Harley Merlin 12 Read online

  “What… did you do to me?” My gaze shot to Nash, my body still trembling from the aftershock. Hesitantly, Melody let go of me.

  Nash sank back on his haunches. “I’ve got a pantry of magical potions I collected on my global travels. What I gave you was a special blend, learned from a page torn from an ancient book when my ancestors fled their homeland.” He gestured to a cupboard door, which had been flung open while I was in Tartarus. “They called it Medela; it helps with mental difficulties. It’ll keep the nightmares away, and your mind clear, as long as you take it. It’s not a cure, but it’s better than what you’ve had.”

  “What?” My mouth dropped. He didn’t know that I knew he had Primus Anglicus blood. Which meant this was an Atlantean recipe, torn from an Atlantean book. A medicine that had been out of my reach, unknown by magical physicians. And I’d seen my fair share.

  “It means you won’t need those pills ever again, once you learn to brew your own. I’ll teach you,” he replied kindly. “You took a heck of a turn there, pal. Nobody should have to go through that.”

  “Medela? That sounds so whimsical.” Melody looked awestruck.

  Nash nodded. “It’s got benefits, but I’m not sure about it being whimsical. Like I said, it only seems to work on mental afflictions. There might’ve been a companion recipe to help with physical illness, on a different page, but my ancestors only stole the one, so we’ll never know.”

  “And you’ll teach me to make it?” I rubbed my arms to usher away the chill.

  “I said so, didn’t I?” Nash replied.

  “And the ingredients are here? Easy to find?” I didn’t want to give away what I knew of Nash’s heritage.

  Nash frowned. “They can be, yes. The issues that cause your attacks won’t ever truly go away, because they’re part of you. But you have a surefire way to control them with Medela.”

  Screw you, gremlins! I am Gizmo, I have my red Ferrari, and I’ve just Rambo-ed your asses back into the shadows you crawled out of, you slimy creeps! No one’s feeding you after midnight anymore! I could’ve punched the air. I would have, if I wasn’t petrified of Huntress savaging off a hand thinking I’d gone into panicked, demon-seeing mode again.

  “Thank you, Nash. I mean it… thank you,” I gushed. If ever there was a time for gushing, this was it.

  “Don’t mention it. I can tell you’re a decent guy, Crowley.” Nash smirked. “I wouldn’t want you thinking all I do is sit on my ass and look out for myself.”

  Ah, crap… He thought I was a good egg, while I was full-on lying about who I was and why I was here. Still, at least the gremlins weren’t having a dig and making me feel a million times worse with their endless chatter. Nothing but blissful silence filled this old gourd. Frankly, I wanted to bathe in that Medela stuff.

  “Do you feel better?” Melody craned her head around my shoulder to look at me.

  I chuckled. “A lot better, yeah, so it was probably good you stopped the bear hug when you did, or Luke’s face would definitely end up staying that way.”

  “What?” Melody glanced up at Luke, who shifted uncomfortably. Her cheeks turned beet red. “I just didn’t want you hurting yourself.”

  “I appreciate it,” I replied. “Though I’m not the biggest fan of physical contact. Well, unless it’s coming from Tobe.”

  Melody’s embarrassment faded. “I totally understand why you all love his hugs now. He’s so… fluffy!”

  “Yeah, well, don’t turn him into one of your jackets.” It felt good to joke.

  “I wouldn’t!” she protested.

  “Don’t, you’ll make her self-conscious,” Luke chided, apparently recovered from his green-eyed monster attack.

  I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I’ve just been swarmed by dark mind stuff. I need to make sure my humor synapses are still firing on all cylinders.”

  “Doesn’t look like they took any damage,” Nash said, ruffling Huntress’s fur.

  “If he had any in the first place,” Luke added wryly.

  The door burst inward.

  “Looks like you’re having a lovely get-together. What a shame I missed the invite.”

  Davin stood in the doorway, smug as ever. Before anyone could move, he launched a small cloth pouch at Huntress. It struck her face and exploded into a blinding, acrid swell of thick green smoke that threatened to choke us all.

