If only that was a promise I could definitely keep.
Twenty-Seven
Finch
I wasn’t hungry, but rules were rules.
Two hours after our interview with Katherine, Harley and I were sitting in the beehive canteen. We were tucked at the end of a long table in the center of the room, the newbies stuck where everyone could see. And everyone did seem to be here. The noise was deafening, with people chattering on about the third trial. We’re right here, kiddos. They seemed eager enough to talk about us, but not so keen to actually talk to us.
“Eris should’ve decapitated them on the spot,” hissed a girl with long blue hair.
“Where’d she get off, talking to Eris like that?” added a beanpole of a guy. “I bet Eris is just planning something better. There’s no way they’ll fit in around here.”
Katherine sat at the high table, surveying her insipid subjects. It still amused me that she was a vegetarian, given her penchant for killing things. All the good psychos are, though, right? Naima stood guard behind her. She didn’t eat with the rest of the sheep. As a Purge beast, that’d put everyone off their food. Tess sat to Katherine’s right, while Kenneth sat on her left. It pleased me. Nobody wanted to be someone’s left-hand guy. The right hand was where it was at.
At our table, Shinsuke sat to Harley’s left, with a bunch of other cultists filling the proverbial pews. I didn’t know the guy sitting beside me, and I didn’t want to. What was the point? As soon as we had Hester’s spirit, we were out of here. No use making pals.
“People don’t seem too chatty around here, huh?” I said, making a sly dig at my neighbor. He was a shy-looking kid with a wispy mop of mousy hair. About as ordinary looking as it was possible to be. He shrank further into himself at the sound of my voice.
Still, it was awkward as ass for me. I knew a lot of these faces, but they didn’t know me. Some of them had even been in my main unit on missions: Ifrit Laghari, a towering, six-foot-five Indian guy with biceps the size of my torso and a penchant for watching things burn. He was an Inferno, which meant he was a rare variation of a Fire Elemental. He could literally turn his body into flames and lose his physical form for a while.
Coral Falkland, who was barbed wire in human form—all spiky and no-nonsense, with a slight frame and striking face, complete with silver hair in a braid down her back. She was what was known as a Blade, though I’d always called her “Porcupine,” which she’d hated. A Blade had the ability to forge knives through any part of their skin, manipulating the heavy metals in their body, which turned them into a ball of slashing, menacing fury that nobody could get close to.
Then, there was Bakir Khan, the son of a Russian bureaucrat and a former Miss Pakistan, who was always the brains of the outfit. He always looked impeccable, as if he was about to speak at some important meeting, his brown hair slicked back, his almond-shaped eyes taking in his surroundings at all times. He didn’t have any especially impressive powers, unless money and IQ could be classed as rare abilities.
And, last but not least, we had Delphine Basquiat—the scariest woman I’d ever met, barring Katherine. Despite her name, she had close-cropped green hair right now, though it changed from week to week, and eyes that were blacker than onyx. She was almost as tall as Ifrit, with bulging muscles and a punch that could kill a man in one swipe. She reveled in killing more than anyone I’d ever seen. No hesitation. Blood, guts, gore—the messier, the better. And the fact that she was a Cellular made her all the more terrifying. She had the ability to manipulate people on a cellular level, making them bend to her will. It was a temperamental ability, and it didn’t always work, but when it did… man, she went to town. I’d seen her explode people in a fountain of blood and viscera, only for her to lick the splashes from her face and move on without a word.
The nihilistic part of me wanted to shed my Pieter skin and show them who I really was. In my head, I hoped my last act would make Katherine choke on her food and die. But what was the likelihood of that? Anyway, I was learning to suppress the impulsive side of my personality. All I had to do was get through breakfast. Simple, right? Then, I could get away from Katherine, and all these idiots, in one piece.
