Ghostly (Darkly Devoted Book 1)
Page 21
“No, I want to do it. This house is evil, and it can’t stay here. When does it say the veil is thin enough?”
Meredith sighed. “The night of the full moon.”
“Shit, that’s tonight.”
She nodded. “So, where do we find someone who has the sight?”
The words resounded in my memory, and my emotions jumbled into something confusing. “I think…I think I have it.”
“Oh no! No, Briar, no. You’ll, uh—”
“Die?” I laughed. “Too late for that.”
“Why do you think you…”
“Cade overheard whispers about ‘the sight’ and the person who has it. It makes sense that the house would want someone with the sight.”
“Why?”
“Hell, I dunno.”
Her face lit up. “Ohmigod, remember when you talked to that man who wasn’t there at the yogurt shop?”
“Yeah.”
“He wasn’t there! Maybe, he was a ghost. Maybe you just see ghosts.”
I wasn’t sure how that was possible, but it made sense. Anytime I’d focused on trying to see something, I could. And Meredith definitely hadn’t seen that man I was talking to. Even at the party, Ryder hadn’t seemed to know who I was talking about when I pointed out that partier.
Everything was starting to come together. For some reason, I had the sight, and I would have to be the one to bleed on the full moon. Could I reign in my emotions long enough to get the job done? I wasn’t sure, but there was only one way to find out.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Spirits of the otherworld, lend me your hand.” Meredith tossed basil onto the circle she’d drawn on the floor with chalk, along with other random symbols she copied out of the book.
I stood in the middle of the circle chewing on my lip ring. The dull pain comforted me, but what I really wanted by my side was Cade. He hadn’t been around much, only showing up when Meredith had left to go pick up ingredients. He wasn’t too happy with her after she’d brought that book over.
“Do you feel anything?” Meredith asked.
I shook my head.
“I said, ‘sprits of the otherworld, lend me your, um, hand, or, something.’” She fiddled with the necklace Cade gave me. I wanted her to be safe from the ghosts, and I’d shown her how to use it.
“You have to be confident.”
She lowered the book and cocked an eyebrow. “You the witch here?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, like you’ve cast that many spells.”
“Just shut up and let me concentrate.”
“Maybe if we sat down? Like they do in the movies?” I sat down and crossed my legs.
“Yeah, yeah let’s try that.” Plopping down on the floor outside the circle, she sat the book down on the floor in front of her. She picked up some more basil and held it over the edge of the circle. “Sprits of the otherworld, lend me your hand.”
As the basil hit the ground, the area around me warmed up. “Do you feel that?”
Meredith shook her head and opened her eyes. She reached beside her and pushed the knife toward me. “Alright, sight girl, your turn.”
My hands shook as I picked up the blade, finding it to be as warm as I felt. Sweat trickled down my forehead as I brought it to my arm. I’d cut myself before with a razor, why was it so scary to do it now? Sure the knife was bigger, but what we were doing was even bigger than that. The overwhelming sense of what we were doing hit me. Maybe it was a bad idea.
“Meredith…”
When she didn’t answer me, I looked up to see her staring at me with wide eyes. The green of her irises grew over the whites of her eyes, and her hair ruffled as if the wind had blown through the house.
“It’s working, Briar.” Her voice sounded off, a little lower pitched than it normally was. I could see her chest heaving up in down as her mouth fell open, hard breaths coming out of it.
“Are you okay?”
“We can’t stop now. It’s working. Remember why we’re doing this.”
I nodded in agreement and sliced the knife across my wrist. Pain radiated up my arm as the blood rushed forward, running down my skin and onto the basil below. The edges of the drawn circle turned blue and lit up the room.
“Otherworldly spirits, lend me your ear. We need your help to rid this house of its impurities.”
The slash on my arm began to close, and the blood slowed. Damn ghostly perks.
“Again, Briar, and say it with me.”
With a grunt, I sliced the knife across my wrist again. “We need your help to rid this house of its impurities.”
Meredith froze, and her body went ridged. She continued with the spell, but none of the things she said were familiar. Her voice dropped to a whisper as she lowered her head and looked up at me under hooded eyes.
“What the hell are you doing?” Cade exclaimed and raced into the room. Without a thought, he ran straight toward me.
“Cade, stop! You can’t be here!”
“I can’t believe you let her talk you into this shit!” He threw himself toward me, but the area above the circle sizzled into blue and knocked him to the ground.
He couldn’t get to me.
My arm started to go numb, and I looked down to see the blood continuing to puddle around me. It wasn’t stopping, and it wasn’t healing. Something was wrong.
“Meredith!”
She ignored me and continued to mumble as the foundation began to shake. The house was angry. The blood swirled in a circle and then sunk into the floor, staining the wood a dark color.
“Briar!” Cade stood up and pounded on the hard air around me. “You have to stop the bleeding. Heal yourself!”
“I can’t!”
“Try harder!”
