Chosen Witch (Paranormal Romance)

Chapter 11

Hand in hand, we race down the stairs to find Jefferson. If what I'm thinking to pull off is at all possible, I can't do it without the help of the Alpha in training. He's just coming out of a room when we rush up to him.

"Come with us," I grab his hand and pull him along as I try to find a room where we can talk.

"She does remember I'm a shifter right?" I hear Jefferson ask, and Isaac's chuckle in response. I am kind of manhandling him, but I don't care how it looks right now. My idea is crazy and it might kill us faster than the plague, but it might also work.

"Okay, hear me out," I say, shutting the doors behind us. We're in one of the smaller offices, far away from anyone that I think I can speak freely.

"I may have an idea on how to stop the sickness, but it's incredibly risky and against everything that our parents stand for."

"I like it already," Jefferson comments, leaning against the wall, his full attention on me.

"Well, Isaac kind of suggested it, so it's definitely not all my idea," I say, receiving a puzzled look from the Watcher. But he's also waiting me out, letting me get my thoughts together.

"What if we write a banishing spell for the sickness, a one time deal to make us immune to it, and to push it back to slumber?"

"Spells of that magnitude require a crazy amount of magic that this town doesn't possess," Isaac says slowly. I can see him working through my idea, but I haven't gotten to the crazy part yet.

"Yes, which is why I'm sure they haven't done it. But I'm suggesting combining magic."

"With?"

"You," I say, looking at Jefferson. He stands up straighter at my words, a bunch of questions in his eyes.

"It's not something that's been done before, I know. But like I told you earlier, you are pure magic. And I know your pack protects your own nexus of power. So what if we take both of us and pour that into this one spell?"

"It's a good idea, Mer," Isaac speaks up, and I can hear the but at the end of that sentence already. "But what if it's not enough."

"It will be if we also combine the Ancients magic with ours."

That shocks both boys into complete silence. I can't even tell if they're breathing anymore, as they stare at me.

"I know, it's insane. And super risky. But what if we use the syphoning against itself. Tap into the very power that's trying to destroy us. We need to write a very specific spell, something that will pool all three of those resources into one, kind of like the Moon Charm, and at the end, we give it back to the earth. Never to be used again."

"That is...incredibly insane," Jefferson says, his frozen gaze still on me. "But I'm in. I'm not ready to give up yet."

Just like that. A shifter and witch are about to pool some magic together. I turn to Isaac next, and I know that without his support, I will never be able to go through with this. I don't say anything, waiting for him to work through the possibilities. When he speaks, I feel like my heart is going to stop beating.

"There can't be any oversight," he says, and I can breathe again. I throw myself at him and he catches me close to his chest. I knew I could rely on him, and he's proved himself to me a hundred times over already. I pull back and we turn to Jefferson.

"I had a feeling this would be a thing," he comments, a pleased smile on his face and I can't help but return it.

"If we're doing this," Isaac says, holding my hand firmly in his. "We'll need support. We'll need a Reader."

"Perfect. Because I know just the girl."

* * *

We don't waste any more time. The three of us manage to sneak out the back door almost as easily as we got in. My mother will think I'm still brooding somewhere in the building and that's fine by me. I cannot have anyone stopping us now.

It's only about a ten minute walk over to the clinic and we notice that the streets are cleaner on this side of the Main Street. The Readers and their healer helpers picked up as many people as they could.

"Where are all the healthy people?" And by people I know Jefferson means humans.

"In the houses, sleeping." I reply, because that much I do know. It's the standard procedure when we're trying to keep our secret. All the humans go to sleep.

"The sleeping is really a thing with you witches," Jefferson comments and I just shrug. He's not wrong.

"How are we going to get Emily out of there without alerting the others?" Isaac asks as we come up to the building.

"I got this," Jefferson says, and walks away.

"He's really cocky," I comment, and the shifter waves his hand over his head, throwing me a peace sign. "And I forgot he can hear me."

Isaac chuckles beside me, but doesn't comment. We move to the shadows, and I kind of wish I had super hearing so that I could at least hear what was going on inside. Not even five minutes go by when the side door open and out comes Jefferson, followed by Emily. He's talking, gesturing to somewhere down the street and I realize he must've told them there was a patient outside. When the door closes behind them, Isaac and I step out of the shadows.

"Mer!" Emily exclaims, rushing over to me. I meet her half way, hugging her tight. She looks more exhausted than I feel. There are bags under her eyes, and her skin looks so pale it's almost translucent.

"I've been so worried. When we couldn't find your bodies, I just..."

"I know. I'll tell you all about it later. But right now, we're about to do something crazy and we need your help. Desperately. "

My beautiful friend doesn't even question me. She grabs my forearms, giving them a quick squeeze before she says, "What do you need?"

"We need you to help us write a spell that will infuse our magic with Jeffersons...and the Ancients."

"Wait what?"

"Come on. We'll tell you on the way."

She hooks her arm through mine, as we turn to follow the guys into the woods. After we're far enough that we can speak a little easier, I tell her everything. Jefferson is about ten feet in front of us, leading the way, with Isaac bringing up the rear. Emily doesn't interrupt while I talk, just allows me to get it all out. When I finally finish, she exhales deeply and then turns her tired eyes on me.

"You've had quite a crazy couple of days."

"So have you, it seems."

She nods, but doesn't take the bait. For now, I let it slide. But I will get her full story out of her as well.

"Are we sure about this, Mer? I mean, the Ancients? That's some serious magic."

"We have no choice, Emily. I can't just sit by and let our parents sacrifice us. I have to try this. If you're not up for it, I'd understand."

"No, I am up for it. I mean, you dragged me into the woods once already. I can't be surprised you're doing it again."

We share a little laugh at that, and I'm just happy to have her by my side once more. I don't know how this will turn out, but at least I'll be surrounded by the people most important to me. Yes, even Jefferson.

We're about to make history. I just hope we're not making a huge mistake.