Harley Merlin 4: Harley Merlin and the First Ritual

by Forrest, Bella

  “How would someone go about persuading them like that, to really make ’em listen—theoretically speaking?” I pressed.

  He tapped his chin. “Astral projection would work, I suppose. It forms a link through the summoning gateway, connecting the summoner’s mind to whoever has been called. That way, they’d have less chance of ignoring what was being said. It’d be seared into their mind.”

  Astrid gasped. “A person can do that?”

  “Again, it’s a very difficult, rarely performed practice that hasn’t been seen in a long time. According to the history books, the knowledge of it died with a powerful magical named Marie Laveau. All of that information is buried with her, quite literally—all of her writings and her Grimoire are down there in her tomb. At least, that’s the myth. Nobody knows for sure, since nobody would dare to break into her grave to steal it, not unless they wanted to be cursed.”

  “Marie Laveau? Why do I know that name?” I tapped my chin.

  “The Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, right?” Astrid chimed in. “Most powerful Dark witch who ever lived, according to the history books.”

  I almost choked. “Did you say New Orleans?”

  Astrid nodded. “Yeah, she’s famous down there—a bit of a colorful history. Apparently, if you go to her grave and make an offering, she’ll grant you a wish. I’m not one for superstitions and things like that, but hers I believe. She was a fiercely powerful magical when she was alive, like I said, and she’s no less powerful in death. A true Voodoo Queen.”

  Now, more than ever, my path was clear. Marie Laveau was the woman, or spirit, who could have the answers I needed. If I wanted to break this Suppressor properly, and stop Katherine from performing the next ritual, then I’d have to head to New Orleans. If Marie Laveau was a Voodoo Queen, then there was a good chance that she—or rather, her spirit—knew where I could find the Dark blood I needed for the Sanguine spell. After all, according to the history books, she was the greatest Dark witch of her time. As a Voodoo Queen, Sanguine spells were literally her life-and-death’s work, meaning she might be able to teach me how to do it right, to stop anyone else from getting hurt. Plus, it’d be useful to have that spell on astral projection, in case we ever decided to risk a summoning again. Although, to speak with this Marie Laveau, I was going to need Tatyana’s help.

  I just hoped the thorns of this leaking Suppressor wouldn’t drag me back before I could manage it. Give me the strength to do this… one last push. If we could get these tasks done, then Katherine was on borrowed time.

  Thirty-Five

  Harley

  Astrid was called in to join Alton in a meeting with the Mage Council, as soon as we got back from the San Francisco Coven, leaving me to wander the hallways with my thoughts. My mind was racing and my heart was, too. There was a lot to take in, and I didn’t have much time to dwell on everything. This Suppressor would poison me soon enough. My life was on the line.

  First off, I need that Sanguine spell.

  Since Alton was leaving anyway, I figured I might have a window of opportunity to ask him for it. I had my doubts that he’d just hand it to me after what he’d said about this type of magic. The only trouble was, I had to wait for him to come out of that Mage Council meeting. Or grilling, depending on Levi’s mood.

  Determined to meet with Alton once the meeting was over, I was about to head to the library to dig up some research on Marie Laveau when a familiar figure appeared at the far end of the corridor. It felt like a lifetime since I’d seen him, when in reality it hadn’t been that long at all. A few hours, maybe. Was this the Suppressor’s doing, turning me into this melodramatic mess? Was I about to run into his arms in slow motion? Maybe a field would appear, with him in some medieval get-up and me in a flowy dress. I smirked at the image. Wade wasn’t exactly the knight-in-shining-armor type.

  “There you are,” he said stiffly. “I’ve been calling you for the past hour. Something up with your phone?”

  I pulled it out of my pocket and saw the missed calls. “Sorry about that. I had it on silent. Astrid and I went to see Remington in San Francisco. Cool place. Anyway, what did you want to see me about?”

  “You want to tell me about San Francisco first?”

  “Oh… right.” Keeping it as brief as possible, I relayed everything we’d learned from Remington about the Children of Chaos.

  He frowned. “You think summoning them is a good idea? That was a terrifying thing you did back there, in the Asphodel Meadows. And that blast… I thought we were all done for. I’m glad you’re all right now, though.”

  A warm feeling flowed off him. My emotions rose like a tidal wave inside me, mingling with the affection and fear coming from him. It was like they had a mind of their own, feeding their way toward him and sinking beneath his skin. I could almost see them. What the—?

  “Do you feel that?” Wade asked, glancing around as if he’d just felt a chill on the back of his neck.

  “Uh… no. Feel what?”

  “I don’t know. It was like static electricity.”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t feel anything.” My body was ablaze with sudden and all-consuming passion, my eyes wider, my heart pounding, my blood rushing in my ears. My cheeks felt hot, my stomach flip-flopping violently. Not now, not now, not now.

  He turned back toward me with a strange look in his eyes. “You’re something else, Merlin. Not because of your abilities, or your lineage, but because of who you are as a person.”

