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

“Tell me you know it?”

Finch smirked and put his hand on the handle of the library. “Of course I know it.” He whispered something in Latin, and the handle lit up red. It sounded similar to the password he’d used on Katherine’s office, with a slight change of words. It was likely something equally nauseating and self-indulgent. A wave of relief washed over me as the blast door slid to the side. Grabbing the female guard by the back of her shirt, I dragged her into the room beyond, with Finch dragging the guy in after me. He closed the door behind us, whispering the same spell that had unlocked it in the first place.

Once I had bundled the female guard into a nearby cupboard and Finch had stowed the guy away in a cabinet, I stood up and took in my surroundings for the first time. My eyes flew wide in awe. It had been styled in the same fashion as Katherine’s office, with a cosmos swirling overhead, aquariums slotted into the wood-and-gold walls, and rows upon rows of bookcases lining every available space. There were glass display cases, too, holding rare and remarkable treasures. Everywhere I looked, I found something else to gawk at.

In the center stood a glass case with a gold gauntlet inside, and a small card stating that it had once belonged to Queen Nefertiti, the greatest witch in all of Ancient Egypt. Beside it, there were Esprits from a bunch of famous, and infamous, magicals: a blade belonging to Genghis Khan, a coin pendant from Mother Shipton, a staff from Aleister Crowley, a rough-cut chunk of onyx from Nostradamus, and even an ancient bracelet which had, apparently, belonged to Cassandra herself—the great Grecian prophetess.

I wondered if Wade knew his ancestor’s Esprit had wound up in Katherine’s private collection, the thought of him making my heart beat faster. The sooner we could get this done, the sooner I’d be back at the SDC with him.

“This place is insane,” I whispered. Libraries had that effect on me.

Finch laughed. “It’s pretty cool. It’s just a shame nobody ever gets to see inside it.”

“Well, we better hope my mother’s spirit is in here somewhere. Shinsuke said to look for the statue of Eris… not that that helps much.” There were statues of Eris everywhere. My heart lurched at the prospect of finding her in this place, especially with our one marker rendered useless. I’d been pushing my emotions surrounding her to the side, trying to keep my focus on the task at hand, but it was impossible not to feel a million and one things, now that we were getting closer. I’d never actually met my mother. Katherine had taken that from me. And the idea of seeing her spirit was almost more than I could bear. Sadness and confusion and hope swirled in a vortex deep inside me, refusing to be ignored.

As we started our search, I called out to Finch. Talking to him was the only way I could keep my head in the game, without getting too sucked in by what I would say to my mother when we found her. Would she even be able to hear me? I wasn’t sure which was more unnerving—the idea of being able to talk to her and have her reply, or her not being able to talk back.

“Why do you think Tess decided to become a mole for the National Council?” I asked, drawing my fingertip along a row of ancient-looking tomes.

Finch peered around a nearby bookcase and shrugged. “It might have something to do with her sister, Larissa. She died on a mission, and Katherine didn’t care. Katherine said she’d gotten what was coming to her and refused to let Tess retrieve what was left of her sister in order to bury her. I doubt she’d have forgiven that in a hurry.”

“I hadn’t considered it might be a super personal grudge,” I said softly.

“Don’t forget, Katherine uses people. She used me. She used Shinsuke. She used Hiro. She uses whomever she can, for as long as they’re useful to her. I guess she thought it proved Tess’s loyalty, when she didn’t try to argue. I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she finds out.”

“She can’t find out, Finch. Not yet. We need Tess as much as she needs us.” I didn’t want Finch getting carried away with his vendetta. Tess could be useful to us here, even after we escaped with the spirit. Ratting her out served no immediate purpose… even if seeing the look on Katherine’s face would be a brilliant thing. Plus, she was sort of on our side, if she was working against Katherine. That gave her the right to our silence, for now.

Finch chuckled. “Don’t worry, I know what’s at stake. In the end, when everyone figures out that she’s only using them for her own gains, they’ll all be ready to jump ship. One way or another. This ship is already sinking, and those rats will be out of here quicker than you can say ‘Eris.’ And I can’t wait.”

As I continued searching, book titles jumped out at me. The first one my hand rested on was called Into the Otherworld by a man named Sebastien Delacroix. Opening it up, I scanned the index for any interesting chapters. One leapt out of the page, and I flicked to the corresponding page and tore it out, stuffing it in my pocket for later. I didn’t have time to read it now, but I’d take any useful information I could get.

I hurried to the next statue of Eris, looking behind it, and around it, for any sign of Hester’s spirit, but all I found were more books and cases filled with artifacts. None of them gave any indication that they held my mom’s spirit inside them.

“Got it!” Finch yelped a few minutes later. I sprinted from the bookcase I was searching, to find him at the far end of the room, his hands grasping a small charmed jar that had been placed on a special altar. It was tucked behind a towering statue of a marble goddess. Eris, again, I presume? I looked at the statue, noting the golden apple held aloft. It was identical to the rest of the statues in the room. Man, Katherine really liked to show off. The statue even looked like her.

My eyes drifted toward the jar, which was very similar to the soul jars Papa Legba had used, only slightly bigger. A faint white mist swirled inside the glass, the charms lighting up as it held back the spirit within. I couldn’t tear my gaze away. I found myself getting lost in the swirling mist, trying to pick out something more human. Something that let me know, beyond all doubt, that my mother was in there.

The hazy fog grew more agitated, the white mist thickening as it threw itself against the glass, dispersing instantly before coming back together again. Can you see me, Mom? Did she know I was here? Did she recognize me, even after so many years? Tears filled my eyes, and my heart gripped in my chest. I touched the glass, smoothing my fingertips across the surface as the charms that were carved into the glass started to glow. The mist slammed harder into the glass and paused where my fingertips rested, fine tendrils slithering up the inside, like they were trying to touch me.

“I’m here,” I said softly, my voice choked with emotion. “Mom, I’m here. Just hold on, we’re going to get you out of this place.”

Finch stared at me strangely. “Big moment for you, huh?”

I nodded, unable to speak. The charms grew even brighter. She knew I was here, and she knew who I was, even after all this time. I guessed it was that unbreakable bond between mother and child, the one I’d never experienced, until now. I wanted to grab the jar from Finch’s hands and smash it here and now, letting my mother out, but he tugged it away, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at?” A familiar voice cut through the tense silence of the room, making us both turn in fright. Tess stood at the far end of the aisle, a few steps in front of the main door, her eyes narrowed in anger. “This is the second time I’ve caught you somewhere you’re not supposed to be. Don’t tell me, you were waiting for Katherine?” Sarcasm dripped from her words as she moved toward us.

Finch and I exchanged a worried look. How were we going to wriggle our way out of this one?





Thirty-Two





Finch