He waited for me beneath a sturdy oak tree, one of the park’s newest additions, an import from a nearby nature reserve and part of the mayor’s initiative to “green up this city.” Jacob was nervous, and he was giving me the jitters.
“Are you okay?” he asked me, genuinely concerned.
While it warmed my heart to see and feel him worried about me, there were still some gaps he needed to fill. I gave him a brief nod. “I’m fine,” I said. “Why do you ask? And what are you doing here?”
“I saw what happened,” he replied, his voice low.
A couple of seconds passed before I registered that particular morsel of information. “Wait. What? You were out by the bus stop?” I asked, and he nodded, guilt adding a reddish pink to his cheeks. “You were following me, weren’t you? You were following me at the Hamms’ place, too. What’s up with you? Seriously!”
He sighed. “I just wanted to see what you were doing… what you’re like,” he mumbled. “I’m good at hiding my tracks, in general, so I can just look at people without them knowing I’m watching.”
“Like a professional stalker.” I scoffed.
“Sort of.” He chuckled nervously. “I’m sorry. I was… I don’t know, I had a bad feeling when I saw you leave earlier. I just wanted to make sure you got home safe.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “And here I am, worrying about your safety and wellbeing,” I said. Then I frowned. “So, you saw the Ryder twins attack me.”
The color drained from his face. Dread clutched my throat—all his. “Those were the Ryders,” he gasped. It was my turn to nod as I carefully analyzed his reaction. “I’d heard about them, but I’ve never met them.”
“What? You made it seem like you’d never heard of them before!” I snapped.
Jacob shrugged. “It takes a while for me to trust people. I decide what information I give, and whether it’s a risk for me. Right now, I’m taking a chance on you, Harley.”
I stared at him for a long moment, not sure whether to stay angry or accept his reply as a compliment. Finally, I breathed out and muttered, “Thank you, I guess. Better late than never. So, about the Ryders. What have you heard?” I pressed.
“The other unregistered rogues are terrified of the twins. Some are considering joining the coven just to get away from them.”
“What about you?” I asked, making a mental note of his relationship with unidentified magicals. It could come in handy later if I persuaded him to join our coven. A boy with his knowledge was valuable and could be used to do good—provided he was in the right hands. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell Alton or Wade about him, because I knew that once word got out about Jacob, the SDC might not be able to keep him. Strings could be pulled, and I didn’t want Jacob to be taken away from me. Or the Smiths, for that matter. He deserved a home and a family, dammit.
“I’m keeping a low profile, I told you,” he replied.
Well, it wasn’t too low of a profile, in my opinion. Isadora knew what he was. That, too, could help us later, where Jacob’s protection was concerned.
“Jake, you saw what happened. You know what the twins are capable—”
“Which is why I didn’t come out to help you,” he cut me off, hurting deeply. “I’m so sorry for that. I wanted to help you, I did, but I couldn’t let them see me and… well, they’re way too powerful for me.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “I get it. You did the right thing. It’s better they don’t know you, trust me. Is that why you came all the way here? Because you wanted to—what, apologize for not getting involved in my encounter with the Ryder twins? Do the Smiths know you’re out? Did you take a bus here?”
He shook his head. “I snuck out the window and hailed a cab.”
“Hold on, that doesn’t make sense. How’d you know to come here?” I asked. “I basically vanished into thin air back at the bus stop.”
Jacob pressed his lips in a thin line. “Isadora has a message for you,” he said.
My knees were ready to give out. Yet another piece of the puzzle was falling on top of me, and I had no idea where to place it in this enormous mess. I ran a hand through my hair, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly in an attempt to keep my cool.
“You know Isadora Merlin,” I said in a low tone.
“I didn’t know you were acquainted,” Jacob replied with a shrug.
“We have the same last name. You knew that. I told you tonight! Didn’t the thought occur to you? How many Merlins can there be, in this day and age, in the same city at the same time?!” I snapped. “Jeez, kid. Come on, you’ve got to be more open with me here!”
