Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,122

getting through was more important. Genie was still in there, somewhere.

Nathan licked his finger and turned the page. “I’ll need a few more minutes and a bit more light.”

He got what he asked for, sooner than either of us expected. Just then, the Door to Nowhere flew open and searing white light spilled out into the darkness of the sphere, setting it ablaze. The gaseous Wisps pummeled out with a vengeance, and in greater numbers, determined to hypnotize us this time. They were less like floating ballet dancers this time and more like angry hornets buzzing around our heads, stingers out and eager to strike.

I covered my head with my hands as a group hurtled toward me, swirling around and around in a dizzying spectacle. They weren’t trying to hypnotize us; they were going for harder, more violent tactics. Aiming to weaken us or bring us to submission, maybe, before they hit us with their siren song again. Another cluster gunned for Nathan, whizzing so close to his face that they left a streak of colorful dust across his nose. They really weren’t taking any prisoners this time. Even the light coming off them was noticeably hot. Every time they swung close to my face, I felt it, as if I’d gotten too near a naked flame. My skin stung and my eyes throbbed from the unbearable brightness but trying to look away or protect myself did no good. They could slide through the narrowest gap and force their way into my field of vision. Their glow burned through my lids, even when I tried to close my eyes.

Boudicca shrieked a battle cry, and the pixies launched into action. Some tackled the Wisps head on, somehow able to grasp the apparently solid center of the gaseous orbs. Others fought fire with fire, pumping up the intensity of their pulsating lights to chase away the fierce glow of the Wisps. I didn’t know where to look or how to help, but it felt like being stuck right in the middle of a firework display. No, it was more like being caught in the middle of a firework explosion. Shards of light erupted in every direction, glinting purple and red and blue and orange, fizzing to their demise on the floor.

“Here.” Nathan scurried over and covered both of our heads with his jacket, sheltering us in darkness. But I could still see the flashes of vivid color through the dense fabric and hear the howls of the pixies as they gave the Wisps hell.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” I whispered.

Nathan shifted to peek out beneath the edge of his jacket. “I don’t know what we can do. But it looks like the pixies have it covered.”

I took a peek for myself. “Remind me never to get on their bad side.”

The pixies worked in focused units, like a well-oiled machine. I watched a trio literally drag a Wisp to the ground, where they stomped on the glowing orb until the brighter flame in the center sputtered out completely. The message seemed to spread through the rest of the pixies, and soon they were all trying to drag the Wisps downward. The firefight of light on light continued amongst those that remained airborne, rainbow sparks cascading down like colored rain. It might’ve been the most brutal and beautiful fight I’d ever seen. And the pixies were winning.

A sound pierced the air, soft and sorrowful, and totally incongruous with the battle taking place. Words drifted around me, clear despite the jacket and the bellows and screeches of the pixies. A song I knew, but slightly different—sadder than when we’d heard it in the foyer of the new wing. The Wisps began to pull back toward the Door, called to retreat by the bittersweet music.

“Whatever you do, don’t listen to it,” Nathan urged, sticking his fingers in his ears.

I pulled back the jacket, much to his horror. “Maybe we have to.”

“We can’t, or we’ll end up trapped inside.” He tried to flip the jacket back over my head, but I brushed it away.

“Then we should go now, before we’re hypnotized,” I said, knowing our window of opportunity would close rapidly once the Wisps were back over the threshold. It had to be now. “It’s open, and that’s where we need to go.” I grinned at the hovering pixies, who’d paused to let the enemy retreat. “Besides, we’ve got a whole cavalry with us.”

Nathan grimaced. “I’m not one for heroism. I’m happier with my books.” He stood and