Within seconds I’d tucked the book back under my arm and portaled into the cell behind her. Thankfully, the cell only restricted Shade powers, so mine still worked perfectly. I needed that upper hand on Harley right now. Grabbing her shoulder, I spun her around so that she faced me.
“No,youlisten, you little brat!” I snarled. “I have a huge mission here. Billions of souls are depending on me and I need your help. So get with the program or I will make your life a living hell.”
Her head whipped back in shock at my outburst, and then she gave me a halfcocked smirk. “Maybe wearerelated.”
I rolled my eyes. “We are, and I can prove it. And then you need to start training with me to take on Apollyon and destroy the Netherworld.”
My sister’s role in all this was a bit dicey. I knew Apollyon needed to consume both of our souls to be released to roam the Earth unrestricted, but Skye also said she’d seen snippets of the final battle and Harley needed to be fighting by my side. The fact that I needed Harley made sense. As Apollyon’s flesh and blood, we both had some of his abilities, so together maybe we were as powerful as him.
But what would happen if I couldn’t convince her? Was that a guaranteed fail? Skye hadn’t come out and said that, but she’d certainly alluded to it.
Harley tipped her head back and full-on cackle laughed. It was straight Disney villain and it gave me chills.
“You are so deluded,” she mocked. “I’m a Shade. I don’t care about your mission, and I’m not destroying the one place that gives me power.”
I stepped closer to her. “Don’t you care about doing the right thing? People’s loved ones are stuck in the Netherworld when they should be in a peaceful resting spot called Tartarus because our father trapped them there and is consuming them for the power that runs in your veins.”
For the first time I saw her bad girl mask falter.
Good. Maybe I’m getting through to her?
But as soon as I thought it, a cold calculating look settled over Harley’s features, smashing the hope that I was making headway.
“You think I care about other people’s loved ones? I’ve never been loved,” she declared, and my heart, which was already injured from the news of Skye and my boyfriend avoiding me, tore in two. “Not by a mother or any other parental figure, not by a boyfriend, and not by a teacher. No one has ever cared about me, so I’m not going to care about anyone else. Get over it.”
I realized then that she was a female Gage. Broken by her circumstances but not irredeemable. I’d been going about this all wrong. Yelling at her wasn’t working. I needed to be honest.
“Ilove you,” I told her truthfully. “I don’t even know you, but the second I heard you existed, the moment I found out I had a sister, I loved you.”
Her bottom lip shook, but she gritted her jaw as she pushed the tears back. “Well, that’s a mistake, because I don’t give a shit about you.”
I didn’t believe her. That same flicker of goodness I’d seen in Gage also existed in her. I knew it.
Reaching into my jacket, I pulled out the book from under my arm. She watched me with suspicion as I held it up.
“This is Apollyon’s life book. It contains memories of everything he’s ever done. Only you and I can go into it because we have his DNA.”
Her dark eyebrow raised and she assessed me. “Gointoit?”
I nodded. “Yeah, our soul separates from our physical body and we get to relive Apollyon’s memories. The only way out is a portal back here. I’m trusting that what you see in here will convince you to be on my side and you will stay here at the Lumen Compound with me when we are done. But once we return, you could also portal back to LA. It’s your choice,” I told her. “I won’t keep you as a prisoner anymore. If you come back here and stay, you’ll be one of us. If you go back to LA, I’ll try to finish my mission alone and Apollyon will probably come for and kill us both.”
There was so much confliction in her gaze—surprise, desire, anger, she was a ball of emotions. Suddenly she just scoffed at me again and cast an angry glare at the cell bars. “Whatever. I’m still stuck in this cell that’s restricting my Shade magic. I can’t portal anywhere while in here.”
I took a deep breath. I was taking a huge risk right now, but at the end of the day I couldn’t force Harley to help me. She had to choose our side on her own, and this was the only way to convince her.
With my free hand I reached into my pocket and pulled out the extra bracelet I’d had made for Harley back when I thought she’d lovingly come home with me.
“This will allow you to walk freely through our wards,” I said, and plopped it into her hand. I pulled my magic up and funneled it at the open bars, creating a portal outside of the cell.
If I wanted her to trust me, I’d have to start here.
Her eyes widened and she clicked on the bracelet, stepping through the portal. I followed her.
With her freedom now before her, I pulled on the glove and opened the book, flicking through the pages to get to the one I wanted.
With my non-gloved hand, I hovered over the page. “Touch the page and follow me. I’m going to show you how Apollyon deceived both our mothers.”
I was hoping that once Harley saw how evil Apollyon was, and the part he’d played in her growing up without anyone to love her, she’d be motivated to join my cause.
