Eternally Devoted (Frostbite #4)

by Stacey Kennedy

  Turning to the trunk, I almost didn’t want to touch the book. For all this damn thing had put me through to get it, it almost felt dirty. As in, if I touched it, something horrible would happen that would end up being an even bigger mess.

  That eerie sensation crawled over my skin, joining the creepy crawlers, but then I told myself the insanity of such a thought. I’d been dying to get my hands on the Lux to solve Kipp’s situation, and Alexander’s, too.

  Doing my best to ignore the skeleton beneath the book, I opened the cover. In truth, after I read the spells I needed, I wanted to leave the book in the trunk forever. In fact, I’d rather burn the Lux. The spells only brought trouble. Sadly, that choice wasn’t mine to make, and I doubted Dane or Gretchen would let me burn it.

  Flipping through the pages, I paused at the Stay Quiet Spell, forcing myself not to glance over at Alexander. After I skimmed the ritual, it became clear enough that this spell was how Wayde killed Alexander without being detected.

  Again, I couldn’t understand how this was all related. Why was Alexander killed in the first place? Possibly because Wayde knew if I had come to White Castle, maybe I’d find this skeleton. But as the thought crossed my mind I knew that was unlikely. How could he have predicted such an event?

  It, once again, didn’t add up.

  Seeing that line of thinking got me nowhere, I continued to flick through the pages and skimmed over the spells. Nearing the middle of the book, I landed on one spell making my breath hitch.

  Angelic Banishment.

  There were a list of ingredients and instructions. But I focused on the chant: Angels of Protection. Angels who clear. Remove all spirits who don't belong here.

  Part of me wanted to ask Gretchen if this would help Alexander, but deep down in my soul, a tug pulled me to this spell. An awareness that told me this one would work.

  I kept my finger against the page to mark the spot when a sudden loud creak sounded upstairs. Dust fluttered down from the ceiling and flickered through the beam of Zach’s flashlight.

  While I should be screaming in fear right now, I almost wanted to thank whoever was up there. With the distraction, and with Amelia looking toward the staircase, plus the loud creaks that now came closer together as obvious footsteps approached the basement, I ripped out the spell I needed to force Alexander to cross over.

  For the most part, I thought this was all entirely stupid and didn’t see why Amelia couldn’t know. But at the same time, Dane had helped me. If he wanted to tell his wife the news of her father in his own way, I wouldn’t screw that up.

  Once the paper was free from the book’s binding, I stuffed it into the front pocket of my jeans. I looked up and spotted Kipp’s smile. Then another creak came at the stairway.

  Now my excitement over obtaining the spell we needed to help Alexander vanished, replaced by a fear I couldn’t possibly control.

  Wayde was in this house.

  The footsteps sounded right above my head and more dust fluttered down from the ceiling. Zach’s flashlight swayed in front of me as the creak of the basement door followed. I doubted anyone in the room breathed, as all guns were aimed at the staircase.

  Two black boots stopped on the first step right before a low voice called, “It’s me.”

  I exhaled, bent at the waist, and tried to catch my heart that currently wanted to explode out of my chest. “For Christ sake’s, Eddie.”

  He trotted down the stairs and on the third step, he stopped dead when he noticed the guns aimed at him. “Hello.” He stood statue-still. “It’s me.”

  Max sighed, lowering his gun. “You get the prints in?”

  Eddie nodded and finished his descent down the staircase. “They’re putting them through AFIS now.”

  Without the necessary push from anyone, and with the threat of Wayde’s appearance now gone, I turned to the book. I continued to shift through the pages and landed on the spell Alexander had used to tap into the magnetic fields in the swamp at the house. The spell that broke the spell Wayde had cast to trap him in the Netherworld.

  A bit in awe over that spell, I continued to search. I hoped to hell the spell for Kipp showed itself soon. I had already worked through three quarters of the book and had yet to find a spell that would help him.

  By the time I reached the end, a dreadful thought slammed into my mind. Wayde had lied—there was no spell in the Lux that forced Kipp’s soul to reconnect with his body. My worst fears from when I had realized Wayde had made a weak promise had come true.

