Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,42

collided. But my Grendel had no intention of going easy on him. The beast swiped a sharp claw at the Fear Dearg, prompting the Dearg to leap back, creating space in the room and an opening for me to make an exit.

This was my shot. And, since I had no phone, I needed to get out of here and back to the Institute, ASAP. I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle the Grendel alone. This called for lots of hunters—the more, the better. I just had to hope the Grendel and the Fear Dearg fought long enough for the cavalry to arrive before the monster got loose on the island. Dragging myself to my feet, I staggered for the exit and broke into the cool night.

I’m sorry, Grendel… Apologizing to my Purges was a habit I’d developed in the last six months. They would bow to me, show me respect for creating them, but I owed them an apology because I knew what their fate would be. What I’d created them for: existence in a box. It hurt like a perpetual ache in my chest, but I couldn’t change the way things were. Nights like this reminded me of why. If that Grendel was left to roam free, there would be nobody left on this island by the time he was finished. That was the nature of the monster, and he couldn’t change that any more than I could change what would happen to him. All I could do was say sorry and hope that, one day, he might forgive me.

Twelve

Nathan

Boudicca had gotten a bit too comfortable in my shirt, falling asleep at the wheel in her role as navigator, so I held her in my hands as we raced along the cliff path as fast as our legs would carry us. If the hunters appeared through chalk-doors, I could tuck her away again before anyone saw her.

“How far could the monster have taken her?” Genie asked. I knew she liked to run, and it showed—she was barely out of breath while I was lumbering along, my throat filling with that peculiar, warm mucus that only ever made itself known when I ran distances. I didn’t tell her that, of course. Mucus definitely wasn’t on the list of approved conversation topics.

I glanced at her. “It depends on the monster. We just have to hope it doesn’t have wings.”

“Crap! I hadn’t even thought of that!”

We’d just passed the car park by 100 yards or so, all our casual dining plans firmly on the backburner, when I pulled Genie to a standstill. A figure was racing toward us from the opposite direction. Dark hair flapped behind her, her pale gray sweater marking her out like a reflector in the moonlight.

“Is that…” Genie gaped. “It is! Oh, thank Chaos! It’s Persie!” She bolted away from me, sprinting to meet her friend. I stopped a few paces shy of the pair and waited on the sidelines, relieved that Persie was safe.

The two women collapsed into each other’s arms, hugging so tightly I worried that one of them might crack a rib. Cynane and Spartacus, crushed inside Genie’s sleeves, fought their way out in a series of peeved chirps and rude hand gestures—until they saw why. They flew at Persie’s face, grabbing her and kissing her feverishly, taking no heed when she tried to bat them away. I opened my palm to let Boudicca join the festivities. She flashed me a grin and fluttered off, landing flat on Persie’s head and spread-eagling over her hair, tangling herself in the strands.

“You nearly gave me a coronary! We were all geared up to be rescue rangers, but you’re okay. Thank Chaos you’re okay!” Genie pulled back and clutched Persie’s face in her hands. “What the hell happened?”

Persie looked frozen, her mouth scrunching up as if she was trying to figure out what to say. “I… got taken by a monster—a Fear Dearg. Only, it wasn’t really a Fear Dearg. It was a person who could change into one, but a non-magical. It’s all pretty muddled, I know.” She smiled nervously. “But he had me tied up in an abandoned fishery, close to Curran Cove. I must have walked that way a thousand times, but I’ve never seen that place before.”

A Fear Dearg? Goodness, that did not spell good tidings. I only knew of those monsters vaguely, which meant I would have to do a great deal of research. And I had certainly never heard of one