by Scott, Helen
His words and the subsequent wink had realization flooding me—he had the same powers as all of my mates… And wasn’t that a heavy thought to deal with?
If he was the father of all supernatural creatures, then he was the father of the mind walkers, and as such, could pluck whatever thought or memory he wanted from my head…
Which meant he knew I thought he was hot.
Awkward.
“Indeed not, child,” he rumbled, his eyes twinkling. “I appreciate the compliment. However, I’m not trying to pry, you are merely projecting because you’re worried. My statement remains though. You cannot outlast the Lady. She is as stubborn as a mule and kicks thrice as hard. Hiding out will not work, not even if I buried you as she did me. Our connection to this realm is beyond anything you can understand. Not even I could shield your shelter from her.”
Conversation, understandably, was one-sided, considering we didn’t have to speak for him to answer.
After fifteen or so minutes, our food was delivered and it covered every inch of the table, and most of it was just the Maker’s. He’d ordered everything from fish and chips to filet mignon, and broccoli cheddar soup to German chocolate cake. As he started eating, I expected him to slow down after a while, but if anything, he just sped up. Each new mouthful was met with a moan of delight before he asked us if we had tried whatever it was he was eating in that moment. If we said no, then he shoved the plate in our direction until we had sampled its contents. Plate after plate was cleared away, and I watched in astonishment as he flagged the waitress down to order even more food.
When he was finally done gorging himself on his smorgasbord of goodies, Merlin leaned back in his chair, patted his belly, and with a complete about-face, stated, “Sadly, those are the only pleasures of the flesh I can allow myself this night.” He eyed the waitress, who’d been sending him giddy smiles since we’d arrived and, with a disappointed sigh, mumbled, “When the final battle comes, you will need an ally of the dark and an ally of the light to be on your side. Someone of similar strength to yourself.” Looking at me, he continued, “If they are weaker then they won’t be able to pull their weight, and their presence will count for nothing. The three of you will form a triangle, one dark on one corner, one light on the other, and then you, my shadow and light weaver, at the top. You will bring balance back to the world.”
No pressure then.
“One from each side? How are we supposed to get that when the Cavalry is after us?” Cade grumbled, sounding more like a pouty child than a grown ass man—not that I could blame him. If throwing a tantrum would have gotten us out of this situation, I’d have been on it faster than chocolate sauce on a sundae.
“Soon enough, their focus will be on me. The Lady knows I am free. She would have felt the collapse of her prison. What she doesn’t know is where I am or what my plan is. Currently, I don’t have a plan other than to stir up some chaos while you lot get the other two pieces of the triangle in place. Once that happens, I will let Nimue catch me, and we will fight until only one of us is left, or neither of us.
“I’ve been alive long enough to know that I’m not scared of death and would much rather have that than be put back in that prison or one similar. I suppose if it’s the only option then that’s different, but I don’t see how that could be when there are so many...” Merlin’s voice trailed off. He blinked, and then looked around the table before clearing his throat. “Sorry, I’m not used to talking to others yet apparently. While I was imprisoned I talked to myself to keep myself sane. You understand,” he said with a wave of his hand, as though everyone knew what it was like to be imprisoned for thousands of years.
“You’re not going to hurt anyone, are you?” I asked uneasily.
“Not unless they give me no other choice. I don’t know what Nimue told you, or those who are loyal to her for that matter, but I’m not the devil. I’m not looking to destroy the world, only prevent it from being corrupted by the likes of her. Maybe even undo some of the corruption she’s already instigated. It all depends how much I have time for really.”
The conversation around the table died down as round two of Merlin’s food came and he began devouring it all. I honestly didn’t know where he was putting it. I mean, there was only so much the stomach could hold. Surely, at this point, he should at least look a little like he’d had too much to eat. Sheesh.
Still, after thousands of years, he deserved some joy before wading back into the fray.
His plan sounded pretty final to me, and death wasn’t exactly fun.
If eating his feelings in the form of a whole apple pie made him happy? I sure as shit wasn’t going to judge. We’d all been there, weeping into a tub of Ben and Jerry’s after some bad news… Even I’d had some of that creamy liquid crack, stolen from Westbrook’s freezer, after a particularly shitty day in class.
“Her name is really Nimue?” Darius queried, his fingers toying with some crumbs on the tablecloth.
“One of them,” Merlin replied with a nod between bites. “She’s as fickle as the weather. Hot and cold. It’s why she was able to convince my men and my very children to join her!” He gestured with a chicken leg, looking every bit the ancient being that he was for the blink of an eye as he displayed a pout that was almost regal.
“So, you weren’t pestering her for sex?” Raven probed, and I about spit out the mouthful of water I’d just taken.
Merlin’s nose crinkled. “I may have tried to seduce her a time or two when I was thinking with the wrong head, but I would hardly call my attempts pestering. She just thinks that I’m the scum of the earth, so each attempt from me was like a rat trying to copulate with her leg. Her words, not mine. She could have just said no and I would have left her alone, but she wouldn’t even talk to me. The history I have with Nimue doesn’t really matter right now anyway. None of this is about whether or not she would have sex with me. It’s about what she’s been doing to your world, to the beings I created. All I want is to stop the influence she has on this earth, after that she can do what she likes with or without me.”
