Page 11 of Twilight Echoes (A New Dawn #7)

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“ I know you want me to stay with Avery, but I think I should be in on this conversation.” Darrell glanced over his shoulder, looking toward Avery where she leaned against the limo with her arms folded, glaring at him and her father. “This isn’t just about me and Avery. Our babies. But my entire pack. My entire family.”

“What do you think you can add to this meeting?” Albert asked.

“What’s he saying?” Avery projected.

“A different perspective and let’s not forget, I was there when the spell was cast,” Darrell said.

“That is if Regan Wilcox is indeed the one who cast the spell.”

“We both know this is the only logical explanation.” Darrell didn’t like arguing with a man he respected and the father of the woman he loved, but no way would he sit idly behind and do nothing. “I might be able to pick up something or add a memory I’d forgotten that can help us find the Wilcox family, the book, and make sure no one else dies.” He arched a brow. “I also have a heightened sense of smell. I get you are a powerful wizard, but you’d have to do magic to do what I can do by breathing.”

“Don’t ignore me,” Avery said.

“I’m not. But this isn't very easy and I can’t have a conversation with your dad while I’m fielding questions from you. Give me a break, please?”

“I don’t want my daughter left alone, and I need Gabe at my side. Which means I’m relying on you to take care of my little girl if something goes sideways in there.”

“If this works, I’ll be taking care of her and our children for a long time. She needs to come with us. She was there that day, too.”

“No,” her father said, shaking his head. “She’s already at risk. Why put her in the line of potentially greater danger?”

“You told me yesterday that it was best not to have a wall between us. What’s changed?”

“Nothing. I lied yesterday.” Albert let out a long breath, resting his hands on his hips. “Besides wanting you and Avery to have time together, I feared you might shift into a wolf and run off. Shifting could destroy her aura.”

Darrell swallowed his pride. He probably would have lied too. “I can feel her aura now, and she’s worried and angry, which only weakens both of us. I’m sorry, sir, but she needs to go where I go, and I’m going to meet with Merlin.”

Albert pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re right. You’re right,” he whispered, nodding his head. “Locking her up in the limo isn’t going to protect her, much less save either one of you.”

He placed a hand on the prince’s shoulder. “I will lay down my life if it means she’ll be fine.”

“I know you would, son. But understand, she’d do the same for you and excuse me for being a selfish prick, but I’d rather she didn’t. Not to mention, she can’t. She holds the future in her belly. All my daughters will. That’s a lot for this old man to bear.” He sighed. “You’re not a witch. You’re not one of these people’s kind, and they won’t like a wolf hanging around while I probe into their lives, so please, follow my lead, okay?”

“I can do that, sir.”

“Seriously, stop the sir shit. You’re family. Call me Albert.”

“Albert,” Darrell said with a thick lump lodged in his throat. “Let’s get this party started.” Darrell waved Avery over, and she wasted no time racing to his side.

He looped his arm over her shoulders, kissing her cheek, lingering a little longer than he should have. “We’re all meeting with Merlin,” he whispered in her ear. “Stay close to me, okay?”

“I won’t leave your side,” she said with her hand resting on his hip as they followed her father and Gabe down a long, windy path lined with green bushes and colorful flowers, including red and white roses and purple and yellow tulips.

The brick building in front of them stood tall, reaching its three stories into the blue sky like fingers. A sign that read Witches of the Willows School of Magic hung over a wooden double door with brass handles. Albert slammed his knuckles on the wood, knocking three times, and stepped back.

They all waited as seconds ticked by like sand in an hourglass.

The big doors swung open and a tall, skinny man appeared. “Welcome, I’m Merlin. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Prince Albert.” Merlin extended his hand, his long fingers showing signs of arthritis. “I wish it were under different circumstances.”

“Us as well.” Prince Albert nodded.

“As you can see by my appearance”—Merlin waved a hand over his wrinkled face—“we don’t have much time. I have aged another few years overnight. There is not one wizard in my coven that will step up after me. Many are running to seek shelter with others.”

“That won’t save them,” Albert said.

“The curse is already in everyone’s blood,” Gabe added as they walked through a long corridor.

Empty classrooms lined each side. Pictures of witches in classrooms performing various spells lined the walls.

