Read Online Split at the Seams by Yolanda Sfetsos - Free Book Online

didn’t take long to find Mara. I knew they would take her to a nearby public hospital. Not because the Council couldn’t afford private, but because they thought it clever to hide her in plain view. I didn’t know which room she was in, but Oren took care of it. I didn’t ask how he found out, was just glad when we stepped out of the elevator and headed for her room.
    “Wait here for a moment,” Oren said, clutching my arm and stepping past me. “I’ll make sure we can slip by without being seen.”
    I opened my mouth to tell him there would probably be a guard stationed outside Mara’s door, but closed it as soon as he disappeared around the corner. He knew what he was doing. Though, after shielding us in a crowded city street and then commanding a security guard like a puppet, I couldn’t help wondering about how strong his witchcraft really was.
    Standing in the middle of the hospital corridor with its harsh lighting itching at my skin and the smell of antiseptic, bleach and death tickling my nose, it finally hit me. Oren was very powerful, and I needed to learn as much as I could from him. It was time to stop holding him responsible for ancient family history, and appreciate that he was willing to help me understand how having witch blood could benefit me.
    I needed to learn as much magical combat skills as I could.
    “Excuse me?”
    I spun on my heel and came face-to-face with a young woman wearing a hospital gown. Her long, auburn hair hung like dirty strands of string around her face, her skin looked pale, and her eyes sunken. Even before her proximity forced gooseflesh to sprout all over my body, I knew what she was. My breath misted in front of me as I was compelled to enter the spook’s zone and coughed a few times.
    My head throbbed. After the nausea and nosebleeds back at the Council, this wasn’t going to help. Although I was usually dragged into a ghost’s area by their aura, this one had pretty much caught me unaware and zapped me in when I wasn’t ready.
    I caught my breath and met her eyes. “Uh, hi…”
    “I need to get back to my room.”
    I doubted she was headed to her room. Anyone who was hospitalized and emaciated this badly didn’t need to linger in this world. She might not remember right now, but I was pretty sure she’d been battling a terminal disease and lost.
    “I need help getting back to my room,” she repeated.
    “Can you see the light?” I licked my lips, trying to moisten them. She deserved the peace of moving on to the next patch. I knew exactly what I was talking about because I’d once been tempted by the warm light myself.
    The ghost looked up, past my shoulder and said, “I can see a bright light over there.” She half turned away from me and pointed in the opposite direction. “But someone’s calling me down that way.”
    “Ignore everything but the light. That’s where you need to go.” My lungs were freezing inside my chest.
    This was a different experience for me. I rarely helped spirits move on to the afterlife willingly. I dealt with the ones who refused to stop making mayhem and chaos, or wanted to hurt others. But hotspots like hospitals, cemeteries, haunted houses, or any location where a group of people had died made it hard to shut wandering spirits out.
    She took a step.
    “No, ignore the voice and head for the light.”
    “Are you sure?” She frowned and it made her look a little older than I’d initially thought. “I need to go to the voice, I’m so tired.”
    “No, you need to follow the bright light.”
    She didn’t answer, and instead turned to walk away.
    “Wait!”
    “I’m coming,” the ghost girl said, a moment before her image flickered.
    Oh shit, not again! “Take my hand.”
    The ghost’s lips were moving but I couldn’t hear a word she was saying.
    “Go toward the light! Turn around and go to the light before it’s too late.”
    She did the opposite. Her skinny legs moved and she flickered off completely before