Harley Merlin 4: Harley Merlin and the First Ritual

by Forrest, Bella

  Krieger smiled. “I know these months of persistence won’t be easy for you, but you have the strength to make it through, and see excellent results on the other side. You will not find a surgeon in all of America who is better equipped to perform this than I am, and it will be my honor to do it, when the time is right.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Krieger. That means a lot.” I hated lying to him, even if it was just a slight bending of the truth.

  “I don’t want to seem pushy or anything, and I’m really glad that you’ve figured stuff out with the Suppressor thingy,” Jacob chimed in, taking me by surprise. I’d almost forgotten he was there. “But it’s getting late, and you mentioned something about magical-detector technology?”

  Krieger chuckled to himself. “Nice to see a young mind with such focus!”

  “I didn’t even know something like that existed, aside from what I can do. Did you come up with it?” Jacob’s eyes were as wide as saucers, his backside perched on the very edge of his seat.

  “Well, as a matter of fact,” Krieger paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Actually, let me start from the beginning, so you get all the facts. You see, the previous physician here, a young woman named Adley de la Barthe, had begun some research into how this kind of technology might be possible, and how that would translate to a broader spectrum. She was trying to amplify certain subtle vibrations that magicals have been known to exude, but her calibrations weren’t that accurate. Those vibrations are faint to pick up across a wide expanse, which is the end goal for this technology, so we may discover hidden magicals far and wide.” He took a breath before continuing. “Anyway, I used her findings, and some of my own, to come up with several prototypes that could detect the faintest of these energy waves.”

  Jacob nodded along thoughtfully. “I get why there might be magicals out there who are reluctant to reveal themselves to covens, but in times like these, they’re better off with a coven than without one. You’re going to use this tech to help, right? Not to force anyone into anything?”

  Krieger seemed delighted. “I would never allow this technology to be used for nefarious ends.”

  “Then can I help you develop this technology? I’m pretty handy with putting things together, and I’ve got my Sensate abilities to add to the mix,” Jacob said.

  “Why, of course!” Krieger replied. “I could use your Sensate expertise. You may even quicken the entire process.”

  “You’ve also got a lot of other things going on, Jake,” I said softly. “Not to mention the fact you’re supposed to be undercover. People might start to suspect something if you, as Tarver, suddenly start spending a bunch of time in Krieger’s lab. There’s enough suspicion going around this place as it is, right now. I don’t know if it’d be safe for you.”

  “I’ll be subtle about it,” he replied animatedly.

  “I’m really not sure this is a good idea.”

  “Nonsense.” Krieger waved me away. “If anyone asks what he’s doing here, I’ll tell them he’s my new intern. People tend to get tired of asking questions when you give them a dull answer. Anyway, I will be able to keep a close eye on him while he’s here, to make sure he doesn’t come to any harm.”

  “Even so, I—”

  Krieger cut me off, the conversation about Jacob helping apparently over. “There may be a way to channel your Sensate abilities into one of my prototypes, Jacob, thus improving its ability to locate and identify magicals. Vibrations are all well and good, but they are nothing compared to actual Sensate capabilities.” His voice was practically bouncing with excitement. “You see, one of my prototypes is a device able to hold certain powers within it. The gathered fragment of power can then be used by the technology to seek out whatever I program it to.”

  I frowned. “Wait, that sounds familiar. Do you mean an Ephemera?” Jacob’s mom had used one of those to open a portal and escape with Jacob. His father had poured some of his Portal-Opener abilities into it, to give her a one-shot use of that particular skill.

  Krieger shook his head. “No, this device is similar to an Ephemera, but it is not the same. The device can amplify the essence of a power, but it’s not a one-time-only situation. If I’m being entirely honest, it is a modified version of an Ephemera, though much less potent. Here, the device, rather than the ability itself, does most of the work.”

  “How can I help?” Jacob asked eagerly.

