Fractured Legacy: Aicil Paranormal Files #1

Chapter 6

Jonah

I squeeze the small green rock into my palm. "There are plenty of things I can do, Gib."

But I hope I don't have to take those measures. The physical reaction caused when I touched the rock indicated that he still had a strong connection to it. Using forcible means at this point wouldn't be pleasant for anyone involved, especially Mr. Edwards. And it won't give us any answers.

Kaylyn pushes away from the wall and takes a step toward Gib. "What about your family, Gib? Where are they?"

"Leave them out of this." His body goes rigid, and his nose flares as he turns on Kaylyn.

Hands on her hips, she meets his glare.

I smirk. I have to wonder about this girl. When her head is in the game, she's good, but at the same time, some of her reactions worry me. But I don't have a chance to question that, instead I follow her lead. "Your family is probably waiting on you. Wondering where you are. Why don't you tell us about the relief on this stone?"

"I don't know anything about it," Gib says, folding his arms across his chest.

"If you didn't know anything about the rock you wouldn't have been bound to it," I say.

Gib narrows his eyes. "It didn't really belong to me. It was my wife's, she had it b—before we got married. She didn't have much, but she loved that thing...."

Without warning, he lunges at me with more strength than he should reasonably have. I squeeze the rock tightly pulling it away. Gib lets out a deep breath, staring at my clenched fist for a long moment before returning to his seat near the fireplace. "I don't know what it is though, or where it came from."

"What happened to your wife?" I ask.

"She died, giving birth to our daughter. I promised Eleanor I'd watch over our daughter, Louisa." He absent-mindedly rubs his hand over his hair, drawing the comb-over down toward his face. "I promised. I couldn't do that if I were dead. The doctor said it was consumption, and I wouldn't have long to live... Louisa was only sixteen, so he offered to help me keep my promise."

Kaylyn leans over the back of a chair, facing Gib. "What did you plan on doing from a box?"

I glare at her, warning her to back down before she sets him off again. I have a feeling that if pushed, he might have the strength to take us both on. But she throws her hands in the air over her head. "Legitimate question."

"I didn't intend to stay in the box," Gib says. "Only long enough to find a suitable host for my consciousness. But something must have happened to Pritchard."

"Pritchard?" I ask. "The doctor?"

Gib nods.

"So, the plan all along was to take over someone else's body?" I ask. This is definitely a first.

"As long as they weren't using it, of course. Pritchard assured me he could find a suitable body, and he was a doctor so he would know, don't you think?"

Kaylyn looks to me, then moves around to collapse into the seat she'd been leaning against. "How much did you pay him?"

The man's skin becomes a paler shade of white. "Well, I didn't pay him anything, but after I was gone, he had access to everything I had. He was supposed to use it to take care of Louisa until she found a suitable husband." He stares at her and then me. "You don't believe me."

I rub my hand over my chin. "That's not the problem, Gib. I believe he was scamming you, but somehow he managed to pull at least part of it off. What was Louisa's full name?"