Page 8 (2/2)
"Start piling things against it," she orders
We work quickly, pushing every piece of furniture in the rooainst the door When we’re done, the room’s a mess, but the door’s secured
"It works" I back from the pile with my hands on my hips "At least for now it does But, I don’t think you should go through the reals have you done that are sketchy?"
She has o alone, okay? Take hs doubtingly "Like I’ to tell them--they’d freak Especially Alex He’d say I misused my power and then he’d force reen eyes bore into me "And you can’t tell them either Promise me you won’t"
"I justhonest," I explain with a dreary sigh "I can’t start keeping things fro weird, right?" She asks and I nod "Okay, so if you keep this a secret, I’ll help you figure out what’s up with Mr Mood Swings out there"
I dither, but only briefly "Okay, you got yourself a deal But I’ into the realet to the bottoh, I doubt there’s anything wrong with hienes or so"
"This is different" I tell her about the windstorm, the cut in his chest, and my drealet of her golden brown hair around her finger, lost in thought "I think I’ve heard of this before"
"You think it’s a witch thing?" I ask, surprised "Like maybe a witch put a spell on him?"
She shakes her head slowly "No, I think it ic?" I ask
She scratches her head "Okay, let’s go talk to hi pops into o outside into the warood at putting on a Poker Face Laylen and Alex are stillwith the car The hood’s down on the GTO and the Caround and grease stains their shirts, pants, and faces
"Hi guys" Her s?"
Alex cleans the grease off his hands with an old rag as he eyes Aislin distrustfully "What’s up with you?"
I want to sreeing to the plan I brush by theer seat, littered with glass
"Looking for clues to your supposed Afterlife theory?" Alex asks contemptuously
I turn and narrowif you by chance lost your mind in there"
His de with me It’s you that has the probles If you can’t get over your insecurities then this relationship isn’t going to go anywhere In fact, I’ with soed"
It’s like we’re high school all over again He was a co the first time I met him in class and for quite a while after that Red burns my vision and I slap him across the cheek
"Ge?"
Giving me a dirty look, Alex pops his jaw into place
"In case you ondering," I seethe "That was the e pissed off" I stor my hand, because it hurts like hell
Aislin chases afterthe dirt "What happened to our play-it-cool plan?"
"That’s not Alex" I burst into the house, stomp to the stairs, but then backtrack to the front door "That’s the old Alex out there The one I first met that was brainwashed by your father"
"Oh ht knohat’s wrong with hirabs my arm and yanks me down the hallway and into the baseht The stairs protest under our weight as we haste to the bottoain" She re of the castle from one of the lower shelves and reaches to the back
"He’s brainwashed again?" I slide the painting out of the way "By your father? Because Aislin, he’s dead And there was nothing left of his body but ash, so I don’t think there’s a possibility of pulling a zombie move"
"I know that And zombies don’t exist" She rolls her eyes as she heaves out a shabby leather book "Not by my father By a Lost Soul"
Chapter 8
"Lost Souls can’t cross over unless they’re freed from The Afterlife," I say with skepticism "And even then, they’d have to return to their own bodies At least, that’s what happened when I freed them"
"Yeah, but this is different" She sits cross-legged on the floor and opens the book on her lap "Not a whole lot of people know this, but Lost Souls used to roa es "That’s hard for ine Lost Souls are… well, they’re not the best looking creatures in the world They look a lot like mummies"
"The Death Walkers were hideous," she points out, turning the page "And they were all over the place before you killed them"