Katherine laughed. “She’s feisty, right? I bet you just loved that about her. Smart, sassy, spunky, and cute as heck. Naima chose well.”
“I’m not cute!” Suri fired back, shaking violently.
“Oh, but you are. I’ve never seen anyone stab someone so cutely in all my life. It was adorable, the way you crept up on her like a little imp.” Katherine smiled. “Now, go on, why don’t you tell him what you’ve done? I’m dying to see his little face as you break his heart. There’s nothing more satisfying than watching a guy’s heart break, right in front of your eyes. I saw it happen to your dad, Jacob, and I saw it happen to Harley’s dad. And Alton. Man, I must have a thing for dads.”
I wanted to wrench her head off her neck. I wanted to plunge my hand into her chest and rip out her heart. I wanted to pummel her until I smashed the Imogene right off her stupid face.
“Gross.” Suri shot a nasty look at Katherine.
“I like your spirit, Suri, but you’d better watch that sass before I go after your dad,” Katherine replied coolly. “The ones with the wandering eyes are always the easiest, and when I put on my little black party dress, those eyes do wander. Now, tell him.”
Suri dropped her gaze. “The whole abduction thing… it was just a ruse to get me in here.”
You look at me when you’re telling me why you’ve betrayed me. You tell me why to my face!
As if sensing my thoughts, she lifted her gaze again. “I needed to be close enough to you so I could… so I could mess with you while the device was being completed.”
“Because…” Katherine prompted, smirking.
“Because Katherine knew you’d try and save me, and she knew you’d try and keep me here, especially if I asked. She needed to know when the device was ready so she could come in and take it.” Her face twisted up in a sad grimace. Tears brimmed in her eyes.
Don’t you dare cry. Don’t you dare! She could have changed this anytime she’d wanted to. She could have told us what was going on, and we’d have protected her. Instead, she’d gone ahead with it all and signed Isadora’s death warrant.
“Only, you and Isadora weren’t supposed to come back so quickly,” she whimpered. “And you definitely weren’t supposed to come back with the device still on. So… we had to improvise.”
“Which is hugely irritating, by the way,” Katherine added. “I plan these things out so carefully, and then—boom!—all that work gone, in an instant. Lethe, for example. Isadora wasn’t supposed to show up out of the blue and save the day, but there she was, exploding out of a portal. Although, her portal days are definitely behind her now.” She smirked. “But, thanks to her, I lost valuable persuasion time. And here she is, having ruined my plans again, and now there’s blood on the floor, which is going to take a lot more work to cover up. You know, for all the people I’ve killed, I’m still not a big fan of the stuff. Apparently, that’s why surgeons make the best murderers—they don’t even flinch. And they definitely don’t make this much mess.”
I’d forgotten how much you love the sound of your own voice.
“I was improvising,” Suri protested shakily.
“Yes, and now I have to fix it for you.” Katherine gestured at me.
Why? I tried to force the word out, but it pushed through my closed lips as a grunt. As if I was trying to cry for help from the inside of a locked box.
“I think he’s trying to ask you why.” Katherine laughed. “So, come on, hurry up and give him an answer. Put the poor boy out of his misery. He probably thinks it was something he did.”
Suri nodded slowly. “I did it because Katherine promised me magic, once she ascends. I wanted to be more than just a human. Although, I wasn’t expecting to have to do all of this to get it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.” Katherine gave a look of mock horror.
“I didn’t think I’d have to kill someone, Eris! I didn’t want to. But she lunged at you and… I reacted.” Suri looked genuinely freaked out, her bravado fading rapidly each time she looked at the pool of blood on the floor. I couldn’t look, either.
“Aww, bless her, she was trying to protect me.” Katherine sneered. “Oh, and if it makes you feel any better, you didn’t kill anyone.”
“What?” Suri gasped. It mirrored my own thoughts. Isadora isn’t dead?
Katherine rolled her eyes. “Isadora is still alive. Can’t you tell the difference? Honestly, you just can’t get good minions these days. Not even human ones.”
Suri looked relieved. “She’s still alive?”
“Of course she is. Dead people don’t tend to breathe, now, do they?”