  “I will use the Ephemera-like device to extract a fragment of your unique Chaos signature, which I’ll then connect to the magical detector and calibrate it, so it can pick up on those faint magical vibrations,” he explained. “It is a minor procedure and will not affect any of your power. It’s the same as making a small cut in the skin—the Chaos will heal it over and restore the missing piece.”

  “I think it sounds dangerous, but that’s just my two cents,” I said. “Your keeping a little bit of his ability doesn’t sit right with me.” I realized I was being slightly hypocritical, considering my own determination to break the Suppressor by myself. However, it was one thing to take the responsibility of endangering yourself, but it was a whole other ball game for someone else to endanger a person.

  Krieger smiled. “I assure you it is perfectly safe. He won’t miss it, and it will be of enormous benefit to all of us.”

  “Maybe some magicals don’t want to be found, like Jacob said.”

  “Nevertheless, my job is to abide by the rules of the coven, and that encompasses the protection of magicals all over this nation. I have been instructed to develop this technology for the greater good, so we can serve more of those out there who have no coven to go to, or do not even know of their existence. If you’re concerned about other people using a device like this, then you needn’t fear. Alton has assured me that the most intricate security checks will be implemented when this technology passes the testing stage. Only coven physicians will be allowed to use it, and they will have to undergo rigorous background checks. He made a mistake with Adley, and he won’t make it again. I wouldn’t ask Jacob to assist me if I thought he might come to harm.”

  “I’ll do it,” Jacob said firmly. “Whatever you need to give this thing juice, I’ll do it.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “Why are you so eager to do this?” I was a firm advocate of taking time to think about stuff. I’d had Isadora’s letter in my possession for a while now, and I was still mulling over a lot of what she’d said. No point rushing headfirst into potential danger.

  “I have my reasons.”

  “Care to elaborate?”

  He sighed. “I want to help. I didn’t have a coven, and didn’t even know what one was. That put me in danger with the Ryders. I want to stop that from happening to other people.”

  “Well, maybe you should sleep on it. I get why you want to do this, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned that still serves me well, it’s that you should never jump into a decision about something this complicated. If you wake up tomorrow, and it still feels right, then go ahead.”

  Jacob frowned, the cogs whirring in his head.

  Krieger nodded. “How about you both return to your rooms and, as Harley says, sleep on what I have suggested. Jacob, you can come back to me in the morning with your answer. I am in no rush to extract the tiny fragment, and if you decide against it, I will find another way to fine-tune the detector so that it can pick up on these frequencies.”

  “I think that sounds like a good idea,” I said, wishing Jacob hadn’t just blurted out his agreement like that.

  Jacob shrugged. “No problem; I’ll sleep on it. Can’t say it’ll change anything though.”

  With a cursory farewell to Dr. Krieger, Jacob and I left the infirmary. Krieger watched us go, a half-amused look on his face. Even so, in the low light of his office, he looked exhausted. His shoulders sagged, his body collapsing into the comfy armchair as though it were the only thing still holding him up. Poor guy. He’d been through a lot. I could only imagine what a removal hex could do to a person. />
  “What did you do that for?” I whispered as we made our way back through the dark hallways, heading for the living quarters.

  Jacob turned to me. “What do you mean?”

  “Why did you have to go and agree like that? You don’t know what could happen.”

  “Krieger said it was safe. I trust him.”

  “That doesn’t mean it is.” I sighed. “You said it yourself—people who know about you are going to try and pressure you into using your abilities for their own ends. Isadora must’ve taught you that much.”

  He shrugged. “She did, but this seemed like a risk worth taking. If this works, this’ll benefit a whole lot of people like us, Harley—people who don’t have anyone else, and are living with these weird abilities that nobody around them has. If some magicals don’t want to join a coven, they’ll still have the right to say no. But, this way, like Krieger said, it gives the covens a chance to find and help more magicals, one way or the other.”

  “At what cost to you, huh?”

