Harley Merlin 8: Harley Merlin and the Challenge of Chaos

by Forrest, Bella

  “Why wait, if you say you have faith in me?”

  “Call it hedging my bets.”

  “Have you been reading Horse & Hound or something? What’s with all the racing talk?” I smirked. “I could force you if I wanted to. I could break you in, since you seem intent on talking horse.”

  “Would you, though?” He smirked. “I know you like me, Katie.” Katie… It sounded so much more exotic in his mouth. “I know you appreciate what I can bring to the table, or you would have turned me into a mindless automaton by now. You want me to come willingly. Otherwise, where is the satisfaction? You want me to join you of my own accord because you want so much more from me, aside from my allegiance. Tell me I’m wrong… I dare you.”

  I watched him closely, wishing I could meet his challenge. But, the truth was, he was right. There wasn’t much fun to be had in forcing someone like him to work for me. It was so much better when they did it willingly, which was precisely why the cult had grown the way it had. My subjects were loyal and eager, all of them signing up because they wanted to and because they trusted in what I had to offer as a leader. The validation in that was unmatched.

  “All I want is your allegiance,” I said, at last.

  “Oh, Katie, we both know that’s not true, though I appreciate your attempt at a lie. Wouldn’t you rather have the pleasure of a worthy gentleman, who stood at your side out of choice?”

  I snorted. “You need to stop reading all of these books and playing that music—it’s messed with your head. This isn’t a romance novel. This is the real world, and I demand loyalty, pure and simple. Those who sit on their impartial fences will receive the same treatment as those who refuse to join me.”

  “Easy, Katie,” he purred. “I’m not saying I won’t join you. My promise still stands. Once you ascend as a Child of Chaos, I will happily join the Cult of Eris. I will come to you willingly, with my arms open. Until then, I am forever at your service—if I am able to assist, that is.”

  “So, basically, you don’t want the full commitment of the cult?” Typical man.

  “If you have to put it so boorishly,” he replied, with a small laugh. “I hope that doesn’t prove to be a wedge between us. I’d hate for anything to come between us, now that I’ve seen you again. I’d forgotten how much I missed you.”

  So, all wasn’t completely lost. His words implied that he wouldn’t be able to say no to anything I asked of him. He was still useful, despite his refusal to comply entirely.

  I sighed, unwilling to push it further. I wasn’t going to get the answer I wanted right now, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t come, in due time. He was so sexy and charming, and yet unpredictable—it annoyed and exhilarated me at the same time. But he’d said his piece, and nothing I added was going to change his mind.

  “There’s something else I need from you, since you’re so eager to offer your services,” I said.

  “Oh yes? Name it.” He licked his lips subtly. He couldn’t have been more distracting if he’d tried, which was the most annoying part about him—he wasn’t even trying.

  Giving him the simpler version, I told him about Alton and Harley’s mission to reveal the Hidden Things spell and the issues that Alton had run into, regarding needing a second Necromancer. Davin already knew about the existence of the Grimoire, as we’d discussed it during our last encounters, but he wasn’t aware that it was geared toward ending me. That revelation had come much later than our last meeting, during Odette’s last moments of having a functioning brain.

  He listened with interest as I revealed everything, his attention completely focused on me, the occasional sound of curiosity rumbling in the back of his throat. I liked that. He admired me—that wasn’t a show for my benefit. I’d been around enough men to know when they were faking and when they weren’t. It was what had made Hiram’s betrayal all the more hurtful. I hadn’t seen it coming. We’d shared a genuine, profound connection, and then he’d severed it without warning, pulling the rug out from under me. People say that love is blind, but my eyes had been wide open the whole time. Hiram had loved me, he’d said as much himself, until my sister had flaunted herself in front of him. Jezebel would’ve been a better name for you, Sis. Not that I was prone to blaming the woman for the weaknesses of men, but, in that particular case, I’d made an exception.

  “Why would you want this Merlin girl to read those pages if they contain something that may destroy you?” he asked, as I finished my tale.

