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

sound wise, but wise could take a long walk off a short pier. Common sense had vacated the building. My mind demanded I forget my apprehension. Not my gremlins… something else. It wasn’t all that often a pretty woman wanted my attention, and it wasn’t like I had reason not to give it. Ryann had a boyfriend. I could do what I liked. And maybe a drink with a siren would get my mind off Ryann Smith.

Curiouser and curiouser… A white rabbit, or, rather, a white-dressed beauty, leading me astray. It certainly piqued my interest. And I still had fifteen minutes before my meeting with Erebus.

Aware of the host watching enviously, I strode through the tables and up to the doorway where the stranger had disappeared. A strange unease grew at the thought of losing her. The door led to a hallway with multiple doors branching off. The woman paused beside the very last one and went inside. I followed her footsteps, edging into the room beyond—a private suite, with velveteen sofas and a table set with dinner service resting beside a small pool of water, with a flowing fountain in the center. She stood looking into it, her dress sparkling in the ambient light.

“Did you want me to follow you?” I found my voice. I felt pretty sure this was what she’d intended.

She turned, a satisfied smile on her perfectly red lips. “Oh yes, very much so.”

“Why did—” I didn’t get to finish. She lifted her hand and snapped, and the door slammed shut behind me. If it looks too good to be true… I darted back toward the door and tried it, but it held fast.

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.” I pressed against the doorway, the magnetic allure evaporating. Fear replaced it. Yeah, this woman had definitely done something to me to get me in here.

“Neither do I.” She laughed softly. “Come closer, Finch. I promise I won’t bite.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine here.” My eyes narrowed. “How do you know my name?”

“You don’t recognize me?” She sipped her drink delicately. “Disappointing. But then, I don’t look the way I normally do, and you deal mostly with my husband.”

Lux.

I relaxed slightly. “But… how can it be you? Last I checked, you weren’t wandering around Earth, free as you pleased.” Although, I can’t say the same for your hubby.

“I borrowed this form from one of my priestesses. She was only too grateful to be permitted this gift,” Lux replied. “Apologies for the subterfuge that led you here. A simple spell, which will have no lasting effects. I did not know how you might respond if I demanded you come with me.”

Yeah, I’d have run like a bat out of hell. Meatloaf-style. I skimmed over that and focused on the weird part. Children of Chaos bending me to their will was nothing new, after all.

“You have priestesses?” Man, I could fill a book with things I didn’t know about the Children of Chaos and their idiosyncrasies.

She sat on the fountain wall. “A select handful of beautiful young women worship me. They are devoted to the name of Lux, or the Light, as they sometimes prefer to call me.”

“So you can just hop into a meatsuit whenever you feel like a jaunt through the real world?” I gaped at her.

“You find that difficult to believe?” Lux set down her champagne flute and leaned back, a little too seductively for my liking. “Unlike other Children, Light has always found a way in the world. I suppose that is because Light is sought by so many, to see them through Darkness. Unfortunately, I can only maintain this presence for a very short time.”

I gave a low whistle. “You held that card close.”

“Out of necessity,” she replied. “Children are envious creatures, by nature, and they would seek the same for themselves if they knew it could be done.”

Except your darling husband, who resorted to draining the Fountain of Youth for a more permanent fix. I didn’t say it. After all, I didn’t know how much she knew. She had to be keeping an eye on her pesky beloved, but I had no clue how much spying a Child of Chaos could do on another Child of Chaos.

My insides turned to jelly. Lux exuded calm, but her voice held a cold note that made the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. Being the so-called Light didn’t make her Miss Goody Two-Shoes. She’d been on my side whenever she caught Erebus hounding me about my missions, but there’d always been something… off about her. Once again, if something looked too good to be true, it probably was. And it wasn’t as if I could leave. She’d locked the door.

What did she want from me?

“I’m guessing you didn’t bring me here to flaunt your human form. It’s a good ’un, I’ll give you that, but you wouldn’t be locking doors unless you wanted something from me or you were in the mood to break marriage vows. I’d like to flatter myself, but I don’t think the latter is what’s on your mind.”

She chuckled. “Very astute, Finch. Dallying with mortals does nothing for me, I’m afraid.” Her laughter suddenly faded, replaced by a cold stare. “No, I brought you here to ask for Erebus’s plans.”

“You don’t have him on Child-of-Chaos GPS?” My voice shook slightly, betraying my fear.

“Unfortunately not. Now, I know you are worrying about what he may do to you, so I’ll make this easier,” she continued. “I know about the human body he has acquired, but I do not know why. It came as quite a surprise, and he will not speak to me about it. I have tried to apprehend him in Tartarus, but… he does not often return there.”

I frowned. “Is he locked out?”

“He is not ‘locked out,’ as you say, but it has changed. It is difficult to explain, and I have no means to show you, but our otherworlds adapt to our states. As his matter