The Deepest Cut

by J. A. Templeton

  Typical man-whore behavior.

  Megan nudged me and nodded toward Cassandra, who was making out with, of all

  people, Tom. Eww!! I could barely stomach the sight. What was she thinking?

  I glanced over at Johan, who by his expression seemed as surprised as everyone by Cassandra’s sudden interest in Tom, and maybe even a little jealous. It was funny how guys reacted when the shoe was suddenly on the other foot.

  “Hey.”

  I jumped at the sound of Shane’s voice from behind me.

  Apparently Shane had started seeing Joni, the Emo girl who had been at Milo’s party. No wonder he’d been M.I.A. the past week or so.

  Despite the fact I was the last one to find out about his relationship, I was happy for him. He’d never really had a girlfriend, and I could tell by the girls’ reaction to his California skater boy good looks at registration that he was going to be popular.

  “I haven’t talked to you for awhile. Are you doing okay?” he asked, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

  “Yeah,” I lied. “What about you? You haven’t been home that much.”

  “I got a call from the school’s football coach today.” I could hear the excitement in his voice. “He’s interested in having me try out for the team.”

  “That’s awesome, Shane.” He’d loved playing soccer, or what they called football in the U.K., before our mom died, and he was known for his speed and scoring ability. I remembered spending long days at the field cheering him on, and I looked forward to doing it again.

  It was then I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “You look a little tired. Is everything okay?”

  He shrugged. “I haven’t slept all that great. I’ve been having some crazy-ass dreams lately.”

  My pulse skittered. “Like what?”

  “Like I’m being hunted by someone—or something. When I try to wake up, I can’t.

  When I do wake, it’s like I can’t breathe; like someone is sitting on my chest. That’s why I’ve been staying with Richie. I thought maybe it was the inn—you know, with it being old and all, but it doesn’t seem to matter where I’m at. I just always feel like there’s someone stalking me.”

  Laria was getting to Shane. I had known it at Milo’s party because I’d seen it for myself, but I hadn’t realized it had continued.

  After our last encounter, she would be even more relentless.

  “I sound mental, don’t I?” he asked, one side of his mouth lifting.

  “Not really.” I nudged his arm. “Things will get better, you just wait and see. And maybe lay off the pot, especially now that you’re getting back into soccer.”

  His lips quirked and he glanced across the fire at Joni. “Actually, I haven’t smoked for a few days.”

  I was glad to hear it. Nothing good would come of it…just like my getting shit-faced wouldn’t help me—or cutting for that matter.

  Joni smiled and waved at us. I grinned and waved back…but the grin slid from my lips a second later. Standing right behind her was Laria. She wore a creepy black robe. The hood was up, but her features were clearly visible, especially her dark, menacing eyes and malicious smile.

  She leaned down and touched Joni’s face in a slow caress.

  Joni didn’t flinch or react at all, which made me wonder if maybe Shane was sensitive to spirits.

  Laria started skipping toward me, in a slow, disjointed kind of way—an eerie dance that made my insides churn. The chanting

  I’d heard in my dream and the other night when Ian was over began.

  It was all I could do not to slap my hands over my ears.

  “I think we should go,” I said, watching with dread the closer she came.

  Laria’s fingers brushed through Shane’s hair, then over my shoulder.

  Shane grabbed my arm. “Come on, I’ll have Joni’s sister drop us off.”

  “You’re dead,” the chilling voice said in my ear.

  · · · · ·

  After hurling the entire contents of my stomach into the toilet, I crashed out and fell into a fitful sleep, and had a dream about Laria.

  She was writing in the journal, but this time I saw her peel back the edges of the binding, and write something there.

  Whatever it was, she constantly looked over her shoulder, toward the door, like she was terrified of being caught. Someone called out to her. Looking nervous, she quickly slid the journal back in its hiding place under the cot, and seconds later a middle-aged man appeared at her door.