His words left me feeling all twisted up inside. It still sounded like he was in the wrong with his behavior, but he also made it sound like the Lady was in the wrong as well. I didn’t know who to believe, all I knew was that one of them was trying to kill me and the other wasn’t, plus, I was sure there was more to the story that he just hadn’t shared yet. Either way, it didn’t leave me with much of a choice when it came to whose side I’d choose.
Personally, I didn’t want anyone to have any influence over our world, good or bad. Every being, supernatural or otherwise, should be able to make their own choices.
The path each soul walked was theirs, and no one should be able to change that without their consent.
Memories of my father and mother fluttered into my head, and I couldn’t help thinking how things would have been different if there wasn’t so much evil in the world. Part of me knew it all would have been the same, though, that my father was evil to his core, and nothing would have changed that.
The futility of it all dragged me down, but there was no time for being grumpy.
We had a triangle to fill.
5
Darius
“Is there a problem?”
My mouth tightened as I headed out onto the terrace where I knew the Maker was sitting. He’d been there since we’d claimed the suite as our own, and to be frank, I couldn’t blame him for wanting to be outside. For wanting to see this new world and watch it pass him by from the lofty heights of the five-star hotel.
The rest of my family was in the bedrooms. Most of them were sleeping, save for Cade and Raven who were playing some stupid game on their phones—children. Sometimes, their immaturity hit home so forcefully that I couldn’t believe I’d have to spend an eternity with them.
I’d say it was torture, but I knew we’d be lucky to make it to an eternity. Hell, even a century would be generous.
Our days were numb
ered, and I could feel the target on my back getting hotter and hotter as though it were forged in fire.
“Yes. I want to know why you lied to them.”
Merlin snickered and, twisting his head so he could look over his shoulder, murmured, “Come nearer. I don’t bite.”
“The meal you devoured earlier proves otherwise.”
He smirked. “You’d gorge too if you’d been living on air for as long as I have.”
“True.” I wriggled my shoulders as I stepped farther onto the terrace. There was a beautiful view of the ocean and the coastline from up here, and Merlin had been sitting on one of the comfortable outdoor sofas when last we’d left him, but his hair was wet and there was a damp towel on the ground that was a testament to the fact he’d obviously used the hot tub at some point.
Merlin reached for a bottle of Macallan, which was half empty on the low coffee table in front of him, and wiggling it, asked, “Want some?”
“Yes. Three fingers, please.”
My heartfelt answer had him snorting. “One of those days?”
I cut him a look. “You wouldn’t believe me if I tried.”
“Trust me, I might.” The sounds of liquid hitting the glass tumbler that appeared from out of nowhere made me jerk in surprise. Mostly because he’d begun pouring the two thousand dollar a glass shot into midair, only for the tumbler to make an appearance seconds before the expensive liquor collided with the sofa. “Think I’d let something like this go to waste?” He tutted. “How little you think of me, boy.”
My jaw tightened. “I don’t know enough about you to form an opinion.”
“Didn’t stop you from helping me though, did it?”
I released a shaky breath and slumped into the sofa. “No. It didn’t.”
“I told you I’d help, and I will,” Merlin assured me, but his assurance didn’t mean much.
It was like going to a casino… the house always won. Merlin was, most definitely, the house. But in this instance, he wasn’t just capable of robbing me of my money, my dignity, and my life if I didn’t pay a debt, he could obliterate this world as quickly as he’d made that tumbler pop into existence.
“Why do you all insist on seeing me as the destructor? I’m telling you that bitch is more dangerous than I am.” Merlin huffed then took a deeper sip of his whisky. “I’d be offended, but I suppose it means my legend has lived on.”
“Until they made a Disney movie about you,” I told him roughly.
Merlin grunted. “I have a bone to pick with that man.”
“Walt’s been dead a long time.”
That earned me a sniff. “Even the dead can pay.” When he squinted at me, putting me at the center of his attention, I fidgeted like a six-year-old in front of the principal at school. “Why are you so nervous?”
“Because nothing is as simple as it once was.” Unable to sit back, I leaned forward and hung my head between my shoulders, letting the move stretch out some of the tension gathering there.
“No. It isn’t. But I reward my followers. Why do you think you found Marcella when you did? Surely you didn’t think it was a coincidence?”
I’d hoped it was, of course. Anything to forget my deal with the devil.
“I’m not the devil,” Merlin grumbled, and I had to admit, from how we’d been riling him all evening, he was certainly more patient than could be expected. “I’m not the best man nor am I the worst.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “But I don’t go back on my deals.”
Before, that didn’t concern me, but now?
I’d just gone through months of torment, had seen my blood mate go through hell, a hell that had been triggered by me, and now, I wasn’t so certain what I’d even been bargaining for in the first place.
“You and I both know that the council was getting worse.” Merlin tipped his glass at me. “You had to do something.”
