Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris (Harley Merlin, #6)

“They’ll be ready after you channel your magic into them, whenever you decide you’re ready to proceed with that process. And you are quite right—the gemstones are inside the orbs, which provide a protective casing that should slip through any radar. It will also mean the size can be changed, to make them even less noticeable. I will need to know what your plans are so that I can fill each Ephemera with the power you require—provided we have a magical here at the SDC who possesses that ability,” he explained.

“And the ability can only be used once, right?” I knew enough about them from Isadora, but I’d been doing some research of my own, ever since I’d decided that breaking Finch out was the right thing to do. Ephemeras were rare artifacts, as the art of making them had long been lost. They were highly sought after, but only a few people still knew where to find one. I guessed Krieger’s success had something to do with Cabot’s shop in Waterfront Park, but I didn’t like to pry too much. Still, from what I knew, the ability that got poured into them could only be used one time, making the objects powerful but very temporary.

Krieger nodded. “That is correct, although they may react differently with you, Harley. You might get more time out of a single use. I’ve tried to tamper with them both, to give boosted abilities, but it will remain to be seen if that works out.”

“Cool, we’ve got a few things to go over before we need these, but we’ll give you plenty of time to get them up and running before we leave,” I said.

“The more time, the better.”

“Noted.” I looked at Wade. “We should probably check in and see what the others are doing so I don’t randomly end up crossing paths with my duplicate and get Levi’s panties in a bunch.”

“Good thinking.” He took out his phone, dialed a number, and put it to his ear. “Astrid? Yeah, we’re back. Do you know where Harley’s duplicate is? Have them bring the duplicate over to the infirmary so we can avoid the real Harley bumping into the duplicate Harley. We won’t need the duplicate of Harley to leave the infirmary, so it’ll just be a one-way trip. Great, thanks, Astrid. See you soon.”

I put my thumb up. “All good?”

“Astrid is going to get Dylan and Tatyana to bring the duplicate to the infirmary once she’s finished checking the dark web for cult movements, and I’m about to phone Santana and get her and Raffe to come here, too.”

“Why won’t we need my duplicate anymore?” If this new, improved version was anything like Finch’s duplicate, nobody would be able to tell the difference.

“We can’t afford to have the duplicate slip up, not with Levi watching so closely. It can stay here, under Krieger’s watch, until we need it again.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. “I’m still working on a good excuse. We have to make this watertight.” I looked around the room, noticing one figure was missing. “What about Isadora? Is she coming?”

“She’s with Alton and Levi, keeping the old Grinch busy.”

Finch snorted. “Isadora is here?”

“Where else would she be?” I shot back.

“I thought she’d be chained up in one of Katherine’s cages by now. If she’s really here, why isn’t she running miles away from this place?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What do you mean?” Had Finch known about Isadora since day one? It sounded like it. I didn’t know what to make of that. Then again, it wasn’t as if he’d have just blurted it out when he’d been roaming around the SDC, masquerading as a coven member. Still, it irked me a little.

“She’s a sitting duck for Katherine if she stays here. Katherine has been after her for ages.”

“Katherine did manage to take her, but we got her back,” Jacob interjected, a half-sheepish, half-proud look on his face.

I nodded. “Yeah, as it turns out, once you complete the first ritual, you don’t need a Portal Opener anymore, so Katherine has no reason to come after Isadora.”

“Aside from the Merlin connection, you mean?” Finch tapped his fingertips on the workbench, a knowing look on his face. “She doesn’t want any of us alive, Harley. No Shiptons, no Merlins, nobody who has any connection to her whatsoever. Then again, I guess that makes us all sitting ducks.”

“Well, these ducks aren’t sitting for long, so stop with the scaremongering. Isadora is just fine here, for now, and so are we. We’ll be leaving soon enough, and hopefully, when we come back, that’ll be the end of it.” I shook off the shiver that had run up my spine. “Now, what we’re about to do is ridiculously dangerous, and I need to know what you’ve got planned. I’m not walking into the Cult of Eris blind, so you’d better start talking.”

Finch smiled an eerie smile that made my stomach twist into knots. He seemed to be reveling in the idea of ending Katherine more than any of us, his eagerness casting a dark glint in the depths of his eyes. What lay ahead was one of the most terrifying things I’d ever have to do in my life, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to run in the opposite direction. Entering Katherine’s cult wasn’t just dangerous, it was completely insane, but it was our one shot at getting her.

We couldn’t miss it, no matter how afraid I might be of what awaited us in the Cult of Eris. If we did, we might never get a chance like this again.





Six





Harley





“Long time, no see,” Santana muttered as she leveled her gaze at Finch. The entire Rag Team was now gathered in the infirmary, with my duplicate having turned back into an Orisha. The only one still missing was Garrett, and I could see that irked Finch a little. After all, they probably had a lot to talk about.

Finch smirked. “Yeah, it’s weird, isn’t it? You’d think Purgatory would just let us have days off, right?”

“Gotta say, I’m loving the frosted tips. You having a quarter-life crisis or something?” Santana was on a roll today.

“The hairstylist said it was back in fashion. Purgatory is a little behind, though.” Finch ran an anxious hand through his new dark auburn hair. I’d caught him looking at his reflection a couple of times, and the reddish tone didn’t seem to sit well with him. Too many Katherine memories, no doubt.

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do, Harley?” Tatyana looked at me uncertainly. Nobody was comfortable having Finch here. The tension and concern were like a tidal wave, crashing straight into me. I’d relearned how to put up a mental barrier to keep most of it out, but little barbs prickled every now and again.

I sighed. “You’ve all got to trust me on this one. We’ve taken big risks before, but this one might just have the payoff we’ve been looking for. It’s the right thing to do, even though I know it feels weird.” I glanced at Finch, eager to stop a spat from breaking out. “So, what do you know? Spill.”

“At least I can count on you for a warm welcome, Sis. It’s gotten pretty frosty in here.” He looked around the room with a smug smile on his face. With him being a Shapeshifter, it annoyed me that I couldn’t sense his true emotions, but I got the feeling he didn’t really feel smug. He was just putting on his Finch fa?ade for the curious, wary public. “The first person we need to gun for is Naima. From what you’ve told me, you’ve already met her a couple of times. And it sounds as though she likes you a hell of a lot, Wade. She doesn’t get her claws out for just anyone.”

Wade narrowed his eyes. “Just stick to the facts, Finch. We don’t have time to mess around.”

“This Krieger kid must’ve cut out all your funny bones.” Finch chuckled to himself, while Krieger shot him a disapproving look.

“You had best watch who you’re calling ‘kid,’ kinder.”

“Of course he’s a German!” Finch smirked at me but carried on before I could snap at him. “So, Naima was Purged by Katherine. She performed a really dark spell to break into the Reykjavik repositories, and Naima popped out after. Sweet, really. Anyway, she runs the cult’s Bestiary out of the ruined Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas, where Katherine has her base of operations.”