Six

Edith had agreed to do as I'd commanded her, but I wondered how her spirit had the energy to find another way to get to Jordan around the protections I'd used. But spirits were good at only doing what they wanted no matter what powers we had over them. I may have been new to using my necromancer abilities, but every time I'd used them so far, the spirits immediately complied. How was Edith different?

"Did it work?" Jordan asked.

"I think so, I mean I don't see her anywhere." I gave the room a onceover just to be sure but didn't see any spirits which was always a little shocking. It was, after all, a morgue.

"Do you think she really knows more about the wraith?" Jordan whispered as he leaned closer to me. I realized we still held each other's hands over the circle of ash, but I liked it and didn't let go.

"I'm not sure, but I doubt she would have mentioned it if she didn't know something more about it. What do you really think about the past-life thing?" I waited for his reaction. Jordan was very quiet about his abilities, and I wasn't sure exactly what they were. He'd surprised me with the fact he could release his spirit from his body and still stay in control of it. Something I'd never heard of before and it made me wonder if there were more talents he kept secret.

"It's the same thing I told you earlier. She told me that in a dream, and after the last vision—well, I'm not sure. What's a seer?" Jordan asked, but there was an edge to his voice that was new. Was he nervous?

"The spirits I've dealt with can barely remember what this life was like, not their past ones." I hesitated a moment and collected my thoughts before answering his question. "A seer is someone who, with supernatural help, can see the future." I waited for his reply because being an empath wasn't easy, but being a seer was far worse. He swallowed hard, and I knew he was worried about my answer.

"Is that really possible?" he asked.

"Yes. There was a witch in my mother's coven that was a seer. She was very accurate. They used her anytime they needed to plan one of their many terrible deeds."

"Is it something evil?" he asked, and I was surprised to see he was serious.

"I suppose it could go either way depending how you use that ability. The seer in the coven didn't use evil means to gain her knowledge, and even though they used that knowledge for less than legal or moral actions, I don't believe the person who is getting the information is evil."

"I think I need to ask my parents about this. If there was ever a seer in my family, they would know."

"I know you and your family have lots of secrets, but I agree you need to ask. It's important for you to find out if there has ever been a seer in your family line."

He looked down at where our hands were still clasped before he spoke. "She said that I had more power if I was willing to take it."

"It could be true, but she also said we were together in a past life. I'm not sure what to think of that." I was drawn to Jordan for so many reasons, and I didn't want to accept that fate had made the decision for us. But maybe that was how I knew I could trust him from the start, and maybe it would explain how he had powers he didn't understand or even know about. Even if his family wanted to keep their empathic abilities secret, there had to be a reason he knew he could release his spirit without dying.

"Me either. I'm not trying to keep anything from you, I swear. It's just hard to break the habits that have been pounded into me my whole life. My family never wanted any attention to come to us from our connection to the other side, and if it got out that we could feel what spirits feel then everyone who had a recent death would search us out to check that their relative was finally at peace. Even if we couldn't tell them with absolute certainty," he rambled. It was obvious to me he'd been carrying this worry around for a while and I hadn't noticed, too busy trying to figure out my own abilities.

"Have you talked to Janis about your dreams?"

He bit his lip and once again looked anywhere but at me. "Yes, she's been telling me for a while I needed to talk to you about everything. I just wasn't sure if it was Edith contacting me or if I was just dreaming."

"You can talk to me about anything. I'm sorry I've been so distracted. If I can learn how to use my abilities, then I can keep us both safe. I don't ever want you to get hurt by a spirit and I don't want to ever see your body without your soul in it." Since the day he'd done just that I worried constantly about something happening to him. At the time it was the only choice we had, and it had proven to be just what we needed, but it came at the price of Jordan's safety. I wanted to be ready to protect him if I ever needed to.

He met my eyes then. "Bran, there are some things I can't talk about. It's not that I don't want to, it's that they're secrets my family has kept for generations. I need to speak with my parents. I don't want to betray their trust but you're my family now too and I need to be able to tell you everything."

I wasn't sure what he meant, but it was obvious it was weighing heavy on his mind. Relationships were not easy for me. My family had avoided contact with my mother, and my mother only did what benefited her, so I'd been alone for most of my life. Other than my grandparents. They tried to give me a normal life, but my mother always showed up to remind me I wasn't a normal person. Jordan loved his family, and they loved him back. "Whatever you need. I don't want you to do anything that puts you in a bad place with your family."

"I meant what I said, you're my family too. I just need to speak with them. I want to ask about past lives and let them know I'll be telling you everything. You've been honest and open with me even when that wasn't easy, and now it's time for me to do the same," Jordan said, before leaning forward and kissing me. "I love you, and I want you to know you can trust me."

"I trust you. You're everything to me, and I'll understand if they don't want to share their secrets. I know better than anyone some secrets are better kept hidden."

"I don't want to keep anything from you," Jordan said. "Let's clean this up. Do you have much more to do today?"

"I need to finish the autopsy I started earlier and the report then I'm done for the day," I said as we both stood. I got out the broom and swept up the ash while Jordan picked up the crystals. Just then Justice stepped into the room.

"Something has changed," he said, but I ignored him. "Bran, you may not want to deal with it, but there's definitely something on the other side of the veil that wants to make it to this side." Justice walked over closer to me and stood between Jordan and I. Jordan flinched and looked in his direction.

"Is Justice here?" he asked.

"Yes, he just walked in." I glanced in his direction and tried to give him a stern look. Not that he cared. Spirits never cared how annoyed you were with them.

"Hi, Justice, I'll leave you two alone. Bran, let me know when you're ready to leave for the day," Jordan said, and walked back out to his desk.

"What's the big emergency?" I asked Justice who knelt to pet Buddy.

"One of two things is happening, either the being on the other side of the veil is getting stronger—or the veil is getting weaker." He didn't need to tell me he was serious, it was obvious, and I forced myself not to think of what could happen if what he said was true.