Raven Ridge (Witches of Sanctuary Book 2) by Savannah Blevins Read Free Book Online

hand takes mine. He doesn’t say anything. He just holds it.
    We make our way all the way to the top of the mountain, just like Julien and I had done the night of my history lesson. We pull into the same parking spot and get out. “What are we doing? There aren’t any houses here. There’s nothing but a cliff just up that path.”
    “You remember wondering how Julien disappeared over the edge that night I picked you up here?”
    I click my tongue. “So there is a path down the mountain.”
    Reid nods. “Deeper into the woods. Julien’s grandparents’ house is a front. A glossy exterior they want all the gossip queens of Sanctuary to see.”
    “What’s in the woods?”
    “The Haunted. Or rather what’s left of their broken family that manages to escape the torturing wrath of their loved ones.”
    “Let’s go,” Grady says, pulling a couple backpacks out of the bed of the truck. “We don’t want to waste any daylight.”
    Reid throws me a pack and I put it around my shoulders. This isn’t what I expected at all. I follow him through the trees until we get to the cliff. I stop at the edge where the dirt meets stone. I can practically see Julien there, his toes tucked over the edge of the disappearing rock. Julien’s hair matched the raven tattooed on his arm. His crooked smile charmed me so easily. It was the loneliness I couldn’t deny. I knew that pain too well to sit back and watch it eat him alive.
    That night was the beginning. It was the night I found out about the Haunted. It was the first of many nights that I’d spend in Julien’s company. Time that caused simple curiosity to bloom into something more. That something more burns inside of Julien now in the form of hatred.
    Reid holds out his hand for me. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You can still go back. Abby will take you home.”
    I shake my head and take his hand. “No. I need to do this.”
    If you’re brave enough to peek over the cliff’s edge, there is a drop off point. If you position yourself just right, you can hit a clear spot of dirt just five feet below the ledge. If you miss, you hit nothing but air. A lot of air. Things will get broken. It will be a bloody mess, for sure.
    Grady jumps down first, followed by Abby and Reid. I’m a little slower than the others, probably because of the crippling fear of missing the ground. But Reid is able to effectively guide me down safely into his arms. From that point, we hike downward, deeper into the thickening trees. The path is worn, but still difficult. The hillside is steep and sloping. It takes almost two hours to navigate down into the valley beneath. Once we’re almost at the bottom, Reid stops me. I lean against a tree, gasping for breath. “What now?”
    “We’re here.” He points over to my left. I have to narrow my eyes to see it in the distance. A small wooden house. It almost blends in with the trees around it. It’s engulfed by flowery vines and tall plants that threaten to burst from their tight confines of small buckets and wooden boxes. Where the land surrounding the house prepares for the steady sleep of winter, the life around the house is vibrant and green. A lady stands outside the door. She digs in a giant pot with a spade, shoveling black soil from a woven brown bag at her feet.
    I nudge Reid’s elbow. “Who is that?”
    Abby scoots up behind me, answering my question for him. “Svetta Cote. She is Julien’s great-great aunt.”
    “And she’s totally bonkers,” Grady adds, making a cuckoo symbol next to his head.
    Abby’s eyes narrow at him. “Grady. That isn’t nice.”
    “I’m sorry, how else do you describe her?”
    “I don’t know. Eccentric?”
    Grady rolls his eyes. “I apologize for being insensitive, Willa. Svetta is eccentrically bat shit crazy.”
    I take a few steps closer so I can see her better. Her long black robe drapes over her slim figure. Spiraling gray hair shoots away from her head like it’s trying to escape. A long