  “There’s a spell in there that will do anything but. It will make me truly majestic, able to bridge the gap between worlds,” I replied. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what other spells she finds in those hidden pages that could potentially harm me. I’m so close to completing the Challenge. By the time Harley finds any kind of spell like that, it’ll be too late. It’s like going into battle with too many weapons; by the time you’ve picked, someone’s already skewered you through the heart.”

  “Charming visuals, as ever. You have a most poetic tongue.” He paused. “Even so, that is taking a rather large risk, if you don’t mind my saying.”

  “Have you ever known me to take the easy route?” I smiled. “And, besides, it’s a necessary risk. My unbridled energy is going to need a body, and it’s going to need one with the right oomph. One that can withstand all that I become, because of powerful bloodlines. Harley is my loophole.”

  “You can always have my body,” he replied seductively. “My bloodlines are pure.”

  I smiled tightly. “I need something a bit more ‘committed,’ but thanks for the offer. And it’s not purity I need, it’s ancient strength. The Doncasters came in a bit too late for that.”

  “Touché. A hit, a palpable hit.”

  “I swear you actually speak with some common, local accent and put all of this posh business on as a front.” I chuckled wryly.

  “But what a shame that you’ll have to lose your voluptuous, sensual figure for the sake of this. That is the very thing that brings men to their knees. I’ll mourn the loss of it, though I hope you’ll allow me to take full advantage before such a day occurs, to help heal the grief in the days to come.”

  My tongue tied itself in knots, just as Mrs. Mason granted me a reprieve, bustling in with a tray of scones and a teapot shaped like a thatched cottage. It looked so out of place amongst the rest of Davin’s finery that I burst into laughter, my shock melting away in a pool of hysterics.

  “Are you amused by my ceramics, Katie? I’d hate to think you were laughing at the prospect of my suggestion. My ego wouldn’t be able to bear it. I’d wilt like a flower in autumn.” He came over to sit beside me on the couch, a little too close for comfort. “You know, the French have a word for women such as yourself: pulpeuse.”

  “Should I be insulted?”

  He shook his head. “Not at all. Roughly translated, it means ‘luscious.’”

  Oh…

  Mrs. Mason hurried out again, casting a terrified glance back at me. I couldn’t tell if she was a magical or not, seeing as she looked like an ordinary, slightly overweight middle-aged woman, but I imagined Davin had her under the same constraints of blackmail as everyone else. He was clever like that, but at least he had no dirt on me. I’d made sure of it. That was one reason I’d never taken him up on his countless offers to whisk me away to his “chambers,” as he probably would’ve called them.

  “Here I was, thinking you the perfect English gentleman, and then you go and put that on the table.” I gestured to the hideous teapot, ignoring his seductive ploy. My cheeks were already hot under his gaze, like standing under spotlights.

  He grinned. “I like chintz, what can I say?”

  “You’re distracting me again,” I replied softly.

  “Am I? How delicious for the pair of us.” He leaned closer, brushing a strand of my hair back off my face. Nope… not gonna happen, pal. He might’ve looked like a freaking angel, but there was a devil inside him. We had that in common.

  I sat back, away from
his wandering hands. “Look, the bottom line is, I need Harley to perform the Hidden Things spell. It’s the only way I can get to the spell that will give me the right body, and I’ve been waiting years for the opportunity. Chaos is a sneaky bastard, but you already know that. It’s made it abundantly clear that I can’t just off her, which would be my preferred route. Anyway, if Alton is going to help make it happen, he needs two capable Necromancers. I’d prefer he use someone that I trust—someone who’s in my service, even if he’s not ready to go the whole way.”

  “Oh, I’m ready to go the whole way, but delayed gratification makes it worth the wait.” He smiled at me, with that devil-may-care look on his face.

  I shook off that sultry magnetism that threatened to draw me in. “Alton is strong enough to pull off one of these resurrections, I’m sure of it. He’s insecure, but he’s always been powerful. But he’ll need a second who’s just as strong, but who has that will to please Eris inside him, if you catch my drift.”

