The Departed (4 page)

I knew the feeling when it came to those movies. I’d always felt the same way. Now one of my greatest fears had become a reality. I wanted to tell them about the dream I’d had last night, about Laria’s possible burial site, but I was still processing the dream and how to proceed.

The last thing I wanted was the five of us coming up with a half-assed plan to wander into the woods and go searching for a two-hundred-year-old grave. Even though we were in rural Scotland, the forests changed with time. Trees were larger, brush was denser. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

While everyone was quiet and continued to eat, I did what I told myself I wouldn’t do with my buddies. I decided to try and read their thoughts.

Megan was completely twisted. Her energy was scattered, and I could feel jealousy toward Cait coming off her in waves. I still didn’t quite understand why she was so jealous when she was clearly in love with Milo. I’m sure what she felt for Shane was a crush, but I wished that crush would go away because it would only make things more awkward. Maybe if Cait and Shane ended up together, that would put a fork in it for her.

Reading Cass, I could tell there was a part of her that was actually kind of into the ghost hunting part of what we were going through, and yet she was terrified, which was understandable. Going from seeing a ghost to talking ghost possession was a lot to accept.

Cait was the toughest of my friends to read. She seemed overly calm. Too calm in some ways. Then again, she might just be processing everything, especially since her family was so intimately involved. Her mind kept skipping to Shane, and I had to smile to myself, knowing that she was really into him.

Shane took a drink of juice. “Everyone just needs to stay vigilant and if you see or experience anything, to let all of us know.”

Everyone seemed in a better mood by the time they left my house just before noon. I went to the back patio and looked over at the hillside beyond the castle. Somewhere up in those woods was Laria’s grave.

Find her, and you find them all.

That warning would stay in my head for as long as I lived.

Chapter 4

At ten minutes after one I finally texted Kade and told him I was ready to talk. Five minutes later the doorbell rang. Honestly, I was happy to know he was as anxious to talk to me as I was to talk to him.

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I had made an effort to look my best. My hair hadn’t been cooperating, so I had slicked it back in a high ponytail, and wore a flowy cream shirt with a pair of cobalt blue slim-fitting pants and cute flats.

Kade knocked and I opened the door. His gaze skimmed my body and slowly lifted to meet mine. A boyish smile spread across his lips and my stomach did a flip.

His navy button-down shirt was rolled up at the elbows and open at the neck, exposing part of his strong chest and the Celtic cross necklace, like the one I wore. He had on my favorite jeans, too…the ones that cupped his butt in the nicest possible way.

I was toast.

All the reasons I had come up with to put our relationship on hold evaporated. I wanted to slide into his arms and tell him immediately that everything would be okay. That all was forgiven, and yet I stopped myself short of doing that.

I already knew the reason behind his infidelity, and though it was Laria’s handiwork, the video of him hooking up with Dana had been permanently burned into my brain. There was a part of me that felt betrayed and I guess I wasn’t ready to jump back in with both feet…even though my heart was telling me to do exactly that. The fact of the matter was, regardless of the circumstances, he’d been with someone else, and I hated it. Hated the thought that he had shared what we had shared with someone else…
after
we had been together. The girls who had come before me didn’t matter, but Dana—oh my God, I hated her with a passion. And as much as I wanted to forget, my mind tried to fill in the blanks of what the video had missed…and that would happen every single time I saw Dana.

“Hey,” he said, going back on his heels. “You had said to come by…hopefully I’m not appearing too eager.”

“You didn’t waste any time,” I said with a soft laugh that seemed to ease the tension.

“Who’s here?” my dad asked from his office.

“Kade,” I said, hand on the door handle. “You want to go somewhere and talk?”

I didn’t want to be in my house. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and I needed to put some distance between me and the inn.

Kade nodded. “Yeah.”

I knew just the place. I shut the front door and started walking toward the hill where I had hung out with Ian, keeping a few feet of distance between us as we rounded the inn toward the back.

