Harley Merlin 18: Persie Merlin and Leviathan’s Gift

by Forrest, Bella

  I writhed against her shoulder, biting the inside of my cheek against the pain. “No… she’s… right. You should’ve… let me fail.” My breath hitched. “I just need… another chance. I can—”

  The Purge bombarded me before I could finish my sentence. And, to make it so much worse, I had an audience.

  Twenty-Nine

  Persie

  Pain ripped through my body, tearing at my skin, my muscles, my organs, until I wanted to cut it all away just to get it to stop. Every breath hurt, and I couldn’t help gasping desperately. I’d have plucked out my lungs if I’d had the strength to do it. Meanwhile, my brain pulsed as if someone had set off a minefield of bombs inside, my skull struggling to contain the agony.

  “Help… me,” I begged, in tears. “Please.” Boiled down to this—being tortured from the inside out—all I wanted was my parents. They’d know what to do, even if they couldn’t take the pain away. Only… they weren’t here, and they had no idea where I was.

  Genie clutched me to her. “Stay with me, Persie. You’ve done this before, and you can do it again. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

  A wave of agony bucked my body forward. The monster was coming, and I couldn’t stop it. Panic overwhelmed my fried brain. I didn’t know what might come out, but I couldn’t risk anyone being near me when it did. With the last scrap of strength I possessed, I shoved my best friend as hard as I could to get her out of harm’s way. She tried to run back to me, but I put up my hands.

  “Don’t! Stay back,” I yelled, as a different person tried to step forward. The head huntswoman had come down to the arena. “Victoria… stay back!”

  A whole freaking riptide of crippling pain exploded in my chest, and I couldn’t stay upright anymore. Digging my nails into the earth, I screamed like I’d never screamed before. This was my eighteenth birthday times a hundred, and I was terrified of what was coming.

  A ring of black fire ignited around my crumpled body. It spun faster and faster, with me trapped in the center. I heard it vibrating with pure, cosmic energy as the speed increased, until it finally came to a skidding halt. I only had time to snatch a shallow breath before the very core of my ribcage imploded. And up bubbled the monster I’d been making, a volatile waterfall of black smoke cascading out of my mouth and onto the ground.

  Sweat dripped into my eyes as I struggled to see what I’d Purged, but it didn’t seem to be taking any kind of shape. It stayed a black mass, hovering in the air for a minute. I blinked away the sweat and watched as, finally, it began to materialize, Morphing into a vaguely human-shaped mass of gauzy darkness, with two red eyes boring into my soul. Coarse black hair flowed down either side of its head. A second later, my heart almost evacuated the building as it shot forward to reveal a pale, ghostly face with a gaping mouth that opened with a blood-curdling, ear-splitting scream. No bow of respect, no brief pause, just a creature screaming right in my face, so loud it threatened to make my brain bleed.

  “A banshee! Level-one threat!” Victoria’s voice sounded somewhere nearby. “I repeat, level one! Everyone to arms!”

  A banshee? I knew about those. I’d met one in one of my more hellish dreamscapes, and it’d nearly caved in my eardrums then, too. One thing was for certain: if Victoria was calling a level-one threat, I’d Purged a terrible danger that could wreak havoc on this hall and everyone in it.

  Gates screeched open around the arena and black-suited hunters poured through. Genie dove toward me and wrapped me in a tight hug as a circle of hunters surrounded us. Consciousness seemed like a distant notion, as my head lolled on her shoulder and my eyes danced with black spots. Recovery had been faster the last few times, but Leviathan had warned that he didn’t know how things would manifest in a mortal, and I guessed it changed from beast to beast. Each variety hit differently, and I’d just Purged something majorly powerful. I could sense it in my aching bones.

  “Hold on, Persie.” She stroked my hair gently. “They’ve got it covered, you just need to hold on.”

  “It… hurts,” I rasped.

  She held me closer. “We’re going to get you out of here, and we’re going to make sure you get all the help you need.”

