Merlin's Secret Read online

  He’d paid Ricky a handsome sum to come up with a magical way to do so. In the end, Ricky had cast a powerful Sable charm on a tie bar he could wear with nearly any outfit. It was a gold and silver representation of the United Americas’ flag.

  Ricky had obtained a sample of the wife’s blood from a hospital bank after she’d donated there weeks before. By soaking the pin in her blood and casting the Sable spell on it, Ricky created a charm that exerted control over the senator’s wife by anyone wearing it.

  The charm had been the most powerful — and perhaps the most immoral thing — that he’d ever created. And Ricky was incredibly proud.

  It was such a shame that nobody could ever know about it.

  Ricky had checked with his private banker earlier in the day. The man was a client and looked the other way when he laundered enormous sums through the anonymous, numbered account. The senator’s final payment had arrived. So, tonight, Ricky would deliver as promised.

  Ricky wished he could see the look on the senator’s face when he tried the tie bar on his unsuspecting wife. Ricky didn’t care if she was cheating or not. It was fun to create such things, then watch the ways people used his magic to influence others around them.

  After they dropped off the item with the senator, he and Ellie walked down the red stone steps outside. She didn’t know what he’d delivered. Ricky was grinning from ear to ear as he thought about the ways that the senator might control his wife.

  Ellie mistook his grin and playfully jabbed him with her elbow as they walked toward their waiting cab. “You’re thinking about my gift…” she said. “Aren’t you the wicked thing?”

  “You have no idea, my dear.” Ricky reached out to pull open the cab’s door.

  Ellie giggled and climbed inside.

  He walked around the other side and got in the cab, telling the cabbie to take them back to the Enclave. He looked over at Ellie, grinning, then leaned in for a kiss. “That was the last run of the night. I’m ready for my present.”

  “You’re so bad,” Ellie said.

  Even in the cab’s dim light, Ricky could tell she was blushing.

  “You like bad boys, Ellie. You told me so yourself.”

  “The question is,” Ellie asked, leaning close so her lips were almost touching his ear, “do bad boys like me?”

  “Take me home and I’ll show you how much I like you.” He turned to kiss her, but she leaned away from him, stealing his chance at a kiss.

  Ellie giggled. “Silly. Not here. You’ll have to wait.”

  Ricky laughed and settled back in his seat. He’d wait a little longer. He liked this girl, enough that he had decided to share his deepest secrets with her—after tonight.

  Ellie was special, maybe special enough to be trusted with knowing it all. Tonight could be the night he found a partner, a companion to join him as his plans for the future fell neatly into place.

  CHAPTER 8

  Ricky rolled over, reaching out to run his fingers along the curve of Ellie’s body, from shoulder to hips. Her soft, regular breathing was the only sound he could hear, despite the usual busy nighttime streets below the apartment window.

  The night and her gift had been wonderful, more than he could have imagined. Ricky had been with women before, but never with anyone he had an emotional connection to. First the dinner, the exhilaration of their night’s charm running, and then their return to Ellie’s apartment.

  The perfect evening.

  Ricky reversed his gentle caress, tracing the soft, curving skin in the other direction.

  “Ricky, stop it. That tickles,” Ellie murmured, with the hint of a giggle.

  He reached around and wriggled his fingers against her soft stomach.

  She laughed aloud and rolled over, grasping for his hands. “Stop it, I said.”

  “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. You’re so beautiful. I can’t believe this is all real.”

  “I feel the same way, Ricky. I’m glad we did this. I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too,” Ricky answered in reflex.

  It was odd how it spilled out so easily. He hadn’t professed love for another person since Mother’s death, and he felt a twinge of betrayal to her memory inside. Then he looked again at Ellie, lying beside him. He felt like saying it again and again. He did love this girl, this woman.

  Ellie leaned forward, pressing her body against his as she reached in for a kiss. He pulled her closer, returning the kiss, relishing the intimate moment.

  After a few minutes of soft caresses and gentle kisses, Ricky gently pushed Ellie away and held her gaze.

  “I want to show you something, something special to me.”

  “What is it?” Ellie asked. “Is it a present?”

  “No, not really. It’s something I’ve been working on ever since I came to Baltimore with Artos. I’ve never wanted to tell anyone before. It’s always been my private aspiration. But now, with you so close … with you showing me how much you care for me, that you love me, I want to share it with you, too.”

  “Alright.” Ellie looked around the room. “Where is it? Did you bring it with you?”

  “It’s not here. We’ll need to get dressed. Then I can take you there. It’s a secret place that only I know about. I keep special things there, projects I’m working on, projects we can share in together.”

  He turned, rolled out of bed, and pulled on his pants.

  Ellie rose and crossed the room to retrieve her clothes as well. “I can’t wait to see it, Ricky,” she said, beaming. “I’ve never seen you so excited about something before.”

  Ricky pulled on his shirt and shoes while he watched her dress in jeans and a T-shirt. She grabbed a sweater — it was chilly out this time of year.

  He grabbed his coat and her hand, then pulled her towards the door. She would be so proud when she saw what he was working on.

