“That’s your choice.” She smiled, and warmth radiated out of her sending a nice comfort in the air. “No matter what path you choose with your gifts it’s yours to make. You don’t have to fight evil to make good use of your abilities.”
“Glad to hear it,” I retorted. “‘Cause I ain’t doing it. Helping ghosts, yes. Fighting demons, hell no!”
She laughed—a sound as sweet as her lit-up expression. “I also choose not to deal with these types of energies. Luckily for us, there are those who gladly hunt this darkness. Like I said, your path is your choice.”
But why did Dane’s grumpy-ass look disagree with her?
“Now then,” Gretchen went on with a tap of her hands against the book. “Tell me up until this point what has happened with this demon.”
Dane drew in a deep breath, placed his napkin on the table and settled into his seat. “It went like this…”
Chapter Twelve
Dane went through the past events—in haste, I might add—making it seem much less scary than the memory I had of our encounter with the demon.
By the time he was done, Gretchen’s gaze hardened. “At the house you saw symbols around the pentagram?”
Dane nodded. “Ones I’ve never seen before.”
She opened her book. I leaned in to read the pages. There were some symbols with writing next to them. Every once in a while I saw herbs and other things written down like a recipe.
I couldn’t restrain my intrigue. “What’s all that writing in there?”
Gretchen peeked up at me through her lashes, her pretty colored eyes twinkling. “These are spells that have been passed down through my family.”
I wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. But she was a witch, and as far as I knew from folklore, they could work spells. How could I doubt her? I’d seen a demon, for cripe’s sakes.
I glanced around the room, trying to spot her cauldron, but found nothing. Maybe not all of what I’d read in stories or heard was true. “How old are these spells?” My lip curled. “And where did you get that book?”
She slid her hand over the pages, as if the book were her prized possession. “The spells have been gathered from all walks of life for many years. A good witch won’t conform to one method of how she protects herself against danger.”
I regarded her, hating where my thoughts were headed, but unable to stop myself from finding out if they were true. “Are you saying that you have magic abilities—like can create stuff out of thin air?”
Her eyebrows rose, as shock rippled across her features. “Do I look like I can conjure that type of magic?”
“Do I look like I can talk to ghosts?” I countered.
“Touché,” she replied with a grin. “But magic isn’t real in the sense you’re thinking of it. I can’t produce love potions or hex anyone, but you of all people should understand the power of energy.”
Her look was measured, and wasn’t I a dork for even thinking such a thing? “Earth provides us with protection against all types of energy, good and bad. I merely understand these energies and know how to keep them away.”
Can’t say that didn’t please me. If this witch could’ve done voodoo on me into becoming her bitch, I was about to walk right out of this house regardless of how much I needed her help. “And this is what you’re going to teach me, right?”
“I can if you wish me to.”
I exhaled deeply. “I’d rather not learn any of this, but I don’t think I have a choice.”
“You always have a choice.” Her eyes narrowed on mine. “You must use any spells with an open heart. If you don’t believe, they won’t work for you and if you’re in danger that would be grave.”
Wasn’t that a well-said lesson? “All right then, tell me what I need to know so I can wrap my head around this and believe in it.”
She took a sip of her drink before placing it on the coffee table, then flipped through pages of the book. “Tell me what the symbols looked like.”
“Um…” Shit, why hadn’t I paid closer attention? My bad memory floated up to haunt me once again.
“There were symbols of a cat and a toad,” Dane answered. “They were worked in with the intricate runes that were easily spotted if not overlooked.” He directed the latter at me.
“What?” I shrugged. “I was a little preoccupied to worry about studying the damn things, and I didn’t think it was important. Besides, I get it, my memory sucks. I could have a worse flaw, you know.”
“You’ll need to work on that.” Gretchen continued to flip through the papers of the book. “These little details are important. We need to know who the demon belongs to so we can banish it.” She peeked up at me and that warm gaze of hers appeared suddenly blank. “It appears that the demon you’ve encountered belongs to Baal.”
My blood ran cold. “Are you referring to Baal, as in one of the seven princes of Hell?” I might not know much about demonology, but this I did know, or had heard of through television.
She nodded, seemingly unbothered. “Any demon that exists on Earth will belong to one of the seven princes. It’s them they’re ruled by, and to put it simply, who they do their dirty work for.”
I gulped. A demon that could be contained with salt didn’t seem as scary as what had just come out of her mouth. “Um…err…I don’t think I’m made for this.” My heart raced. “Seriously, I think you should deal with this one.” My palms grew sweaty. “I want to go home and forget about all of this.”
“Don’t be frightened. Literally,” Gretchen said. “Demons feed off fear and when dealing with them you need to be strong. They devour weak souls.”
“Well, I’m pissing myself right now so that’s just another reason for me not to do this.” Although, hadn’t she brought up a good point. “Speaking of that, though, how does a demon enter a soul?”
“A demon will choose a soul that’s willing to seek out darkness. It will need to be accepted, but they can fool you.”
