“Oh, shit,” I exclaimed, raising my free hand to my mouth and whispered, “It worked.”
Gretchen stepped in front of Alexander, gazing down at him. “Alexander?”
He stood, looking slightly uncomfortable. I suspected that meant he was getting used to Caley’s slender body instead of the older, manly one he once owned. “This feels much better.”
I blinked away from my shock, not liking the sound of that. “Well, don’t go getting used to it. You’re out of there once we’re done.”
He smiled at me with a smile I’d never seen from Caley—wisdom etched into her features. “I’m aware of that. I promise not to take advantage.”
I couldn’t fight back the near hysterical laughter that rose at hearing Caley talk like…that. Older. Proper. Without snark. Just all types of wrong. But it also settled a slight worry I had that I wouldn’t notice the difference.
Seeing Caley right now made me fully aware this was not my best friend. “Well, good.” The crickets from the swamp sang again as asked Gretchen, “What’s the plan now?” Perhaps I hadn’t totally believed this would work, because now, I wasn’t sure what to ask of him.
“Might we go inside?”
At Caley’s oddly soft voice, I jerked my head to Alexander. “Huh?”
He gestured toward the house and Caley’s eyes looked pained. “I’ve been stuck at this swamp since my death. My strength only remains because of the magnetic fields located here. I’ve tapped into that power to be able to remain and not be forced into the Netherworld. I’d quite enjoy a change of scenery.”
“Oh, of course,” I replied in total agreement, but a thought rose. “So, that’s what the spell was? It didn’t just send you away; it trapped you in the Netherworld?”
He nodded, taking a step toward me and the beam of my flashlight landed on the locket on Caley’s chest. “If the spell had succeeded and I didn’t tap into the magnetic fields to break that hold, I would’ve been lost there forever.”
“Well, I’m glad the spell failed,” was my only reply.
“As am I,” Alexander agreed.
Chapter Eighteen
With Gretchen leading the way, I followed in behind Alexander, even noticing Caley’s walk looked different. She always had a seductive strut, but now she looked slightly clunky.
Truth be told, I liked seeing the little differences to remind me I preferred my best friend just the way she was, and if anything, not to waste time to ensure Alexander got out quickly.
At the front door of the house, Gretchen entered with Alexander in tow, and the second I stepped over the threshold, I stopped dead in my tracks. Wayde and Dane stood in the foyer by the staircase, their eyes glued on us.
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest and I couldn’t move, and apparently, neither could Alexander or Gretchen. There we all stood, in the center of the large foyer, surrounded by soft yellow painted walls and the comforting scent of Amelia’s baking, not saying a word.
After an incredibly long staring contest, Wayde pointed at Caley. “Why is she here?”
Oh, crud…I hadn’t thought up a reasonable explanation for why Caley would be there. But part of me wanted to sigh in relief he saw Caley and didn’t suspect any trickery. Before I could come up with something, Alexander said, “Would you let your best friend stay in this house without you?”
Okay, I had to give it to Alexander because he actually sounded exactly like Caley. Not only her clipped voice, but that was totally something she would’ve said. “Um…she’s a bit protective.”
Dane’s eyebrows rose, and well, I could understand that well enough. Caley hadn’t been any part of the whole demonic business, so why would she be now? I quickly changed the subject to avoid him looking too deep into it. “Alexander didn’t show up tonight. I have nothing new to tell you.”
Gretchen added, “We’ll go out later again to see, but there is no sense sitting out there and waiting for him to show up.”
“I disagree,” Wayde spat.
Gretchen frowned, taking a step toward him. “I won’t exhaust Tess. She’s been at this all day.”
Wayde’s lips parted to no doubt offer some stupid retort, but Dane cut in, “She’s right. If we push Tess, it’ll do us no good. She’ll be better to us if she stays sharp.” His gaze swept to Caley and he stared so intently, with a furrow to his brow, I worried. “Besides, having her friend here doesn’t matter as long as Tess continues to look into this.”
I paused at the measured look in his eye. Did he know? I had no clue how this all worked. I wasn’t a medium in the sense I got feelings off ghosts; no, they just told me how they felt. I wondered if Dane could tell a ghost was now in Caley’s body and more to the point, that Alexander had joined her.
While deep down, even though I hated Dane, I couldn’t bring myself to believe he had any involvement in Alexander’s death. Truthfully, I didn’t believe anyone in this house did. I hoped I was right, since if the killer knew what we were doing now, we’d be fucked sideways.
Not wanting to dive into that any further, or feel too scrutinized I’d mess up, I changed the subject to get the attention off us. “By the way, did you know you have quite a few ghosts here at the house?”