  With that, my body slumped, and I whispered, “It’s not in here.”

  “What’s not there?” Amelia asked. “What exactly are you looking for?”

  When I looked to Kipp, tears filled my eyes. In this moment, all the hope and drive to see through this fled me and exhaustion stole over my body. I didn’t care about Amelia anymore. I didn’t care about Alexander or Wayde. I only cared about my pain. Had all this been for nothing? “What do we do now?”

  Kipp’s pained eyes mirrored the exact feeling in my own soul, and he said softly, “Let’s finish this. Then, we’ll go there.”

  I wanted to scream at him that I couldn’t go on. I didn’t want to push aside what I wanted any longer. But as I looked at Alexander and the sadness prevalent in his face, I realized I couldn’t give up.

  While I could’ve drowned in my sorrow, I did have hope that if I helped Alexander, then Dane and Amelia, along with Gretchen, would do whatever they could to fix Kipp.

  Hope wasn’t lost yet. Not until I heard the words, ‘there is nothing we can do to help him’, would I allow myself to think this wouldn’t work out.

  For now, we needed to deal with Wayde and Alexander.

  At the tears trailing my cheeks, and maybe the look I gave to Kipp and to Zach, Amelia frowned. “What am I missing here?” She looked at Dane, and then glanced around the basement, as if searching for a ghost she’d never see. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” I replied softly, as the hardest lump formed in my throat. “Let’s go.” Max nodded, his gaze etched with misery, and even Zach’s expression was dark and distraught, as was Eddie’s. Even as I turned to Gretchen, her watery eyes matched my own. Yes, everyone understood what it meant not finding the spell in the Lux.

  We were right back at the beginning.

  Not allowing myself to tumble into that painful place of hard truths, I shut the book. Just as I was about to stand, since I fully intended to leave it there, Amelia stated, “You can’t leave the spells. We need to take the Lux home where it can be safe.”

  “Ew.” I glanced over my shoulder at her and noticed she had moved off to the side. “Even after it’s been placed with bones?”

  She gave a firm nod. “Once we report this crime to the authorities, it will get into their hands. Please take it.”

  The urgency in her voice made me agree for that reason alone, even if it seemed ridiculous she was asking me, instead of taking it herself. But I could relate, since stepping foot into this house, I wasn’t thinking all that straight either.

  I nodded in agreement and relief washed over her features, and then I turned to the Lux. I reached in, tucked my gloved fingers under the book and touched bone. “Gross.”

  The moment I lifted the book out of the trunk, a low hum filled the air. It vibrated against my body and raised the hairs on my arm. I jerked my head to Kipp. “What’s that?”

  He scanned the room frantic, and then he arched an eyebrow. “I don’t know.”

  Max spun on the spot, clearly searching out danger, as did Zach. “What’s what?” Then it became glaringly obvious the hum I currently sensed in the air, and what Kipp did too, normal folk didn’t sense.

  “We need to get out of here,” Alexander shouted.

  Dane, however, didn’t move an inch and stared at me with troubled eyes. “I feel it, too. Someone cast a spell on the book.”

  Time slowed.

  I dropped the book into the trunk and it looked like it floated dow
n. I had assumed that Wayde would’ve cast a spell on the trunk, but no, he cast it on the Lux—something I hadn’t considered. Clearly, my touching it didn’t ignite the spell, removing the book did.

  The hum grew louder and energy washed over my skin, raising not only goose bumps on my arms, but bringing forth full alarm in my soul. Heat ripped along my body, my heart hammered and the world somersaulted around me.

  “Tess,” Kipp roared.

  “Kipp…” I slowly turned to him as a sudden blast of scorching heat swept over my skin, causing my headache to thump painfully. I clutched my head, crying out in pain and with a loud bang echoing in my mind, darkness stole my vision.

  Chapter Six

  I crashed through a black bottomless pit, clinging onto any sense of stability. There, in my reach, was an icy wisp of familiarity. I yanked myself closer toward it. Closer and closer…until the frosty embrace fully engulfed me.

