The Departed (8 page)

“I just don’t see where we have a choice. Like Megan said, what if Laria starts tormenting her little brother? Then who’s next? I don’t want to sound selfish, but I honestly don’t want it to be me, and yet I know it’s a matter of time, especially if we don’t try to stop her now. Let’s face it, Cass has already admitted to popping sleeping pills, and that’s just dangerous.”

It was dangerous to take pills. As dangerous as it was for me to confront a malevolent spirit.

“All right, I’ll go,” I said, not wanting to think about what would happen when Shane found out I was going to Laria’s grave without him.

***

Cait didn’t mess around. By the time I met her behind the cemetery, she looked ready for a hike into the Andes mountains. She wore a bandana over her head, cargo pants, hiking boots, and a fleece vest over her long-sleeved shirt. I’d bet my life she had as much survivor gear shoved into her stuffed backpack as she could fit.

At least someone knew what they were doing.

I felt like an amateur with my jeans, tennis shoes, and lightweight flannel. At least I’d thought to bring a jacket in my pack for later…just in case, along with the nail, hammer, and the paper where I’d written down the words from the video Kade had been talking about. The lady binding the grave had been short and to the point.

I also brought a flashlight, extra batteries, water bottle, and a couple of protein bars.

“Okay, we don’t want to lose each other. If we do…we have these,” she said, handing me a Hello Kitty walkie-talkie.

I tried to hide my smile but failed. “Hello Kitty…”

“A phase I was going through. They work, though. I tested them out with Maddy.”

“Maddy knows we’re going?”

“Hell, no. She’d freak out and probably tell Mum.” Cait added another water bottle to my pack. “Just in case. We want to be sure we stay hydrated.”

“We’re just heading to the top of that hill.”

Her lips quirked. “The top of that hill is miles away, Ri. I know that it looks like it would be a quick sprint, but honestly, it’s much further than it looks, and the terrain can be a bit dodgy at times.”

Not the most comforting of words, especially with the afternoon sun beating down on us.

“Let’s get moving,” she said, and we started off at a clip, both of us excited and nervous as we made our way into the woods. It wasn’t too far in when the pathways started veering off in different directions…just as Hanway had told Maddy.

At first, Cait used the compass on her iPhone to track direction, but soon the phone dropped out of range, and there was no signal. That made me nervous. If we got into trouble, we were shit out of luck.

Cait was obviously in better shape than I was, because she hiked about ten steps ahead of me. Every once in a while she would wait, but inevitably she’d pull ahead again.

I knew it was wrong of me to do, but I wanted to be distracted, and I wanted to know what Cait was thinking. Out of all my friends, she was the toughest one to figure out.

What I didn’t expect were thoughts of my brother, mostly the two of them making out and rolling around on his bed. Apparently they had done more than just sleep at the slumber party. I quickly pushed the thought away before I “saw” more than I wanted to.

“Our brothers would kill us if they knew what we were doing,” I said, speaking my fears aloud.

She glanced back at me and grinned. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them. And I’m sure as hell not saying anything to either one of them. Let’s just hope we’re successful, we bind the grave, and we return home and our lives become peaceful again.”

I hoped she was right. I needed peace. Scratch that, we all needed peace.

“He likes you…a lot. I can tell.”

“Really?” She slowed down, and fell into step beside me. “Has he said anything?”

“Yeah, he asked me if I had a problem with him seeing you.”

She actually looked nervous. “And what did you say?”

“Do you seriously have to ask me that?” I said, surprised. “I kind of have a thing for your brother, too, you know? I’m assuming you don’t care that I’m seeing Kade, so why would I feel weird about you seeing Shane?”

She grinned, obviously relieved. “We’re still sort of friends. I was relieved to hear about Joni and her boyfriend, though. I thought maybe I didn’t stand a chance in hell, especially since she’s so cute. He seemed really into her.”

I wasn’t about to bring up Joni’s boyfriend since I didn’t know how much Shane had revealed to his friends. “Have you looked in the mirror?” I asked, and she nudged me and shook her head.

Cait was definitely one of those girls who didn’t realize just how gorgeous she was, and I found that refreshing. I’m sure Shane did, too.

