Harley Merlin 8: Harley Merlin and the Challenge of Chaos

by Forrest, Bella

  “Behind you,” she whispered in my ear. I twisted around, only to go careening backward when she kicked me hard in the chest. Wade followed as she landed a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him to the ground. Wheezing, I struggled to get up, only to find that Wade wasn’t moving. He lay still on the ground, blood trickling from his nose. I crawled over to him and shook him by the shoulders.

  “Wade?”

  He groaned, his eyes blinking open. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

  “Think again.” Naima loomed over me. I tried to get my Chaos together, but she gripped me by the throat and lifted me up, leaving me dangling and fighting for air. It was hard to conjure magic when someone was crushing your windpipe. But if I didn’t, she’d kill me.

  Gripping her wrists to steady myself, I urged Earth through her body, the emerald on my Esprit glowing fiercely as I called on good old Mama Nature to do her best work. The ground shook, and tree roots shot up through the floorboards. They twisted around Naima’s legs and worked their way up to her torso. I pulled my hands into fists, the roots following suit, gripping tighter and squeezing hard until Naima had no choice but to let me go.

  I hit the deck, dragging air into my lungs and grasping at my neck to make sure she hadn’t pierced the skin. A short distance away, Wade was back on his feet, his ten rings glowing. I made a beeline for him, leaving Naima to slash away at the roots that held her fast. They wouldn’t keep her distracted for long, but at least we could catch our breath for a second. My heart was already pumping hard, my arms tingling from using so many types of ability in one go.

  “She’s tough,” I muttered, using the opportunity to gather a ball of emotion into my chest. This might be the best chance I had to put my reverse Empathy to the test, and I wasn’t going to waste it. I built it up as best I could, but I was having the same problem I’d had with Leviathan. It wasn’t enough. I needed to get my Darkness involved, or this was never going to work.

  He nodded. “You can say that again.”

  I closed my eyes to try and release my Darkness. I’d just reached that weird edge, where Light met Dark, when something knocked me straight off my feet. Pain shot up my legs, forcing my eyes open. Naima had Wade in a headlock, her claws out and ready to strike. Startled, I looked down to see what was causing me so much pain, and found blood pouring down the backs of my legs, my jeans torn. She’d tried to sever the tendons in the backs of my knees, by the looks of it, but she hadn’t quite cut deep enough. Still, that didn’t mean it wasn’t stinging like a bitch.

  Still lying on the floor, I unleashed a lasso of Telekinesis at Naima, wrapping the tendrils around her paws and ripping them away from Wade. He ducked out the moment her grip loosened, and whirled on her, shooting out blast after blast of Fire. She feinted out of the way, pulling against my Telekinesis and dragging me with it. I had to sever the tie, jumping back up to my feet to try something else. I need one gap—just one chink in her armor. But, so far, she wasn’t showing any signs of weakness.

  She darted this way and that, zigzagging so that none of our attacks landed. Before I knew it, she was on me again, bending me around into a headlock. I could feel her muscles rippling underneath her thick fur as she squeezed tighter, making my eyes bulge out of my head. I tried to retaliate with Fire and Air, but it didn’t make a difference. It was almost like she didn’t even feel it. Even as her forearm went up in flames, she just held it closer to my face, until I was forced to snuff it out with a bunch of Water. She shook herself off, still gripping me tight.

  “Come any closer, and I will twist her head off,” Naima warned, as Wade edged nearer.

  “I don’t think your boss would be too happy about that.” He was calling her bluff.

  As she tried to muster a comeback, he launched a precise beam of Fire at her head, and she let me go. But not before she caught hold of the back of my jacket. I slithered my arms from the sleeves and stumbled forward to join Wade. I knew he’d catch sight of my tattoo with my arms bare, but that didn’t matter now. He’d understand what it meant, and he wasn’t about to stop a fight to ask me questions.

  “Does it still ache, Harley?” Naima chuckled, staring at the Apple of Discord. “Or does it just kill you to know you are stuck with that for the rest of your life?”