  With a screech not sounding like my own, I opened my eyes, more than horrified at the goose bumps trailing over my skin. “Fuck.” I spun around in a tight circle, spotting a dark empty street in both directions as I stood smack dab in the center.

  The long road that seemed to never end was surrounded by a starry night. But even if the eerie view around me was cause for concern, what scared me shitless were the waves of energy swiping over my skin. “No. No. No.”

  “You weren’t supposed to come.”

  At the low angry voice, I spun and snapped at Kipp, “No, shit! I didn’t come here on purpose. What the hell!” Glancing down the street again, I spotted nothing or no one, except the paved road with trees lining the side and streetlights casting a glow into the dark night.

  When that brought no further answers for why I stood in the Netherworld now, I turned to Kipp. “What happened?”

  His eyes blazed. “The spell knocked you out.”

  I gasped, inhaling the warm, fresh night air around me. I tried desperately to remember what exactly had taken place, but my mind was hidden behind a hazy cloud. “Only me?”

  “No, everyone, including Alexander.” At my parted lips, Kipp’s head tilted and his eyes became measured. “I have no idea why his ghost couldn’t leave her body.” He hesitated, gazing down the street to his right, and then turned to me again. “Maybe the spell took over Caley’s body, so he couldn’t control her anymore and became stuck.”

  I thought that a good assumption, but I stayed quiet as Kipp sighed, even if his gaze remained hard. “As far as I could see, everyone just dropped to the ground.” He looked down the road to his left. His brow was drawn together when he focused on me again. “But then I felt you come into the Netherworld, so I joined you.”

  Images of what Wayde currently did to our unconscious bodies made a slow horror creep into my soul. Instead of losing myself in panic, I got right to ruling it out. “No one is dead, right?”

  Kipp shook his head. “Like I said, everyone appeared to be sleeping.” Then, he shrugged. “Although, the second I saw Max wasn’t dead, and felt you coming here, I came, too. I can’t say what happened after I left.”

  A gentle breeze swept over my skin, and I wondered why my mind picked a night, with a dark road, as the backdrop in the Netherworld. At least the wind was warm and eased the coolness lacing my veins, which made me wonder if that’s why I picked a warm, breezy night.

  Besides, I doubted my mind could come up with a sunny day, considering my present mood. And the road seemed right; fate could take me down two very different paths, but right now, I stood in the middle unsure where to go and how to get there.

  I blew out a long breath, focused on the important stuff, and looked at stony Kipp. “But what if Wayde is butchering everyone right now—including me?”

  “What could I do about it, Tess?” Pain filled Kipp’s eyes. “I can’t stop a living person.” He clenched his fists at his side. “But I won’t leave you here. Now that we know you might not come back.”

  The awareness of the truth behind his statement forced me to shut my eyes and inhale sharply to offset the sheer worry descending through my body. While it seemed like one big assumption, we didn’t know all of the side effects of my coming into the Netherworld, nor if it would eventually trap me. We didn’t know exactly what had happened to Nettie, and by all appearances, her travels to the Netherworld ended with her death.

  With my eyes closed and the wind easing the iciness lacing my veins, I wondered how much I could possibly take before a mental breakdown was appropriate. I concluded one was well deserved long ago.

  Suddenly, warm, powerful arms wrapped around me, and I was pulled into a hard body I never wanted to move away from. The breath I held whooshed from my lungs and I leaned my head against Kipp’s chest.

  As his tight hold chased the cold flickers of ice in my blood, I found the strength to whisper, “Do you think I’m stuck here now?”

  “I don’t know.” Kipp leaned his face down into my neck and his warm breath fought against the chill inside me. “But until this spell is removed, we won’t be able to tell.”

  I leaned away, and glanced up into his troubled eyes. “Because I can’t wake up for us to find out?”

  “Exactly.” His eyes searched mine as he tucked my hair behind my ear. “But I don’t sense any change in your energy. You feel like you always do. I have to assume that means nothing has changed and you can still go back.”

