“Have you slept?” I asked, trying to be polite.
Imogene smiled. “I’ve had a lot to contend with, but I’m used to only sleeping a few hours a night.”
“Do you want to get some coffee?” Isadora asked. “You could probably use a break, if you’ve been working through the night.”
Imogene shook her head. “I’ll rest later, and I’ll likely drink a gallon of coffee before then. My office is well equipped. Levi seemed to have a penchant for fancy coffee machines, which is one benefit to his former directorship.”
Isadora laughed. “That might be the only benefit.”
“So, which poor devil did you wake up to ask about the pills?” Krieger asked.
“Fortunately, the friend I spoke to is currently on sabbatical in the Seoul Coven, so I wasn’t waking him up in the middle of the night.” She chuckled. “I can’t say the same for the magical authorities that I called in pursuit of temporary amnesty for Finch, mind you. There’s something rather satisfying about hearing the irritated wife of a judicial director yell for him to come to the phone at four o’clock in the morning.”
I laughed. “I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall for that.”
“I can’t picture Levi getting on the phone at four a.m. just to try and free a known criminal,” Louella said.
“That was a little unusual for me, too,” Imogene admitted. “I’m used to tracking down criminals, not trying to gain their freedom. I suppose it’s keeping me on my toes.” Her expression changed to one of concern.
Krieger sighed. “Speaking of Levi, I would ask that you all show a little leniency toward him when he finally wakes up.”
I snorted. “That’s a joke, right?”
“No, I honestly do mean it, as hard as that might be to believe,” he replied. “I know I kept mentioning his incompetence when I urged you to do something, Imogene. But I’m becoming surer, with this new knowledge of Delirium, that his actions weren’t entirely his doing. I know him quite well, and though he may not always be the most pleasant man to be around, I don’t know if he’s that foolish, either. He wouldn’t have hushed all of the Echidna business up if someone else hadn’t been pulling the proverbial strings.”
“You mean Katherine?” Isadora frowned.
Imogene exhaled slowly. “I suppose it makes sense that, somehow, she got to him. Her influence is already widespread, so why not Leonidas, too? I know him much better than you, Dr. Krieger, so perhaps I’m simply seeking to give Leonidas the benefit of the doubt. But there is some sense of possibility in what you are saying. I just wouldn’t be able to comprehend the idiocy of his behavior, otherwise.”
“It’s not that hard to understand,” I retorted.
“There’ll be evidence of foul play when he wakes up from his coma, if that’s the case,” Krieger went on. “I’ve put a series of spells on him precisely for that purpose. They’re currently scanning every atom in his body for foreign magic. When he comes around, we’ll know for sure whether it’s something like Delirium, or if he really is just an idiot. Although it’s possible he was intentionally working for Katherine.”
Before Imogene could respond, the air rippled inside Krieger’s office. Everybody froze. It was like watching a pool turned on its side, sort of like a portal, sort of not. The ripple spread out across the nearside wall, making it seem less solid. And then, somehow, a rectangular strip of the wall itself opened like a door.
Harley hurried out, followed by Finch and Garrett, who were dragging an unconscious Wade between them. Behind them, in the weird doorway, I could see the front of a rundown building with graffiti sprawled across it.
The door slammed shut behind Harley and the others, melding back into the wall until everything was solid again. Harley was panting hard, bent double. She held something in her arms—a book of some kind. A Grimoire.
“Harley?” Imogene gasped, her eyes wide. She’d turned pale. “Is that… the Merlin Grimoire?”
Harley nodded, still fighting for air.
“Are you okay? Are any of you injured?” She got up and hurried toward Harley.
Harley shook her head. “No, not injured.”
Imogene looked seriously anxious. She put her hand on Harley’s shoulder. “What on earth is going on here?”
Harley looked her dead in the eyes. “We need your help.”
