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

  Ryann’s eyes flashed with white light. “You did not think to blanket the chambers with a dampening hex before you began the spell? Are you an absolute fool, Erebus, or do you simply enjoy behaving as one?” Lux had the reins, and she wasn’t a happy bunny.

  Erebus scowled at her, clearly put out over being derided by his wife in public. Cosmic entities had weirdly human gripes. “I did not see you setting dampening hexes, either! If you remember correctly, I was too busy breaking the wretched love spell to worry about concealing our presence! That should have been your duty, since you were doing nothing but standing around twiddling your thumbs.”

  Not now, guys! When it came to sniping at one another, these two had no concept of propriety whatsoever.

  Apollo gasped so suddenly I almost jumped out of my skin. “The love spell is… broken?! That is impossible. It cannot be broken. It is an eternal, perpetual, permanent bond!”

  “Did you swallow a thesaurus?” But my joke didn’t stop the situation from going from bad to worse before my eyes.

  “This cannot be allowed to pass.” Apollo put his thumb and finger under his tongue and whistled at a pitch so high, it pierced my eardrums like the sword in his hand. Even the Children of Chaos covered their stolen ears. “Sentries, arrest these troublemakers!”

  More guards streamed out of the shadows and seized us all in one fell swoop. My tired, aching arms got wrenched behind my back a little less violently than Ryann’s and Erebus’s. Prince consort perks. But they weren’t about to stop just because I happened to be married to their queen. Crap, that’s right… I’m still married. I’d been so overjoyed with having Ryann back, I’d sort of forgotten that I was still Kaya’s husband.

  “I’m the prince consort,” I snapped, furious that they were hurting Ryann. Lux might’ve been in control, but Ryann would feel it too. “You can’t arrest me.”

  The guards hesitated, but Apollo had a response at the ready. “He has been compromised. He must be arrested for the queen’s safety.”

  “Yes, you should calm down and maintain your focus. And that goes for you too, Erebus,” Lux hissed. Erebus was about a second away from ripping the head off the sentry who’d dared to grab him. “We will be fine. We should see where this goes.”

  To prison? I didn’t like raising my voice to Ryann’s face, but this wasn’t my girlfriend. “Are you out of your mind? Now’s not the time to get out the popcorn. This isn’t a movie you’re watching. This is real life, and they’re going to put us away!”

  Lux hit me with a killer glare. “You should learn when to listen to those who are wiser than you. Chaos is thrumming within me, and there is a reason for that. Perhaps this will take us where we need to go.”

  Before I could argue, the guards shoved us toward a service entrance about a hundred yards down. Apollo made sure to keep us separated. He likely didn’t want me consorting with Erebus or Lux, though I doubted he knew he was dealing with the Child of Light. If he had, he’d have been less aggressive about her arrest. She was like a vengeful elephant—she never forgot a slight.

  Fifteen minutes of pushing and jostling later, we were hauled into a very familiar place: the throne room. Kaya sat up on her fancy chair with a bunch of desperate zealots below, clamoring for her attention. I spotted Faustus, Thebian, and others I knew in passing.

  Kaya lifted her head in surprise. “Apollo, I’m glad you could join us. We were in the middle of an important discussion regarding the blood collection.” She saw me, and her surprise turned to obvious panic. “Why has my husband been marched in here by force? Explain yourself, Apollo!”

  Apollo bent his knee. “I have dire news, Your Majesty. Your husband’s acquaintances have conspired against you. They have broken the love spell upon him, and now I fear he is no longer himself.”

  Oh, you dopey little snitch! I held Kaya’s gaze and didn’t like what I saw. Panic turned to anger, and then to… nothing. And that was the scariest state she could be in. That meant she was about to unleash true rage.

  Twenty-One

  Nash

  “Wait!” Melody gasped, pulling our attention back from the door to Ryann’s room.

  Luke went to her. “What is it?”

  “Someone was here, and not too long ago.” Melody pointed to the half-open bathroom door. I’d seen some nasty sights in bathrooms, at many a highway gas station, but this made dread pool in my stomach. Half-dried symbols were smeared on the floor in what looked like dark blood. Burned-up bits of this and that had been piled on each one. And a smell stung my nostrils. A smell I knew all too well.

