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A hundred questions raced through my mind, all of which would remain unanswered. I gazed over him, regarded his peculiar situation and a thought formed. This situation was even stranger than I first suspected. I looked at Gretchen. “After Alexander died, did you see his body?”
“No.” She hesitated. “Why?”
“Because, how is he remembering all this?” Ghosts only remembered what they needed to, to cross over—nothing more. The fine details of his death weren’t relevant to easing his distress to ensure he crossed in peace. If ghosts remembered some finer details, it was because they had been a ghost for years, which seemed to bring clearer memories. “Kipp is the only ghost who retained his memory and that’s because he’s not dead.”
Gretchen’s eyes widened, but then she shook her head. “Dane told me he was cremated, meaning they did have his body. They had a very private service with Dane and Amelia, and plan to hold a larger memorial after this situation is resolved for the members to say goodbye to him.” She nibbled her lip, gazing over the spot Alexander stood, yet clearly only seeing the dark night. “I wonder if Alexander cast a spell before he died allowing for him to remember.”
Alexander touched his nose.
“Yup, he did.” I ground my teeth together. “This would be a lot easier without this…restriction.”
He appeared to sigh, and the slight incline
of his head confirmed his equal frustration.
Glancing up at the sky, the stars above me twinkled, and I found myself at a loss as to where to go from here. If I couldn’t talk to him, how could I get answers? Truth was, I couldn’t, so I changed tactics. “Why do you look like you do?”
He pointed at Gretchen.
I turned an accusation glare onto her, my heart skipped a beat, and my voice sounded on a snarl. “You did this to him?”
“I did not.” She gasped.
An icy cold tickle sped up my arm and had me glancing to Alexander, my breath lost to me. It didn’t rattle me that a ghost touched me, but it was the reminder of what Kipp’s touch felt like…and how much I missed it.
Tears threatened to rise and I forced them back on a deep swallow. Alexander’s dismayed expression somehow made me believe he understood. He pointed at Gretchen again, his gaze intent. Shaking the thoughts off Kipp, I shoved the memory away and considered Alexander’s message. “A witch?”
Nodding, he waved his hand, urging me on.
“Magic,” I offered.
With a sad smile, he tapped his nose.
“Ah, gotcha.” I turned to Gretchen, discovering her scowling at me. Clearly, I had insulted her. I understood; we’d become close in an odd circumstance, but if she had accused me, I would’ve ripped a strip off her. “Okay, I’m sorry I blamed you. You never would have done anything like this, but cut me a break. It’s all very confusing.”
She lifted her chin, unfolding her arms. “I accept your apology.” Her look of vindication shone through her gaze before her eyes narrowed. “Don’t do it again.” After a long stern stare down, she relaxed her features. “Now, what’s this about magic?”
“He said—or gestured, I mean to say—that it’s magic.”
She studied me a moment, then she turned to the spot where I’d been looking at Alexander. “You suspect someone used magic on you at the time of your death?” Without giving me a chance to get his response, she added, “Actually, that makes sense. Perhaps someone used a spell on Alexander to force him to cross over, but he stopped them.”
Looking at Alexander again, he tapped his nose.
“You got it.” Then I realized what that meant. “Wait. Someone didn’t want his ghost to remain?”
“Exactly.” A note of pride hit Gretchen’s voice, lifting her voice an octave. “Alexander was one of the best spell users I’ve ever met. He’s clearly broken through the hold and fought against them.” She glanced around at the swamp with her flashlight, then finally looked at me. “I sense elevated magnetic fields in this area—that might be how he’s doing it. The use of the powerful fields would break most spells.”
Alexander confirmed her suspicions with a firm nod.
“Oh,” was my reply at that bit of nonsense.
While I had come a long way in believing in magic, my knowledge still lacked when it came to spells and such. If I hadn’t seen firsthand how magic did work, I might have laughed now, but I had banished a demon back to Hell. Restricting a ghost, and somehow breaking that hold, seemed possible.
Gretchen pinched her nose, staring at the beam of her flashlight on the grass before she lifted her head. “Do you suspect there was magic used at your death and that’s why you don’t know who killed you?”
He tapped his nose.
“Yup,” I confirmed.