I tripped over a tree root. The branches became so thick that they were hiding any sunlight from view, and I didn’t know if it was just my imagination, but I swore I heard movement behind us.

Cait glanced at me, some of her bravado fleeing. “I’m sure it’s just an animal.”

That was hardly reassuring. I hadn’t given any thought to animals until now. I’d been too terrified of supernatural beings to worry about anything in the living realm.

“I brought a knife,” she said, reaching into the side pocket of her cargo pants. It was a pocketknife, and she flicked a button, exposing a long, shiny blade.

My eyes widened. I didn’t know if a knife would be any help with Laria or any other ghost, but I’m sure it would come in handy if we came across an animal.

“How much further do you think?”

“Probably about an hour.”

An hour! Oh my God.

I distinctly heard footsteps behind me, running up on us. I stopped and turned, expecting someone to be there.

Cait swallowed hard. Her gaze told me she had heard it, too.

I saw a black figure move from one tree to the next, and then another flash, and yet another dark figure. The same hooded figures I’d seen before.

“They’re here,” I said, trying to slow my racing heart.

Cait’s eyes widened. Suddenly this wasn’t so exciting anymore.

“Riiiilllleeeyyyyy,” I heard in my ear.

I felt like I’d walked through a thick batch of cobwebs. I wiped at my face and Cait looked at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I must have walked into a spiderweb or something.”

The figures in the woods stopped, and then simultaneously they all turned to face me. I reached out and grabbed Cait’s hand. “We’re so screwed,” I said under my breath.

Her eyes widened. “Where are they?”

A dark, depressing feeling rushed through me. We were completely surrounded. “All around us.”

I tried not to panic as icy fingers slid around the back of my neck.

“You will leave here and you shall never return,” Laria whispered. I felt a burning sensation where her lips had touched the edge of my ear.

“She’s telling us to leave and never return.”

Cait stiffened her spine. “Where is she?”

“Beside me.”

“Leave her alone,” Cait said, staring off to my left. “Leave all of us alone. You are dead.”

Laria was well aware she was dead, but I didn’t tell Cait that.

“She’s on the other side,” I said, and Cait’s gaze shifted to my right shoulder.

Laria’s nails bit into my shoulder. I gritted my teeth against the pain.

“Mom, help us,” I said, under my breath.

Laria’s laughter echoed in my mind. She was mocking me.

Chill bumps raced up my back, along my spine, and made the hair on my arms stand on end.

I took hold of Cait’s hand. “I ask for God and the angels to surround us, to protect us from evil.”

Cait repeated my words over and over again, her voice ringing with conviction.

Laria turned from me toward Cait, a slow smile spreading over her lips. She reached out and grabbed hold of her.

At first it was like Cait didn’t feel anything, until Laria’s fingers slid around her neck and squeezed.

Cait’s eyes widened in alarm, and then she looked at me in desperation, asking me without words to do something. Anything.

I pushed Laria hard, and she didn’t budge. “Get off her!” I yelled.

From the crowd of cloaked figures, a tall man stepped forward. He pushed the cowl back off his head.

“Oh my God,” Cait said, and it was obvious by the terrified expression that she could see Randall as plainly as I did.

Randall flew at me, so fast I didn’t have time to move. The breath left me in a rush, and I was slammed against a tree trunk, my face pushed up against the bark. Randall’s hand tightened around the back of my neck and squeezed hard. A wave of dizziness washed over me.

Cait screamed so loud it nearly pierced my eardrums. Abruptly the spirits disappeared.

Kade came rushing out of the trees with Shane on his heels. They both looked wildly about. “What’s going on?”

Cait was pure white and trembling. All her bravado had gone out the window. I knew how shocking it was to see a spirit, and I have no doubt she had seen Randall. Maybe she’d even seen Laria and the others.

Kade helped me up, and Shane stared daggers at me. “You said you wouldn’t come without me.”

“How did you know we were here?” I asked sheepishly.

“Maddy showed up at practice,” Kade said, brushing the dirt off my back, and looking over his shoulder he scanned the area. “She was freaking out, saying you were in danger, and she told us you had gone in search of Laria’s grave.”