“Then do something! Save her!” Suri begged. She was clearly having a change of heart. I’d seen the change in her shaking hands and her horrified face. But I knew that borderline admitting it was the biggest mistake Suri had made so far. Katherine hated weakness. And she hated turncoats even more.
Katherine rolled her eyes. “Do you see what I have to put up with?” She walked to the sink and took up the scalpel. “It’s interesting, isn’t it, how a blade like this can be used to kill, but it can also be used to save? In the hands of the right person, it can be more than a tool. It can be like poetry in bloody motion, cutting out bad organs to replace them with shiny new ones. In the hands of a layman, however, it can sputter someone’s life out in an instant. No poetry. Just brutal execution. If used properly, of course. The wielder has to know where to strike.”
“Katherine, you have to save Isadora,” Suri pleaded. “She’s useful, remember? She doesn’t need to die. You can just take her away or something.”
“I could, couldn’t I?” Katherine smiled. “Thank you for the helpful suggestion.”
Suri, you’re in trouble! I struggled to get the words out. Instead, there were only panicked grunts. She’d wounded Isadora, but I wanted her to answer for that properly. I didn’t want Katherine to take that chance. Suri looked at me in confusion, then back at Katherine, who had taken another step toward her. Realizing she was in danger, she backed away from the oncoming predator. With every step Suri took back, Katherine took one forward. Until there was nowhere left for Suri to go. Her back hit the wall with a gentle thud. Katherine kept coming.
“Now, place your bets. Do I know where the right place to strike is?” Katherine leered. Suri, RUN! The grunts kept coming out of my mouth, but Suri’s focus was completely on Katherine.
“Eris, please.” Suri put out her hands, as if that would be enough to stop what was going to happen. “I did what you wanted. I helped you. You’ve got the detector because of me.”
“That’s very presumptuous of you. Are you taking the credit for my schemes now?”
Suri shook her head. “No, no, of course not. I just meant, I’m useful to you. Please, show me mercy. I won’t mess up again. I won’t disagree with you again.”
Katherine chuckled. “You were useful, Suri.” I watched in horror as she lifted the scalpel and pushed through Suri’s weak arms. As Suri tried to cover herself with her hands, Katherine jabbed the blade straight into Suri’s heart. She looked so shocked it broke my heart. She just kept staring at Katherine, blinking slowly as the life left her eyes.
She staggered forward to grasp at Katherine, but she just sidestepped with a sigh. Suri slumped to the ground in a heap.
NO! Please, NO!
She’d wanted to change her mind. She’d wanted to save Isadora. And now… now she was dead.
“Humans are so deliciously expendable, aren’t they? And they never see it coming.” Katherine chuckled darkly. “She was a devious little minx, for sure, but not exactly magical material. And I really can’t have anyone flaking on me at the last minute. I hate that so much. A word of wisdom to you, Jakey: true ambition requires a lack of moral compass.”
“And you’d know all about that,” Isadora rasped. My heart jolted as she dragged herself into a sitting position against the cabinet, smearing blood as she did. I’d been sure she was dead.
“Your ego shouldn’t be so… big.” Isadora grinned, even though she was clearly in pain. “Hands down, you’ve got to be number one on the list of crazy ex-girlfriends.”
“Shut your mouth, before I shut it for you!” Katherine snapped.
“You’re going to do that anyway,” Isadora said. “But you had to go and be a real psychopath, didn’t you? And all because he loved Hester instead of you. Can you blame my brother?”
Katherine glared at her. “You think this is for him? You think this is revenge?”
“Isn’t it?”
“This has always been my plan. Mine and my great-grandfather’s. Hiram has nothing to do with it—he was an obstacle, that’s all.”
Isadora snorted. “Doesn’t matter what you say, though, does it? You’ll go down in history as the psycho ex who wanted to take over the world, just to get back at the guy who didn’t love her. People feel sorry for you, Katherine.” Her lips had gone blue, but she was powering through.
Don’t do this, Iz. If you do this, she’ll kill you. Just like she’d killed Suri.
“You’re trying to antagonize me, but it won’t work.” Katherine smiled.
