The Deepest Cut, (MacKinnon Curse series, book 1)

by J.A. Templeton

  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 bursting 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 solid 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.

  I brushed at the salt and herbs on the floor and winced as a sliver jabbed into my finger, but I welcomed the pain. A sob tore from my throat as I sat back on my heels and looked up at the picture of Maggie. The panic I felt waned under that smiling face, and as orbs floated toward me, dancing around me, a calm and peace I hadn’t felt since my mom died settled deep within me.

  Ian had gone home where he belonged, and I had helped him. I couldn’t forget that even for a minute. This was a good thing. The right thing—and I had to get on with living my life without him. I stood, spent a few minutes brushing the salt and herbs under the rug, and grabbed each of the candles, putting them into the backpack.

  I slid on my backpack and walked toward the staircase, filled with so many mixed emotions.

  Brushing away tears, I looked over my shoulder one last time at the chair where Ian had been sitting. I touched my lips, remembering that last kiss.

  “I’ll never forget you,” I said, and walked out the door.