Thirty-Eight
Jacob
Imogene looked tense. “How is it possible that you have the Merlin Grimoire? That’s a dangerous item to have in your possession.” She couldn’t take her eyes off the book. I was just as dumbfounded—Harley would be in a whole heap of trouble if New York found out it was missing. I guessed the job of director was looking even less promising for Imogene now.
Harley paled. “We kind of snatched it from the New York Coven, but I’ll get to all of that in a minute. Right now, I need help with Wade. Something really weird has happened to him. No idea what, but he’s been acting strange toward me—violent, if I’m being totally honest.” She rubbed her neck, which was red and splotchy. What the hell did you do to her, Wade? I narrowed my eyes at his limp figure.
Garrett nodded. “That’s a pretty huge understatement, Harley. He tried to kill you.”
Everyone in the room gasped, me included. But Finch—Finch looked like he really wanted to murder Wade. He couldn’t take his eyes off him. It was probably a good thing Garrett had hold of Wade, too, or else there was no telling what might’ve happened.
Wade’s eyes blinked open. The moment he saw Harley, he tried to lunge out of Garrett and Finch’s grasp. His eyes were wide and mad, his mouth contorted in a snarl. Finch and Garrett did what they could, but Wade seemed to be crazy strong. Like, even stronger than he usually was.
“You!” he roared, yanking himself out of the hands that held him. Finch and Garrett tried to grab him again, but he twisted away from them. Before anyone could stop him, he leapt through the air, his hands outstretched to snatch at Harley. I watched, stunned. He really did look like he wanted her dead.
Imogene stepped forward, visibly concerned. She took a handful of stones out of the pocket of her white pantsuit and threw them at Wade. They skittered on the floor around him in no particular order or direction. A second later, bright red ropes shot up, crisscrossing over Wade and bringing him down to the ground with a thud. He writhed and strained underneath them, but the ropes had him trapped, like a Purge beast.
“Everyone, stand back,” Imogene urged. “You’re certainly right about him acting strangely, Harley. Isadora, Dr. Krieger, would you mind providing some backup?”
Isadora stepped up, with Krieger beside her. They both had their palms up. Even now, Wade wouldn’t stop thrashing against the ropes. It was hard to even think that this was the same person we knew—our friend, and Harley’s boyfriend.
Harley had turned away from the sight of Wade on the floor. There were tears in her eyes. I could tell she didn’t want us to see how hurt she was. Garrett put a tentative hand on her shoulder, making the tears come faster. That friendly touch had broken the dam holding everything back.
“I just don’t understand what’s wrong with him,” she murmured. “It came out of nowhere. He just started acting like an ass, but I figured he was stressed or something. And then he suddenly snapped and tried to… you know.”
Everyone in the room looked scared and confused. This wasn’t just anyone we were talking about. This was Wade. Stoic, solid Wade. I could tell we were all thinking the same thing: Katherine had to be involved in this somehow. It was the only explanation. But that came with its own set of fears. If Katherine had managed to get her claws into Wade, then that meant any one of us was fair game.
My gut churned with panic. My head filled up with worst-case scenarios, and a pain stabbed in my chest that was so intense it made me want to cry. Emotions bombarded my brain—sadness, confusion, frustration, and crushing hurt. They didn’t feel like they belonged to me, but I was feeling them. Big time.
“Finch, can y
ou do something to calm your sister down?” Imogene asked, her voice choked. “It would appear that her Empathy has gone into reverse, and I’m finding it rather hard to focus with all of her emotions spilling out.”
Finch had tears running down his face. Louella was practically on the floor, bawling her eyes out, and Krieger and Isadora were hugging it out. Even Garrett had tears in his eyes, since Shapeshifters weren’t immune to the reverse version of what Harley could do. He was trying to keep it together but failing miserably, just like the rest of us.
This is crazy. Harley was clearly in so much pain that it was causing this huge reaction in everyone in the room. Finch stepped forward and put his arm around Harley.
“It’s going to be okay, Sis. Wonderboy is going to be fine. He didn’t mean to almost crush your windpipe. We’ll sort him out, and then you’ll be slurping off each other’s faces, same as before.”
