Chapter 24
I stood with Megan at the glen, and I was seriously buzzed. Drinking more than one beer hadn’t been the smartest thing to do, but it beat cutting, and I needed something to dull the pain and anxiety that had been coursing through me since Laria had masqueraded as my mom.
“Look who’s here,” Megan said, motioning to the familiar Peugeot that pulled into the glen. Johan and three of his friends poured out of the car. “Milo told him that you weren’t looking for a boyfriend, so I think he’ll leave you alone.”
Apparently he’d gotten the message loud and clear because he glanced my way, lifted a brow, and quickly turned away.
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 y
ou 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.
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.”