  “It only spurs me on,” I replied. “A reminder of what I need to do and why.”

  “At least you did not scream too loudly when I poured the gold into your flesh. Most do.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Then I guess I’m tougher than I look.”

  I bombarded Naima with Fire. Before I could stop him, Wade barreled through the beam of Fire, hurling himself at her, and tackled her to the ground. She fell with a thud. With his ten rings glowing more brightly than ever, he pummeled her with Chaos, urging wave after wave of Fire into her, until her fur had turned black, all of it practically melted away from her skin, to reveal the scorched, raw flesh beneath. An exposed patch opened beneath her heart, though it was hard to home in on it with the two of them wrangling like bare-knuckle brawlers on the ground.

  You can do this, Harley. I had to, or we’d never get out of this cabin alive.

  I grasped for a tendril of powerful Telekinesis and slammed it into her chest. She stilled, the air pushed out of her lungs. Hurriedly gathering up a ball of emotion, I delved deep into my mind and reached that stark edge between my affinities. Letting the Darkness loose, I felt it take over, my veins pulsating, my whole body jangling with the after-effects of feeding the proverbial beast.

  “Submit!” I bellowed, my voice echoing strangely again. It hurt like mad, my throat on fire, but I’d gotten used to this particular brand of pain. It was almost getting easier, each time I did this. “Submit to me!” I stepped closer, until I was right over her. Wade stepped away from Naima, letting me work my magic.

  “Never!” She tried to move, but I was holding the reins.

  “I said, submit!” The words came out of my mouth as a howling scream, as though there was a banshee at the cabin door. It echoed around the room, the hairs on the back of my neck sticking up. Below, Naima grunted and snarled, but there was nothing she could do to fight this. I had control now, and I wasn’t about to relinquish it. “Do you submit?” I roared, the sound deafening, to the point where even Wade had to cover his ears.

  Naima gnashed her jaws. “I… I sub… I submit.”

  “Good, now tell me the exact coordinates of Eris Island’s current location.”

  “21°05’31.0”N… 159°00’12.5”W.” She strained against me every second, but I held fast.

  “When does Katherine plan to move it again?”

  She snarled furiously. “Not for at least… four days.”

  “Thank you,” I said coldly.

  “What are we going to do with her now?” Wade asked. “Should I manipulate her memory to make her forget?”

  I shook my head, my mind already made up. We couldn’t risk letting her loose to warn the evil bitch. I didn’t even look at Wade as I crouched low and pressed my palms to the ground, the emerald of my Esprit glowing. Tree roots splintered up through the floorboards around Naima. As I twisted my hands, the roots followed my movements, wrapping around Naima’s throat and squeezing tight. I wished there could’ve been a quicker way.

  “Harley?” Wade sounded worried.

  “She has to die, Wade. You know that, and I know that.” I pulled the roots tighter, until her eyes turned red. “Death is a better end for her. Loyalty to Katherine only corrupts and decays the soul. Her soul, if she has one. That’s far worse than death.”

  “You can stop now,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “She’s dead.”

  “I need to check.” I leaned down and put my hand in front of her nostrils, but she wasn’t breathing anymore. He was right. She was dead. Black cracks were already starting to appear in her skin, small sections of her body peeling away in flakes that reminded me of ash, letting me know it wouldn’t be long until she dissipated completely.
/>   Now for the really hard part. I needed to ditch Wade, somehow.

  Taking a moment to collect my thoughts, I pulled more Water from the kitchen sink and spilled the liquid over the Strainer pentagram. I washed the symbol clean off so nobody could come here unexpectedly. I might have needed to ditch Wade, but I wanted him to be safe.

  Next, I searched the pockets of Naima’s cloak. Wade followed me, watching me closely. What I was doing looked innocent enough—just someone checking the enemy’s clothes for anything valuable. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking for, but at least I was buying some time to get a plan together. A moment later, my hands closed around a cluster of smooth shapes. Perfect….