  Thirty-Three

  Finch

  For the love of Kevin Bacon! Davin had followed us here, likely using a tracing spell like Melody had. Either that, or he’d been keeping tabs on me somehow. He’d shown up one too many times for it to be coincidence. Every time he popped up, the element of shock ebbed. In fact, I would have been surprised if he hadn’t shown up.

  Choking on the bitter smoke, I released Air from my palms, sweeping the dense green fog away as fast as possible. Huntress wheezed and spluttered, her limbs stiff and her body shaking.

  “Davin?” Nash stepped forward, his gaze flitting between that stuck-up dingleberry and his suffering Familiar. Recognition washed across the Sanguine’s face. Cold, bitter recognition.

  “Long time, no see.” Davin chuckled, launching a blast of Telekinesis that sent us all flying backward.

  My hands twisted wildly, conjuring four pockets of Air in rapid succession. The first caught Melody before she careened into a table full of knives, the second missed Luke completely, and the third buffered the collision between Nash, Huntress, and the wall. I missed my own and slammed into the kitchen counter, which brought pots and pans crashing down onto my head.

  I jumped up, ignoring my dizziness. Nash joined me in the center of the cabin, where I cast him a side-eye. “You two know each other?”

  Nash attacked with a volley of fireballs, which Davin ducked effortlessly. “You remember those hunters I told you about?”

  I added a lasso of Telekinesis to the fight, grasping Davin around the ankles and yanking him to the floor. “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Well, you’re looking at the worst of them.” Nash sidestepped a tendril of Telekinesis as Davin hauled his ass back up, snatching a clutch of knives from the nearest workbench. He hurled them full speed at Davin’s head. The British donkey managed to duck two while Telekinesis whipped the last two away, letting them thunk harmlessly into the wall.

  Luke launched himself in front of Melody. Using his Magneton abilities, he lifted the knives from the workbenches and the metal pots from the kitchen, heaving them all at Davin. Davin’s eyes widened; he sent up a wall of Telekinesis to protect himself from the onslaught. One knife slipped through, grazing Davin’s shoulder before disappearing into the snowy world beyond.

  “There’s no need for battle, Nash.” Davin dusted off his fancy suit jacket, safe behind his protective shield. “I have a djinn ready and waiting to break that curse. Come willingly, and nobody suffers.”

  “I’d rather eat squirrel guts!” Nash snarled, unleashing a powerful torrent of Fire. Huntress sprinted alongside the twisting flames, launching herself at Davin’s neck. Somehow, she sailed through the Telekinesis shield, her jaws snapping.

  But Davin was ready for her. With a flick of his wrist, the husky arched backward through the air. She landed on all fours, skidding back like a ninja, her claws raking the floorboards.

  “I’ve always been more of a cat person.” Davin smirked, raising his palms to strike.

  Of course you have. No offense to cat lovers, but I’d never seen an evil person choose a dog over a cat. After all, the pet matched the owner, and cats could be egotistical little assholes.

  Huntress stalked backward, planting herself in front of Melody. It gave Luke some backup, though he wasn’t doing too badly with his Magneton abilities. Another flurry of knives flew, keeping Davin on his toes as he tried to fling them away.

  “Listen here, Calvert. I have no intention of leaving without you and your blood, so you might as well make things easy. Do you want their blood on your hands, as well?” Davin showed signs of frustrat
ion, running a hand through his oily mop.

  “I told you last time, and I’ll tell you again: go to hell,” Nash shot back, adding a massive ball of Fire to underscore his point. Davin sidestepped, the fireball searing close by his face.

  Davin’s eyes narrowed. “I think you should reconsider.”

  “Why do you think I put this curse on myself in the first place?” Nash spat as I lashed everything I had at Davin: Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, with a hint of Telekinesis to really pack a punch. It forced Davin to dart outside and use the wall for cover to avoid a five-point obliteration.

  “You did that because of Davin?” I asked, as Luke joined us. Huntress had taken up the reins of Librarian protector, crouched and prepared to spring if necessary.

  Nash’s mouth twisted up. “He’s been hunting me a long time. He’s the reason I hide. He’s my unfinished business.”

  “You and me both.” I sighed.

  “You?” Nash sounded confused. “What beef do you have with him?”