She nodded miserably. “I just don’t understand what’s wrong with him.”
“We’ll find out, don’t worry,” he replied.
I turned my attention back to our new director. Still battling tears from Harley’s reverse Empathy, Imogene sank down to her knees in front of Wade, getting dangerously close to his thrashing arms. Resting her hand on his back, she began to whisper a few spells in Latin, moving her hands around him in a mesmerizing pattern. She was clearly trying to figure out what sort of voodoo was going on here. It had to be some kind of magic, because this wasn’t Wade at all. It was like he’d been replaced by a demon version of himself.
“Ipsum revelare. Occulta revelando. Videtur quod non possit revelare,” she whispered. No sooner had she spoken the words than Wade’s eyes lit up red. It gave me major Raffe flashbacks, but I didn’t think it was possible that Wade could have a djinn inside him. They didn’t just pop in unannounced.
“Get away from me!” Wade howled. “Get away from me!”
“I can feel something,” Imogene murmured in response. “There’s something controlling him.”
“What? What is it?” Harley barked.
“Give me a moment, the spell is still doing its work.” She closed her eyes as little pulses of red light rippled back into her palms.
“What did you find?” Harley pressed.
“I need another moment. Please, I have to concentrate,” Imogene replied, her tone exasperated. Then her eyes flew wide.
Harley’s eyes were practically bugging out of her head. “What is it?!”
“It’s a hex, and, my goodness, it’s an old one. An ancient Romany hex, if I’m not mistaken, used to turn love into hate at great speed—so quickly that the loved one doesn’t even see it coming until it is too late.” She glanced at Harley. “It’s a miracle you were able to notice it before he got close enough to kill you. Good thing Finch and Garrett were there to help you, or there’s no telling what may have happened.”
Harley looked heartbroken. “My Empathy helped. I sensed something was off about him, but I just couldn’t figure out what.”
“You were lucky, Harley. If you hadn’t been so perceptive… well, we don’t need to discuss that right now. It’s not something I care to think about,” Imogene replied. “However, we still have a problem. Hexes such as these usually derive from a cursed object, as is common in Romany magic. That object may or may not be on Wade at this present moment.”
“An object?” Harley looked puzzled. Wade wasn’t really one for accessories. Fancy suits and vests, yeah. Hipster bracelets and necklaces, not so much. He was wearing a watch, though. I could see it glinting on his wrist. It looked super expensive.
“Is it his watch?” I piped up.
Imogene stooped and wafted her hands over his wrist. “No, it doesn’t seem to be. Romany hexes have been known to function through proximity, too, so it may not be something that’s actually on Wade.”
“What about his Esprit? His ten rings?” I asked.
“An Esprit can’t be hexed. It must be something else.” She glanced at Isadora. “I’m going to take Harley to my office to speak with her in private. If my assumptions are correct, Wade should calm down once Harley is no longer in the room. If you temporarily remove the ropes, you should be able to search him for any hidden objects. Call for me if you find anything.”
I didn’t envy Isadora the task of giving Wade a pat down. He was still writhing beneath the red ropes, his eyes glinting with fury. Krieger would probably have to sedate him first.
Isadora nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I hope so,” Imogene replied. “If we can’t find the cursed object, then there will be no way to remove the curse from Wade. Not without putting him through a great deal of suffering.”
I raised my hand, though I wasn’t exactly sure why. It seemed like the right thing to do. “What do you want us to do?”
“You should stay here and assist Isadora in her search. Garrett, please return to the LA Coven and report to me when you’ve been brought up to date. I need someone there, in my place, to keep an eye on things.”
Garrett nodded. “You’re worried about those kids?”
“Precisely. With Echidna now dead, the magical children in my care will be in even more danger. There’s every chance that Katherine will attempt to take them for the final ritual. She can’t be allowed to succeed.” She cast Garrett a steely look.
