Harley Merlin 16: Finch Merlin and the Blood Tie Read online

“I wish more Atlanteans thought the way we do.” Hector’s shoulders slumped like he had the weight of the whole ocean on his shoulders. “Not that it matters what we think. Everyone will be convinced or coerced into giving their blood, eventually.” He barked a bitter laugh. “They might even get me, too. Atlantis is big, but there aren’t many places a person can hide indefinitely.”

  See, this is why I can’t just abandon ship. It wasn’t a comfortable realization. This guy has spoken more sense than I’ve heard from any royal. Kaya can’t be allowed to do this. There were other options; she just wasn’t listening. But if there was a way that didn’t involve global domination, she had to be made to listen. Otherwise, she’d bring about a war that would decimate the world as we knew it. It would be a disaster of epic proportions. But why fight, when you could ask for help?

  I made a decision. Huntress, I need a favor.

  I’m not going to like this, am I? She looked up at me with one of her best scowls.

  Maybe not, but I need you to go and bring the others here. You can get to the palace easier than I can, with guards all over the place. I nodded subtly to Hector. I’ll wait here with Hector and stay out of trouble.

  Why don’t we just take Hector to the palace? she countered.

  I tugged at my neck Cuff. Because I can’t do any kind of concealment magic until I get this thing off. And if a guard sees either of us wearing one, they’ll march us straight to prison.

  She nosed my leg. I knew I wasn’t going to like it.

  I leaned down and put my forehead to hers, ruffling her fur. This is for the sake of the surface world. If there’s a way to change Kaya’s mind, we have to try. But we need to be clever about it, or she’ll just dump us in a cell. Bring them here, and we can start working to form a plan.

  Now, more than ever, we needed the brainpower of a Librarian.

  Thirteen

  Ryann

  I sat on the edge of the tub in Melody’s bathroom, with Melody sitting on the closed toilet lid opposite. Luke stood near the door, his head tilted up toward the ceiling. The bathroom was the only safe place to talk without being overheard. Kaya had positioned sentries in the hallways outside our rooms and outside the windows, since our chambers were on the ground floor. Melody had even scanned the place for spying hexes, but she hadn’t found any.

  “Finch and Harley did this, you know.” I gestured around our unorthodox meeting room.

  Melody swung her legs. “Did what?”

  “When they were infiltrating Eris Island together, they used to talk privately in the bathroom of the hut they stayed in. Harley told me about it once. She said it was the first time she realized that Finch wasn’t a lost cause, and that there might be some actual brother potential in there somewhere.”

  My adoptive sister had never seemed so painfully far away. If she’d been here, she would’ve come up with a plan of action. I’d never seen that girl backed into a corner she couldn’t get out of, one way or another. And while our trio had skills of our own, some fresh eyes on the problem would’ve been useful right about now.

  “It’s funny how life has a way of repeating itself, isn’t it?” Melody toyed with some bracelets on her wrist—costume jewelry that rattled whenever she moved her hands. Every time I heard that sound, I would think of her. “There’s a reason why déjà vu continues to be an unexplained phenomenon. There are those who believe in the simulation theory of life—that we’re all just part of a computer program, and déjà vu is nothing but a glitch in the system. But those people have watched too many movies. I’ve always believed it has more to do with energy and experience, with a sprinkling of thermodynamics.”

  I nodded, remembering high school science class. “Energy can’t be created or destroyed.”

  “Exactly, which means that we, as humans, must have our energy recycled when we die. Our spirits are drawn to the ‘next plane,’ which is just a collective of that particular kind of energy. So we continue to exist, just in a different way. In that respect, Necromancy is nothing more than a spiritual Magneton ability—the Necromancer pulls the energy of the spirit back into a body, from wherever it may be, and reattaches it.” Her eyes glazed over thoughtfully. “But the particles that gave us physical form become something else—be that another human body, or a tree, or an animal. And they hold residual energy from our spirits, or souls, whichever term you prefer. So, when that energy gets turned into another human being, that being carries some unconscious memory. And when they happen across something that the former owner also experienced, it makes them feel like they’ve seen it or felt it before. That’s not the case with what you’re talking about. That’s more like sweet coincidence, but still.” She flushed pink. “Sorry, I got a bit carried away, didn’t I? It helps me relax, to talk about theories and things.”

