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His brow furrowed, and he paused for a long moment, and then finally said, “Just don’t listen to Dane.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, fine, whatever, but you be careful.”
“You as well.”
Before I could get another word out, he vanished like he always did when he did his weird ghost travel bit. In all actuality, I suspected he didn’t want to leave, but what other choice did he have?
I rubbed my temples. This was important. Even I knew that. We could really do without his jealously especially since I had no idea what he was jealous about.
Dane groaned. “I’m glad he’s gone.”
I had the sense he didn’t just mean the heaviness he must have experienced from Kipp’s rage. The simmer in his gaze—that he’d not show outright yet—became quite clear. I needed to put a stop to this before anything could start. “I’m in love with him, you do know this?”
“I’m not interested in you in the way you think. That’s not why I’m interfering.” His tone was cold. “The problem is that he is a ghost.”
“Yeah, I know he’s a ghost.” I didn’t want anyone to point out a truth that I’d been good at avoiding. “But you can’t choose who you fall in love with.”
His eyebrow arched. “You’re right, you can’t choose who you love, but you can choose not to pursue it.”
And with that response, awareness struck me like a smack in the face. Had this been Kipp’s problem? It hadn’t dawned on me that his dislike for Dane stemmed from the knowledge that Dane wanted me to end the relationship with him.
Dane didn’t like me being open with ghosts and my relation
ship with Kipp went so far past that. Had Kipp’s jealously not been about Dane having an interest in me, but more so, because he suspected Dane wanted to push Kipp out of my life? I didn’t know. I didn’t care. “I don’t believe I asked you for your advice, so zip it.”
Gretchen entered the room and held a leather book in her hands. “In what capacity did you see the demon?”
Dane’s frown stayed on me a moment longer before he shifted his stern gaze to Gretchen, and his expression softened. “It had possessed someone.”
She sat down in next to him, her features calm as if she discussed the sandwiches in front of her. “You saw it in the human body?”
I interjected before Dane could answer, “Yes, and if you don’t mind, so I can understand this, can you explain that?” At her empty stare, I added, “How can a demon go into a body and why would it?”
She crossed her legs, and held the book on her lap. “A demon finds its strength within the souls of humans. Without it, it wouldn’t survive long in this realm, and it can’t spend too long in its demonic form.”
At my crinkled nose, since her answer only raised more questions, she continued, “A demon needs the shell of a body to thrive. It takes over the soul of a human, and then makes them do unthinkable things. Those heinous acts make the demon flourish. Remember, demons enjoy causing pain and injury. The more it does. The stronger it becomes.”
Made sense. If anything about demons made sense. “And what, you banish it to Hell and it won’t come back?”
She nodded. “Demons are allowed to come here once. When they are banished, it’s forever.”
“That’s a bit of good news.”
She laughed, but with no amusement. “In a house of demons there are thousands. Just because we banish one doesn’t mean another won’t come.”
“But Dane said there weren’t many,” I countered.
“You’re right. There aren’t. But that’s because there are ones like you who choose to fight against this evil.”
I stopped that line of thinking in its tracks. “Don’t go getting ahead of yourself. I’m doing this because it sprung up on me. Trust me when I tell you, I’m not a demon hunter and I don’t plan to be.”
“That’s your choice.” She smiled, and warmth radiated out of her sending a nice comfort in the air. “No matter what path you choose with your gifts it’s yours to make. You don’t have to fight evil to make good use of your abilities.”
“Glad to hear it,” I retorted. “‘Cause I ain’t doing it. Helping ghosts, yes. Fighting demons, hell no!”
She laughed—a sound as sweet as her lit-up expression. “I also choose not to deal with these types of energies. Luckily for us, there are those who gladly hunt this darkness. Like I said, your path is your choice.”
But why did Dane’s grumpy-ass look disagree with her?