  “A fragment of my ability. Krieger said he’d only take a small piece.” He came to a halt, looking me dead in the eye. “I didn’t think you’d be the one to have a problem with this. Can’t you see why I’m offering to help?”

  I frowned. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s very noble of you.”

  “I want the freedom to make my own choices, even if they turn out to be mistakes. Otherwise, I might as well have stayed where I was,” he said quietly. “Plus, if Krieger manages to develop this machine, then I won’t be under the thumb of the coven for the rest of my life. They need my powers—right?”

  “Right.”

  “And they want to use them for their own ends, like you said—yes?”

  “Yes.” I could see where he was going with this.

  “If this thing works, then they can have the machine instead of me. I’ll be free to leave without feeling a load of guilt about not using my abilities to help out, for the so-called ‘greater good’ that everyone keeps harping on about. I don’t want to be selfish, but, like you mentioned, Isadora also taught me not to get trapped in places like this.”

  “I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that,” I said, feeling bad about laying into him.

  “If I’m not distracted with using my Sensate abilities, then I can focus on portal-opening, and use that to help the coven instead,” he added. “I mean, after tonight, we both know I need to put all my energy into getting the portal stuff right. I’m not stupid, Harley; I know what you did for me, and what could’ve happened if you hadn’t.”

  I dropped my gaze. “You did your best, Jake.”

  “And it wasn’t good enough. I nearly destroyed this place. Don’t pretend like I didn’t, because I know you’re only trying to protect me.”

  I gave him a wry smile. “All I can think about is keeping you out of harm’s way—I guess I keep forgetting the fact that you’re a bright spark. You’ve stayed one step ahead by yourself for this long. I suppose part of me is trying to fill Isadora’s shoes.”

  “I know, and I appreciate it. I just need you to ease off on the gas a bit.” He chuckled. “Right now, I’m thinking about the coven. But, when all of this is over, I need to know that there’s going to be a life out there for me. I need to put those plans in place now, if I can. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense. You’re putting me to shame.”

  “Nah, you’re handling yourself like a pro. Honestly.”

  “I just keep wishing Isadora was here too, so she could give me a bit of guidance.”

  He nodded. “Me, too. Did the letter not help at all? She wouldn’t tell me what was in it, but I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

  I pulled a face. “I can’t even talk to myself about it.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Parts of it, yeah. The truth is, what she wrote, it just… it hurts like a bitch. A lot more than I thought it was going to.” After hearing the news from Krieger, I was even more downhearted about the letter’s contents. It had offered so much and taken so much, all at the same time.

  “I’m sorry. Should I have hidden it?”

  I flashed him a sad smile. “Who knows—maybe. At the end of the day, I was the one who forced her to tell me all that stuff. I could’ve stayed in blissful ignorance, but I didn’t want to. I just had to know more. She was just doing what I’d asked. It’s not her fault, or yours.”

  “It’s not yours, either.”

  “Thanks, Jake.”

  “Anyway, when we get her back, you can ask her for more of the good stuff, to take the edge off the bad,” he said brightly. “Her stories are great.”

  “That’s the thing—where do we even start with getting her back?” I murmured, running a hand through my hair. “How do we rescue her when we can’t track Katherine? And you said you hadn’t sensed anyone with that kind of power in the coven.”

  He grinned. “Well, that’s another reason I agreed to help Krieger. You really need to keep up.” He winked and nudged me in the arm. “If I do some Sensating, or whatever it’s called, then maybe we can discover Katherine that way.”

  “Do you know something, Jake? You might be the smartest one out of all of us.”

  “I’ve got youth on my side.”

  I shoved him playfully. “Yeah, and you’re not too old for a smack.”

  “So, you think it’s a good idea?”

  “Now that you’ve put it like that, I think it’s the best plan we’ve got. If that machine could somehow track Katherine, then we might have a way of sneaking up on her. An advantage, at last.”

