the other gun too, but
when? Then the crack of a shot reached her ears - the bullet would
hit any moment - but it didn't.
Another shot was fired and again the burning
sensation of a bullet didn't come.
She blinked a few times to make the stars go
away and saw the bear of a man on one knee, clutching his shoulder,
blood seeping through his fingers. Blood also came from a thigh.
Then she heard the panting behind her.
The men she had mistaken for the vagabond
gang had come up behind her and someone from that group had fired
at the last gang member standing.
With a groan the wounded man lifted his gun,
aiming to hurt someone. Lightning fast, Lily grabbed at her tool
belt and threw. The man fired the gun, but the bullet went
harmlessly up into the air, as the dagger had pierced his forehead
and forced him backwards.
"Dear Lord," she heard one of the men behind
her say. "Madam, are you well?"
Lily turned towards them, ignoring the
feeling of pepper under her skin that the rad-gun had left there.
"I'm fine. Thank you for coming, gentlemen, and my apology for
mistaking you for the gang."
She turned and walked towards the fallen
bear. She yanked her dagger from the man's head which let go of it
with a sucking sound. She wiped it clean on the dead man's clothes
and tucked it away. Then she turned back to the small group.
"Perhaps it is best if you are not here when
the police come to round up these folk," she said. "They will ask
all kinds of inconvenient questions."
"But madam, we have nothing to hide."
"Suit yourself," said Lily. "I do, so I am
leaving." She clicked her heels. The mechanism raised her up again
and quickly, without another word, she walked off at a high
speed.
None of the gentlemen even thought of trying
to stop her.
Back in her small apartment she first took
care of her equipment. The coat was cleaned, the rad-gun and the
backpack were attached to their chargers.
She retracted the rapier, unfolded the
umbrella and put the thing in the umbrella stand next to its
harmless cousins. Her boots were already in the closet, wiped clean
and ready for the next event. She checked the dagger for damage,
but the fine Japanese blade had not suffered from the skull.
Finally she took care of herself.
With a grateful sigh Lily sank into the tub,
letting the hot water clean her skin and thoughts. She took her
time to soak and relax, until the water was getting cold.
Drying herself in front of the mirror, Lily
saw that she had a few massive bruises. Buildings and bullets never
failed to do that. Also the skin on the lower part of her face
looked damaged; the remainder from the blast from the rad-gun.
She sucked in air through her teeth as she
touched it. Painful. Lethal as it would have been for regular
people, she would heal in a few days, as she always did, but it
meant that she was not going to sing the next day.
Her voice would be fine, but she wanted to
avoid questions about her appearance.
Dudley, the neighbour's boy, would be glad to
take an apology note out for her, as usual. He wasn't the brightest
person in town and never asked uncomfortable questions.
Lily looked at the tub. She'd clean that
tomorrow. She was knackered, so she slipped into her nightgown and
went to bed.
That night she dreamt of Dr. Drosselmeyer
again, of how he asked her to assist in this 'harmless experiment'
gone bad, and how that had turned her into the person she was
now...
Lily
and the avenging angel
"Right, everything in the bag, umbrella in
the hall - oh, I will need this."
Lily enjoyed talking to herself as she went
about her place to get her things together. She was about to leave
for some singing. There was a reason she never called it a
'performance'; she did not think her voice good enough for that.
Instead, Lily always went for 'some singing'.
The this, being a hairbrush, disappeared into
the bag. Lily looked around the room and decided she was all set
for the singing. She was already dressed for it, her long coat
would