  “Find anything?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No, but I should probably bring this cloak, in case anyone comes looking for Naima. We can at least make it look like she’s gone somewhere else. Her body will probably start evaporating soon, so that gets rid of the main evidence.”

  “Makes sense.” He smiled, and it broke my heart. “Should we get going?”

  “Lead the way.” I forced myself to smile back.

  The moment his back was turned, I scattered the entrapment stones at his feet. He glanced down at them in surprise as the gleaming ropes shot out and crisscrossed over him, dragging him to the ground. They wouldn’t hold him forever, but they’d stop him from trying to stop me. And, hopefully, he’d forgive me, once he understood. As he writhed and thrashed, I hurried toward him and knelt at his side. Reaching through the shining red ropes, I rummaged in his pockets and took out the spare emerald and his phone, with him helpless to stop me.

  “I’m sorry, Wade.” I slipped the emerald into my own pocket and carried the phone back through to the kitchen, putting it out of his reach. Once he was out of the ropes, he’d be able to phone for help, but I had to buy some time first. Taking a second to gather my nerve, I turned back and stepped over him, hating every second of this.

  “What are you doing, Harley?” he barked, his eyes angry. “Let me out of here. Stop messing around.”

  “I’m not messing around. I’m sorry, but you have to stay here for a while. I’ll explain everything, hopefully, one day, but I can’t now.”

  “Harley!” he yelled. “Let me go, now!”

  “I love you, Wade, and if I survive what happens next, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.” I took a breath. “It needs to happen like this. I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry.”

  I turned my back on him and headed for the door. Walking out of the cabin was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, that fight with Naima included. Speaking of which, half of Naima was already gone, the rest of her vanishing in a flurry of ashy flakes as the seconds passed. All I wanted to do was take those ropes away and let him come with me, but his life was more important than my selfish need to have him beside me.

  “Harley!” he hollered after me, but I’d already closed the door, the sound disappearing.

  Once I was a short distance from the cabin, I took out the emerald and held it in my hand. Trying to remember the words that Zalaam had taught Wade, I closed my eyes and let the words come. I’d never spoken Arabic before, but I hoped Chaos would get the gist of what I was trying to say.

  My body disappeared, transforming me into a wisp of smoke as I focused on where I wanted to go. It wasn’t easy, considering all the thoughts racing through my head and the emotions pounding through my skull, but I held on to the location.

  Zipping away from the cabin at lightning speed, the world rushing by beneath me, I tried to ignore the stark reality of what I’d just done. I’d left Wade stranded in Montana, and I had no assurances that I’d ever see him again after I faced Katherine. I should’ve said more. I should’ve stayed there and poured out my heart to him, in case it was the last time. I should’ve hugged him and kissed him and told him over and over how much I loved him. But it was too late now. I was already flying away from him, with so many things left unsaid.

  Those entrapment stones would hold him for at least a few hours, if not more. Ordinarily, they held monsters, not skilled, powerful magicals, but these had come from Katherine, so maybe I had a little more time. A few hours was all I needed for the next part of my mission.

  Twenty-Seven

  Harley

  The djinn portal led me back to my bedroom in the SDC, my body reappearing from the wispy smoke.

  I couldn’t look at the bed without thinking of Wade and the sweet, stolen moment we’d shared before we’d gone to Montana. Tears still stung my eyes, but I had to force them back; there was no time for sentiment, not right now. I could cry and beg forgiveness later, providing I made it through. But, for the time being, I had to be strong.

  Stronger than I’d ever been before.

  I changed quickly out of my torn clothes, and I threw Finch’s jacket over the top, even though it still had rips in it. Running over to the spot where I’d hidden the Grimoire bag, I checked to be sure I had everything on my list. It was all there, weighing the bag down.

  I strapped the bag across my body and checked the clasps before opening a doorway to Alton’s office. We’d have to push our plan forward, and I hoped Alton had the means to do it, considering I had no idea how long the entrapment stones would hold Wade for.