  I sent a snake of Telekinesis to pull Davin back into the room. “It’s a long story. If we survive, I’ll tell you everything.”

  We might have been evenly matched, the three of us against Davin. But Davin still had tricks up his sleeve. As he staggered back into the cabin, tugged by my Telekinesis, he started lobbing smoky pouches at us. They exploded on the ground, releasing thick masses of fog that I couldn’t sweep away fast enough. Davin disappeared in the haze. Not a comforting feeling. I couldn’t see Nash or Luke anymore, either.

  Bursts of light cut through the smoke, like we were in a war movie. Tremors shuddered through the floor. I shot back, aiming my magic at the epicenter of the blasts, but if I managed to hit Davin, I had no idea. We were in the dark, literally.

  “Nash. All you have to do is come with me, and we can stop this nonsense!” Davin’s voice echoed through the fog.

  Two blasts went off simultaneously—one from my Fire, one from Nash’s. At least, that was my guess. Luke only had Magneton abilities, and if he used them, me and Nash might’ve ended up looking like porcupines.

  “Go to hell, Davin!” Nash roared.

  “Have it your way.” Another flash burst through the haze, followed by a howl of pain. It sounded like—

  “Luke! What’s happened? Luke, are you all right? Luke!” Melody screamed. An agonized groan answered. I heard the scuffle of feet and paws on the floorboards and cursed under my breath.

  “Melody, stay back!” I yelled, but the scuffling continued.

  “Luke! Where are you?” she called hopelessly.

  A bark splintered the air, followed by muffled sobs. Huntress had found Luke, by the sounds of it, and it didn’t sound good. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it, as something snagged my leg and pulled me down. I hit the deck with a hefty thud, my back smacking the floor and knocking the wind right out of me. I rolled away immediately. A cold laugh hissed through the fog.

  Davin’s voice followed. “I will kill them all, Nash. It is your choice.”

  “You don’t seem to hear me, Davin. I’d plunge my own knife into my chest rather than let you take my blood!” Nash bellowed back, though I had no clue where he was. His voice echoed all around, the smoke confusing my bearings.

  “Now, don’t do that until I’ve lifted your curse. That would be foolish,” Davin replied. I rose to my hands and knees, peering underneath the smoke to see if I could catch a glimpse of feet—Davin’s shiny brogues stood out a mile off. But even near the ground, the smoke rolled thick and impenetrable, and no amount of Air-wafting could dissipate it. There was too much of the stuff. It made it hard to breathe.

  A violent detonation of Telekinesis struck my face and sent me sprawling. Nash grunted nearby, and then came the scrabble of someone trying to make their way across the floor. Melody, presumably, trying to find her way back to Luke, if that blast had separated them. Huntress barked again, giving Melody a direction to follow.

  Purple threads slithered through the fog. Necromantic magic. I built a wall of Telekinesis to defend myself, but the purple threads crept through. More explosions of fire ricocheted in the smoke, but it was impossible to hit a target you couldn’t see. Especially one as sneaky as Davin.

  One of the violet threads touched my upraised palm, and a brutal jab of icy energy shot through my arm. It stole the breath from my lungs, and my throat strained for air. My limbs sagged and everything slowed, my bones aching as if I’d just been diagnosed with arthritis.

  My hands turned a sickly gray-blue color, and liver spots speckled my skin. Davin was trying to kill us by decaying our cells—speeding up the aging process. A new skill he’d evidently learned between this meeting and our last one. Through the fog came the wheezing of strained breaths and panicked gasps. Davin had saved the best for last, and we couldn’t fight it.

  “Last chance, Nash. I won’t kill you, but I will kill the others.” Davin laughed bitterly. “I’ve wanted to put an end to Finch for a long time.”

  “Finch? Who’s Finch?” Nash rasped.

  Davin cackled louder. “Oh dear, it looks like someone has been telling porky pies. What name did he give you, hmm? Not that it matters. He’ll be dead in minutes.”

  I couldn’t respond. A zombie groan was all I could muster. The gray-blue skin and liver spots had rapidly spread, and everything ached. I felt my cells dying, one by one, my heart slowing to a perilously snail-like pace. Luke and Melody were likely in the same predicament. Nash, too, though he’d get out of this alive. Until Davin finished with him.

