Harley Merlin 19: Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere

by Bella Forrest

  As she listened, Boudicca’s eyes swam with a swirling galaxy of purples and pinks, flecked with silvery stars, as though she were hypnotized. An undercurrent of guilt ran through me as it occurred to me that I was following a very Wispy path here—in a way, I too was using the pixies for my own benefit, like the rest of the magical world used beasts. And I had her under a control that I didn’t fully understand. The difference was, I told myself, I care what happens to them, and I’ll do what I can to repay them for their help.

  Once I finished explaining what I needed, Boudicca turned to the others and relayed the message, thin strands of pinkish light flowing from her temples and into the temples of the others, until everyone understood. She pointed to a quintet of pixies, who immediately took flight and vanished into the overhead gloom.

  “How did you do that?” Nathan frowned at me.

  I shrugged. “Maybe they’re finally listening to the one who brought them back into existence.”

  “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” He observed the now-uniform squad of pixies, no doubt trying to commit every quirk and behavior to memory. As a researcher, his lack of pen and paper must’ve been killing him.

  Ten minutes later, heralded by a bumblebee-like drone, the quintet of pixies returned. This time, the results looked more promising. They bore a hefty tome bound in red leather, stained and pocked by time and rough handling. The weight made them fly awkwardly, and I heard their groans as they got closer. Moments before they landed, Nathan lunged toward them and pulled the book from their hands, clearly terrified they would tear this treasured item to pieces, too. The quintet eyed him with disapproval, pouting and muttering under their breaths. I still couldn’t understand what they were saying, but I could grasp their meaning with a touch more specificity, and I sensed they weren’t too pleased with Nathan’s snatch-and-grab, or the inference that they’d rip the book apart.

  “He’s just careful about these things. Don’t take any offense,” I said to the returning group. Now that I had them under the influence of their sacred word, they looked at me with understanding, their eyes swirling with that same mesmerized galaxy of color. I guessed the translation from my language to theirs happened somewhere in that space. They glanced at Nathan and giggled, pretending to flip through books of their own and pushing imaginary glasses up the bridges of their noses.

  Nathan didn’t notice their mockery. “This is it!” he said, rifling frantically through the pages. “Now, where’s the part that might help us… I know it’s around the end somewhere.”

  I peered over his shoulder. To my surprise, the words were handwritten. Elaborate Celtic lettering graced every page. I had no idea what he was looking for, so I stood by as a hopeful observer while he did the hard work. The words were so crammed together and faded that I couldn’t believe he was reading it.

  “Yes. This is the bit.” He ran his fingertip beneath a section of text. “Coinníonn neart an déantóra an Uacht le chéile,” he murmured in Gaelic, the language of Ireland and its Celtic heritage.

  I looked at him. “Huh?”

  “Now, as you know, my Gaelic isn’t great, but I think it’s something along the lines of ‘The maker’s strength holds the Will together.’ I’m guessing that ‘Will’ is referring to the Wisps.” Nathan scanned a portion of text beneath. “Yes, and here it says that ‘they reside in a different realm—an interdimensional pocket enveloped in secrecy. This realm is thought to have been created naturally or, at best, accidentally.’”

  “But we know it wasn’t,” I chimed in. “The pixies said it was created to imprison the Wisps after they disobeyed their missive.”

  Nathan’s eyebrows knitted together. “That may explain this next part. It says that the Wisps were thought to have been expelled about a thousand years ago by a Primus Anglicus by the name of Fergus McLeod. No one knows why for sure, but it’s speculated that he was punishing them for leading people astray.”

  Boudicca yelped suddenly, nodding so hard I worried her head might fall off.

  “Did he forge the gateway? Is he the one who trapped the Wisps and took away your Necromancy?” I held out my arm, and she hopped onto it. She squeaked enthusiastically and began a one-woman show. She knelt in prayer before leaping into the air and pretending to be some kind of higher being, floating down to… answer that prayer?