  I chuckled quietly. “What about ghosts and poltergeists? How do they fit in?”

  She lifted her head, and her eyes shone with gratitude, her blush receding. “Poltergeists are the equivalent of supercharged energy that is too powerful to be drawn to the afterlife. That’s why they’re so destructive. And ghosts, in my theory, are spirits that are still anchored to the living world—they haven’t allowed themselves to be ‘pulled’ to the next plane of existence. Although, the ghosts from my experience at the Winchester House are only visible because of the Kolduny magic in the foundation. So that’s a bit of an exception to the rule.”

  “Are we going to keep talking about spooks and theories, or are we going to get back to the problem we’re dealing with?” Luke wrung his hands. He had to be pretty stressed to interrupt Melody in the middle of one of her university-level lectures. Normally he’d hang on her every word. I liked to watch his admiration of her, even if it hurt right now to see two people in love without any complications.

  Melody brought her heels up onto the toilet lid and rested her head between her knees. “Sorry, Luke. You’re right: we should focus on Finch.”

  He sighed and gazed at her with a softer look. “I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just worried that we don’t have a lot of time.” He turned to me. “I mean, we don’t know when Lux might show her face again, so this could be the only chance we have to talk about what we can do for Finch.”

  “She hasn’t come back since yesterday.” I grasped the edge of the tub to steady myself. “I still have that faint headache, so she’s still here somewhere, but I can’t feel her anymore. Not the way that I used to. It’s like I’ve been left on hold, if that makes any sense.”

  “But she’s not gone?” Luke pressed.

  I shrugged. “I honestly couldn’t tell you. I think she’s ‘away’ but hasn’t completely vanished. That’s what I’m trying to explain—it’s as if the line is still open, so she can come back, but for now, she’s elsewhere.”

  “That doesn’t help us at all.” Melody slipped seamlessly into assertive ideas-woman mode. “We need a Child of Chaos to help us break the love spell between Kaya and Finch. I’m sure there’s a simpler way to dissolve it, but since Kaya banned me from the libraries, and the museum staff insisted that love spells are permanent, turning to cosmic assistance is our only option. They have an innate sense of any and all Chaos and how spells are forged. In the reverse, they also know how to undo Chaos. Even supposedly ‘permanent’ magic, which I don’t believe for a second, by the way. There’s no such thing in my Librarian knowledge, and I doubt Atlantis has found a way around that.”

  “Then it’s a good thing we have two Children of Chaos in Atlantis.” I scuffed the toe of my shoe against the bathroom tiles, where faint flecks of gold sparkled in the black marble. It continued to bother me—how could a place as beautiful as Atlantis have such a rotten core? I doubted Ganymede had envisioned petty squabbles and royal in-fighting when she’d created this world.

  Luke grunted in disagreement. “Erebus isn’t going to help us. He made that clear. And if Lux comes back while we’re consorting with her husband to ruin her plans to keep Kaya and Finch together, you can bet y
our ass she’ll have something to say about it.”

  I raised a finger. “Not necessarily. I’ve been practicing ways to keep Lux down, so if I sense her coming back, or if she tries to get aggressive and take over, I’ll give it everything I have to fight her off.”

  “Has it worked?” Melody arched a dubious eyebrow. “It requires a huge amount of strength and focus to do something like that, and you haven’t been sleeping. And you’ve got all these concerns about Finch running through your head. I’m not prying or anything, but your emotions are pretty loud.” She paused. “Although, I’m not sensing Lux’s emotions at all, except for subtle hints here and there. It’s as though she’s an undercurrent in the background.”

  I kept forgetting about her Empath abilities. Honestly, it was one of the only magical elements I’d happened upon that I found truly invasive. She couldn’t help what she felt coming off me, any more than I could stop them from flowing out. I understood that, but my emotions were even more precious to me than usual at the moment. They revealed the depth of my pain and vulnerability, and that wasn’t something I wanted anyone to know. Not even my well-meaning friend.

