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

The SDC had become as notorious as its inhabitants, so finding a replacement for Nomura was proving to be difficult. Most magicals wouldn’t touch us with a ten-foot barge pole, what with all the bad news stories surrounding us lately. We weren’t a joke anymore; we were a jinx. Nevertheless, the SDC was known for being the scrappy underdog, and that hadn’t changed a bit. We were still on a mission to stop Katherine. The National Council was giving us absolutely zilch where intel was concerned, choosing to work exclusively with the high and mighty LA Coven, while Levi kept me in the SDC, even when the others were out on field missions. But since when had I let that stop me?

At least that gave me time to think about how to get Finch out of Purgatory and stop Katherine from completing ritual number three. He was the only one who could get me into the Cult of Eris without Katherine and her minions immediately evaporating me, though Wade and the others still weren’t sure it was a good idea to trust him. I wasn’t sure either, but he was our best bet. We couldn’t afford to be cautious anymore, not with Katherine two rituals in and more powerful than ever.

“Well, that was an experience,” Wade said, brushing the tears from his cheeks.

“You can say that again,” O’Halloran muttered.

“You scared of me, O’Halloran?” I teased.

He snorted. “Not in the slightest.”

“You sure about that? Everyone seems petrified of me these days.” I took a deep breath and brought the magic back inside me. “Although, if it wasn’t for me, you’d be out of a babysitting job.”

He laughed. “Levi’s just terrified of powerful magicals. He quakes when he’s around his own kid. Tragic, really.”

“I’m inclined to agree.” Wade took a shaky breath, checking himself over as if to make sure he was all there.

“You really think that’s all this is?” I was genuinely curious. O’Halloran knew more about Levi than any of us, except for Raffe.

“Of course it is.” He waved his hand. “All of this nonsense with you is just a knee-jerk reaction to that power play you made after Echidna. He doesn’t forget things easily, especially not being made to look tiny in front of people he thinks are beneath him. You embarrassed him, and he’s punishing you. Simple.”

“It’s still annoying though, right?” I grinned at him.

“Very annoying, but also pretty interesting,” he replied, glancing at Wade. “Makes you wonder what the hell the California Mage Council ever saw in him in the first place. He’s like a spoiled kid. But, hey, I’m not part of the elite. What would I know? I’ve got no clue how those people make their decisions. It could be names in a hat for all I know.”

Wade smiled. “That would explain a lot of things.”

O’Halloran fixed his gaze on Wade. “That reverse Empathy stuff is pretty neat. I’ve never seen it done before. All my years as a trainer, and I’m still learning.” He seemed pleased by the notion. “You think it would work on me?”

“Only one way to find out.” I turned toward O’Halloran and pushed my Empathy into him, twisting the vibrations of Chaos so my target felt what I wanted him to feel. I had no idea whether this would work, with O’Halloran being a Shapeshifter, but I had to try. “What kind of bees make milk?”

“Harley…” Wade had a warning tone in his voice.

O’Halloran frowned. “I don’t know, what kind of bees make milk?”

“Boobees.” I surged a wave of amusement into him as I delivered the punchline of my favorite dad joke. Within seconds, he’d cracked up so hard that he’d collapsed on the floor in a fit of hysterics, clutching his stomach as he wheezed out laughter.

“Boobees!” Tears streamed down his face as he pounded his fist into the floor, barely able to breathe, he was howling so hard. Wade stared at him as if he’d just lost his mind, while I grinned with satisfaction. My reverse Empathy was definitely taking on some new flavors here, but I didn’t mind using it to make people laugh instead of cry. Especially on a Shapeshifter, as normally I had no way of reading them. Now to see how far I can push it.

“What did you do that for?” Wade asked, smirking at the sight of O’Halloran in hysterics. The guy didn’t laugh a whole lot. I figured he could use a chuckle.

“You’ll see,” I replied, keeping my attention on O’Halloran. “Do you know what progress the National Council has been making with Katherine?” He was psychologically weakened and ridiculously relaxed from all the laughing, which gave me the perfect gateway to ask something important. It had worked with Mallenberg, though I didn’t like to remember that too much, and I hoped it would work with O’Halloran, too.

He held his chest as he spluttered out a few more chuckles. “Boobees, man. That slayed me.” He looked up at me with dopey eyes. “Funny you should mention the National Council; there’s been word from one of our agents that the Cult of Eris might have a mole. We’re due to receive some important intel about the location of the Recruiter’s favorite playground.”

“Playground?” Wade chimed in, now intrigued. See, nothing to worry about.

“Yeah, it’s where their Recruiter goes to meet potential new cult members.” O’Halloran’s expression suddenly changed to one of shock, as if he’d just realized what had come out of his mouth. Immediately, I loosened my hold on him and dragged the Chaos energy back into me, kicking and screaming.

“You okay?” I tried to put on an innocent smile, but I could sense he knew what I’d just done. I’d broken down his defenses and used my reverse Empathy as an interrogation technique. Even O’Halloran, for all his good humor, wasn’t going to take kindly to that. We can’t be cautious. The time for a softly-softly approach was over. And, with Levi keeping me from leaving the SDC, I had to take my shots where I could, even if that ended with me feeling a stab of guilt.

“Fine,” he muttered, as he got up and dusted himself off. “I think that’s enough training for today.”

“But I was just—” I tried to protest, but he cut me off.

“I said that’s enough for today.” He shot me a look that was equal parts sullen and worried. “Don’t breathe a word about what I’ve just said, do you understand? Otherwise, Levi will send you and me to Alaska.”

“I won’t say anything.” I turned to Wade for reassurance, but he looked torn, as if he’d just witnessed something he didn’t quite like. O’Halloran stormed toward the door. I really did feel bad about manipulating someone I respected, but we needed to get this show on the road, and I’d learned something very valuable from it.

So, you’ve got a mole in your midst, Katherine? There was a delicious irony to that.





Two





Harley





“Did you just… interrogate O’Halloran?” Wade asked as we left the Luis Paoletti Room. “I thought the guy had a mind of steel. How did you manage that?”

He stared at me with surprise. Of all the people in the coven, the members of the Rag Team were the only ones who weren’t frightened by me, and I didn’t want that to change. Especially not with him, not after how far we’d come together.

“You know how people say that dad jokes are a form of torture?” I tried to suppress a smile.

“Tell me you aren’t about to start a new career as a stand-up comic.”

I grinned. “No, but you could say I dad-joked him into submission. Turns out the folks who say that aren’t wrong. In the right circumstances, it gets the job done.”

“I’ve never seen him so pissed off. You really shouldn’t do that without people’s permission.”

“He did give me permission. He asked me to try it on him, remember?” I knew Wade was right, but I wanted to ease the uncomfortable knot in my stomach.

“He won’t make that mistake again.” Wade’s expression turned thoughtful. “So, the National Council suspects there’s a mole in the Cult of Eris…”

“And they’ll be finding out where our favorite lion-woman likes to hang out. O’Halloran called it a ‘playground,’ but that better not be literal. If she’s going after more kids, I’ll wring her furry neck.” I glowered at the thought of Naima.

“Hey, she still has an unfulfilled wish to snap mine, so you’d better get in there first.”

I looked up at Wade shyly. “You can count on it.”