  “Fergus McLeod summoned a Child of Chaos to help with the Wisps?” I asked. “And that Child took away your Necromancy and helped Fergus forge the gateway?”

  Boudicca grinned and clapped. From what I could remember of Mom’s and Uncle Finch’s Child of Chaos lectures, they probably would’ve been in their otherworlds by then, but still at liberty to help the Primus Anglicus here and there. It was only when the bloodlines got watered down that the rules had tightened. And since it had been a life and death matter, and wayward spirits misbehaving was against Chaos’s rules, I guessed the Children of Chaos had no choice but to get involved.

  Nathan nodded thoughtfully. “That would explain why it’s such a powerful gateway. If these Wisps are spirits of the dead, then it would be tantamount to creating a separate afterlife in that interdimensional bubble. As you can imagine, the energy required would be enormous, but child’s play for… well, a Child.”

  “Wait… a separate afterlife?” That chilled me, for one terrifying reason. “Do you think people die instantly, when they go in there? Do they become spirits, too?”

  Nathan flicked back through the book, his mouth scrunching up in concern. “Here’s something.” He swallowed loudly, as though trying to force down a lump in his throat. “It says: all that enters is held under the maker’s rule. No soul may leave unless bidden. No Chaos may leave unless instructed. Corporeal beings should not set foot in such a world, lest they find themselves confined, their bodies turning to spiritual matter with the passage of time.”

  I gulped. “Any suggestion of how long a person has in there before they start to turn?”

  “No.” He shook his head grimly. “But we shouldn’t assume they have decades. We should work on the assumption that they don’t have long, because I’m not risking everyone coming out… dead.”

  Neither am I. My nerves amped up with the thought of Genie being trapped in there, only to turn to dust or something if we managed to get her out. Surely, it couldn’t be an instantaneous thing? I had to hope it wasn’t, because losing Genie was something I knew I would never recover from. Never. She wasn’t just a friend. She was more like a sister, and I refused to walk this life without her.

  “Does it mention what happened to Fergus?” He was the key to this, the supposed ‘ruler’ of the realm behind that door. The more I knew about him, the better prepared I would be to break into his world and get back what belonged to us.

  He pored over the pages some more. “It says he disappeared one day without a trace. Some believe that the Wisps took him with them when they were sucked through the gateway. Although it might’ve been the cost of building the gateway in the first place, his sacrifice to the Children for ridding the world of these disobedient spirits. A gatekeeper of sorts, though I’d say he’s not doing his job properly, since they’ve managed to sneak out again.”

  “What about the Door itself? Any way we can open it without the Wisps?” Theorizing as to how it had been created was all well and good, but getting through was more important. Genie was still in there, somewhere.

  Nathan licked his finger and turned the page. “I’ll need a few more minutes and a bit more light.”

  He got what he asked for, sooner than either of us expected. Just then, the Door to Nowhere flew open and searing white light spilled out into the darkness of the sphere, setting it ablaze. The gaseous Wisps pummeled out with a vengeance, and in greater numbers, determined to hypnotize us this time. They were less like floating ballet dancers this time and more like angry hornets buzzing around our heads, stingers out and eager to strike.

  I covered my head with my hands as a group hurtled toward me, swi
rling around and around in a dizzying spectacle. They weren’t trying to hypnotize us; they were going for harder, more violent tactics. Aiming to weaken us or bring us to submission, maybe, before they hit us with their siren song again. Another cluster gunned for Nathan, whizzing so close to his face that they left a streak of colorful dust across his nose. They really weren’t taking any prisoners this time. Even the light coming off them was noticeably hot. Every time they swung close to my face, I felt it, as if I’d gotten too near a naked flame. My skin stung and my eyes throbbed from the unbearable brightness but trying to look away or protect myself did no good. They could slide through the narrowest gap and force their way into my field of vision. Their glow burned through my lids, even when I tried to close my eyes.