  Huntress whined and stared up at me. It’s yours, isn’t it?

  I nodded to her. “Whoever was here used my blood in this spell.” I gestured to the grisly symbols. “If it wasn’t Faustus, then there’s only two other people it could’ve been.”

  “Finch or Erebus.” Melody crouched and prodded the dark substance. It flaked away, dried up. Lifting the remnants to her face, she frowned. “This was some kind of unraveling spell. I can’t tell you which one, specifically, but it was potent. I sense the power still lingering here. It’s like an electrical current pulsing through everything.”

  “And if it needed Nash’s blood, then it required a rare ingredient. That’s usually reserved for the upper echelons of magic,” Luke chimed in.

  Melody clapped her hands together. “If Erebus did this, maybe he managed to get the love spell off Finch! That would require an intense unraveling spell—the kind that is still out of my reach as a Librarian. I uncover more and more as I settle into this role, but it’ll be a while before I can retrieve every spell ever created.”

  “Huntress, can you sniff out Finch?” I glanced down at my companion.

  What do you take me for? A bloodhound? She stuck out her tongue—her version of a laugh—and set to work. She bent her head to the ground and started snuffling like a pig after truffles, but our truffle was Finch. She took off out the door, and we ran after. All this running reminded me of basic training, a lifetime ago.

  Working together, we ducked through doorways and hid wherever we could along the route that Huntress’s nose had picked up. A hefty number of guards had been caught in the fray outside. It meant we had fewer to deal with here.

  I thought of Hector the entire way. He owed us nothing. He had a daughter to think about. Yet he’d put his faith in us, regardless. He’d given us a diversion when he could have let the guards capture us. During war, I’d found out first-hand just how courageous the average person could be. An ordinary magical—a citizen of the country where we were trying to keep the peace—had hidden me and my unit overnight when the enemy came looking for us. He could’ve given us away, but he didn’t. He risked his life to make sure we lived to see the morning. I had never forgotten his face, and I wouldn’t forget Hector’s, either.

  Twenty minutes later, Huntress stopped dead in her tracks. We stood at the head of a cavernous corridor, all chintz and mirrors and paintings. A short distance away lay the doors to the throne room.

  Is he in there? I asked Huntress.

  She looked back at me. You know my nose. He’s in there.

  Can you sense any guards?

  She sniffed the air again. In the throne room. I can smell the metal of their armor—as strong as if it were blood. I smell Erebus and Ryann, too. They must be with Finch.

  I turned to Melody and Luke. “Finch, Ryann, and Erebus are in the throne room, and there are a lot of guards with them.”

  I can smell that weasel Faustus, as well. I’d know that stench anywhere, Huntress added. And Kaya, though she doesn’t smell nearly as foul.

  “Faustus and Kaya are there, too.” I passed the message on. “I suggest we stay outside and listen in, to err on the side of caution. We don’t know what kind of firepower they might turn on us if we burst in.”

  Melody shook her head, all fired up. “It doesn’t matter what they’ve got. If Faustus and Kaya are in there together, then we have to go in now! Once Kaya hears
what we’ve got to say, we won’t be the ones in danger. The time for playing it safe is over! ”

  I mulled it over. I hated to admit it, but she had a point. “Stay behind me and Luke, with Huntress.” I wasn’t being patronizing. “You’re one of the magical world’s most valuable assets, and I’m not taking any risks with you.”

  Luke kissed her forehead. “Seconded, but mostly because you’re the most valuable thing to me.”

  I didn’t like seeing folks in situations like this. These two should’ve been on the surface, experiencing the sheer joy a relationship could bring. I hoped Atlantis wouldn’t tear them apart.

  She nodded reluctantly. “I’ll stay back, but if things get hairy, I can’t promise I won’t do everything in my power to keep us all safe.”

  “I wouldn’t ask you to.” I smiled at her. “Just… no heroics from anyone, okay?”

  “Okay,” Luke and Melody chorused back.

  Huntress? I prompted.

