I smiled despite myself. “I’ll have to go and visit it sometime, see what kind of monster I’ve managed to conjure. You know, I thought it’d be something super impressive—I think we all hope we’ll be the kind of magical that can churn out a beastie like Tobe. Apparently, I’m not quite there yet.”
“Hey, it put up a hell of a fight. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself,” she teased.
“It’s weird, but I feel kind of attached to it,” I said shyly. “Is that meant to happen? I don’t want to be around it all the time, don’t get me wrong, but I’d like to visit it now and again. Please don’t tell me this is what childbirth is like, because I am so not ready for that kind of responsibility. Next thing I know, my Purge beast will be all grown up and off to college, and I’ll end up in debt for the rest of my life trying to make sure it stays on the straight and narrow.”
Harley laughed. “Nice to see you’ve got your sense of humor back.”
“Not really. I’m forcing it.”
“I hear that’s bad for you.”
“Feels like it,” I muttered wryly, turning to Raffe. “Seriously, though, are magicals supposed to feel attached to their Purge beasts? That seems really freaking odd to me.”
Raffe shrugged. “It happens sometimes. I think it depends on the level of energy it took to Purge it. By the looks of things, you exerted a lot trying to get that creature out.”
“Yep, that definitely sounds like childbirth to me,” I replied. “My mother always likes to tell me, in graphic detail, how bad her labor was with me. This all sounds very familiar.”
“Can you remember much about your Purge?” Harley asked.
“Yes and no. To be honest, I thought it was all a dream, and then Raffe kindly told me that it actually happened and I’m now an embarrassment to myself and the coven.”
“I didn’t say that!” Raffe protested.
I smiled at him. “I know, I’m just ad-libbing a little. Dramatic license and all that.”
When I turned back to Harley, my eyes snapped toward the broken jewels of her Esprit. The empty sockets stood out like a sore thumb, the vacant holes dull beside the glittering gemstones that remained. She caught me looking, before hurriedly putting her arms behind her back. I realized it must have been broken in the fight between my stupid Purge baby and everyone who’d tried to stuff it in a jar.
“I did that, didn’t I?” I asked. “You don’t have to hide it; I can see the stones are broken.”
Harley shook her head. “If I had better control of my own powers, I wouldn’t have had to worry about it breaking. It’s like Nomura says, we shouldn’t have to rely on these things. It’s just hard not to, when they make everything so much easier.”
“Dammit, Harley, I’m so sorry…” I swallowed hard, the guilt almost overwhelming me. Esprits were so personal and not easily repaired, from what I knew.
Harley’s expression softened. “Don’t feel bad. If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have Purged like that. You performed a powerful spell because of me, and this happened. In a way, the Esprit breaking is my own fault.”
“Whoa now. Harley Merlin, self-deprecation doesn’t suit you. You’re tough as old balls, so stop being so damn hard on yourself. What happened in New York isn’t your fault. It just so happened that I had to step in to stop something… freaking nasty from coming out of your weird fog tornado,” I chided. “Honestly, even without the Esprit, and even with the Suppressor, you’re a million times stronger than most magicals. Swear to God, if I hear another self-pitying word come out of your mouth, I’ll slap it off.”
Harley collapsed in a fit of giggles. “There’s motivation for you, if ever I heard it.”
“You’re damn right.”
Raffe cleared his throat. “What the heck went on in New York?”
Harley and I exchanged a glance. “A spell went wrong, and I had to do a little bit of on-the-fly fixing. No biggie, it just brought on the whole Purge thing way sooner than I would’ve liked,” I replied. “I was already tired, so it used up a lot of energy. Still, nobody got hurt. No harm, no foul. All’s well that ends well and all that clichéd fluff.”
Harley’s ringtone cut through the awkward silence that followed. Clearly, Raffe didn’t believe what I was telling him, but I could come clean later. The Grimoire debacle was Harley’s tale to tell, not mine. I wasn’t about to snitch on her.
“Who’s calling?” I asked.
“It’s Wade,” she replied, putting him on speakerphone. “Hi, Wade, I’m in the infirmary with Raffe and Santana.”
“Good, that saves me a couple of phone calls,” he replied.
“Compassionate as ever,” I teased.
A short silence followed. “Sorry… I hope you’re feeling better, Santana.”
“That’s better. You were saying?”