  Boudicca shrieked a battle cry, and the pixies launched into action. Some tackled the Wisps head on, somehow able to grasp the apparently solid center of the gaseous orbs. Others fought fire with fire, pumping up the intensity of their pulsating lights to chase away the fierce glow of the Wisps. I didn’t know where to look or how to help, but it felt like being stuck right in the middle of a firework display. No, it was more like being caught in the middle of a firework explosion. Shards of light erupted in every direction, glinting purple and red and blue and orange, fizzing to their demise on the floor.

  “Here.” Nathan scurried over and covered both of our heads with his jacket, sheltering us in darkness. But I could still see the flashes of vivid color through the dense fabric and hear the howls of the pixies as they gave the Wisps hell.

  “Shouldn’t we do something?” I whispered.

  Nathan shifted to peek out beneath the edge of his jacket. “I don’t know what we can do. But it looks like the pixies have it covered.”

  I took a peek for myself. “Remind me never to get on their bad side.”

  The pixies worked in focused units, like a well-oiled machine. I watched a trio literally drag a Wisp to the ground, where they stomped on the glowing orb until the brighter flame in the center sputtered out completely. The message seemed to spread through the rest of the pixies, and soon they were all trying to drag the Wisps downward. The firefight of light on light continued amongst those that remained airborne, rainbow sparks cascading down like colored rain. It might’ve been the most brutal and beautiful fight I’d ever seen. And the pixies were winning.

  A sound pierced the air, soft and sorrowful, and totally incongruous with the battle taking place. Words drifted around me, clear despite the jacket and the bellows and screeches of the pixies. A song I knew, but slightly different—sadder than when we’d heard it in the foyer of the new wing. The Wisps began to pull back toward the Door, called to retreat by the bittersweet music.

  “Whatever you do, don’t listen to it,” Nathan urged, sticking his fingers in his ears.

  I pulled back the jacket, much to his horror. “Maybe we have to.”

  “We can’t, or we’ll end up trapped inside.” He tried to flip the jacket back over my head, but I brushed it away.

  “Then we should go now, before we’re hypnotized,” I said, knowing our window of opportunity would close rapidly once the Wisps were back over the threshold. It had to be now. “It’s open, and that’s where we need to go.” I grinned at the hovering pixies, who’d paused to let the enemy retreat. “Besides, we’ve got a whole cavalry with us.”

  Nathan grimaced. “I’m not one for heroism. I’m happier with my books.” He stood and threw his jacket to the ground, like it was some kind of metaphor for his fear. “But these people need us, and I won’t let them down. Otherwise, I might as well have become a Librarian.”

  “You’d be surprised what a Librarian can do.” I grinned, thinking of Melody and wishing she were here. She’d have been able to get us out of this in no time, but I doubted a call would get out to her, even if Victoria’s hunters hadn’t nabbed my phone. “Come on. It’s now or never.”

  I jumped up and approached the fizzling door, knowing we were moments away from missing our shot. That sweet song continued to ripple outward as the pixies swarmed around me defensively, Boudicca landing on the top of my head.

  Taking a courageous breath, and remembering Leviathan’s words about being careful, I stepped into the light. Nathan followed, and the two of us emerged into the weird and overwhelming world beyond. My feet hit the ground instantly, Nathan beside me. I allowed myself a moment to feel stunned, then I took in my surroundings.

  The realm of the Wisps was a confusing collision of the familiar and the strange—like Earth, with gravity and breathable air, but like it had been dipped in the palette of a different planet, with silvered blades of grass that sparkled like a winter’s morning, and blood-red trees that sprouted pure white leaves. Rolling, pale hills stretched for miles toward a bruised-purple horizon. Warm ambient lighting blanketed the peculiar world, like it was golden hour in San Diego, although there was no sun to tell the time of day or to explain how there could be so much light in the sky.

  Weirder still, this pocket within an interdimensional pocket was full of people clothed in period dress, from dozens of different centuries. But they didn’t seem to notice that two strangers had just materialized, nor did they seem to be aware of those around them. They all seemed… hypnotized, standing around like they were waiting for something important. Perhaps they were focused on the singing, although it wasn’t clear where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once, much like the light.

