Harley Merlin 6: Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris Read online

  I looked up at Wade shyly. “You can count on it.”

  He met my gaze and pulled me to a halt, leaning in to kiss me tenderly on the lips. The rest of the coven melted away as I looped my arms around that neck Naima wanted to snap and kissed him back with heartfelt desire. He was the one good thing to have come out of the wreckage. It felt weird to put a label on what we were, but we were officially a couple now, and that was just… amazing.

  “So, where to now, since you’ve put O’Halloran in a foul mood and stunted your training for the day?” Wade smiled as he pulled away, interlacing his fingers with mine.

  “Infirmary.”

  “Why, are you sick?” He jumped into Crowley protection mode, which made my heart swell with affection. He’d been obsessed with my wellbeing since the Suppressor break, which was both cute and sort of annoying. At every meal, I found more food being shoveled onto my plate and an endless supply of superfood smoothies, with a side dish of vitamin pills, being slid across the table toward me.

  I shook my head. “No, I want to talk to Krieger about Ephemeras to see if he can make one to help me and Finch with the cult infiltration.” Ephemeras were the one-use magical artifacts that could take the power of another and give it to someone else. I’d been thinking about them for a while, knowing having one in our possession might come in handy for infiltrating either Purgatory or the cult itself.

  Wade froze beside me, his muscles tightening. “This again?”

  “What do you mean, ‘this again?’ Of course it’s ‘this again.’ Until we can get Finch out of there and get on with stopping the third ritual, it’s always going to be ‘this again.’ You won’t change my mind that this is our best shot.”

  “I’m not saying it’s not our best shot, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea to get Finch involved. He’s a loose cannon at best, a very clever double agent at worst.”

  I cast him a withering look. “Katherine tried to have him killed, Wade. He’s not a double agent anymore. Loose cannon, maybe, but he’s not still working for her. No way. You saw him yourself—he’s done with her.”

  “She’s his mother, Harley. He’ll never be done with her.”

  “He’ll never be able to forgive that kind of betrayal. I genuinely believe in his hatred of her, if nothing else. That’s enough to put him on our side.”

  He shrugged. “You want to put all of our trust in a ball of hate?”

  “Beats the alternative. I’d say putting all our eggs in one hateful basket is a pretty savvy thing to do. Hate is powerful. You just have to look at Katherine to know how true that is.” I smiled at him and squeezed his hand, even though we were bickering. “Love is powerful, too. Katherine killed Adley, and Finch won’t forgive that, either.”

  He turned toward me and lifted his hand to my face, brushing my cheek with his thumb. He looked torn, as if he wanted to really let loose with his thoughts, but he didn’t know if he should. We were still trying to work out the kinks in our new dynamic, and learning to keep business and pleasure separate was proving to be the hardest part. I’d lost track of the times we’d been kissing or snuggled up with a movie, only to end up talking about Levi and the National Council. They weren’t exactly mood-setting topics, that was for sure.

  Regardless, my heart still pounded like a caged kangaroo every time I was near him, and the pure love and desire radiating out of him let me know he felt the same. We could bicker as much as we liked, and we’d still want to get all tangled up with each other afterward. That was the way we’d always been, aside from the tangling… but I liked that change very much, especially now that I knew the Suppressor had nothing to do with it. The desire to tear open Wade’s very expensive shirts was all my own, no Suppressor leak necessary. Starting to sound like a maniac now, Merlin.

  “I’m just worried, that’s all,” he said with a sigh.

  “You’re always worried.”

  He smirked. “Even so, this situation has me even more worried than normal.”

  “The breaking into Purgatory part?”

  He shook his head. “That’s risky, which is putting it mildly, but the bit that comes after that worries me the most. Finch’s offer to help might just be a ploy to get himself out of Purgatory. What if he makes a run for it once he’s free?”

  “He wants revenge on Katherine as much as we do. He won’t run. He won’t have the chance to.”

  “You’re infuriating, do you know that?” He took his hand from my face and dragged me along the corridor toward the infirmary. Victory!

