Page 56 of Midnight Rules
It was a suicide mission because chances were he wouldn’t be able to get out of the way of the poison in time. Not with how sick he was. He had a lot to lose, but death was no longer in the distance. It stood in front of him, asking him to take its hand.Marric refused. He had Emery and Regan to protect. He and Iven had just gotten started. He wasn’t ready to give up yet.
He worried about his dad the most. His dad had lost a lot. Marric didn’t want to add to the pain.
Griffin caught him as he stumbled forward.
“Shit, man. You look terrible,” Griffin lifted him off his feet, carrying him as though he were a baby.
Marric lay his head against Griffin’s shoulder and closed his eyes, taking the reprieve while he had it. “Thanks. I worked hard on my makeup this morning.”
Griffin chuckled. “Yeah, well, it’s doing nothing for you.”
Marric smiled, but it didn’t last long. “I’m supposed to deliver a spell to the wolves.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?” Riley asked.
“By giving myself up to them. They’ll isolate me by taking me into the barn.” Marric lifted his shirt, showing them the bottle with the poison inside and the tube he would need to spread it around. “Then you freeze everyone once we’re contained.”
Riley sucked in a breath and then turned to look toward the house. His expression was stoic. When he spoke, it was to someone on the porch. Most likely Zinnie. “This isn’t the way.”
If Zinnie responded, Marric didn’t hear her. But it wasn’t any more than a few seconds before he heard shoes on gravel and then her voice. “This wasn’t my plan, Riley. I simply wanted to poison them. The poison is nonlethal. Painful but not deadly. It will incapacitate them for a long while. We might be able to fight off the rest.”
Riley rolled his eyes. “I can just freeze them and deliver the pois—" Riley screamed as he held his head.
One minute Griffin was holding him and then the next Marric found himself unable to take in air as he hit the ground. It took his lungs longer than his brain to work again. The panic dissipated when he started breathing.
Griffin grunted in pain. He lay on the ground next to Marric. Riley wasn’t very far away.
Before Marric could see what was happening, a gunshot blasted his eardrums. He covered Griffin with his body and then tried to pull Riley closer, so he was out of the line of fire, covering Riley’s head with his arms.
A body fell feet away. Marric saw fur out of his peripheral vision.
Emery appeared next to him. She tried to pull him by the arm, but Marric shook his head.
“Maggie’s the shooter. She’s killing the wolves. We need to get you to the house.”
“Take Riley or Griffin first. They’re injured.” Marric wasn’t sure what was happening to Riley and Griffin. Whatever it was, it came on suddenly.
“A witch is doing it.” That was the last thing Emery said before she grabbed Riley by the arm and began dragging him across the yard.
Zinnie ran to help her.
Marric told himself to get up. It took him three pep talks before he came to his feet. He swayed.
It took him a moment to realize what had happened. Even with Emery trying to explain, he still hadn’t fully comprehended.
But he recognized the witch. The witches name was Marcus, but everyone in the pack called him Merlin. He was the only witch pack member. He’d come to the house in the middle of the night a few nights ago claiming he needed help for his neighbor but obviously, that had been a lie.
Marric remembered them talking about the wards when they hadn’t thought him and Dad were listening. It made sense why they’d been concerned about them. They wanted to make sure they could get onto the property easily when the time came. Butthey had come before Iven reenforced them. It had taken them a while to get past them.
He could have conjured the curse alongside Esmelyn. His discontent within the pack was enough of a motive. But why kill Marric and Emery just so Kinnison wouldn’t get his way? It seemed extreme.
Marric didn’t know what to do about Merlin. The witch was much stronger than him.
Fortunately, Maggie knew what to do. The gun cocked, and then the shot exploded in Marric’s ears again. He covered them, but not fast enough.
Marric watched as Merlin fell. He clutched his shoulder. Two pack members pulled him away and into the barn.
The gun going off was the thing Emery and Zinnie needed to get Griffin and Marric to safety. But they tried to take Marric first.
