He lifted his hand to my face and brushed away a bit of dust, before bringing my head down and kissing my forehead. I knew he loved me, right then, because I probably stank and my forehead was drenched in sweat, but he kissed me anyway. Soft, and sweet, and lingering.
“I should probably get back to it,” I said, looking him in the eyes.
He nodded. “If you’re sure.”
“I have to keep at it until I get some answers.”
“Okay then, but if you need another break, just say the word. I’ve got the Rag Team on speed-dial for anything you want or need.”
I smiled. “Can they get me an idiot’s guide to reading the most complicated Grimoire in the world?”
“Afraid not.”
“I had to ask.” I let him walk me back to my seat and watched him return to his guard position before settling into the open book again. Cracking my knuckles and turning my neck from side to side, I read the spell again, going over it line by line.
I’d just reached “Fragments lost from long ago,” when the world began to spin, my vision filled with the inky marks of the spell. They pooled out across my eyeballs and turned everything black, my heart racing like crazy. I tried to blink the darkness away, but it made no difference. Not only that, but I could feel cold tendrils snaking through my body, tugging me down into an uncertain oblivion.
I woke with a start to find myself back in that could’ve-been nursery, staring into the eerie black eyes of Winnie-the-Pooh. I staggered back, almost running into the equally creepy figure of the mini-me. She was sitting on the fluffy rug, cross-legged, staring up at me with a smile. So, my dad left me more than one message, huh?
“You’re trying too hard,” alternative me said.
I glared at her. “Oh really? You try making any sense out of that book.”
She giggled. “You should take it easy. It’s a powerful Grimoire you’re working with. You shouldn’t rush the process.” I’d forgotten how weird the disconnect was between the way mini-me looked and the way she sounded. Like someone had thrown an adult voice-box into the throat of a kid, except when she giggled.
“What are you talking about, not ‘rushing’ the process? Do you know how much time I’ve got to solve this? Not a lot, let me tell you!”
She laughed again. “Time may be running out, but time is a mortal construct. Your perceived lack of it won’t make the Grimoire reveal its secrets any faster. Chaos is not absolute in its values. Sometimes, it shifts—it changes its mind. It flows differently.”
“So you’re telling me that Chaos is one big hippie?”
Mini-me’s eyes grew stern. “You’re not listening to me, Harley. Unless you learn to tune in to the current of Chaos, unless you learn to ride the wave of it, instead of drowning as the tide changes, you won’t succeed. But, if you can learn to do that, and you stop stubbornly fighting it, you will have everything at your fingertips. If you can reach the true end of this Grimoire in one piece, with a complete understanding of all its secrets, Katherine won’t stand a chance against you. That is the way it has been designed.”
“You don’t get it, do you? Time might be a mortal construct, but Katherine is about to finish the rituals, and she’s going to do it soon. And when she does that, Chaos can kiss its ass goodbye. Then, it might wish it’d been a bit fairer with that particular mortal construct and me.”
Mini-me grinned. “When did a challenge ever stop a Merlin? When did time running out ever make a Merlin give up? You should be less concerned about time and more concerned about Katherine trying to stop you reading from the Grimoire. She already knows you have it.”
I shook my head. “She can’t know. New York would never let it slip; they’d be too embarrassed.”
“She knows, Harley. Trust me when I say that she does. The good news is, she can’t touch it. She can’t get too close. The Grimoire decides whom it allows near, but that may only protect you for so long.”
I stared at the mini-me in horror. “Then that just means I’ve got even less time.”
“Time, time, time—is that all you ever talk about? That is the least of your problems. You should be doing this alone. Katherine will kill anyone you love, just to break you down until you beg her to put you out of your misery. Attachments make you weak. Wade. Finch. Isadora. Jacob. All of them… they’re all in danger now, because you made this choice to take the Grimoire. Katherine is terrified of it. It’s why she used that curse on Hiram, and it’s why she wanted all the Merlins dead. She knew what your mother and father were up to, and she wanted to put an end to it before it could be used against her.”
