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The list was endless—Kipp was a ghost, but actually wasn’t dead, and in fact, lay comatose in a hospital; my recent experience with magical spells, and banishing a demon back to Hell; and the most implausible of all, I had fallen madly and deeply in love with a spirit.
When Gretchen told me coming to the Animus was our best shot at helping Kipp, I figured we’d pull him out of the Netherworld, not send me into it. “How do you know—without a doubt—that you can help me cross into the Netherworld to search for Kipp, and I won’t get killed in the process?”
Wayde’s eyes twinkled. “I know.”
“Yes, good and all,” I retorted. “But how do you know?”
Running a hand through his jet-black slicked hair, Wayde shifted in his seat and crossed an ankle over his knee. “We are the Animus. The knowledge you need is within our reach. I promise to share it, if you help us.”
At my snort, since that reassured me about as much as someone holding a dagger at my throat saying they weren’t going to slice my head off, Gretchen interjected. “A promise by a Grand Master is exactly that, Tess. You can trust him.”
Yeah, right.
Something she said interested me, though. I turned to Wayde. “You’re the new leader of this…bunch?”
He nodded. “In his will, Alexander requested I take over. This home always belongs to the Grand Master, so when he passed, the house was gifted to me.”
I scanned the, more or less, American Castle in slight awe. Gretchen said it had sixty-four rooms within the three stories. From what I’d seen already, the mansion had ornamental iron railings, fifteen-foot ceilings, and innovative features. Wayde was a lucky man. “Fair enough.” I glanced at him. “But you need to do better. I won’t help unless I know, without a doubt, you’re telling me the truth.”
Wayde frowned.
“A binding spell might be the best choice,” Gretchen offered. “It’s a solution to the problem. Not only will you,” she looked at me, “feel the truth behind his promise when he does the spell, but you’ll also know he has to uphold it.” She glanced at Wayde. “And this will ensure Tess holds up her end of the deal.”
Wayde hesitated, then gave a firm nod. “I’m in agreement.” He stared me down. “Will that suffice for you?”
As Gretchen had told me once, magic had to be conjured in truth, honesty, and full belief or it wouldn’t work, which left me hopeful. If Wayde agreed to the binding spell, that meant he did have the answer I needed to get to Kipp. “Possibly,” I answered Wayde, then said to Gretchen. “But first, how does the binding spell work?”
“Exactly as it sounds,” she replied in her sweet, soft voice. “Wayde will be bound to uphold his promise to help you cross into the Netherworld, as you are bound to find and talk to Alexander.”
Another positive, but my non-magical brain needed more answers. “What will happen to him if he breaks his promise?”
“His soul will become tainted.” Gretchen’s eyes darkened, voice thickened. “He’ll grow sick and eventually die.”
“Meaning I could grow sick and die, too?” At her tight nod, I groaned and considered the pact. Did I want to enter into an agreement that could kill me if I reneged on it?
Did I even have a choice?
At my silence and obvious hesitation, Gretchen smiled. She hadn’t guided me wrong yet. I firmly believed she never would. Besides, if I didn’t help them, I’d lose my ride into the Netherworld. I didn’t even need to think it over. “All right. I’m in.” I hesitated. “Wait. This isn’t a blood promise, is it?”
Chapter Two
Once Wayde left the living room, the next few minutes were spent in complete silence with Amelia smiling and Gretchen examining her finger nails. Finally, when Wayde returned, he held a small box. He strode toward the big bay window against the far wall to the cleared space on the wooden floor. There, he knelt and placed one red pillar candle upright and ready to light, then two black candles in front of it to form a triangle.
“Come here,” he stated.
With a nod of encouragement from Gretchen, I hesitantly approached Wayde, watching him enter the triangle. Once there, I stopped just outside, since no one had yet commented on the blood ritual question. “Okay, what next?”
“Stand beside me.”
I scrunched my nose as I crossed into the triangle. After I settled next to him, he handed me a piece of paper. “When I tell you, read these lines.”
He bent and lit the candles from left-to-right, ending with the red candle. When he stood, he reached into his pocket and took out a black ribbon. “Hold out your right arm.” I complied and he placed his left arm over top of mine, then wrapped us both in the ribbon.
Once finished, he gestured toward the paper. “Now read the passage with me.”
I raised the note, angling it so Wayde could see it, and we read in unison:
Arm to arm now seals the deal;
