Harley Merlin 3: Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals

by Bella Forrest

  “All right, chica, well, I just want to start by saying you can calm the hell down. I know we look like them, but we aren’t the bad guys,” I said. She’d just been chased across a dozen rooftops by a bunch of strangers she’d never met. Given her last encounter with folks like us, I’d be crapping myself, too. Marjorie was shaking like a leaf, her eyes bulging out of her head, frog-style.

  She pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands, fidgeting. “Why did you chase me if you’re not the bad guys?”

  “Ah… I can see how that might’ve given you the wrong idea,” I replied. “We were chasing you because we want to keep you safe. Seems a little counterproductive, considering we nearly ran you off a bunch of rooftops, but our hearts were in the right place.”

  She looked at me curiously, as though she wasn’t quite sure what to make of me. “Nobody can keep me safe. There are bad people after me.”

  “Nope, those bastard Ryder twins are long gone. That girl who tackled you to the ground like you were heading for a touchdown? She put one of the twins, Emily, in prison. The other… well, he wasn't so lucky. He’s dead. You don’t have to worry about them anymore.”

  “Emily? No, there wasn’t a girl when they came to visit me; they were two men—kind of old. They said they were from Social Services, but they weren’t.”

  “This is going to get really confusing, so bear with me and just tell me to shut my mouth if it gets to be too much. Those two men were actually two magicals called Emmett and Emily Ryder. They were Shapeshifters. They could disguise themselves as anyone. That’s why they looked like two older men, and not what they really were—which was two evil sons of bitches.”

  A hint of a smile tugged at her lips. “You’re not what I expected from the coven.”

  “You know about the coven, then. What were you expecting? Capes and pointy hats? Maybe a broom and a black cat?”

  She giggled nervously. “Something like that. People keep saying the word ‘magical’ to me, like it’s supposed to make sense. I don’t really understand anything that’s going on.”

  “No, I don’t imagine you do.” I sighed. “Right, so if that’s the case, let’s start at the beginning. Why did you run away from us back there? Also, Raffe took care of your trash, so you don’t have to worry about littering.”

  “Raffe?”

  “Yeah, I’m not sure how close a look you got, but he’s the tall, lithe dude with the caramel skin and the beautiful eyes. Handsome devil.”

  She chuckled again. “I think I know who you mean. Are you and him… together?”

  “Working on it, but that’s not important right now,” I replied. “Now, for the second time, why did you run?” I kept my tone light and hopefully funny. In all my years on this earth, I’d found that humor was the best way to get through to almost anyone. Not that I’d fancy trying to crack a joke in the presence of Katherine Shipton. She’d probably get one of her minions to blow my head off before I got to the punchline, and what’s a joke without a punchline?

  “The first time or the second time?” Marjorie asked.

  “Let’s go with both.”

  “Those two men—sorry, those twins—they pretended they were from Social Services and asked if they could speak to me in private. They took me into one of the other rooms and told me they worked for a special group. I think it might have been a cult of some kind. They wanted me to join them. I said, ‘No way,’ and they got pretty pissed. They said they’d be in touch again, since I wasn’t complying.” She paused, her eyes filling with tears. “I didn’t even say goodbye to the Hamms. I just took off. I was so scared. I didn’t want those dudes to come back and hurt them because of me. They must be so worried… Are they okay? Can I call them?”

  I shook my head slowly. “Not right now. We have to wait for this situation to be resolved before you can get in touch with them again. It’s for their own safety. Although, I can tell you that they’re doing just fine. They’re sad, but we made up a pretty damn good excuse to keep them from worrying too much.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell her that they didn’t even know who she was anymore. No kid wanted to hear that, especially not one who was already being bombarded with all this new information about herself and the world she thought she knew—but clearly didn’t.

  A weight appeared to lift off her shoulders. “They’re all I’ve thought about.”

  “I’m sorry, Marjorie. Do you want to keep going? I can get some food in here or something, and we can have a little break. I know it’s a lot. Believe me, if I were you, my head would be exploding. There’d be gunk all over that back wall. Alton’s books would be ruined.”