“She helped me keep my head down, okay?” Jacob said, visibly frustrated. “She taught me how to keep certain abilities under control. I owe her a lot. She’s part of the reason why I’ve been off the coven’s radar for so long, Harley. I only realized you were connected when you told me about your family and what happened to them. But I also promised Isadora I’d keep my mouth shut about her.”
“You were just sticking to your promise,” I replied with a sigh, and resisted rolling my eyes. “Okay. I get it. So what did Isadora say? She could’ve told me earlier, but heck, we’re here now, so, shoot!”
“She wants you to keep me a secret,” he said. “You have spies in the coven. The moment I’m out, identified, and registered, I’m fair game, and not just for Katherine Shipton. My abilities make me very… desired, I guess.”
“You’re better than a mountain of gold, yeah,” I retorted. “I know. Ugh.”
“She gave me a charm,” he added, holding up a small silver medallion. “The moment I’m in trouble, I can let her know. You’ve seen how quick she can get from A to B.”
I snorted. “Yeah. Got my first-hand experience of the wormhole, sure.”
“Point is, she’s got her eyes on me,” he continued. “She needs you to focus on catching the Ryders before they take other kids. She says they’re key to preventing Katherine Shipton from doing something terrible. Though, she hasn’t said what that is, exactly.”
“Ah, good to know she’s just as cryptic with you.” I shook my head in frustration. “Fine, I’ll keep my mouth shut about you, Jake, but the moment I get so much as a whiff that you’re not safe, I’m hauling your ass to the coven. Is that clear?”
Jacob looked somewhat baffled. “Why do you care so much about what happens to me? Is it because of this Shipton lady?”
My throat closed. Tears were threatening to rise. “I know what it’s like to wander aimlessly through the foster system,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I know what it’s like to be alone and not know if things are ever going to get better, especially with those abilities. You don’t fit in anywhere, you can’t trust anybody, and… I lived through all that, okay, Jake? I lived through all that, and more. Finding the coven was incredibly confusing at first, but it gave me a sense of purpose and direction I’d never thought possible. I just want you to have a better shot at tackling this whole magical thing than me. As much as I love the Smiths, I’m just worried they’re not enough for you. I would’ve given anything to find the coven sooner, now that I think about it. So, yeah, Jake, I care. I want you to be safe and happy. That’s all.”
I sensed him immediately warm up on the inside, a pang in my heart signaling that I’d definitely flipped a switch inside this young warlock. My statement had struck a chord, and I was glad for it.
“So keep your head down, going forward,” I added, trying to think of a reasonable way to get the coven to help us without exposing Jacob. That was the real challenge.
“You should be careful, too,” Jacob muttered. “If there are spies in the coven, they’ll have their eyes on you. Whatever this whole thing is about, it’s a problem for you, too.”
“Tell me about it.” I chuckled nervously, then gripped his shoulder. “Go home, Jake. Keep that pendant on you at all times, and put my number on speed dial. Be good, and we’ll get through this. Most importantly, don’t talk to strangers.”
“Sure, Mom,” he responded with a childish pout, making me smile.
“Think of me as the annoying older sister, Jake. I promise to be that kind of pain in your ass. Now, go!”
I watched him walk out of the park and head for the main road back into town. He stayed in the shadows, light on his feet. My heart thudded as everything began to sink in. Too many things were happening at once, and I still couldn’t get Susan and Larry’s dead faces out of my head.
Despite the handful of answers I’d gotten, along with the incredible surprise of Isadora still being alive, I had even more questions and very few people whom I could trust to ask. Going over what had happened throughout the day, I managed to identify the first item on my to-do list—that spell Isadora had told me to research.
It was about my father.
Twenty-Six
Harley
I headed straight for the Forbidden Section, before anything else, positive I’d find something about Sál Vinna in one of those journals and spell boxes. All the secret, sensitive, and powerful stuff was in there, and I doubted Isadora would’ve made me research a hair growth spell or something equally harmless. My incident with the Ryders could wait a couple of minutes before I brought it to Wade and Alton. Hell, my bruises could wait, too! My father’s life and demise had taken center stage since Isadora’s tip, and I had little control over that. I needed to find out.