My throat tightened and, out of nowhere, my eyes grew wet. I reached up and rubbed them, trying to relieve the burn that appeared. “I did,” I whispered. “They were growing even more out of control.”
“Everyone has a breaking point, Darius. You endured for a long time on my behalf, and now you need not fear. Marcella is important to me because you are my loyal son. I will not allow any harm to come to her.”
Clenching my jaw, I processed that then hissed, “You can’t promise that.”
“I’m the Maker,” Merlin said simply. “Of course I can.”
“You didn’t stop Nimue from almost taking over her body like she was a human costume,” I accused.
“Because there was only so much I could do from within my prison. Remember, son, we’re only speaking now because you found me.”
And he wasn’t talking about today at St. Michael’s Mount either.
“I know.”
He hummed. “There were certain aspects of life I could meddle with to be sure. A little storm here, a fire there. But something to bring down my children? To destroy Nimue?” A shake of his head was followed by a verbal, “No. That I couldn’t do.”
“This triangle, you know who is supposed to man it, don’t you?”
That had Merlin snorting. “Of course I do.”
“So why lie?” I’d known he wasn’t telling the whole truth the second he’d spoken of the triangle.
“Because it’s never wise to tell one’s children every secret. Look what happened the last time I did.”
I winced because he wasn’t wrong.
The second his children had learned of his weakness, they’d colluded with the Lady and helped her trap him for a thousand years.
“Who mans the other points of the triangle?” I inquired, trying to keep this subject on track.
His lips twisted. “Who else has met their mates recently?”
I suddenly felt like I’d swallowed a bucket load of sand from the nearby beach. “The Cavalry and the Reapers,” I whispered.
Tipping his glass at me, he murmured, “I wouldn’t fret, son. Your mate is safe, as is the Reapers’. I told you, I reward loyalty, and I wasn’t lying.”
For a second, I did a grand impression of a fish as I processed his words. “Elizabeth is an innocent.”
He snorted. “So innocent that she helped fabricate drugs? That she sold your line’s secrets to fund her habit?”
I hadn’t known about the latter, but still… “She’s the daughter of a squire. I can’t allow you to hurt her.”
“There’s no ‘allowing’ me to do anything, Darius. The sooner you come to terms with that, the sooner you’ll be more at ease.” The suddenly silky tone had my heart rate shooting up once more.
This was my fear.
I’d released the Maker into an unknown world…
It didn’t matter that he was the kinder of two evils, when it boiled down to it, neither he nor Nimue should have the power they did.
“She will die?”
Merlin shrugged and, after he took a sip of whiskey, declared, “Depends on the day. I can’t control everything, Darius. Just most things.” He harrumphed. “Can you imagine the power we’d have if the Lady would have just been mine?”
Talk about the most terrifying happily ever after I could imagine.
“I’m sure we wouldn’t be having this conversation if she weren’t beautiful,” I rasped, but Merlin surprised me by shaking his head.
As he did, his hair suddenly turned blond, his nose lengthened, his ears grew smaller, and his lips became thin and flat.
“Appearance means nothing.” His hair turned red, his eyes morphed into the shape of almonds, and for a second, I felt sure I was looking at Marcella’s twin brother. As I blinked, Merlin returned to normal. “She can look as ugly or as pretty as she wants. As can I. It’s all an illusion. It’s the power that matters, but she let hers get to her head.” Under his breath, he grumbled, “Daft bint.”
I blinked at his scolding, then whispered, “Have I made things a thousand times worse?”
My words broke Merlin’s contemplation of Nim
ue’s idiocy, and he tilted his head to the side as he responded, “Not a thousand times worse, no.”
As my heart sank, I bit off, “And you say you’re true to your word?”
“I never said how I’d help you achieve your goal, Darius. I never walked you down the path of what you’d have to do to attain all you desired,” Merlin retorted, and for the first time, I heard a warning in his voice.
There were a handful of creatures who could make me feel fear. The Cavalry and the Reapers registered on that list slightly because of their ties, but mostly it was the Sires, the Lady, and the Maker.
Marcella was on that list now, but that was because I was terrified for her, not of her. I was petrified I’d lose her before I even had the chance to have her.
And somehow, that made my fear of Merlin crumble away to nothing, because nothing scared me more than a world without Marcella in it.
It disconcerted me when Merlin reached over and patted my arm. “Fret not, son. I meant it. Marcella will come to no ill.”
“Your ill and my ill have different definitions.”
“She will not die,” he assured me, “because she cannot.”
I tensed. “What do you mean?”
Merlin shrugged. “Even had Nimue overtaken her, Marcella wouldn’t have died entirely. She would have had some autonomy over her body that the Lady would have needed to quash. But you can’t use someone’s body like a suit and let them die.”
That was supposed to reassure me?
A grunt escaped the Maker. “Yes, of course it is. And now Marcella has done what she has, awakened the line in her by having my children meddle where they oughtn’t, she’s as immortal as they are. You can’t trigger the rites of descendancy with no cost—Nimue made a foolish mistake by underestimating Marcella’s mates. Even though turning back the hands of time reverted much, it couldn’t close off the power she saturated Marcella with—nothing could turn that back.”