  She laughed, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. “You’re funny.”

  “Why, thank you, mi changuita.”

  “Alton’s the big guy, right? The one you introduced as the… director, was it?”

  “That’s the one.”

  She paused for a moment before speaking again. “I kept seeing this car waiting outside the school, and I knew I had to leave before they snatched me. I took a few things and I ran for it. I hid from them wherever I could. I figured Mount Hope would be the last place they’d come looking.”

  “Yeah, that’s the last place anyone would want to go looking for you.”

  “Then, when you came, I thought you were working for them. I didn’t know you were a different group of… magicals.” The word stuck in her throat. It took some getting used to, even after a lifetime of knowing you were different. I was lucky; I’d known what I was from birth. Being a Santeria was an honor in my town, readily accepted and even revered. It wasn’t like that everywhere else. People feared what we could do.

  And if I didn’t know what I was, and crazy stuff started happening—fireballs shooting out of my hands and things moving when I got angry or whatever—I’d be totally freaked out.

  “Did the twins tell you why they wanted you to join their group?” I asked.

  She nodded. “They came after me because of what I can do. They told me they were trying to recruit the really special kids, kids with abilities that hardly anyone else has. I didn’t totally understand what that meant, but I’m starting to.”

  “Why, what can you do?”

  “You won’t believe me,” she said sheepishly.

  “Try me.”

  She took a nervous breath. “I can, sort of, see into the future. Just bits and pieces, here and there. It happens when I touch people or objects—I get glimpses into potential outcomes. It’s how I knew the twins were bad news. They slipped this card into my backpack, and I didn’t find it for a while. As soon as I touched it, I pictured them stalking toward the school. It’s what made me run.” She paused, biting on the edge of her sweater sleeve. “They’re not complete visions. Like, I can’t see the way someone’s whole life might turn out, or what’s going to happen to someone tomorrow. I just get waves of it. It’s like a film is playing but a bunch of scenes are missing. A sloppy trailer. Does that make sense?”

  I whistled. “Looks like you’re a Clairvoyant, Miss Phillips. Congratulations. It’s a super rare ability.” I’d read about it, but I’d never seen someone with the skill in real life. The textbooks described it as a temperamental ability; it could take years and years for a Clairvoyant to be able to harness their powers properly. I guessed that was what Marjorie was experiencing.

  “Is that good?”

  “I’d say so.” I flashed her a grin. “Would you mind testing it out on me? I know it’s a lot to ask, and you’re probably exhausted after today, but I’d be interested to see what you can do. Is that cool?”

  She tilted her head to the side. “I guess I can try. It doesn’t work as well when my head’s all over the place, but I’ll do my best.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  “Hold out your hand,” she instructed.

  I put my palm flat on the table and let her cover it with hers. Her bright green eyes closed, her breath slowing. Glancing at her, I saw no movement at a
ll. It was eerie.

  “You’ll have to choose between Darkness and Light… but there’s a chance you might lose both,” Marjorie said, her eyes flying open. Her irises had turned black, melding with the pupil in an unsettling way. As she took a few deep breaths, her green irises came back, everything returning to normal.

  I nodded. “Dark and Light, huh? I think I know what that’s about.” Raffe. He’s Dark and Light combined. I don’t want to lose him.

  “That’s cool. A lot of the time people don’t have a clue and they get all weird. It’s why I stopped telling people what I could see—it didn’t help them, and they didn’t believe me most of the time. They just thought I was a nutjob.”

  “It’s a very powerful skill, Marjorie, and you’re in the right place to learn more about it,” I said. “Do you think you could try it out on a few more people? You got stuck with me because we thought it’d be better if we didn’t swarm you. The other guys are nice, I promise. Would you be okay if they came in?”

  She smiled shyly. “Yeah, if they’re anything like you, I think it’ll be fine.”

  “You flatter me.”