  Stepping into Alton’s office, I closed the door quietly behind me. Alton was standing on the far side of the room, scanning through some documents with his back turned to me. He didn’t know I’d arrived.

  “Boo!” I didn’t know why I’d said it, but it felt right. Anything to take the edge off what I’d just done to the man I loved.

  Alton jumped, almost scattering the documents across the office. “You’ve got to stop doing that!” He whirled around. “Secret tunnels are one thing, but this is plain unfair. You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”

  I chuckled. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

  “You’re a little early, aren’t you?”

  “About that—we need to go now. I know we were supposed to meet at midnight, but something’s come up. We need to do the spell as soon as possible.” I lowered my gaze, trying not to give the game away. “Can you call Davin, get him to come sooner?”

  Alton frowned. “Why the rush?”

  “It’s Katherine,” I said. “She appeared on Smartie’s surveillance, in San Diego.” I didn’t enjoy lying, but given the circumstances, I figured this was justified.

  “She did?” His jaw dropped.

  “I’m guessing she knows about the Grimoire, which means we have to move. Pronto.”

  He nodded rapidly. “Give me a moment, and I’ll see what Davin can do.” Taking out his phone, he dialed a number and pressed it to his ear. “Davin? Yeah, there’s been a slight change of plan. How soon can you get to the location?” He paused. “Oh? You’re already there? Ah, I see. You wanted to get a feel for the place. I suppose that makes sense. Well, we won’t be too long, so don’t go anywhere. Yes, yes, I have everything.” He rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m going to do my best. I suggest you do the same. Very good, see you soon.” He hung up.

  “All good?”

  He sighed. “Yes. He might be something of an asshat, but he’s diligent—I have to give him props for that. He’s already there, hexing the site with protective spells.”

  “He can’t be all that bad, then.”

  “No… though I imagine it’s to save his own skin and keep out prying eyes.”

  I shrugged. “As long as it works for us, too, I’m not complaining. Now, do you have everything ready? I’ve got all the ingredients for the spell, but I know you thought you had more time.”

  “I have what we need.” He waved his hands across an open space in front of the bookshelves to the back of the room, a forcefield disintegrating to reveal two caskets pushed against the wall.

  I tried not to shudder. “Do I want to ask how you got them?”

  “When you’re wearing a white coat and a stethoscope, people wi
ll believe just about anything,” he replied solemnly. “I went to the nearby hospital and removed two corpses from the mortuary, claiming they’d been compromised with a deadly infection that could spread if the bodies weren’t quarantined. I confess, I feel nasty for doing it, but… hey, it’s done now. The greater good, right?”

  “Right.” I glanced at the caskets, wondering who was inside. And where Alton had managed to get caskets at such short notice. I didn’t know if there was a hotline that Necromancers could phone to get their hands on death-related items, but clearly Alton had pulled some strings. Likely at his own expense, out of respect for the dead. He felt bad enough without leaving the poor souls exposed.

  Faced with actual death, it was only natural to think about who these people had been when they were living. What had they enjoyed? Who had they loved? Who loved them? Did they live good lives? It made me think about my own life. There was a good chance that Wade would never forgive me for this, but I couldn’t dwell too much on that. I had to remind myself that I was doing this for his sake, and for the sake of everyone I held dear. Did that make me a good person, despite these shady actions? I really hoped so. At the end of it all, I wanted to have lived a good life, with a story worth telling. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted?

  “I suppose we don’t have anything more to discuss,” Alton said, looking to me. “Are you ready?”

  I took a shaky breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be, for something like this.”

  “Then we should go.”

  “After you.”

  He smiled. “You’re the one with the charmed chalk. If I may?”

  I crossed the room and handed him the innocuous stick. “It’s all yours.”

  Taking the proffered chalk, he lifted it to the wall and drew a large doorway, before whispering the Aperi Si Ostium spell and closing his eyes, no doubt focusing on the place he wanted to go. The edges of the chalk lines sparked, sinking into the wall and forging a three-dimensional doorway. Alton opened his eyes and turned the handle, pushing the door open.