Isadora laughed, though her face twisted in pain. “When Harley rewrites history, that’s all anyone will remember. A jealous, heartbroken, pathetic woman who could never quite get what she wanted.”
Please, Iz. Stop riling her up. Beg for your life if you have to! Show her how useful you are. Please…
Katherine knelt in front of Isadora. “Harley isn’t going to get the chance.”
“Now that I’ve got you down on my level, let me tell you.” Isadora leaned closer. “That’s where you’re wrong. You’ve gotten cocky, and it’s made you stupid. No matter what you do—even if you complete the final ritual—Harley’s still going to end your miserable life, one way or another.”
Katherine smirked. “Remind me, how many times has she failed?”
“Has she really failed, though?” Isadora held Katherine’s gaze. “She managed to get your son on her side. I’d chalk that up as a win. He’d do anything for her. And, you know what, he’s a good kid without you around.”
“He’s weak,” Katherine hissed. “He’ll only let her down, too.” Finch was clearly a touchy subject for Katherine, even now. I had to give Isadora props for pushing all the right buttons—Finch, Hiram, Harley.
Isadora shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe he’ll be the one to wring the life out of you with his bare hands. Wouldn’t that be a divine sense of ironic justice?”
“Are you quite finished?” Katherine sighed.
“Not quite.” Isadora’s hands shot out and grabbed Katherine by the collar of Imogene’s expensive suit. It took her by surprise. “You might think you’re headed for the grand prize, but the Merlin kids aren’t to be messed with. They’ll finish you off, Katherine, and you won’t see it coming. And it’ll be wonderful!”
“I’m bored of you now.” Katherine wrenched herself away and booted Isadora back against the cabinet.
Isadora grinned. “I’ll see you in hell, then, shall I?”
“You’ll be waiting a long time.” She whirled around and brought the scalpel down into Isadora’s heart, ending her the same way she’d ended Suri. I couldn’t look away.
As Isadora went still, Katherine turned to me. She walked straight over, with Isadora’s blood still dripping from her hands, and tapped me on the forehead. My body remained stiff, but my head instantly relaxed. With it, all my pain and grief erupted. Tears welled in my eyes as I stared at Isadora and Suri. Both of them gone. My heart felt like it might shatter. Evidently, she wanted to hear my suffering. She liked that.
“You monster,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “You monster!” The tears fell, and I sank to the ground. My legs couldn’t hold me up anymore. I just kept staring at Isadora. The woman who’d taught me so much about my abilities. The woman who’d been more of a mother to me than anyone I’d ever met. Her blood was still pooling across the floor.
And Suri… I’d never know how much was her own free will, and how much was Katherine’s influence. She looked like she’d been wavering. Clearly, Katherine had gotten to her the same way she had everyone else. Playing on her pain, offering her the world. That didn’t release her from the responsibility of what she’d done, but I wanted her to answer for it properly. I didn’t want her to be dead over this. I wanted to see her sorry, instead of lifeless. But, right now, I just wanted to crawl up to Isadora and hold her and tell her I was sorry. But my limbs were like lead. I couldn’t move out of sheer pain.
“You’re probably wondering if it’s your turn.”
My head shook as I sobbed. She was right—I was terrified that this was my time, too. I didn’t want to die. And Katherine had my life in her hands. I wanted to get out of here and warn everyone else. I wanted to make it so Isadora and Suri hadn’t lost their lives in vain. Almost as much as I wanted to bring them back, somehow.
If I could just get to Alton, he could bring Isadora and Suri back.
Katherine leaned down and whispered in my ear. “You don’t need to fear me. It gets so dull when people are scared of me all the time. Although, some have reason to be. Not you. You’re valuable, Jacob, and I’d be happy to have you on my side. You never know, you might like me if you get to know me a little better.”
“Go to hell!” I tried to bark, my voice cracking.
“I know you’re sad now, but you’ll see that they’re better off. They wouldn’t have fit into my world.”
I glowered at her through blurry eyes. “Your world? You won’t get to see it. You can’t hold me here forever, and as soon as I’m free, I’m going to portal out of here and tell everyone what you’ve done. I’m going to tell them who you really are, so you can watch your dreams go up in smoke.”
