Merry Gentry - Merry's Development of Powers

Merry's Development of Powers

Early in A Kiss of Shadows, Merry is assaulted by a human using Branwyn's Tears, a magical aphrodisiac/date-rape drug; this apparently unlocked her powers, as when she later had intercourse with her boyfriend, who was a roane, she returned his ability to change shapes (which he had lost after a fisherman burned his seal-skin) back to him. Later, she is attacked by Nerys the Grey, a night hag, and in the process of defending herself, accidentally turns Nerys into a screaming, agonized ball of inside-out flesh. (As Nerys was a creature of Faerie, she was able to survive the process, much to Merry's horror and revulsion.) This power is known as the Hand of Flesh, which Merry's father, Essus, also possessed. After this, Doyle gives her Queen Andais's sword, Mortal Dread, which she uses to put the inside-out night hag out of her misery. In the process, she becomes covered with blood, and Doyle tells her that in order to cement her powers, she had to cover herself in the blood of an enemy (which was his purpose in giving her the blade).

In A Caress of Twilight, Merry must protect Maeve Reed, an exile from the Seelie court, from the Nameless (when the fey came to America they gave up there most deadly magicks; the Nameless was made up of those magicks). During the battle, she charges the mass of energy and puts her left hand out; she feels her blood begin to boil, and large gashes appear on the enormous mass of magic. All Merry has to do is think "Bleed" (occasionally "Bleed for me!"), and the person (or things) bleeds. This is the development of the Hand of Blood.

Near the end of Seduced by Moonlight, after Merry duels with a Sidhe, her opponent does not die, though she is mortally wounded and has (as part of the pre-battle ritual) shared blood with Merry. As sharing Merry's mortal blood has previously caused other opponents to become mortal in battle, this may indicate that Merry is no longer a mortal. However, later books have not yet followed up on this development, and Merry herself still believes she is mortal.

In Swallowing Darkness, we see a darker side to Merry and her magic. For the second time she uses her magic as a tool for death. When facing Onilwyn she puts her left hand out and thinks "die' not "bleed". It is also detailed that during her fight with her cousin Cel she visualizes a fist inside him and when she opens that fist he exploded.

However for all the dark deeds done with her magic there is a lighter side. It seems that many times when she has sex with another person of power, something natural and beautiful grows. This is witnessed frequently throughout the books. The most amazing example of the lighter side to her magic is during one of the battle scenes in Swallowing Darkness Merry uses the hands of Flesh and Blood to heal wounded and dying soldiers who have fallen protecting her, showing that for every dark power there is a light use for it.