  I grinned at her and got up from my seat, opening the massive doors of Alton’s office to let them in. They filed in like awkward schoolkids, taking up different chairs around the room. The only ones who were missing were Garrett, who was in a meeting with Alton and the steroid twins, and Tatyana and Dylan, who were still out on their mission in La Jolla.

  “She’s a Clairvoyant,” I said cheerfully. “And she’s going to try her abilities out on you. I told her she could, so play nice. She’s got some interesting things to say.” I shot a pointed look at Raffe, who instantly squirmed in his seat. Ah, I do love to tease you, mi amor.

  “You first,” Marjorie murmured, gesturing at Harley. “There’s something different about you.”

  Harley frowned. “There is?”

  “I can kind of feel stuff coming off you,” she said.

  “Then sure, I’ll go next,” Harley replied, with a wary smile. “And sorry for tackling you to the ground like that. Desperate times called for desperate measures.”

  Marjorie smiled. “It’s okay, Santana explained everything. I’m sorry for running.”

  “Don’t be. I’d have done the same thing in your situation,” Harley said.

  “Can you hold out your hand for me?”

  Harley obeyed, putting out her hand for Marjorie to hold. The girl’s eyes closed again, the whole room getting weirdly still. Everyone leaned forward in their seats, waiting for the verdict. I’d seen it happen once already, but when she spoke, shattering the silence, it still made me jump out of my skin.

  “I see rivers of blood… I can’t tell where they’re coming from… It’s pouring, but… it doesn’t make any sense,” she said, her eyes returning to normal. “I’m sorry. It’s like I was telling Santana: the omens aren’t always clear. Sometimes, I get a lot to go on. Other times, I just get little fragments—it varies from person to person.”

  “Well, at least it wasn’t anything terrifying,” Harley joked. Beyond the amused tone, I could see real fear in her eyes. Rivers of blood could only be a bad thing.

  Marjorie shrank back into her chair. “I’m sorry… I wish I could tell you more.”

  “Astrid, do you want to go next?” I suggested, wanting to break the tension in the room.

  “Absolutely!” she chirped.

  “Now, Astrid is a little different. She’s human. Does that make things clearer or less clear?”

  Marjorie frowned. “I don’t know. Clearer, maybe? Up until now, I didn’t know if I was using my abilities on humans or magicals, so I’m not really sure.”

  “No worries. I guess we’ll find out in a couple of seconds,” I said.

  Astrid held out her hand before Marjorie asked, an excited smile on her face. Marjorie grasped the outstretched hand and held it for a few moments. Without warning, tears began to trickle down her face, her body shaking.

  Her eyes flew open. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I can’t say it.”

  “Go on, I can handle it,” Astrid said encouragingly.

  Marjorie closed her eyes. “You’re going to die soon. I… I, uh, saw you on the ground. There was blood and… a blinding light around you, but it was no good. I’m so sorry… the life had gone out in your eyes.”

  Astrid shrugged it off like a pro. “Not to worry. I’ve died three times already. Did someone come and bring me back to life? That always tends to happen.” A ripple of nervous laughter made its way around the room.

  Marjorie grasped for Astrid’s hand again, as though desperate for good news. When she drew away, however, we could all tell that she’d seen something that none of us wanted to hear.

  She shook her head with agonizing slowness. “No… nobody’s there. Your heart has stopped and you’re completely cold. That blinding light has gone, and you’re still on the ground. You’re dead.”

  “Is it possible that you’re not seeing the whole thing?” I asked urgently.

  She nodded. “Yeah, completely. I never see the whole picture. Someone might run over to you five minutes after what I saw and resurrect you. If that’s happened before, then maybe it happens again, and I just didn’t see it.” She sounded so heartbreakingly hopeful. I shared in it. There was no way that we’d let Astrid die for good—no way.

  “I’m never out for too long,” Astrid replied with forced cheer. She sounded more worried than she wanted to let on, which unsettled me. Then again, surely Alton would bring her back again, if that image came to pass. I tried to offer her a look of encouragement, but she wouldn’t hold anyone’s gaze.