“We’ve received word from the surveillance crew. They’ve spotted some suspicious activity around the abandoned factory; a few cars pulled up and parked by the fences for a while, before driving off again. There have been people walking close to the building, too, though surveillance agents have kept their distance so they don’t scare these guys off. We think Micah will probably be moved there soon, so we’ve got to go ASAP.”
Harley nodded. “I’ll meet you in the foyer in five minutes.”
“See you there. And hurry up.”
She rolled her eyes. “Will do.”
“Punch a few of those nasty little punks for me, will you?” I said, looking up at her with mournful eyes. I wanted to go and help, but I was in no condition to fight a sickly octogenarian, let alone a horde of powerful magicals.
“I’m sorry, Santana. I wish you could come.”
“That’s right, rub that salt deep,” I teased halfheartedly. “You should get going before Wade throws a hissy fit.”
She turned to Raffe. “Raffe? You coming?”
“I should stay,” he replied.
“Pfft, don’t be ridiculous! There’s no way you’re staying here with feeble old me,” I said. “I mean it, Raffe. They might need help from… They might need a bit of your hidden strength, if it turns nasty. Protect the others, okay? Make sure they all get back safe.”
“If you’re coming or staying, I need to know,” Harley urged. “We’ve got to move now.”
He looked at me with uncertain eyes. “Will you be okay on your own?”
“Raffe, I’m not helpless. I’ve just had an embarrassing experience. My ego is more wounded than anything else. Go on, scoot! Don’t make me chase you out of here, because I will. With my hospital gown flapping in the breeze, I swear I will.”
“Stay safe, okay?” he murmured, dipping his head to kiss my cheek.
“And you,” I replied. “I mean it, make sure everyone comes back safe. Do you hear me?”
“I will,” he said, before sprinting out of the room with Harley.
I watched them leave, my heart heavy. I’m talking to you, too, Kadar. Bring my people back. Bring Raffe back to me. I’m counting on you.
Thirty-One
Harley
The Jeep sped along the coastal highway, heading for the edge of the Tijuana River Mouth State Marine Conservation Area. That’s one hell of a mouthful—couldn’t they have come up with a catchier name? It was the very spot where Marjorie had pictured Micah, though her visions weren’t exactly reliable. However, since the Shapeshifter had grabbed her and put that image in her mind, she had envisioned Micah at this location a couple of times, after touching objects belonging to him. It was almost as though the Shapeshifter vision had opened up more images to her, channeling them through the items we already had. It made her able to focus properly on Micah, feeling him out, expanding her Clairvoyance so she could more reliably confirm his location. The highest probability for where he was going to be was the warehouse, and he was due to arrive there… well, pretty damn soon.
Channing had wanted Marjorie to come with us, so we’d have her by our side if we needed more visions, but Alton had vetoed it completely. I liked to think it was for protective reasons, but I knew there was likely a selfish element to it, too. Marjorie had an impressive power; he couldn’t risk the coven losing that.
Astrid had stayed behind with her, to keep her safe from any further attacks. She’d set up a perimeter of cameras and shocking devices with Smartie, alongside a sizeable security detail. Marjorie’s initial guards had survived the attack but were recovering in the infirmary. Nowhere was safe with this mole in our midst, but she was better off at the coven than risking being snatched mid-mission. We couldn’t afford to give Katherine what she needed. After learning about those five rituals from Finch, I figured that’s what she needed the supercharged kids for. How and where and why—those were questions we couldn’t answer yet.
Garrett had been permitted to come with us, on the proviso that he wore the camera on his chest. He’d relented, eventually. He didn’t want to miss out on something like this. As we’d left the coven, Astrid had watched us from the foyer of the Fleet Science Center. Her fear for all of us had been palpable, though much of it had been directed toward Garrett. I guessed things were really starting to heat up between them, if she was feeling that worried about him.
It was a pretty packed vehicle, with Channing, Stella, Wade, Garrett, Tatyana, Dylan, Raffe, and me all squished into five seats. Somehow, Raffe was in the trunk, peering over the seats, while Tatyana was happily curled up in Dylan’s arms. There hadn’t been time to take two, with my Daisy’s keys still in my bedroom. It would have cost us more time for me to run up and get them, so we’d decided to squish into one. Now, I was starting to regret our decision. My muscles were cramping, and Channing didn’t appear to understand the idea of deodorant. With Wade in the driver’s seat, I was stuck next to GI Joe.