  I glanced at him for a moment. He might have been wearing Tarver’s mask, but his eyes were those of a kid. A kid with a lot resting on his shoulders. I wished I could reach out and take some of the strain for him, but that was an ability I hadn’t been granted. He was going to have to do this on his own. But I vowed, right then and there, that we’d be behind him, every step of the way.

  Four

  Harley

  After sleeping like the dead, I rolled out of bed to find that it was only half past five. The sun had just come up outside my bedroom window, the sky looking all the more mesmerizing through the gauzy filter of the interdimensional pocket. I stood there for a moment and watched the bolts of hazy orange and dusky pink trail across the dawn. It was rare that I simply stopped and took a moment to myself. Gazing out, I could pretend that my life was stress-free.

  Tearing my eyes away from the beautiful view, I padded over to my desk and opened the top drawer. A single letter lay inside, beside the note that my dad had left for me. The crinkles from where I’d crumpled his note ran like veins through the paper. My dad and my aunt, side by side in words. I took the letter and sat cross-legged on the floor. I’d read Isadora’s letter every day since I’d received it, but the words didn’t get any easier to swallow. My heart ached with every reread, while tears threatened to fall down my cheeks.

  My dearest niece,

  I’m sorry I’m not there to tell you this in person, but I hope this letter finds its way into your hands. There is much to tell, and not a lot of time to tell it, but I can’t write to you and not say this—I love you, sweet girl. I have loved you since the moment you were born and I held you in my arms for the first time. I cannot replace Hester, and I would never attempt it, but I have felt like part of your life for so long, though you didn’t know I existed. I was a vision in your dreams, no more, but you have always been a very real thought in my every waking moment. Your survival is all I care about. It is all your father and I cared about. And when I see your face, I see his pride and his love. His eyes are your eyes, and he would have been so overcome with joy at the woman you’ve become. It was our all-consuming love for you that drove us to save you, and to keep you hidden. It was that love that forced us to put the Suppressor in you, though I know it’s a source of great frustration and pain for you. I’m sorry for that.

  And so, that’s where I’ll begin—with the Suppressor.
I know you’ve been searching for a way to rid yourself of its boundaries, but I have to warn you before you try anything. It’s my duty as your aunt, and as the last person who can keep you safe. Not only from Katherine, and the threats surrounding you, but from yourself, as well.

  A knock at the door made me jump. Who the heck is knocking for me this early?

  “Come in,” I said, rattled. I hurried to hide the letter in my pajama pocket as I hastily wiped my tears away.

  Santana poked her head around the door. “Hey, I was on my way to the gym and I saw your light on. I thought you might want to—” She stopped, her expression morphing into a mask of worry. “Dios mio, are you okay? Did something happen?” She rushed to my side and wrapped me up in her arms. I guessed a teary-eyed me was a rare enough sight to cause some alarm.

  I buried my face in her shoulder. “I… I got a letter.”

  “A letter? From who?”

  “Isadora.”

  She pulled away and held my arms. “Before Katherine took her?”

  “Yeah.” I might’ve been ready to talk to someone about the letter, but I wasn’t about to blow Jacob’s cover at the same time. I’d already done it once with Wade; I didn’t want to make that same mistake again.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I nodded.

  “Is it bad news?”

  I nodded again. “There was a lot to take in.”

  “Well, start at the beginning and I’ll sit here for as long as you want me to,” she said, in her usual Santana way. Sitting back, she folded her legs under her and waited for me to speak.

  “You sure about that? We might be here all day.”

  “No problem. Now, shoot.”

  I took a shaky breath. “There were a couple of things she wanted to tell me, but the first thing she mentioned was the Dempsey Suppressor. She told me that, if I try and break it by force, there’s no way of knowing if I’ll come out the other side with any power at all. Apparently, it can go either way—leaving me with too much or nothing at all. No in-between, as far as I can tell, though she didn’t go into much detail about that aspect of it. By all accounts, my unused Chaos energy has been building up inside the Suppressor since I was two, which means the eventual release will be massive.”