  The vision faded and I woke up.

  I turned on the lamp next to my bed, and reached for the journal I had stashed in the drawer of my nightstand.

  Excited, I flipped to the last page and slowly began to peel it back. My hand shook as the paper ripped beneath my fingers. Taking a steadying breath, I took my time, and my stomach tightened seeing a now familiar scrawl appear.

  It was Laria’s writing and it said: To this land you were born and to this land you shall die, and for all eternity you will roam its borders and not beyond.

  In the margins was a list of ingredients, and I had a feeling it was the concoction she had used to kill Ian. Beside it was a phrase written in what I assumed to be Gaelic, an old Celtic language. I couldn’t pronounce the words, and honestly, I was too afraid to, terrified I would make matters worse. I had a new appreciation for the ‘other side’ now, for things most people couldn’t see or explain.

  The power the dead could have over the living was mind-boggling.

  Cold air enveloped me, and I fought a shiver as it rushed along my spine at the same time I felt someone standing nearby.

  Though I was seriously tempted, I didn’t look over my shoulder, but I did glance at the mirror on the back of my bathroom door. I could just make out a figure. Laria’s reflection stared back at me. She meant to scare me…and was doing a damn good job of it.

  I wanted to run screaming from the room, but instead I calmly said, “Be gone all evil spirits.”

  She was still there. I expected her cruel laughter, but instead she made no sound and floated to the foot of the bed, where she stopped and stared at me.

  Her gaze shifted from me to the journal in my hand.

  I shoved the journal under my pillow and scrambled off the bed. In the blink of an eye, she was standing right beside me. She was a couple inches taller than me and her form was almost solid. The lights flickered in my room, and I knew she was sucking up all the energy she possibly could.

  “Go away,” I said, lifting my chin.

  Her lips curved in a smile that didn’t begin to touch her eyes. “Never.”

  “Leave me alone,” I said with more force.

  “I will kill those you love if you continue.”

  Though her words terrified me, I was tired of her threats. I was tired of her. “Leave here. Move on. You are not wanted or welcome here.”

  I think she was angry I wasn’t showing fear. She had bullied me for so long, and now I had grown exhausted by her manipulation.

  Tired of the fear I felt on a daily basis. Tired of what she’d put Ian through. Tired of what she was doing to Shane, Anne Marie, and Miss Akin. Hell, for all I knew my dad could be affected too.

  “I will haunt you for the rest of your days,” she taunted.

  “No, you won’t.”

  She flinched as though I’d slapped her.

  “I’ve read the journal, Laria. I know the curse.”

  “Do you think you have the power to end it?” she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. “A curse I made.”

  I honestly didn’t know the answer to that question, but I was going to find out…tonight.

  The light above me crackled and popped, and I could hear the bulb shatter inside the fixture. Next, the light on my nightstand began to dim. “You’re losing energy,” I said with a calm that surprised me.

  The lamp bulb popped, followed by the light in the bathroom. I heard a crack from the hallway and knew she was draining every resource.
<
br />   Ian appeared behind her and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was thrust against the wall…all without him touching her. His gaze shifted up the wall, and Laria followed the route…up toward the ceiling.

  He was doing to her, what she had done to me.

  And she didn’t like it.

  She was on the ceiling and she hung there, her long hair falling like an eerie

  curtain. I saw the look in her eyes, and I was surprised to see fear.

  She made a horrific growling noise, and then she disappeared.

  I went into Ian’s arms and he held me tight, kissing my forehead.

  I looked up into his eyes, smiled and said,

  “I found it, Ian.”

  Chapter 25

  The castle’s dining room was dark and eerie. Even though I had Ian with me, I felt nothing but overwhelming sadness. Sadness that soon he would be gone and I would have to start living my life without him.

  I knew I should look at the positive and be happy Ian would finally have peace after roaming Braemar for the past two-hundred years, but the future seemed impossibly gloomy.