  She rolled her eyes. No heroics, but maybe a bit of biting.

  That’s fair. I focused back on the throne room door and took a breath. “Let’s take the fight to Kaya, then.” With Luke beside me, and Melody and Huntress bringing up the rear, we strode down the hallway and up to the throne room. I put one hand on the door, pausing for a split second to gather my thoughts before storming in.

  The atmosphere sparked with tension, similar to the air before a lightning strike. We’d walked in on what looked like a tense debate. Finch had two guards flanking him, with Ryann and Erebus in similar positions, while Apollo mouthed off beside them.

  “I tried to explain that the love spell is unbreakable, but Finch appears to have friends in devious—” Apollo realized that Kaya wasn’t listening to him anymore. Her eyes rested on us. Angry, impatient eyes.

  “Has everyone decided to neglect their duties today?” Kaya ranted. “How can these individuals be here unaccompanied when they should be under constant guard?”

  Finch turned, his eyes flying wide. “Guys? I thought you were in some kind of trouble.”

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle,” I replied calmly. There was no use getting agitated with the tensions already running so high.

  Melody broke her promise. “And we’re not the ones you should be watching!”

  “You will not raise your voice to me!” Kaya retorted. “I have already heard of your attempts to evade my sentries. You were housed here as guests, but you have squandered my generosity, and now you burst into my throne room and squawk at me! I should have you marched away this instant!”

  “To make sure we don’t cause any trouble for your plan to raise Atlantis and take over our world?” Melody had a bee in her bonnet, and I needed her to stop before it got her in serious danger. “How are you going to do that, anyway? I imagine that’s why you’re collecting all the blood, isn’t it? Blood spells are intrinsically powerful—the most powerful. But tell me, do you have the energy left in the Bestiary to perform it, or are you just sentencing your people to certain death because you’ve put all your faith in a silly story?”

  Kaya’s cheeks turned purple. “You disobedient, impudent little creature! How dare you try to weave yourself into business that does not concern you?” She gestured wildly at Finch. “And after you have colluded to destroy the spell that bound Finch and me together. I should ask how you managed such a feat, since love spells are practically unbreakable!”

  I put a firm hand on Melody’s shoulder. This needed reason, not fired-up emotional mudslinging. “We don’t know how Finch got out of the love spell, but he shouldn’t have been forced under it in the first place. I understand that you had your reasons. But we’re citizens of the surface world. Like any Atlantean would, if their homeland was under threat, we’re here to defend it. Not with weapons but with words, so you don’t make a huge mistake.”

  “Is that a threat?” Kaya snarled.

  “No.” I kept my voice even. “It’s an olive branch, so nobody gets hurt. Melody is right about your energy deficit. There might not be enough power to raise Atlantis safely. Ask for help instead. Send an envoy to the surface world and negotiate terms for assistance. Offer peace, and you’ll get the same in return.”

  Kaya laughed coldly. “As if I would put my faith in any of you, or your world. You have shown that you are deceitful. You ruined a harmonious union—one that my city relies upon. For that, you can expect to spend the rest of your lives in prison.”

  “Harmonious union my left ass cheek.” Finch jumped in. “I nearly had about twenty coronaries because of your nasty little spell, and I felt like my brain was melting for most of our marriage. Do you want to know why? Because you can’t take a heart that has already been given to someone else. And your heart wasn’t in much better shape. I think you know why.”

  I stole a glance at Erebus. He was the only one smiling. It earned him a sour look from Ryann, and I realized it wasn’t Ryann standing there. Only Lux would’ve looked at him like that, with the fury of a spurned wife.

  We were getting off topic with this chat about love spells and Atlantis rising. Important, sure, but not the priority with Faustus in the room.

  “Your Majesty, no offense, but we’re probably the most honest people in this room.” I went for it. “We haven’t done anything to betray you—which is more than I can say for your pal over there.” I pointed to Faustus, the snake in the grass. “You say you don’t trust us, but if you put your faith in a man like Faustus, then you’re a prize donkey.”

  “Excuse me?” Kaya’s cheeks turned a darker shade of furious. It might’ve been a mistake, calling her a donkey, but I’d never been one for mincing words.

