Chapter 9
While Avery practiced witchcraft every day, her higher-level skills were rusty. All witches had to go through courses that would prepare them for the use of black magic, but since her twenty-first birthday, she hadn’t actually performed any of the spells only legal during training.
And she’d never had to absorb someone else’s powers. After seeing what it did to her father to give them up to Jackson, even momentarily, she couldn’t believe she was agreeing to it.
Life or death.
She chose life.
“You’re going to be entering what we call the empty space,” Merlin said. “You will see all sorts of spirits, but the potion will allow you to see the keeper of the locked books.”
“Why can’t we just call upon this keeper to give it back?” Darrell said, not hiding his frustration, or his sarcasm.
“Only the head wizard of any coven can get it back, and they risk not being able to make it back,” Merlin said, his damned even tone making her want to crawl out of her skin.
“This is sounding like a dumber plan by the second,” Darrell muttered.
“Just remember to trust your instincts,” her father said.
Right, because being a ballerina had prepared her for this.
“He will point you to where the book is, but he can’t go with you,” Merlin said. “And don’t let him distract you.”
She nodded. “Anything else?”
“Get the book, hold it tight, and cast the spell to bring you and the book back,” Merlin said, clasping his hands together.
“Are you ready?” her father asked, leaning against the table, his arms folded.
Darrell stood next to him, same position, with a deep scowl on his face.
She smoothed down her jeans and took in a deep breath. Taking even a weakened warlock’s power would be difficult. No matter how much she prepared herself for the collision between her powers and his, she had no way of predicting how her body would react.
Much less Darrell’s, and since they were connected through her aura, he would most likely feel and see everything she did.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.
“Drink this.” Merlin handed her a small test tube filled with a smoky, purple liquid. “It will help protect your connection to Darrell.”
Her father glanced at Darrell as he placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder. “Go sit next to her. That might help too.”
Darrell nodded as he walked slowly, his feet scuffing the dulled tile floor. He sat on the hard, wooden chair next to her, holding her hand, his thumb gently rubbing her skin.
“While I cast the spell, Prince Albert will try to contain the spell Regan hexed,” Merlin spoke in a monotone voice. “From the time my powers leave my body, we will have only a few minutes to snap the book back and cast the powers back to me.”
“How many minutes, exactly?” Avery asked.
“Maybe five,” her father answered.
“Here we go,” Merlin said. “The witch and this warlock are one. We are bonded together until the deed is done. Out of the cauldron and into wait, I cast the powers of fate.”
She gritted her teeth as a fire burned deep in the pit of her gut.
Darrell growled low and deep, squeezing her hand, turning her knuckles white.
“I shall regain my strength in my sister form, to pull back the book that fell into warn.”
As Merlin spoke, her body shivered as her pores opened up, allowing a gray cloud of smoke to settle into her bloodstream. A surge of energy, like the crackle of a lightning bolt, exploded from her toes to her head. Her aura shifted, pulling closer to her body. She shoved it away, mentally reaching out to Darrell, hoping he could somehow hear her thoughts.
Keep us connected.
“The magic rises in the west, setting where we need it best,” Merlin said. “Out of the caldron and into the past, find the Witches of the Willows Book of Shadows from the tree of the last.”
“Now,” her father commanded as he held a ball of white smoke between his hands, his body wrinkling like skin soaked in water for hours.
She closed her eyes, ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in her temples as she stepped into the past, following the trail of fireflies leading the way. Visions of people she’d never met floated by.
“Hurry,” her father said in a voice so soft, she’d barely heard him.
“This way,” a man said, standing near a willow tree.
“Who are you?” she asked, following him down a path that led to a small cabin. She had to be sure this wasn’t some kind of trick in this weird place that didn’t really exist.
“I’m the keeper of secrets,” he said with an eerie smile. “I have what you seek.”
“Where?”
“Why don’t you visit with me for a while. It gets lonely in the dark world.”
“I can’t. Witches and werewolves are dying.” She wanted to add she was too, but she wasn’t sure that would help.
“We can talk a walk by the pond. It’s so pretty there. It’s right on the way,” the man said.
“I need to get to the book,” she said, taking a few steps forward, but she had no idea if the cabin in front of her was the cabin.
“I know,” the man said with a long sigh. “I can tell you have resolve for your quest.” He waved his finger at the building that seemed to move closer and closer. “Be sure you get the right one, or more unthinkable things will happen.”
She took off running until she stood at the door. She could no longer hear her father.
Or feel Darrell.
That had to be bad.
Pushing back the front door, she entered the cabin, shocked by the number of Shadow books on the shelves. She scanned the shelves, going from left to right, top to bottom. Tears welled in her eyes as she came to the last shelf and still hadn’t found the one she needed.
She was about to start scanning again, when she noticed a desk in the corner with an old, dusty book sitting on top, the Witches of the Willows crest embedded on its leather case. When she took the book in her hands, her skin prickled with fire.
“Out of the cauldron, out of the empty space, cast this mix of warlock and witch back to the right place. Keep this book safe through the passage of time and ease the locks that bind the rhyme.”
Her body shook as the cabin she stood in crumbled to the ground. The man she’d seen waved to her, but she ignored him, looking for the safe passage from this non-existent plane. Merlin said she would know it when she saw it. Turning in a full circle, she could see the school to the east. Running as fast as she could, she made her way to the front door. She raced through the corridors, clutching the book tight until she found the room that housed her body.
And the man she loved.
She busted through the door, but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Darrell sprawled out on the floor, foaming at the mouth.
No!
She raced to her body.
“Out of the caldron and into the witch’s meme. Reverse the spell and return the warlock to his frame. Bring the Book of Shadows to the warlock of logic, giving him permission to seek the one who can break the cursed magic.”
The room spun around her as if she were the sun and the lab the earth. Her stomach twisted and knotted. Flames coated her skin as she snapped into her body.
“Avery,” her father said.
But she couldn’t answer. Nor could she see anything but blurred images. She blinked a few times, but nothing helped.
She licked her dry, cracked lips and tried to speak again. “Darrell,” she croaked out.
“He’s very weak.” Her father gave her a kiss on the cheek before helping her to the ground. “Lay next to him. Hold him.”
“Dad, did I do it?” She rested her head and hand on Darrell’s chest. His breathing was shallow and his heart beat so slow she could barely feel it.
“You did,” he said. “Now I need you to rest so I can do my part. Can you do that my little girl? Can you let yourself sleep?”
“Will it help Darrell?”
“Yes,” her father said.
She let her breathing fall in line with Darrell’s and pushed as much of her outer aura as she could over him, knowing that it was his inner aura that was killing him, and there was nothing she could do about that.
Her mind wondered back to when she’d been five years old.
“Avery, are you ready?” Miss Tammy asked.
“Yes.” Avery jumped from her seat and bounced to the center of the room.
Darrell took her hand and smiled.
The music began and he effortlessly led her through the routine. In his arms, it was as if she’d belonged there.
Glancing in the mirror, she gasped at the reflection of her and Darrell as adults, not children…
“I love you, Darrell,” she said.
“I love you, too.”