This had to be some of the heavyweight stuff that magicals went to jail for, and it had to do with Hiram Merlin. I was determined to get that out of the way quickly so I could move on and gather the courage to seek out Wade. I needed to talk to him. Or maybe just listen to him yell “I told you so!” in my face, over and over, until he got it out of his system. I just couldn’t bear the thought of angry silence between us. It didn’t feel natural.
As soon as I touched the doorknob, preparing to whisper the opening spell, Wade’s voice made me freeze.
“You’re back,” he announced, standing in the middle of the hallway a few yards away from me.
I hadn’t seen or heard him, nor had I felt his emotions. Either he was getting better at concealing himself around me, or I was too focused on the spell to even notice him. His deep green eyes were dark, his expression firm, and his jaw snapped shut. I could cut a pineapple with those cheekbones.
He was still wearing his dark gray suit, though he’d lost the tie and released a couple of buttons on his white shirt. Despite his stern appearance, he seemed weary. I didn’t want him to be angry—he didn’t want that, either. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach. He just wanted to talk, and I was terrible at apologizing. My heart fluttered nervously as I tried to think of a decent answer. Nothing seemed right, though.
“Yeah. It’s been a long day,” I replied, almost whispering. “I’m… I’m sorry I bailed on you earlier.”
He blinked twice, then glanced to his side. “You didn’t bail. I was perfectly capable of taking care of the rest. You weren’t needed.”
“Yeah, well, still. I’m sorry, okay?”
My hands were shaking. He noticed, and a painful sensation settled in my chest.
“What are you sorry about, exactly?” he asked. “I told you, you didn’t bail. The job was practically done, and I briefed Alton on everything.”
“I’m… I’m sorry for insisting that Micah stay with his parents. I’m sorry for thinking a couple of charms, traps, and an Orisha could stop the Ryders from hurting the Cranstons. I’m sorry I let my past as a foster kid get in the way of my rational thinking. It got Micah’s parents killed. I’m… I’m just sorry,” I gasped, tears clouding my vision.
Wade didn’t say anything for a while, but the grief and discomfort were absolutely there, burning inside him. I just couldn’t make out the rest of his emotional makeup. Maybe I couldn’t focus because I was being eaten alive by guilt.
“We all agreed to it,” he finally said, snapping me out of my misery. “I had no right to be mad at you alone for this. We all agreed it was a good idea, to smoke the Ryders out. Alton said yes. We all share the blame in what happened to the Cranstons and the Devereauxes.”
I lost my breath for a second. “The Devereauxes?” I croaked, remembering their name from Alton’s list. “You mean Ted and Lucinda Devereaux. Louella was the suspected magical… They’re dead, too?”
“Yes. The Ryders hit them too. They killed the parents, but from what Tatyana gathered at the crime scene, they didn’t get Louella. She ran away,” Wade replied. “They might’ve caught up with her, but we don’t know for sure.”
“Oh, no.” I choked back a sob, covering my mouth with my hand.
The bodies kept piling up, and I didn’t know how to cope with that. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to the concept of people being murdered. Wade came closer, his brow furrowed with concern.
“We were too late to talk to them. Don’t blame yourself,” he said, his voice lower than usual and peculiarly soothing. “The Ryders clearly have a plan, and we’re one step behind them.”
“It’s still… so horrible,” I breathed.
“What happened to you? You look like a mess,” he said, clearly concerned.
Where could I even start to explain everything that had happened to me after he’d left me at St. Clair’s? I offered a weak smile, but somehow, the words had trouble coming out. And he didn’t insist, as if he’d guessed my ragged state of mind.
In fact, for a moment, I thought his arms would reach out and wrap around me. I wouldn’t have said no to his embrace. Really, I needed to feel his warmth. I couldn’t help but remember the time he’d taken me in his arms, lifting me from the infirmary bed and gently settling me in the wheelchair, shortly after I’d woken up from my gargoyle bonanza. My pulse raced as the air seemed to thicken between us.