  All around, I became aware of the monster hunters getting into formation. Armed with puzzle boxes and hard-won skill, they unleashed their collective might on the darting shadow of the banshee. Sparks of Chaos burst in the arena like fireworks, exploding in an array of vivid colors as hunters targeted the monster. It screamed louder under duress. Even so, the hunters barely missed a beat as they sent forth a barrage of Fire and Air. I watched with blurred eyes as one of them ducked low and transformed into a furry lynx, snatching up a puzzle box in his jaws. He darted forward and pushed at a series of diamond-shaped buttons with a deft paw. Faint lines ignited in a blinding glow, revealing an intricate set of patterns etched into the box itself. Soon enough, the edges of the banshee turned to wispy fronds of smoke, the puzzle box sucking the creature inside.

  “Hey, get your hands off!” Genie protested, trying to keep her hold on me. Looming figures grabbed her and wrenched her away, and then they came for me. I couldn’t have fought them if I’d wanted to. Harsh hands seized me roughly, and I felt myself being lifted and hauled off to some unknown destination.

  “I swear to Chaos, I’ll bite you if you touch me again!” I heard Genie yelling. “Let us go! She didn’t mean to!”

  Her voice faded as blurry figures dragged me through one of the open gates in the arena walls. I saw the stark concrete of a modern corridor on either side of me, lit with fluorescent bulbs that burned my eyeballs. The tops of my shoes squeaked as the hunters pulled me along.

  “Are you… putting me… in a box?” I murmured deliriously.

  One of the hunters laughed. “We don’t hunt people. Even ones who Purge banshees.”

  “Jail, then?” I hung my head, unable to hold it up anymore.

  “No, not jail,” the other hunter replied.

  With no energy left to expend on small talk, I stayed silent the rest of the way, drifting in and out of consciousness. I must’ve blacked out for much longer somewhere along the line, because when my eyes opened again, I was lying flat on my back in what felt like a soft bed, staring up at a hazy ceiling.

  “Who… turned the… lights off?” I mumbled. After the savage lighting of the corridor, the subtle glow in here seemed like absolute darkness.

  “I thought you would prefer a dimmer setting.” I jolted at the reply.

  My eyes struggled to penetrate the gloom. “Who’s… there?”

  A lamp turned on, and I saw Victoria at my bedside. She sat on a plastic chair that reminded me of hospitals, her fingers making a stern steeple.

  “Oh…” Weakened by the Purge, sentences proved tricky. Sweat drenched my shirt and pants and plastered my hair to my forehead. I would’ve swept it out of my face, but I couldn’t even lift a shaky hand. Everything ached, and the embarrassment and disappointment of failure only made this situation worse. Of all the people I didn’t want to see me Purge, Victoria and a crowd of hunters and cadets topped the list.

  “Where am I?” I croaked.

  “In the infirmary.”

  I tried to nod, but it sent a sharp pain up the side of my neck. “Right… makes sense.”

  “I think you owe me an explanation, Persephone.” Victoria leaned forward, highlighting her stern features. “It is not possible for a non-magical to Purge, much less such a powerful, vicious monster. How did you fool the system? Did your parents bribe someone to change the magical register?” She still didn’t raise her voice, which my tender eardrums appreciated. However, her calmness had the air of an incoming storm. I imagined Victoria to be the sort of person who rarely got furious, but when she did, everyone needed to run for cover and batten down the hatches.

  I shrugged wearily. “Nobody lied.”

  “Then explain,” Victoria said, visibly losing patience.

  “I received a… gift.” I tried to find a comf
y spot on the pillow. “Leviathan gave it… to me. You probably know about him. He named me, and he gave… me a gift. His mother’s gift. No… a curse. My curse.” I giggled feverishly. “There’s a new… Mama of Monsters in town. And it’s… me.”

  Victoria relaxed her steepled fingers. “Let me get this straight: you were given Echidna’s ability to Purge monsters?”

  “Bingo!” I pointed finger-guns at her and giggled some more, making me wonder if they’d put me on some meds.

  She ran an anxious hand through her super-cool hair. “I imagine this isn’t common knowledge?”

  “Nope.” I turned onto my side, curling up into a fetal position. “Sorry about the… uh… mess, by the way. I don’t… get a lot of say about what I… Purge. I wouldn’t have picked a banshee. My ears are still… ringing.”