  Thinking it over for a moment, I realized I didn’t feel any different either, except contentment from being in Kipp’s arms. If I had been trapped in the Netherworld, I had to assume I’d feel different. But everything felt exactly the same; a little lighter, the coldness surrounding me belonging to this world, and also my love for Kipp. “Okay, so that’s good, then?”

  He chuckled. “Very good.”

  His expression softened, sending heat to slide down my spine at the adoration in the depths of his eyes. But the concern resting heavy in his features stopped the heat from turning wicked hot. “You look so tired.” He feathered a finger under my eye. “You’ve been through a lot.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Too much.”

  “For this…” I leaned into his hold, rested my head against his chest, and stated an undeniable truth. “It’s never too much.”

  He held me a moment longer as the wind continued to flutter around us, and then he moved away and caressed his knuckles over my cheek. “Why do you love me like this? Go through all of this?”

  Like with everything, when some things could be so complicated, some other things were completely straightforward. I stared into the handsome face that had snagged me at first look. I gazed into Kipp’s unique colored eyes, his kissable mouth, and even his scruffy hair that suited him. “Because I do love you.”

  His mouth twitched. “That simple, huh?”

  “Yes, Kipp, it’s that simple.” I lost myself in his twinkling eyes, noticing the warm hints of passion, but also saw something much stronger. When Kipp looked at me, he showed me in expression how much he loved me—each and every time. I stood on my tiptoes and cupped his face. “I love you for the same reasons you do me.”

  He grinned. “Because it’s right.”

  “Precisely.”

  Kipp studied me for so long, almost as if he examined every detail of my weight loss, paid attention to the dark circles under my eyes, and noticed my crinkly hair. His focus finally returned to mine and he brushed a finger down my cheek. “The question has to be asked, is it time to give up? How much can you possibly take on?” He lowered his head to mine, and his eyes darkened in misery. “This is draining the life right out of you.”

  I tightened my hands around his cheeks. “I’ll—we’ll—never give up, not until you are back in your body.”

  Sudden tears welled in Kipp’s eyes. “But at what point do we realize that might never happen?” He brought his face even closer to mine, his breath so warm against my skin. “At what point do we say that saving me might kill you, either by outside forces, or because to do so is too draining?”


  The sight of his tears made my own rise. “No point.” I’d never stop until I had forever with Kipp. “We keep going and always look for answer to fix you. There has to be one.”

  His eyes became gentle, and then he leaned his forehead against mine. “But trying seems to continually put you in danger. The more we try, the more we hit a dead end every time. I’m starting to wonder if that means fate won’t allow it.”

  As the wind increased around me and raised a shiver, I had to wonder if Caley had gotten to Kipp. His concerns had matched ones she’d recently shared with me. But I knew that was impossible since they couldn’t talk to each other. I amounted it to that Kipp loved me, and of course, he’d hate the danger I was constantly in.

  “Fuck fate, then.” Breaking away from him, tears continued to rush down my cheeks. “We haven’t gone through all this to fail now. So, no more talking about it.” My voice became hard with conviction. “I can’t even discuss this as an option. The only option is to get you back. Okay?”

  He brushed my tears away with his thumbs and drew in a long breath, desolation resting so heavy in his eyes. Then he glanced up at the starry sky, and I thought for a moment that he might refuse me. He might take this matter into his own hands and vanish forever because his love for me. To see me healthy and happy again would make him act not for his own needs, but what he thought was best for me.

  Finally, he blew out his breath, lowered his head to me, and gave a sad smile. “For now, I’ll agree to that.”

  There, in his focused stare, it became glaringly obvious. If I couldn’t solve his situation soon, Kipp would no longer listen to me. I suspected he wouldn’t allow me the right to continue to help him. Yes, I knew the strain all this had on me. I’d seen it every time I looked in the mirror, but giving up wasn’t an option.

  Words of any kind failed me. We were at impasse. How could we go forward when we continually seemed to be fighting for something that appeared unreachable? Even after all we’d been through—the Hannah Reid case, the demon in Memphis, and the Animus—we weren’t any closer to solving Kipp’s situation.