Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,123

threw his jacket to the ground, like it was some kind of metaphor for his fear. “But these people need us, and I won’t let them down. Otherwise, I might as well have become a Librarian.”

“You’d be surprised what a Librarian can do.” I grinned, thinking of Melody and wishing she were here. She’d have been able to get us out of this in no time, but I doubted a call would get out to her, even if Victoria’s hunters hadn’t nabbed my phone. “Come on. It’s now or never.”

I jumped up and approached the fizzling door, knowing we were moments away from missing our shot. That sweet song continued to ripple outward as the pixies swarmed around me defensively, Boudicca landing on the top of my head.

Taking a courageous breath, and remembering Leviathan’s words about being careful, I stepped into the light. Nathan followed, and the two of us emerged into the weird and overwhelming world beyond. My feet hit the ground instantly, Nathan beside me. I allowed myself a moment to feel stunned, then I took in my surroundings.

The realm of the Wisps was a confusing collision of the familiar and the strange—like Earth, with gravity and breathable air, but like it had been dipped in the palette of a different planet, with silvered blades of grass that sparkled like a winter’s morning, and blood-red trees that sprouted pure white leaves. Rolling, pale hills stretched for miles toward a bruised-purple horizon. Warm ambient lighting blanketed the peculiar world, like it was golden hour in San Diego, although there was no sun to tell the time of day or to explain how there could be so much light in the sky.

Weirder still, this pocket within an interdimensional pocket was full of people clothed in period dress, from dozens of different centuries. But they didn’t seem to notice that two strangers had just materialized, nor did they seem to be aware of those around them. They all seemed… hypnotized, standing around like they were waiting for something important. Perhaps they were focused on the singing, although it wasn’t clear where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once, much like the light.

“This is supposed to be a prison?” I wondered, gasping.

Nathan’s eyes widened. “I have no idea what this is supposed to be.”

I heard a sound like Velcro ripping and, turning, I saw the four lines of the Door beginning to fade as the gateway sealed itself off. One thing was for certain—there was no going back now.

And we’d left our one lifeline behind. The book.

Twenty-Nine

Persie

“Who are all these people?” I murmured. They looked solid, not like the hazy spirits I’d expected. Wisps floated about, zigging and zagging more animatedly than they’d done in the Institute. I supposed they didn’t have to put on a pretense here in their own realm. After all, if we were standing on their turf, they’d already done their job.

Nathan shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure. They’re not from our time, that much I can say.” His eyebrows raised. “Except for those people.”

I followed his eyes across the slopes of the nearby silvered hills, where individuals in modern clothing stood in groups. Without waiting, I hurried toward them with my aerial fleet of pixies flocking me, hoping someone might have seen Genie.

“Wait!” Nathan called, chasing after me. My boots crunched against the strange grass, and my senses filled with the metallic aroma of ozone. It reminded me of being by the sea, although I couldn’t see one. Clearly there were some odd atmospheric forces at work here, but that didn’t concern me right then. Getting my friend and the others out of here was the only thing I cared about.

I paused beside a youngish guy in jeans and a T-shirt, his eyes fixed dead ahead on the expansive hills and purple sky beyond. He was chattering to himself, saying, “I have to remember to do my laundry. Mom will be mad if I don’t. I should call her and let her know I’m okay.” I waited for him to acknowledge me, but he didn’t. He just repeated the same sentences over and over again, caught in a glitch.

“Do you recognize this guy?” I whispered to Nathan.

He nodded. “That’s David Harper. He was the seventh person to go missing, I think.” He approached the entranced man. “David? Can you hear me?”

But either David couldn’t, or he had forgotten how to reply. He wouldn’t even turn to look at