It’d taken that last interview to make me realize how much I hated her. I could barely stand to be in the same room as my mother. I could never forgive what she’d done to Adley, and to me, no matter how hard I’d tried to give her a good excuse for both. I was done making excuses for her. She’d done it because she wanted to, because it served her interests. And that was all there was to it. That was the way the evil cookie crumbled. So why wasn’t the ache in my heart healing?
I noticed Shinsuke staring at me, as if he wanted to say something. Instead, he looked back down into his breakfast.
“Sorry about that fight, Shinsuke. No hard feelings? A guy’s got to do what a guy’s got to do to survive, right?” I broke the silence between us, drawing his gaze back up from his plate.
Shinsuke nodded slowly. “It was a good fight. You’re very skilled.”
“How’s your head today?”
“Sore, but I will endure.” He even sounded like his dad.
Harley smiled at him. “You’re not too shabby yourself. I guess you’ve got good genes though, with your dad being Hiro Nomura.”
Easy, Harley.
Shinsuke paled. “I’ve worked hard to be successful by myself, without my father’s help. You can’t raise yourself up beyond the label of Mediocre without intensive training and dedication. Genes play no part in it. If anything, my father’s genes did me a disservice.”
“Not a fan? It must suck, having everyone mention him whenever they meet you, huh?” I shared his pain. I’d been through enough of it myself.
“It does grate sometimes, yes,” he replied.
“Sorry,” Harley said. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I don’t waste energy on bearing grudges or feeling wounded by others’ comments. Besides, I’ve gotten used to it over the years.” Shinsuke scooped up a forkful of omelette and put it delicately into his mouth. Everything he did was methodic. Even eating breakfast.
I glanced up to find Katherine eyeing us. Since we were the newbies, she had to. Meanwhile, her right-hand and left-hand lackeys were scowling at each other. They were arguing over something likely petty, and I couldn’t see a clear winner. Tess tended to brush him off when he got like this, like a nasty bug. Kenneth was the one with the permanent grudge. I’d love to tear out your spine and feed you to Naima’s beasts. I wondered if they’d prefer him thick-cut or crispy. They stopped a moment later, as Katherine turned away from us to shoot them both a warning look.
“How long have you been here?” Harley asked our tablemate.
Shinsuke shrugged. “A few months.”
He cast a wary glance around. It was like he was pretending to be part of the crowd, but his body language said otherwise. His actions suggested he’d prefer to leave this place and never come back. Biggest mistake of your life, huh? Same.
“You don’t like it here, do you?” Harley lowered her voice to a whisper. Clearly, she was sensing the same vibes. Only she had her Empath abilities to clarify.
Shinsuke’s eyes widened. “I’m quite content.” The words came out almost robotic. Not hard for Shinsuke, but this was even more automated than normal.
Glancing around the table, I got the impression Shinsuke might not be the only one dissatisfied by the cult. Despite the apparent happiness and tranquility, I could sense an undercurrent of tension. It hadn’t been here before, when this place was my home. Something had definitely changed. I couldn’t tell what, exactly, but I knew one thing: the core of the Apple was rotting.
After breakfast, Naima stepped down from her pedestal and took us to one side.
“Don’t tell me, there’s a secret fourth trial to get through?” I was only half joking.
She smiled. “No, there is not. In fact, it is quite the opposite. You and Volla are to have the rest of t
he day off to recuperate and gather your strength. Katherine is of the mindset that you have had quite enough excitement for one day and have done more than enough work to get into the cult. As such, you have been gifted with a brief respite.”
Good. I sure as hell need it.
* * *
Since we were going out of our minds in the stone hut, Harley and I took a walk around the island. I hadn’t mentioned where we were going, but she seemed willing to follow me. Keeping away from the walkways, I led her back to the opposite side of the island, to the Hexagon she hated so much. Only, this time, we weren’t going to the lookout overhead. Instead, I took her to a shadowed entrance on the ground. It was hidden behind one of Katherine’s stone titans.