  Melody lowered her gaze sharply. “Oh dear… now I’ve made you angry. Goodness, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to pick up on your emotions. Sometimes it’s out of my control. It’s like when I get started on a subject and I can’t stop.”

  I leaned over and put my hand on her shoulder. “I’m not angry with you. I’m angry that I’m feeling all these things, which I have no control over. But there’s one thing I do have control over, and that’s pushing Lux down when she gets domineering. I’ve got the strength and the focus to stop Lux from intervening in our work to set Finch free, I promise. In fact, it’s all the anger and sadness and bitterness and fear that fuels it. My mind has always been tough, and it can put up walls that would put Fort Knox to shame.”

  Luke stared at me, evidently unconvinced. “But, no offense, you’re not—”

  I cut him off. “A magical. I’m well aware, but it doesn’t take a magical to have internal strength. With the right mindset, even us mere humans can perform tremendous feats of mental endurance.”

  “And if you can feel when she’s away, I guess you’ll also be able to feel when she comes back.” Melody came in with some much-needed moral support. “That should give you an advantage, to preempt any kind of takeover she might try.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping.” I nodded, swallowing the nervous doubt that crept up my throat. Melody could probably sense it, but she didn’t say anything. I was grateful for that.

  “Well then, I say we get going and find Erebus before Lux decides to rear her ugly head again,” she said firmly. “The clock is ticking.”

  Luke tapped on the bathroom door at his back. “But what are we going to do about our friendly neighborhood sentries? There are a couple in the corridor and one in the bushes. How do we lose them?”

  I smiled. “We pretend we’re doing exactly what Kaya told us to—making ourselves scarce and taking in the sights.”

  “And when we hit a crowd,” Melody continued, “we slip away from them.”

  “The two of you could rule the world if you wanted to. You know that, don’t you?” Luke laughed, but he only had eyes for Melody. Their quiet, unyielding affection for each other was the stuff that made romance novelists want to put down their pens and give up. Even if they weren’t beside one another, or if they’d had a disagreement, they were always glancing at each other to make sure they were still close. And any misgivings dissipated as quickly as they’d appeared. These were unbreakable foundations that’d see them through the rest of their lives, if that was what they wanted.

  As much as I hated to admit it, it was hard not to feel the green-eyed monster pricking at my heart. They’d found each other, promised to love one another, and that was that. Job done. Why couldn’t Finch and I be so lucky?

  Melody went to Luke and slotted her hand into his, a casual gesture that made my chest ache. “I don’t doubt it, but let’s start by showing Atlantis what we’re made of, shall we?”

  “I just hope Erebus hasn’t crawled back into hiding.” I turned my gaze away as Luke brushed his thumb across Melody’s cheek. They didn’t mean to upset me. And I couldn’t hold a grudge against two people who were so perfect for one another. If I did, I might as well have started calling myself Lux, but I refused to turn into a bitter old shrew like her. No, I’d look at the way Melody and Luke were with each other and think of the moments that Finch and I would get to share again, once we’d broken this stupid spell and set him free.

  Do you hear me, Kaya? You might think he’s yours, but you’re dead wrong about that… and I’m coming for him. No one, not even the queen of Atlantis, was going to steal my happiness away from me. And she wasn’t stealing Finch’s, either.

  * * *

  After heading into Poseidon Piazza—the main square of Atlantis, which sounded like a chain fish joint—we put our scheme into action and gave our guards the slip. You could always guarantee there’d be a crowd in the square, and today had been no different. Plus, we’d picked the perfect time to up our chances of evading the sentries—lunchtime. If there was one thing that Atlanteans took seriously, it was mealtimes. They really did have a lot in common with their European counterparts.

  They gathered in clusters, chattering loudly and deciding where to dine. Some lined up for the good tables outside the cafés and restaurants that filled the square, while others lounged in their chairs, having managed to snag a table. Other groups—the younger-looking Atlanteans, though age was a weird thing to figure out here—perched on the steps of the art gallery that dominated the northern side of the piazza, eating lunches they’d brought with them.

