Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins Read Free Book Online Page A

you, Finn. Before the ghost got in her. She fought a werewolf even though she didn’t have any magic or any fighting skills. This ghost seems like kind of a jerk, but maybe…maybe she’s right.”
    See? Elodie said in my head. That’s how you handle chicks like this .
    I really don’t need you to fight my battles for me, I replied, and she snorted.
    Oh yeah, you totally had that werewolf.
    I was about to make a sarcastic comment right back, but before I could, Elodie swooped away. I’d been unconscious the last time she did that, which, it turns out, had been a good thing. Because having a ghost in control of your body suddenly vanish? It’s kind of traumatic.
    I fell to my hands and knees, gasping at the sensation of having a Band-Aid ripped off my soul. I stayed there, breathing deeply and wondering how I was ever going to stand up again. And then I felt a hand slide under my arm. Izzy was helping me to my feet. Finley took my other arm, and between the two of them, they got me up and moving.
    “Thanks,” I mumbled.
    To my surprise, it was Finley who said, “No problem.” Then to Izzy, she added, “Let’s get her back to the house.”
    We stumbled through the dark night. “So do you have any idea where she put the werewolf?” Izzy asked me.
    “She said another dimension, so who the heck knows what that means?”
    When we arrived at the house, Mom and Aislinn were sitting in the kitchen. They both had coffee mugs, and from the tension that hung in the air, I was guessing they’d been having some kind of intense conversation. As Finley rummaged around in the cabinets for antiseptic—the scratches on her arm looked red and angry—I filled Aislinn in on what had happened.
    “That’s a very powerful spell,” she said, and even though the words You think? immediately sprung to mind, I bit them back. “If you can send creatures into other dimensions—” Aislinn continued, but I cut her off.
    “I can’t. Elodie can. And it’s not like she’s reliable.” That was the nicest way I could think of to say, Back off with this weapon stuff, because it ain’t happening.
    Aislinn sagged back in her chair, the light fading from her eyes. “Right. That’s a good point.”
    Mom said, “Okay, that’s enough for tonight. Sophie needs her rest, and I’m sure Finley and Izzy do, too.” She glanced around the kitchen. “Speaking of, where is Izzy?”
    Finley winced as she patted her bandage into place. “She probably went upstairs already.”
    We all said good night then, bringing an end to what might have been the most bizarre twenty-four hours of my life (which said a lot ). Aislinn told me I could keep the bedroom I’d been in earlier, and after hugging Mom—who was apparently going to stay downstairs to finish her discussion with Aislinn—I trudged back up the dimly lit staircase to my room.
    Izzy was standing outside my door, a folder clutched in one hand. “Hey,” she said, sounding a little sheepish.
    “Hey. Look, Izzy, I’m really beat, so whatever you want to talk about—”
    “Here,” she said, thrusting the folder into my hands.
    “I just…I wanted to say thank you. For trying to save Finley and for…I don’t know. Being nicer to us than you had to be.”
    I smiled at her, and for a second, we did that “are we gonna hug?” dance, both of us moving in and out, our arms held at our sides. Good to know awkwardness apparently ran in the family. In the end, we just kind of patted each other’s shoulders before Izzy went back downstairs, and I headed into my room.
    I leaned against the door as I opened the folder Izzy had given me. That ended up being a good thing, because as soon as I saw what was inside, my knees gave out. I slid down the door, one hand over my mouth as tears flooded my eyes.
    There were only two things in the folder. One was a grainy color photograph that looked like it was some kind of surveillance shot. The other was a piece of paper with a few lines typed on it. The