Harley Merlin 18: Persie Merlin and Leviathan’s Gift

by Forrest, Bella

  “Your mom laid into you, didn’t she?” Although Genie might have been older than any of us—older than my mom, even—Atlantean minds developed differently, so she acted the same as any teenager. It might’ve sounded strange, but we’d all gotten used to the age disparity after the first wave of integration, twenty years ago.

  “We… had a difference of opinion. Let’s just say that.” I really didn’t want to talk about it, but I had to get it off my chest. “I ended up telling her about moving to a different coven.”

  Genie stared at me. “Seriously?” She hurriedly checked that Alyssa wasn’t watching us. Fortunately, the preceptor had returned to a heated debate with Diana and the other students about the previous video.

  “I did. And I might regret it now. Anyway, how did things go with your dad? I’m guessing it wasn’t too bad, since you’re in class.”

  “The usual lecture, and a few truths of my own.” She grinned. “I swear you and I are connected by the brain. He got me so annoyed that I just blurted out my plans for the future, too. And he didn’t like them one bit. He wants me to study at an Atlantean university, to get in touch with my heritage. I think part of him misses the old world, so to speak. Anyway, I told him, for the millionth time, that if he wanted me to get in touch with my heritage, he never should have taken me out of Atlantis. Cue him giving me the usual spiel about necessity. I said I was going to forge my own path out of necessity, and I wasn’t going to take any of that stuffy, antiquated crap. He told me we’d talk about it another time, and I haven’t seen him since. He’s probably constructing a cage for me as we speak.”

  “Trouble in paradise?” Diana leaned into our conversation.

  I laughed wryly. “Parents.”

  “Your mom?” Diana eyed me, her blue gaze whirring like an X-ray machine.

  I gestured to Genie. “And her dad.”

  “Girls!” Alyssa shouted, giving us serious stink eye. Diana pretended to look forward again, waiting until the preceptor carried on with a deconstruction of my mom’s arena battle, before continuing the conversation at a whisper.

  “Is it the… secret thing that no one talks about?”

  “When is it not?” I lamented. The whole family knew about my monster sitch. Well, my cousins weren’t supposed to, but they’d overheard a thing or two.

  Diana nodded in understanding. “She’s worried about you, that’s all. My mom’s worried; my dad’s worried. Everyone’s worried.”

  “I know.” I aggressively shaded a few scales, ruining one. “But I’m worried, too. Worried about what this means for my future if Mom doesn’t let me out of her sight.”

  “Hey, it’s like when you get a pimple. It’s all red and angry the first day, but then it settles and eventually goes away, and everything’s smooth again. Unless you pick at it, and then it gets worse.” Diana offered a reassuring smile, showing her sweet side. “Have a chat with your mom and dad, keep it calm, and the pimple will resolve itself.”

  I laughed. “What do you know about pimples?”

  “There’s a lot that glamour can hide.” She winked, and the tension in my tight smile eased slightly.

  “I wish one could hide me,” I half joked.

  “It can’t be that bad, can it?” Diana looked dubious. “You hardly ever argue. I’m sure it’ll blow over.”

  I set my pencil down and stared up at the video playing out on the board. “I don’t know if this one is going to. We want two different things. She wants me where she can see me; I want to get out of here and see more of the world.”

  “Ditto.” Genie smiled sadly. The other pea in my pod.

  I sank back into my chair and watched the familiar film play out. My mom, a few years after she’d had me, taking part in the North American Expo. I knew how it ended. The famous Harley Merlin flooring a giant woman in two minutes flat and the crowd erupting into applause. Squinting, it could’ve been me up there, aside from the hair color. We had the same face, the same eyes, and the same stubborn heart. I loved her. She loved me. And that love and similarity had somehow built a powder keg between us over the years. One spark, and it blew.

  Let me go, Mom. Let me walk down my own path. Let me fight my own battles, the way you got to. I glanced at the classroom, which had fallen quiet. Everyone was transfixed by my mom’s prowess. The shadow I lived under. She didn’t realize that her shadow would stunt me if I stayed in its darkness. I needed freedom, I needed air, I needed something new—something that belonged entirely to me—or I’d suffocate.

