Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,65
looked incredibly relieved.
Genie chuckled as she came to stand beside me. “What were you doing down there?”
“Cleaning. I thought I’d make a start. It’s spring, after all.” She scurried off to an old tin kettle, which she, rather alarmingly, put on top of a tripod and lit a Bunsen burner underneath. Even in tea-making, she was a scientist to the core. Then she set about preparing three mugs and three elegant, painted ceramic strainers for the tea leaves. I wasn’t much of a tea drinker myself, but I wasn’t about to turn it down, under the circumstances. “Now, what can I do for you lovely ladies?”
Genie and I exchanged a conspiratorial glance before I answered. “Could you show us how the puzzle boxes work, again?”
“Absolutely!” She checked her vintage wristwatch—a rose gold face with a blush leather strap. “In exactly… thirty-eight seconds. Oh, and make sure you let the leaves steep, or it’ll taste like trash.” She stood, timing it to the last moment.
What I guessed to be thirty-eight seconds later, the kettle started squealing. Watching Naomi had the same effect as watching an elaborate ballet. In one fluid motion, she plucked up the kettle, poured the water into each teacup, set the kettle down, and lifted the cups on a tray. Balancing them perfectly on one hand, she scooped up a puzzle box with the other and made her way to our workbench.
“I don’t suppose this technically counts as a class, with just the two of you.” Naomi spread the cups equidistant from each other. She was probably one of those gifted people who could draw a perfect circle freehand. “It’s more like a tutorial, in a way. Ah… I remember those from my days at Cambridge. Best years of my life.” She stared wistfully into the distance.
Genie propped her chin on her hands, gazing at Naomi with newfound admiration. “You went to Cambridge?”
“Both of them, yes.” Naomi scooted around to the other side of the workbench while Genie and I sat down.
I tilted my head. “Huh?”
“The magical one and the non-magical one, but I loved them equally. Punting down the River Cam, cycling through the town on a summer’s day. Wonderful times.” Naomi shook her head like a wet dog. “But you haven’t come here to hear me reminisce. Though you can, if you like? I’ll have a lot of time on my hands—too much time, until Victoria asks me to join the search. Where was I? I guess you could say my train of thought left the station.”
“Puzzle boxes,” I prompted.
“Yes, these magnificent beauties!” Naomi picked up a sea-green box, with the silvered patterns. “Simple enough once you know how, as with most things. First, make sure all the designs are aligned. Then, when you’ve managed to immobilize a monster, you press the harp button and throw this luscious bit of ingenuity at it. It’ll get sucked right in, and the lid snaps shut. After that, it’s a case of twisting the box so the designs get all muddled, and you have it locked in and ready for transport.”
Genie nodded along. “And how do you get the creature into a Bestiary box or a Repository bubble?”
“That’s the easiest part. Twist everything back so the designs align again, press the harp button and, presto, you’ve made a deposit at the Bank of the Bestiary.”
Naomi showed us, turning the narrow slats of the box backward and forward. She pressed the harp button and the lid slid back, revealing a blood-red interior. Fragments of gemstone and glowing hexes shone, neatly arranged on the inner walls like a circuitry board. For such a small box, it was overflowing with magical technology. It certainly put the plain Mason jars to shame, though I liked the familiarity of those.
“Can I try?” Genie asked eagerly.
“Of course you can.” Naomi pushed the box toward her and turned her attention to her cup of tea. I watched her take out the strainer and set it delicately on the workbench. She lifted the cup to her nose ceremoniously and inhaled, her eyes closing contentedly. Only then did she take a sip. I wondered if a whiff of the stuff would relax me for what I had to do next.
Instead, I took a deep breath. “Could we get a crate of those boxes, to help with the pixie hunt?”
Naomi stilled mid-sip. “Has this request been sanctioned by Victoria?”
I stared down into the lurid green liquid of my cup, thinking for a moment. I considered lying, but I didn’t