Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,46
you think the Veritas might be these witch hunters?” I finished with the most burning question, directing it at Nathan, since he’d brought them up. In my periphery, I watched Charlotte’s reaction, but she didn’t seem fazed by anything I’d said—not “witch hunters” and definitely not “Veritas.”
“I’m sure Victoria will speak to you about possibilities another time,” she replied, flashing Nathan a warning look. He bowed his head slightly, and I knew I wouldn’t get my answers that night. “Nathan, Genie, you should take Persie back to the Institute and stop by the Infirmary. The medics should evaluate her to make sure she’s okay.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Genie put her hand on my arm. “You need to rest, Pers. You’ve had a crazy-long night and you’re going to feel that Purge in the morning.”
Admitting temporary defeat wasn’t the conclusion I was after, but it was the best I was going to get for now. Still, if Victoria thought she could evade my questions forever, then she’d sorely misjudged our agreement. There was something going on here, and Charlotte clearly knew more about Veritas and these witch hunters than she was letting on. At the very least, she’d heard the terms before. I contemplated telling her more about my mother’s investigations into the missing magicals, in case she thought it was connected to the Veritas. But I could already hear her party-line response: “It’s above our paygrade.” “It’s none of my business.” “Victoria will handle everything.”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” My eyelids were getting heavier by the second, but I couldn’t go yet.
Charlotte wore an exasperated expression. No doubt she thought I was going to keep harassing her about this witch hunter stuff. “What’s that?”
“The Grendel. It’s still out there somewhere, and it’s not a small, timid thing.”
Nathan jumped in. “They are notoriously volatile, and they do have a tendency toward destruction, as evidenced by the mayhem it caused here.” He laughed uncomfortably. “Take extreme caution and don’t creep up on it, whatever you do. When spooked, Grendels have lightning reflexes, and they can deliver a bite that will turn your blood to jelly in less than a minute.”
Once again unfazed, Charlotte wafted a casual hand at the squad of hunters. “You heard O’Hara—watch your backs and be careful out there. Let’s just make sure we find it and bring it back to the Institute.”
“Preferably alive!” Nathan and I cried in unison.
Charlotte smiled coolly. “I’m sure we’ll do our best.” With that, she led her squad out of the fishery, leaving the three of us to make our own way back to the Institute.
Nathan took charge, sketching a chalk-door into the same wall where Victoria had exited. Meanwhile, Genie stayed at my side, the two of us staring out at the fishery together. The mystery was thick here, on all sides of this triangle. My captor had his secrets, and the Institute seemed to have knowledge that was on the down-low, and my parents were buried beneath endless NDAs. And yet, part of me felt certain that this troubling trifecta was connected.
Genie side-eyed me. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell your mom?”
I smiled, realizing we were thinking the same thing. “Until I figure out without a shadow of a doubt that all these things are linked, I don’t think there’s much point. I’ll just end up pissing people off, and that’s not what I want. Things have been going well for me, aside from the kidnapping. I’m not about to screw that up now.” I met her gaze, flashing her a conspiratorial glance. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do some investigating of our own. Technically, if we look into it, that’s still keeping it in-house. And if I find something useful, I’ll give my mom the intel, if only as a fresh lead.”
“I like your style, Persie.” She helped me to my feet, grinning. “Why, it’s almost like you read my mind.”
Fourteen
Persie
It seemed I was due to get my answers sooner than I’d thought. The very next day, a hunter came knocking on my door, disturbing me from the oblivion of Purge-battered Persie. Hair sticking up, eyes bleary, mouth like sandpaper, and every muscle throbbing like I’d run a marathon last night, I answered after his third impatient rap.
He reeled back in horror at my disheveled appearance before gathering himself. “Uh… Victoria has asked to see you in her office as soon as possible. I can give you ten minutes if you need it, though?”