  Oddly, it kind of felt like going through a death. Like losing my mom all over again, and yet, this time it was different. Different in that I had control over the situation. I didn’t have control over what had happened with my mom. I knew that, and despite what Laria had said about her death being my fault and her resenting me, I couldn’t blame myself any longer. In my mind, I could right

  a wrong by helping Ian pass over and find peace.

  Maybe his passing over would give us all peace.

  Outside the weather raged, the wind whipped the branches, and rain pelted the windows. It was going to be a miserable night and I was already soaked to the skin.

  “Are you ready?” I asked Ian, who had been quiet since we’d left the inn.

  I had been surprised by the power he had shown over Laria, and I wondered how it had really been for these enemies to live in the afterlife together for over two centuries.

  He nodded. “I am.”

  I pulled the drapes closed and turned on my flashlight. “What are you feeling?” I asked, needing to hear his thoughts.

  His brows lifted. “I am excited to see my family, but I am also afraid of leaving here.

  This is all I have known.”

  “But you’ll be free.”

  “True,” he said, his hand brushing over the table in front of him. “And as exciting as that is, I am afraid of leaving you.”

  My heart squeezed with the love I felt for him. He was beautiful inside and out, and I feared I would never meet another man like him. My throat grew tight as I stared at him, memorizing every detail for later when he was gone. Thank God I had taken the time to draw the picture of him.

  “Come here,” he said softly, lifting his hand out to me.

  I slid the backpack from my shoulder, letting it fall to the ground beside me.

  I took his hand and he pulled me onto his lap, his arms encircling me, holding me tight.

  I slid my arms around his neck, buried my face in his hair, and inhaled deeply.

  “I miss you already,” I said, not bothering to wipe the tears that slid down my cheeks.

  He released a breath but didn’t respond, and I wondered, if like me, he didn’t want to let go. Didn’t want to say goodbye.

  Ian held me tighter, and looked up at me, his eyes bright in the dark room. “You are so special, Riley. Do not ever forget that.”

  Why couldn’t I have waited just one more night? Instead I had let Laria’s threats get to me. That time just wasn’t now. I made a huge mistake. I don’t want you to go yet.

  The words were on the tip of my tongue.

  He kissed me, his lips gentle and hard all at once. I felt his urgency, the raw need, and I kissed him in return, not holding anything back.

  I wished we had made love…but I know if we had, it would have made leaving even harder than it already would be.

  Minutes later I cupped his face with my hands. “I’ll never forget you,” I whispered against his lips.

  I was surprised to see tears in his eyes.

  “I’ll always be with you. Always. Never forget that.”

  Unable to say anything for fear of burst-ing into tears, I nodded.

  I went to get up, but he grabbed both my arms. “I love you, Riley.”

  My heart jumped at the declaration. I thought of these past weeks and how special he had made me feel, at how alive I felt because of him. “I love you, too, Ian.”

  He smiled softly, exposing those incredible deep dimples of his. “Remember, I will be closer than you think.”

  If only.

  Once he passed over, I’d never see him again. Just like I’d never see my mom again.

  “You must have faith, Riley.”

  “It’s hard to have faith given what I know about the afterlife.”

  “Believe it or not, you have only scratched the surface of what is possible. You must

  believe in your heart that we will see each other again. Will you do that for me? Will you believe we will be together again?”

  I forced a smile I didn’t feel. “I’ll believe we’ll be together again one day…and I can hardly wait.”

  “Good girl,” he said with a wink.

  I kissed him one more time and stood on wobbly legs. No matter how much I wanted to keep Ian with me, I had to get in and out of there as fast as I could.

  The room grew colder by the second, and I sensed a dark presence. I knew Ian felt it too, because he stood and moved closer to me.

  “Stay in the chair,” I said, and he sat back down, though reluctantly, his gaze all the while scanning the room.

