Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,103

ingredients.

“Depends,” she said, after a lengthy pause.

I tried not to show my disappointment. “On what?”

“What yer want a cure for?” She gave me a knowing look, which suggested I didn’t have her entirely fooled. “Has someone gone in a bit over their head?” Her eyes glanced at Genie for a moment.

“I haven’t!” Genie protested.

Ariana laughed. “Hey, I dint mean no offense by it. I’ve just never seen ye here before. I know who ye are, of course, and I know ye’ve got power comin’ out yer arse—big fan, by the way—so I wondered if ye’d taken it a curse too far, if ye catch me drift, and ye were tryin’ to fix things before they got out of hand.”

“Oh…” Genie fidgeted, like she was about to bite the bullet and admit that was the case, to give us a valid excuse for not getting Victoria involved. However, I knew the rules of being a scholar, even if I wasn’t one. If Ariana thought there was a potential danger, it was her duty to report it to Victoria. That meant we had to come up with another excuse, and fast.

“Genie is just helping me out, as my assistant. She’s shadowing me, and I’m sure there are a thousand things she’d rather be doing on a Saturday, but I encouraged her to come along and meet you,” I confessed, sounding so genuine that I almost tricked myself into believing it. “As you well know, the scholar of hexes and potions is a student’s best friend, especially if they want a few bespoke hexbags and potions to give them an edge in hunting.”

The suspicious expression on Ariana’s face softened to a wry smile. “Ah, don’t ye be flatterin’ me, Nathan O’Hara, ye old dog.” She leaned across the workbench toward Genie. “But he’s right. I am a student’s best friend, and I don’t mind brewin’ up somethin’ special for students who’ve got bags of promise. So, don’t be forgettin’ that when ye get into ye second year, aye? I’ll be wantin’ to chat to ye for hours, since I bet ye know of hexes and spells that I han’t even dreamed of!”

Genie shifted awkwardly on her stool. “I don’t mind sharing a few bits and pieces.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Ariana made a fist of triumph. I had neglected to consider how useful Genie’s position might be in terms of bargaining. After all, Ariana would have given the entire contents of her potion cupboard for a sliver of information about Atlantean hexwork. It was a well-known, and somewhat irksome, fact that Atlantis continued to conceal most of its magical knowledge from the surface world. I myself would have given up all of my bourbon biscuits, and maybe my hobnobs, for a chance to study the creatures in the Atlantis Bestiary, but there was a complete embargo on outsiders entering such places. Surface magicals could visit Atlantis after a rigorous application process, but they were escorted at all times and could only see what Atlantis wanted them to see. Most of its deepest, darkest magical secrets remained exactly that… secret.

“Anyway, that isn’t why we want an anti-curse.” I brought the conversation back around. “I was hoping to surprise Victoria with both the curse and the anti-curse for her birthday and write it up in elegant calligraphy, maybe with some posh bindings. You know how she adores and collects ancient spells. Now that you’ve told me the Primus Anglicus were particularly fond of these Anghenfil Curses, I have to make this her present. Primus Anglicus spells are her favorite kind.” I’d garnered most of these tidbits from the loose tongues of drunken scholars, but I knew how to make them sound like personal knowledge. It was all in the eagerness with which the words were spoken, like an excited child on Christmas morning. Plus, it stood to reason that Ariana would know this to be true, since she was the one who’d told me about Victoria’s love for all things Primus Anglicus after one too many Guinnesses at The Sail and Anchor.

“Ah, O’Hara, yer barkin’ up the wrong tree there.” Ariana clutched her stomach as she belly-laughed. “I know ye’ve not had much luck with the lasses over the years, but don’t tell me ye’ve gone and got a fancy for Ms. Jules? She’d eat ye alive!”

A chemical explosion would be good right about now… I glanced at Genie out of the corner of my eye and felt my heart sink at the sight