Mercy Temple Chronicles Box Set

by Ciara Graves

  “I do,” I said without thinking.

  She nodded solemnly and an understanding passed between us. One that said we did fully trust each other now and would be there when the other one needed us.

  As we gathered up these people, I thought back, digging in my mind for what happened while I was locked away in the fight with my brother, but there was only a void of missing memories.

  I found myself standing very close to Mercy though, holding her up as she directed people to the transport, telling them to get themselves home, that they were safe.

  Safe from what, was my question. They left in small groups, heading back to whatever sector they’d come from. When there was no one left, I helped Mercy get inside with me and returned us to Sector 21.

  Just as we were being transported back, I looked at the tree one final time and what I saw startled me.

  It had to be a trick of the moonlight, or residual magic, but I was sure there was a man standing near the tree. His body was transparent, but his face—I wanted to shake my head and rub my eyes—he looked like Todd.

  Then the transport came to life, and we were back home.

  Getting Mercy to her place took a while. Her wounds were taking their toll. The going was slow, but once we arrived, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. I waited on the threshold, a strange sense of déjà vu hitting me.

  “You’ve been staying here the last few days, you can come in,” Mercy called out.

  “I have?”

  “Yeah, you have.” She flinched as she worked to get her coat off.

  I helped her ease her arms out one at a time, rumbling at the sight of the slashes running up and down her limbs. She kicked out of her boots next and then sank onto the couch.

  “You need to clean those,” I told her, laying her coat over the back of the chair. It was heavy, but I wasn’t about to start rifling through her pockets.

  “I’ll get there.”

  “Do you have a kit?”

  “Bathroom. Under the sink.”

  I found it quickly and sat down on the coffee table, scooting aside a piece of parchment with a tree on it. “Is that where we just were?” I looked closely and realized the tree was exactly the same as the one we came from.

  “Yeah.”

  “Blood Moon?” I said, reading the words at the top of the page. “What did I miss out on?”

  “Nothing. You’ve been right here with me the whole time.”

  “Here, but not here. Sounds like I have a lot of catching up to do.” I reached for her right arm first and gently started to tug her sleeve up. It got stuck, and she told me just to rip it.

  “I have other shirts,” she mumbled when I didn’t do it right away. “If you don’t I will.”

  Gripping the sleeve in my hands, I tore it all the way up to her shoulder then ripped the sleeve completely off. Her arm was worse than I thought, but none of the slashes needed stitches, at least.

  “That man,” I said as I took a sanitized wipe from the kit and began to clean off the blood, “who was he?”

  She flinched when I brushed against one of the cuts, but didn’t pull away. I held her hand in mine as I tended to her wounds. I was acutely aware of her breathing, of every shift she made on the couch, how her hand squeezed mine and I automatically squeezed back. I paused in my cleaning to really look into her cold blue eyes and was shocked to find they weren’t so cold as she held my gaze steady. Something changed between us and no matter how hard I tried to figure out what it was, no memories came to mind. Nothing to help me out.

  “Mercy,” I said quietly, “who was he?” Focus. I had to focus and deal with one issue at a time.

  “How about first you tell me why you were wandering around with no memory?”

  I put the now-bloody wipe down and picked up a small container of healing salve. As I applied a bit to each of the slashes on Mercy’s arm, I said, “I was trying to forget my past.”

  “Yeah, figured that part out. Why?”

  “The nightmares. Seeing my dead brother. It all grew worse,” I confessed. “I was desperate, so I went out in search of some miracle cure to get rid of it all.” My fingers rested on her arm softly. “I found a witch willing to help. She gave me a potion and then I was inside my mind. Except it wasn’t my past I saw. At least, not just my past.”

  “No?”

  “Turns out a bit of my brother’s soul had latched onto my memories and has been feeding me his guilt and pain ever since. We faced the past together. Then I helped the rest of him move on.”

  “You helped yourself, too,” she pointed out, and her fingers trailed down my cheek. “Your eyes are so clear now. You don’t look as worn out as you did before.” She scratched at the scruff on my cheeks. “I do ask that you keep the beard.”

  “I’ll think about it.” Why did I have the sudden urge to kiss her? As if I’d done it recently?

  She drew back from me and turned away.

  “Mercy?”

  “I’m sorry that I wasn’t here for you. I said I would be and then I disappeared when you needed me most.” She wiped at her eyes, laughing bitterly. “Some friend I am.”

  “Sounds like you took care of me. How did you find me?”

  “You were wandering around in the Underground with no memory of who you were or who I was. You had no memory at all. So, I brought you here, and you offered to help.”

  “Help with what?” I asked, finishing up her right arm. “Mercy? You said you would tell me. That man was going to kill you. And those people? Why were they there? What did I miss?”

  This time when she pulled away, she rose to her feet and walked away, running her hands madly through her hair. “You’re going to hate me,” she whispered.

  I got up to follow her and reached out.

  She held up her hands.

  I stayed where I was.

  “I lied to you,” she finally blurted out.

  “About what?”

  “Liam,” she said. “I—uh… damn. I needed help tracking him down, and I let you believe whatever you wanted so we could get him.”