“Sit corporis manent. May spiritum vestrum, non auferetur tibi. Sit habitas dimittere me ad vos,” she whispered.
Nothing happened. “What did you do?” I was still frozen, but I didn’t feel any different.
Katherine smirked. “Come on now, Jacob, did you really think I’d just let you pop out of here? I happen to be very good at forward-thinking, though you all keep expecting me to make silly mistakes. I suppose that’s your biggest mistake, thinking I’ll somehow slip up.” She smiled. “Call it a failsafe, to keep you where I can see you.”
“Why?” My hands balled into angry fists.
“Why Suri? Or why the nix on your portal power?” She chuckled. “Oh, that’s right, you already know the Suri part. That little spell lends itself to what I call ‘Controlled Portaling.’ I’m planning to use it on all future Portal Openers in my service. That’s if I decide to go to the trouble of making any new ones.”
I shook my head. “You really are a psychopath.”
“People are throwing that word around a little too casually for my liking. I prefer ‘driven.’” She looked at me with that smug expression on her face. “Isadora obviously didn’t make the cut for my Portal Opening needs, since most of her is on the floor, but you’ve still got potential. Once I’m a Child of Chaos, I’ll make more to keep you company and to do all the menial stuff. Why do something yourself, when you can get others to do it for you, am I right? They’ll be loyal, naturally. Unlike her.”
I wanted to crumple into a ball and never get up. Everything I’d tried to do had been for nothing. I couldn’t save Isadora. I couldn’t save Suri. And I couldn’t get the news out that Imogene was Katherine. She had me cornered, and I had nowhere to run. Katherine had planned everything, to the smallest detail. And now…
Imogene had seen Harley with the Grimoire, which meant Katherine had seen. Harley was in trouble, and she didn’t even know. Everyone was in trouble. And they’d end up in the same state as Isadora if I didn’t do something. But what could I do?
Katherine grabbed the magical detector off the workbench and turned it over in her hands. Smiling, she waved her hands ove
r the device. A waterfall of crimson energy cascaded from her palms and enveloped the whole thing. And then, with a tug of her fist, the detector disappeared. It vanished into thin air, literally. But where did it go? Had she put it into some interdimensional hiding place? Or was it still there, floating, and I just couldn’t see it?
Whatever she’d done, she had the detector now. And I knew why. There were two reasons I could think of. First, that she’d use it to find rare magicals to add to her collection. Second, that she’d use it as a quick route to get to the people who were the biggest threats to her reign.
“You won’t be needing that anymore. Sorry to steal all your hard work—kind of feels like taking the credit for another kid’s science project, but hey, that’s character building. If it helps, I’m grateful that you did all the legwork,” she said cheerfully. “Now, I’ve got you here, and I don’t plan on letting you run off to flap your mouth at all your little friends. And you will serve my purpose in the future. You don’t really have a choice, but I’m sure you’ll come around to my way of thinking when all those friends of yours are dead.”
I remembered my promise to Louella. The promise I’d made to Imogene. “Where is she?”
“Who?”
“Louella?”
Katherine laughed. “I sent her and the German away to research those influence pills. They won’t find much in the Luis Paoletti archive, but I love a wild goose chase.”
“So you are the one responsible for those pills?”
“Who else?” She gave a weird sort of ta-da movement. “I’ve got people all over the high and mighty echelons of the magical world. Those pills are spreading and vanishing faster than wildfire. Nobody can trace them. I arranged it that way. You should always cover your ass, Jacob—always.”
I was speechless with grief and horror. She’d literally thought of everything.
“The magical world won’t stand a chance when I ascend. I’m just that good.” She cast me a sideways glance. “You have to admit, I did a good job with Imogene. I could walk into the president’s office right now and hang her from the rafters, and nobody would suspect me. They’d all bow and scrape as I sent them after an attacker that didn’t exist. I can do just about anything as Imogene ‘Holier Than Thou’ Whitehall. And you have no idea how much work I’ve put into her, having to keep up the ruse every time one of you ratbags came running with your petty problems. Ugh, the simpering. It makes me want to hurl just thinking about it. She’s got a decent wardrobe, though.”
Harley Merlin 7: Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix Page 39