Harley Merlin 16: Finch Merlin and the Blood Tie

by Forrest, Bella

  Melody balked. “Sorry. I was just… um… pleased to see you two making progress, and I thought you might be taking a step backward. I’ll be quiet, I swear. You won’t even know I’m here.”

  “I hope not.” Lux tilted our shared neck from side to side, cracking the bones. A shiver ran up my spine at the sound. “You see, Erebus, I am willing to admit that I have not acted as a Child of Chaos should. I have behaved erratically, the way a mortal would, and that sickens me to my core, to have allowed myself to be so weak. I have been devious and possessive, and yes, I showed jealousy that is unbecoming of a supernatural entity. While I had my reasons, I should have acted with more dignity.”

  Erebus’s eyes widened. “Are you… apologizing, too?”

  “Not quite. You have made far more mistakes than I, and behaved even worse, with all your machinations, deceits, and tricks. Not to mention the outright lies.” She held out my hand and stared at it. “What I am saying is, you should have consulted with me on the matter of wanting a child. That is all I asked for—honesty. You say that you tried to speak with me about a solution, but you and I both know that is a falsehood. You wanted Kaya, and you knew that I would never relent, after your last encounter. You chose to be underhanded instead of direct.”

  I can’t believe I’m siding with her. But I understood where she was coming from. Erebus had pursued Kaya relentlessly, spending years trying to find a way back to her. What wife could have let that stand and not been peeved about it? They might have been Children of Chaos, but they weren’t devoid of emotion. Even if it sometimes seemed that they were. Now all their shortcomings were being laid bare, in some bizarre cosmic version of couples’ therapy.

  “Would it truly have made a difference if I’d set my hopes for a child on someone else, other than Kaya?” Erebus’s eyes glinted with sorrow, and his voice matched the sentiment. “Because I don’t believe that it would have, Lux.”

  “No.” Lux looked away and took my field of vision with her. “You are right. It would not have made a difference whom you chose. It would have hurt all the same, because I can never give you what you want.”

  Erebus stepped forward and took her hand. Well, my hand. “You and I will be together until the stars go out and the universe collapses back on itself. That is our destiny. And I do not fear it, nor do I wish it were different. We are more than this. We are more than our quarrels.”

  Lux met his intense gaze. I felt like I was encroaching on something I shouldn’t have seen. “I suppose I should take comfort, knowing that Kaya will die someday.” She wrapped her fingers around Erebus’s—half threat, half acceptance. “In the end, she is merely a blip in the fabric of time and space that will continue to unravel before us long after she is gone. However, that does not mean that I am content to watch you conduct an affair. If you continue your pursuit, in any capacity, I will do what I must in retaliation. You will not make a mockery of me, Erebus. I have had enough of that to last me our eternity.”

  Well, that ceasefire lasted all of two seconds. Erebus dropped Lux’s hand like a stone and went back to broody scowling, as though she had just taken away his favorite toy. It was evidently not what he’d wanted to hear. Frankly, though, what had he expected? Did he really think that Lux, who’d caused him so much trouble, would suddenly just roll over and play nice? If he had, then he was an idiot.

  “You might not like what I have said, but that is not my primary concern,” Lux continued. “Our problems run much deeper than your selfish actions regarding Kaya. Indeed, we are in trouble with Chaos itself.”

  Melody and Luke’s heads snapped up, and mine would have too, if Lux didn’t have the reins. Erebus tensed, his sourness evaporating into wariness. After an hour of waiting, we were finally going to get some answers about Chaos’s message to Lux.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “It was unfair and unjust of us to embroil Finch in our quarrels. Not only that, it was unwise.” Lux wrung our hands together. She was nervous. Very nervous. And that, in turn, made me feel very uneasy. “We have meddled in the affairs of mortals beyond the limitations of our father’s rules. And he is furious.”

  Erebus looked jittery. I’d never seen him so afraid. “What is he going to do?”

