"I don't think, I know," Catherine said. Then she smiled. "And I'll tell you all I know if you'll do me a favor."
* * *
Kylie still stood by the grave of Berta Littlemon when Burnett walked over to join her about thirty minutes later. This time, he didn't inquire if she was okay. But then, he didn't have to ask. Kylie sensed he could guess she wasn't okay by the look of dismay on her face. Placing his hand lightly on her shoulder, he asked, "Was this ... helpful?"
"I don't know," Kylie said, confused and disturbed by what she'd learned from Catherine O'Connell. Sure, she'd gotten some information, but mostly all the trip to the Fallen Cemetery had accomplished was to underscore how little she knew about Jane Doe and how impossible it would be to help her.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
She nodded and they started walking toward the gate where Della stood, looking as ill at ease as she had the moment they'd first arrived. The crowd of spirits followed them, moving close but not crowding her.
"Will you come back?" whispered an older-sounding male spirit.
"Please, say you'll come," begged a younger female spirit.
"It's not fair," wailed another female. "Why does she have to leave now? I didn't get a chance to talk to her!"
Then all of the spirits began to talk at once, making it hard to understand them and bringing Kylie's headache back in full force. Through the crowd of voices, she was dimly aware of Ima, the old man's wife, walking from one small group of spirits to another and whispering something to them.
Kylie stopped and massaged her temples. "I'm sorry," she said, and she truly was.
Right now, all she wanted to do was run from them, run into the sunlight, ignore the shadows and pretend that they didn't exist. But even as she wanted to run away, she knew she couldn't. How could she when she felt their pain, their heartbreak, as intensely as she did her own? How could she when she knew they all had some kind of unfinished business they wanted resolved and she was their only chance to make that happen?
Still, she had to establish some boundaries or else she'd likely lose her mind the way Jane Doe obviously had.
And then Kylie wouldn't be able to help any of them.
"I have to leave now," she said. "You can't come with me. You need to stay here. But ... I will come back. I promise." It was a promise she intended to keep, but not one she looked forward to.
"I'm not coming back," Della said, and walked toward the car.
Burnett shot Kylie a worried look and she shook her head, indicating that she was fine. When they stepped out of the cemetery property and the spirits didn't follow, Kylie sighed with relief. She'd never appreciated the blast of Texas heat that swamped her as much as she did right now.
She glanced behind her at the cemetery. The spirits were still there, staring at her wordlessly. She wondered if her promise had been enough to convince them to stay behind, rather than follow her. Or if it had more to do with whatever message Ima had been whispering to them. Kylie felt a shiver move down her spine. She ignored it and walked with Burnett and Della to the car.
The drive back to Shadow Falls was short. They didn't speak. After Burnett parked, Kylie and Della crawled out of his black Mustang. Kylie locked her gaze with Burnett and asked if she could be relieved from camp activities for the rest of the day.
He hesitated and she was frightened he was going to say no, but then he frowned and asked, "Would Holiday say yes?"
Kylie nodded. "Yes," she answered with honesty. Helping ghosts was part of her job as a supernatural. Holiday would understand that, and the toll it took on her. The camp leader was probably the only one who would understand.
Burnett still paused. "Are you okay? Do you need to talk or anything?"
"No," Kylie said.
The relief showing in his face was almost comical. Obviously the idea of having to offer advice or commiserate about spirits didn't appeal to him. Kylie might have teased him about it if she weren't so wrapped up in what she'd learned. "I just want to do some stuff on my computer and check some of the facts I learned."
"Okay," he said, and motioned Della to follow her.
"Please don't ever ask me to go back there again," Della said as they walked away. "That was super weird."
"I'm sorry," Kylie said.
"Did you learn what you needed to know?"
"Not really."
"Didn't they answer your questions? I heard you talking to them."
"It's not that easy."
For a second, Della looked ready to ask more questions; then she lapsed into silence.
Good thing, too. Kylie wasn't feeling up to explaining how communicating with the dead worked. Right now, she needed to focus on what she'd learned from her trip. She hadn't even begun to mull everything over and decide what she believed and didn't believe.
Was Jane, or was she not, a child murderer and all-around evil person? Anxious to prove Catherine O'Connell wrong, Kylie hurried her steps.
She cut through the first bend in the path, where the trees hung over, creating shade. She breathed in the scents of summer, the greenness of the forest, the heady aroma of dry earth. She had almost managed to calm her chaotic mind when the blue bird swooped down and landed right in her path. The blue jay cocked its head and chirped cheerfully as if performing just for her.
"Shoo!" Della said. But the bird, intent on watching Kylie, ignored Della.
"Shit!" Della belted out. "Is that the evil shifter?" When she started to bolt forward-to do God only knew what to the bird-Kylie caught her by her arm.
"Stop. It's just a bird."
Della's eyes widened. "Is that the same bird you ... brought back to life?"
"I don't know," Kylie said, but she knew it was a lie.
Della waved her arms, trying to scare the bird away. "This is freaky." The bird continued to sing.
"Get out of here before I break your neck!" Della bellowed.
"Just leave it alone." Truth was, the bird scared the crap out of Kylie, too, but it didn't deserve to die. Or to die again.
Besides, Kylie wasn't up to giving it another piece of her soul by bringing it back to life.
The bird finally finished its song, then flapped its wings and rose to hover in front of Kylie's face. A spray of sunshine came through the trees and made the creature's royal blue feathers glow. Then, letting out one more bit of song, it flew away. Kylie took off in a run and didn't slow down until she got to her cabin. Della followed at the same pace. Maybe after Kylie researched Berta Littlemon, she'd research blue jay stalking. Though she doubted Google would have anything on that.