Page 103 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

Kane bent down in front of a gravestone and brushed his palm across the name on the stone, removing the dirt and snow that had hidden the name.

Amita Khatri.

“I’m so close to finding it, Amita, like I promised I would,” he said to the gravestone, stroking the stone with his thumb as if he hoped her soul could feel his touch through this gesture.

I looked behind him where a beautiful woman, looking not much older than me, appeared at his back. She wore her dark hair in a thick braid and a white summer dress, making her look like an angel with the veil dancing around her limbs.

“Find it before any of them do,” she whispered, and Kane stood up, turning to look right at her.

“So he can see them like we do,” Jesse mumbled, and even though we had guessed it, it was still shocking to see. This was the first real evidence we had since we found out that the Kane’s are one of the seven families with the gift of death.

Jesse lifted his phone to film the conversation–even when none of us were sure if we could still see spirits on film. “Doe and Maisie will flip when they get back, and we’ll show them this.”

Kane stared at her hesitantly before he took a step towards her, reaching out. But as his hand slid through her form, he narrowed his gaze. If he reached for her with the opportunity of willingly letting her touch him, but he still failed… It meant that Amita did not want to feel his touch.

“Amita–”

“Don’t you start apologising. I accepted my fate a long time ago. I just wish I could leave, so I wouldn’t have to see your face every time you call for me,” she hissed with pure hatred in his direction, holding her head high for the sun that broke through the clouds to reflect on her deep bronze skin.

It always fascinated me how spirits could feel mother earth the same as they did before their souls were bodiless and only an image of what they used to look like.

Professor Kane let his shoulders hang as if he felt some sort of sadness, even though his face spoke of anger. The way he gritted his jaw and drew his eyebrows together.

“I’ll find the Book of Shadows and a way to set your soul free before I’ll fulfil the prophecy,” he promised, but the girl in front of him shook her head in a disapproving way.

“Burn this place down, Asher. Destroy Aquila Hall before even more souls suffer my fate. This place is the purgatory. And I hate you for begging my parents to bury me here.”

“I couldn’t let you go–”

“You couldn’t let go of the idea of me, Asher Kane. So you chained me to this place.”

“I should have protected you.”

She turned her head to the side, looking away from him. “You’re right. I gave everything for you, forus. But you did not.” Amita was about to walk away when she turned to look at him one last time. “Sometimes, I don’t know whether I should wish for you or him to suffer more. Because I loved you, Asher. I loved both of you. But all you saw was the power standing behind all of this. How could I have been so naive to believe you could love something–someone, more than your precious studies.” She turned, disappearing into the veil.

“Amita!” Kane called into nothingness, receiving no answer.

Jesse leaned over to speak into my ear. “He suddenly seems a little pathetic.”

I would have agreed with him if I hadn't felt a little bad for him, and I didn’t even know why. He was an arsehole. Insulting students on a daily basis. Making the exams twice as hard and almost impossible to pass, just because he hated us and enjoyed his position of power. And still, there was pain crossing his features for a girl he could never have, and weirdly, I understood that.

We took a step back to hide behind the trees after Kane returned to the gate, suddenly a loud crack sounded, and Jesse grabbed the back of my jacket to keep himself steady, but he pulled me onto the snowy ground with him instead.

I hit the ground hard and cursed under my breath as I looked over at my friend, who held his ankle, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. The snapped branch on the ground let me guess that he slipped on it.

“Fuck, Jesse,” I breathed, laying my hand on his arm as he let himself fall flat on his back, whimpering in pain.

“Yeah, fuck, Jesse,” A dark voice mocked, and I turned my head to look at Professor Kane, who stood above us.

I shot to my feet, staring at the man who was only a few inches taller than me, with my jaw locked.

“Are you eavesdropping on me?” He asked angrily, already knowing the answer to his question. Kane exhaled furiously, but something about his appearance revealed that he was nervous.

I shrugged, “you tell me. I took my friend out for a ride on school grounds and when we stopped here so I could show him the old graveyard, we met our professor going all insane speaking to prunella the poltergeist.”

Confusion crossed his eyes for a second, and I would have sighed in relief that he believed my lie of not seeing Amita. And by the way he frowned at me, I knew that he had been so sure we were able to see the souls of the lost.

But it was only a matter of seconds before his confused features turned hard again. “You don’t know what you saw, Kingstone. Stay away from things that aren’t meant to be discovered,” he hissed.

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