Guess I’ll be needing some additional help after all.
Chapter 21
What Kind of Choices Are These?
I stand up, clutching the journal in my left hand as I walk toward the doorway. As much as I hate to admit it, I need to make a plan for how to find my dad’s remains. That means waking up Wade.
Despite the impending vibe of doom, I have to admit there’s an odd sense of peace in finding out some of this information. Pieces of this strange puzzle I’ve been surrounded by are beginning to lock into place. My life and this gift of mine are starting to make more sense. All the little nuances and frayed edges.
Before I can even reach the landing, an envelope drops from the journal and flutters to the floor. I bend down and pick it up, turning it over to have a closer look. It’s addressed to my mom and even has a stamp on it. Cramming the journal under my arm, I run my fingertips along the seam. It was never sealed properly, so I flick it open and peer at the contents.
Inside is a folded piece of paper. I pause for a moment, unsure if I should even be looking over a letter that’s not meant for me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, the angel on my shoulder reminds me it’s supposed to be a felony to open someone else’s mail. But the devil on the other side justifies it since it was never officially sealed—or even mailed.
I bite my lip, fighting internally until I pull it out and gently unfold it. The letter is dated August 1 of last year—mere weeks before I got my letter from Windhaven Academy.
My pulse races as I scan the letter meant for my mom.
My Dearest Andrea,
I wish I were writing you with better news. Perhaps I’m wrong, and things will go far better than I anticipate. But I’m not holding my breath.
I know I had promised you I would do whatever I could to keep Autumn safe. Believe me, I intend to do everything in my power to keep that promise. However, you should know, the Moirai have been back, calling for a sacrifice. I don’t intend to be caught off guard this time. Especially if they were again to come for Autumn.
I have found a spell that allows me to summon Aisa. It needs to be done on the eve of the full moon and I believe I have found ley lines on the property that will be conducive to the attempt.
At the next full moon, I will cast the spell and beg Aisa to reconsider. If that doesn’t work, I will take more drastic measures. I truly hope it doesn’t come to that.
However, should things fail, I want you to know that I will not leave Autumn unprotected. I’ve set a fail-safe, triggering a paid scholarship to the Windhaven Academy. If she gets an acceptance letter, it means the Moirai have taken me. It’s not the news we have longed for, but it might be what has been fated from the beginning. (Yes, pun intended. I have to keep my humor about me while I can.)
Andrea, I know we wanted to keep Autumn away from all of this for as long as we could. But it’s possible our time is up. If this ends up being the case, she will need to understand her gifts and the legacy we hand over to her. She will need to return to the manor and I hope that you will return with her. This house needs to feel the light and love of both of you. Autumn will also need someone who can help her to understand why we did what we did. Learning how to master her gifts—learning about my family—it’s the only way she’ll be able to defend herself against the curse.
I hope this works, Sweetheart, I really do. My deepest desire is that the Moirai will hear me and turn a blind eye to Autumn and the Blackwood Family. But if it doesn’t, this curse will end with her. One way or another.
I love you always.
Lyle
My fingertips press against my mouth and I swallow hard. Regardless of the distance of time and space, it’s clear from this letter that my dad loved me—and my mother—very dearly. Even to the very end. He was trying to protect me and he wanted to keep whatever promises he’d made to my mother.
Tears blur the page from my view as I realize this is why Mom has hated the supernatural world. It’s meant more than cool parlor tricks. It’s buried deep in family curses and a legacy entrenched in death.
My heart breaks for my dad, knowing he lived out his last days alone—without the love and companionship of those he cared most for. And in no small part, he was doing it all for me. To protect me and give me a chance to fight off some curse against the Moirai.
And at what cost?
His love? His life?
Sorrow sweeps through me, and I wish I could put an end to all of this, but I also know I can’t go in half-cocked. If the Moirai killed my dad, they’re not going to even think twice about me.
No, first I need to help put my dad to rest. Then, I’ll find a way to end this curse, or die trying.
“Autumn, there you are,” Wade says from the bottom of the stairs. His voice pulls me from my thoughts and I blink back in surprise. “Whatcha been doing? I was getting worried.”
The letter is still clutched in my hand and I glance at it, then silently hold it out. Wade’s dark eyebrows knit together as he bounds up the stairs, two at a time.
When he reaches the landing, he shoots me a questioning glance, but accepts the letter. Glancing down, he reads it. With each
