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

“She may have said that a ‘traitor’s’ ghost qualifies as a ‘worst enemy’s’ ghost, in her book.”

I slammed my fists into the nearby table and let out an ungodly scream. Everyone turned in shock, but I could tell they were reeling too. This was the last thing I wanted to hear. And what made it worse was the fact that we could’ve done something about it, five minutes ago. Now, we were royally screwed with no cards left to play.

“Why didn’t you mention any of this before we left, Finch? Why didn’t you say you were worried?” I asked. “Why didn’t you bring up your suspicions in the office, where we could still have done something about them?”

He raised his hands. “Hey, I’m not the one who overheard what she said. Blame Shinsuke if you’re going to blame anyone. This isn’t my fault.”

“Oh, God,” I gasped. “If you’d said something, anything, back on the island, we could’ve fixed this. A whisper of doubt and we’d have listened. But now it’s too late!”

Wade put his hand on my shoulder. “We still have six hours, Harley. We can still fix this.”

I shook my head, my hands trembling. “No, we can’t, Wade. Eris Island won’t be there anymore, if we try to go back through the portal. Katherine will have moved it by now, you can bet anything on that.”

She’d fooled us again. And what was worse, she’d made us believe we’d beaten her.





Forty-One





Finch





I hated getting put in the spotlight. And I hated seeing Harley like this. She was pissed at me, for sure, and she probably had good reason to be. Yeah, I should’ve said something earlier. But could’ve, would’ve, should’ve wasn’t going to help us right now.

Plus, how was I supposed to tell her the main reason I hadn’t mentioned anything? Was I just supposed to come right out and say that I didn’t want her getting hurt by chasing Katherine into some otherworld again? No chance. I didn’t want her thinking I’d gone soft.

Besides, Shinsuke was more to blame than I was. He could’ve said something before I’d knocked him out. Staying behind wouldn’t have done any of us any favors. I just hoped I could convince Harley of that.

“Look, I know you’re upset, and I know this looks pretty bad right now, but Katherine was on to us. She knew who you were. She knew who I was. There was nothing we could’ve done, even if we’d known about Tess sooner,” I said.

I mean, there was one thing I could’ve done. But it’d only have served me. And Adley… There was no point mentioning the offer Katherine had made to me. It wouldn’t have scored me any brownie points. It’d only have made Harley more suspicious. She would have known I’d hesitated, even if it was just a slip in my newfound morality. Mostly because she would have slipped too, if it had been Wade’s life offered up on a silver platter. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t sore about the choice I’d made. And I didn’t appreciate all this blame, considering what I’d given up for them.

As I said Tess’s name, it finally hit me that she was dead. Like, actually dead—and in no small part because of me. I’d called her out. I’d put her in Katherine’s crosshairs. Now she was gone. Or trapped as a spirit, anyway. Not that there was much difference. Dead was dead.

Damn…

Harley glowered at me. She was getting good at that. “That was no reason to run, Finch. If you knew there was even the slightest chance we hadn’t won, you should’ve said something.”

“Hey, there was nothing we could’ve done at that point without getting our heads mounted on pikes. And I don’t know about you, but I kind of like having my head attached to my body. At least, if we face her elsewhere, we’ve got bigger numbers now.” I held her glare. “You’d have been just peachy, but she wouldn’t have hesitated to kill the rest of us back there, just to piss you off.”

Harley frowned. “What do you mean, I’d have been peachy?”

“Katherine’s back on the I-want-Harley-alive train. My guess is, you don’t want to find out what station she wants to pull that train into.” I sighed. “Even so, we shouldn’t test her limits. We can’t afford for you to get captured for whatever she has planned.” Jacob stifled a laugh. I shot him a cold stare. “What are you laughing at, Chuckles?”

He shrugged. “I think it’s cute.”

“What part of that sounded cute to you?”

“You love your sister.”

I stared at him. “What did you just say?”

“I said, it’s cute that you love your sister. It’s obvious—you don’t want her getting hurt.” Jacob was clearly loving this. Me? Not so much. I was about to lunge toward him and rip those girlish giggles out of his throat when Wade stepped between us.

“Easy, Finch. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

I glared at him. “You want your face rearranged too?”

“Just calm down. There’s no reason for this to come to blows. We’ve got enough on our plate without in-fighting, okay?”

“Someone needs to teach that kid to keep his trap shut,” I grumbled, backing off.

“Are we done with the squabbling?” Harley chimed in. But she didn’t look as angry anymore. There was a subtle change in her face as she glanced at me. And, maybe, a hint of a smile. They’re all going to think I’m a Care Bear now. Although, if anyone tried to rub my tummy, they’d get a kick in the face.

I scowled. “I am if this dumbass is.”

“Truth hurts,” Jacob retorted with a smirk. Wade immediately put up his hands in case I tried to lunge for that twerp again. Pfft, as if I’d give him the satisfaction.

“We need solutions, and we need them now,” Harley said. “We’ve got six hours until midnight.”

I nodded. “This isn’t over, by any means. Yeah, the island might’ve moved, but we’ve got one more option. One that probably suits us better anyway, since Katherine’s minions won’t be running about everywhere. Or, at least, not as many of them.”

“Go on…” Harley had definitely softened up a little, but I wasn’t off the hook yet. Why aren’t you breathing down Shinsuke’s neck? It didn’t seem fair that I was getting all the flak, just because I was Harley’s half-brother. Family, huh?

“Our only choice now is to go to Tartarus just before midnight tonight and face her there. She won’t be expecting us.” I took a breath. “The only problem is, Tartarus is a royal pain in the ass. It’s the most dangerous of the otherworlds by a long shot. Read any book about these places, you’ll hear the same thing. I’ve never been myself, but if the legends are true, we’d better be ready to face our worst nightmares.”

Harley delved suddenly into her pockets and took out a crumpled ball of paper. “Speaking of books, I took this from the library.” She unfurled it and began to read. “‘In the Asphodel Meadows, we find the realm of Nyx, the night realm, in which perpetual darkness reigns over the land. In Greek mythology, this is said to be the place where those who led plain lives endure their afterlife.’”

“Huh?”

“It’s information about the Children of Chaos,” she replied. “‘Tartarus belongs to Erebus and has long been tied to those who must be punished, eternally, for their mortal sins. The Garden of Hesperides is the land of Gaia. It is where the golden apples of Hera were said to grow. It is where Eris, the goddess of discord, was said to have obtained the very Apple of Discord that began the Trojan War. Lethe is the land belonging to Lux. Elysium, or, rather, the Elysian Fields, belong to all four Children of Chaos. It is neutral territory, where they may gather to discuss the mortal world. It belongs to no one Child and is said to be the resting place of great heroes and warriors, several of whom have fallen to the challenge of becoming a Child themselves. If philosophers are to be believed, there are many otherworldly dimensions beyond these, but no Child of Chaos rests there. There are but four, omniscient in our world.’”