  Ricky checked his watch. “Come on. We have to hurry if we want to catch the number twenty’s final run. Otherwise, we’ll have to walk all the way there.”

  Ellie took his hand, her fingers intertwining with his as they left her apartment on their way to his hideout.

  ———

  They caught the last bus, then Ricky took Ellie on the winding route through a neighborhood of abandoned row homes and businesses on the edge of the Enclave. He kept looking behind them to make sure they weren’t being followed. After a while, he caught Ellie checking behind them, too.

  “I know I’m being paranoid. This is a big secret and I’m only willing to share it with you.”

  “What is it, Ricky?” Ellie asked again, clearly nervous. “This is a rough neighborhood. It’s not a good idea to come here alone, day or night. I’m a little worried being here, even with you.”

  “I won’t ever let anyone do anything to hurt you. Don’t you know that?”

  “I know you’d try to defend me,” Ellie replied. “But if we were attacked by a gang of some sort, I don’t know what you could do.”

  “I’m more powerful than most people know. You don’t have anything to worry about. I promise.” Ricky pointed to an alley between a section of row houses ahead. “Come on. We’re almost there.”

  Ellie followed him down the alley until he stopped between two buildings and checked behind them again. He bent down and pushed against the brick wall. She gasped when the doorway appeared in a section of solid brick wall.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” he asked, pleased with his deception.

  “How did you do that?”

  “It’s an old family secret. Just something my mother showed me a long time ago.”

  Ricky fished a small flashlight from his pocket and directed the beam into the dark opening. The light illuminated a set of stairs going down. He took Ellie by the hand again, then led her down the basement steps. Ricky had spent a lot of time here and had made the hideout comfortable enough, using his limited resources to make something special.

  The first thing he’d done was block off the access to t
he interior staircase. If someone were to try the door on the first floor that once led to the stairs, they’d find an empty closet now. The only entrance to his underground lair was now through the secret entrance in the alley outside.

  He gave Ellie the flashlight to look around with while he found the kerosene lamp and matches he kept in the room, to provide light and warmth. He struck a match to light the wick. The lamp’s warm glow filled the small chamber with soft light. Ricky reached up and hung it on a nail protruding from one of the exposed beams.

  Ricky turned to Ellie, admiring her beauty in the yellow glow. He held out his hand and retrieved the flashlight, then gestured around the room. “What do you think?”

  “It’s nice….”

  “It’s not a place to stay, Ellie. It’s my workshop. It’s where I can try out new spells and practice my art.”

  Ellie looked around again. “You’re creating art down here?”

  “By ‘art’ I mean the special magic I’ve been able to harness. That’s what I wanted to show you, Ellie. It’s my biggest secret and it’s going to change the world.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.” Ellie looked around her again, peering into the darkest recesses of the room.

  “You already know how I came over from Europe with Artos, right?”

  Ellie nodded.

  “I come from a special family of chanters there. A proud line of sorcerers who can trace our lineage back to the beginnings of magic in the hands of man. Because of that, we have a special affinity to magic that others do not have.”

  “What do you mean by ‘affinity?’”

  “My family could sense things about the flow of magic, not just within ourselves but in the world around us. That’s how my mother knew to take me to Liverpool. She felt the magic failing around her. I felt it, too, though I was too young to understand what I sensed. And that’s what I want to tell you about. I feel it again, here in the United Americas. Magic is failing here, too.”

  Horror crossed her face. She’d heard the stories, just like everyone else.

  “It won’t happen soon, maybe not for decades, but it will happen.” Ricky paused to study Ellie’s expression. “You have to understand. It’s not what I want to happen, but it will. And when it does, I’ll be ready. I’ll have a way to keep the magic running, at least for myself and possibly one or two others I can trust with the secret.”

  Ellie looked around at the hideout again, then back to Ricky. “I don’t know or really understand what you’re talking about, but maybe you should confess your fears to Artos or the authorities. Maybe they can do something to—”

  “They won’t do what is needed because the answer will be too unpopular. The public would never agree. They won’t have the fortitude to make the most difficult choices.”

  “What kind of choices?”

  Ricky could sense her suspicion. He pushed forward and kept talking, hoping to overcome her fears, desperate for her understanding.

  “Let me show you what I’ve been doing. That might explain it better. Come, have a seat.” He pointed to a small, tattered couch in the center of the room. “I’ve discovered that magic isn’t just something we control and pull out of the air. It’s inherent to life itself. That is why Sable magic is so powerful. It feeds off the life force of its user or—”

  “That’s also why Sable is against the law, Ricky. You know that.”

  “Yes, but what if you could not only access the magical energy around you, but also the energy of a person or creature’s life force to make a charm or spell work? Then you could have that energy for yourself. Maybe you could even come up with a way to store it. Then, when all the magic runs out — like it already did in Europe — you could keep some parts of civilization running, maybe save some lives.”

  “But where would this life energy come from? You’d have to take that energy from somewhere.”

  “I’ll show you.” Ricky picked up a small crate from the floor. “I’ve got a box. Inside, there’s an army of roaches. They’re minuscule compared to a larger, more complex life form, but they serve to prove the concept. Over there is a light bulb hooked up to the home’s wiring.”

