can’t things be simple and
explained in terms that we normal folk understand?”
Gretchen laughed.
Wayde didn’t; he folded his arms like a big
ole’ grump. “Your connection to the Netherworld is your gift. It’s
not seeing the dead, or conversing with them; it’s that connection
that fuels your power.”
Shifting on the couch, I leaned against the
wooden back, more than uncomfortable. Not only from the hard
cushion, but also the subject matter. “My gifts are fueled by the
Netherworld?” Even as I said it, it seemed absurd. “How do you know
this about me?”
He picked lint off his pants. “A long time
ago, I heard of Nettie and her unique talents. When Gretchen told
me about you, your gifts sounded similar.” His head lifted, eyes
flat. “After researching Nettie again, I realized your gifts are
exactly the same. Meaning, you have access to the Netherworld that
neither I, nor anyone else I know, possesses.” He gestured toward
the book. “It’s the same connection Nettie had—a power giving you
the right to journey through the veil and cross into the
Netherworld.”
I settled the book on my lap and absorbed
that bit of insanity. “Are you suggesting I only have to tell
myself to go there?”
He nodded. “Your connection to the
Netherworld allows you to see and do the things you can. It’s how
Nettie did the same thing.”
I gawked at Gretchen in slight horror. Even
though Dane had told me I held a connection to the Netherworld, he
never explained it in such depth that Wayde just had. From the way
I heard it, I accepted my death when I crossed into the
Netherworld—something I still didn’t entirely believe—but that my
life was saved before I fully crossed over. Which meant I took a
part of the Netherworld with me, which explained why I held the
gifts I did. I wasn’t sure I liked that my connection to the
mystical world ran as deep as Wayde suggested.
Gretchen finally shrugged at me, a little
wide-eyed and unable to sit still in her seat. Her worry and
silence unnerved me, forcing me to take a harder look into Wayde’s
explanation for a logical reason to deny it. After I mulled it over
a moment, a big flaw appeared in Wayde’s theory.
Turning to him, I pointed out the obvious.
“While this is interesting and all, I hate to break it to you, but
I don’t feel any different than I did before the accident. Wouldn’t
I feel something if I held such a strong connection to the
Netherworld? So, whatever power this is you’re talking about, I
don’t have it.”
He stretched his legs, and the antique chair
squeaked beneath him. “You must, or you wouldn’t be able to see
ghosts. It’s there, I simply doubt you understand it, and have been
blind to it, which is exactly what I told you before. You’ve shut
down and closed your eyes to what is right in front of you. If you
paid more attention, then I suspect you’d sense it.”
I frowned. “The only thing I sense when
ghosts are around me is a goose bump type of feeling, that’s it,
nothing any other time.”
Wayde arched an eyebrow. “I do not get goose
bumps when ghosts come around.”
His admission stole the wind out of my lungs.
Wayde was a medium and it surprised me he didn’t experience the
creepy feeling. To Gretchen I asked, “Do you not feel anything like
that?”
She shook her head, standing from her seat.
“My body is not physically affected when a ghost is near, but more
so emotionally.” She strode toward the far window. “If a ghost is
angry, I’ll feel angry, which is how I understand what they’re
feeling.”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. Dane
had said as much himself. I’d seen it with my own eyes. He always
seemed to know when Kipp was pissed or experienced a strong
emotion. So, that made sense. Still, I hadn’t realized my goose
bumps were out of the ordinary.
Gretchen stared out the window into the dark
night, arms folded, then turned to me. “I can usually tap into any
powerful emotion
explained in terms that we normal folk understand?”
Gretchen laughed.
Wayde didn’t; he folded his arms like a big
ole’ grump. “Your connection to the Netherworld is your gift. It’s
not seeing the dead, or conversing with them; it’s that connection
that fuels your power.”
Shifting on the couch, I leaned against the
wooden back, more than uncomfortable. Not only from the hard
cushion, but also the subject matter. “My gifts are fueled by the
Netherworld?” Even as I said it, it seemed absurd. “How do you know
this about me?”
He picked lint off his pants. “A long time
ago, I heard of Nettie and her unique talents. When Gretchen told
me about you, your gifts sounded similar.” His head lifted, eyes
flat. “After researching Nettie again, I realized your gifts are
exactly the same. Meaning, you have access to the Netherworld that
neither I, nor anyone else I know, possesses.” He gestured toward
the book. “It’s the same connection Nettie had—a power giving you
the right to journey through the veil and cross into the
Netherworld.”
I settled the book on my lap and absorbed
that bit of insanity. “Are you suggesting I only have to tell
myself to go there?”
He nodded. “Your connection to the
Netherworld allows you to see and do the things you can. It’s how
Nettie did the same thing.”
I gawked at Gretchen in slight horror. Even
though Dane had told me I held a connection to the Netherworld, he
never explained it in such depth that Wayde just had. From the way
I heard it, I accepted my death when I crossed into the
Netherworld—something I still didn’t entirely believe—but that my
life was saved before I fully crossed over. Which meant I took a
part of the Netherworld with me, which explained why I held the
gifts I did. I wasn’t sure I liked that my connection to the
mystical world ran as deep as Wayde suggested.
Gretchen finally shrugged at me, a little
wide-eyed and unable to sit still in her seat. Her worry and
silence unnerved me, forcing me to take a harder look into Wayde’s
explanation for a logical reason to deny it. After I mulled it over
a moment, a big flaw appeared in Wayde’s theory.
Turning to him, I pointed out the obvious.
“While this is interesting and all, I hate to break it to you, but
I don’t feel any different than I did before the accident. Wouldn’t
I feel something if I held such a strong connection to the
Netherworld? So, whatever power this is you’re talking about, I
don’t have it.”
He stretched his legs, and the antique chair
squeaked beneath him. “You must, or you wouldn’t be able to see
ghosts. It’s there, I simply doubt you understand it, and have been
blind to it, which is exactly what I told you before. You’ve shut
down and closed your eyes to what is right in front of you. If you
paid more attention, then I suspect you’d sense it.”
I frowned. “The only thing I sense when
ghosts are around me is a goose bump type of feeling, that’s it,
nothing any other time.”
Wayde arched an eyebrow. “I do not get goose
bumps when ghosts come around.”
His admission stole the wind out of my lungs.
Wayde was a medium and it surprised me he didn’t experience the
creepy feeling. To Gretchen I asked, “Do you not feel anything like
that?”
She shook her head, standing from her seat.
“My body is not physically affected when a ghost is near, but more
so emotionally.” She strode toward the far window. “If a ghost is
angry, I’ll feel angry, which is how I understand what they’re
feeling.”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. Dane
had said as much himself. I’d seen it with my own eyes. He always
seemed to know when Kipp was pissed or experienced a strong
emotion. So, that made sense. Still, I hadn’t realized my goose
bumps were out of the ordinary.
Gretchen stared out the window into the dark
night, arms folded, then turned to me. “I can usually tap into any
powerful emotion
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