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

table. Ryann stood and turned to leave Luke and Melody to it. A shriek escaped her throat as she came face-to-face with Nursie, who put her hands on her hips.

“Are you medically trained?” the nurse asked. “If you aren’t, you shouldn’t meddle.”

Ryann turned white as a sheet. “I-I-I… you’re a… ghost!”

“Evidently, you have no training whatsoever. I would have thought it blatantly obvious, from a biological perspective, that I am a ghost.” Nursie rolled her eyes. “We prefer ‘spirit’ or ‘specter,’ but you are new here, so you may be forgiven. Now, stand aside and let the professionals attend Mr. Prescott before you cause a hemorrhage.”

“It’s all right, Ryann.” Melody took her hand. “You get used to it.”

Ryann stared in abject horror. “I don’t think I will.”

“Honestly, you breathers are so terrified of death,” Nursie tutted. “Well, take a good look, sweetheart, because this is where you’re headed. And if you insist on helping Mr. Prescott, warm water and laudanum would be greatly appreciated.”

“We don’t give people laudanum anymore, Diana,” Melody said softly.

Diana sighed. “Whatever you have, then. You are magical beings—you must have something in your wizard pantries.”

“We’ve got everything we need here, Diana. But if we need your help, we’ll call you.” Melody defused the situation skillfully. With only a hint of huffiness, Diana floated across the kitchen and disappeared into the wall.

“Maybe I’ve been in the woods too long, but I don’t find these spooks weird at all,” Nash said, though Huntress didn’t share his ambivalence. Every time a spirit drifted in and out, she followed them with her eyes, hackles raised.

I frowned. “You don’t?”

“It’s comforting. With this curse on me, my clock is ticking down faster than it would otherwise. I guess it’s nice to know there’s something after, you know?” He stroked Huntress’s ears as she let out a soft whine.

“There’s a lot more after this life,” I replied. “Turns out, heaven exists. Or something like it. An… old friend brought my dad back for a while. Plucked him right out of the afterlife back to Earth.”

Nash’s expression turned cold. “An old friend? Surely not Davin.”

“No, a man named Alton Waterhouse.” That was partially true, at least. “He was an incredible Necromancer, but he’s dead now.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that.” Nash relaxed. “Being a Necromancer, did he fear death?”

I tapped my bottle with my fingernails. “You know, I don’t know. I was out of it at the time, but I don’t think he wanted to go, if that’s what you mean. Given the choice, he’d have chosen to live.”

“And that’s what you think I should do?”

“I do, as it turns out,” I replied. “Not just because I need your blood to help my friend. I think every human wants to survive. It’s our base instinct. I think you deserve to live the life you were meant to have, instead of trading it for partial safety. That’s not a life at all—that’s waiting in limbo until the timer runs out.”

“You know something, Finch? You talk a good talk, and I think your heart is in the right place, but I get this feeling that trouble likes to follow you around.” Nash leaned forward in his seat. “Davin wouldn’t have found me if it weren’t for you. You and your friends brought him to my door. And that sticks in my throat real bad, pal.”

I sighed. “Hey, I’m not disagreeing with you on the Davin thing, and I can’t even disagree with you on the trouble thing. But he would’ve come for you sooner or later. You clearly know him, so you know that he’s a resourceful son of a gun. If he wanted you, he’d have ransacked the globe to find you, pulling every string he had. You know that’s true.”

Huntress nosed his hand, her ears pricked as she listened.

“I could’ve outrun him,” Nash said stubbornly.

“Yeah, maybe. But how long are you willing to keep running? Your legs must be pretty tired by now.” I gave a hint of a smile. “If he’s who you’re running from, who you put this curse on yourself for, then isn’t it time you stop and face the music? If you don’t, you’ll keep playing musical chairs until he finally gets what he wants. You owe it to yourself, and Huntress, to try something different.”

“I’ve tried it all, Finch.” Nash hung his head. Huntress sat back on her hindquarters.

“Come on, man. At full power, with this curse gone, you’ve got the best shot at ending Davin that you’ve ever had.” I pulled out all my persuasive stops.

Ryann made me jump by resting her hands on my shoulders. I hadn’t seen her approach. I expected her to remove her hands when she spoke, but she didn’t. She left them there, searing my skin. “And do you want to know why you’ve got the best shot you’ve ever had?”

Nash mustered a wry laugh. “Sure. Why?”

“Because you’ve got our help, and we all hate Davin as much as you. Plus, you’ve got Finch on your side. A guy who’ll do anything to help someone in need, no matter the stakes. Have you ever had that before?” she replied.

“No… I guess not.” Nash took a long sip of his drink. “I’ve always tried to do it alone.”

“Then you and Finch have more in common than I thought.” Ryann gave my shoulders a squeeze, nearly making my heart explode out of its bone cage. “But when it comes to righting wrongs, he won’t stop until he makes it happen. I’ve seen him in action. I’ve seen his dedication to his missions. You scratch his back, he’ll scratch yours. And, together, we might finally get that British weasel to shuffle off his mortal coil for good.”

I made myself look at her. Be cool, Finch. “Since when do you paraphrase Shakespeare?” Or not…

“I dabble,” she replied, smiling.

Nash looked down at Huntress, and their eyes glittered with strange white shards. It appeared they were having a little tête-á-tête. I had no idea what they were saying—maybe deciding