  Davin pretended to snatch something out of the air. “Oh yes, I’ve caught it. And you’ll no doubt be wanting me to take a peek when it’s done, to feed you some tasty morsels?”

  “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” I smiled. “Any information you can gather about what’s in the Grimoire, you give it to me.”

  “With pleasure.”

  “I have to reiterate, this is about resurrecting people who’ve already crossed over. One of them almost twenty years ago. This isn’t child’s play. I need to know you’re up to the task.”

  “But it’s such an abhorrent thing to do.” He tapped his chin in thought, before his face broke into a smile. “I would definitely like to be a part of this.”

  I smirked, satisfied to have a like-minded creature beside me. “Now, you won’t be the first person that Alton reaches out to, but I’ll make sure you’ll be his last and only choice for this.”

  “How will you do that? Do you have him on a leash? Should I be jealous?”

  “You can be jealous if you want, but it’s not like that. I have my ways.” I wasn’t going to tell him about my role as Imogene. That was my secret, and my secret alone. Well, mine and Jacob’s… But Jacob wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon, to spill his guts. If he did, he would be spilling his guts.

  “Secrets, secrets.” He tutted.

  “And you’re a saint?”

  He barked a laugh. “Not at all, nor do I profess to be. They lead such dull lives. One saint severed off his very own crown jewels, just to avoid the temptation of the fairer sex. You’d never find me doing something so drastic.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I replied, allowing myself to flirt a tiny bit. After all, what was the point in dealing with Davin Doncaster if I couldn’t have a smidgen of fun? “When the time comes, I want you to do the spell with Alton. After that, you have to make yourself disappear. I’ll handle the rest.”

  He waved his hands in front of his face. “Poof, I’ll be gone. Abracadabra and all that jazz.”

  “Good.”

  “Although, I hope we won’t be parted for too long.”

  “We’ll see. It all depends on how many splinters you’re intent on getting in your backside.”

  “Will you pick them out for me, Katie?”

  I chuckled. “You’re insufferable.”

  “You love it.”

  “Does this mean you’ll do it?”

  He shrugged. “Anything for you, Katie. And I can’t say I’m not intrigued to meet the Merlin heir. How sneaky, to have avoided you—and everyone else, for that matter—for so long. I bet she’s a corker.”

  “A what?”

  “A firecracker, a dervish, a sass queen—choose a more suitable term, if you will.”

  That made my skin itch with irritation, but I forced myself to grin. “Enjoy that meeting, since it may very well be the last time you see her alive.”

  Thirteen

  Harley

  The next day, I sat in the Banquet Hall with Dr. Krieger and the rest of the Rag Team, sipping coffee and going over all of the insane stuff that had happened since yesterday. Particularly, this recent development with Levi and Zalaam. Just when we’d thought things couldn’t get any weirder.

  “If he screws us over, I’m blaming you,” Raffe muttered under his breath.

  “How about a ‘Thank you’ or a ‘Great idea’? It’d make a nice change.” Kadar poked through for a second. The two of them had been bickering like siblings since we’d sat down to explain everything to everyone, and it didn’t look like it was going to let up anytime soon.

  “You might get a ‘Thanks for not getting us all horribly killed,’ if he pulls through for us,” Raffe shot back.

  “Hey, I’d be doing this myself if you’d hurry up and grow faster. It’s not my fault you measly magicals take so long to mature. If you were smarter, perhaps, that thread of mine might have connected itself up to the communal hive mind, and we wouldn’t have to rely on my father. Speaking of which, at least one of our fathers is helping. Yours has caused nothing but trouble,” Kadar snarked. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to make this seem normal, and my head was already thumping.

  Raffe’s eyes narrowed. “You leave my father out of this, Kadar! Let’s not forget who put him in that hospital bed, and who kept the secret that he even had a djinn! I still haven’t forgiven you for either of those things.”

  “It was your anger that made me attack your dumb daddy, so you can get off your high horse. I’m driven by your emotion—it’s not the other way around. I was following what your mind wanted me to do, so if you want to blame anyone, blame that useless gray matter that’s stuffed inside your skull. It doesn’t seem to be good for much else.”