The layout of this place hadn’t changed since I’d last been here, and not many people knew about this entrance. This doorway was only for those in the know, Katherine’s most trusted—namely, only me and her. For that reason, it was never guarded.
“And Katherine’s office is definitely inside here?” Harley hissed.
I smirked. “Good guess. Why else would I be bringing you here?”
“You could’ve told me there was a secret entrance.”
“Why? So you could go wandering around and get yourself caught?” I gave her a knowing smile. “This is where the good stuff happens. See, Drake Shipton had a lot of hidden tunnels and basements built into the island, and this compound. He was a paranoid bastard, but it paid off. This way, if the island is ever under attack, and there’s no time to move it elsewhere, Katherine and her minions have a safe and undetected way out. The tunnels lead right under the ocean to the mainland.”
I pushed open the heavy, rusted iron door and ushered Harley inside. Judging by the squeal of the hinges, this entrance hadn’t been used in a long time. Suits me. The doorway opened out onto a long, dark tunnel made of concrete and steel. All of the corridors in this place looked the same. It was part institution, part nuclear bunker, part military base.
We made our way through a network of dimly lit corridors, ducking into doorways at the sound of oncoming footsteps. Nobody would pay us much mind, but it served to be cautious. Drake Shipton had had a point about that.
“Holy crap,” Harley muttered as we made our way through one final corridor and came out into a wider, brighter hallway, with doors branching off at steady intervals. Cult members were walking about, some standing guard at certain doors while others hurried this way and that. Everyone looked stressed. And they had reason to be. Any slip-ups and it’d be certain death. This was the true cult.
I grabbed Harley and yanked her back into the smaller corridor as a figure emerged from the only door to my left. Hello, Mother. The room she’d just come out of was her private study. I’d seen enough people die in these hallways as a result of disappointing her.
I nodded to Katherine as she breezed past with Naima at her side. They strode down the hallway, people bowing as they passed.
As soon as they disappeared at the bottom end of the hallway, I slipped around the corner with Harley in tow and headed for the single door. Katherine’s study was never guarded because it’d be a waste of manpower. No one was stupid enough, or suicidal enough, to enter without her say-so. So, what does that make me? Besides, it needed a password, and only two people knew that password. Me and Mother dearest.
I held the handle and whispered, “Sit turpium cogitationem in chao.” Meaning, “In Chaos there is rebirth.” I’d always thought it was a weird choice, but Katherine loved a statement.
The door clicked open.
Katherine’s study had always left me in awe. Despite being underground, she’d fashioned a smaller bubble within the interdimensional pocket, crafting this place into an otherworldly room. It resembled an observatory, with a domed ceiling that looked out into a perpetual cosmos. The walls were made of gold and wood, giving off major steampunk vibes. Circular bookcases wrapped around the entire room, full to the brim with leather-bound tomes. Meanwhile, the floor was glass, with water running beneath it. There were glass panels in the walls too, poking out from between bookcases. Behind the panes, mournful Selkies, fanged water-serpents, and miniature krakens twisted and turned. Now and again, a fight would break out, but Katherine had trained them to behave. It was her very own version of the SDC’s Aquarium.
“What if they come back?” Harley whispered, as I closed the door behind us and whispered the locking spell that would keep it that way. Katherine wouldn’t be back for ages, which meant nobody was getting in.
I smiled. “They won’t. It’s eleven o’clock, which means Katherine and Naima are having their mid-morning meeting in the war room.”
“The war what?”
“Big room, opposite side of the Hexagon. It’s where they have all their who-should-we-kill-today chats. All of her most trusted soldiers will be there, which gives us a good hour to do some searching.”
Harley frowned. “So… Hester’s spirit is in here?”
“Why else would I have brought you here?”
“Well… where is it?”
I peered at the shelves on the far wall, where an empty glass panel sat. There was no water behind this one, only a gilded room. “Her spirit used to be in that cage there.” I pointed at the panel. “But… not anymore. Katherine might have moved her to one of these charmed boxes for easy transport.” The study was littered with them. Big wooden boxes of every size. I moved to the first one and flipped the lid but found nothing but sheets upon sheets of papers and files.
