Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,141

brave for me. “Dig!”

She shook her head, as if to get rid of the fear, and held out her hands. Green light rippled across her palms, Morphing them into the shovel-like hands of a giant mole. The rest of her stayed human, and she went to town on the soft earth, scooping great handfuls of dirt and flicking it over her shoulder. I joined her with my bare hands, raking at the soil with all the strength I had left.

As we dug furiously, the heavens opened on us. Unnaturally fat blobs of rain hurtled down, ice cold and drenching, turning the soil to slick mud. The pixies ducked for cover in a nest of ivy that clung to the wall of the ruined church. Those huge droplets were probably like water bombs to them. But Charlotte and I didn’t stop. The Wisps could set their volatile storm on us, and we’d keep working until one of those forks of lightning stopped us.

“It’s filling up!” Charlotte roared, as lightning crashed ever closer and rain filled the grave faster than we could dig. It was more swimming pool than hole.

Jumping into the grave itself, my feet slipping and sliding, I gathered the slimy sludge into my arms and dumped it to the side of the grave. “It doesn’t matter! The bones just need to be buried together! I don’t care if they’re in six feet of water!”

“What about us?” She lay flat on her belly, half of her leaning into the hole where she carried on scooping and flicking, scooping and flicking, in endless motion. “Neither of us is six feet tall!”

“I can hold my breath!” I yelled back. “But you might have to fight them! Once they see we’re close, they’ll try to attack!”

She mopped her brow, smearing muck all over her face. “Why are they trying to stop us?”

“If the gateway shuts… they’ve got nowhere to go! They’ll have to pass on!”

She nodded and dove back into the digging. “They think a half-life is better than an afterlife?!”

“Looks like it!” I couldn’t see anything but murky water, filling the grave to the brim. But sudden logic gave me a thought—the water would’ve loosened the soil beneath by now. I could probably swim down and shove the bag of bones into the coffin with whatever was left of Lorelei. The idea of diving below the surface of that pool of death and decay didn’t fill me with joy, but Genie would’ve done it. I had to swallow my fear and disgust and get it done, or my friend would never come home again. And I wouldn’t have that resting on my conscience. It would destroy me.

“Watch my back, I’m going in.” I grabbed the sack of bones and ducked under before Charlotte could stop me. As my head disappeared beneath the surface, the darkness overwhelmed everything. Shivering from the bitter cold that crept beneath my skin, I carried on, flipping upside down and dragging my hands along what I hoped was the bottom of the grave. My fingertips grazed something solid, just as a faint glow appeared in the water beside me. Boudicca, shining her light on the situation.

Grateful to have my pixie friend at my side, I looked down through blurry eyes, but couldn’t see anything aside from shadowy shapes and floating detritus, while trying not to think of all the bacteria I was submerged in. I closed my eyes tight and used touch in place of sight again, until I felt that same firm something—definitely wooden—through the murk. I kicked my legs, aiming for that spot. I grappled until I found the edge of the lid and wrenched it upward, just enough to feed the neck of the sack into the gap. My lungs burned, desperate for air, but I couldn’t surface yet. I pushed the whole bag inside before sliding the coffin lid closed again.

Grabbing the barely visible glow of Boudicca in my hand, I pushed up and broke the surface… just as the Wisps exploded in a massive flare of light that rivaled the lightning they’d brought down on us. Sparks rained down, and the storm receded as quickly as it had appeared.

Treading water, I felt a manic grin spread across my face. “We did it,” I murmured. “Holy crap, we did it!”

Thirty-Three

Persie

My eyes widened in alarm as the air around the grave crackled. I’d seen the Wisps explode, but what if I’d been mistaken? What if that had been another method of attack, and now they