  “Fortunately, as it was me he sent for and not you, I managed to remain calm and persuade him to give us another chance. He has promised to allow us to fix what we have broken.” She paused. “However, if we cannot find a way to remedy this, then we will be swallowed back into Chaos, where we will return to the matter from whence we were created. In essence, we will no longer exist.”

  Erebus’s face hardened. “What do you suggest?”

  “First, I propose a temporary truce while we work together to dissolve the love spell upon Kaya and Finch. Meddling in matters of the heart—your own personal desires, as well as my encouragement of Kaya’s pursuit of Finch—is what got us into this mess, and it will hopefully get us out again.” Adrenaline coursed through our veins, brimming with her obvious anxiety. “We are both somewhat limited in these human forms, and I do not wish to risk expulsion by using the protection of my Sylphs—not unless I really must. But if we put our Chaos together, we might be able to achieve our goal and break that spell without going to such extremes.”

  So I’m stuck with you for a while longer. I’d have been much more annoyed about the prospect if it weren’t for the fact that they were about to help Finch. This was what I’d hoped for. In a bizarre twist of fate, we’d actually gotten what we’d set out to achieve—the help of the Children of Chaos. Only we hadn’t been the ones to persuade them. Chaos itself had stepped in, and I wasn’t going to lie, that felt like divine intervention. These two had screwed with the wrong magical: mine. And, holy crap, I was going to get him back! I was actually going to get him back, if these two petty fools could keep it together long enough to pull it off.

  My heart swelled with tentative excitement. Honestly, I didn’t give two hoots what happened to Lux and Erebus, as long as they freed Finch first. After that, Chaos could do what it liked with them.

  “You want us to work together?” Erebus had a blank look in his eyes. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but if he dared to burst this bubble of hope, I’d send him packing to Chaos myself.

  Lux nodded. “I do, but I should warn you—do not take this as an invitation to pursue Kaya afterward. This is purely a service to Finch, for all he has done for us, and to counteract the wrongs that we have done to him. He does not deserve this, and he ought to have been relinquished from your servitude long ago.” Her voice grew in strength, until even the stone fragments from the exploded statues started to rattle. “The Children of Chaos used to stand for something profound, but now we are always entangled in trivial arguments and acts of revenge. It ends now. It is time for us to stand proud and be worthy of our titles.”

  If Chaos found it necessary to give you a talking-to, I’d say that time was way overdue. I kept my thoughts to myself, but they rang true regardless. And, in truth, I sensed that there was more to Lux’s speech than wanting to be more than a parody of what they had once been. Deep down, I felt an undercurrent of sharp, overwhelming terror. This was about survival, not benevolence or redemption. Lux didn’t want to die; it was as simple as that. But if it got us Finch back, then I didn’t care what her true reasons were.

  “Well?” Lux prompted. Erebus hadn’t responded, and his silence spoke worrying volumes. “Erebus?”

  Nothing. Why wasn’t he talking?

  “Erebus, if you do not aid me, then I will not be able to dissolve the spell. If I use too much of my power, even with the Sylphs defending me, I risk expulsion. It is safer for both of us if I have you at my side.” A note of apprehension flickered in her voice.

  He still didn’t answer, his expression impassive.

  “Even if getting reabsorbed into the Chaos stream was not in the cards, you would still have every reason to want this spell broken, so this should not be a difficult decisio
n for you!” Lux pressed, growing more exasperated by the second. “Why are you not saying anything?”

  My stomach churned with a mix of Lux’s and my nerves. Yes… why wasn’t he saying anything?

  Seventeen

  Ryann

  “Erebus!” The room trembled with the ferocity of Lux’s voice. Melody and Luke sat rapt, waiting for the Child of Darkness to say something. Anything. The ball was firmly in his court, and if he didn’t buck up and join forces with Lux, then all my hopes of getting Finch back would die.

  Tense silence settled over the gallery. Finally, Erebus answered. “Very well, I will do as our father commands.” His tone held a hint of reluctance. “I will set aside our differences to assist Finch. What can I say? I have grown fond of the boy, and perhaps we have toyed with him more than we ought to.”