“Then stop yapping and help me!” I snapped. Who was she to get all high and mighty? And if she’d been put here by my dad, who was he to get all high and mighty, when he could just freaking help me! It was hoop after hoop after hoop, and I was getting sick of jumping.
“I am,” mini-me said bluntly. “If you figure out the ‘hidden things’ spell and use it to reveal the hidden pages, you will gain access to some truly powerful and dangerous magic. A great deal of it has previously been untested, but the strength of it remains. They are theories that our parents turned into spells, without trying them out first.”
“Seems a bit reckless, even for them,” I muttered.
“Not reckless—inspired. Chaos spoke to them. It told them what to write down, and they did its bidding.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“I believe you heard me.”
Chaos itself had directed my parents to write this magic? How was that even possible? I just stared at mini-me, completely speechless. However, it seemed like she was already pretty much in my head. She started talking again before I had the chance to ask questions.
“That is the very core of Katherine’s fear—that Chaos somehow foresaw all of this happening and has taken measures to ensure she can be beaten to the final punch. She is terrified that Chaos did this, without breaking the ritual rules. And she is petrified of defeat.”
I smiled, my mind flooding with fear and excitement and confusion. If all of this was true, then what sort of magic did Chaos get my parents to secretly write down? I couldn’t wait to find out. Literally. We didn’t have a second to waste.
Forty-Six
Jacob
I stepped into the infirmary with Isadora, the magical detector clasped to my chest, and froze. We’d come back to tell Krieger how perfectly the device had worked. Only, he wasn’t here. Neither was Louella, which was worrying. All my enthusiasm disappeared in an instant as I saw the two figures who were here. Imogene Whitehall. And Suri.
Oh crap…
Suri looked scared and pale. She was shaking on her stool, like a wet dog. A cute one, though. Meanwhile, Imogene was standing close by with her arms folded across her chest.
“Would someone care to explain to me why there’s a human in the coven? She doesn’t seem to want to talk, but I’m assuming you know something about this. And could you explain yourself quickly, if you don’t mind? As you know, I have a list as long as my arm to contend with.” Imogene leveled her gaze at me. Yeah, she was pissed. Mega pissed.
“It was Katherine,” I blurted out. “Katherine took Suri, and I went after her into one of the otherworlds. I saved her, and I brought her back here. She was too scared to go back into the human world, and Krieger didn’t think a memory wipe would hold. And I like her, and she’s not scared anymore, and she doesn’t want to get her memory wiped, and—”
Suri leaned forward. “Don’t blame Jacob, Imogene. I asked to stay. I wanted to be here, around him and the other magicals. Please, don’t punish him!” She was tearing up now, her voice cracking as she spoke.
Isadora moved closer, trying to get between Suri and Imogene. “Imogene, perhaps we could go to your office to discuss this? Suri is clearly distressed, and Jacob was only doing what he thought was best. They’re kids, they didn’t mean any harm. And besides, he was going to come and talk to you about it, but I told him to wait because of everythi
ng else you’ve got going on.”
“Don’t punish Isadora, either!” Suri begged. “She was only helping us because I asked her to. I don’t have anything to go home to. I just wanted to be around you all because everyone was so welcoming. I won’t say a word about the covens, I promise.”
I was about to add to what Suri was saying, when I noticed the magical detector flashing. The golden arrow was pointing right at Imogene, her hologram flashing up. Only, it didn’t have her name and her image. Instead, it showed a very different face, and a very different name.
Name: Katherine Shipton
Affinity: Dark
Abilities: Telekinesis, Shapeshifting, Healing, Fire, Air, Water
“What is it, Jacob?” Isadora asked, looking over my shoulder. “Is the detector acting up?”
“I—I don’t know.” I shuddered at the sight of Katherine’s face spinning around in vivid Technicolor. The more powerful the Chaos signature, the clearer the image. But this didn’t make any sense. Had I broken it, somehow?
“It looks like the detector is picking up on Katherine, somewhere in the vicinity of the coven,” Isadora said.