As we walked in silence, I felt Kade’s gaze on me. A million different emotions raced through me, mostly concern that he wouldn’t understand everything, but it was time to say what was on my mind.

The wind picked up the further we climbed, and I was glad I’d worn my hair in a pony. I focused on Kade and his thoughts. I could feel his nervousness, and the worry. He didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know where to start. I had told him yesterday that we had a lot to talk about…and we did. Plus, my friends knew everything now. Soon Kade would too. Would it change how he felt about me? Would he run for the hills once he learned the truth?

“How about here?” I asked when we were nearly at the top.

Kade raked a hand through his dark hair. “Sure,” he said, following my lead as I sat down.

He picked a blade of grass, rolled it between finger and thumb. “Riley, I never meant to hurt you,” he said, as he watched me closely. “I wish more than anything I could go back in time and erase that night.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“I hate myself for what happened. I thought it was you. I mean, it’s so bizarre—because it’s not like I was wasted or anything. But one second you were there, standing in front of me, and then when I woke up the next day I had this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

“I know that, too.”

His brows furrowed and he tossed the blade of grass aside. “I feel like you don’t, though. You’re saying you know it, but you act like you don’t know. I feel the distance between us…and I hate it. I want back what we had.”

If only that were possible.

My heart was hammering against my chest so hard it felt like it would burst. It was time to be completely honest. “This is really tough for me to say…”

I saw fear enter his eyes.

I cleared my throat. “You know how I asked you the other day about ghosts?”

I saw and felt his confusion. He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, I can see ghosts…just like I see you. I sense them. I hear them. I talk to them.”

It was obvious by his stunned expression he’d been expecting me to say something different. “You mean you’re psychic?”

“Yes.”

His eyes widened a little.

“And there’s a spirit who is haunting me,” I said, weighing my words carefully. “Someone who wants to hurt me.”

He sat up straighter, his shoulders ramrod straight. “Hurt you…like how?”

I pressed my lips together and looked toward the inn, and then to the castle. “Like, kill me. Contrary to what some people believe, the dead can harm the living, but I should probably start at the beginning.”

The nerve in his jaw ticked.

“Your descendant, Ian MacKinnon, the one I talked about at your house the night I met your family—well, I met him when I first moved here.”

His eyes narrowed as he watched me. “You met his ghost?”

I nodded.

“He’s the one who is haunting you? The one who wants to hurt you?”

“No, God no. Sorry.”

He visibly relaxed.

“Ian doesn’t want to hurt me. It’s that witch Laria who killed him. She is haunting me.” I chewed on my fingernail. This was a train wreck. “I know this sounds crazy, but Laria wants revenge on me for helping Ian cross over to the light.”

I knew it would be tough for anyone to understand, and Kade was doing his best to digest what I was saying, though I could see a kind of my-girlfriend-is-nuts expression flash across his face.

“You think I’m crazy,” I said, before I could stop myself.

“No,” he said, as he took my hand in his. “It’s just a lot to take in.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, and I guess I didn’t realize just how exhausted I was until that moment. How tired I was of explaining myself to people I cared about, and having them look at me like I was crazy.

His thumb teased the hairs at the base of my neck. “Riley, I believe you.”

Those words meant everything. What I wouldn’t give to tell him that he was Ian in a past life, but it was hard to wrap your brain around the fact that you could be living at the same time your earthbound spirit was hanging out with your girlfriend. “There’s more…Laria is able to manipulate people to do what she wants. Basically she can shift into people—and take them over.”

“You mean possession?” Even his tone was full of disbelief.

“Yes.”

His eyes went wide. “Are you saying the other night at the party…”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. She’s done some really twisted things, trust me.”

He cussed under his breath. “How is that possible?”

“It just is. Maybe there’s witchcraft involved. I don’t know. I mean, it’s hard to believe.”

“So that’s why I saw you, but it wasn’t you?”

I nodded.

“Bloody hell…I thought I was losing my mind.”

He wasn’t the only one. “I have to get rid of her. I thought breaking the curse would do that, but it’s only made things worse. It was Laria who pushed me down the stairs…or Randall, who was also a servant at the castle at the same time as Laria.”