  And what about your pursuit of Kaya? I noticed he didn’t say a word about Lux’s warning against him resuming his suit after they’d undone the damage they’d caused. I supposed it was intentional, to keep some semblance of a truce between them.

  “Yes!” Melody punched the air, and Luke smiled down at her. “We got there in the end, didn’t we? I’m not going to pretend to know a lot about relationships, as I’m only just starting my first one, but I’ve read a lot and I know they’re not always easy. Maybe, by working together, you’ll smooth over some of the problems you’ve got.”

  Lux heaved out an annoyed sigh. “Are you quite sure you don’t have a mute setting?”

  “Sorry… I have a habit of getting overenthusiastic.” Melody shrank slightly, and Luke put his arms around her.

  “I like your enthusiasm,” he said. “I’d happily listen to you all day.” As if they could get any cuter. Plus, I found that, now that I had some hope back, I didn’t look at them with quite so much envy anymore. I had my own relationship to look forward to again, and I prayed that we could pick up where we’d left off, after that love spell had waved its final farewell.

  Can I have my body back now? I opened up my direct line to Lux.

  No, she replied. If we are to achieve this, then I must have primary control. You may have it back after we succeed, which is likely what you want anyway.

  What if I promise not to try and push you away when you want to take the reins? I switched tactics. I can be me until you need to do something. It’s getting cramped back here, and I don’t want to risk getting stuck before you’ve freed Finch.

  Lux laughed coldly. You will not “get stuck.” And, while I admire your attempt at manipulation, the answer is still no.

  I was about to try again when a blur of white whizzed into the room and clattered to a stop at Melody and Luke’s feet. Huntress barked sharply, her blue eyes staring intently at Melody. My stomach lurched as I saw a streak of pinkish red in Huntress’s blinding white fur and one of those neck Cuffs around her throat.

  “Huntress, what’s wrong?” Melody touched the tinged fur. “Who put this Cuff on you? Where’s Nash?”

  Huntress whined quietly and jumped up, resting her paws on Melody’s shoulders. But none of us spoke dog. We weren’t even sure how Nash managed to communicate with her, though I imagined we were all wishing that we could, right about now.

  “Use your Empathy,” Luke suggested.

  Melody nodded effusively. “Good idea!” She put her hands on Huntress’s furry face, stroking her gently while she sent out Empath feelers.

  “What can you sense?” Luke pressed. I couldn’t see Lux’s expression, but Erebus looked surprised by this sudden canine invasion.

  Melody closed her eyes. “She’s scared, and worried, and… desperate. She’s tired, too, so I think she’s been trying to find us for a while.” Her eyes shot open again. “It has to have something to do with Nash. Is that right, Huntress?”

  The husky barked her confirmation.

  “Is Nash in trouble? Did he send you?” Luke interjected.

  The husky barked again. Definitely an affirmative.

  Luke stood sharply. “Do you want us to follow you?”

  Huntress dipped her head in a nod and barked twice more. We might not have been able to speak dog, but she knew how to get her message across. The urgency in her blue eyes only added to it. Nash had evidently gotten into trouble, and he needed us. He wouldn’t have separated himself from his Familiar unless the situation was dire. I wished I could’ve said so, but Lux still had the steering wheel. I was just the backseat driver.

  “We have to find Nash.” Melody glanced up at me, a painful realization in her gaze. Where they went, I couldn’t follow. Lux and Erebus had their redemption mission to undertake, and, as Lux had said, she wouldn’t be relinquishing control over me anytime soon.

  Lux shrugged. “Very well. Go and chase after your acquaintance. We will rendezvous later, as Erebus and I have more to discuss.”

  “But what about Ryann?” Luke acted as my voice.

  “What about her?” Lux replied coldly. “She is a necessary component of our plan. If you wish to see Finch free of the love spell, then you will not protest the matter. Besides, if you cannot aid your friend without the help of a mere magicless mortal, then what is the use in either of you having the gift of Chaos?”