  “Wait,” I said slowly, “you weren’t trying to get him because he hurt you?”

  “No. The Gathered wanted him, and there was a huge payday involved, and after the incident at the ball, Damian only gave me a week to track him down, or else I was going to be in deep shit. I’m sorry, I just… I had no other choice.”

  My hands curled and uncurled at my sides. The beginnings of our relationship were based on a lie. I grunted at her words and backed away, unsure of what to do with this information yet.

  “What does this have to do with anything? Why are you telling me now?” I asked, confused. “Liam’s dead. So it doesn’t really matter.”

  “It will,” she replied then took a deep breath. “The mage you saw tonight? Goes by the name of Envy. He’s involved with whatever Liam was doing. And the gobs. All of it.” She swallowed hard, muttering to herself under her breath as if talking herself into telling me the truth. “He was also the mage who cursed me that night. I was finally able to find him, thanks to you and Bowen.” Her eyes widened. “Damn. He’s going to kill me.”

  “Why?” I asked, unable to get anything else out.

  “I wasn’t supposed to go after Envy alone tonight, and I did.”

  “I was with you.”

  “Yeah, well you weren’t when I started out. You hijacked the transport I took to get to him.” She fumbled with her cell phone, trying to text, but dropped it. She tried to pick it up and dropped it again. “Damn it.” She sat down on the floor, holding her face in her hands.

  When I first met Mercy, all I saw was the strong bounty hunter who never broke down. She was all fight and anger and determination, but this side of her was so different. It caught me off guard. She was vulnerable. Her shoulders shook, and when she lifted her head, she was wiping furiously at her eyes. She stayed right where she was on the floor, shaking her head.

  “I had him in my hands,” she whispered, �
��and the bastard got away again. I can’t win. I just can’t.”

  “Mercy—”

  “I’ll get it if you’re pissed at me. Really. I dragged you into a mess that you can’t even remember. Probably better that way, to be honest. You can go if you want. Won’t blame you.”

  I turned toward the door, then stopped.

  My gut screamed at me not to leave her like this. She’d taken me in when I had no idea who I was. She did not have to do that. Granted we ended up in a fight for our lives, but I knew myself. Even with no memory, I’d offered to help her out which showed how much I instinctively trusted her. And even if she rejected my help, I didn’t even have to ask her to know that I insisted I would help anyway. There was no more hiding how I felt, not anymore. Not from myself. Not from her.

  Without saying another word, I went back to her side, sat down, and rested my shoulder against hers. “I get why you lied,” I said after a while, when neither of us moved away from one another. “I won’t say I’m not annoyed, but I get it.”

  She rested her head on my shoulder.

  A strange sensation hit my gut. One that I kind of liked. “And I get why you weren’t there when I called. You had a chance to get the man responsible for ruining your life. If the mage who killed my brother, who hurt me was still alive, I would’ve done the same.”

  “I was stupid to think we could get him on our own,” she mumbled. “He’s too damned strong.”

  “We’ll find him again,” I promised. “Whatever help you need from me, you have it.”

  “You have to go back to your job at some point.”

  “Shit.” I hadn’t even thought of Nor.

  “Don’t worry. You took care of it.”

  “I did?” I asked her. “How?”

  “You called your boss and told him you were taking him up on that vacation time. Pretty sure you have a whole week off still, before he expects you back.”

  “A week, uh, that’s good to know.” I would need it to get myself back to well, myself. With Antonio gone from my head, a drastic change had come over me. There was no lingering darkness in my mind. No guilt. No doubt over any of the actions I took while trying to escape the slums. I had peace, and now I was determined that Mercy should have the same. “We’ll need that week to track Envy.”

  “He’s not a bounty,” she said quietly. “There’s no reason for me to go after him. Except revenge.”

  “Those people there, what was he going to do to them?”

  “A ritual of some kind from what I could tell,” she explained. “I have no idea what he’s into, but I found him through Liam. They’re connected somehow, the gobs, the hybrids, Wesley being taken, that damned tree… it’s all connected.”

  “Maybe I need more than a week.”

  “You can’t just stop your life to help me out,” she argued. “I’m not worth the trouble.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me.” She got up off the floor, leaving me with a sudden pang of emptiness. “Every time you’re with me, we end up getting hurt and nearly killed. One of these times it might actually stick. I can’t have your death hovering over me.”

  “I can handle myself,” I said as I got up, too.

  She blinked at me, then grinned, then started to laugh. “Yeah, I know. You told me so, just this week.”

  “Mercy, let me help you. This mage hurt you, and I would very much like to hurt him back.”

  “Think you already did.”

  “I want him gone from this world.”

  She frowned at my words. “You’re a Fed. You can’t go around killing people.”

  “Maybe not, but I can bring him in and ensure he’s sentenced to death for his crimes. I’m doing this with you, whether you like it or not.” I went to her and reached for her hands like I’d been doing it all along. I rubbed her knuckles with my thumbs.

  She sighed.

  “Mercy?”

  “What?”

  “While I was out of it this week, did… did anything happen between us?”

  She shifted on her feet, and her gaze flickered away from mine. “Aside from us almost getting killed? No, nothing.”

