The Haunted (13 page)

***

Things went from bad to worse when Cait met me in the hallway after third period.

“
Your brother completely lost his shit in Mr. Cameron’s class today.”

Alarm rushed through me. “What happened?”

“
He called Mr. Cameron a prick and tossed the exam paper back in his face. He almost punched him but Richie stepped in. Rumor has it he’s been suspended for three days.”

Shane might be a smart-ass, but he usually always respected teachers and had never been in any kind of trouble before. Well, aside from hitting a teammate for talking shit about his girlfriend.

Nor had he levitated.

I couldn’t walk ten feet down the hallway without someone mentioning Shane.

At lunch, I went straight to the library. I breathed a sigh of relief to see only one other person on the computer. I took a seat at the table furthest away from everyone and typed
signs of spirit possession
into the search engine.

Sweat formed on my forehead as site after site said similar things and gave a list of symptoms that implied a person had been taken over by a spirit. Shane had the majority of the signs, but then again, so did I…and so did Anne Marie. I remembered Shane telling me before Ian had left that he’d been having strange dreams and felt a heaviness around him, which went along with spirit possession.

I continued reading.

Over and over again I read that spirits normally were attracted to sensitive individuals, particularly those who were weak—meaning physically weak, like those who were sick or had lowered immune systems, or those who were spiritually weak.

I didn’t consider my brother weak by any means, but he was sensitive to spirits. He had felt Laria, even if he’d been unable to see her. Hell, he hadn’t even slept at the inn for days on end because of strange dreams he’d been having. I thought of Anne Marie who had suffered through the same thing. Laria had found a way to literally get inside Shane. Had she done the same to Anne Marie? Is that why Anne Marie had left town so abruptly?

“
Whatcha doing?”

I jumped a foot and put a hand to my racing heart. “You scared me.”

Peter stood beside me, looking all wide-eyed and innocent.

“
Sorry,” he said, not sounding at all sorry. He leaned forward and squinted at the screen. “Signs of spirit possession, huh?”

“
Homework,” I replied.

“
Liar,” he said under his breath, a smile on his lips.

A girl at another table glanced over at me, her brows furrowed together, reminding me that I was now talking to myself. I needed to speak with Peter telepathically.

“
Can you take over a living person?”

His brows furrowed.
“What do you mean, exactly?”

“
Like possess someone. Manipulate their thoughts and their bodies.”

“
Why do you ask?”

“
Because I think my brother is being possessed by Laria.”

Maybe it was my imagination, but Peter didn’t look at all surprised.

Sliding into the chair next to me, he leaned close.
“I know that some living people have taken on the personality of a spirit. There are a lot of us in spirit who are trying to communicate. We’re pushing thoughts and feelings toward the living, hoping to receive some kind of response.”

“
How can a person keep a spirit from taking them over?”

“
They can’t really. I mean, for whatever reason the person is open to it—whether they know it or not. There’s protection, but only that works so much.”

Hardly encouraging. I personally knew how strong Laria was. She terrified me with her strength and her ability to shift personas. She had warned me before that she would hurt those I loved, and I had no doubt that she was doing exactly that. If she couldn’t get in me, she’d get inside my brother.

“
How can I stop her?”

He chewed on his lower lip and shrugged.
“I don’t know. She’s very powerful.”

I was disappointed. I needed help and real answers. I ran my hands down my face. I needed to talk to Anne Marie. I needed to talk to someone, and someone living. Someone that had interactions with ghosts like me. Madison immediately came to mind, and yet I didn’t exactly feel comfortable pulling a twelve-year-old girl into my living nightmare.

But Madison knew Laria. She had told me as much herself. And what about Hanway? Would he talk to me? I wondered. Could he give me insight and tell me how to fight Laria…or were they friends?

“
I don’t know if Hanway will speak. He never leaves the castle. You’d have to go to him.”
I looked up at Peter in surprise.
I forgot that oftentimes ghosts could read our thoughts.

“
Why don’t you go to the castle?”
I asked, since the question had been eating at me for awhile.

He shrugged and looked down.
“There are areas in Braemar I don’t dare go, one place being the castle. There are spirits—who are not good. They are cruel, not only to the living but to the dead as well. So I stay where I am comfortable.”

“
Is there more than one mean spirit in the castle?”
I thought of Randall Cummins.

“
There are mean spirits everywhere…just as there are mean people everywhere. A person doesn’t change who they are when they die. If an earthbound spirit was cruel in life, then that spirit would be cruel in death.”

That made sense to me.
“Will you always stay here…I mean in the school?”

“
I don’t know.”

One day I hoped I could talk Peter into passing over into the light. Even though he seemed happy, I wanted him to pass on.

“
If you don’t mind me asking—how did you die?”

“
Tuberculosis.”

“
That affects the lungs, right?”

Peter glanced up toward the door.
“Uh-oh.”

Kade walked into the library. He scanned the room, and seeing me he grinned.

I hit the computer’s
Off
button and closed my notebook. I didn’t want to have to explain to Kade why I was searching about spirit possession.

“
There you are,” Kade said, glancing at the computer.

“
I thought I’d get a jump on homework. I’ve been slammed lately and the last thing I need is bad grades.” I ran a hand through my hair, and twisted the ends around my finger.

