Persie Merlin and the Witch Hunters - Bella Forrest Page 0,125
to the Chaos stream, where they wait to be born again as something else. It’s like one of the laws of thermodynamics—energy can’t be created or destroyed. It’s just… transferred into something else.”
“But he won’t come back as himself?” She wiped away a tear, and Boudicca fluttered down to her shoulder to wipe away the rest. Actually, she was licking them away, which was mildly disturbing, but Persie didn’t seem to mind.
“That, I don’t know. You’d have to ask Chaos itself.” I focused on Atlas, who appeared to have gone to sleep on his stretched-out forelegs. Genie leaned back against his armored side, avoiding the spines that he’d flattened to avoid any unintended spiking. It was jarring to see a monster so huge and frightening behave in such a gentle and peaceful manner, satisfied to be in the company of humans, albeit magical ones, without going wild. In fact, there seemed to be a definite correlation between Persie’s mood and Atlas’s. She was calmer now that the danger had passed, so he followed suit, able to fall asleep now that he had no reason to fight.
Persie sat beside Genie, snuggling into Atlas’s side. “By the way, I told Reid.”
“Told him what?” Genie leaned her head on Persie’s shoulder. I couldn’t quite remember what had happened to Genie, but I recalled seeing electrical sparks and her crashing to the ground. I’d gone to her, which was when one of those wretches must have slipped the Hangman’s Rope around my neck. But she seemed to be fine now, with just a faint singe mark on her forehead where she’d been zapped.
“I explained about the curse’s side effects, and how it couldn’t have happened if he was really a non-magical,” she replied. “That’s how we parted ways. I don’t think he was happy about it, but it’s something he’s going to have to handle whether he wants to or not.”
Genie chuckled. “How’s that for irony?”
“He should just be grateful that we magicals figured things out in time, so he doesn’t have to worry about being infectious anymore,” I muttered. “Maybe, with some time, he’ll see that we’re not the villains Veritas has made us out to be.”
“Weirder things have happened.” Persie closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders. The poor girl must have been thoroughly exhausted after the ordeals she’d just been through, though at least her Purge beast made for a decent pillow.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, they have.” I scuffed the toe of my boot across the ground. “Namely, where this curse might have come from in the first place.”
Persie’s eyes shot open. “You found something out?”
“I didn’t want to mention it in case I was wrong—and I may still be wrong—but I think it’s best if all of us are in the loop. I know you both can be trusted, and this might be something to keep an eye on in the future. Of course, these are just my thoughts and suspicions, but I feel I have to share them.” I drew in a breath and told them, in absolute detail, everything that had occurred in Victoria’s office. The entry that I’d found in Ronan Lomax’s journals, and the possible history of the Veritas, dating back seventy years. The Anghenfil spell that I’d found, the obvious erasure, and the notations in the margins that suggested some testing had already taken place. I concluded with my doubts on the topic: how it was entirely plausible that a different Anghenfil spell had been used, or that someone had pilfered Victoria’s from her Grimoire. I didn’t want to sound too damning—I had to be fair.
Persie’s expression hardened. “If it was her, then that means she knew who Reid was the moment I told her who had kidnapped me.” She clicked her tongue. “So, either she was putting that unbreakable mask of hers to good use, or she really wasn’t involved. Man, I don’t know what to believe. My head’s all over the place.”
“You could ask Reid if he’s ever met her,” Genie said to Persie. “Or if he was asked to trail her, before we came to the Institute. He said he didn’t know who’d cursed him, right? Maybe he didn’t know Victoria was onto him, so he didn’t suspect her.”
Persie took out her phone and tapped it against her forehead. “I wish I’d known this before he vamoosed.”
“You don’t think he’ll be in touch again?” Genie asked.
She shrugged. “Maybe. I’d like it to be under happier circumstances, but I’m trying to be