Harley Merlin 12 by Bella Forrest (story books to read TXT) 📗

“Right after the Jubilee mine collapse?”

“Y-yes… around then,” she stammered, keeping a firm hold on Kadar. The timelines fit. Erebus got his body, and the djinn went nuts. Cause and effect. But I couldn’t tell the others about the Erebus part—not yet. Enough people knew, and I wouldn’t drag the rest in. I’d owed Harley answers, but I didn’t owe the rest of the Muppet Babies. They were out of it, and I planned to keep it that way.

“Enough of your incessant chattering! Every word you speak pains me! If I have to listen to another sound, I will kill you all and strip your bones bare!” Kadar slammed his fists into the table again, harder this time. The wood split on impact, and fire surged from the cracks, sending up licking flames. Everyone ducked for cover. The other diners screamed as the waiters rushed to find fire extinguishers and yelled for anyone with Water abilities to come and help out, since this was a magical restaurant.

In the mayhem, Kadar leapt onto the table and ran through the blaze. Wade tried to trap him behind the flame wall with a burst of Fire, while Dylan dove for Kadar’s ankles. Wade got a swift punch in the jaw, and Dylan took a sharp kick to the face for their trouble. Kadar darted out the door.

So much for a happy engagement.

Ten

Finch

“Ryann, stay with Saskia and Jacob.” I jumped up to tear after the Hellboy wannabe. Erebus had Kadar’s panties in a bunch, and he needed to be stopped before he did any more damage. I hated to think of the size of the bill for this table, and we hadn’t even ordered entrées.

“But—” Ryann started to object, until Harley cut her off.

“It’s safer if you stay here.”

Tatyana nodded. “You too, Saskia.”

“It’s your funeral,” Saskia said sullenly, but we had no time for teenage sulking.

The Muppet Babies and I sprinted from the restaurant. Kadar’s trail proved easy to follow. Huddles of frightened magicals littered the walkways of Waterfront Park, staring in the direction the grumpy little fireball had gone. We raced through and burst into the warm night air. If any humans saw him, we’d be up crap creek without a paddle. Laws surrounding mind-wiping without permission had gotten a little hazy, and calling in a cleanup crew would mean reams of red tape.

“Where is he?” I stopped on the edge of the street and glanced up and down the road.

A roar pierced the night, sending a shiver up my spine. My eyes lifted skyward, and I spotted a figure on the rooftop opposite. I ran across the road and made for the fire escape. Using a lasso of Telekinesis, I wrapped the tendril around the first metal platform and hoisted myself up. Harley was close behind, though she briefly paused to help the others while I pressed on.

By the time I reached the roof, my throat burned and my lungs were gasping for air. I’d mostly recovered from Blanche’s ice wall, but I still had a few bruises that made breathing trickier than it should have been.

Kadar stood on the roof’s edge, hunched over like a gargoyle. He roared again, his growl filled with pain. I didn’t need to be an Empath to sense the guy’s agony.

“Kadar.” I lifted my hands, appeasing.

His head twisted toward me. “It hurts! I want to rip out my insides. Anything to make it stop. I have to make it stop!”

“And throwing yourself over the roof won’t do that. It’ll end up with Raffe splattered and you slowly decaying inside a dead body,” I reasoned. “You’ll have to suffer through all of that, and what comes after.”

“You don’t understand,” Kadar snarled. “I can’t take it anymore!”

“Then make me understand.” I stepped closer. From this distance, I’d have a split second, maybe less, to throw a lasso of Telekinesis if he decided to jump.

“As if you could.” He buckled over, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

I edged closer, trying to up my chances of a successful catch. “I’m a servant of Erebus, too. I might understand more than you think.”

“Not the way I am.” He unleashed another roar that shook the building. “He’s killing me.”

Santana reached my side. “Tell us what’s going on, Kadar, so we can help.”

“There’s nothing you can do.” He turned to her, red eyes glinting. “Only death or Erebus can end this torture. And Erebus no longer listens.”

Everything happened in a blur. One moment, Kadar stood on the edge of the roof. The next—he’d hurled himself off.

My hands reacted instinctively, tendrils of Telekinesis rocketing over the edge. They touched something solid, and I yanked back hard. Kadar flew upward, landing on his back.

“NO!” he bellowed, fighting the tendrils. I gripped tighter, using them to hold him down. Santana and Tatyana rushed past and skidded to their knees beside him. Santana’s Orishas exploded out of her, while Tatyana’s eyes glowed white, calling on the nearby spirits. Blue and white sparks collided, the Orishas working with the spirits to immobilize Kadar. They sank into his body, taking temporary control.

Still gripping the Telekinesis strands, I walked up to him. He’d stilled, though his ruby eyes stared upward, scarlet tears trickling down his face. They flitted toward me as I neared.

“Why did you do that?” he hissed. “I don’t want to live anymore. I can’t live with this. The pain, the emptiness, the dread. It’s like slowly dying and not being able to stop it. I’d rather make it quick, for both our sakes—Raffe’s and mine.”

My gremlins jostled inside my head. He and I were in similar positions, for different reasons. “Because you have people who care—people who want to see you fight this. People who’ll stop at nothing to make sure you see another day. If you’d ended your life tonight, you’d have broken Santana’s heart, and everyone else’s.”

“They don’t care for me.” The blood-red tears stained his cheeks. “They only care about Raffe. And I was