  “Do your visions always come true?” Wade asked.

  “No, not always. They’re suggestions of what might happen. Loads of variables can change the outcome. I could look at Astrid again tomorrow and see something completely different.”

  Raffe frowned. “So it’s not an exact science?”

  “No, it’s pretty hit and miss.”

  Maybe Marjorie just didn’t see all of it. Maybe if she looked again, she’d see Alton bringing Astrid back. I had to cling to that hope.

  “That’s something the coven can help with,” Harley said. “They’ll help you to hone your skills so you can see things more clearly. It’s like anything, I imagine; you just need practice.”

  Marjorie nodded. “That’s what Santana was saying.”

  Harley cast me a congratulatory glance that I was only too happy to accept. It looked like Marjorie and I were developing ourselves a nice friendship. I’d never had sisters, but I figured this was the closest thing to a little sister I was going to get. She was cool. I liked her. More than that, I knew she’d fit into the mechanics of the coven like a perfect cog. And we were lucky to have her.

  “What do you know about these other kids?” Wade asked, sliding a folder over the desk toward Marjorie. She took a glance at the names and abilities listed beside the children.

  Her brow furrowed. “They might be like me. The twins said that they were specifically looking to recruit ‘particularly gifted’ kids. They didn’t say I was a Clairvoyant, but they said I was one of the rare creatures that they were looking for—someone with a special power. To be honest, they made it sound like they wanted exotic animals for their private zoo.”

  “Sounds about right,” I said.

  “Yeah, clearly there’s a method to Katherine’s madness,” Harley conceded. “Sounds to me like she’s rounding up the children with super rare abilities, like Clairvoyants, Morphs, Herculeans, Sensates, and Portal Openers. Micah had Earth and Telekinesis abilities, but who knows what else he’s capable of? We might have only just scratched the surface, but Katherine may know something about them that we don’t. Take that Devereaux girl—she appeared to have some kind of Telepath quality. That’s why she ran.”

  Wade grimaced. “That’s what I
was thinking.”

  “Yeah, but the twins killed her,” I chimed in. “I saw the limbs when I went to get her file from Krieger.”

  Marjorie gasped, clamping her hand down over her mouth. I guessed she realized it could’ve been her. Poor thing. She looked horrified. Clearly, we were scaring her with our chat. She knew some aspects about Katherine Shipton—before handing the interview over to me, Alton had made sure she knew what we were dealing with, and who had snatched the rest of the kids—but being in the know didn’t make it any less terrifying.

  “It might have been an accident. They’d never have purposefully killed someone as powerful as that,” Harley replied.

  She had a point. “Katherine is probably pissed about losing that one.”

  “Why is she doing this to us?” Marjorie whispered. This couldn’t possibly be easy for her. It wasn’t for us, either, but she was the one with the target on her back.

  “Hey, don’t worry about a thing. We’ve got you covered, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you,” I promised. “Sorry about all of this. You must be exhausted. Do you want to go to your room, settle in a bit?”

  Marjorie nodded.

  “Okay, no problem. You’ll have twenty-four-hour security while you’re here with us, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll also give you this so you can call me for help if you feel threatened, or any kind of emergency comes up.” I handed her an ancient Aztec coin with markings etched across the surface. I’d charmed it so that it connected directly to my Orishas. As soon as Marjorie called for me, I’d know about it. It would be like fireworks going off in my head.

  She took it gratefully in her trembling hands. “Thank you, Santana.”

  “Not a problem, mi changuita. Like I said, we’re all here to keep you safe.”

  Having two magical guards at all times and an emergency charm with her was the only way that Marjorie could stay at the SDC, given that Katherine still had her spies in our midst. Alton was trying to keep her presence here quiet, but news always leaked out in places like this. Our plan was to be better prepared this time, in case anyone came after her again. With the guards and the charm, we’d have a better shot at catching whoever was working for Katherine, without having to deal with the bloody aftermath of another Cranston and Devereaux scenario.