The Deepest Cut by J. A. Templeton Read Free Book Online Page B

problem.”
    “Thanks again,” I said, relieved to have him with me. I was terrified out of my mind, and the last thing I wanted was to face Laria alone, with only my wasted brother to protect me.
    I glanced at Laria and her head tilted to the side at a strange, impossible angle, a twisted smile on her lips. I could hear bones cracking.
    She was trying to freak me out, and she was doing a damn good job of it.
    “ Riiiiiiley—Riiiiiiley—Riiiiiiiley—Riiiiiiley…” she said my name over and over again.
    Her sinister laughter rang out, and then her expression changed abruptly as her gaze jerked to something—or someone— directly behind me. She took a step back, then another, her expression a mixture of fear and anger.
    My pulse skittered as I looked over my shoulder.
    Ian.
    I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved to see someone.
    Laria glanced at me, ran a finger across her throat, and then shot to the ceiling…and was gone.
    Ian’s expression was intense, his eyes fierce, and his form more translucent than I’d ever before seen. Appearing to me had to
    be taking a toll on him, and yet he had come here to protect me.
    “Who’s Ian?” Johan asked.
    “A friend,” I said absently. I hadn’t even realized I’d said his name aloud.
    I wanted to go to Ian and hug him tight, but as I walked toward him, he began to fade before my eyes.
    I opened my mouth to say
    something––anything––but in a flash, he was gone.

Chapter 8
    The morning passed without any sign of Ian, and I was beginning to worry that Laria had done something to him. But what could one ghost do to another? I mean, technically they were both already dead, so how could she hurt him?
    Ian had told me Laria was powerful and dangerous. Now I was beginning to understand just how dangerous. Look at the way she had whispered in Shane’s ear at Milo’s party, at the way she had squeezed his neck, and he’d felt it, because he’d started choking.
    Had I inadvertently put my family in danger because of my friendship with Ian?
    Desperate for information on ghosts and spells, I reached for the library books I’d stashed in my nightstand. I had already scoured the book on witches and spells, and came up with very little information that would help me in Ian’s case—except about
    standard love and hate spells. One love spell said to make a doll out of clay, wax, or by sewing a straw figure of the person you longed for, carving their name in your blood on said doll’s chest, sticking a pin in its heart, and reciting a phrase each night of a full moon. If you did all those things, then the person you desired would fall madly in love with you…or so the book said.
    That last bit made me smirk. Yeah right , I thought, but the more I read, the more I wondered if any of these strange rituals worked. I knew that witches existed even to this day, and even had their own religion.
    But did they have actual powers—like the ability to cast spells and bind people to them?
    I reminded myself that anything was possible. After all, a little over a year ago I didn’t believe in ghosts.
    I grabbed the book on ghosts and scanned the pages about the different types
    of spirits that existed; both benevolent and malevolent. Basically good and evil.
    Like Ian and Laria.
    It also said it took a lot of energy for ghosts to manifest and communicate with the living. Apparently the spirit used as many energy sources as they could to reveal themselves—turning lights, televisions and radios off and on, moving items around, and even throwing things at times.
    All those things scared me, but what frightened me more than anything was the thought that ghosts could tap into our thoughts, and yes, they could also see us naked.
    Oh.
    My.
    God.
    Ian could see me naked.
    And he could read my mind, too.
    Talk about an unfair advantage! All the less than innocent thoughts I’d had about
    Ian raced through my mind. Knowing he had been able to tap into my thoughts was downright