Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,37
word.
“Come here!” I muttered, swiping at the fridge. The creature darted upward, and a pack of cheese and a trio of yogurts took the hit intended for it. The yogurts toppled onto the floor, a spurt of strawberry goo splashing out from under the lid.
So much for not creating more of a mess. I’d deal with that later. But if I lost sight of the tiny creature, then I’d be back on my wild goose chase with nothing to show for it. Stepping over the rug this time, I raced after the monster as she made a beeline for one of the doors on the far side of the living room and vanished inside.
Cautiously pushing the door wider, I took out my phone and shone the flashlight across the room, something I probably should’ve done earlier. A fastidiously neat bedroom was illuminated by the cold blue glow, with every corner of the bedsheets perfectly tucked. Seeing the room empty, I went ahead and flipped on the light switch. Bright orange light flooded the space, revealing a room that barely looked lived in: a desk with nothing but a lamp on it, bedside tables with short stacks of precisely aligned books, and no pictures or personal touches to speak of.
Whoever lives here must be a bit of a square. A clatter distracted me from the rest of the room, coming from a partially opened door on the other side of the bed. I bounded over the mattress, action-movie style, and wrenched it open. The creature had opened every drawer of a large mahogany chest, and was flicking out underpants, socks, and ties as if she were in charge of a confetti cannon. I didn’t have time for embarrassment. The monster was so engrossed in her mischief that she didn’t notice me approaching, and if I lost this shot, who knew when I’d get another?
I snatched up a pair of gaudy, pixie-discarded, Hawaiian-style boxers. Before she could fly away, I wrapped the beastie in them like it was Christmas Eve and the family was coming over. Realizing she’d been caught, she twisted her head back to glare at me. I half-expected her to turn into black mist and disappear, but she didn’t… or couldn’t. I wasn’t sure which. Either way, her tiny arms thrashed underneath the Hawaiian fabric and she began to chatter furiously.
“Would you stop? I’m not going to hurt you.” As I spoke the words, I meant them. Holding this creature in my hands felt stratospherically different from squaring up against a griffin or a hydra. If I wanted to, I could’ve crushed her between my hands. I had no desire to do so, but it felt odd to have that kind of power over a living creature. A sudden protective instinct flickered inside me, something I hadn’t experienced before with any beast I’d expelled.
She paused for a moment, as if she understood. Beneath my clenched hands, her little chest rose and fell frantically. In the bedroom light, I got a better look at her face. Iridescent scales formed a halo around her sharply pointed features, the colors shifting from blue to green to pink to purple, depending on how the light hit them. Mossy curls of pale green hair sprung up in tufts from her head, and I noticed detailed striations of yellow and blue banding that ran from the tops of her shoulders up to her neck. The banding contained minuscule swirls in a darker shade, and multicolored spots across the pale portions of her skin pulsated in time to her rapid breaths.
“What are you?” I whispered.
She chirped back, but I didn’t speak… whatever language she was speaking. Her big, round black eyes peered up at me, filled with emotion. The sadness and panic in them struck me like an arrow through the heart, making me loosen my grip slightly. Like Tobe and Nathan, I wanted her to be comfortable. I didn’t want her to feel trapped. I couldn’t explain why… I guessed I just didn’t want to see that sadness in her eyes and think I’d caused it. Sprouting out from between her unwrapped shoulder blades, her gossamer wings fluttered anxiously. I’d scared her, and she didn’t know what I was going to do with her. Right now, I wasn’t sure either.
“Persie?” said a voice from behind me. I whirled around as Nathan walked in, his expression stern and confused. “What are you doing in my room?” A horrified gasp escaped his throat, his gaze darting to