  Ellie followed his finger to a bare light fixture dangling from the basement ceiling. She turned back to him. “So you’re going to use those roaches to power that light?”

  “Exactly. Now watch.”

  Ricky opened the crate and dumped its contents into a small, empty glass aquarium. The roaches sensed an opening and most came pouring from the crate as he dumped it. Once the aquarium was half-filled, Ricky set the crate down and held his hands over the seething mass of bugs.

  He closed his eyes. It was a difficult spell to cast because he acted as both siphon for the energy, converter from magic to electricity, and conduit for the lightbulb. He would have to refine that process.

  Sweat beaded on his forehead as the familiar surge of pleasure claimed him. Soon, Ricky was rewarded with a flicker of light.

  He poured more energy into the spell, drawing every last bit from the roaches below and sending it to the bulb. The entire room was suddenly alive, casting mottled shadows against the walls.

  Ricky pulled the last dregs of power at his feet, sensing the life force winking out from each insect as its spark was extinguished, eventually killing them all.

  Then he relaxed. The bulb burned bright, pulsing with energy.

  The dark mass of insects in the aquarium was still.

  Ellie watched the lightbulb fade as the energy feeding it slowly died, then at the dead mass of insects in the aquarium. She turned her gaze on Ricky, who was trying to hide his glee, the raw joy and release he always felt after casting with Sable.

  Even better than sex.

  “You killed them, Ricky,” Ellie muttered. “You killed them all.”

  “It was necessary to show the experiment’s success. I wanted to prove that I could do what I said. I’ll have to figure out how to scale it into a much larger project before it would have any real effect on the way that the cities are run.”

  “But you killed them. You used your magic to steal their life. Until they were dead.”

  Ricky failed to register Ellie’s horror, thinking her awed by his ability.

  “They were insects, Ellie. Nobody likes roaches. Surely you’ve stepped on one in your apartment?”

  “Well, yes, but that was different. This is killing for the sake of killing. It’s wrong, Ricky. Can’t you see that?”

  “But this could save the world, save this country from certain failure,” Ricky argued. “I want to share this power with you, Ellie. The world’s magic is going to fail. You may not be able to see it, but I do. We can do this together.”

  Ellie shook her head, and for the first time, Ricky realized what she was thinking.

  Anger made his face hot. He’d brought her here to share something special, something of which he was immensely proud. But Ellie didn’t see his accomplishment. She only saw a minor moral distraction from the true problem.

  “You should go, Ellie. I think it was a mistake bringing you here.” Ricky pointed to the stairs.

  “Ricky, you’re misunderstanding me. Think about what you’re proposing. Don’t you see how wrong that is?”

  “You’re the one who doesn’t understand, Ellie. I’ve seen what happens. It’s better that some give their lives and power so that others might live. Once my process is perfected, it will be optimized to cost the fewest lives while providing the most energy to those in need, those who are deemed the most worthy.”

  “And who decides, Ricky? You?” Ellie shouted. “This is sick. And you’re sick for even thinking I’d go along with a crazy idea like this!”

  Anger swelled. This time, he was unwilling to stop it.

  The lightbulb flared bright white as Ricky directed the still-active spell at Ellie.

  She cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, twitching in a fetal position.

  Ricky felt the power bleeding from Ellie. So much pow
er. He’d only tried this on insects before. He closed his eyes, basking in the wash of power that coursed through him.

  ———

  But with his eyes closed, Ricky couldn’t see Ellie.

  Reaching out with her hands, she pulled herself to the stairs and managed to drag her body up until she rolled — half dead — into the alley outside.

  Away from the basement and out of Ricky’s sight, the spell was broken. Gasping, Ellie climbed to her feet and limped away, stumbling as she heard him call her name.

  She had to get away. She tried to pick up speed, her limbs protesting with stabbing pain.

  Somehow, Ellie made it back to the main boulevard, wobbling to the bus stop before falling to the sidewalk.

  A police car passed as she fell.

  Ellie barely saw the flickering lights as the cruiser pulled over, pain and awareness washed away by the curtain of darkness falling across her mind.

  CHAPTER 9

  Ellie woke with a gasp, trying to sit up and look around, afraid of where she might be.

  She was in a hospital or medical clinic of some sort. A tube connected her arm to a bag of clear fluid dripping next to the bed. Wires were attached to her chest and abdomen. Looking up, she saw a monitor attached to the wall with many numbers and lines.

  She looked around for some sort of button or phone — anything to call someone — when a nurse in green scrubs entered the room.

  “Oh, good. You’re up,” she said. “We were all a bit worried. You came in unconscious when the officers carried you into the hospital. We didn’t even know who you were. Luckily, someone came looking for you. Your name is Ellie, right?”

  “Yes.…” Ellie looked past the nurse to the door.

  Had Ricky come and found her? Had he been the one to identify her?

  The thought gave her a chill. She shook it off and said, “Who knew my name?”

  “Mr. Merrilyn recognized you from a photo the police showed him,” said the nurse. “He’s one of the hospital’s private benefactors and arranged for your private room. He’s a wonderful man, isn’t he? How do you know him?”