Imogene paled. “Is that so?”
As the device whirred back to life, I pointed the arrow at Imogene. Katherine’s image flashed up again, with her name and abilities. Every Chaos signature was unique and recorded in the coven system. No fake identity could lie to Chaos… or this detector.
Realization sucker-punched me in the gut.
“Isadora, she’s Katherine!” I yelled. “Get away from her! Suri, get away from her! Imogene is Katherine!”
“What?” Imogene stared at me with widened eyes. “That is nonsense. It’s a glitch. A problem with the magical detector. If we speak with Dr. Krieger, I’m sure he will know of a way to fix it.”
Isadora looked between me and Imogene in confusion.
“Seriously, Iz! Look at the detector! It’s her. Don’t believe a word she says!” I shouted. If Katherine realized the jig was up, she’d do everything she could to get out of here. And she’d take the evidence with her. “RUN!” I lifted my palms to forge a portal, but Imogene flicked her wrist, sending out a jolt of Telekinesis that had me flying back against the wall before I could create one.
“This is all a terrible misunderstanding.” She stepped forward. Isadora put herself between that lying cow and Suri, urging Suri backward, away from Imogene.
“Yeah, I think it might be,” she said coldly. “The detector doesn’t lie, Katherine.”
Imogene’s face changed. “I suppose I couldn’t keep up the ruse forever. This Shift was starting to bore me, running around, kissing everyone’s ass all the time. It makes me sick to my stomach, to think of all the pandering I’ve done.” She shuddered, a cold smile on her lips.
“You bitch!” Isadora lunged at Imogene, her palms up. Before she could land a blow with her fist or her Chaos—whichever came first—Isadora’s eyes flew open in surprise. At first, I didn’t understand what had happened. Isadora turned slowly, revealing Suri behind her. Her fingers were wrapped around something metal that glinted in the infirmary lights. A medical-grade scalpel, the blade embedded in Isadora’s side. With a look of terror and panic on her face, Suri dragged the blade across Isadora’s stomach.
“Suri?” I whispered the name. I was too shocked to say it louder.
“Suri?” Isadora echoed. She looked confused and hurt, staring down at the gash in her abdomen. Blood poured, thick and almost black, staining Isadora’s shirt. She sank to her knees, clutching the wound. She looked back at me with shock. Her mouth moved slowly. But no sound came out.
“Iz, NO!” I howled. I rushed forward, wanting to stem the blood, wanting to do something. But Imogene stepped forward, standing in my way. Not Imogene… Katherine. I tried to get past her, but she shoved me back with a blast of Telekinesis. I crashed into the far wall, hitting my head with a crack.
“Thank you, Suri,” she purred.
Shaking off the blurry haze, I leapt to my feet and paused. I stared right at Suri, who was looking back at me. Her hands were shaking on the blade. Her eyes flickered between me and Isadora. She looked pale, like she might throw up at any moment.
“What are you doing?” I spat, my eyes filling with tears. “Why did you do that?”
“I… I had to,” she whimpered, pushing her hair out of her face. It left a streak of Isadora’s blood across her cheek. Red and vivid, and sickening.
“Iz?” I gazed at her. She was frantically gripping her stomach, though the blood continued to spill out of her. “Iz, talk to me.” I just wanted her to tell me she was going to be okay. Realizing I had to do something, I sprinted at Katherine again. With another flick of her wrist, she sent me right back against the wall. I wasn’t going to stop. I would keep getting up until I got to Isadora. I wanted to build a portal to get us all out of here, but Katherine wasn’t going to let that happen. Every time I lifted my hands, she just kept slamming me backward with her Telekinesis.
“It’s like watching a hamster in a wheel.” Katherine chuckled. “Tell me, how long are you going to keep this up? What could you possibly do to save her? No, really, I’m intrigued. What can a kid do that not even a skilled surgeon could?”
I shrugged off my last crash against the wall and stood my ground. “Kill you.”
She roared with laughter. “Good one. You’re funny.”
