AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stood stuck in the spot and mulled over her advice. Hadn’t I been following my heart? Hadn’t I told her as much when I said that I wanted to keep Kipp?
And why did I have the horrible gut wrenching feeling that she’d just given me a grave warning?
Chapter Fourteen
The plane touched down in Memphis just after midnight. Exhaustion weighed on me. Not only did my head throb from all the information suddenly thrust upon me from Gretchen’s teachings. But the rift between Kipp and Dane was worrisome.
I strode in front of Dane hoping to lose him in the crowd. I kept the bag of items Gretchen had given me for the spells I needed tight in my hand. I still hadn’t fully accepted that I had a magic wand in the bag. But at this point I’d believe anything to get myself out of this mess.
Dane had obliged me by staying quiet on the flight home since I wanted to try to sleep, which I did none of and what I really wanted to do right now. It was a blessing I couldn’t do the banishing tonight because I needed the rest.
As I pushed through the crowd, a firm hand gripped my arm forcing me to turn around. “We need to talk,” Dane said sternly.
I jerked my arm away from him. “We don’t need to talk about anything. I think I’ve made that quite clear.”
His voice was deep and held no compassion. “I was brought here to help you, Tess. You might not understand the implications of your actions, but I do. You need to stop this. Immediately.”
So he says. “I don’t need to do anything. I like my life the way it is, thank you very much.” I glared at him, my fists clenched. “If you don’t like it then go home. No one, especially me, is begging you to stay.”
A self-righteous grin spread across his face. “You need me whether you like or not.”
I considered my options, wanting to smack that grin off his face, knowing that my options sucked at best. Sure, I’d learned a lot with Gretchen, but I had no doubt there was so much more I needed to know.
Seeing that things had taken a turn south, I did need to understand my abilities to keep me safe and understand what was ahead of me. Dane had those answers.
“Maybe I do need you—for now—but you need to stop this. Not only for my sake, but for Kipp’s too.” I stared him down. “I’m seriously concerned he’s going to possess you.”
Dane studied me for so long it became awkward and then said, “You do realize what you’re doing is unfair to him.”
“It’s only unfair if he doesn’t want it.” Right? That made sense, didn’t it? “If he wanted to leave me, he would. As much as you’d like to convince me otherwise it’s not going to happen.”
“But your relationship is forcing him to remain.” His shoulders squared. “You need to make some decisions. Do you want to help ghosts cross over or don’t you?”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “You know I want to help them. I’ve already made that decision and it’s exactly why you’re here.”
“Then you need to stay true to yourself and your purpose with the ghost. You should want to help him cross over. Nothing less.”
I parted my lips to defend my actions, but my breath caught in my throat. Dane was right. I should want that for Kipp. His existence wasn’t a desired one, but the result of what would happen if he left crippled me. My exhaustion just got a whole lot worse. “What do you want from me, Dane?”
“I want you to realize why you hold these gifts.” He shook his head in frustration. “There are few, if any, who have the gifts you do. Do you not ask yourself why? Do you not realize the huge responsibility you have here?” He gazed at me with a shrewd look. “He will cross over and then what will happen? You’ll be left devastated. I tell you this so you’ll see things clearly. You can’t be in love with a ghost.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” I snapped. “Don’t you think I’ve tried to stop it? But I can’t help that I love him. If he chooses to cross over then so be it, but I won’t push him to that conclusion.” I scowled at him. “So, you need to back off.”
“Tess—”
“I’m not holding him back on purpose.” I paused, considered that, then added, “At least I don’t think I am. Until you have proof that I am and that he’s suffering, leave it alone.”
His features hardened. “My proof is my knowledge and experience.”
“What experience?” I countered. “I know jack-shit about you except that ever since you’ve come into my life you’ve been a total pain in the ass.” I folded my arms. “What makes you so qualified to tell me how to live?”
“Because I’ve seen someone much like you be destroyed by the very ghosts she was trying to help.” Was that personal demons in his eyes? “She held the power to rid the world of so much evil, which is what we need, but because of her pain she refuses to.”
“I’m not her. Whoever she is. And I’d appreciate if you would let this drop.”
“I can’t do that.” That emotion vanished as he gave that hard stare he owned so well. “You’re too important and wasting your talents on ghosts who merely want to cross over. You have a purpose in life and that’s to destroy dangerous threats. Not spend your time fixing ghosts.”
My blood boiled. “I’ve already told you, I don’t want to hunt demons. I like my life how it is. I’m perfectly happy helping the way I am.” My fingernails dug into my palms. “Just because you think something is good for me doesn’t mean I have to agree with you.”
