“I’m afraid I can’t give you a clear answer, but I see confusion, determination, and a strong desire to help.”
Holly had said the same thing about him being determined. But for what? And to help who? Himself?
If he was stuck there, then that would fit, but he wasn’t. “Yes, well, Kipp is a determined guy. When he sets his mind to something, he goes for it.” Hadn’t he proved that many times, including his method to get me to notice him in the first place.
Again, she merely stared at me, thoughtful. “One thing that should settle you to know is that he doesn’t want to leave you.”
“How can you be so sure of that?”
“Because he’s not with us now,” she replied, and I couldn’t quite see how that was a good thing. “From what I sensed from him, and even now in my dreams, if he wanted to leave you forever, he’d find a way to get them to take him off life support. And yet, he hasn’t, has he?
“When something doesn’t make sense it’s for reasons that we cannot fathom. So, keep that hope with you. There must be a logical reason for why he’s gone.”
My heart pitter-pattered at the thought. I hadn’t considered that, but she was right. His behavior didn’t show his desire to leave.
In actuality, his actions made no sense at all. And that only unsettled me. I needed a clear action to guide me. But until I had answers, I couldn’t think the worse.
“Okay, you’re right. But let’s say he does return, can he…err…get back into his body and live again?”
Gretchen shrugged. “To be honest, I’ve never encountered this before so I’d have to research it.”
“Never?”
“It’s not usual that a soul separates from a body that’s still living. In fact, I’ve never even heard of it taking place.”
While I agreed at how unusual that sounded, only one thing mattered. “But it’s possible?”
“Anything’s possible with the right tools.” She grinned, and patted my leg. “And it so happens I possess those tools.”
“Good.” I sighed, relieved that as crazy as all this was, there was the possibility to save him. The thought was so tempting to get lost in, but I needed to stay focused on the now instead of what could be in my future.
“First thing first then, we need to find out what he’s doing. I’m not sure if it’s possible to make contact with him, but I’ve seen things in the past few days I couldn’t imagine believing in so there must be a way.”
A glint hit her gaze and a slow smile spread across her face. “You mean you want to go into Netherworld and pull him out?”
I blinked. “Is that an option?”
She folded her arms, and examined me once again. “There are many ramifications for you to go into the spirit world. You do realize this?”
“I don’t care what will happen, all I know is, I need to get to him. I can’t sit around and do nothing.”
Her scrutiny of me only deepened. “Are you ready to have your entire world turned upside down?”
Tears welled, my chin quivered, and I could do nothing to stop it. “I think that’s already happened. I want my life back.” I brushed the moisture off my cheeks. “You said it yourself, I get to choose my path and this is what I want. Whatever is ahead of me, all I know is, I don’t want to take another step without him.”
“Well, then, Tess Jennings,” she said softly. “Let’s make sure that you don’t have to. Dane might think he is right, but I for one, understand where you’re coming from.” Those knowledgeable eyes of hers flared with strength. “But first I’ve been instructed to bring you somewhere.”
I was so caught up in her offer to help that
it took a second to comprehend the latter part. “Where on earth do I need to go?”
She smiled. “It’s time for you to meet the others.”
Cripe’s sakes what am I getting myself into now?