The fear racking my own soul made my voice shaky. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“Possession isn’t easy, which is why it’s rare. It can take a demon years—more years than you can imagine—to find a suitable host. And even then, the demon must overtake the soul, which can take time.”
She flicked her hair over her shoulder and continued, “A demon lives inside a person, side-by-side, so to speak until the soul is completely devoured. And once it steals a soul, it’ll need to find another host quickly. Demons cannot survive for long out of a human body.”
The thought of that horrified me, but she continued as if this wasn’t completely shocking. “Sometimes a demon will fail in overtaking a soul and will need to find another one. They can jump from host to host to ensure their survival until they find a soul to feed them.”
“And when that happens the person wouldn’t die?” I asked, putting two and two together.
“That’s right.” Her eyebrows drew together. “They pray on souls that are in need of something, or they’ll choose a soul that’s so innocent it doesn’t understand how to fight against it.”
I pondered, then finally said, “You’re saying that the person knows they’re being invaded by a demon?”
“Not necessarily,” Dane interjected. “Some might think they’re dreaming. Not believe that a demon is trying to overtake them, but in the end it’s their decision to give the demon their soul.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Or they might just be too weak to continue to fight.”
“And some…” Gretchen added, “will willingly accept it right away believing that the demon will give something to them.”
I mulled this over, forced the fear away to understand. “I’m guessing by the expression of disbelief you’re giving me that demons lie and never give someone what they want?”
“They always lie. Never believe a word they say to you. They’ll tell you anything to get you to succumb to them. Always remember that.”
“I’m pretty sure this shit I’ll never forget.�
� My fear drifted right at the surface, but neither of them told me I could go home, which meant that was no longer an option. Pointless to avoid the inevitable. “So, a demon will belong to another in Hell?”
Gretchen nodded. “Every demon has a leader it rules under. And we need to know who, so we can banish it. If not, the spell could backfire and you’ll end up standing nose-to-nose with a demon that knows you tried to kill it.”
“Not a good thing, I take it?”
She shook her head, slow and steady. “Possibly the worst situation you can find yourself in. But that’s why you’re here and why I’m helping. We’ll do this together and make sure you’re protected and ready to fight it.”
I sighed, the deepest sound that had ever come from me. “Well, I guess, putting it that way makes me feel a little better. I’ve never been happier that I don’t have to face this ghost—demon, whatever it is—alone.”
Her gaze twinkled with surprise. “I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me.” The knowing look she gave made my stomach turn. “Only you will be able to banish this demon. The fight is yours alone.”
I dropped my head into my hands. How much more could I take? I peeked up at her and pushed every ounce of my irritation outward. “Why do I have to do this alone?”
Gretchen’s features remained impassive. “As I said before, I choose not to deal with demons. I will aid you, but I’ve had enough of darkness to make me stay away from it.”
Again, irritation flashed on Dane’s face. That man was confusing with his odd reactions.
I shoved thoughts of Dane’s strange behavior away and asked, “You’re a medium and share the same gift as me, sort of. You do it.”
“This is your matter to deal with, not mine.” My hopes plummeted. “I’ll assist you, but it’ll do you no good if I dealt with this demon alone.”
My mouth parted to argue, and he raised a hand cutting me off. “Max asked me to teach you, and so I am, but I won’t be around forever. What if this happens again?”
At my pause, he added, “You need to be prepared.” Then, his tone lowered. “But before we do this you have to get a handle on yourself.”
“Pardon me?”
“You heard me,” he retorted without pause. “You need to cut off your ties to how open you are with ghosts. This is incredibly dangerous to you.”
I nearly told him to go screw himself when Gretchen said softly, “He isn’t wrong in telling you this. You’re more open to supernatural energies than I’ve ever felt before.”
I held my tongue, and instead said, “I’m open to ghosts because I have no problem with them in my life.” Had I just said that?
Dane sneered. “We know exactly why you have no problem with it.”
“And like I said that’s none of your business.”
Gretchen studied me long and hard, then finally said, “I did sense the bond with the ghost that was here earlier.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “So?”
Concern washed across her features, yet Dane butted in, “I know you wonder why he hasn’t crossed over. And I can tell you it’s because of this relationship you have with him.”
“You don’t know that.” I countered, and swallowed past the hard lump in my throat that it might be true.
His intense scrutiny never wavered. “Max told me of the Hannah Reid case and I can guarantee that he would’ve crossed over at that time with her. But because of your connection to him you’re forcing him to stay.”
That should’ve bothered me. It didn’t. I had no intention of letting Kipp go, and if our connection kept him here, then so be it. “And your point is?”
“My point is...” His voice dipped deadly low. “You don’t have the right to keep him here. And you need to stop this.”
My heart would refuse that statement. “Sorry, but I’ll never willingly do that.”
“Exactly the problem,” he retorted.
Silence grew thick around us, and for the first time, I understood why this conversation hadn’t come up until now. Kipp wasn’t here.
Had Dane wanted to say this from the beginning? Had he thought he’d be able to talk me out of loving Kipp? He was a damn idiot if he did. Nothing would come between my heart and the ghost who held it.
