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

doing this for both of us. He’s in as much pain as I am. He doesn’t want to go on, either.”

“No. We know you, Kadar. We know you as well as Raffe. And we don’t want to bury you,” I said. Santana took hold of his hands, visibly fighting to keep herself together.

“It’s true,” she whispered. “I love Raffe, but you’re part of him. A part he can’t live without, and a part I can’t live without. Why do you think I’ve stayed up with you all night when Raffe passed out cold and you’ve been at your worst? Why do you think I’ve had Slinky wrap himself around you to keep you safe? It’s not just for Raffe… it’s for you, too. So don’t do that again. Please.”

“All you’ve done is prolong our torture.” Kadar shook violently as the Orishas and the spirits tried to calm him. His djinn energy was clearly having a bad reaction to the spiritual influx. “All you’ve done is bring… more… pain.”

“Then tell us how to fix you,” Santana begged.

Kadar gazed at her with a sad smile. “That’s just it, señorita. We don’t… know how.”

His eyes rolled back as the red glow faded, along with the scarlet sheen of his skin. The smoke stopped billowing, and his body went limp. He’d passed out, taking Raffe with him into oblivion.

“That was a close shave.” I exhaled, keeping the tendrils around him just in case.

Santana leaned forward and buried her face in his chest, while Tatyana released the spirits and returned to her usual, non-glowing self. The rest of the Muppet Babies approached, taking in the mayhem with solemn expressions. This probably hadn’t been the night Harley and Wade expected. I hated that Kadar had ruined their evening, but I hated his agony more.

Erebus’s signature was scrawled all over this mess. That level of suffering… I couldn’t comprehend it. Through all my mental struggles, there’d only been a handful of times when I’d thought about… well, what Kadar had almost done. It took a mind that had reached complete hopelessness to take that jump. A total belief that there was nothing left to live for, that death beat any pain you were going through.

“Don’t you dare do that again. Don’t you dare leave me.” Santana grasped Raffe’s shirt, her tears leaving damp spots on the fabric. “I don’t want to be without either of you.”

Make a joke. Lighten the mood. Do something! I banished the impulse. Even in my fractured state of mind, I knew this was no time for humor. Kadar really had meant to kill himself. All because of Erebus. Erebus or death; he’d said so himself. And that understanding took a weird toll on my brain. Paranoia gave a roundhouse to the old gray matter, out of nowhere. What if Erebus was watching me through the djinn’s eyes, at this very moment? What if he suspected I was up to something? I subtly touched the book hidden under my shirt.

“He’ll be all right, Santana.” With a shaky hand, I touched her back in attempted reassurance.

She jolted. “What if he’s not?”

“We’ll find a way to help him.” I kept my hand on her back. “Let’s take him to the infirmary and have Krieger give him a onceover. When he wakes up, I’ll find out exactly what’s going on with Erebus.”

“Why? It’s not like you’re great amigos. Why would you help him?” Santana didn’t even look at me—she just smoothed Raffe’s ruffled shirt.

Because I’m not a selfish assclown, like everyone seems to think. I resisted the urge to snark. Santana was suffering, and she needed an outlet for her grief. It hurt, sure, but I could be her emotional punching bag if she needed one, for now.

“Because I understand the pain he’s in, to some extent,” I replied. And helping him might help me. That might’ve been backtracking on the non-selfish thing, but Raffe and Kadar might have intel on Erebus. Intel that might supplement the book I’d stolen and whatever Melody had gathered from her mind palace. One way or another, I was ending my servitude to Erebus.

Santana eyed me strangely. “Really?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” I said quietly.

“No… I suppose not.”

“Come on. Let’s get your smoldering señor back to the SDC.” I took a step back and crouched nearby, sketching a doorway with my trusty charmed chalk.

I whispered the Aperi Si Ostium spell and opened the door.

“How do we get him through?” Santana asked.

Dylan appeared beside Tatyana. “I’ll help. What else are muscles for?” He scooped up Raffe like he weighed nothing and jumped through the chalk door to the infirmary, visible below. Tatyana and Santana followed him down, and I prepared to do the same. Before I could, someone tapped my shoulder.

“Where are you running off to?” Harley furrowed her brow.

“I need to talk to Raffe when he wakes up,” I replied.

She nodded slowly. “E-man stuff?”

“What else?” I rolled my eyes. “Apparently, I’ve got an unhealthy obsession with him. But you guys should stay and salvage your evening. Or at least pay the restaurant for singeing their table. Ryann and the others will be worrying about whether they’ll have to foot the bill.”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that, actually.” Her tone turned even more serious.

“About what?”

“Ryann.” Harley fiddled with her shiny new ring. “Is there something going on between you two? I’ve noticed the looks between you, and she stayed tight-lipped about where you were. Keeping secrets like a… a girlfriend might. And you seem protective, which I’m super-grateful for, of course, but it feels… like there might be something going on. You’d tell me if there was, right?”

I cleared my throat. “You’d be the first to know, but there’s nothing to tell. She loves Adam, and I’m a lone wolf. That’s all there is to it.”

“You just called him Adam!”

“Did I?” I fumbled for words. “Maybe I’m running out of serial killers. Anyway, there’s nothing going on, and I need to leave before this doorway shuts. You