Together, we searched through every single box in the place. And when that turned up nothing, we started on the shelves, and under the massive oak-and-gold desk, and in every nook and cranny we could find. After twenty minutes of searching, I realized it was hopeless.
“It’s not here!” I snapped.
Harley glanced at me. “We can go back to the hut and rethink this. Run through all the places you know about and brainstorm where else she might have put Hester’s spirit. Somewhere closer to the spot she might need to do the ritual, maybe?”
“I hate this place.” I kicked a box for good measure.
“Do you have any other ideas?”
My mind was racing. “I’ve got one other idea, yeah. The next logical place she’d hide Hester’s spirit would be—”
Both of our heads snapped toward the study door as it opened. Nobody should have been able to get in—except Katherine.
Tess walked through, her expression equally surprised before it transformed into one of suspicion.
“And what the hell are you two doing here?” she asked, her tone cold. I almost said, “Katherine gave the password to you?” but I reeled it in real quick. It looked like I’d been well and truly replaced, not that I cared. Right now, I was just bothered that Tess had caught us.
This wasn’t going to end well, and I really didn’t want to have to kill Katherine’s most valued cultist. All the lies in the world wouldn’t be enough to cover that up.
Twenty-Eight
Harley
Finch and I exchanged a look as Tess waited for our answer. There was nothing we could do—we’d have to play dumb. After all, we were the newbies here. Maybe we’d be able to convince her that we’d just stumbled upon this place—this hidden, high-security, critically important place. Yeah, right.
“We were trying to get a feel for the island layout,” I said, finding my voice. “You showed us this place before, and we wanted to take a closer look at the human labs. Only, we made a wrong turn and ended up inside the Hexagon instead of on top of it.” My heart was pounding so hard I was sure she could hear it from the other side of the room.
Finch nodded. “And then we saw Katherine heading along one of these hallways, and we wanted to talk to her about our place in the cult. You know, like, what are we going to do, when do we start fieldwork, that sort of stuff. But we lost her, so we had to ask for directions. Anyway, someone said this was her office, so we figured we’d wait, instead of wandering through the Hexagon an
d getting lost again. You know, seeing as she isn’t here.”
Tess eyed us both, saying nothing. Judging from the waves of suspicion coming off of her, she didn’t buy our story, and I had no idea how this would turn out. It was all I could do not to sprint past her and make a run for freedom. Not that trying to escape would do us any favors, either. She continued to examine us, making me wonder what the heck she was thinking. We’d turned into rambling idiots, instead of the poised, composed siblings we’d been during the trials.
I braced myself for a fight. I’d out myself with the full extent of my abilities if it meant we got out of here alive.
“Well, you shouldn’t be here. This door has a password—there’s no way you should be in here,” Tess said, at last.
Finch shrugged. “The door was open, so we figured it was okay to come in and wait.”
“And you think that means you can just go waltzing into wherever you like?” Tess barked. “If Katherine finds you in her office, she’ll kill you on sight. Nobody comes in here without her say-so, not even to wait. Do you understand?”
I nodded effusively. “Absolutely. Won’t happen again. We didn’t know.”
“Yeah, major crossed wires, that’s all.” Finch cleared his throat.
Tess pursed her lips. “Follow me.”
“Huh?” I didn’t like the sound of that.
“You want to see Katherine, right? That’s literally what you just said.”
“Uh… yeah, of course,” I replied, flashing a look at Finch.
“Right, well, follow me, then.” Tess walked toward the door and opened it, gesturing for us to go on ahead. We hurried past her without hesitating, trying really hard to downplay the comedy duo act we seemed to have taken on. She closed the office door behind her and set off down the hallway, with us in hot pursuit.
Harley Merlin 6: Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris Page 22