  With its impressive white pillars and protruding dome on the roof, giving off an air of Roman-Greek fusion, the building reminded me of the National Gallery in London. A pang of regret hit me. I’d always planned to travel to Europe, but an internship had gotten in the way of my last free summer before I’d started pre-law. Then, once I gave up on pre-law, this magical life that I’d chosen had taken away any other opportunities I might’ve had to just… see the world and not have to worry about anything else.

  “Did you hear that?” Melody dragged me out of my silent mourning.

  “What?” I whispered, checking over my shoulder to make sure we really had lost our entourage. The guards who’d been following us headed down a street on the opposite side of the square, and I smiled in satisfaction.

  Melody gestured toward a group of young women who were drinking tea at a nearby table. “They mentioned Erebus. He’s in the art gallery. They wanted to go in and do some research for a school project, but they heard he was there, so they’re waiting for him to leave.” As far as breadcrumb trails went, he had essentially left us a loaf.

  “Then it looks like we’re about to get a whirlwind introduction to Atlantean art.” I checked one last time to make sure the guards weren’t on our tail. Certain that they weren’t, I led our trio across the square and up the steps to the art gallery.

  My eyes bugged out as I came to an involuntary standstill in the foyer of the gallery. Above, the glass dome refracted the artificial daylight from the orbs, with each glass sliver producing a whole rainbow of shades that transformed the “sunshine” into pillars of vivid light. It created a multicolored ring in the center of the entrance hall, which surrounded a huge bronze seal that depicted two rearing Kelpies with a spear of coral between them, separating the warring creatures.

  “Why didn’t we come here sooner?” Melody stood beside me, equally awestruck.

  Luke frowned down at us. “It’s just some pretty lights. Am I missing something?”

  “Culture, Luke. Culture,” I teased.

  We moved through the gallery, following the whispers of disgruntled Atlanteans who weren’t keen on sharing the place with a Child of Chaos. We had a job to do, but I couldn’t help pausing beside some of the pieces on display an
d drinking in a bit of Atlantean history. Melody and I seemed to be on the same page with that, though Luke looked impatient to keep going. Poor guy. I could only imagine the endless museums and art galleries that he’d end up being dragged through because of his unrelenting love for Melody.

  “It’s Queen Verity!” Melody whispered, in the hushed tone reserved for libraries and galleries. I followed her gaze to an elegant marble statue, which looked so realistic I had to do a doubletake. The sculptor had even managed to make the fabric of her gown look like it was flowing and moving, almost liquid in its execution. But her face held my attention. I hadn’t known Verity for long, yet it felt like I was looking at a dearly missed friend. Her eyes were alarmingly human, and I didn’t know whether it was condensation or some optical illusion, but I could’ve sworn there were tears trickling down her cheeks.

  Believe me, Verity, I know the feeling. Everything had gone downhill since her death, and it only seemed to be getting worse. Kaya had unknown irons in the fire. Whatever she was planning, I had enough experience to know that, if it involved all of Atlantis, it couldn’t be good. Not for my friends, anyway.

  “Hey, wait a second. Look at this.” Luke had stopped in front of an enormous painting which seemed to suck you right in. Melody and I flanked him, peering up at the detailed artwork.

  To the top left of the frame, a stormy sky swelled over a snowy tundra, which opened out to a brooding ocean in the same palette as the sky above. Tiny figures lined the shore, and fiery red magic sparked away from them. And though it was just a mass of paint and brushstrokes, I could feel fear and anger brimming within the image, especially from that army on the icy shoreline, where the worst of the storm lashed down.

  As the eyes followed the artistic narrative below the water’s surface, it showed the familiar spires of Atlantis sinking in the faint sheen of a bubble, all the way down to the darkest depths of the ocean. Shadowed sea creatures with lashing tails and suckered tentacles swirled and twisted across the canvas, and silvery fish darted close to the surface. The artist had taken some license with perspective, but it told an impactful tale.