Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,150
missing had returned. Evidently, Victoria wanted to keep this within a very small circle of people, or the Institute would descend into panic mode once again.
“Are you going to speak to my mom about it?” At the beginning of the Wisp mess, I’d thought the missing Institute people were linked to the missing magicals in the wider world. Now, to hear that one person might be embroiled in that mess… It made my blood run cold.
Victoria finally turned to look at me. “I have instructed a team to liaise with her in due course. I apologize for not heeding your advice regarding the disappearances; I have grown so used to the Institute being insular that I forget there is help to be found beyond these walls.” She smiled. “I imagine this experience has been educational for both of us.”
“You can say that again.” I lowered my gaze shyly, her black eyes too intense for comfort. Still, it felt good to be acknowledged. Fresh troubles might’ve been brewing on the horizon, but at least Victoria was reaching out to the right people. Maybe, with everyone putting their heads together, the issue of the missing magicals might get solved sooner rather than later. Although it set a dangerous precedent if this Charles guy had been snatched so close to home.
“Then we should part on good terms and move forward with honesty and trust.” Victoria put out her hand, and I tentatively shook it. “You have my heartfelt thanks for what you’ve done, and the thanks of this Institute. However, I would urge you, as the head huntswoman, to be careful as you walk your path here—for your safety and the safety of those around you. Take risks only when they are necessary, and when someone is too stubborn to listen.” She flashed me a knowing smirk and released my hand.
With that, she dismissed me. I’d gone in anxious, and I was coming out feeling anxious in a different way. The notion that someone from the Institute had been taken had thrown me, even if the theory suggested they’d been snatched from a nearby town instead of from within this magical fortress. It was way too close for comfort, and I knew my mom would freak out when she heard.
Slipping through the Repository doors, I almost ran headlong into Nathan and Genie.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked, grabbing Genie’s hand and pulling her behind a statue of a Nimean lion. Nathan hurried to join us, all three of us crouching low in the shadows in case Victoria came out.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay, and I found this one on the way.” She thumbed at Nathan. “How did it go? Are you in trouble? Did she find out about Boudicca?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing like that.” I peered through the lion’s legs to make sure we were alone. “She told me that one of the magicals didn’t come back, and we think it might be related to what my mom is working on.”
“What?!” Genie gasped, her eyes bugging. “How come no one’s mentioned it?”
“She’ll want to keep it quiet until she knows more.” Nathan frowned, evidently miffed that he’d been left out of the loop.
My gaze flitted between the two of them. “The thing is… I had this feeling that I was being watched when I left the Institute with Charlotte that night. I put it down to paranoia, and to being in a graveyard at night, and to all the crazy stuff going on with the spirits and the Wisps. But now I’m not so sure.” I glanced up and down the hallway. “I don’t think I was imagining things. I think someone really was watching me, and I don’t think it’s over.” Our troubles with the Wisps had ended, but new troubles were stirring.
“We should be vigilant,” Nathan said. “If there is someone watching the Institute, then we should do our best to act as lookouts. It could be nothing, but it could be something, and if Victoria is keeping things hushed up, then we will have to be her eyes and ears wherever we can.”
“Which may mean giving the pixies a bit more freedom, if you can manage it?” I looked at Nathan hopefully. “After all, they’re good at finding things that the rest of us can’t see.”
My fresh start hadn’t gone exactly according to plan, but one incredible thing had come of it: I’d learned to tame the pixies and discovered that they had more heart than their size suggested. I’d stood on my own two feet and had rescued trapped magicals from a secret world. A few weeks ago, if someone had told me we were in danger, I’d have run to Genie, or my parents, and asked them for the solution. Now I knew I was capable of getting myself out of a scrape, and I intended to use this newfound courage and confidence as best I could to save more magicals from meeting a similar fate.
Whoever you are… We’ll find you.
It was only a matter of time.
HARLEY MERLIN 20: Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere. I hope you enjoyed the ride!
Continue the journey in Harley Merlin 20: Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters — releasing July 17th, 2020.
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