Free The Crimson Key by Christy Sloat

didn’t want to be doing anything else, though. I did look forward to being a normal teen at some point in my life. My promise to Ephraim was something I intended on keeping.
    “I am all ears.”
    Sitting in front of me, she grabbed the book I had brought in. She eyed it and turned through the pages. Finally she set it down in front of me, pointing to a photo of a small farmhouse. I hadn’t gotten that far into the book yet to notice it before. Now I saw a family standing in front of it.
    “This is the house the writer moved into. The family standing outside died in the barn from a fire ,” she explained. Chills ran through me as I stared at the house. The family’s faces looked ever so sad. “The barn caught fire and everyone went out to help, even the youngest daughter, Angela.”
    Angela! She was my library ghost. “She gave me this book.” Hala nodded like she had already known this. “But what about the boy that was killed in the house?”
    “That happened after the fire. Another family had lived there before he did. Your friend that gave you this book, she wants your help.”
    I sighed. “I can’t help them all.”
    “You can, and you will in time. I only told you this because this book will not give you the answers you are searching for. It will educate you on certain things, but not what you need. You are dealing with a curse so old and strong that you will need the big guns,” she said as she pulled a book from her collection. It landed on the table with a smack. Again it had no front title.
    “What is that?” I asked nervously.
    “This is my great grandmother’s diary,” she started. “My great grandmother, Aliah, was a talented woman. She knew all about those two witches.”
    “The Barclay sisters?” She nodded.
    “She worked with them on occasion, taking notes and journaling constantly. You see, she dabbled in the darkness from time to time. But that’s not important,” she said as she shook her head. “What is important is that those sisters were very strong. Even if they were dead they wouldn’t move on, oh no. They would stick around waiting for a soul to latch on to.”
    My breathing felt labored for a moment. If she was saying what I thought she was saying , I was terrified.
    “You mean , they are trying to go into someone’s body to come back to life?” Asking it sounded ridiculous.
    “Yes , exactly. It’s called possession.” I froze at the words. Possession sounded like something you would see at the movies, not something I would be dealing with. Maybe I didn’t want to be doing this.
    “How do they do that?”
    “Well, they haven’t yet. I would know if they were back. The way they practiced magic was recognizable by everyone like me. I would be able to see the spells they use. But just because I don’t see their magic in use doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to come back.” Grabbing my hands, she stared into my eyes. “They start with a weak human, someone who is hurting physically and mentally. Then they talk to them and confide in them. Make them rely on their help. Then they take them.”
    A weak human. I knew one , she was my best friend.
    My body went cold as I braced for the answer to my next question. “What were their names?”
    “Agnes and Evangeline Barclay.”
    “Oh my God! Hala , I think Evangeline is trying to take over Lynley.” I went on to tell her all about how strange Lyn had been acting. The rash, the moody behavior, and how she snapped at me. She said nothing to me, just sat back and listened. Finally, when I was done, I told her how she had been talking to Evangeline.
    “It’s her all right. It sounds just like something she would do. Prey on a weak girl who needs someone.”
    “So what do I do? How do I find her and stop her?”
    Leaning back in her chair , Hala closed her eyes and said, “Brylee, she is very strong. It will take a lot of work to stop her.”
    “I don’t care what it takes , she is not going to possess my