“Finch!” I frowned. “We need to have a talk about your tactics…”
“Sure, later. Let’s get going,” Finch said, with an anxious look toward the door.
Isadora nodded and set to work again, the bronze light twisting around her fingertips in an elegant coil. With her eyes closed, she pushed the energy outward, tearing a fresh hole in the fabric of space and time. It added a few more thread-veined cracks to the tanks, and more of Katherine’s belongings flew against the walls. The more the merrier, as far as I was concerned. I wanted her to come back here and see what had happened, and I wanted it to burn her up inside. I wanted her to hurt the way I’d hurt when I’d let my mother go. She’d walk into this room and know she’d failed, and that was going to be so freaking sweet, even if I wasn’t here to see it.
With air rushing out of the void, the edges crackling and sputtering in that worrying way, we sprinted into the portal one by one, Isadora bringing up the rear. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Finch snatching something off Katherine’s desk before he darted in after me. I staggered out into the familiar, clinical surroundings of the infirmary of the SDC. Never had I been so happy to see strip lighting and hospital walls. In front of us, looking slightly alarmed, sat Krieger and Jacob. They’d evidently been waiting for us to return, but it took a lot of experience to get used to seeing a portal open.
“Thank goodness!” Krieger heaved a sigh of relief.
“We thought something bad must have happened,” Jacob added, looking like he wanted to rush forward and hug us all.
As the portal snapped shut behind us, I looked around at Wade, Finch, the unconscious Shinsuke, and Isadora, and almost collapsed in hysterics. Instead, I just grinned like an idiot as a wave of relief washed over me.
“We did it. We freaking did it,” I murmured. Glancing at the others, I could tell they shared my relief and awe that we’d actually managed to pull this off.
Wade nodded, with a grin. “We did. We freaking did!”
We’d stopped Katherine from completing the third ritual, and now she had no way of getting it done. All Hallows’ Eve started in six hours, on the stroke of midnight, and we’d beaten her to the punch. We finally beat her. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t in some weird simulator.
The only one who didn’t look too happy was Finch. He seemed on edge, running a hand anxiously through his hair. He was acting like he had something to hide. Did it have to do with what he’d snatched from Katherine’s desk? I doubted it. He’d probably just taken something to annoy her. But this wasn’t the behavior of someone who’d taken some kind of petty revenge. This was the behavior of someone who felt very unsettled.
“What is it, Finch? You’re sort of killing my buzz here,” I said, as Wade and Isadora debriefed about what had gone on. Finch still had his arm around Shinsuke, who was coming around slowly, his eyes blinking open in a daze.
He frowned. “It’s just… well, Katherine was pissed when she heard you’d got your hands on Hester, but I don’t know if this is actually over. She wasn’t quite angry enough, if that makes any sense?”
“No, it doesn’t. What do you mean?”
Wade glanced up. “Something up?”
“She… She should have been livid, but she wasn’t,” Finch said. “And she kept saying she had backup plans for her backup plans. I’m starting to wonder if she had a backup plan for Hester’s spirit. Like, she’s got other options or something.” Finch looked like he might be sick. “I should’ve known it was too easy.”
Shinsuke raised a limp hand. “Finch may be right.”
“Can you explain?” I pressed.
“Well, when Katherine gave the order for me to come and fetch Finch and Wade, she did mention something about other options. She was quite smug about it. She muttered something like, ‘They think they’ve fooled me. Well, we’ll see who gets a nasty shock when midnight rolls around.’ That would suggest she has a backup plan, as Finch said.”
I could have ripped my hair out. “And you’re telling me this now?”
Shinsuke bowed his head. “I thought it was just Katherine being Katherine. When I saw you all in her office, I presumed she didn’t know how far along with the plan you were. I’m sorry.” He paused. “I may have said something sooner, had Finch not decided to resort to brute force.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said, trying to swallow the bile that was rising up my throat. He was right. If we hadn’t knocked him out, he might have been able to say something about it.
“There is one more thing.” He looked uneasy.
I leveled my gaze at him. “What?”
“I came from her private residence, when I was sent to collect Wade and Finch.” He paused uncertainly. “Well, the thing is, she had just murdered Tess. It’s one of the many reasons I’m glad I came with you.”
My stomach sank. I knew Katherine was going to do it, but that didn’t make it any easier to comprehend. One moment, Tess had been alive, and now she was dead. And we’d put her in that situation. That was never going to be easy to live with.