Terror crept up in my heart and worked its way throughout my body. I couldn’t stop it. My heart pounded against my chest as if it would rip out of it, and my thoughts started to race. I couldn’t control them. Flashes of losing my mother hit me. Flashes of the school shooting. Flashes of my suicide attempt. Each memory hit me like a train, until sitting up was a chore. I could feel the blood leaving my body and feeding the house. Whatever the spell was, it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do.
“The darkness that’s been hidden away will awaken!” a ghosts said as she appeared across the room. “You’ve done exactly as the house wanted. It knew you couldn’t help yourself. You’ve played right into its hands.”
“No.” I shook my head. I couldn’t let it win.
I ripped cloth off my dress and pressed it against the wound to try to stop the bleeding. The world swirled around me, and the sounds dimmed to a thick, inaudible growl in the distance. I couldn’t die, but I wasn’t sure what would happen if the house got what it wanted.
The floor in front of me started to crack open, and I screamed. I forced myself backwards away from it, but the wood crumbled out from the small hole to create a bigger one.
“Break the circle, Briar!” Cade begged. “Please, we can stop it.”
I backed up until I ran into the visible force field around me. My hand went out to rub the chalk on the ground, which caused the air to become static and burst.
Cade rushed to my side and pulled me away from the hole. The crunching sound of the wood falling into the pit in front of me was something out of a nightmare, and the sound of the house falling apart followed it. Pieces of the ceiling fell to the ground as the house tore itself apart to get to me.
“Where does that go?” I cried and clung to him.
“I don’t even want to know.”
Meredith’s screams rang out, and I snapped my head up. Her eyes were back to normal; she looked at me in fear. “Holy moly, it worked! Well, I think. What’s wrong with the floor?”
“It hasn’t worked, dumbass!” Cade snarled.
He pulled me to my feet and walked us backwards. Meredith jumped up and ran for the door, while the ghost laughed at us.
“I told you that you would hurt her, Cade. Yo
u didn’t listen to me. The one who has a near death experience can gain the sight. She’s all we’ve waited for, and now we’ve got her.”
“No, you don’t.” He put his hands on my shoulders and made me look at him. “Whatever you do, my beautiful briar rose, never forget me.”
“What are you talking about?” I screamed and curled my fingers into his shirt.
He cupped my face in his and looked down at me like I was his entire world. “I wish that I could tell you everything would be okay. I wish that I could tell you that I’m going to stay right here beside you. But I have to save you.”
Before I could respond, he pressed his lips to mine and kissed me with every ounce of passion that he had inside him. His hands gripped my waist and pulled me to him, my own holding him even tighter because I was afraid of what he was going to do. The loud cracking of the wood and the sound of objects falling to the ground echoed in my ears, but only Cade’s warmth and love surrounded me.
“I love you,” he said and stepped back from me. With one last half smile, he threw himself into the pit.
The world slowed down as I watched him disappear into the darkness. His name flew from my mouth but sounded so far away. Tears filled my eyes as I ran forward to follow him. He couldn’t go without me. All of it was my fault. Maybe I could save him.
Just as I reached the edge, the wood groaned and closed up. I fell to the floor and hit the ground with my fist. I pounded on it with every bit of strength I had left as the house continued to crumble around me.
Small hands grabbed me by the shoulders; Meredith screamed over the chaos. “We have to go, Briar, don’t let him die in vain.”
The tears blurred my vision as I looked up at her. “He can’t die. He’s already dead.”
Her lips trembled as she looked back at me. “Honey, I don’t know, but we have to get out of here or I’m going to die.”
I let her pull me to my feet. We ran to the door and threw it open as we rushed out into the night. We didn’t stop until we hit the edge of the property. She let me go then, so I whirled around to look at the house and fell to my knees. Meredith dropped beside me and wrapped her arm around me. I cried harder than I ever had before. The tears streamed down my face; I couldn’t see very far in front of me. The world swirled around as I screamed for Cade again. I screamed until I couldn’t scream anymore.
Meredith pulled me to her as we watched the house tear itself apart, piece by piece, until there was nothing left.
Epilogue
Winter and spring came and went, and then so did summer. All of the seasons were the same and blended together, each of them only consisting of varying degrees of warmth. The only cold place in the entire state of Florida seemed to be me.
Meredith, Celeste, and Ryder moved into a house together. I went with them. Whatever the spell did freed me of the house’s hold and destroyed all the spirits inside of it. My heart ached at the memory, so I pushed it away. The one spirit in that house that mattered was gone.
I stared out the small attic window of the home. My friends thought it would be funny for me to have that particular room, seeing as I was still a ghost and all. Outside everything was cheery. No leaves fell during the fall there. I missed the seasons…missed the colors that autumn brought with her when the trees changed colors.
