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

“Be happy too, okay? Give Dad a kiss when you see him, but nothing too gross. And tell him… tell him I forgive him,” I rasped out the words, fighting for breath.

“I will. And, Isadora, thank you for taking care of her.” She began to disintegrate in front of my eyes, and it took every scrap of strength I had not to try and reach out with my Telekinesis and bind her to this world forever. I wouldn’t do that, not to her. My Darkness wasn’t getting fed this time.

“It was the least I could do,” Isadora choked out, brushing tears from her eyes.

“I love you!” I ran toward what remained of my mom, reaching out to touch the last, faint tendrils of her spirit.

“I love you, more than you know.” She evaporated, her voice whispering one last sentence on the breeze. “You were the best thing that ever happened to us.”

I sank to the ground on all fours, dragging air into my lungs like I’d almost drowned. I had to get myself together, but how was I supposed to do that when it felt like I’d been torn apart? I closed my eyes and focused on Wade, using the Euphoria technique to shift my concentration. He needed my help now, or I’d be saying a gut-wrenching farewell to him, too.

I couldn’t change what had happened to my mom. I couldn’t bring her back to life. This was the way it had to be, and by letting her go, I’d wrecked Katherine’s plans to complete the third ritual. We’d stopped her, my mom and I. Hester had been a badass to the end.

You’re not getting the last laugh this time, Katherine.

Slowly, I hauled myself back up and dusted the grass from my jeans, before turning to a silent Isadora. “We need to get Wade and Finch out of there.”

“Are you okay? Are you sure you don’t need another minute?” There were tears in her eyes again, making me realize that couldn’t have been easy for her, either. That had been her sister-in-law.

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I need to focus on Wade and Finch right now. I can mourn my mom when we’re back at the SDC and Katherine is dead. Then, and only then, will this make any sense.”

Yeah, I’d stopped Katherine’s ritual, but two of the most important men in my life were still trapped in the dragon’s lair, and my Ephemera-given power was all out of juice. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but, until all of this was over, and I could retreat into my bedroom and cry my eyes out until I had nothing left, I wouldn’t shed another tear. That wasn’t what my mom would have wanted.

“Well, we need to think rationally before we do anything,” Isadora said.

I nodded. “You’re right. We need a plan. A good one.”





Thirty-Nine





Finch





“I bet you didn’t think we’d catch you, did you?” Kenneth said smugly, pacing between the two chairs where Wade and I sat. I watched Wade closely as Kenneth brushed past him. He reached up discreetly, his wrists still locked together with Atomic Cuffs, dislodging something from Kenneth’s belt and covering it with his palms.

“Wasn’t exactly a fair fight,” Wade muttered. An idea came to me. Kenneth was in peacock mode, and he was the only one in the room with us. The aquarium beasts had swum away, with nothing left to interest them, leaving just the three of us—Wade, Kenneth, and little old me. Two against one was a slightly fairer fight. Trouble was, I needed to get Wade on board without Kenneth catching on.

“Way to go, Crowley. No, really, this has got to be some of your best. Why didn’t you just portal right into Katherine’s bedroom, snuggle up real close?” I snarked. My leg jiggled as I sat in the chair, glaring at him in the one beside me.

Wade shot me a cold look. “People in glass houses, Finch.”

“What, shouldn’t wander around naked?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

I snorted. “You think I’m the one messing things up? Seriously? I’d be out of here by now if you hadn’t flubbed it.” I flashed him a discreet wink, but he missed it completely.

“Looked like you were getting backed into a corner to me.”

“I’m good at wriggling out of things. You, of all people, should know that. I was dealing with it.”

Wade laughed bitterly. “What, without your fancy disguise? Face it, Finch, Katherine figured you out, and you weren’t getting out of here any more than I am now.”

“Foolproof, you said. You said those button thingies were foolproof. Do you need a dictionary? Don’t you know what that means?”

“Hey, you can’t blame me because they didn’t work the way we thought they would.”

“A poor man blames his tools, Wade. And you’re the biggest tool I’ve ever met!” I shot back.

“Shut it, both of you!” Kenneth snapped.

I grinned at him. “Why, don’t you like what you’re hearing? I take it back. You are the biggest tool I’ve ever met!”

“I’m warning you,” Kenneth hissed.

Meanwhile, Wade was still focusing on me. “Who you trying to impress, Finch, huh? Mom isn’t here anymore, pal. You don’t need to act all big now that she’s stormed off.” He glowered at me. “Admit it, you were going to switch sides. Admit it!”

That stung, especially since the dimwit hadn’t caught on that this was a ruse yet. “Were you not listening? She can go stuff herself.”

“You won’t speak of Eris like that!” Kenneth glared at us, but Wade ignored him.

“You think I bought that? I know you, Finch. Everything you do is just for show.”

“Not everything, although some things are,” I replied, with a roll of my eyes that screamed, “Get with the program, Wade.” This time, he caught it. A small smirk turned up the corners of his lips. “As far as I’m concerned, Katherine can take a very long walk off a short cliff. Call me Captain, ‘cause I’m going down with this Titanic mess, same as you. Cheers for that, by the way.”

Wade huffed out a labored sigh. “Oh yeah, because it’s all my fault?”

“You got caught by Kenneth freaking Willow, Wade! You might as well have been caught by a damned Jigglypuff.”

Wade rolled his eyes. “Geek.”

“Idiot.”

“Nerd.”

“Spineless!” This was gathering a bit of heat. Good. I landed a sharp kick to Wade’s thigh. He glared back and kicked out his leg, landing a blow to my hip. I sensed there was a bit of actual frustration coming out of him, but what the hell. I kicked him again, trying to scoot my chair closer. He kicked back, his cheeks red.

Private Predictable rushed forward and dragged me out of my chair, just before it started to get interesting. Kenneth actually growled. I wanted to laugh in his face. Who did this kid think he was? Still, this was my shot. I lurched back and threw him off balance.

“You bastard!” Kenneth gasped, flailing wildly.

“Yeah, blame my mother.” I swiped my foot at his ankle, and he went down like a sack of spuds. The thud he made when he landed was satisfying. The pathetic little yelp was pretty good, too. I stomped my foot down on his chest as he groaned, pinning him there.

“You won’t escape. We’ve got you now!” Kenneth wheezed as he struggled to get up. I stomped down again, for good measure.

“You want to get on with those Cuffs, Flyboy?” I cast a look back at Wade.

He nodded and hurried to remove his Cuffs, with his hands behind his back. I’d seen him swipe the keys from Kenneth earlier. So I had to give him that nugget of skill. He clumsily slotted the keys into the lock and removed the Cuffs. They fell to the floor with a hefty clank.

“You won’t defeat me!” Kenneth howled. I jabbed my foot against his throat, sick of his whining.

“Really? Looks like that’s exactly what’s happening to me.”

“No! I refuse! You’re unworthy!” Katherine’s guard dog was trying to slip his hand into his pocket. No colored puffs today, sunshine. I tried to shift my weight and stamp on his hand, but it was too difficult. If I moved, I’d lose my balance, too. He had opened his mouth to call out a curse when a figure whizzed past me.

Wade knelt down and punched Kenneth right in the face. I heard the crack as it impacted. A second later, the kid’s eyes rolled back. Wade had knocked his lights out.