  I chuckled. “You do tend to tell me at any given opportunity.”

  “Okay, Ephemeras aside for now, considering how rare they are, how would we even begin to go about getting Finch out of Purgatory? Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

  I grinned. “Of course. Well, I’ve actually been thinking about using Santana and her—” My voice died on my lips as Levi came barreling around the corner, with Alton at his side. Like a guilty schoolboy, Wade dropped my hand and put his arms behind his back, which made me stifle a giggle.

  “Oh. You two.” Levi shot us both his customary glare, which I ignored.

  “Good afternoon, Harley, Wade.” Alton dipped his head in a little bow and flashed us a conspiratorial smile. He’d stayed on as Levi’s assistant after everything that had happened, but it was still strange to see him in such a lowly position.

  Levi eyed me curiously. “I hope you’re not up to anything untoward. You’re to keep to the coven and refrain from doing anything reckless. I realize that’s a constant struggle for you, but I must insist upon it.” His tone was cold and distant, though his eyes burned with the familiar contempt I’d gotten used to.

  I gave him a saccharine smile. “Who, me? Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “After the mess you made with the president, I don’t want you anywhere near the investigation against Katherine. Do I make myself clear?” He puffed out his chest like an overstuffed pigeon.

  For the millionth time, geez. “You’ve made yourself very clear, Director Levi. I’ve just been training with O’Halloran, and now I’m off to… uh, attend to some business regarding my abilities. A bit of research. I trust that’s okay with you?”

  It was getting increasingly difficult to play the part of diligent magical, when all I wanted to do was scream at him that this was as much my fight as anyone else’s, if not more. Then again, I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of a slinging match. It was in my best interest to stay on his good side.

  He arched an eyebrow. “Hmm. Well then, I suppose that’s agreeable.”

  “Thank you, Director.” I gave a small bow, similar to Alton’s, and kept the sweet smile on my face.

  You’re getting good at this. I didn’t know if it was the increase of Chaos inside me or what, but my ability to be calculated and deceitful was becoming particularly sharp. I wondered if that made me more like Katherine, but I quickly brushed the thought away. No, my manipulation was just a means of getting closer to Katherine and her cult so I could achieve my end goal of destroying them. The old rules didn’t apply anymore.

  “I must reiterate how dangerous you’ve become,” Levi continued, just when I thought he’d stopped. “Your very presence here may endanger us all, given the loose grip you have over your supposed ‘balance.’ I, for one, do not believe you have achieved any balance at all.”

  “I take it that means I’m still not allowed to do any investigative work? Even outside of the Katherine Shipton issue?” I asked wryly.

  “Not until you have truly mastered these abilities of yours. You’re not permitted to join in the investigation against Katherine, nor will you leave the premises. We will leave the hunt for Katherine in the more capable hands of the National Council and their security teams. You are much too personally involved in this to think clearly and act rationally.”

  You mean, the security teams who failed to protect President Price? I held my tongue, but I thought it with every fiber of my being. “I’m awa
re of that, Director, which is why I’m spending so much time studying and training—so that I can master these abilities.” I was surprised by the calm, even tone in my voice, and it seemed to shock Levi and Alton, too.

  “Technically speaking, you’re also a victim of Katherine’s,” Levi droned on. Behind him, Alton rolled his eyes, and I fought to push down a snort of laughter. It was good to see that Alton was still on our side, even though he’d buddied up with Levi.

  “I remind myself of that every day, Director,” I replied.

  He scowled, clearly annoyed by my serene behavior. He wanted me to scream and howl at the injustice as much as I wanted to give that to him, but he wasn’t getting any kind of rise out of me. No way, José. He’d have to deal with this new, obedient, pleasant me, whether he liked it or not.

  “Well then, I’ll let you continue on with your day.” He turned to look at Wade, who’d been silent the whole time. “Keep a tight leash on Miss Merlin, if you would. We can’t have her running off as she pleases.”

  What, am I not standing here anymore? I kept my face calm, but inside, I was seething. What was I, some kind of dog to be kept at heel? If he thought that way, I wondered why he didn’t just throw me in one of the Bestiary boxes and get it over with. Then he could come and sneer at me from a safe distance, without fear of me biting back.

