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

Garrett, dude. There was definitely something going on between him and Astrid. He got all giddy whenever he looked at her. I supposed it was okay, as long as he was happy. Right? But he could’ve done so much better than a measly human. She was about as impressive as my right armpit. Not that I was in any position to give romantic advice. Adley had loved me unconditionally, and I’d treated her like a tool for my own benefit. She’d come to me, wanting to just do normal couple things, and I’d just keep talking about work or trying to persuade her into doing something for me. She never said she minded, but I could always see how disappointed she was that we weren’t… well, ordinary.

I couldn’t even remember taking her out to a movie or dinner. It had always been work, or digging up this info, or that info, or standing her up because Katherine had sent me an urgent message. I’d always tried to make it up to her, but I hadn’t been the best boyfriend I could’ve been, even though I loved her so much. I really did. I’d look at her and want to do those normal things, but Katherine was so embedded in my brain that I couldn’t properly see what I had in front of me. In the end, I’d used the woman I loved, and she’d died because of it. Adley’s death weighed on my shoulders. It always would.

“You want to tell us this location?” Harley pressed. All business, all the time. I didn’t know whether it was useful or irritating. Time would tell.

Garrett nodded. “Her favorite recruitment spot is a bar called Azarius. A dive, really, in Salem Coven’s jurisdiction. Katherine is spreading her net wider than we thought. Anyway, it’s in an interdimensional pocket like Waterfront Park. I can give Astrid the coordinates.”

“That’d be good,” Astrid replied. Her voice was oddly empty. You picked a lame horse, buddy.

Harley smiled. “Okay then, we have the location, and we have Ephemeras to sneak into the cult, although we still need to finish making those. The only other thing to do now is prepare an alibi. Wade was right about the Orisha duplicate—I don’t want to put that sort of strain on Santana, and we can’t have the duplicate fizzing out while I’m away. We learned that the hard way last time, and we want to keep Levi’s nose out of this.”

“Any thoughts?” Wade replied. He’d gone all gooey too. It was sickening. All of them were at it. Dylan had his steroidal arm around Tatyana’s shoulders, the Mexican was leaning against Raffe’s chest, and the rest were making goo-goo eyes at each other. Ugh, pass me a bucket.

“An idea came to me earlier, but I wanted to see what you thought of it.” She beamed at Wade, just as nauseating. “I thought you could stay here with Finch in one of the storage rooms of the infirmary. Meanwhile, I’ll go and speak with Imogene.”

“Imogene?” Wade didn’t sound convinced. I remembered her well enough. Nice lady. Killer legs. Sharp mind. Knew how to wear a dress. Totally wasted on the California Mage Council, of course. She was the only decent one among them. And I’d heard she could be a bit feisty when she needed to be. My sort of woman. Although, she’s not Adley. My mind had pulled me up again. There’d never be another Adley as long as I lived. That woman would have done anything for me. She would’ve gotten me out of this mess, if I’d just asked her. She always told me I could be more, that I didn’t need to do these things, and I’d refused to listen. Hindsight was a total kick in the nuts.

I remembered sitting with her over coffee, and her pleading with me to go to a therapist. My behavior had been erratic, to say the least, with bursts of anger and bouts of depression. She wanted me to see what I’d become, because she said it was miles away from the man she’d met and fallen in love with. I kept telling her she was being controlling. And now, all I wanted was to sit across from her again and look into those big eyes of hers and watch her red lips move as she spoke and laughed and teased me. I wanted to lean over and kiss those lips, the way I’d done a thousand times, taking it for granted that I’d get to again. Those were the moments where everything else fell away, when I kissed her and held her. I forgot what I was, then. Now, I just wanted to sit and listen to what she had to say about her own life. I’d never listened. And now, I’d never get to.

Harley nodded. “I was supposed to go and speak with her about my abilities, after the Suppressor break, anyway. She might be able to give me a solid alibi, and I’ll just claim it’s for an assignment or something. She hates Levi as much as the rest of us, but that doesn’t mean she won’t say anything. I’ll come up with an excuse that makes her keep it a secret.” Her gaze drifted across the rest of us. “The main thing we need to remember is, Levi has to stay in the dark about all of this.”

Ugh, Levi… A scrotal paramecium that I hated more than anyone. He had the brain capacity of a toad. How he’d weaseled his way onto the Mage Council still remained a mystery. Money, probably. Had it not been for the Atomic Cuffs during my sentencing, I’d have used my Telekinesis to throw that arrogant ass like a rag doll, until every bone in his body was broken.

And then, I’d use that Telekinesis on my mother. I’d squeeze it around her throat and pull until her eyes bulged out and her face turned purple. If I could even get that close.

Katherine had become more powerful than anyone could’ve anticipated. Even me. But everyone had a weakness. Mine had been Adley. Harley’s was evidently Wade. Everyone had something that made them vulnerable. I knew I wasn’t Katherine’s weakness, but she had to have one. I just needed to figure out what it was so I could get close enough to watch the life sputter out in her eyes. Wouldn’t that just be the happiest day of my life.





Eight





Harley





With Levi’s reluctant blessing, I went to meet Imogene the following afternoon in Moll Dyer’s Bar. Waterfront Park was surprisingly empty for a weekday afternoon, but I hadn’t been here in ages. I guessed things had changed; people were probably more hesitant to go out with Katherine rampaging around, slaughtering presidents and stuff.

“The world has become a rather strange and unusual place in recent weeks,” Imogene said quietly. We were sitting outside at a patio table, with soft music drifting out from the bar and sunlight glancing down through the interdimensional bubble of Waterfront Park. I could see people wandering past—humans, oblivious to our existence. It made for good people-watching as we nursed two drinks, both glasses glinting with condensation. Imogene wasn’t her normal self, that was for sure. She seemed withdrawn and tired, with dark crescents beneath her eyes. “It’s hard to fathom that President Price isn’t with us anymore. He did so much for us all, and now… he’s gone. I still find it hard to say out loud.” She dabbed a napkin to the side of her eye before taking a large gulp of her gin and tonic.

It was difficult to watch her like this, so vacant and un-Imogene-like. President Price’s death had hit us all hard, but I guessed she’d known him better than any of us. Being on the California Mage Council, she had to have bumped into him a couple of times. I wanted to ask her more about their relationship, but I didn’t know how to, or whether I even should. The poor woman seemed to be on the brink of tears most of the time.

“It was a huge blow,” I agreed, feeling like I should be saying something more profound.

She sighed. “I just don’t know how the nation is going to recover from this. The new president is an excellent stand-in, but she is just that—a stand-in. Without President Price, things will never be the same again. That gentleman was the last of his kind, a true leader, who only comes about once in a generation. My own mother always spoke about the assassination of JFK and the shockwaves his death sent through the nation—magical and human alike. I didn’t understand until now.”

My eyes nearly fell out of my head. “Whoa, hold up. JFK was a magical?”

She smiled sadly. “No, but that didn’t mean the magicals didn’t care.”

“Did you know President Price well?” There, I’d spat it out.

“Not particularly, but I admired him greatly. He was a hero amongst men, able to unite even the most conflicted of covens.” She paused, her gaze wistful. “‘Thou know’st ‘tis common; all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity. He was a man, take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again.’”

“Did you just make that up? Because that was beautiful.”