  I gaped at him. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Never better,” he said, stepping toward me.

  I gulped, overcome with emotions. His and mine, intertwining in the most intense way. Without warning, he grabbed my hand and pulled me close. I knew this was my Empathy working in reverse, my power amplified by the crack in the Suppressor, heightening both our emotions. It was pushing my desires and feelings into him, while bolstering my own. This could only end badly. This wasn’t all him, and yet… the way he was looking at me was magnetic. I couldn’t have pulled away from the longing expression on his face, not when it was reflected on my own.

  “I’ve tried so hard to keep this from you,” he murmured. He lifted his hand and toyed with a strand of my red hair, twirling it around his finger before pushing it behind my ear. “You know already though, don’t you?” A smile turned up the corners of his delicious lips. I knew I should’ve been thinking about New Orleans, and the Sanguine spell, and the state of Euphoria, but my Suppressor’s leaking energy had taken over. My feelings for Wade were well and truly in control now.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Man, I don’t know how to say this.” He laughed awkwardly, his eyes darting away from my face. “I just… I like you, Harley. I really like you.”

  I fought to rein in the Suppressor, but there was nothing I could do. I was being dragged down with him, in the best possible way. The emotions were ours, but the leaking energy was bringing them to the forefront, making them impossible to ignore.

  “I like you, too,” I said. It felt so damn good to say it out loud.

  He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve lost my mind. I was coming to talk to you because I was worried about the risk you’d taken, doing that summoning spell again, but now I’m... It’s weird. I can’t help it. Uh… tell me, Harley. Why’d you try that summoning spell again? You did it to distract Katherine, right? You did it to buy us time?”

  I nodded. “That was the idea.”

  “See, you’re always on the front line, even when things get dangerous.” His eyes glittered with admiration, though the sight was bittersweet. This is the energy talking… This isn’t him. If he hadn’t been affected by my accidental push of Chaos, he’d have been telling me off right now, telling me not to be so reckless.

  I opened my mouth to explain what was really going on, when he suddenly moved closer, his hands cupping my face. With him so close, I couldn’t speak. The words wouldn’t come out. Oh God… He’s going to…
His lips grazed mine tenderly, his thumb brushing my cheek. My heart stopped. I should have pulled away, but instead my palms pressed against his muscled chest, his heartbeat thudding against my hand. Closing my eyes, I kissed him back fiercely, like a woman possessed. He was all I could think about. Nothing else mattered in that moment. His mouth moved against mine with sensual passion, before he traced delicate kisses along my jaw and down my neck, pulling me close with his arm wrapping around my waist.

  A jolt of pain shot through me—the same kind I’d experienced in the Aquarium. It started deep in my core and spread out like a ripple, jabbing at my chest and heart, pushing through every nerve ending. It felt as though I’d fallen down on a bed of nails, with every sharp spike stabbing into my skin. Wade caught me as I crumpled to my knees, a scream of agony tearing out of my throat.

  Whatever spell had been cast on the two of us, it broke in that instant. His eyes turned from amorous to frightened in a split second, his brow furrowed in concern. He scooped me up into his arms and set me down on a nearby bench, kneeling at my feet.

  “Harley, what’s the matter? Tell me what hurts.”

  I grimaced, clutching at my stomach. “Everything.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “The Suppressor… it cracked… when I summoned… Erebus,” I wheezed, my lungs on fire.

  He gasped. “It broke?”

  “No… it just cracked. There’s… energy leaking… out. It’s going to… kill me if I don’t… break it properly. It’s poisoning… me.”

  “What?” He stared at me in shock.

  “It’s leaking… into my system in… small pulses. Isadora told me… it’ll kill me within weeks, if not sooner.” The pain began to subside, allowing me a second to catch my breath.

  “But the tools for the surgery won’t arrive for months,” he said, panicked. “We could tell the Council and have it expedited, maybe? But then… no. They’d never agree to it if they found out the Suppressor was already cracked. The conditions would be too volatile for a surgery that precise.”

  “I know. That’s why… I have to find another way. In fact, I’ve already… found one.”

  He frowned. “You have? Please don’t tell me it’s something dangerous.”

  “I assume that was a rhetorical question… When was anything Suppressor-related easy?”

  “Harley…”

  I groaned. “Do you want to know or not?”

  He paused for a moment, before sighing. “I want to know.”

  “There’s a Sanguine spell that arrived from the Reykjavik repository. Alton has it and I need it. I could ask him for it, but I need to do it before he leaves. Whoever this new director is, there’s no way they’ll give it to me. They’d have no reason to.”

  “A Sanguine spell? You’re kidding me, right?”

  “Nope, I’m perfectly serious. It can break this thing and balance my affinities.”

  He pulled a face. “You know you need blood for that kind of stuff, though.”

  “I know.”

