and square with handsome, if hard, features. His eyes were the bluest she’d ever seen and he had a shock of almost white blonde hair. He was dressed in a white t-shirt with the red and blue overalls of an ambulance attendant tied around his narrow waist.

Lily’s eyes widened when she remembered the voice. It was the man in the rubble. She gasped and made the man look at her. His eyebrows were arched and he looked quizzically at her.

“Good morning, Gremlin,” her mother said and reached out to take her hand. “This is Haji Eisenberg, he was the one who brought you in.”

Haji nodded at her without saying a word. For a moment Lily was glad that they’d taken off the heart monitor the previous day. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. Her breathing was shallow and she must have looked utterly shocked.

“I’m glad to see you awake,” he said softly and she tried to relax.

Alarm bells were going off in her head. It confused her. Why was she so wary of this man who was sitting calmly across from her? He posed absolutely no danger to her, so why was she so utterly terrified of him?

Don’t trust him, a small voice whispered to her, he is dangerous.

“Lily, are you alright?” she heard her mother ask, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the man.

Haji sat forward and she tried to lean away from him. “It must be the trauma from the explosion. I was one of the first responders.”

“Gremlin?” her mother asked and Lily made a huge effort to calm down. Every nerve in her body was screaming at her to run from this man.

“I’m okay,” she breathed, noting the shaking of her voice.

“Do you want me to get a nurse?” her mother asked and Lily shook her head, utterly terrified at the idea of being alone with this man.

“I’ll just get you some water, then,” her mother said, getting up.

Lily wanted to cry and cling to her, but restrained herself. She didn’t want this man to know that she was utterly terrified of him. She watched her mother leave the room and then turned her eyes to Haji.

“Your mother said that you were having strange dreams.”

Lily frowned at him. This was a strange thing to ask a stranger. She nodded slowly and tried to ease herself further away from him.

He seemed not to notice as he sat back, staring up with the ceiling. “Let me guess, dreams about darkness and a strange figure.”

Lily froze. How could he possibly know? He turned his eyes towards her and all traces of kindness was gone. His gaze was level and stern, as though trying to get a read on her.

“You’re wondering how I could know?” He sat forward again, pressing his elbows into his knees and letting his hands dangle between his legs. “I’ve been doing this job for long enough to recognise the signs. A miraculous recovery like yours can only mean one thing. You took the challenge.”

Alarm bells screamed in Lily’s head again. This was dangerous, dangerous territory. She wished her mother would come back so that she wouldn’t be alone with this man.

“Tell me, did you take the challenge?” His voice was soft and imploring, as though coaxing a person from the edge of a building. “You have to tell me.”

Just then the door opened and her mother stepped back inside with Ryo right on her heels. He took one look from her to Haji and back and his face set in a grim expression.

“Good morning, Mr Eisenberg,” he said coolly and Haji got to his feet.

“Good morning, Dr Khan.”

Haji nodded towards Lily’s mother and then glanced towards Lily. “My shift will be starting soon. Have a nice day.”

With that, he left. Ryo stared after him with a strange expression on his face, like a mix between dislike and distaste. Lily’s mother looked towards the doctor and the door before putting the glass and pitcher down on the table.

“I’ll give you two a moment,” she said and hurried towards the door.

Lily frowned at her mother’s retreating back and then turned towards Ryo. He was smiling that broad smile of his again. All traces of his earlier displeasure were gone from his face.

“I asked your mother to give us a moment to speak alone,” he said at the look of confusion on her face.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked and Ryo sat down beside her bed.

He looked at her, searching her face and then seemed to reach a decision. “We didn’t think that they would start moving this quickly, but it does make sense. Strike while you can’t fight back.”

Lily frowned at him. “What are you talking about?” she asked and Ryo regarded her in silence.

“Lilith Knightly,” he said and she was struck by the way he said it. It reminded her of another voice, very different from this one.

LILITH KNIGHTLY?

She shuddered and Ryo seemed to nod to himself. “I’ve been sent to give you a message.”

He reached to the breast pocket of his shirt and pulled out something dark. He held it out to her, palm facing up. It was a key, the steel blackened by time. The key had no teeth and the end of it was a skull. It looked heavy and imposing, as though her whole world was turning around it, shaping itself to it.

“Remember, while you are here you are safe, but once you leave this place and begin your recovery, you are in grave danger. Until you use this key and come to find us, there is only a limited amount of protection we can offer you.”

She looked into his impassive face. His smile was gone and his eyes had darkened with seriousness. His gaze bore into her, willing her to take the key from his hand.

“A toll must be paid,” he said and she shook with surprise. His expression didn’t change as he locked gazes with her. “For if life were merchandise that gold could buy, the rich would live, only the poor would die.”

With a shaking hand Lily reached out and took the key. When her fingers touched it there was a spark of blue light. It was cold and heavy in her hand, rough to the touch.

Ryo got to his feet and she saw that the smile was back on his face. Just then the door to her room opened again and her mother bustled in, arms full of flowers. Lily slipped the key under the covers and looked at her mother.

“Look what just arrived for you from the university!” she exclaimed with delight.