“I have tried to explain this, but my people are scared. Many years ago, we suffered our first death from this curse, but we didn’t know why, and it didn’t happen again until a month ago. Since then, it’s been a rapid decline. On my council, there are only three of us left. They are waiting in one of the craft labs.”

“How sick are they?” Darrell asked. When he’d spoken to his mother, a few wolves were complaining of increased pain, but it seemed things weren’t progressing as rapidly as with the wizards.

“I’ve been able to create a potion that slows the process down, but we’re almost out, and it doesn’t appear to be as effective anymore.”

“How is the spell coming to locate the Book of Shadows?” Gabe asked.

“It’s complete, but it will kill me if I use it.” Merlin turned a corner, and they looped up a flight of stairs.

The building should have been filled with the sounds of witches learning their craft. Instead, a deafening silence filled the empty space.

“Trask believes if I surrender my powers to one of you and have you cast the spell, it would work.” Merlin stopped in front of a classroom.

“But that would transfer the black magic,” Avery said with wide eyes.

“It would, but Trask also thinks if we give my powers to an infected, it won’t be as powerful,” Merlin said as he stepped into the lab.

“I’ve already been able to pull part of the spell out from my daughter and Darrell.” Albert scratched the back of his head. “The governing council is doing their best with the sample I gave them, but they don’t have a mark yet.”

“They might not find it since the book is locked.” Merlin nodded to two men standing in front of a table filled with burners, small cauldrons, and other things necessary for mixing potions.

The men nodded back but kept working.

“I can use the same spell to pull some of it out if we decide putting the powers in Avery is the only hope,” Albert said.

“What!” Darrell snapped his head in the direction of Albert. “No fucking way. I won’t allow you to put my mate at risk like that. It could kill her. And our babies.”

Avery gripped his hand, her pulse pounding against his skin.

“She might be your mate, but she’s my daughter, and as you said out there a few minutes ago, you both die if we do nothing.”

“Cast the powers into me,” Darrell said with a low growl. “I know it can be done. You did with Jackson.”

“That was different,” Albert said, inching closer, anger firing from his gray eyes. “I had to make him an untouchable to keep my sister from killing him. I can’t make you an untouchable with that spell inside you.”

Avery squeezed his biceps. “And if we cast wizard powers in you without an outside aura and an inside aura disappearing, it will suck the life energy out of you in minutes. Killing us both.” She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “And our children. Casting it into me is our only option.”

Darrell yanked his arm free, taking a few steps back and raking a hand through his unruly hair. “There has to be another way.”

“That’s what we’re looking for, but our time is running out,” Albert said, staring at Darrell. “I don’t want to do this any more than you do, but these wizards are dying off faster than your pack is getting sick, and when they are all gone, your pack will die off fast, taking my daughter and grandchildren with you.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “We don’t know what kind of ripple effect that will have on Amanda and Jackson. Or Arianna, Alicia, and their future mates.”

“And we don’t know if the spell will then start in the royal family,” Merlin said. “If they die off, we’ll have mayhem.”

Darrell turned his back, folding his arms across his chest. His gut tightened, and the room blurred. He blinked five times, trying to snap everything into focus.

Avery’s soft, loving hands glided up his shoulder blades. “It’s the only way,” she whispered, her lips kissing the side of his neck. “I might not be the most powerful witch, but I can do this.”

Darrell took a deep, calming breath. “What happens if this works and it snaps the Book of Shadows back? What then?”

“I unlock the black magic, and then we can make this right,” Albert said, placing a firm hand on Darrell’s shoulder. “All I need is that book.”

“What about the Wilcox family? Will they be brought to justice?” Darrell asked.

“If they survive, they will be stripped of their powers,” Albert said with a tight voice. “And locked away.”

Darrell turned, locking gazes with Albert. “And if this doesn’t work?”

Albert said nothing, but he didn’t have to.

“We need to do this,” Avery said, palming his cheek, forcing him to look her in the eye. “For your pack… for us. For our future and for what’s coming.”

Darrell squeezed his eyes closed. He could be the macho alpha and pull rank with his mate, or he could do the right thing for everyone concerned.

“What do you need me to do?” Darrell pulled Avery to his chest, holding on to her for dear life.

“You’ll have to fight the urge to let go of her aura no matter what happens,” Albert said. “You give it all back, you die, making all this pointless.”

“I don’t plan on meeting my maker for a long time, so let’s get this freak show on the road.”