Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,61
horde… Perhaps it would be enough to warrant an abduction.
“I don’t know much about them, Ms. Jules.” It wasn’t a lie. I knew about as much as Nathan.
She cut to the chase. “Did you create them, Persie?”
I swore not to disappoint you, didn’t I? I thought about lying to save my own butt. But she clearly already knew. I exhaled and said, “I Purged last night, after five days without one. I’ve never Purged more than one creature at a time before, but it happened, and the pixies came out of it. They wrecked my bedroom and set fire to the rug. I tried to get a handle on it, but by the time I put the fire out, the pixies had opened the door. I went out looking for them and caught one in Nathan O’Hara’s room. He found me in there, and I didn’t want to lie, so I showed him the creature and we put it in the Repository together. He wanted to help with the rest, but I ran off because I wanted to clean up my own mess. I wanted to prove I could control this, and I was… embarrassed that I’d screwed up again.” I took a deep breath, and realization dawned. I’d just accidentally thrown Nathan under the bus.
I’d completely forgotten to keep him out of it. I opened my mouth to blurt an excuse for him, but Victoria interrupted before I could.
“It’s okay, Persie. I already guessed Nathan was helping you when I found him ricocheting around in the Repository, trying to catch two more.” She gave the ghost of a smile, her eyes twinkling with surprising warmth. “He’s a good lad. But I wanted to hear it from you, anyway.”
I lurched forward in my chair. “It wasn’t like I swore him to secrecy or anything, Ms. Jules. I know he would’ve told you if you’d asked, and I was going to come back to him for help if I needed it, but I was so desperate to get these pixies back on my own. I’ve been looking for them relentlessly—the whole night, actually. And I came close to catching a few. I only stopped because of the cleaners, and then my classes. But I was going to get you involved if they did anything bad. In fact, I made the decision this morning, after I realized the job was too big, that I was going to come to you and tell you everything at lunchtime. But, obviously, things didn’t work out that way.” I paused for another breath. “Please, Ms. Jules, you have to know that I was trying to do everything possible not to get expelled… or worse. I did intend to tell you. I just wanted to prove, to some degree, that I don’t need to rely on anyone else to scoop up my Purge debris.” I sank back in the chair, breathing like I’d run a marathon.
Victoria observed me quietly, her expression unreadable. Did she believe me? Did she think I was an idiot for trying to go it alone? Did she respect me for deciding to tell her, even though I hadn’t gotten to her in time? Did she have an expulsion form at the ready, to kick me out for making all the wrong decisions? Even the warmth had gone from her eyes, replaced with a cool, blank nothing.
All the while, I shifted uncomfortably on the chair, willing her to release the hounds or tell me everything would be okay. One or the other, but quickly, before I exploded with nerves.
“And when did this Purge occur?” she said, eventually. A weirdly innocuous question, considering everything I’d just thrown at her.
“Uh… around seven-thirty. I’d just gotten off the phone with my parents.”
She nodded slowly. “You didn’t say anything to them about an imminent Purge?”
“No.” My head sagged forward, to hide the heat in my cheeks.
She continued with an unsettling composure. “And did you happen to see Xanthippe Evershot at any time during your scouring of the Institute?”
“I wouldn’t know if I had, Ms. Jules. I’ve never met her, but I can say that I didn’t really see anyone while I was out searching for the pixies. I bumped into Nathan, Charlotte, and Genie, but that’s about it.” I scooted forward on the chair cushion. “I’d still like to help catch the pixies, Ms. Jules. That’s what I was going to ask when I told you everything. I don’t understand their language, but they seem to understand me.