  “Faustus betrayed you the moment he got a better offer.” Kaya looked at her trusted advisor but didn’t speak. I went on. “You want to conquer the surface world? How can you, when you can’t even conquer and subdue your own father?”

  She turned back to me, eyes narrowed and intent. “What did you say?”

  “Ovid is alive, Your Majesty. He went behind your back and had Davin resurrect him. Faustus arranged it all. Why else would your father have insisted that he be put into Faustus’s care after he died? You’ve had the wool pulled over your eyes.” I knew she’d want evidence, so I gave it before she started demanding it. “I saw it myself. Faustus and some of his men took your father into the prison in a casket, and he walked back out on his own two feet.”

  “Liar!” she screamed.

  “I’m no liar, Your Majesty.” I rolled up my sleeves to show the bruised marks where I’d been stuck with needles. “Your father took my blood so he could give it to Davin later, for more underhanded Necromancy. Do you think I’d do this to myself?” Her eyes went wide with fear and disbelief. “Your father wants to take back the throne, and Faustus sold out so he could marry you himself. Even if Finch’s love spell hadn’t been dissolved, you can bet that your father will annul your ‘harmonious union’ as soon as he shows his face again.”

  “Faustus?” Kaya stared at him. I’d never seen a woman more desperate to hear what she wanted to hear.

  I wondered if he’d dig deeper into his lie. I expected manipulation and backtracking. Instead, he chuckled. “Apologies, Your Majesty. But you simply would not listen to reason.”

  “And now I will have what is rightfully mine.” The guard to Faustus’s left removed his helmet. My innards twisted in alarm. He was no guard. Ovid had decided to reveal himself, right here in the throne room.

  “Father!” Kaya shrieked, her hand flying to her mouth.

  Ovid snapped his fingers. “Seize them all.”

  In a blur, the armored sentries surged forward. Kaya, Finch, Ryann, Erebus, Melody, Luke, Huntress… even Apollo and Thebian were grabbed, tarred by their loyalty to Kaya. The queen tried to fight them, but they slapped a neck Cuff on her faster than she could shout an order. I’d misjudged the extent of Ovid’s influence. I’d thought he wasn’t well-liked among his people, and that that’d be enough to prevent him from getting wha
t he wanted. But I’d forgotten that loyalty could be bought.

  Thebian tried to wrestle free. “Unhand me! I am your general! Release me!”

  It fell on deaf ears. They didn’t care what he was. Nothing trumped a king except an ace… and we had none left up our sleeves.

  Twenty-Two

  Finch

  You’ve got to be kidding me! It didn’t feel real, and yet… I wasn’t nearly as shocked as I should’ve been. That squirmy son of a blobfish had made it clear as day that he wasn’t about to give up his life. We should’ve taken him seriously.

  “Father, how could you do this? We agreed!” Kaya sputtered while the guards tightened the Cuff around her neck. They’d turned from loyal guards to ruthless mercenaries in the span of one royal resurrection. Ovid must’ve promised something major to get them to go against their rightful queen. She’d put me through hell, but even I couldn’t look at her panicked face without feeling a little bit sorry for her, though I was more concerned for my friends.

  “Correction: you agreed.” Ovid could’ve won trophies for absolute smugness. His smile was just as wide and twice as manic as that of the Joker himself. But I couldn’t focus on him right now. I twisted around the arm of the disloyal scumbag who’d come for me. Ducking and diving under more reaching hands, I beelined for Ryann. Lux might’ve been in control, but I’d made the woman I loved a promise. I wouldn’t let anything come between us again.

  When I was only a few feet from Ryann, an almighty force knocked me to the ground. I looked up in time to see her eyes flash a blinding white as light swelled over her body. A second later, a swirling circle of Sylphs erupted out of nowhere, forming a barrier around the Child of Chaos and the body she possessed. The guards staggered back in fright, no one daring to cross that mystical threshold. A dangerous move, but one I was glad for. Lux had taken a personal risk to help Ryann. Maybe that meant her father really had knocked some sense into her.