  Five

  Harley

  She’ll be in Physical Magic by now. I tried not to look at the huge vintage clock in Waterfront Park’s latest brunch hotspot, Holland Days. I guessed they thought they were clever with the word play. In a better mood, I might’ve agreed. Instead, I tipped back my second mimosa and downed half of it in one go. Ryann and Santana gave me a curious look—code for, “What the heck happened that warrants two mimosas in less than fifteen minutes?”

  “Long day,” I grumbled in reply to their unspoken question, drinking the rest and signaling for another. I knew I’d hate myself for it later.

  Astrid checked Smartie’s screen. “It’s three o’clock.”

  “I know.” I exchanged a conspiratorial look with Wade. We’d organized this brunch about two weeks ago, since detailed planning was the only way to have quality time with friends these days. I’d tried to bail due to wayward offspring, but Wade had insisted we show up. He thought it might take my mind off things. If only.

  “This place is nice.” Raffe glanced around, oblivious to the elephant in the room. I smiled, despite myself. He hadn’t changed a whole lot, and I was glad of that.

  Sometimes, surrounded by my married friends, I forgot that almost two decades had passed since we were all young and childfree. We’d sat in a different place then, in a different establishment, but the view had been the same. Lovers and families, strollers and dogs, runners and cyclists—they all followed the same paths around the park that they always had. Only their faces changed; the kids becoming the adults and having kids of their own. Just like us.

  I nodded and poked at my plate. “How long has it been open?”

  “A few months, I think.” Garrett wiped his mouth on the corner of a napkin, also oblivious to the telepathy of women.

  “What’s wrong?” Santana came out with it, simultaneously feeding Slinky, who was draped around her shoulders. He hadn’t aged a day. Bastard. “You’ve got a face like thunder, and the bartender looks like he’s thinking about watering down your third mimosa. Either you’ve gone rogue, or you’ve got teenage daughter problems.”

  I toyed with the stem of my mimosa flute. “That obvious, huh?”

  “Only to us.” Ryann nodded, her voice soothing.

  “And the bartender,” Santana muttered.

  “Persie wants to change covens,” Wade answered for me. I offered him a grateful smile. He had a way of keeping things simple that I lacked.

  A shocked ripple spread out across the table. Even Raffe set down his fork, though Kadar had been ranting about how hungry he was two minutes earlier. The djinn hadn’t calmed down over time, but he’d become one of us in his own right. And he adored his kids more than anything—the kids all three had technically adopted. I’d never seen him quieter, or more angelic, than when he’d held a two-year-old Marius in his arms for the first time.

  Astrid wiped her glasses on her shirt, frowning. “Why would she want to do that? The SDC has everything she could need, and we’ve got the best non-magical department in the country.”

  “Well, you say that, but there are other covens that are equally good. Maybe she wants to see Europe, or Brazil,” Garrett chimed in. “And lots of them have programs that we don’t, like—” Sharp looks from Ryann and Santana silenced him. “Uh, never mind.”

  “I could just about deal with that, if it weren’t for…” I sucked in a nervous breath. “You know.”

  Raffe shifted into Kadar, his skin burning
scarlet. “What has that scaly devil done now? Has he harmed Miss Persie? I am already ravenous, and, since Raffe has denied me these sandwiches, I would not mind taking a bite out of an ancient Purge beast to satisfy my hunger.”

  I gave a weak chuckle. “Thanks, but I don’t think it’d do any good.”

  “Why’s that?” Ryann asked, after a sip of her drink. “Melody still didn’t find anything to keep Leviathan at bay?”

  “Nope, nada. And if she hasn’t found anything in eighteen years, I doubt she will now. Tobe has reinforced hexes on Leviathan’s box, but I’m not sure I’d pit them against Leviathan’s determination.” I sagged, feeling miserable. “I don’t know what he wants from my daughter. All I know is, he wants something. That’s why I can’t just let her wander off to some other coven. I need her here, so I can protect her no matter what.”

  “And she thinks you’re being unreasonable?” Santana stroked Slinky’s vivid feathers.

