Mystically Bound (Frostbite 3)

Wayde’s stare met mine dead-on, his gaze intently focused. “What ghosts?”

Under his stare, I really did hate how much he unnerved me, but I amounted that to being a little afraid he’d find out about Alexande

r. “I helped a woman from the Glasgow family cross last night. There’s a cranky older man, and a younger one, too.”

Dane frowned at me. “If ghosts are bothering you, I told you that you have the power—”

Before I had the chance to confirm I had been ordering them away, Wayde stated, “You’re not here to help other ghosts. You are to help solve Alexander’s death. You have the power to force ghosts to keep their distance, so use it. Am I understood?”

I snorted, considering I planned on doing that anyway. “Yeah, got it.”

“Did you speak to my father?”

Leaning a little to the side, I noticed Amelia standing in the doorway of the kitchen with flour on her hands. “Sorry, no.”

Something close to irritation crossed her features—which I understood, she wanted answers—but she controlled it as she said, “I’ve made some fresh bread for sandwiches if you and Gretchen would…” She had been walking toward me, but when she took in Caley, she stopped. “Oh, your friend has returned.”

I wanted to exhale in relief that Amelia wasn’t a medium and couldn’t sense ghosts. For whatever reason, I suspected that if she could, she would’ve known her father was with us because of their bond.

Looking to the second half of that bond, I found Alexander staring at his daughter with such sorrow in his face that I elbowed him. At his low grunt—that sounded entirely masculine—I smiled at Amelia. “Thanks for the sandwiches. I’ll come down in a bit to get them.” Maybe Amelia cooked because she needed something to do, but I didn’t mind; her food was delicious.

Without another word, I grabbed Alexander’s hand and dragged him with me, brushing past Wayde at the staircase. I rushed up the stairs, taking two at a time, and Gretchen followed.

At the bedroom door, I whisked it open and hurried in. Once Gretchen and Alexander entered, I closed the door with a slam and turned to them. “Oh. My. God. I think Dane knows.”

Gretchen looked between me and Alexander with wide eyes. “Why do you think that?”

“Didn’t you see the way he looked at her?” I pointed at Alexander and shook my head. “I mean to say, him.”

“While Dane is a talented medium,” Alexander said, striding forward to sit on the edge of the bed. “And I suspect he feels something is different about Caley, I doubt he’d piece together that I have joined her.”

I approached Alexander, but to Gretchen asked, “You think so?” She pondered, then finally shrugged. “I’m not sure how he could. I agree, he’s talented, but not so talented that he can sense a single person’s energy.” Her head tilted, gaze became probing. “I imagine he senses something feels odd about her, which could be anything, such as her mood.”

For the oddest reason, I didn’t agree with them. That look in Dane’s eyes was all too knowing, but I wouldn’t argue it out with them. I only hoped they were right since I did not want Dane or anyone in this house to know what we were doing. “So, we’re still good to go?”

Alexander nodded. “I wouldn’t see why not.”

“Good.” I joined him on the bed and pulled up my legs to sit cross-legged in front of him on the hard mattress. “No pissing around here, let’s get right to it. I need you out of that body A.S.A.P. or Caley will kill me.” At his nod and soft smile, that didn’t belong to Caley, I added. “You have no idea who did this to you?”

He shook his head. “The night I died I had been out by the swamp taking a moment. I enjoy spending time there. I didn’t see the person who attacked me.”

I couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to spend time at the stinky swamp, but who I was to disagree with him. I stayed silent as Gretchen asked, “But you suspect someone did a spell to trap you into the Netherworld?”

“I felt it while dying,” Alexander’s gaze intensified in a way I’d never seen from Caley’s, so insightful. “Almost as if my soul was being forced away, but I intercepted in enough time to fight back, which is why the spell failed. I attached my energy to the magnetic fields and the power contained within them held more strength than the spell, but left me weakened, as you’ve seen.”

I couldn’t picture either of those spells in action. I knew magnetic fields held power, but I didn’t know they held that much power. Plus, attaching oneself to a magnetic field…yeah, I couldn’t grasp it. “Okay, weird.” I gave my head a good hard shake. “But you didn’t hear anyone speak or anything like that?”

“I heard nothing.” His lips pressed into a firm line as he shifted on the bed. “No sounds at all.”

Gretchen, who stood in the center of the room, approached the bed. “Another spell perhaps?”

I scrunched up my nose. Had anything ever sounded so bizarre? “A spell to stay quiet? There is such a thing?”

“It’s possible,” Alexander agreed with a nod. “I never heard anyone approaching me and in truth, didn’t hear a single sound when I was dying. It seemed as if my ability to hear had been stolen.”

While witchcraft was somewhat cool and saved my ass, it was also entirely peculiar. Perhaps even as frightening as Caley had suggested. Having that much power, in the wrong hands, was definitely something to fear.

From what I’d seen so far, I started to believe the Lux should be burned. Leaving that thought behind, since that wasn’t my decision to make, I continued, “Moving on, then.” I zeroed in on Alexander, getting right to heart of questions. “How do you know me?”