Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,40

didn’t sound like me at all. I sounded like Leviathan. I swallowed this realization, along with the imminent Purge, with all the ease and comfort of dislodging a fishbone. But it would come creeping up again in a minute or two. It always did.

“Aye, sure. And ye’ll be wantin’ me te just let you walk off next, happy as ye like.” His eyes turned wary, and his eyebrows knitted together as though he almost believed me. “I were warned about yer sneaky ways, so don’t think ye’ll get one over on me. Ye won’t.”

“It’s your funeral,” I hissed back, my head throbbing.

He lowered the knife, taking a step back. “I just want the truth, Persephone.” His tone softened, taking me by surprise. That, and his use of my full name. “It’s hurtin’ so many folks, and I don’t know what te do. I’m a walking virus and I don’t have the antidote. Ye’ve got no idea what this thing can make me do, and… I don’t want te inflict pain or fear or misery on anyone.” He gave a gruff laugh. “I realize that’s goin’ te be hard for ye te believe, after what I’ve done te ye, but it’s true. I’m just… desperate. Do ye have any idea what it’s like te see the people ye care about suffer, all because of somethin’ ye’ve got no control over?”

My shoulders shook with bitter hysterics. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I’ve got no control over these… Purges.” I dry heaved as the symptoms returned with a fury, my throat instinctively fighting to swallow the mist. “And this one is going to take you out if you don’t… let me go right now! So, yes, I know what it’s like to have… something inside you that you can’t… control. That hurts people.”

I focused on breathing techniques, determined not to Purge while I had these Cuffs on my wrists. What if I Purged something dangerous and I was still tied up, helpless? And if it got into the nearby village…

“Well… this is all yer fault anyway, so don’t try and get me te sympathize with ye.” He turned his face away and returned to playing with his lighter. “Ye were here all of a few days before things started gettin’ all sorts of mad. I were watchin’ from yer third day or so. Anyway, the timin’ ain’t important. I saw what ye got up te in that church, diggin’ up bones and the like. I saw them glowies an’ all.” I lurched forward, feeling as if my entire chest was about to explode. “Ye caused a whole storm, and I’ll bet that’s what set off this monster thing in me. Me da thinks I must’ve had the curse for years, without any of us knowin’, but what ye did got its knickers in a twist and puffed me into that misty beast. Ye’ve turned me into the thing I hate most—somethin’ magical.” Frantic, I sucked in breath after breath, praying it would make a difference. All the while, he monologued obliviously. “And now it’s infectin’ others, doin’ the same te them.” He paused, his eyes flaring a fiery red. “I’m pourin’ me bloody heart out here, and yer not even listenin’!”

I scowled up at him. “I’m sure you’ve been rehearsing that sob story for ages, but I’m trying to… stop whatever’s coming from ripping your throat out. Not that you deserve… my intervention.” Truthfully, I had been trying to listen, but the tug of the Purge was impossible to ignore and I knew I didn’t have long to suppress it.

“Nah, ye’ll not fob me off like that. I know them… ‘Atomic’ Cuffs work.” He continued with his speech as though both our lives weren’t in imminent danger. “This curse has te be the Institute’s work, and that’s where ye’ve come from. There have always been rumors of witches hurtin’ and experimentin’ on humans.”

I snorted. “Oh, please, that’s a load of bull. You’re just trying to validate… your own narrative, that we’re the… bad guys and you’re the good guys. If you’d try to think on your own instead of following some shallow doctrine, you wouldn’t… be minutes away from getting devoured. All you’d have had to do is ask for… my help, and I might’ve… considered it.” I wheezed through every sentence, still battling my internal conflict. I still had no idea what it was he thought he knew. There was no way the Institute was conducting human experiments. Nathan would’ve