  “Yes, Director Levi.” Wade nodded, but I could sense he was seething too.

  “Do not disappoint me again, Crowley,” Levi hissed. He hadn’t forgotten Wade’s failed spying attempt and the betrayal of discovering that he had used that trust against him.

  Levi walked away, joined by Alton, who cast an apologetic look back over his shoulder before the two of them disappeared around the corner. I wondered where they’d been headed, and why he’d doubled back on himself, but Levi was a mystery. He’d no doubt just wanted to save face by not having to walk past us.

  “Speaking of wringing necks,” Wade said through gritted teeth. “Who does he think he is, speaking to you like that? I swear to any god listening, if he speaks to my girlfriend like she’s some kind of animal again, I’ll put him on his ass.”

  My cheeks flushed with heat. Although we’d decided we were going to be official, we’d never actually used the words “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” in front of each other before. And I just couldn’t resist the temptation to tease him a little bit. After all, what were girlfriends for?

  “You just wanted to say ‘girlfriend,’ didn’t you?” I flashed him a mischievous grin.

  “Maybe, but that’s beside the point. I mean it, if he speaks to you like that again, I don’t care what it does to my reputation, I’ll send him packing with his tail between his legs.” He cast me a shy smile that turned my insides to jelly.

  “He’s just marking his territory. We should be grateful he isn’t peeing in corners or squatting in the hallways.”

  Wade chuckled. “He’s done one good thing by talking to you like that, though.”

  “Oh?”

  “I wasn’t sure about this whole Finch thing at first, but we’re doing it. The only thing is, we’ll need some serious help to pull it off.”

  Three

  Harley

  “What did Tobe say?” I asked. We’d come to a halt in the hallway while Wade gave Tobe a call. We needed to get the gang together, fast, and hatch a plan. Tobe had asked that we keep him involved so he could cover for us if he needed to.

  “He can’t leave the Bestiary. If we want him to be part of this, we need to go to him.”

  I nodded. “I’ll send out a text, get everyone to meet us there.”

  “Good idea. Do you want Krieger to be there?”

  “We can’t do this without him.” I took out my phone and sent out a group text, to get everyone to join us in the Bestiary, with a note to Jacob to pick Krieger up on the way. I got the feeling he’d already be in the infirmary with the good doctor, trying to break ground on the magical detector.

  Fifteen minutes later, we were all gathered together inside one of the emptier halls in the Bestiary, away from the prying eyes and ears of the security personnel. Tobe was his usual stoic self, finishing off the last of his rounds before he joined us. He was giving nothing away, though I sensed his anxiety. He didn’t like being on the shadier side of the law. Isadora and Louella had joined us, too, though Garrett was away on LA business. Meanwhile, Krieger seemed clueless as to why he’d been brought along, but it would all become clear to him soon enough.

  “So, what trouble are we getting ourselves into this time? We blowing the doors off Purgatory or what?” Santana asked, with a mischievous smile. We all understood the gravity of the situation we were in, but I could always rely on Santana to lighten our spirits. Right now, we needed a little morale boost.

  “Easy there, Ocean’s Eleven,” I replied.

  She tutted at me. “Wrong movie, but I’ll let it slide.”

  “Well, we’re not quite blowing the doors off, but we do need to get Finch out of there.” I looked around the group and noted the dubious expressions. “I know you all think he’s a psycho, and I mostly agree, but he’s the best tool we’ve got against Katherine and the Cult of Eris.”

  “‘Tool’ is the right word,” Santana muttered.

  Wade stepped up beside me. “If we don’t use Finch, then we have nothing else to go on. He knows all about the third ritual and what it requires, and he’s the only one with insider knowledge of the Cult of Eris and how Katherine runs the place. If we try to infiltrate without him, we’ll probably end up dead.”

