Demonically Tempted (Frostbite 2)

“You dream of things?” I scrunched up my nose, not sure I liked that. “Of me?”

“I’m a bit psychic and do have some premonitions.” She fiddled with her cotton black skirt and settled it over her thighs. “I’m not nearly as talented as some others as I know, but mine always come to me in dreams.” Her gaze lifted to mine. “And you’ve been making me dream a lot lately. So what’s going on?”

Weird, but seriously everything around me was weird, so why doubt her? “You know my ghost?” At her nod, I continued, “Well, it turns out he wasn’t exactly deceased, but in a coma.”

Her eyebrows rose. “That explains why his energy was the way it was. How intriguing.” Curiosity flashed over her features. “Is he dying?”

I frowned at her choice of words. Instead, of issuing her a firm lashing for even suggesting such a thing, I said, “No.” I hesitated, then followed up with. “Not yet anyway. They have him on a ventilator.”

“I’m glad to hear that his body’s still with you.” Her nod was confident, as if her questions had finally settled. “I heard from Dane he’s no longer stayed in this world in spirit form. I’m assuming this is why then.”

“First off, if you mention the name Dane again, I will beat you.”

She laughed, telling me she knew about what took place, either because Dane had told her or because she dreamed it. I didn’t much care. “Dane means well. He’s sensitive over these issues because of me.”

“You?”

Her inhale was long before she blew it out. “He watched me go through a very trying time when I allowed myself to become emotionally attached to ghosts.”

I hadn’t realized that when Dane spoke of this in the airport, he was talking about Gretchen. “You loved a ghost?”

“Not exactly. I let them in like you do and became attached. That can become draining on one’s soul. And it’s the reason I’m no longer as involved.” Her look became measured. “So, while you’re angry at him, Dane is merely trying to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

She patted my leg, offered a sweet smile, not that it made me hate Dane any less. “We who hold the gift are special, and he wants to protect us, even if he goes about it in the wrong way.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. At least it explained Dane’s behavior, but it still didn’t mean I liked it, or him. I pushed the thoughts aside and focused on Kipp’s situation.

If anyone had the answers, I believed Gretchen would. Time to tick them off the list until something actually made sense. “The demon said something to me about Kipp being stuck in the Netherworld.”

The thought still made me sick to my stomach, but it sure made a whole lot of sense too. It’d be a solid reason for why he hadn’t returned. “Is that possible?”

“No. I told you not to believe it. They always lie. They’ll take your thoughts and work them to their advantage.”

Can’t say that wasn’t a relief, but yet, it just produced more questions. Why was he staying away, then? If he knew he had the chance to live, why wasn’t he taking it?

Frustration tightened my muscles. “Okay, explain this then, if Kipp wasn’t dead, how was he a ghost?”

“It could be for many reasons.” She tapped her lip, pondering before she answered, “But I’d imagine it was because of his duty to the Reid case. Kipp might have neared death the night he was shot, which pulled on his soul, but he wasn’t ready to go.”

I remembered Dane explaining my situation much like that, but I’d been sucked back into my body. Kipp clearly hadn’t. I leaned in to watch her intently as she went on, “He might have separated from his body to solve the case.”

“And then he couldn’t cross over not because of me, but because he wasn’t actually dead, right?”

She nodded, and I liked that theory a whole lot better than thinking I held him back. “It’s plausible that because he’d been detached from his body for a long enough amount of time before the doctors at the hospital forced him to stay alive, it kept him out. As in, he got stuck.” She lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers. “I do have a theory, though, that might be the answer to this.”

At her pause, I waved her on and she continued, “Now hearing of all this, it seems possible that his return to his body might not have been a choice, but something that just happened. He might have discovered his body at the hospital, and seeing it pulled him back in.”

Would make sense, but I didn’t believe it. “I’d agree with you, but it so happens that a ghost here in Memphis sensed him in the Netherworld, which means he hasn’t joined his body.”

“Did she now?” At my nod, she peeked at her hands thoughtful and finally said, “Then, I’m afraid I’m not sure why he’d be there. If he still has the ability to maintain his ghostly state, he can choose to return.”

Wasn’t that a truth I didn’t want to hear?

“Which makes this all the more confusing.” I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed my face before looking at her. “I need to find him, Gretchen. Figure out what’s going on with him, and why he’s not coming back.”

Her eyes searched mine. “I know you believe that he’s left because of you, but in my dreams I’m seeing otherwise.”

“What are you seeing?” I whispered.