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

“Sore loser?”

“Who says I’ve lost?” I brought the knife up and slashed it across Shinsuke’s arm, just below that stupid apple. Nobody would question me using it. An Esprit was an Esprit, after all. Shinsuke stared at the wound. It was only a small nick, really, but the neurotoxin would soon get to work. I didn’t want to kill him, just slow him down a bit.

“Hey…” His eyes turned foggy as he slumped forward. The neurotoxin had worked. Pushing him off me, I stood over him. He tried to crawl away, but by now his limbs would feel like lead, and his motor senses would go next. They’d all come back, but he’d have one hell of a hangover.

Urging Fire into my hands, I pummeled it into his back until he stopped crawling. Only then did I stop. I wanted to make sure I hadn’t killed him. As I reached forward to check for a pulse, he lifted his hand in surrender.

“Pieter Mazinov is the winner!” Naima bellowed.

You bet your furry ass I am.

Now that my part was over, I sat down beside Shinsuke’s limp body and watched the rest of Harley’s fight. I patted him on the rump. “Good fight, Nomura. You did good.”

He groaned in reply.

“Yeah, you’ll feel better in the morning.” I used his body as a backrest, folding my arms across my chest as I got settled in for Harley’s victory. I’d thought about helping her, but this wasn’t really a two-on-one sort of game. If Harley wanted her place in the cult, she’d have to win on her own. Honestly, I was still trying to wrap my head around being back here. It was home, but also not. It was kind of like a dream and a nightmare colliding.

Harley was giving as good as she got, sticking to the abilities of Volla Mazinov. Volla was known to spurn Esprits, thankfully, so we didn’t have to manufacture a fake one or make up a story about her losing it. Harley was skilled in her own right, using her powers without one. But that had to be making it ten times harder to control her super-strength Chaos.

I laughed as a tornado of Water came down on Kenneth’s head. He slipped and slid on the wet glass, falling on his ass like a circus clown. A howl of laughter went up from the crowd. Kenneth glared at them, but there wasn’t much he could do. He dragged himself up and tossed a flurry of hexes at Harley. His powers weren’t all that impressive. Pretty, yes. Fear-inducing, no. Then again, I knew what that smoke could do. And so did Harley. She was avoiding it like the plague.

My laughter died as I watched my sister in action. She was fearless and intimidating, even when wearing someone else’s face. Every move Kenneth made, she countered it. Every time he lunged at her, she was already prepared to dodge out of the way. It was like watching a dance. Soppy, much? I couldn’t help but admire her. All of her focus was on the fight. It never slipped, not once. And she was owning it. Even the crowd had fallen silent as they observed her. I bet even the real Volla Mazinov wasn’t half as good as this. God rest her soul. Polar bears—what a way to go.

It had only just occurred to me that this had to be deeply personal for Harley. She hated Kenneth Willow almost as much as I did. I’d done my fair share of bad, but I drew the line at killing kids. Kenneth had no line. She must have been seething. And she was definitely showing him what she was made of.

Before long, I noticed Kenneth begin to tire. Nothing obvious had happened, but that was the point. Harley had to be using her reverse Empathy on him. He kept looking around as if he thought someone was behind him. She had him running scared. He was weakening before my very eyes. If I’d thought Shinsuke’s blades were cool, this was cooler. Evidently, she was implanting terror in him, the kind that was sapping his will to fight and draining him of his energy. His eyes widened, and he ducked, even though Harley hadn’t done anything. Shaking, he looked back up at her.

“I won’t be defeated by a girl!” Kenneth searched his pockets for more hexes.

Harley smiled and lifted her hands. Water surged up from the nearby ocean and powered through the trees, taking out a few branches on the way. It gathered in a swirling vortex over Kenneth’s head. He was still searching frantically. Finally, he realized something was happening. Everything had gone way too quiet. The moment he looked up, Harley dunked the whole swirling pool onto his head. It hit him like an anvil, drowning him in a powerful deluge. The crowd gasped, their mouths hanging open.

Ah, poor Weeping Willow. I grinned with satisfaction. That little punk had gotten what was coming to him. I still wanted to murder him in his sleep, sure, but I could ease off on my vendetta for now. The time would come for all that. Kenneth wouldn’t escape me forever.

On her plinth, Naima clapped. She looked thoroughly amused. “Volla Mazinov is the winner!”

Kenneth lay on his back, coughing up water. His eyes rolled back into his head as he lolled there on the black glass. Harley had smashed this fight. And there wasn’t a neurotoxin in sight. Good job, Sis.

Somehow, we’d managed to pass the first trial without giving ourselves away. I glanced at the crowd to gauge their reactions. Immediately, my eye was drawn to Tess. Anyone’s eye would’ve been. She had smooth, ebony skin, hair buzzed right to the scalp, eyes like two pools of rich, rich caramel. Pools I wouldn’t have minded drowning in. More than that, she was sharp as all hell. Right now, she was smirking at the sight of an utterly humiliated Kenneth. My kind of girl.

I loathed Kenneth. Words couldn’t describe how much. I’d known him before he got taken in by the foster family where the Ryders recruited him. He’d kissed my ass, too. He’d wanted to join me and Katherine back then, but I’d said nothing to my mom. Until the Ryders found out about him, that is. Even then, I’d warned Katherine that he’d end up a gigantic liability. The little brownnose was unstable and spiteful at best, savage and downright dangerous at worst. He couldn’t think straight in any pressurized situations, especially if humiliated. He’d hold on to this particular grudge for a long time.

I’ve got my eye on you, twerp. I got the creeping feeling he’d try to come after Harley, once he’d coughed all the ocean water out of his lungs. I hoped he had a few decent chunks of seaweed in his throat, for good measure.

“You have gained the right to stay upon Eris Island, but only for the night,” Naima announced. “Your next trial begins at midnight. If you survive that, you may live until morning, when the third trial will take place.”

“You want to cast a bit more light on these trials, Naima?” I shot back, getting a giggle from the crowd.

She smirked. “Now where would be the fun in that?” She turned her attention to said crowd. “Tess, as you were unable to perform your duties, I must ask that you escort the Mazinovs to their temporary quarters.”

We get it, we’re only staying if we finish the trials. No need to keep hammering it home. I got up and gave Shinsuke another pat. He was out cold. Dusting myself off, I headed for the metal walkway off this glass disc and waited for Harley. She caught up with me a moment later, the two of us walking toward Tess. She’d made her way out of the crowd and come to fulfil her task, like a good little cultist.

“If you’d like to follow me,” she said in those sultry, honeyed tones that could get my head torn off. I was all for the praying mantis vibes.

“Lead the way.” I had to remember not to act like Finch. Otherwise, we’d never make it out of here alive.





Nineteen





Harley





“All good?” Finch asked as we followed Tess along a labyrinth of treetop walkways. We passed a bunch of those weird, orb-like treehouses, but apparently none of them were for us.

I nodded, panting. “Tired but good.”