  I shrugged. “I pretty much told her that I was banning her from going anywhere for the foreseeable future.” I tore up the corner of a napkin, leaving a snowfall of scraps on the tabletop. “And it sucks, because I hate monitoring her all the time like she’s in a police state, but what else can I do when Leviathan’s gunning for her?”

  “Wade, what do you think?” Ryann prompted.

  He looked stoic in his resolve, but a hint of remorse glinted in his eyes. “I agree with Harley. We need to keep Persie safe, but I wish she didn’t feel like we were putting a stranglehold on her. That’s how it seems, and neither of us knows how to make her see why we’re doing this.”

  “And, with her eighteenth birthday coming up, you’re worried about the gift he might bring?” Astrid folded her hands on the table, as though we were in the middle of an interview.

  Wade and I looked at each other. “In a nutshell, yeah,” he replied.

  “My offer is still on the table.” Kadar huffed and puffed, sending up wisps of angry black smoke.

  “I’ll keep that as a backup, but… we need to make sure we’ve got all hands on deck when her birthday comes around, in case things take a Leviathan-shaped turn.” I hated admitting I needed help, but these were my people. They’d do everything they could for Persie.

  Santana stopped mid-stroke of Slinky. “Are we talking weapons, hexes, the whole shebang?”

  “All guns blazing.” I swallowed the creeping guilt that edged up my throat. I was asking for an army without letting the target know she was a target. “I hoped Melody might still come through with a solution. That hasn’t happened, obviously, so it’ll be down to us, when the time comes.”

  “But her birthday is soon! Like, four days away!” Ryann looked as though I’d slapped her with a wet fish. “If Leviathan is coming for her, then we don’t have long to prepare!”

  I shook my head and tried to offer her my best apology face. “No, we don’t. And I don’t even know what we can do, besides being there for her and using everything we have to defend her.”

  Just then, a figure rushed up to the table and plopped down in the empty seat beside Ryann. Red-cheeked and breathing hard, Finch leaned over to kiss his wife. Ryann smiled and playfully batted him away. Even when he was late, he managed to bring some levity to any situation. Flashing a grin, he swiped up a glass and took a sip, only for his smile to fade rapidly as he took in the hangdog faces. “Who died?”

  “Persie is in trouble.” Kadar stuck out his proud chin. I guessed he was about five minutes away from snatching up his fork and going to face Leviathan himself.

  Finch’s expression darkened. “What do you mean? Is it Leviathan?”

  “You’d know if you were here on time.” Santana shot him a sarcastic smile. Twenty years later, their love-hate relationship was still going strong.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d added me to your Von Trapp family. Would you like me to start singing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ before or after I find out what’s going on with my niece?” He turned his attention back to me as Santana rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Harley, what did I miss?”

  He liked the news even less than the others.

  “So, you don’t know if Tobe’s hexes and Leviathan’s stasis will hold him back, for some reason, Melody’s still a no-go, and you still don’t know what nightmare jack-in-the-box he’s got prepped for Persie’s eighteenth?” He downed the drink he’d pilfered from Ryann. Merlin minds thought alike.

  “A gift,” I corrected.

  “Oh yeah, because he’s got eighteen years of My Little Ponies waiting for her.” Finch shook his head. “His idea of a gift isn’t going to be sunshine and rainbows, Harley.”

  I sighed and held on to Wade’s hand.

  “Go easy, Finch,” he warned. “And we don’t exactly know that. Echidna helped us before, and Leviathan helped us, in a roundabout way. It could be a useful gift, or it could not. Which is why we need to prepare for all scenarios, including the worst case.”

  “I’m guessing you haven’t told her about it?” Finch eyed me.

  I puffed air through my lips. “No, but I know we can keep him away from her if we have to. I have a better idea of what to expect.” My determination to give my daughter an ordinary life was one of the main reasons I’d kept the secret. Why tell her, if it didn’t have to go down like that? We had power, we had strength, and we had everyone on our side. If Leviathan struck, he’d have to face all of us. And we’d faced worse… right? Heck, I’d faced Leviathan and won once before. I’d do it again. Plus, Wade was right. I’d spent so long thinking Leviathan would bring something bad, I’d never stopped to think that it might be something good. Then again, nothing came from him without provisos.