  “And that might be just as dangerous as performing a massively powerful spell. You’re putting yourself at risk here, Harley.” He held my hand, his thumb brushing circles across my skin. I looked into his eyes, my lips tingling from his kiss. Part of me couldn’t even believe that we’d done that, after wanting to for so long.

  “And I’ll die if I don’t. Besides, I’m going to ask Nomura to teach me how to fall into a state of Euphoria. If it was supposed to work during the surgery, then chances are it might work for me when I break this myself,” I replied, sounding more confident than I felt. I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.

  He shook his head. “You can’t die, Harley.” His voice was so sad that I wanted to put my arms around him, but the Suppressor had given the reins back and my boldness had faded with it.

  “I don’t want to. That’s why I’m going to do this.”

  He looked up into my eyes. “Then, I’ll help you. Whatever you need, I’ll be there.”

  “Is this the Suppressor talking?”

  “What do you mean?”

  I eyed him suspiciously. “You remember what just happened, right?”

  He cleared his throat, glancing down, all bashful. “We kissed.”

  “I think I might’ve made it happen, by accident. The crack is making my abilities and emotions go a bit crazy, and I may have fed some of my Empathy into you. At least, I think that’s what happened. It’s really hard to say.”

  He frowned. “Did you mean what you said?”

  “Did you?”

  “Yeah, I meant it.”

  I took a breath, trying to process what he was saying. Before I could speak, Wade cut in.

  “But let’s focus on getting the Suppressor out of you, one way or another. We can talk about this… whatever this is, later. When you’re out of danger. I’m not letting you do this alone, and I’m sure as hell not going to let you die. Not a chance. You got that, Merlin?” His mouth was set in a grim, determined line. The mouth I’d just kissed and wanted to kiss again.

  I wrestled with my feelings, praying he was right. Truthfully, I’d been acting a little too casual about the whole this-Suppressor-might-kill-me thing. It was my defense mechanism, to put on a brave face, but I couldn’t hide my fear from Wade. I didn’t want to. I was scared of dying—terrified, even. I’d cracked the Suppressor in trying to kill Katherine, and now it was poisoning me. How’s that for a slice of divine irony. And though I had ideas in place, there were no assurances that I’d survive. Krieger had spoken of side effects, and that was in a secure, surgical environment. Isadora had spoken of side effects, and that was in a less secure, more volatile environment. What I planned to do was somewhere in between, but definitely riddled with potential problems. Not just in the logistics but in the outcome, too.

  “I don’t want to die,” I whispered, my resolve crumbling in front of him. Tears trickled from my eyes, and his hands reached up to wipe them away. Before I knew it, I was in his arms again. He pulled me from the bench and cradled me gently in his lap, the two of us sitting on the floor. I buried my face in his neck as he stroked my hair, kissing my forehead softly.

  “We’ll make this work, Harley,” he promised.

  “The Sanguine spell or us?” I teased.

  He smiled. “The spell first.”

  I held him tighter. “It’ll be too hard if this doesn’t have the outcome I want.”

  I felt him smile against my forehead. “The Sanguine spell or us?”

  “The spell, of course.”

  “None of this is going to be easy, but I’ll be by your side throughout it all. I promise you that,” he said firmly. “After all, someone has to keep you from doing anything reckless.”

  “How do you feel about New Orleans?” I asked.

  “Love the place. I might not give off the vibe, but I’m something of a jazz aficionado.”

  I mustered a small chuckle. “Is that right?”

  “Absolutely. So, is that where we’re headed?”

  I nodded. “Once we have that Sanguine spell, that’s the next place on my list.”

  “Then we’d better get to Alton before he packs his bags.”

  I might’ve been scared of actually dying, but I wasn’t giving up without a fight. I was a Merlin, and Merlins didn’t back down from a challenge. My Suppressor needed breaking, and nothing in this world—or the next, or even the otherworlds, for that matter—would stop me.

  * * *

  Ready for the next part of Harley’s story?

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Harley Merlin and the First Ritual. I hope you enjoyed it!

  I’m excited to announce Book 5 - Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell - which releases January 21st, 2019.

  Whose head, aside from Harley’s, will we get a peek into next? ;)

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  I’ll see you in the New Year! I hope you have a great holiday season.

  Love,

  Bella x

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  Read more by Bella Forrest

  HARLEY MERLIN

  Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)

  Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)

  Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)

  Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4)

  Harley Merlin and the Broken Spell (Book 5)

  THE GENDER GAME

  (Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)

  The Gender Game (Book 1)

  The Gender Secret (Book 2)

  The Gender Lie (Book 3)

  The Gender War (Book 4)

  The Gender Fall (Book 5)

  The Gender Plan (Book 6)

  The Gender End (Book 7)

  THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK

  (Action-adventure/romance. Completed series.)

  The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)

  The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)

  The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)

  The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)

  The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)

  The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)

  The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)

  THE CHILD THIEF

  (Action-adventure/romance.)

  The Child Thief (Book 1)