The door creaked behind me, so I adjusted myself on the bed to see who it was. Celeste stood there with her new hombre blonde and purple hair. She was dressed in ripped skinny jeans and a ripped Concrete Blonde t-shirt that showed off her killer abs. She still wore those old worn out Converse of hers, but apparently she had an entire closet full of them in any color one could think of.
“You going out tonight?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I think I’m going to stay in. Not really in the mood for partying.”
“But you’re all dressed up!” She motioned to my long black dress, one that I’d bought at the mall during a forced shopping trip with Meredith. It fell in thick waves down my legs and made me feel like a gothic princess.
I looked the other way and shook my head.
“You can’t stay up here forever moping.”
“I can do whatever I want. I’ve got all the time in the world.”
She came over to sit on the bed beside me. “But it’s goth night! That’s your thing, right?”
“Not anymore.”
She laughed. “So says your dress. Listen, I know we haven’t always gotten along, but I hate seeing you up here all depressed when there’s still life in you.”
“There’s not—”
“Shut up.” She put her hand in the air to stop me. “There’s life in you, and you know it. I mean, you could be out there acting like that chick on T.V. You know, that one with Jennifer Love Hewitt?”
I frowned. “Ghost Whisperer?”
“Yes, that’s it!” She laughed. “Sorry, I’m not into those weirdo shows and movies like you are.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Well, you should go do that. Help other ghosts.”
“But…I’m a ghost.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Jennifer Love Hewitt wasn’t dead.”
She cocked her head to the side and waved her hand. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. It’s just one night. You need to come out with us and party. There are going to be lots of fun events soon, with Halloween coming up and all.”
“I don’t even want to think about Halloween.”
“Right, sorry.” Celeste looked away from me and patted my leg before standing up. She shoved her hands in her pockets. “Well, if you decide to come, it’s cool.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
She pursed her lips and nodded, then left. I heard Ryder downstairs asking about me; Celeste left the door open, and I heard every word. I wished he’d move on. I wasn’t interested anymore. It would never work out.
When I heard the door shut, signaling that everyone was gone, I crawled back over to the window. Placing my arms on the pane, I lowered my cheek to lay on it. My eyes roamed around the yard. All thoughts of college and growing up were out of my head. All thoughts of hunting my family down were gone. I missed them more than anything, but I reminded myself that they’d freak out if they saw me back from the dead.
As I reached down to peel off my long, black gloves, something outside caught my eye. Underneath the tree, just beside my window, stood a sight I never thought I would see again.
I jumped up from the bed, ran down the stairs, and threw open the front door. My heart thudded as I raced around the side of the house to my destination. I stopped in my tracks. Just a foot away from me stood Cade, clad in all his black glory.
Unable to form any words, I did the one thing that I wanted more than anything. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. His arms encircled me and held me. Every wonderful emotion that I thought was gone came flooding back and almost put me in tears.
I pulled back and looked into his eyes, unable to hide the smile from my face. “How are you back?”
His smile faltered. “I’ve been ….around.”
“You…you’ve been around? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know what that spell did, but all of the spirits were released. I wasn’t sure if…if I should come back. I love you, but you’re better off without me.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’ve been miserable. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“Forever sounds like an awfully long time.”
“It is, Cade, but I don’t think it will be now that you’re here with me.”
He kissed me again, full of passion and desire, and I couldn’t even care anymore what had happened. There were no words to describe the happiness I felt in that moment. We were both as safe as we could be. All that mattered was that the other half of me was there in my arms again. Each of us had taken our own darkness and blended them together with my light until it shone. Warmth filled me up as I lost myself in the arms of my ghost boy.
(Cade’s playlist for Briar)
Blood and Roses by The Smithereens
Strangelove by Depeche Mode
Shadowplay by Joy Diversion
Just Like Heaven by The Cure
No Feelings by The Sex Pistols
D for Desire by All About Eve
Baby, I Love You by The Ramones
Die For You by Black Veil Brides
Scarlet by In This Moment
House on a Hill by The Pretty Reckless
Hospital by Lydia
Scars by Forever Still
Cannot cry
Knowing my tears won’t drown the pain inside me
Searching
Seizing
Breathing
Bleeding
Screaming
Cover up the scars
Let the starless night
Keep them out of sight
Let the light of day
Make them fade away
Tried to hide
Safe inside
Mutely begging you to find me
Leave
Deceive me
Hurt me
Judge me
So I
Cover up the scars
Let the starless night
Keep them out of sight
Let the light of day
Make them fade away
I’ve tried so hard to become what you wanted me to
But instead I’ve ended up being everything you wish I’m not
Everything you wish I’m not
Everything you wish I’m…
Let the starless night
Keep them out of sight
Let the light of day
Make them fade away
Make them fade away
I’ll make them fade away
http://foreverstill.bandcamp.com/
About the Author
Brooke is a self-proclaimed geek and daydreamer. She enjoys music, books, family and friends, and spending time with her husband and cat. She has obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in mental health counseling from Tennessee Technological University. She is the co-author of the Ethereal Underground trilogy.