  Davin wanted him for the same reason Erebus did. No PhD required. The details about why were as fuzzy as Erebus’s details, but they’d entered the same race and were fighting to cross the finish line first. Perhaps Davin wanted to piss Erebus off. Perhaps he had his own reasons. Either way, once again, Davin had ruined Erebus’s plans. And we would die for it.

  “Clock is ticking, Nash,” Davin said. “You volunteer, and I release them. If you don’t, I kill them, and I take you. It is very simple.”

  “Why would I trust a word from your mouth?” Nash shouted. “You’ll just kill them anyway.”

  “Maybe you caught me in a generous mood.” I could just picture Davin puffing his chest, smug that he had what he wanted, right there in the palm of his hand.

  “You just said you wanted to kill Finch. If he’s the Finch I think he is, you said it yourself—you’ve wanted him dead a long time. Makes sense, considering he killed his mother, your Ryann.” Nash’s breath rattled dangerously. Well, the jig on me was definitely up. At least I wouldn’t have long to bathe in the shame of lying.

  “Fine, I’ll spare the other two, and that dog of yours,” Davin countered. “Finch doesn’t get a free pass, I’m afraid.”

  Bright light flooded the house. Pure white energy pulsed through the fog, dissolving it instantaneously. A weird flapping sound came through the thrum of intense power—like rustling feathers complete with a rush of warm air. At first, I thought Davin had done something, until I heard him cry out in pain. I looked around, now that I could finally see, and caught a glimpse of Davin’s hands shooting up to cover his eyes. This light hadn’t come from him.

  Lux… It had to be her. White light, powerful as hell, burning the eyes of a Necromancer—who else had that sort of oomph? But I couldn’t shout that from the rooftops. She wouldn’t take kindly to me spreading her name around. Children of Chaos weren’t supposed to involve themselves in the mortal realm.

  Well, well, aren’t you a little renegade? I had no problem with that. I just wondered what this rescue would cost me.

  Thirty-Four

  Finch

  Huntress barked furiously as she bounded toward the open door. Davin staggered around the cabin, groaning and covering his blinded eyes. He left a gap for us to slip through. Lux had given us a helping hand; we couldn’t waste it. I checked my arms, but the gray skin and liver spots had vanished. Our angel of mercy must’ve broken the link between Davin’s magic and our decaying ce
lls.

  “Nash, help me with Luke!” I raced for the slumped bodyguard, my body young and energized again. Melody knelt beside him, cradling him, but she let go as we came to his aid. Nash tugged Luke’s arm over his shoulder, and I took the other.

  Between us, we hauled Captain Beefcake, who weighed a ton, toward the door where Huntress stood guard. She’d stopped barking, no doubt realizing the sound gave away her location. Melody hurried after us, and the four of us edged through the entryway into the sting of the Manitoban winds. I glanced back, watching Davin struggle. His arms flailed, giving me a glimpse of his unseeing eyes; a spiderweb of red veins branched from the centers.

  What the hell did you do, Lux? It looked like she had actually burned his eyes. His grunts of pain cemented the notion. Why had she suddenly decided to help? Not that I minded, but the last time I’d seen her, she’d chucked me out of the room on my ass and promised to flay me if I told anyone that we’d spoken. That wasn’t exactly the basis for a shiny new friendship.

  “We need to get into the woods, use trees as cover,” Nash instructed, panting heavily. His legs buckled for a moment, his face paling as he caught himself.

  “Are you okay?” I eyed him with concern.

  He winced. “It’s the curse. I don’t have the strength I used to.”

  “Let me take him. You worry about yourself. Same to you, Melody.” I wrapped a strand of Telekinesis around Luke’s waist and hoisted him up. His body floated as I dragged him along. He still weighed a ton, but it felt like carrying someone through water—much more manageable.

  “Will he be all right?” Melody stayed close as we ran for the trees, crashing through the undergrowth. Davin might’ve been blinded, but we were making a racket. And I had no idea how long he might stay blind. Lux really would’ve broken major rules by leaving him that way.

  I shrugged, my arm shaking under the strain of keeping Luke airborne. “He won’t be if we stay here.”