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

Katherine shrugged. “Fine, suit yourself. You can rot here with Harley’s Knight in Aluminum Foil.”

Wade flashed me a desperate look as Kenneth tugged roughly on his Cuffs. What did he want me to do? Katherine swept out of the room without another word, and I found I didn’t care. Ol’ Kenneth might have managed to capture Wade, but there was no sign of Isadora. Which meant one thing: Harley had a way off the island.





Thirty-Eight





Harley





I staggered out of Isadora’s portal with my mother’s jar clutched to my chest. She’d gone back inside for now, as it wasn’t safe for her to be freed inside the tunnels where the weird pull of All Hallows’ Eve was at its strongest. I had to resist the urge to tear the lid right off, just so I could see her again. Isadora hadn’t told me what had gone wrong yet, but I was surprised to find that we were still on the island. I’d expected to end up at the SDC. Instead, we’d landed near the titan that housed Naima’s Bestiary, Isadora’s portal crackling and snapping like it was having a hard time holding. It evaporated a moment later with a rush of air, leaving behind a worrying puff of black smoke.

“What’s going on?” I asked her outright. “Is there something wrong with your portals?”

Isadora shook her head. “It’s this place. It’s messing with my energy.” She took a shaky breath. “As for what’s going on… Katherine has Wade.”

“What?” I tried to stay calm. Katherine had Wade, but that was okay—we could go back for him, right? We could get him out of this mess. Finch, too. I wasn’t leaving without them.

“Wade and I felt you press your end of the rescue button, and we headed straight through a portal to the location it gave. Only, it wasn’t quite as precise as we’d hoped. We portaled in right beside this room with a bunch of guards outside. We were ambushed instantly. Wade got caught by Kenneth, but I managed to escape through another portal. I tried to grab him, but Kenneth had already hauled him off, and Wade shouted at me to find you.”

“Wade sent you to find me?” That was Wade all over, putting my safety above his own.

“I managed to MacGyver the rescue button a little to get clearer coordinates, which is when I found you in that tunnel. It’s this place, this compound, this island, Harley—it’s tricky, and that’s all I can say without swearing my head off. There’s something wrong with this whole setup.”

“It probably has something to do with all the curses and protection stuff Katherine’s got hidden all around the island,” I said, forcing myself to keep a level head. “She’s probably got a few added tricks to throw a Portal Opener for a loop, too, just in case the island gets discovered.”

Isadora nodded. “You could be right. My portals haven’t acted like that since I was a teenager.”

“It’s this way back to the Hexagon. We can run there and take out the guards as we see them, since I don’t have my disguise anymore.” I moved to go, but Isadora grasped my wrist, pulling me back.

“You can’t go and get him, Harley.” She stared at me. “That’s exactly what Katherine is counting on. I know you’re worried, but you can’t rush headlong into this. Katherine thinks she knows you, so you have to do everything in your power to do the opposite of what she’s expecting.”

I shook my head, gritting my teeth. “I’m not leaving him there, Isadora. Katherine will kill him out of spite, you know she will.”

“I’m not saying leave him there—I’m just saying Katherine is probably waiting for you to come charging in so she can demand something in return for his safety. Your life, most likely. It’s a trap.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” I hung my head, completely torn. The guy I loved was with Katherine right now, getting who knew what done to him, and I was here, unable to help him.

Isadora loosened her grip on my wrist and took my hand in hers. “I think you know what you have to do, Harley.” She glanced down at the jar in the crook of my arm.

No… I knew this had been the goal all along, but now that the moment had come, I didn’t know if I could do it. Even in spirit form, she was my mom. I didn’t want to have to say goodbye to her. But what else was I going to do? Keep her in a jar like Katherine and whip her out whenever I felt sad? I shuddered, remembering the glass coffin with the shriveled raisin of Drake Shipton inside it. If I kept hold of my mom’s spirit and didn’t release her, I’d be no better.

Tears filled my eyes. We were supposed to be off this freaking island by now, but we were still here, and things were getting worse by the second. But freeing my mom… This was the one thing I had left in my power. The one thing that would make whatever happened to us worth it. And hey, you might join her sooner than you think. Silver linings...

With a painful sob racking my chest, I unscrewed the lid of the soul jar and threw it to the ground. My mother’s spirit swirled out, stretching into the ghost I’d seen before, in the tunnel.

“You’re so brave, honey,” she said, her gauzy hands drifting through my face.

“I don’t feel very brave right now.” I noticed that Isadora had stood off to one side, to give my mom and me a moment.

“I know, sweetheart. I know this is hard for you, but it’s not easy for me, either. I’d stay by your side if I could, but if I do that, then it means Katherine will always have a way of completing the third ritual.”

I nodded slowly. “I know.”

“You have to let me go now, honey.”

“I know… but this is going to hurt like a bitch.”

She chuckled. “Language.”

“Sorry. It is, though.”

“Merlins don’t hide from a challenge, no matter how tough it might be,” she whispered. “And if the legends about soulmates being together in the afterlife are true, then I’ve got a hunky slice of husband waiting for me on the other side.”

I choked out a sad laugh. “Mom.”

“This doesn’t mean I’ll be gone, Harley. I’ve always been with you, and you’ve always been with me. That won’t change just because my spirit isn’t tied to this world anymore. I’ll be able to watch you properly, wherever I am. As long as you keep your father and me in your heart, we aren’t going anywhere. We’ll live on because you remember us.”

“I just wish we had more time.” Tears trickled down my cheeks, and my heart felt like it was about to shatter into a million pieces. Pieces I’d never be able to put back together again.

“So do I, sweetheart. So do I.” Her eyes turned sad. “Just promise me you’ll live a good life, okay? Promise me you’ll be happy. As happy as you can possibly be. Take pleasure in every tiny thing, even if it’s just Christmas lights, or fireworks on the Fourth of July, or the best damn pancakes you’ve ever eaten. And remember what I said about your Darkness. That way, I know you’ll be okay.”

“You really have to go, huh?” I dropped my chin to my chest.

“I really do, but only because it’s the natural order of things. I died, and I should’ve crossed over, but Katherine stopped me. This is how it’s supposed to be, as hard as it is. I’m just glad I got to see you, at last, and that I got to talk to you, even if it was just for a short time. That’s a gift I never expected to get. I might not like the circumstances, but I can’t deny that I’m grateful.”

I nodded. “Me, too.”

“I love you, Harley.”

“I love you, too.” I sobbed out the words, my body shaking violently.

“Be happy, sweetheart. Find love, find the best friends you can, find all the good stuff in this world and surround yourself with it. Don’t be sad, and don’t feel like you’re on your own. I’ve been stuffed in a jar for nineteen years, but I’ve never moved from your side. I’ll still be there, I promise. Look for all that good stuff, like I said, and you’ll find me and your dad, too.”

My heart felt like it’d been turned inside out. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, sweetheart. So much.”