“
I thought maybe you were ignoring me,” he said jokingly, but I could see a certain vulnerability in his eyes that surprised me.

“
Of course I’m not ignoring you. I had fun this weekend,” I said, and immediately he seemed to relax.

“
I did, too. In fact, I was hoping maybe we could get together tonight…after practice.” I could tell by his body language that he was nervous. “Do you want to come to my house for dinner? We can have Shane and Miss A over too.”

How sweet of him to think of Miss A and Shane. Honestly, given what was going on with Shane, it probably wasn’t the best time to accept the family invite.

“
I’d love to come to dinner.”

He actually breathed a sigh. “I’ll pick you up at 6:30.”

“
All right,” I replied, happy he’d asked. I wanted to spend time with him, and I was grateful for the chance to go to his house, and hopefully talk to Madison.

He helped me to my feet, his fingers sliding through mine. We walked toward the door hand in hand. My heart raced as we walked out into the hallway. I could see people watching us, the surprise on their faces. Kade glanced at me, a soft smile on his lips.

I guess this meant we were officially together.

Dana’s friend was standing at her locker. Seeing us, she dropped a book. She picked it up and rushed down the hallway, no doubt to tell Dana.

“
I had a dream about you last night,” he said softly.

I tensed. “I’m almost afraid to ask if it was good or bad.”

“
Mostly weird,” he said with a strained laugh that didn’t exactly put me at ease. “We were in the castle, searching and rummaging through boxes.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What were we looking for?”

“
A book.”

“
A book?” I repeated, excitement rushing up my spine.

“
Yes, we finally found it…in a chest. The chest my mom keeps in her study, or what we like to call the catch-all.”

“
What did we do with the book?” I asked.

“
You have it in your room,” he said matter-of-factly. “Hidden away.”

Adrenaline coursed through my veins. This was just further proof to me that Kade
was
Ian. He had to be. How else could he know about that night in the castle and about Laria’s journal?

When I didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat. “Completely mental, right?”

I could have kissed him, but instead I squeezed his hand. “Not at all. Dreams can be hard to interpret,” I said, wishing I could tell him about Ian without making myself sound crazy.

Dana walked by us, her lips quirked as her gaze dropped to our linked hands. “Hey, Kade.” She gave me a lethal stare.

“
Hey,” he said, his thumb brushing over mine, reassuring me in his own way.

I smiled at him, and missed a step when I saw Laria standing directly between me and the door to my classroom. Thank God I was holding hands with Kade.

Her appearance was more frightening to me—her eyes more sunken in than I remembered, the almost purple circles more pronounced, making her dark eyes appear black.

“
You’re trembling,” Kade said, his expression concerned.

Cold air enveloped me, chills working their way up my legs and arms. I wanted to run in the opposite direction.

Laria reached out for me, her fingers running down my arm…directly over the now nearly healed scratches. I bit back a cry. It felt like someone poured alcohol over the cut. I winced against the pain and mentally repeated the words,
you have no power over me, you have no power over me, you have no power over me.

She laughed cruelly, her face inches from mine, moving backward without taking a step. “I’m fine,” I said to Kade.

“
You sure?”

I nodded. “I’m sure.”

I brushed a hand over my face. Laria vanished, and I sighed in relief.

We stopped at the classroom door. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“
Sounds good,” I replied, dropping his hand. I watched as he walked in long strides down the hall. Dread filled me seeing Laria at the very end of the hall. Kade was walking straight toward her.

My heart hammered in my chest. Oh my God, was she going after Kade now?

Kade glanced back over his shoulder, looked at me and lifted his hand.

I waved back.

“
Miss Williams?” The teacher watched me, brows lifted. “The bell is about to ring. Please take your seat.”

I looked one last time down the hallway…to find it empty.

Chapter
16

The castle was quiet, surprising since every member of the MacKinnon household was home. It reminded me of the inn in a way—so large that a person could move around without anyone else hearing.

I sat beside Kade on his bed, his foot sliding against mine. His mom said she’d come get us when dinner was ready. She didn’t seem to have a problem with us being in Kade’s room alone…as long as we kept the door open. I had to smile at that, because my mom would have been exactly the same way.

I wondered if Kade knew how lucky he was to have her; to have a stable home life with parents who were attentive and who put their kids first.

His fingers brushed lazily along my thigh, up and down, sending the best kind of shiver through me. Aside from Miss Akin, he was the bright spot in my world, my comfort and shoulder to lean on. And I was falling hard…

He went in for a bone-melting kiss that had my heart pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it. And he was an incredible kisser. Soft lips. Perfect pressure, and I loved the way his hands always cupped my face. He made me feel fragile and cherished.

Footsteps sounded on the spiral steps, and as they drew closer, Kade sighed and put some distance between us.

“
I made cookies,” his mom said, popping her head in. I could tell by her expression that she wasn’t exactly comfortable with me being on her son’s bed, and I felt my cheeks turn warm as she placed the plate on top of the dresser. “Now don’t eat too many. I don’t want you to spoil your dinner.”

Feeling awkward, I stood up and sampled a cookie. “Excellent,” I said, even though the cookies were definitely dry and had a strange baking soda aftertaste to them. No wonder Kade had devoured Miss A’s shortbread cookies.

She beamed. “I’m so glad you like them. I’ll package some up for you to take home to your family.”