We were separated by only a few inches, but Wade didn’t seem like he was going to do anything to curb my longing for his embrace. He was conflicted, and I couldn’t spend any time trying to figure him out. I had too much to deal with already.
“Bit of a long story,” I finally said. “I’m okay, though. Nothing broken.”
“Not sure I’m satisfied by that answer,” he replied, but let it pass. He cleared his throat and nodded at the Forbidden Section’s doors. “What were you doing here?”
“Um. There’s a spell I wanted to look up. I’m pretty sure it’s in there,” I replied.
“What spell?”
“Sál Vinna,” I said.
He frowned. “It doesn’t sound familiar. But you don’t need to waste your time in there trying to find it. Text it to Astrid. She recently connected Smartie to the coven’s physical archive. She can fish the spell out for you. Smartie can’t be hacked, and only she has access to it, so that took care of our previous archive fears.”
“Oh. Thanks,” I murmured, and quickly proceeded to type a message for her. A second after I hit send, I looked at Wade. “Wouldn’t Alton know it if I told him about it?”
Wade shrugged. “I’m not sure. He’s not a walking encyclopedia. You could try, but it’s a little late to knock on his door now. You should get some sleep, too,” he said.
The clarity I’d lacked earlier about what I’d gone through this evening had finally come back to me. I had Astrid on the spell, so I could focus on the Ryder twins.
“I have to knock on his door anyway. I need to talk to you and Alton,” I said. “Now.”
“Did something happen?” he asked, cocking his head to one side.
I breathed a sigh of relief, finally accepting that Wade hadn’t been angry at me, specifically. He’d been furious with all of us, including himself, regarding the Cranstons—and, as he’d just revealed, the Devereauxes. We hadn’t been on the ball with the young magicals, and the Ryders had practically stolen the game from under our noses.
“I met the Ryder twins,” I said.
Dread hit him like a cold wave.
He nodded once, then gripped my wrist and escorted me to Alton’s office. It was close t
o nine p.m., and it wasn’t a surprise that Alton was still there, skimming through a pile of old books.
“Wade, Harley, what are you two doing here?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
We reached his desk and sat in the two guest armchairs in front of it.
“Tell him,” Wade said to me.
I took a deep breath, carefully going through the string of weird events in my head, to make sure I didn’t bring up Jacob. If Isadora was right and there was a spy in our ranks, I had to be careful. At this point, I wasn’t worried about Alton or Wade being the moles—I trusted them with my life. But for all I knew, someone else could be eavesdropping. The coven wasn’t safe. For the time being, I decided to keep Jacob to myself, just until I could find out more about what was going on.
“After I separated from Wade, I took some time out to get my crap together.” I sighed. “I suppose you’ve been told about everything that happened today with the Cranstons and the others?”
Alton leaned back into his chair, curiosity blooming in his eyes. “I’ve made sure we have eyes on each of the families on that list,” he replied. “What’s wrong, Harley? You seem—” He paused and narrowed his eyes at me. “Are those scratches?”
I touched my face and cringed as soon as I found the small cuts on my temple, previously concealed by my hair. Wade’s hand shot out and caught my chin, forcing me to look at him. He frowned as he brushed the hair aside and discovered the scratches.
“You got hurt,” Wade murmured. His touch made my skin tingle.
Focus, Harley.
“It’s nothing serious. A couple of painkillers will take care of most of it. I’ll sleep the rest off.” I pulled myself back and shifted my focus to Alton. “So, as I was saying, after I was left on my own, I took some time to just mull things over. I was about five or six blocks away from St. Clair’s Café, at the bus stop, ready to come back here. The Ryder twins either found me or followed me there. We… We had words.”
Alton’s forehead smoothed. I shook the shivers away and relaxed in the armchair. My ribs were still sore, the pain pulsating through my chest.
Harley Merlin 2: Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins Page 24