  “And they will for a while.” Victoria poured out a glass of water and popped a straw into the liquid. She tipped the top part toward me. “In fact, I imagine a few of my hunters will be partially deaf for a week or so.”

  I grimaced. “Sorry.” I knew it was game over. After what I’d done, I was surprised they hadn’t booted me out or locked me up for being a security risk. And it sucked all the more, because I had been doing well. The Purge had robbed me of my opportunity.

  “You keep saying that.” She brought the water closer and I managed to lean up for a few sips.

  “I mean it. I didn’t mean to cause havoc.” I took another and another, until the whole glass was gone. “Do you think you could give me another shot? I realize I kind of messed up, but I didn’t get to finish. Or, maybe you don’t want someone like me around here?” I sagged back into the bed. “I didn’t really know how my… uh… ability might affect my admission. But the thing is… I need this. Badly.”

  “And why is that?” Victoria prompted, refilling my glass.

  “If I can capture the monsters I make, then no one will consider me a threat.” I gulped down more water as she proffered the straw. “I don’t want to be put in a glass box. I don’t want people to be scared of me.” I brushed away unexpected tears. “I want to have a life, Ms. Jules. On my own terms. I don’t want this curse to be a jail sentence. Or worse.”

  I looked up at Victoria, but she wore an unreadable expression. Her big eyes gave nothing away, and she didn’t say anything. Naturally, that only made me ramble more, to try to fill the confusing silence.

  “I never had a say in this, but I want a say in my future. I need to, or I may as well give up now.” More tears coursed down my cheeks, and I felt so foolish to be crying in front of someone like Victoria. It made me feel even sillier when she offered me a box of tissues, her face still blank. “And I don’t want to be ‘that Purge girl,’ either. I have to be more than a name and a curse. I have to make something of myself, or what’s the point?”

  Victoria set down the box of tissues and unleashed a slow, sad sigh. “I’m sorry, Persephone, but you failed the test. Your friend intervened and, while her intentions were obviously noble, she prevented you from continuing.” She gave me a faint smile of apology. “There is only one attempt. No second chance is available, no exceptions.”

  My breath caught. Until she’d said it out loud, a tiny part of me had still hoped. I stared at her, my mind a complete blank.

  “However,” Victoria continued. I’d never heard a sweeter word. “I can invite you to join the Institute instead. Not everyone gains admission by way of the exam. Sometimes I handpick those I believe to be promising. Which is what I’m offering to you—a personal invitation to study here.”

  My hopes and dreams slotted back into place, like a smashed vase in rewind. “Are you serious?”

  “Do I seem like the sort of person who makes jokes?” She smiled warmly, and the effect nearly knocked me over. It made her look like an entirely different woman. “Persie, your power doesn’t need to be a curse. With hard work and training, you can turn it into an actual gift, defined and controlled by no one but you.”

  “You wouldn’t be worried about me pouring out monsters?” I had to ask. If this was seriously going to happen, I needed to be sure we were on the same page.

  Victoria flicked some dust off her lapel. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some concerns, but I believe this institute is the best place for you to be, given the circumstances.” She smiled again. “I understand why you need to do this, and I agree with your reasoning. You should be allowed to seize control of this ability. We’re going to teach you how.”

  I still didn’t know how much was real and how much was my delirious mind playing cruel tricks. Victoria looked real, even if she was smiling. This soft bed felt comfortably real. And the residual pain of my Purge definitely packed a tangible punch.

  I pinched my leg, just to be sure. Definitely real.

  “So…” I grinned up at Victoria. “I’m going to be a monster hunter?”

  “If that’s what you want,” she replied.

  I laughed until my body ached all over again. “Ms. Jules, this is exactly what I want.”

  For the first time in my life, I’d done something on my own. And, what was more, I’d succeeded. Maybe not via the traditional route, but maybe that didn’t matter. My life’s path was opening up before me, and all I had to do was take the first step.

  But, in all the insanity, I’d forgotten about one slight wrench in the works. What’s my mom going to say about this?