I ran full-pelt at her. I wasn’t ready to give up on Isadora. She’d come through a lot. She could pull through a wound like that. All I had to do was get her and portal her to Krieger, and he’d be able to help her. Speaking of which, I had no idea where the doctor was, but I could worry about that later.
Katherine stepped toward me, as if to meet the force of my sprint. I half expected another scalpel to appear and slice me up, or something worse. Instead, she just tapped me on the forehead. My body went rigid, just as it had back in Lethe. NO! No, you can’t do this to me!
“Nerds really are annoying.” She sneered. “You’re like a newborn Bambi, stumbling about on your little twig legs. Tell me, how is it that geeks can work their way around a device, no problem, but ask them to speak to a girl? Not a hope in hell. Not unless the girl wants something in return. Am I right, Suri? Who am I kidding? Of course I’m right.” She flashed me a wink that made my blood boil.
Suri? I couldn’t speak, but I wanted to. She just stared at me from across the workbench, shivering even though it wasn’t cold. Her big eyes were even bigger. And they looked scared. Scared and sick, as the blood trickled down her hand. I wanted to know why she’d done this. And I wanted to know what part she had to play in this. She didn’t exactly look like a willing sidekick.
My eyes drifted back toward Isadora, who was bleeding out onto the floor. She wasn’t on her knees anymore. Instead, she was crumpled in a fetal position, her arms still wrapped around her stomach. I couldn’t see her breathing. And her face was so pale it was almost blue.
No… please, no.
“Still, I suppose I underestimated you and Herr Krieger. Everyone always underestimates the Germans, don’t they? I should’ve known he’d get the damn thing to work. Not that it’ll do any of you any good. This baby is mine. And it will do me a lot of good.” Katherine took the device right out of my hands and put it on the workbench, admiring her image. “Aren’t I a stunner? Holograms are usually like passport photos—nobody looks good in them. But it looks like Chaos did me a favor on this one.”
Katherine had been playing the long game, all this time. This was how she’d infiltrated everywhere, and everything, without anyone realizing. Her act as Imogene had given her access to every upper echelon. Nobody doubted Imogene. She was an angel amongst magicals. Only now, as it turned out, she’d been the devil all along.
Forty-Seven
Jacob
I strained to speak, but Katherine’s curse had me frozen. Suri kept looking at me, her hands stained with Isadora’s blood. Shaking her head, she lifted the scalpel. Like she was
seeing it properly for the first time. Covering her mouth with her non-bloodied hand, she sprinted to the sink and lurched over it, vomiting into the basin. She dumped the scalpel in alongside it while she heaved. A moment later, she ran the faucets. Washing away the puke first, she turned to her hands. Frantically, she washed the blood from her skin and from the weapon, before turning over her shoulder.
“It wasn’t personal, Jacob,” she said, her voice scratchy.
Really? It feels pretty personal. I narrowed my eyes at her to let her know exactly what I was thinking.
She turned away sharply. “I’m not happy about what I had to do. I didn’t think I’d have to… Anyway, it was the only way. And I kind of still like you. You probably don’t believe me, but I became quite fond of you. I’ve always liked nerds."
No, you’re damn right. I don’t believe a word coming out of your mouth. Tears trickled down my cheeks. I hoped they showed just how hurt I was. No, not hurt… destroyed. She’d stabbed Isadora. Her blood was still flowing. What else was I supposed to think about that? I couldn’t think. Not with Isadora on the floor, in pain, facing her own death. All alone, with nobody helping her.
“Because they did your homework? Pretty girls like you can get a guy to do just about anything.” Katherine smirked at me. “It’s why she was the perfect honeytrap.” It was still unsettling to see her as Imogene, now that I knew the truth, though she’d dropped the elegance a little bit. Her voice was rougher, her tone coarser. More Katherine-like.
Suri gripped the edge of the sink. “I hate that word. Honeytrap. It’s used for old pervs whose bored wives want them caught in the act.”
Harley Merlin 7: Harley Merlin and the Detector Fix Page 38