  “Correction. You hope we can keep him away. Well, looks like I came along at the perfect time.” He flexed his fingers and cast Santana a pointed look. “First, and I know this is going to sting, but cut the girl some slack. The harder you try to control her, the more reason you’ll give her to distance herself from all of us. And that’s the last thing anyone wants, with Captain Tentacles on the hunt. She needs to know we’ve got her back.”

  Ryann put her arm around Finch’s shoulders. “If she’s anything like Diana, she just needs time to think and calm down. I wouldn’t be surprised if she comes to find you tonight, to have a quieter conversation about everything.”

  I wonder if Wade and I look like they do: a team. They spoke on the same wavelength without it sounding like they were ganging up on anyone. A seamless double act that had taken years to perfect.

  “And maybe tell her everything you know, if you want to convince her that we’re the sane ones.” Finch tilted his head until it lay against Ryann’s. “Otherwise, you look like demented, super-controlling parents who want to squeeze all the joy out of her life for no reason.”

  “Finch.” Ryann jabbed him in the ribs.

  He laughed. “Sorry. I went a little strong with the teenage mindset there.”

  “If she hasn’t started throwing darts at a picture of my face, I’ll talk to her again.” But still, there was a part of me that didn’t know if I could break the truth to Persie. If I told her about this unknown gift, there’d be more questions I couldn’t answer, and I was terrified that would only push her farther away. Or, worse, that it might push her toward Leviathan.

  “Ah, so that’s why she came by to ask for my dartboard.” Finch reached across the table for my hand. “This’ll all work itself out, Harley, as long as you’re honest now, and you give her your reasons for staying quiet about it. I know it will. The trouble with the two of you is, you’re the same—an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.”

  Is that true? Are we the same? I saw so much of me in her sometimes. Other times, I didn’t see any of myself at all. I saw someone with walls around her that I couldn’t get through, no matter how I tried. Maybe that was the immovable object Finch was talking about.

  “How come Melody hasn’t found anything, anyway?” He took some of the heat off me for a second. “After eighteen year
s, you’d think she’d have something. Looks like the Librarian is slacking, now that she’s on the wrong side of thirty-five. I blame Luke. But then, I always blame Luke. He’s an easy target.”

  I graciously accepted my third mimosa from the server, even if it’d taken him ages to bring it. “It just isn’t in her mind palace, but she does have hexes and spells that she thinks might be useful. She’s promised to get them in place before Persie’s birthday.”

  “What, she’s coming here? How did you swing that? The pair of them are harder to get hold of than a doctor’s appointment.” Finch stole a piece of toast from Ryann’s plate. “I had to book to see them, a month in advance!”

  “Are they still on their traveling spree?” Ryann smiled wistfully. I could almost see images of Bali and Mexico and New Zealand flashing across her eyes.

  “The never-ending voyages of Luke and Melody.” Finch waved his ill-gotten toast dramatically. “I’d just caught them after a six-week stint trekking around South America. Apparently, there are lots of tribes in the Amazon, and plenty of ancient Mayan and Aztec temples, with secret knowledge that she was desperate to learn. And where Melody goes, Luke goes.”

  Garrett finished off his waffle. “I wouldn’t have the patience. You’d think that, being a Librarian, you’d have all the knowledge you’d ever need, and that’d be that. No need to uncover more.”

  “For some, the pursuit of absolute knowledge is a lifelong commitment.” Astrid peered up at him with a knowing smile. She might not have been a Librarian, but she’d dedicated her entire life to the same cause.

  “Have you heard from Nash?” The older I got, the more I thought about him. He drifted in and out of our lives like the seasons, dropping in whenever we least expected. He’d never been as close to the Rag Team as he was to the new Muppet Babies, but he had a calming presence and a sage mind that I could’ve used right about now.

  Finch smiled sadly. “I dropped in on him a few weeks back. He’s still at the cabin, happy as a clam, ready to fling knives at any intruder. I pity the postman, that’s all I can say.” He lowered his gaze, and I sensed bad news in the air. “Huntress has stopped biting his ass, though—the postman’s, not Nash’s. It’s weird to think of her getting old, but she’s no spring pup anymore. Honestly, I can’t even picture Nash without her.”