Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,103
from monstrous, worst-case scenarios. I reminded myself that we’d rescue Genie, and everything would be all right again.
He swallowed audibly. “It is, but that’s really not what I was going to ask.” He looked down at the ground. “I’m just so worried for her welfare… I didn’t mean for all that to come out. Please, I’d appreciate if you forgot I said anything.”
“Forget you said what?” I gave him a conspiratorial smile to let him know I didn’t plan to breathe a word. Girl code maintained that I would have to, but he didn’t need to stress himself out over that. Besides, we didn’t even have Genie back yet.
I glanced up and realized that Boudicca had stopped and was waving her hands wildly. And probably had been for a while, judging by her annoyed expression.
“Crap. We’ll have to talk about this later, or we’ll lose the pixies.”
“Of course.”
We carried on up the corridor from the Repository toward the point where it branched off to the right. Above, Boudicca did a rude mime that made it clear she wanted to strangle the life out of me before fluttering onward.
“What’s the favor?” I asked Nathan, keeping an eye on the pixies.
Nathan looked up. “Ah, well, I was hoping you might be willing to tell me more about what Leviathan is like from a personal perspective. Anecdotes from your mother and her friends, from their experience with Echidna, would also be welcome.”
I mustered a halfhearted snort. “Would a page full of curse words do?”
“There must be hidden depths to him, even if they are—”
He came to a stop, eyes locked on Boudicca. She was waving maniacally from behind a rafter, her tiny colored dots flashing a red warning through the shadows. I frowned in confusion. Did she not want us talking to each other?
Everything became clear as Charlotte rounded the corner, carrying one of the heavy metal folders that I’d seen during my exam—the folders that connected to the wider magical world through the Krieger Detection Technology, or the KDT, as it was more commonly known. She must have been using one of those private offices that Nathan had mentioned, and we’d been too busy talking about Genie to hear the door close. Seeing us, she halted abruptly, looking from Nathan to me, then back again.
“You’re not supposed to be out here! Victoria put you on hexed lockdown!” She cast a conflicted look at Nathan. “And you… you should have stopped her. I remember what you said in the orchard, Persie, but I can’t allow this. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to hold you here and call for Victoria.” She dumped the folder on the floor with an echoing bang and raised her hands.
Finally, I’d get to see the famous Charlotte Basani in action—just not in the way I’d imagined. White sparks glittered around her fingertips, and I knew what was about to go down—the same thing happened when my mom got ready to use her Telekinesis.
Here we had a classic preemptive strike (apparently, I had learned something in Hosseini’s class), and I dealt with those the pacifist’s way—by ducking and rolling. Silvery strands shot out of her palms, and I made my escape, diving under the Telekinetic trajectories. I hit the floor hard, a jolt of pain shooting through my knee, which had absorbed the shock.
“Charlotte, enough!” Nathan stepped between us. “You may be Shailene’s daughter, but that doesn’t give you the right to attack us. What we’re doing does not concern you, and Persie and I will deal with Victoria once we’re finished.”
Charlotte didn’t listen. Instead, she shot a strand of Telekinesis toward him. It took him by surprise, snaking around his waist. He lifted his palms to retaliate, but she flicked her wrist and threw him against the nearest wall before he had the chance to do anything. I grimaced as I heard the thud.
Meanwhile, my hand clawed for the metal folder she’d dropped. I grabbed it before she could aim a fresh round of Telekinesis at me and hurled it at her head with all my might. She ducked, whirling around to watch it skid down the hallway behind her. I didn’t waste any time. Jumping up, I raced toward Nathan, helping him up.
He groaned. “We need to get… out of here. We can’t… save Genie, if she turns us in… to Victoria.”
“Way ahead of you.” At least, I’d thought I was, but Charlotte was facing me again, her hands raised and ready for more.