  Thirty

  Harley

  How is this day not over yet? I rested my arms on the balcony of our apartment terrace and took in the view. A few ramblers wandered along the trails, enjoying the afternoon and pausing at the lighthouse to read the plaques. I envied them, strolling around without a care in the world. What was the worst thing they had to face in their non-magical existences? Sure, everyone had their struggles, but they weren’t dealing with prophecies and monsters and global threats. They didn’t even know what was hidden away inside that lighthouse: the entrance to the SDC and the magical realm within.

  “I thought you’d gone to take a shower?” Wade’s arms slipped around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder, the two of us looking out at the beautiful scenery together.

  I leaned my head against his. “I was about to, but then I got this.” I showed him my phone, already opened to the message Finch had sent just a few minutes prior.

  The Kiddos have taken their ball home—i.e. they’re not going to help. They said it’s not because they don’t want to, but they don’t want to get in trouble with cosmic Pops. Something to do with an oath they swore to Chaos. I call BS, but what do I know? Sorry, Sis.

  Wade read the message aloud, and his arms tightened around me. “Oh, Harley…”

  I turned around in his arms and burrowed into his chest. “It’s hopeless.”

  “Can Erebus do anything else to help?” Wade stroked his thumb across the side of my neck. “Child of Chaos or not, he must still have some tricks up his sleeve.”

  I buried my face further into Wade’s comforting embrace. “It’s a no-go on that too. With no power, he’s not sure what else he can do. Dead-end central.” His t-shirt dampened with my silent tears. “I think it’s more to do with that, to be honest. Erebus is basically human now, and Finch doesn’t think he’d be able to give us any actual support, so he’s covering up his weakness with talk of his creator.”

  “I’m so sorry.” He held me close, kissing my hair. “I… don’t know what to say, except you did the right thing with Leviathan. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t know what’s coming. I just wish you would’ve told me.”

  I nuzzled harder, to hide my shame. “I know, but it was for Persie’s sake. You’d have insisted on coming, because that’s who you are. And that’s why I couldn’t tell you.” I peered up at him shyly. “I didn’t want to keep it from you. While I was with him, I wished you were there. I know it doesn’t make it right, but… I’m sorry for going solo.”

  “I get that.” He tilted my chin up and kissed me softly, before
giving me a harder look. “Just… don’t keep that kind of thing from me again, okay? You used to scare the crap out of me when you turned all lone wolf. So, from now on, let me know what your plan is, then kick my ass if I try to be stubborn about it.”

  I mustered a laugh. “I promise.”

  “Okay, then.” He kissed me again, deeper this time. A show of forgiveness that I could get on board with. If only the touch of his kiss could’ve made everything else disappear.

  Resisting his lips for a moment, I gazed into his eyes. “But what’s the good of knowing Leviathan’s game if there’s nothing we can do? Maybe ignorance would’ve been bliss.” I sounded defeatist, and that suited who I was like a pair of camo cargo shorts, but exhaustion and a lack of hope did that to a girl. And with my daughter at the center of it all, I felt vulnerable and afraid.

  He brushed my cheek with his thumb. “I wish I could disagree.”

  “I’d forgotten how it felt to be this tired.” I looped my arms around his neck, feeling safe inside this bubble of two, if only for a short while.

  “I know what you mean.” He tilted forward until we were forehead to forehead. “I couldn’t concentrate on work at all. I just kept thinking about you, and Persie, and this prophecy. I can’t even sleep.”

  I moved closer to kiss him on the lips, savoring it for a moment before pulling back. “I’m not closing my eyes again until I’ve found a way to get around this prophecy, which means I’ll probably never sleep again.”

  “We can’t give up, Harley.” He kissed me back gently.

  “We’ve never been in a situation like this before. With Katherine and Davin, we had chances to stop their schemes. There were steps for us to take, and cosmic forces backing us. Now, it feels like Chaos itself is against us, and we have no way of stopping it.”

  Wade cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, deeper than before. I knew why. He didn’t have anything to say that would make it better. Nobody did. The Children of Chaos had backed the heck out. Lux wouldn’t risk another run-in with her father so soon. Remington’s lack of aid surprised me, but he’d undoubtedly undergone major changes in the last two decades, and I knew he’d gotten into a bit of trouble along the way for trying to bend the rules. He now kept mostly to himself, ensconced in his otherworld with Odette.