  Unzipping my backpack, I removed the parchment, the candles, and the lighter I’d brought with me. I took a deep breath.

  “Ready?”

  He nodded.

  Recalling the instructions I’d read in one of the books Anne Marie had given me, I lit the first candle, closed my eyes and thought of my body being surrounded and filled with the white light. “I ask for light and happiness to fill this dwelling and those within it. Let all the binds that once tied, break. Remove all these ties and return to what once was. I release all those that are bound here to be free.”

  Next, I poured the salt and herbs around Ian and the entire table, not wanting Laria to get to either of us. The hair on my arms stood on end because I felt her watching—felt her anger, her intense hatred for both me and Ian. With trembling hand, I lit the gold candle and set it in the center of the table.

  I closed my eyes again and envisioned what I wanted—for Ian to be released from Laria’s spell, and for them both to move

  on…and for me and my family to have some much-needed peace.

  A scream pierced the quiet and I was terrified to open my eyes…but I did. As expected, Laria stood before me, her feet not touching the floor, her hair floating all around her. She meant to scare me, meant to have me run away, but I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin.

  Ian stood but I held up my hand and shook my head. He didn’t sit down, but he didn’t move out of the circle either.

  I continued. “White light protect us from all evil. Let only good energy remain in this place and return evil to where it came from.”

  Laria’s forced laughter radiated up to the high ceiling, and I could feel her try to use her power to pull me from the circle. My entire body trembled with the effort it took to stay put. The herbs and salt worked a little, but I felt the spirits of Ian’s family with us, giving us their energy.

  “I am the only one who can release him,”

  Laria screamed. “Don’t you know that, you fool?” She lifted her head and I felt my feet leave the floor.

  “Riley, don’t let her control you,” Ian said.

  I focused my attention on staying put, and my feet once again touched solid ground.

  Laria turned to Ian and with a jerk of her hand, he went flying across the room, his back hitting the s
olid wall with a thud. He had left the safety of the circle, and I feared the curse wouldn’t work because of it.

  He came right back at her, a complete blur. Seconds later he had her pinned against the opposite wall, his hands at her throat.

  “You are pure evil, Laria. Leave this place once and for all. Go to hell where you belong.”

  Laria clawed at him and he finally released her. Her chest rose and fell heavily,

  and she turned to me with such a wicked expression on her face, I steadied myself for what was to come.

  With trembling hand, I lifted the candle and looked Laria in the eye. “Remove the evil spirit from my midst.”

  She rushed toward me, tackled me, and straddling my waist, started choking me. The candle had slipped from my hand and the light blew out, but I could still see the whites of her cruel eyes.

  She was ripped off of me a moment later and slammed against the wall. A picture fell on top of her, and she pushed it aside, coming quickly to her feet.

  She rushed me, but Ian caught her.

  “Remove the evil spirit from our midst,” I said again with more force. “Return her to where she belongs, and let all curses and spells die with her.”

  A man walked through the wall, straight toward us. I recognized him from my vision

  the night before. It had been the man who had appeared at Laria’s door. The man she’d hidden the journal from.

  Laria looked at the man and shook her head.

  He reached out, grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull away from his beefy hand, but he held her tight.

  “You shall pay for this,” she said, glaring at me.

  “You have no power over me anymore,” I said, feeling stronger by the second.

  I saw the fear in her eyes fade, and for an instant I saw the girl she must have been when she’d been alive. She looked innocent—this woman who had haunted me since I’d arrived in Braemar.

  The man glanced at me and then they faded before my eyes.

  Laria was gone.

  Elated, I looked to where Ian stood, and my stomach fell to my toes. He was so bright,

  nearly blinding, and fading fast. “No!” I said, but it was too late.

  Before I could blink, he was gone.

  Peace and tranquility filled the room, but inside I mourned the loss of my friend. Feeling like the breath had been sucked from my lungs, I fell to my knees, and tears slipped down my cheeks and onto the floor.