"I'm not buying all that," Della said. "Maybe it is Mario pretending to be your grandfather and aunt. Maybe this is just a trick to get his hands on you."
"I don't think so," Kylie said. "And right now I have to follow my gut. I've got too much going on, and it would be nice to get some answers about something."
"What else is going on?" Concern made Della's brows tighten.
Kylie hesitated. "Ghost issues."
"Which means we're not gonna be any help there," Della countered.
Exactly what Kylie thought, too. When it came to ghost issues, it was either Holiday or she was on her own. She recalled Derek, who'd told her he was willing to help her even though chances were he felt the same way about the spirits as the other supernaturals did.
Della piped up again. "But I thought your grandfather was supposed to come see you tomorrow. Why are they turning themselves into fog and sneaking in to see you if they could just show up tomorrow? And how did you know the fog was them?"
"He was supposed to come," Kylie answered. "But since then he's shut off his phone and hasn't contacted Burnett at all. And right when I left the fog took on human form and..." Kylie wasn't sure how to put it. "I recognized my grandfather and my aunt. I'm sure of it."
Della's expression hardened. "But if you're wrong, and if we go out into the woods and shit happens-"
"Go into the woods?" Miranda blurted out. "Oh, crap, no! Burnett said she wasn't to go into the woods. To not let her get close to the woods."
"I know," Kylie said. "But if I want answers to what I am, I'm going to have to go to my grandfather, and I don't think he's going to just walk into the camp, not when the FRU is crawling all over Shadow Falls. And after what the FRU did to my grandmother, I can't say I blame him for not trusting them. Heck, even Holiday doesn't trust them."
Miranda bit into her bottom lip. "But if you're wrong..."
"I'm not." And just like that, Kylie realized she couldn't put her two best friends in danger. The guilt she still harbored over Ellie swelled in her chest. "But just in case, I'm going in alone."
"No way!" Della said.
"All I want to do is walk a little ways into the woods. You guys can just stand at the edge. If I don't feel anything, I'll come right back out."
"And if you do feel something?" Miranda asked.
"Then I'll know it's them and I'll meet them."
"Oh, hell no! You are not going in alone," Della declared. "You're a protector. In case you've forgotten, that means you can't protect yourself."
"Della's right," Miranda said. "If you go, we all go."
"I don't think any of us should go!" Della said.
Holiday started walking over and, knowing the fae would be able to read the mood, Kylie looked at her two best friends. "Think happy thoughts. Quick. Before Holiday reads..." She let her words fade as Holiday drew near.
"What's up?" Holiday asked.
"Nothing," the three of them answered at the same time.
Kylie smiled and tried envisioning Lucas to instill a happy emotion, but Derek's image and his loyalty to her ghost issues popped into her mind. And instead of being happy, more angst filled her head.
Holiday quirked an eyebrow that read as disbelief, but she appeared to move past it and said, "That was Burnett. He's not going to make it back until right before the event and has insisted we postpone the trip to the falls until tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"
"That's okay," Kylie said.
And it was okay. Maybe now she could take that walk into the woods and get some answers-if they were still there. She just needed to figure out how to do it without Della and Miranda freaking out.
Chapter Sixteen
Kylie stood on the edge of the path, ignoring Della and Miranda as they argued over who was going into the woods with her and who was staying at the path. Little did they know, neither of them were going.
She couldn't put them in danger. Even if there weren't any danger, if Burnett found out, he'd give them hell. And hell from Burnett felt pretty dangerous. Somehow Kylie was going to have to figure out how to sneak away and do this on her own.
Besides, she wasn't even sure her grandfather and aunt were still there. Maybe moving into the woods would tell her, but not now. Still, she closed her eyes and listened with her heart. When she didn't feel even the slightest yearning to enter, she spoke in her mind.
Are you still out there?
"I'm here."
The words sounded at the same time as Kylie felt the cold. Not recognizing the voice, she snapped her eyes open. Standing in front of her was a blond woman, early twenties, wearing a diner uniform with a tag on it that read CARA M. Kylie's heart thudded faster when she realized this was one of the girls from the vision, the vision of being buried with Holiday's sister.
Letting go of a sigh, Kylie's breath turned to cold vapor.
"Damn!" said Della.
"Damn what?" asked Miranda.
"Kylie's got company," Della said. "White misty shit always snakes up from her lips when she's chatting with the dead."
"Oh!" Miranda took a step back and stared at Kylie. "Man, her aura is doing some crazy stuff again. This is so damn freaky. I'm so glad I'm not her."
Trying to shut out Della and Miranda, Kylie focused on Cara M. Kylie recalled Derek asking her to describe the uniform so she studied it for details. She snapped a picture of it in her mind-the V neckline, the checkered pattern around the bottom of the skirt-so she could describe it to him later. But why not just ask?
"Where did you work?" Kylie asked.
"I worked at my aunt's voodoo shop," Miranda answered. "Crazy crap happened there."
"She's not talking to you," Della snapped.
"Sorry." Miranda shrugged. "This is so freaky."
"Do you know the name of the diner?" Kylie continued to stare at the spirit.
"I ... don't know," Cara M. answered. "But can you please get us out of there?"
Kylie frowned. "I want to, but I need to know where you are."
"But you do know. The other girl took you there. Don't you remember?"
How could she forget? "I saw you guys and you were under a building of some sort, like a wood floor, but I don't know where that is. What town are you in? Is there an address? Is it close to here?"
"Yes, it's close. It didn't take much time at all to get here."
Kylie considered what she said and asked, "But how did you get here? I mean ... did you walk or ... come spiritually?" Kylie hadn't considered how spirits traveled and she realized how little she knew about the whole ghost-whispering thing.