“What does that have to do with midnight?” Wade cut in.
“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.’”
Isadora frowned. “So, Katherine wants to be a new sort of Child, one of her own creation, designed after the goddess she feels the most kinship with—Eris, the goddess of discord?”
“And if the Apple of Discord came from Gaia’s world, does that mean she’s gearing up to face Gaia?” Wade chimed in.
I shrugged. “Who knows? But the book seems to suggest that the neutral ground is Elysium. Which means one thing: that’s where Katherine will make her final challenge, if we can’t stop her first.”
“So, we call that the backup to our backup,” Harley said. “Right now, we need to get everyone together, get as many weapons as we can find, and get to Tartarus. We have six hours until midnight. Katherine is going to be there, with Tess’s spirit.”
The backup to our backup? Sounds familiar. Harley and Katherine really were starting to look like two sides of the same coin. Trouble was, only heads or tails could win. And I didn’t know which way the coin would land.
Forty-Two
Harley
The hours were ticking by until midnight, and my heart was in my mouth.
The whole Rag Team, minus the ever-absent Garrett, had gathered in the infirmary, preparing for what was to come. Alton was here, too, in order to keep Finch and Shinsuke’s presence in the coven a secret. We were armed to the teeth, thanks to Astrid, to make sure we had a way to fight if our energy floundered or Katherine had another one of her special forcefields up. We had one thing still working in our favor—the element of surprise. Katherine thought we’d come back here, thinking we’d won. She wouldn’t be anticipating us coming after her in Tartarus itself.
Still, it was a terrifying prospect, especially after Finch’s warning.
I thought about what the page I’d torn from the Drake Shipton Library had said. In mythology, Tartarus was the place where tortured souls spent their eternity, paying penance for terrible things they’d done in their mortal life. Even Louella had supported that belief by explaining that it was mostly described as a literal hell. So comforting. Then again, I’d faced the devil enough times to not balk at the idea of facing her in a place more suited to her character.
“Does everyone know what they have to do?” I asked, checking the bandolier of knives across my chest. I also checked the clasp on my Esprit to make sure it was securely back where it was supposed to be. It felt so freaking good to have it back after so long without it. It’d almost been like missing a limb.
“We’re taking this bitch down,” Santana replied with a grin.
Raffe chuckled nervously. “What she said.”
“Time for the touchdown!” Dylan whooped.
“We’ll stop her,” Tatyana added solemnly. “We have to.”
“I’ve missed you guys,” I said with a nervous smile. The Rag Team was back together, and that felt better than anything in the world, despite what we were about to face.
“I’m going to stay behind and help Alton keep Levi busy with an urgent coven matter.” Astrid smiled secretly, as if she was already plotting the perfect eme
rgency.
Louella nodded. “I’ll stay with Krieger and prepare for when you get back.”
“I’ll also be waiting for your return,” Isadora said, her tone anxious. She was letting me go into the unknown once again and couldn’t risk coming with us. She’d tried to convince us that her skills were better served with us, but we’d voted in a majority for her to stay. It didn’t rest any easier with me that Jacob was going to be heading into danger, but Isadora was still having some portal trouble after the island. And, frankly, we were going to need a Portal Opener who wasn’t glitching, regardless of the risks.
“And I’ll be your portal guy.” Jacob smiled happily. After his recent otherworld screw-ups, he was clearly delighted to be allowed back into the action.
“Like everyone said, we’re taking her down… tonight,” Wade said, his arm around my waist.
“Yeah, yeah. We all know what’s at stake here.” Finch was trying his best to be blasé, but I could tell he was nervous about this.
“And you have my swords in your fight against Katherine. I must do this for my honor, and for that of my father.” Shinsuke crossed his swords. We’d made the last-minute decision to let him come with us, even though it would be putting him in the direct line of Katherine’s anger. She hated deserters more than anything, but we figured it might serve as a good example to her followers, to see someone like Shinsuke switching sides at the eleventh hour. Maybe, just maybe, it’d persuade a few more of them to jump ship.
Jacob raised his hand. “There’s just one problem. I didn’t want to mention it before, because everyone was getting pumped up and stuff.”
“What’s up?” I eyed him curiously.
“How are we actually getting to Tartarus? I know we got to the Asphodel Meadows and Gaia’s place okay, but that was only because I had a scent to follow. I don’t have one for Tartarus.”
Harley Merlin 6: Harley Merlin and the Cult of Eris Page 32
