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Deep down, I didn’t want to go into the Netherworld if I didn’t have to. I had never lied—I wanted a normal life…well, as normal as I could possibly obtain.
Only problem?
Life kept making things backasswards.
Pushing the blankets off, I sat up, rubbing my hands over my face to wake up. My head thumped like a drummer was having a heyday in my skull, indicating I moved too quickly. “Ugh. My head is killing me.”
When my headache once again became tolerable, I noticed the dead silence around me and lowered my hands. Alexander was giving me a curious look. “When did the headaches start?”
I didn’t want to answer because it only firmed up a big negative for my ghostly travels, but his expectant expression demanded an answer so I grumbled, “After I went into the Netherworld.”
“Might be one of the aftereffects,” he murm
ured, staring at me a little longer before he gave a firm nod. “We need to keep an eye on that.”
Gretchen sat up, leaning a little forward in the bed to look at me. “Do you notice anything else other than the headaches?”
I glanced at the bedspread and swirled my finger over the fancy detailing. A hard truth stared me in the face. “To be honest, this might be emotional rather than any leftovers from there. I’ve kind of been through a lot.”
“You have,” she agreed, dragging my attention back to her. “But we can’t overlook it either. You need to let us know if they get worse or if anything else changes.”
“Okay.” While I truly hoped it had nothing to do with the Netherworld and was, in fact, caused from stress, I knew we couldn’t ignore the truth either. My headaches were worsening. “Let’s say it is from the Netherworld, why would it be getting worse since I haven’t been back there?”
Alexander shrugged, gazing at me intently and shifting on the bed, facing me more fully. “I don’t know.”
“Which is why we need to keep an eye on it,” Gretchen stated, fixing her messy hair with a brush of her hand. “Exactly why you shouldn’t go back there until we have a clear understanding of how this might further affect you.”
“True.” I gave my face another quick rub, ignoring the hard thumps in the front of my skull, then looked at Alexander. “So, how did it go last night? Did you find the Lux?”
Darkness spread over his face. “Sadly, I didn’t.” At the slow slide of disappointment over me, he added, “While everyone slept, I searched this house from top to bottom.”
“And nothing?” Frustration clipped my voice. “No sign of it at all?”
He sighed, stood from the bed, and paced in front of it. “I’m sure it’s no longer in this house.”
I mulled that over, aggravated to my very bones that it couldn’t be as simple as him stumbling upon the damn book. When being irritated got me nowhere but pissed off, I asked, “Where did you keep the Lux?”
He stopped his pacing, turning back to me. “In my bedroom.”
I nibbled my lip and hated to doubt him, but needed to be clear. “You checked there?”
“Wayde is staying in my room now.” He dipped his head with a measured expression. “But yes, I checked.”
While that annoyed me since I hoped Alexander would’ve been able to help more, it also horrified me to imagine if Caley had gotten caught by someone, especially by Wayde. “How exactly did you do that?”
He resumed his pacing in front of the bed. “I exited her body.”
I blinked. “You did what?”
Gretchen chuckled, but Alexander went on, “I discovered last night I can absorb Caley’s energy even while I’m in ghost form because we are now joined.”
I gazed over my best friend as he continued to move impatiently through the room, not noticing her looking overly tired, which eased some of my guilt. The last thing I wanted was for Alexander to drain her completely and she ended up being ill or something. “So, what did you do with her…err…body?”
He had made it to the far wall and spun on his heels, heading back my way. “I went down to the living room on the couch and left her there.”
Trying to imagine that, I totally failed. “Sleeping, you mean?”
Once in front of the bed again, he inclined his head, and Caley’s long blonde hair fell over her shoulder. “It completely drains her because I am, in essence, piggybacking her energy, so while she slept, I searched the bedroom. Then, once I was done, I joined with her again and here we are.”