Gretchen finally broke the silence and said, “It’s not our place to tell you how to live your life.” She gave Dane a stern look. “But you need to realize the danger you put yourself in.”
No matter what I felt now, I needed to understand how this all worked. “How does my loving Kipp put me in danger?”
“Because you’re fully exposed,” she replied. “You can’t welcome one ghost in and not welcome them all.”
She smiled softly in a way that I took as reassurance. “This is where danger sits at your doorstep. If you want to fight against a demon you need to close yourself off, or it will walk right in and have the power to attack you.”
I pondered that, then said, “I’m not closing myself off to Kipp. That. Is. Non-negotiable.” My voice was clipped as I intended. “So, we need to find some other way to protect me.” I grabbed onto my necklace. “Besides, I have my Archangel. Dane said it would protect me.”
He huffed. “For now.”
I really had enough of this asshole. “Then tell me what I need to do—without letting go of Kipp—to keep safe.”
A cold, detached expression filled his face. “If you won’t do it yourself, I will ensure it happens and he moves on.”
The hard edge of his gaze sent a chill right down to my toes. Kipp’s warning hit me hard in the face. Dane wasn’t to be trusted. But not because he wanted to slice a knife in my and Kipp’s relationship. More so, because he wanted to completely stab it until it was dead.
I glared at him. “Is that a threat?”
Before he could reply, Gretchen said, “I think we can all do without threats. It’s her choice and, I for one, will honor her wishes.”
The urge to give a fist pump captivated me, but I held back especially when she added, “But I do agree with Dane that you need to be guarded and stronger around ghosts than I feel within you right now.”
I shifted in my seat to ease the burning sensation in my blood. “Well, I’m ready and eager. I want to get back to my normal crazy life so tell me what to do.”
“Raise your voice.” At the clear confusion that surely formed on my face, she continued, “If you want a ghost to leave you alone you have to find the strength within you to ask for it, and believe you have the power to do so.”
She cocked her head, examined me. “The same goes with demons. You, as a living person, have the right to will it away. But if you don’t believe you hold that right is when you’ll have trouble. So let me hear it.”
I glanced at Dane, who said nothing, then looked at Gretchen. “Let you hear what?”
“Your voice,” she replied. “Show me that you can tell a ghost to go away.”
“Go away.” Maybe I meant it more to her since she was right out there.
“Good. You’re capable. I’m happy to see that.” A little smile quirked up the side of her mouth. “Wherever you’re being bothered and don’t want it, find that bit of oomph you just showed me there when you wanted to tell me off and use that.”
My cheeks warmed. “Err…sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s good you can do it and I’m glad you can.” She drew in deep breath then continued, “A demon will come at you with all sorts of things when dealing with it. You need to show that kind of confidence to banish it. Never forget that.”
“Got it. Demons are tricky bastards.” I sighed, low and deep. “That I won’t forget.”
Chapter Thirteen
After further discussions about demon history that I’d rather forget, Gretchen led us through the kitchen, then down the basements stairs. And the second I hit the last step, I nodded to myself. This appeared much more like a witch’s house.
The room was full of bookshelves with little jars lining them. The contents of some looked like
herbs and other plants. While others appeared to be something dissected out of a body. I wasn’t about to make guesses what exactly was in those jars.
“So, is this all your…” Was I really going to say this? “Spell stuff.”
Gretchen approached a high, dark wooden table with four drawers on either side. She glanced over her shoulder. “You sound doubtful.”
‘Cause I am. “It’s a little hard for me to wrap my head around this.”
She turned fully to face me. “What is there to doubt? If ghosts exists, and you believe in that, why is it so hard to believe that we’ve been given a way to protect ourselves.” She smiled, but it was tainted with a dark edge. “Whenever there is good, evil always follows to destroy it.”
I wanted to believe her. “But what you’re talking about is witchcraft, and I’m finding it hard to imagine that…” I waved around at the jars. “All these herbs and such hold enough power to stop this demon.”
A glint hit her eye. “And that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You don’t believe that things have strength. You don’t see that the use of your voice, the power of your soul, can do things beyond imaginable.”
She leaned her hip against the desk, folded her arms and continued, “Witchcraft and spells are connected to your soul. It’s the power that comes from within that ignites the magic.” Her gaze drifted to my neck. “And just as your necklace, it’s a gift to protect you.” Her chin lifted, tone strong. “There are energies that exist around us that aid you while you fight against evils.”
“Energies like ghosts?”
“Yes, it’s much the same. Ghosts, though, are just one energy that exists. If you believe in one, is it so hard to imagine there could be more?”
“Okay, I can see that.” I had the sense she was one of those people who were right most of the time. “So, witchcraft just taps into an energy, and it’s that energy that awakens the protection in the witchcraft you do?” At her nod, I continued, “It’s crazy that I’m saying this, but that actually makes sense.”
“Good. One road block out of the way.” She pushed away from the desk. “For this to work for you, you need to be open to the possibility of it. If you don’t believe in the energies, they won’t believe in you.”
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