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

be happy… and build a world… for yourselves. And if Erebus comes back in his Child… of Chaos form, and the otherworld does… recognize his authority and remove you… then rebuild elsewhere. He cannot… stop you now.”

A death rattle wheezed in her chest. A moment later, her body went limp, and the light in her eyes faded. Her skin flaked into ashy fragments, then drifted into the air where they turned to smoke and disappeared—until there was nothing left of her, and Abdhi’s arms lay empty of the Storyteller.

“You heard her.” Abdhi looked up, black tears sliding down his cheeks. “We mustn’t waste what she has given. Let’s build this new world, to ensure her last act was not in vain.” Solemnly, he turned his face to the gray sky. Beneath the scarlet skin of his chest, his heart glowed.

The other djinn turned their faces up as their hearts glowed vividly. Tears sprang to my eyes as I watched them mourning her. All of them. And I had the feeling that Kadar was, too. Those tears weren’t entirely mine.

Safiya had given her life for the djinn’s independence from Erebus. They would be weaker, and the addendums they’d sought would be null and void, but now they had a world to call their own, away from anyone and anything that might try to harm them or bend them to their will. Here, they could come and go as they pleased, knowing they had a safe haven to return to. And Safiya had done all of this for them without pomp or circumstance, or any expectation in return.

After thousands of years, her own story had finally ended. Now, the djinn would have to write their own book, starting afresh, living out the promise to make it a good one in her honor… preferably without eating any humans.

Thirty-Two

Finch

I stared at the dead bluebell. It didn’t inspire optimism. Nash might’ve had good reasons for making his blood unusable, but the problem was—I needed to use it. Sure, I’d developed some respect for the guy, but I didn’t know him. And, unfortunately for him, I had to look out for myself and my people first.

“Look, we wouldn’t ask if we weren’t desperate,” I told him, setting my jaw and nerves.

Nash scraped a stool from under the workbench and sat. “I get that, but I won’t just give up this djinn curse for one person. If I do that, I open myself up to hunters again. And if it comes down to my life or someone else’s, I’m sorry, but I have to put Huntress and myself first.”

Seems like you and I have something in common…

“But our friend is in dire need.” Melody knelt beside Huntress and scratched between her flicking ears. “Only you can fix him. Please, Nash. Could we offer you protection in return for your help?”

“You think you’re the first to offer that kind of exchange?” Nash rested his head on his hand. “I’m not saying you’ll stab me in the back. You seem like good people. But I’ve been double-crossed so many times. I can’t risk it anymore. There’s no safe place for me in this world, as long as I’ve got this blood in my veins.”

Melody met his gaze. “I’m the Librarian, Nash. I can find a solution to protect you from the hunters—so you don’t have to cut your life short, either at the hands of hunters or this slow-killing curse. I swear, I won’t stop looking until I find a way, if you agree to help us.”

“Even if you could, it’s not like you’ve got a djinn handy to remove the curse,” Nash replied.

A lightbulb went off in my head. “But we need your blood in order to save our friend, who does have a djinn inside him. That’s why we’re here. You might know of him—Raffe Levi? Another of the soldiers who took down Katherine in the Battle of Elysium. A brave warrior, one who wants to be freed of a curse far worse than yours.”

“Raffe Levi?” Nash frowned. “The name rings a bell, but how can his curse be worse than mine?”

“Because it affects generations upon generations of his family and kills innocent women in childbirth.” A bubble of determination rose in my throat, and a tiny bit of acid guilt. This wasn’t why I needed his blood clean and functioning, but I had to put on a believable show. “Raffe’s djinn needs amputating, and he’s the one who can break your curse. We can do this. Melody can find a different way to keep the ol’ black spot off you, and we can save Raffe and make a little djinn very happy, all at the same time. Come on, Mr. Claus, doesn’t that sound like Christmas to you?”

Nash hesitated. “You’re asking a heck of a lot from me, Crowley. I don’t even know you.”

“No, but you’re not a hard-ass,” I replied. “It’s all well and good, hiding and staying off-grid, but what’s the point of any life at all—long or short—if this is all you do? We’re offering you a potential way out. A permanent fix to the hunters. And all you have to do is let us remove your curse so you can help us. From where I stand, that’s a win for everyone.”

“It’s that ‘potential’ part that’s not quite selling it to me.” Nash sighed. “What if Melody can’t find a way to protect me? Will she get Luke to bring in a colleague—give me a bodyguard for the rest of my days? Because I’ve already got one, and that’s not much different than the life I’m leading now. It's not a win for me, more of a break-even with significant risk.”

“Better than a loss,” Luke chimed in, right on the money.

Silence unfolded across the cabin. Even Huntress quieted to only the softest of pants while Melody continued to fuss over her. Nash picked up one of his half-made knives and ran his fingertips over the smoothed bone