“And how about little old me?” Finch flashed a mischievous grin, but I could tell he was really worried about Harley.
Imogene offered him a stern smile. “You shouldn’t move an inch.”
“Like this?” He took a step forward, chuckling to himself. Even I had to smirk at that. At least it defused some of the tension in the room. I was still dealing with some of the after-effects of Harley’s reverse Empathy bombardment.
“You’re not to leave this room,” she replied coolly. “You may have gained your sister’s favor, but that doesn’t mean you’ve won my trust. You decided to evade Purgatory, and you got Harley into very deep trouble. So, until I can decide what to do with you, you’ll remain here in the infirmary, out of sight.”
Finch nodded sheepishly. “Just a joke, Imogene. You know, to lighten the mood a little?” He dropped his gaze. “Thanks for not making me leave. I’m not abandoning Harley now. Not for anything. So, cheers for not throwing me back in Purgatory, either. At least not right away.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, Finch. It’s that you may prove to be more useful to me here, given your knowledge of our enemy.” With that, she took Harley gently by the arm and led her out of the infirmary.
Thirty-Nine
Harley
It was weird to see Imogene surrounded by Levi’s things, but it was even weirder that she didn’t look too out of place inside this Persian palace. She seemed at ease behind Levi’s ostentatious desk, even though I was still trying to piece together what was going on here. Evidently, a lot had changed since we’d gone to New York, including a much-needed change-up of the SDC’s leadership.
I sat opposite her, clutching the Grimoire to my chest. It was like the most dangerous, powerful security blanket in the world.
“As you’ve probably guessed, there have been one or two modifications since you disappeared from the SDC, including my instatement as the new director. As Levi has been compromised, it appeared to be the only viable solution, and your friends were quite adamant that I should put my money where my mouth is,” Imogene began. She seemed to be having a hard time taking her eyes off the Grimoire, which was to be expected; this was probably going to be a gigantic thorn in her side.
I nodded, grateful to have something to take my mind off Wade. “Yeah, I guessed as much. Do I want to know what happened?”
“I’m sure your friends will bring you up to speed, but there’s something more pressing I need to talk to you about. I didn’t want to do it in the infirmary in case I lost my temper.” She sighed heavily, visibly collecting herself. “Do you realize the trouble you’ve caused by stealing that Grimoire? It’s one
of their most valuable items. There’s not a single sliver of a chance they haven’t noticed it’s missing. And I can’t even begin to imagine how long it’s going to take me to fix this terrible mess.”
“I had to do it, Imogene, but I promise you we were careful. Nobody saw us go in, and nobody saw us come out.” She wouldn’t convince me that I’d done the wrong thing, even if I had put her in a bind.
“And you believe that matters?” Imogene retorted. “You will be their main suspect, regardless of how careful you were. Leonidas spread the news of your fugitive status across the covens, and though I’ve been working around the clock to reduce the amount of damage to your reputation, I can’t do much about their suspicions.”
I shook my head. “They don’t have any proof that I did it. You don’t have anything to worry about.”
“You don’t understand, Harley. I spent the better part of last night speaking with every person of influence I could find, to ensure that your name was cleared and you could be reinstated as a full member of this coven. I managed to do that so you could return to the SDC, for your own safety, and so Katherine couldn’t get her hands on you.” She sank back in her chair. “And then you come to me with that book and a tale about robbing the New York Coven.”
“But even if they think I did it, they’ve got no evidence. They’ve got no way of pinning it on me.”
Imogene leveled her gaze at me. “As long as I don’t breathe a word of this, you mean? Do you see the position you have placed me in, Harley? What am I supposed to do about that? Do I protect you and pray you have a reasonable excuse for doing something this absurd, or do I tell the truth, to defend the reputation of the SDC and ensure that no allegations of deceit can be laid against me? We have already had far too many liars in this coven. I wouldn’t want to add my name to such a list. I have my own reputation to think about.”
Harley Merlin 7: Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix Page 32