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

I slipped out of the room and sprinted for the safety of the hallways, still wearing Harley’s guise. In a populated area, they wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing. Not unless they wanted to out Harley. Deviousness runs in the family, Sis. I kept running until I reached the main corridor. Students and inhabitants wandered about their daily business. A few offered nervous greetings, while others plain avoided me. Oh Harley, look what you did. They were scared of her—scared of what she was capable of. I almost felt proud of her. She was more infamous than me, by the looks of it.

I turned to the sound of footsteps approaching at a rapid pace. Santana and Raffe had caught up with me. But it didn’t matter now. I offered them a sardonic smile and gestured to the other people who were walking about.

“Try and stop me, and it’s all over,” I whispered. “If you reveal me here, Harley will pay. Purgatory isn’t fun. She won’t survive life in there.”

They backed off immediately. “Pendejo!” Santana hissed.

“I’m going to guess that wasn’t a compliment.” I smiled at her. “Now, if you’ll behave, I’m going to the Bestiary.” I set off before they could reply. Behind me, I could feel them seething with hatred. Good. I didn’t want them to like me. I didn’t want us to be friends. Close ties only got people killed. I’d learned that the hard way. But what about Harley? I pushed the thought away and pressed on. I could worry about her later.

Even the security personnel stationed at the Bestiary seemed to be terrified of me in Harley form. That made me happy. These people reminded me too much of the Purgatory officers. They could do with a little humbling now and again, to keep them on their toes. I lunged at one, just to make a point. They staggered back as if I’d just grown four heads. Moving away from them, I chuckled. I just wished they could have been Grimshaw or Chalmers. Now that would have been satisfying.

“Tobe, my man!” I hollered as I walked straight up to the Beast Master. He was feeding pellets to some tiny creatures through a tray in the glass of their box. They looked like half-armadillo, half-moth hybrids.

He looked up at me in surprise. “Harley? What may I do for you on this rather subdued afternoon?”

It’s been a long time, Tobe. I still remembered how it had felt to inhabit his form. I’d almost gotten away with framing him for the gargoyle mess all those months ago. If he really knew who I was, I wondered how he’d react. Would he swipe my head off with those terrible claws of his? Probably not. Tobe was a pussycat. He’d be more likely to offer me some sage pearls of wisdom about reforming my character than decapitate me.

“I was hoping you could help me with a little plant problem,” I replied. Santana and Raffe were flanking me like nervous bodyguards at a political rally.

“Santana, Raffe.” Tobe dipped his head in greeting. “Is everything well with all of you? I hate to pry, but you seem rather agitated.”

“Everything is A-OK. Right, guys?” I glanced at them. My warning was clear. I didn’t know if news had reached the old furball about my breakout. Right now, it didn’t seem worth it to ask. Not with so many blackcoats lurking about.

Santana nodded slowly. “We’ve just got a lot on our plates, that’s all. Too much coffee, too.”

“Caffeine is not good for the body or the soul,” Tobe replied. “Stimulants rarely are.”

“Speak for yourself.” I laughed. “I bet you haven’t needed a sip in all your life. You were probably born stimulated to the max.”

Tobe eyed me strangely. “I suppose I was, in a manner of speaking. Now, back to the matter at hand. What’s this plant problem you require assistance with?”

He held my gaze, his amber eyes reminding me how wise and serene he was. It was a stark contrast to Naima, who had never been calm a day in her short life. His intent stare made me feel suddenly guilty. A sharp jab to the gut. I’d put him through a massive ordeal, even though I’d known he’d eventually get cleared of all the accusations against him. That had been a tough day at the office. My divided mind sometimes liked to remind me of what I’d done to him. Tobe, who’d never harmed a fly, yet people had believed him capable of releasing those gargoyles. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who should have felt guilty about what happened to him that day. Thinking about that, I felt the guilt retreat.

“I was hoping you could give us access to the Devil’s Tongue Triffids,” I replied, doing my best Harley impersonation.

He frowned, rumpling his furry forehead. “Devil’s Tongue Triffids? Why on earth would you need access to those?”

Devil’s Tongue Triffids were a rare species of Purge monster that manifested as gigantic, carnivorous flowers that spat streams of vicious neurotoxin to trap and kill prey. More of the substance drenched their petals to entice prey in and render them immobile so they could be devoured. The neurotoxin was stored in bulbous sacs at either side of their main stem and had to be squeezed out while they were dopey from sleeping gas.

“It’s for a project that Preceptor Bellmore gave us,” Santana interjected before I had time to answer. I was shocked at her willingness to be my accomplice. The fiery girl had hidden depths, especially when it came to protecting Harley. I contemplated the kind of rift I could put between them if I told Harley what I’d heard Santana say about the president catastrophe. Another time, maybe. It didn’t seem like a good idea to divide and conquer right now.

Tobe nodded reluctantly. “Well, I suppose I could—” He stopped mid-sentence as two figures came running through the hallway of the Bestiary, veering off toward us. My heart lurched. What the hell was the real Harley doing here? The crap was about to hit the fan.

Tobe’s eyes narrowed at me. His spidey-senses hadn’t been wrong about something being up.

Harley skidded to a halt, with Wade behind her. “Why weren’t you answering your phones?” she hissed at Santana and Raffe. We were out of sight of the security guards, but we needed to keep a low profile. Hard to do, with two of the same person standing in front of the Beast Master General.

Wade gaped at me, his eyes wide. He shook his head, as if he thought he was seeing double. His mouth only stretched wider as realization started to creep in. He glanced from the real Harley to me, and back again, then back to her again. It was like something out of an old comedy sketch, Wade doing the quadruple-take of comic disbelief. Tobe wasn’t too far off, either.

“How can there be two of you?” The Beast Master ruffled his feathers. “Unless… no… I was hoping you would not go through with it.” His gaze returned to Harley, who’d finally noticed me. Well, there was no use pretending anymore.

Shaking off Harley’s form, I shifted reluctantly back into my old self. Tobe wasn’t going to like this. The moment he saw me, his face morphed into a mask of pure resentment. His eyes darkened as he drew up to his full height. His bestial muscles bulged beneath his fur, his wings shooting out to either side, each feather flashing like a blade. His hands splayed out, revealing the savage claws at the ends of his paws, while his talons clicked on the marble floor like the raptor’s from Jurassic Park. I got the feeling I might face the same end as Samuel L. Jackson in that movie.

He growled, flashing his fangs. “You.”

“Ta-da!” I waggled nervous jazz hands at him. Humor could defuse most situations. This one? Maybe not.

“How dare you come here!” Tobe spat. I’d never seen him so angry. Actually, I’d never seen him angry, period.

“See, the thing is—”

He cut me off. “How dare you hide yourself in front of me? How dare you deceive me? You are arrogant, and make no mistake, you are lucky I do not disembowel you where you stand.”

“So, there’s a chance of that not happening?”

He stood even taller, dwarfing me completely. Oh, crap. This wasn’t going to end well. Tobe was going to kill me before I even got my hands on Katherine. I wasn’t sure which I was more annoyed about. And I was going to make a total mess of the nice marble floor.