  Luke opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He had no comeback. How could he, when she’d spoken the blunt, honest truth? I didn’t have any skills to offer that they didn’t already have in spades, thanks to Melody.

  Lux chuckled sourly. “That is what I thought.”

  “Come on.” Melody tugged Luke’s sleeve, while Huntress darted to the gallery door. “We have to get to Nash. If he’s got one of those Cuffs on him as well, then he’s completely vulnerable. And Lux is right—they need Ryann here, to help Finch.”

  Luke launched one last glare at Lux before nodding his head. “We don’t have much choice. Huntress has blood on her, and that’s not a good sign.”

  “Take care of her, Lux.” Melody turned her small but mighty sights on the Child of Chaos. “If anything happens to Ryann, you can bet your cosmic backside that your divine father won’t look too kindly on that. And you wouldn’t want to add any more misdeeds to your lengthy list, would you?”

  Anger spiked through my chest, coming from Lux. “Be on your way.”

  Melody and Luke didn’t hesitate. Together with Huntress, they left the gallery at a full sprint, heading for wherever Nash was. Which left me here, alone and trapped, with a married couple who would have made Jerry Springer and Oprah both give up their day jobs, if they hadn’t already retired.

  “How do you suggest we proceed?” Erebus sat on the bench that Melody and Luke had just vacated, voluntarily taking the lower ground.

  Lux paced slowly. “I already told you. We must undo the mess that we have made with our self-serving ways. Finch must be freed. We cannot dangle him on the end of our strings any longer. He has repaid the debt of your efforts in killing Katherine, after you struck that deal in Elysium. You pushed the boundaries of the small print and your vague terminology for much too long. It is time to free him, not only from the love spell, but from your servitude.”

  Erebus laughed strangely, an eerie, unsettling sound. “By freedom, do you mean killing him? After all, if we break the spell, Kaya’s feelings for me will return. If we just kill Finch, then you will win, because Kaya will still be in love with Finch and not me.” His black eyes twinkled with… irreverence? Was this some twisted version of a joke? He was the Child of Darkness, so it would make sense if his humor was on the dark side.

  If he was trying to be funny, Lux didn’t catch on. “Why in Chaos’s name would we kill Finch? That would be idiotic. Our power runs through him, as it runs through his sister. He may lean marginally more toward Dark than Light, but he has a considerable share of both—a rare duality that is only held within the Merlin bloodline. And all the rarer because he has kept his large portion of Light intact and undiminished, even though he relies more upon the Dark. That is a tricky balancing act to undertake, even if he does not
realize it.”

  After his Suppressor broke, Finch had realized that he had both affinities inside him, and Harley had told me about it at length. In some ways, I sensed she’d been envious of his lack of turmoil. She’d suffered a great deal with her warring halves because she had an identical quantity of each inside her. But it had never seemed to affect Finch in the same way, likely for that very reason—the halves weren’t quite equal, which gave him greater control and even greater balance, in some respects. He could pick which side he pulled his strength from, whereas Harley had been controlled by whichever half prevailed at the moment. At least, that was my theory, and it was one that the Children appeared to agree with.

  “I did not know you were such a fan,” Erebus teased, more obviously this time.

  “Merlin and his enduring bloodline were our father’s first mortal creations. They were gifted directly by his hand. It is not about admiration; it is about facts.” Lux stopped pacing. “Why, if Kaya knew the true extent of Finch’s superiority, she would cower in her expensive shoes. He is of a legend far greater than the one she is blindly following. Besides, she is a mere Atlantean. She is not nearly as important as she thinks, and she is certainly not as important as Finch.”

  What? I’d known that Finch and Harley were powerful, even by magical standards, but Lux was talking about the Merlins as though they were on a pedestal: kings among minions. And it had to be true, since it was coming straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth. The Children were bound to Chaos itself. He was their father. They knew extraordinary when they saw it.

  “Which is all the more reason to keep him in my servitude.” Erebus lifted his chin, giving off a stubborn vibe. “He does not know how exceptional he is, and I may as well have one of them under my thumb if I can’t have both.”