Home > Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Harley Merlin #3)(7)

Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Harley Merlin #3)(7)
Author: Bella Forrest

I trusted the Rag Team with my life. Even Garrett had proven his loyalty, though we hadn’t brought him into the fold properly yet. I presumed Wade had invited him after their hatchet-burying. And if Wade trusted him, then so did I. The team needed to know what was going on, and Alton had given me the go-ahead.

“We have to find them first, before concerning ourselves with that,” Wade cut in.

“I know.” My tone came off sharper than I’d intended.

“Actually, we should probably attempt to do both at the same time,” Tatyana interjected. “If we find the kids but we have nowhere safe to place them, then we are back at square one. Katherine and her minions will only come for them again.”

“But why?” Garrett asked. “I mean, what does she want them for?”

“That’s the part we don’t know,” I replied.

“That is the part we don’t know?” Wade countered. “Let’s be honest here. We don’t really know a whole lot about her plan. We’ve got no idea where she is, and we have no idea how she’s keeping herself so well hidden.”

Raffe nodded. “We should’ve picked up on a hint of her whereabouts by now. It’s like she’s invisible.”

I raised a finger, a flashbulb going off in my head. “Not invisible, but as good as.”

“What do you mean?” Wade asked.

“Magicals tend to inherit at least one of their parents’ Chaos types, right? Based on Finch’s ability, then, I think it’s safe to assume that we might be dealing with another Shapeshifter. That’d be my guess, anyway, as to how she’s moving under the radar. Maybe she’s got a whole armory of people she can shift into—she could be anywhere, at any time, and we wouldn’t know.”

“Can we find that out? Are there records?” Santana asked, turning to Astrid.

“I’ve tried looking Katherine Shipton up before, but most of her records have been wiped,” she replied. “I don’t know how, or why, but someone has done a good cover-up for her. There’s barely a genealogy trail.”

I frowned. “But there is one?”

“At the New York Coven, they should have hard copies of her family tree, if nothing else.”

“Then I’ll kill two birds with one stone. I’ll go to New York to find out more about my father and look through her family tree at the same time—well, my family tree, too, I guess,” I replied, enthusiasm sparking inside me. “I’ll check the lineage to see if anyone else was detected as a Shapeshifter. If there’s a pattern, then we’ll have a clearer idea of what we’re dealing with.”

Garret grumbled. “Yeah, but given the stigma surrounding us Shapeshifters, it might not be the most accurate source of intel. I should know.”

“It’s the best we’ve got,” Wade cut in.

“We can safely assume that Hiram Merlin wasn’t a Shapeshifter, and we know that Harley isn’t one,” Astrid ventured, gesturing toward me. “So, by conclusion, we have to believe that Hester wasn’t one either. She and Katherine were twins, yes, but they were fraternal, not identical, so it might have skipped Hester altogether.”

Tatyana tapped her chin. “The maternal line may hold some answers.”

“We should probably get started on some Children of Chaos research, too,” Raffe said. “The one thing we’re totally certain about is that psychopath’s endgame of becoming one, right? So, if we can delve into some info on that, maybe we can figure out what she needs those kids for. And, maybe, we can figure out a way to stop her.”

“Good thinking,” I replied. “In that case, we’ll have to split ourselves into a few jobs.”

Wade nodded. “Finding the kids, finding Jacob and Isadora, finding out more about the Children of Chaos.”

“All while attempting to stay alive,” Garrett deadpanned. “How hard can that be?”

“No negativity allowed, chico,” Santana chided.

I smiled, as Garrett looked suitably chastened. “It’s a shame we don’t have Jacob here now. He could probably help us out with his Sensate ability. I don’t know what his range is like, but he could pick up some kind of trail.”

“A human bloodhound?” Garrett snickered.

I ignored him. “We need to find the kids before Katherine poisons their minds. The others might be harder to break than Kenneth Willow, but I’ve got no doubt that Katherine will find a way to make each and every one of them snap, to get what she wants out of them.”

“At least we know she hasn’t taken them out of state,” Astrid said. Everyone turned to look at her.

“How do you know that?”

“Magical state border security is very powerful,” she explained. “If Katherine took the kids across state lines, we’d know about it. She’s on the watchlist—one hint of her, and there’d be alarms ringing from here to Yuma.”

Dylan cleared his throat. “So the kids are still hidden somewhere in California?”

“Bingo!” Astrid punched the air with overzealous enthusiasm.

