Harley Merlin 12

floating. I hovered for a split second before plummeting toward the black water below. I had no way to stop my fall, especially as I had no idea what had changed. Was someone trying to snap me out of the trance? Had I done something wrong?
I braced myself for impact. Casper-Finch hit the water and disintegrated into a million blue sparks. Pain surged through me like never before—worse than Blanche’s ice wall, worse than anything Katherine had ever done to me, worse than Kenneth’s murder attempt.
Everything turned white.
I rocketed out of the blinding light, fighting my way to the surface. Dragging air into my lungs, I forced my eyes open. I was back in the study room, panting, my hands gripping the edge of the desk. Sweat drenched my clothes and plastered my hair to my forehead. I could taste the salt of it in my mouth, mixed with the metallic tang of blood. I must’ve bitten my tongue.
“Mr. Merlin?” Mary swept forward. “Mr. Merlin, are you well? My goodness, you look an absolute fright!”
“Thirsty…” I croaked. “So thirsty.”
“I am not surprised. You are perspiring profusely!”
I managed a pained smile. “You don’t say.”
“Do you require assistance? May I fetch someone for you? Oh dear, you look rather unwell.”
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”
“Are you certain? I would hate for you to… die unexpectedly.”
“Don’t start sizing me up for a coffin just yet.” I let go of the desk, my knuckles darkening from bone-white to a less ghoulish pink. “How long was I out?”
Mary shrugged. “Ten hours or so.”
“What?” I gaped at her.
“Should I not have allowed you to stay away so long?” She wrung her hands nervously.
“No… I just… didn’t expect you to say that. I thought it might’ve been a couple of hours, tops.” No wonder I felt exhausted. To be honest, I was a little put out that nobody had come to check whether I was alive. Maybe Mary had given Melody updates. I had no idea. I’d been floating across Antarctica for the last ten hours.
“Mr. Merlin!” Her gaze flitted toward the paper in front of me. “Mr. Merlin, you filled the page!”
I mopped my brow with the back of my forearm. “Huh?”
“The map, Mr. Merlin! You finished it!”
My gaze darted to the paper. Sure enough, all the lines and images and names were there, from corner to shining corner, just like the first one. The names were written in that same unfamiliar language. Atlantean, according to Erebus. Even though I couldn’t pronounce the symbols, I knew what the words meant:
Black Rock, South Dawn, Land of the Green Lights, The Sapphire Sea, Where the Dancing of the Spirits Takes Place, and the Gateway between Life and Death. The glowing stars were there again, as well—two of them pulsated with blue light. One shone above the Gateway between Life and Death, and the other above the spot where Atlantis itself lay.
“Son of a Nutcracker!” I pounded the desk with my fists. Startled, Mary flew right back to the far wall and disappeared through it.
Aha, not so fun now that the shoe is on the other foot! She pulled herself together and floated over, clasping at her brooch.
“Congratulations, Mr. Merlin,” she said, her tone oddly sad.
“You don’t sound too happy.”
She smiled. “I am, but it means my watch over you is done.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.” I reached for her hand, momentarily forgetting what she was. My fingers passed straight through, and an odd sensation made me shiver. “Seriously, you got my ass in gear. I’d still be looking for an excuse not to finish if it hadn’t been for you.”
“I would prefer if you did not use such coarse language, but I thank you for the sentiment. At least, I think I do—I am still not entirely sure of your meaning, most of the time.” That seemed to cheer her up.
I laughed. “It’s just my way of saying thanks. Now, I’ve got to scoot. I have good news for everyone!” I jumped up on shaky legs, taking a second to walk off the residual effects of the map-making. I’d probably ache all over in the morning, but that would be Tomorrow Finch’s problem. Right now, I had adrenaline coursing through me, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
Rolling the map into a scroll, I headed for the door. I was about to pull the handle when Mary emerged through it, making me stagger back.
“Mary! Dammit!”
“My apologies.” She looked embarrassed. “I want to give you a warning before you go.”
My heart rate slowed. “A warning?”
“I know you are already aware of the angry souls within this mansion, but I feel it my duty, as your sometimes-sentinel, to tell you to be careful in your travels around these hallways. Not all the souls here are angry, but not all of them are friendly, either.” She lowered her gaze. “I would hate for anything bad to befall you. I know that you and I have only known one another for a day or so, but I feel we have become friends. I do not get to make friends very often here.”
“Likewise.” I felt bad for yelling at her. “And thanks for the warning. I’ll be careful.”
“Do not be a stranger, Mr. Merlin. I will endeavor not to frighten you next time,” she said, though I didn’t believe her. She had to get her kicks somewhere, and who was I to deny her some spiritual joy? Even if it was at my expense.
“Catch you later, Miss Foster.” I grinned. “That means ‘I’ll see you soon.’”
“Ah! Very good.” She stepped aside so I didn’t have to put my hand through her to get to the door handle.
I opened the door and walked into the hallway, my hand wrapped snugly around the map. All I could think about was how amazing it would feel to slap this success in Erebus’s face like a wet fish.
“Suck it, Ereb—” My self-congratulation turned into a shriek as I rounded the