  Raffe’s knuckles whitened around his coffee mug. “I swear, I will lock us both in our cell if you don’t pack it in!”

  “No, I will lock you both in your cell if you don’t pack it in,” Santana replied coolly. “I hate to be the one to agree with Kadar, but this might actually work in our favor, and you two sniping at each other isn’t helping anyone. Enough, I mean it!”

  “I knew I’d win you over.” Kadar chuckled.

  “You haven’t. It just sounds like the best idea we’ve had in a while, which is pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel right now. That’s right, your idea is barrel detritus, so you can get down off your high horse. From what you’ve said, Zalaam is more afraid of you two than you are of him, which puts us in a decent position for this to actually work. Unless you two tear each other apart, in which case we’re back at square one.” Santana flicked Kadar in the arm. “Now, bring Raffe back.”

  Kadar pouted. “I don’t see why. I’m the one you want to be talking to. Raffe doesn’t bring anything to the party except me, so why not speak to the organ grinder instead of the—”

  “You heard her. That’s enough from you.” Raffe emerged again, sweating profusely. “And try and call me a monkey again, and I’ll have you ripped out, one way or another.”

  “Can you keep hold of the reins?” Santana sounded worried.

  He nodded wearily. “Yeah, I’ve got it covered. Don’t worry. And, actually, it is a good idea, but I didn’t want him getting his ego any more inflated. Otherwise, we wouldn’t fit through the door.”

  We all waited for Kadar to make another flash appearance, but he seemed to have gotten the message, loud and clear. Everyone went back to drinking their coffee and picking at the remains of their breakfast.

  “What are we going to do about Levi, when he wakes up?” I looked to Raffe. “Zalaam might be useful, but he also might be trouble. He’s pretty stuck at the minute, since your dad is out cold, but that might change when he’s conscious again. The last thing we need is a loose, unpredictable djinn—one that we don’t know, I mean.” I didn’t want him to think I was making a dig at his circumstances.

  “Kadar and I have spoken about it,” Raffe replied. “We’re going to wrestle back control from Zalaam, as soon as my father wakes up. If he’s as fr
ightened of Kadar’s power as he says he is, we should be able to force him into submission.”

  “So, what was all that arguing about, then, if you’d already decided what you were going to do?” Garrett asked.

  Raffe shrugged. “That’s just how we do things.”

  “It shouldn’t be too much longer until Levi can be safely brought out of his magical coma,” Dr. Krieger said. “His body has stabilized considerably, so I’m hopeful that he’ll awaken with no ill effects.”

  “Yay for good news!” Dylan raised his mug, but nobody cheered with him. “Or not…”

  “Yay for your enthusiasm.” Tatyana leaned into him and smiled. I’d never heard Tatyana say “yay” before, which was cause for celebration in and of itself. Their sweetness was a nice thing to see, after the endless toil of the last couple of days. It made me want to nestle into Wade and never come back out again, but that wasn’t going to happen. He and I would have to go our separate ways soon enough, and I didn’t know if we’d ever get to come back together again. That wasn’t easy for me to swallow, but sacrifice came in lots of different forms. This would be mine, even if it shattered what was left of my broken heart.

  “How are you faring with your monsters?” Astrid shifted the conversation away from the lovebirds.

  “Well, I’m healing from the last round, which is good. No infections, thanks to Nurse Wade and Doctor Finch,” I replied. “Tobe wants me back in the Bestiary sometime this morning, so I guess I’ll know more after that.”

  “I’m a wizard with the old antiseptic.” Finch grinned.

  “You’re a wizard anyway,” Wade replied, smirking. “And I was the one who applied the antiseptic.”

  “Eh, no need to split hairs. And it’s ‘magical.’ Let’s not be archaic about it, even if wizard does sound way cooler. Warlock’s better, though. That sounds majorly powerful.” The two of them seemed to be getting along a lot better after my last encounter with the gargoyles, which almost made the scratches worth it.