Just then, the frosted-glass doors burst open and four figures strode in—Alton, Leonidas Levi, Remington Knightshade, and Imogene Whitehall. I imagined Nicholas Mephiles was still at the banquet hall, enjoying the spread. There’d be no buttons left on his waistcoat by the time he was done.

We all whirled around in surprise. Their entrance had brought the Aquarium creatures to the fore. Leonidas banged hard on the first tank he passed, sending a shockwave through the rest. Immediately, the water beasts turned on their tails—or tentacles—and swam for the depths once more. Puffs of inky fluid merged with the clear water, the creatures dispersing.

Two uniformed magicals strode in behind the quartet, dressed in black regalia. I didn’t recognize them from the faculty, nor did anyone else seem to. I saw my confusion reflected back at me in the faces of my friends. What the hell is going on?

“Glad to see you took my advice. We’ve been searching for you,” Alton said, breaking the tension with a smile. “You see, I didn’t mean you had to get back to work right away, Harley. You could’ve enjoyed your celebration a little longer. Still, I admire the fighting spirit in all of you. Undoubtedly, we’ll be eating leftovers at dinnertime, so you’ve hardly missed out on much.”

“Indeed you haven’t,” Levi remarked, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

Alton ignored him, though I could feel the director simmering with irritation. See, you piss everyone off, Leonidas—even one of the most patient men in the biz.

“You’ll be pleased to hear that we’ve actually come to lessen the workload,” he continued, gesturing to the militant pair. “These two will be working with you from now on and helping out with the investigations. A job shared and all that.” He laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I got the feeling he’d been shanghaied into bringing these two on board. “This is Stella Chan and Channing Madison, from the Los Angeles Coven.”

Stella looked to be in her early twenties, with poker-straight, black hair that framed her stunning Asian features in a severe bob. Her dark eyes looked dead ahead, devoid of emotion, while her hands remained firmly behind her back. Beside her stood a giant beefcake of a dude with a sharp buzzcut. His biceps were the size of my head. Steely gray eyes stared at the farthest wall of the Aquarium, as muscles twitched in a square jaw that would’ve put Johnny Bravo to shame. Glancing at my friends, I noticed them gawking, too. He was almost comically muscular and looked like he might burst out of his military uniform at any moment.

“They’re here to assist,” Imogene said, urging them to come forward. “With so many magicals out there, looking for the missing children and setting up security measures, Leonidas thought you could use some extra hands. In these uncertain times, help must be welcomed.” I could tell she wasn’t entirely keen on the idea of it, either. Then again, Levi had the deciding vote. What you say goes, isn’t that right?

Seeing Imogene again, I wanted to take her to one side to ask her about the silver bracelet on her forearm. I’d never seen a device that could deflect the powers of Empaths before, nor had I read up on any. After all, I was still plowing through the stack of books that the Rag Team had suggested I read, to get myself up to speed with all things magical. If such devices existed, I was eager to know about them. If anyone had one, of course it was going to be her. I mean, she searched the globe in her spare time, looking for rare and powerful magical artifacts—most of which ended up in the Esprit shop at Waterfront Park’s hidden underworld of bars, restaurants, and stores.

An idea popped into my head. If I didn’t get the chance to speak with Imogene before she left, I would find a moment to slip into that shop again and ask if they knew anything about anti-Empath charms. If they had one, maybe they’d let me examine it.

Only Remington remained quiet throughout the unexpected arrival, his gaze fixed on Dylan. A rush of strange familiarity bristled through my veins, combined with a deep-rooted flicker of nervous affection. He didn’t know I was watching him. His caramel eyes glimmered with unspoken sadness, while his brows pinched in a frown. It was almost like he knew Dylan, or at least about his orphan background.

Magicals raised in the human foster system tended to generate a certain feeling of pity from coven-raised magicals like Knightshade and others. I made a mental note to ask Dylan about his biological parents, to satisfy a personal curiosity—from one foster kid to another. I’d always dreamed of a happy ending to my origin story. I obviously hadn’t quite gotten it, but maybe Dylan could, for both of us. That was all any of us wanted.

“I tried to tell the LA Coven that they’ve already given us far too much,” Alton said, making a point of avoiding Levi’s gaze, “but they insisted they could spare Channing and Stella. I’m sure you’ll make them feel welcome.”

“The LA Coven has supplied you with ample additional security for the Bestiary. These two just happened to be left over,” Leonidas replied. “Might as well put them to good use.”

   
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