Shane planted his hands on his hips. “I told you not to come without me.” It was really obvious he wasn’t about to let it drop. He glanced at Cait. “And what were you thinking?”

“It was my idea,” Cait said, and Kade turned to her, surprise on his face.

“Laria is haunting Megan. I mean, you saw her. She looked like shit. I thought we could end it by binding the grave like you mentioned,” she said, glancing at Kade. “I just want this to be over for everybody, especially Riley. Christ, how much can one person take?”

Kade brushed a hand over his jaw. “I know you meant well, but this was stupid. I don’t know what happened, what the screams were about, but it was obvious you’re both terrified, because I’ve never seen either of you this pale.”

“We’d better head back,” I said, feeling like we had gone through enough today. Shane was right—the next time we came up, we needed to be prepared.

Kade’s fingers threaded through mine. “Promise me you’ll never do this again.” His gaze shifted to his sister. “That means you, too.”

Cait nodded. “I swear I’ll wait until we can all go together as a group.” Her throat convulsed as she swallowed hard. “Or maybe we should continue. Another hour and we’d be at the top.”

Kade looked at Cait. “I’m sure Maddy has said something to Mum by now, which means Dad will be headed this way very soon.”

Point taken. The last thing I wanted or needed were Kade and Cait’s parents involved. As it was, Kade would have to come up with some excuse why he had missed practice.

Without further argument, we headed back down the hill. We hadn’t gone twenty feet when I swore I heard a woman crying. In my mind’s eye, I saw an image of the blonde-haired woman who had been sacrificed in these woods.

The gut-wrenching sob made me want to turn around and continue up the hill…but it was obvious by what Cait and I had just experienced that Laria, Randall, and the others were not going to back down without a fight.

We needed to be prepared.

Chapter 8

Ever since we returned from the hill, I’d felt a presence with me. I couldn’t say if it was Laria, Randall, or even the girl who had been sacrificed…but the spirit lingered, staying in the shadows, which was out of character for the malevolent ghost who had taken such pleasure in tormenting me.

Or maybe this was just Laria’s way of toying with me—and staying in the dark was the best way to do that.

I couldn’t lie still. I’d been staring at the ceiling for the past two hours, looking at the pattern the bedside lamp cast upon the plaster, while listening to the sounds of the house, waiting for someone to come out of the woodwork...but as the seconds ticked away into minutes, the silence became deafening. My legs were restless and adrenaline raced through my body, which was strange, because I was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

I am liquid fire in your veins.

My heart missed a beat. Had I only just imagined the words? I wondered, when suddenly it came again…

I am liquid fire in your veins.

I smashed the pillow over my head. The words were as clear as day, coming at me from all sides.

Do you feel me?

Suddenly, dark images raced through my mind—of a group of men dragging a woman out of a barn and into the woods, torches lighting the way. The woman struggled as she was pulled out into the cold, pitch-black night.

There were so many young women screaming now, their faces so close to mine their features were a blur. A sense of overwhelming sadness, fear, and fury came over me, nearly choking me with its intensity.

I had felt emotion before, but this was at a different level altogether. I felt rage within me, and was shocked when tears rolled down my face. Despair, similar to that when I lost my mom, gripped me.

If I started talking, the spirits might never leave. I swallowed past the lump in my throat, threw the covers off my legs, and sat cross-legged on my bed. I was afraid if I let my legs hang over the side of the bed, Laria would rip me beneath the bed again. I couldn’t allow fear to come into play. I had to be stronger, not show her that she had gotten under my skin.

I went into the bathroom. I turned on the faucet and splashed water on my face. I had deep, dark circles beneath my eyes. I looked as exhausted as I felt. As exhausted as Megan had seemed today.

I blinked and someone stood directly behind me. Someone I couldn’t see…but I felt them. I felt cool air surround me, sending goose bumps along my flesh. There was also a pressure on my back, like whoever it was stood so close, their heavy breathing in my ear.

Invisible hands moved up my sides.

They had my full attention…I was just afraid to let them know it.