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“If I attempted this, I would fail, but you…” Wayde leaned away from me, but remained on his knees. “Yes, it’s that easy.”
I glanced sideways at Gretchen, and once again, she urged me with a nod. “It does make sense, Tess.” She shifted on the armrest of the couch, peering down at me. “I only know what I do from learning from the witches before me. In this case, Nettie held the exact gifts you do, meaning she holds the answers you need.”
She paused before she gestured to Wayde. “He’s read her diary, which is how he knows about your gifts. You can trust what he’s telling you now. I have no doubt that the reason Alexander wanted to meet you is because he knew about Nettie.” She sighed, and it sounded tinged with annoyance. “I suspect he wanted to teach you what he knew of her.”
The darkness in her features indicated that Alexander would’ve let me see the diary in its entirety. He wouldn’t have played the ridiculous games Wayde did. But the tight set of her mouth told me
to only trust Wayde so far. He might tell me pieces of the truth to ensure I helped him, but he didn’t tell me the full truth. “Fair enough.”
Drawing in a long breath, I glanced at my lap to read the book, but then felt cornered. Wayde stared into my face and he crowded my space. I raised my head, glaring at him. “I won’t read farther, but can you back off and give me some damn space to breathe?”
Wayde’s challenging stare lasted a few good few seconds, then he lowered his hand, stood and took a step back. I didn’t doubt for a second if I flipped a page, he’d full-out attack me to get the book out of my hands.
I rolled my eyes at the idiot and looked down at the page.
October 4, 1920
Tonight, I proved my theory right. The elevated tingle across my flesh before I enter sleep is my soul touching the veil. I allowed the connection to overtake me and chose to travel into the Netherworld. When I awakened, I found an odd place, filled with so much mystery, yet I oddly felt as if I’d come home. There, I made contact with an older gentleman, Tavish, who welcomed me and we chatted a while about his life in Scotland. He didn’t request help from me and I never offered, but it did seem he enjoyed the time with me.
On a snort, I stopped reading and glanced up at Wayde. “Again, I don’t see how knowing about a tingle is going to help me.”
He frowned. “Keep reading.”
I did.
Once Tavish left me there alone, I realized the sensation I’d experienced—the empty, odd, icy darkness had been that place. A veil of nothing, no way forward and no way out, home to lost ghosts. In an odd way, I feel as if I belong there more than I do in the world I’m in now.
On a deep swallow, I leaned back in the couch and exhaled deeply as those words seemed to coincide with what Wayde had said. Did I honestly belong there, too? Was that what he meant? Had I shut my eyes and no longer looked at the world around me, because in truth, I didn’t belong in this world anymore? Could it be possible if I’d been more aware, I would’ve known it?
At that moment, I realized how easy it’d been to tap into the Netherworld. It was as much a part of me as the blood running through my veins. It’d always been there, ever since the near-drowning in the lake. An ingrained part of me that once found, answered the remainder of my questions.
While I could relate to the questions she had, since I had a thousand of my own, I doubted her reasoning to find answers was that her ghost lover needed rescuing. But I surmised the sensation she spoke of was what Wayde mentioned and Gretchen confirmed. Could it be possible? Was my eerie sensation around ghosts actually the feeling of the Netherworld?
There is where I found my peace, but soon, I came to discover my choice to remain didn’t belong to me. My presence lasted only a short time. Now I assume it has something to do with sleep patterns, since I awoke and remembered my time there. Let this be said, I will journey there again, and as often as I can, until I understand why I’m so connected to a place that is meant for no one to belong.
I exhaled the breath I hadn’t known I held and looked at Gretchen. “Says here, Nettie knew she belonged in the Netherworld and yes, it explains the sensation I feel well enough.” Then, to Wayde I said, “But it doesn’t say how I’ll get there.”
Gretchen gasped, dragging my focus to her, and her hands were over her mouth, eyes wide. Locked in her knowing stare, understanding simmered right through me in an instant and the answer became all too clear. Wayde had said it himself: for him, it would be impossible; for me, it was simple.
“I don’t need to learn anything, do I?” At the slow shake of Wayde’s head, I swallowed deep and then managed, “I’m already gifted the right to be there.”
“Exactly.” Wayde took the book out of my hands. “You only need to be aware, and then open your mind to what you’re feeling. The veil is yours to cross. Right there awaiting you. You simply need to make the conscious choice to go. It’s that simple—nothing complex.”
Perhaps Nettie had been more willing to accept her gifts and see for herself what made her tick, but I hadn’t ever been so accommodating. Each event since I met Kipp had brought me closer to understanding what I could do, and why. Right now was no exception. My world had been very small and I realized how much I shut down. How much I ignored everything right in front of me.
Now, I’d never seen anything so clearly.
Why did the hardest things in life sometimes seem so easy with just the right perspective?
Chapter Nine
The softness of the mattress beneath me made sleeping easy. After all I’d been through, plus the thought I might see Kipp again, my eyelids became heavy the moment I climbed into the large four-poster bed.
In the fancy bedroom, my broken fingernails and crunchy hair reminded me I did not fit in here…at all. Everything declared this space for the wealthy, from the rich red curtains, crown moldings surrounding the burgundy painted walls, and no doubt ridiculously expensive artwork on canvasses. Even the gold satin embroidered bedspread appeared more like something a celebrity should be sleeping in than little ole’ me, further reminding me to get this done as quickly as I could. I needed to go back to Memphis where things made sense.
“So…” Gretchen shut the door behind her and turned to me with a smile. “I didn’t want to ask out there with Wayde, but have you ever noticed yourself going into the Netherworld?”
Again, the dream with Kipp lingered on my mind. Not as if I’d go into that with Gretchen, since I doubted she wanted to hear about my X-rated fantasy. “I’m not sure.” Not a total lie considering I honestly didn’t know. Perhaps I misread the dream. “Besides, it’s horrifying to think I might have gone there.”