  “This is supposed to be a prison?” I wondered, gasping.

  Nathan’s eyes widened. “I have no idea what this is supposed to be.”

  I heard a sound like Velcro ripping and, turning, I saw the four lines of the Door beginning to fade as the gateway sealed itself off. One thing was for certain—there was no going back now.

  And we’d left our one lifeline behind. The book.

  Twenty-Nine

  Persie

  “Who are all these people?” I murmured. They looked solid, not like the hazy spirits I’d expected. Wisps floated about, zigging and zagging more animatedly than they’d done in the Institute. I supposed they didn’t have to put on a pretense here in their own realm. After all, if we were standing on their turf, they’d already done their job.

  Nathan shook his head slowly. “I’m not sure. They’re not from our time, that much I can say.” His eyebrows raised. “Except for those people.”

  I followed his eyes across the slopes of the nearby silvered hills, where individuals in modern clothing stood in groups. Without waiting, I hurried toward them with my aerial fleet of pixies flocking me, hoping someone might have seen Genie.

  “Wait!” Nathan called, chasing after me. My boots crunched against the strange grass, and my senses filled with the metallic aroma of ozone. It reminded me of being by the sea, although I couldn’t see one. Clearly there were some odd atmospheric forces at work here, but that didn’t concern me right then. Getting my friend and the others out of here was the only thing I cared about.

  I paused beside a youngish guy in jeans and a T-shirt, his eyes fixed dead ahead on the expansive hills and purple sky beyond. He was chattering to himself, saying, “I have to remember to do my laundry. Mom will be mad if I don’t. I should call her and let her know I’m okay.” I waited for him to acknowledge me, but he didn’t. He just repeated the same sentences over and over again, caught in a glitch.

  “Do you recognize this guy?” I whispered to Nathan.

  He nodded. “That’s David Harper. He was the seventh person to go missing, I think.” He approached the entranced man. “David? Can you hear me?”

  But either David couldn’t, or he had forgotten how to reply. He wouldn’t even turn to look at us, his eyes out of focus like he was sleepwalking.

  “What happened to him?” I tried to shake him by the shoulder, but he seemed unaware of that, too. Nothing was going to get through to him.

  “I don’t know,” Nathan replied anxiously. “However, I think it’s highly
likely that everyone we’re seeing here are the people that the Wisps have drawn to this place. Possibly over the span of a thousand years or so.”

  I hit him with a confused look. “How can that be? I thought the Wisps were trapped here, with no way out until the Institute accidentally opened the gateway.”

  “They must’ve found a way to slip out from time to time. And they wasted no time enticing as many people as possible.” Nathan visibly shuddered. “As you’re already aware, Ireland is rich in natural Chaos. Perhaps, when monsters came near, it allowed the gateway to temporarily open.”

  “Well, we already knew the Wisps were sneaky.” I set off to explore, determined to find my friend. Genie was around somewhere and I wouldn’t rest until I found her, even if I had to travel to the very edges of this interdimensional pocket.

  Hiking up and down the hills with my pixie entourage, peering behind chalky bushes with ripe blue fruit and scouring the shade beneath those strange blood-red trees, it didn’t take long for frustration to set in. Not even the pixies, picking the blue fruit and hurling it at each other, could lighten it. I’d counted around thirteen people in modern clothing, and a lot more in period clothing, but Genie wasn’t among them. Part of me wondered if she’d managed to escape somehow and was just lost in the real world, trying to find a way back to the Institute.

  But that smarted of wishful thinking. In truth, there was a higher chance that something worse had happened to her. I’d seen those Wisps turn violent. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to play ball, and it had landed her in trouble.

  “There!” Nathan shouted sharply, yanking my arm and spinning me around. “Over there!”

  I squinted, not seeing her.

  “On the riverbank, just in front of that tree.” He jabbed a finger toward the biggest tree on the horizon, which branched up and out on the opposite bank of a crystalline, purplish river. I searched the riverbank desperately, bracing for the worst.