  “Bright and breezy way to start the day. Is it doom and gloom o’clock already?” Raffe chimed in, checking an imaginary watch on his wrist. Clearly, spending so much time with Santana had rubbed off on him. A nervous chuckle rippled around the group, but I could see they understood: it was Finch or bust.

  Tatyana folded her arms across her chest. “The third ritual—consume the spirit of thine greatest enemy, in the Land of Erebus, on All Hallows’ Eve. That spirit is Hester, and Katherine has her spirit trapped somewhere, ready to use.” She paused. “Are you absolutely sure Finch knows where Hester’s spirit is, and he’s not just feeding you this to buy his way out of Purgatory?”

  I’d told them all about my last conversation with Finch, and they’d been just as unimpressed as they were right now. Finch was a total risk, and I wasn’t pretending otherwise, but without him we were at a complete loss. Katherine’s strength was already way beyond anything we’d encountered, and we couldn’t risk her getting even more powerful. Otherwise, we might as well start practicing our groveling now.

  Krieger raised his hand. “I apologize, but I have absolutely no idea what’s going on here.”

  “Katherine is moving toward completing the third ritual—the one Tatyana just mentioned, with all the ‘thines’ and stuff,” Jacob replied. “We need to stop her before she can complete it, for obvious reasons. But the only way we can do that, apparently, is to break Finch Shipton out of prison. He knows where Hester’s spirit is—or, he says he does—and he wants to help us infiltrate the Cult of Eris to track the spirit down and stop Katherine. That’s pretty much it, in a nutshell.”

  I nodded. “Only, she’s much stronger now. I can’t face her alone, not if I have to go in completely blind, with no idea what I’m looking for.”

  “And Finch can’t just tell you where the spirit is?” Krieger replied.

  “That isn’t part of his deal, unfortunately. He told me he’d have to show me where the spirit was—it isn’t something he can just tell me.” I realized how it sounded, but we didn’t have any other options. The National Council had the same information about Hester’s spirit as we did, and they’d had zero luck finding a way into the Cult of Eris. Last I’d heard, a few of their agents were already dead, after risking several attempts to go undercover. With their numbers and skills, that said something for our current scenario. We needed an edge, and that edge was Finch.

  Isadora tapped the side of her jaw
in thought. “Why hasn’t the National Council tried to strike a deal with Finch?”

  I shrugged. “He’ll only work with me. He thinks the National Council members are puffed-up, smug bastards with snazzy magical tools that don’t serve any real purpose. He doesn’t want anything to do with them.”

  Tobe chuckled. “I do not like to say so, but it would appear Finch has a point. They really are all flashing gizmos and no substance.”

  “Gizmos?” I laughed at the word coming out of Tobe’s mouth.

  “I have picked up some useful lingo in my thousand-plus years on this earth. ‘Gizmo’ has a rather pleasant mouthfeel.” He looked pleased with himself, though he likely shared the same fears as the rest of us. This was probably the biggest risk we’d taken so far, but that was just it… we had to take it.

  “Mouthfeel and gizmos aside,” Wade cut in, “Katherine is likely forging ahead with her plan to complete the third ritual as we speak. So, if Finch is willing to work with Harley, and Harley only, then we might as well do this. Believe me, I’m as worried as the rest of you, but there isn’t another way.” I felt a wave of concern bristle off him, directed at me.

  Dylan grinned. “The way I see it, if we have a shot at taking this bitch down, then we have to grab it by the horns and run.”

  Louella shook her head. “I understand the need to get this done, but if Finch really was the reformed criminal that he claims to be, then surely he’d swallow his pride and work with the National Council on this to bring Katherine in. Instead, he’s pushing Harley into committing an actual crime by busting him out of the magical world’s most secure prison. Maybe I’m missing something, but it doesn’t make sense to me.”

  From the mouths of babes…

  I cast her a reassuring look. “I think this has turned into something deeply personal for Finch. It’s not just about his views on the National Council; it’s about Katherine and the things she’s done to him… and, I guess, to me. He was brainwashed before, but when Katherine killed Adley, everything changed. Finch loved Adley, and Katherine had her murdered, before trying to have him wiped out, too. Her own son.”