  “You certain?”

  “Pretty damned certain.” She removed her hands from mine and walked back to the couch. “It’s late, and I’m sure you’re tired out from the fight and being back in control of your body and what not. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep? I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  She was lying. Before, I’d been too wrapped up in my own bitterness and regret to take note, but her eyes crinkled slightly when she did it.

  If I pressed her for answers, I’d just tick her off, so I gave in. “Right, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Night, Rafael and I’m glad you’re better. Really.”

  “Same.” I waited a couple of beats then nodded again and left Mercy’s apartment.

  Outside her door, I told myself I was an idiot for leaving.

  What did we do? When I touched her hand, a strange sensation of belonging struck me. One of being close to her.

  I shouldn’t have left, but exhaustion finally caught up to me as the adrenaline wore off. There was a lot of information to sift through as far as what she told me.

  That, and I was determined to remember what else I did this week.

  In addition to traipsing down memory lane.

  Chapter 16

  Mercy

  Once Rafael left, I cleaned up the rest of my wounds and texted Bowen and Rufus.

  I said nothing about facing down Envy, only that I’d be swinging by shortly.

  “You should have told him everything,” Todd said, peering out the window.

  “No,” I muttered. “What’s the point? If he doesn’t remember, that means I’m safe and so is he.”

  “From what?”

  “The truth. If he remembers what I am, that in itself is an issue. But if he recalls what we talked about regarding Shuval, the hybrids, the Blood Moon? You think his boss will stop to listen to us? I know what they do to dragonborn. Anything I have to tell them will be deemed as lies. Besides, I want more evidence of whatever Shuval’s been up to with these hybrids. Solid proof. We’ll keep handling it on our own until then.”

  I picked up my coat and carefully reached into my pocket to remove the Dagger of Truth. I’d snatched it up off the ground when it fell from Envy’s robes during the fight.

  “The less Rafael knows, the safer he’ll be,” I added.

  “You’re an idiot, if you think he’ll stay away.” He disappeared then reappeared right in front of me. “He cares for you. And he’s a demon.”

  “So?”

  “So he went into a full rage to save you. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a demon to go into that state and control it? They’re only able to do so if they’re truly focused, or if they care for someone. A lot.” He emphasized the last two words. “Mercy, you won’t be able to keep him away from this fight.”

  “Watch me.”

  I changed out of my dirty clothes, fixed my hair the best I could, and carefully tucked the Dagger of Truth back in my coat pocket. I peered out the eyehole to ensure Rafael was gone, then left my apartment and headed for the Underground.

  When I reached Rufus’s door, it opened without my having to knock.

  Bowen and Rufus stood with their arms crossed, looking pissed off as ever.

  “What did you do?” Bowen demanded.

  “Seriously? Can’t even give me two seconds to get settled in, before you’re harping on me.”

  “Mercy,” he hissed, “Rafael ran out of here earlier because he was concerned you were doing something stupid. From the way you’re holding yourself, you did.” He sniffed the air and hissed louder. “I smell blood.”

  “Old wounds,” I said.

  He blurred to me and grabbed my arm.

  I gasped and yanked it away from him. “Alright, damn. I might’ve run into a little trouble, but it’s not what you think.”

  “Then ex
plain it to us, because from the guilty look on your face, you went after Envy. Alone.”

  I bit my lip, debating exactly what to say.

  Rufus threw his arms up in the air and stomped away. “You’re suicidal, that’s it. That’s what I’ve decided.”

  “No, I’m not,” I argued and pulled the key from my pocket. “I found Sector 1462. Found the tree. The ritual circle. I found it all.”

  Bowen picked up the key and asked how.

  I gave him the rundown on how the key worked and where it was. I told them Rafael caught me at the last second and how we were going to go back but then Envy showed up. Neither said a word as I went on and on.

  Only Bowen hissed when I got to the part about Envy kicking my ass after my power failed.

  “And then, well, Rafael saved me,” I said quietly as I reached the end of my story.

  “Where is he, by the way?” Bowen asked. “I expected him to return with you.”

  “Yeah, about that, it was Rafael who saved me.”

  “You said that,” Rufus told me.

  I shook my head.

  “Wait, you mean… Shit!”

  “Yeah, shit about covers it.”

  “He remembered?” Bowen asked.

  “Just who he is, but everything he was a part of this last week doesn’t seem to be there. He has no memory of helping me or you guys. Has no memory of any of it.” I shook my head.

  I should be thrilled, but that meant he had no recollection of the kisses we shared, or that night we watched stupid movies. None of it.

  It was better this way, that’s what I told myself. Make it less hard to push him away when we made progress with finding Shuval or Envy again.

  “There goes our plan for the artifacts,” Rufus sighed, tugging on his pierced ear.

  “Speaking of that,” I said and reached into my coat, “Envy had this on him. Looked like he was going to use it for the ritual, but Rafael stopped him.” I placed the Dagger of Truth on the table. “Check one off the list for us, at least.”

  “Without the Fed’s help, we have no way to keep that safe,” Rufus said, pointing at it. “And if you keep it with you, it’ll be a beacon for Envy to come right to you.”