He went quiet on me. I could see him trying hard to process everything I’d said. His jaw tightened. “Is it possible to kill a ghost, because I’m this close to doing just that from what I’ve heard.”

I smiled. “You and Shane both.”

“Shane knows?”

“So does Cait, Megan, and Cass. Laria kind of made herself known last night.” I didn’t get into details. Honestly, it was probably better if he didn’t know the extent of the haunting. “Oh, and there’s more.”

His gaze searched mine.

“When my mom died, I had a lot of guilt about the wreck and everything. When I woke up in the hospital, I was able to see spirits. I couldn’t see her, and that really confused me. I started cutting. It was a way to release the frustration I felt inside. I still cut, Kade. I don’t want to...”

I could see his gaze shift to my arm, to the scratches there.

“Those are from Laria.” I shifted my arm, showing him the scars on the inside of my elbow. “These are from me. I have some on my legs, too.”

“People at school were talking about you cutting.”

No surprise there, especially with Dana hanging pictures of a girl cutting on my locker for everyone to see.

“I think there’s more people who cut than any of us realize.” He took a deep breath, then released it. “I want to help you, Riley. What can I do?”

“Be my friend.”

Once again I saw that strange look in his eyes. “I want to be more than friends. I mean, I can’t just be your friend.”

“I have to end the curse, because I can’t go on like this. She’s threatening everyone I love, and I’ve already put my friends in harm’s way. I can’t ask you to put yourself even more at risk.”

“I’m already involved. Don’t push me out of your life, Riley. I couldn’t stand it.”

“I don’t want to push you out of my life. I want you.”

He reached out and grabbed hold of my face with both hands. “Then let me help you.”

Chapter 5

Kade invited me over Sunday for brunch. I wasn’t at the castle for five minutes when Cait walked into Kade’s room and took me by the hand, telling him she needed to borrow me for a few minutes.

I followed Cait up the stairs to her room.

Madison, Cait and Kade’s twelve-year-old cousin who lived with them, sat cross-legged on the rug. Seeing me, she grinned and jumped to her feet. “I’m so happy you’re back together with Kade.”

I adored Maddy. She had attitude, and it didn’t hurt that she could also see the dead, especially Hanway, a ghost who had been living at the castle for centuries. The two had a tight bond.

I gave her a hug. “Thanks, Maddy. I’m happy we’re back together, too.”

Cait shut the bedroom door behind her.

Maddy sat down on the bed beside me, her gaze skipping to Cait, who had pulled the desk chair close to the bed and took a seat. She leaned in toward Maddy. “We need you to ask Hanway what Laria wants from Riley…or from any of us, for that matter.”

I was glad she didn’t mention anything about Laria’s threat to kill all of us.

Maddy frowned. “I can’t just summon him and he appears like a genie.”

She could have fooled me. I remember when Randall had shown himself in the dining room, and how Maddy had called for Hanway and he’d been there within seconds. When Ian was here, there had been times I had called to him and he had appeared; and yet other times, like when I’d been locked inside the mausoleum, when he hadn’t shown at all.

Maybe one day I would figure out all the complexities of spirits.

“Let me see if I can get him to answer,” Maddy said, closing her eyes.

Cait and I shared a look. This twelve-year-old girl blew me away.

I felt a cold chill in the air, but I didn’t see Hanway. Apparently Maddy did, though. She glanced toward the far corner of the room. I could tell she was communicating with him, the way her focus stayed there.

I struggled to focus…to see if I could at least hear him.

Maddy watched the corner of the room intently. “He keeps showing me woods.”

I swallowed hard.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I want to go across the river, toward the woods.”

Cait frowned. “What does that mean?”

I was reminded of the dream I’d had last night. Before I spoke up and said anything, I wanted to see what else Hanway had to say.

Maddy put her fingers to her temples. “Rumor says she was buried across the river, up on the hillside in the dense brush. They buried her there, forgot about her, and made sure she would never be found.”