Igniting the Flame (The Ignited Girl Series Book 2)

by EJ Everette

  “Oh and it’s funny now, is it?” She pushes herself forward to stand but I grab her arm to pull her back down next to me. As soon as she is close enough, I wrap my arms around her neck, holding her in place while I slowly calm down. Pregnant?

  “Oh. My. Lanta.” Le pushes away from me, holding me at arms length and she must see that behind my watery eyes there is something besides humor. “No, Leanne Carol Sweeten. I am most certainly not pregnant,” I finally manage to breathe out. “But thank you for ensuring me that, if I were, you’d be much more upset about not knowing the details of my sex life than the fact that I was carrying a spawn of sorts I created with a guy I barely know. Geesh, girl.”

  “Ugh. I mean obviously I would care about all of that but hey, can you blame a girl? You’re keeping something from me and you are acting all kinds of strange. I went with my gut that something might be growing in yours.” She shrugs, releasing me as she relaxes next to the bean bag I’m still sitting on.

  “To be honest, pregnancy would probably be a lot easier to explain than what I’m about to tell you. But, you’re right. I have been keeping things from you and I don’t know. I guess I just don’t know how to say it.”

  “Gray. Look at me.” Her voice is softer now, like maybe she gets how serious this is and that I’m nervous as all get out to talk about it. I raise my eyes to lock with hers as she reaches out to hold my hand. “You can tell me literally anything. I’m not going anywhere. Together, we’ve got this.” I nod at her, believing with all of my heart that Leanne loves me and I can trust her. She smiles at my acknowledgment but never releases my hand. Tilting her head in a question she squeezes my fingers to get my attention. Oops, probably gooning. “Now, young lady, since we are in agreement, there is only one thing left to do.”

  “Oh?,” I ask her, amused by her authoritative approach. “And what is that?”

  “Easy. Please explain to me what in the world you mean by telling me you ignited,” she says with sassy finger quotes. “Because if this is some sick joke on how you almost died in a house of flames, I am not laughing.”

  “No. It’s no joke. And to be honest, I didn’t know what it meant either until the guys explained it to me.” She opens her mouth to say something but I channel my inner Rip and interrupt her. “Le, if I am going to get through this, I need you to save your questions until I finish. This is going to be hard enough for me as it is. No talking. Zip.” I mime zipping her mouth closed, throwing the key far across the room, out of reach. She huffs but nods her head in acknowledgement.

  “First off, you need to know I am not from around here. And I don’t mean this neighborhood, I mean this realm. Matter of fact, I am not even human. To put it plainly,” I sigh, here goes nothing… “Well, basically I am a god. Or a goddess I guess.”

  I peer over to see just how freaked out my bestie is to find her sitting, hands now folded in her lap and intertwined, looking as peaceful as possible. Blinking a few times, I start to wonder if something has happened to my friend but she suddenly rolls her eyes, getting up and crossing the room. It’s on the tip of my tongue to object to her running away just yet when she bends over to pick something up before returning to sit next to me. She lifts what appears to be absolutely nothing up to her face then proceeds to mime unzipping her mouth just slightly.

  “You wanted me to be quiet. I’m not going to say anything until you’re done so just get to it already.” Speaking from the “unzipped” portion of her mouth, she sounds muffled but I still get the gist of what she is trying to say. Then she nods, re-zips her lips closed, this time setting the “key” beside her before indicating I continue. So, I do.

  Roughly forty-five minutes later, Leanne has surprisingly kept her word. She hasn’t said a damn thing, though sometimes she would squeak or suck in all the air in the room. Once she started coughing out of nowhere and I thought she might die but it was just from swallowing too much spit.

  “Well, I guess that’s it. That’s everything. I’m a goddess, a princess, a prophecy girl, can heal people, have some sort of powers I don’t know about yet, and the guys are guardians assigned to watch over me to make sure I don’t like, I don’t know, destroy all of mankind, and other kinds I guess.”

  Silence fills the room. Every nook, every cranny. Silent. Leanne just stares at me like she is trying to solve a puzzle and I wait, holding my breath for fear the sound of my exhale might be deafening in the room at this point. Finally, after what feels like hours, Leanne slowly moves one hand from her lap, wrapping her fingers around the imaginary key. Her movements are so subtle, so drawn out, it’s killing me. Maybe literally since I am pretty sure even goddess’s brains need oxygen and I haven’t taken in any fresh air for a hot minute. She eventually raises her hand to unzip her lips and I can’t take it anymore. I exhale, loudly with deep gasping, rushing to get air to the rest of my body.

  Leanne moves her mouth around as if her lips had actually been zipped shut and were sore. Weirdo. Then she looks me dead in the eyes, doesn’t blink, and exclaims loud enough I am afraid the entire house will hear her.

  “Monkey speckled ass cheeks! My best friend is a goddess!”

  12

  Gray

  As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about when it came to Leanne. Sure, she has a shit ton of questions, most of which I can’t answer because I have the same questions, but she doesn’t seem to doubt me at all. She goes on about how strange she thought it was that I attached to the guys so quickly because it took her forever to get me to let her in and she is, of course, far more fabulous than they are. Then she mentions how she legit thought the guys were gods the first time she met them and therefore might have some sort of powers herself because what are the odds she would be able to tell just from looking at them. When she slows her chatter down, the questions coming only here and there, her curiosity seemingly satisfied for now, I reach for the box.

  “Hold on, Gray. Before you open the box.” She reaches out for the box to move it next to her, as if to block it from my reach. “Uh, yeah,” I ask her? What else is there? We came up here to go through this box and I am already tired from telling her about all of my drama. I’m ready to get this part over with.

  “You need to talk to the guys, Gray. I get why you’re mad, I do. But it’s not worth all of the not knowing. I mean, they have so many answers for you. They know about your power and your family. And what about Charlie? Like you said, he probably has some sort of powers too or might one day when he ignites or whatever. He deserves to know something. I don’t think they were trying to hurt you. I really don’t. You have to trust them.”

  Fuck. I know she is right. I have already been thinking it, myself. But…

  “I can’t explain it, Le. There’s a lot you don’t know about my past, and you’ll never know because no one should have to, but it means trust is really hard for me, especially once it’s been abused. I just need some time to process all of this. I need time to heal, to be with Charlie, and to figure out what the hell we do next. Grams is gone. We are homeless. We can’t live with you forever and there’s no sure way to know I will even be able to get custody of Charlie when I turn eighteen in a few months. I’ve missed so much school that I will probably have to repeat my junior year which will make it even harder for me to convince a judge to let me keep Charlie.We have no money, not really. There is just too much real world shit to get through before I can take the time to really worry about what waits for me in a realm I’ve never been to.”

  “Okay,” she says, rubbing her hand up and down my arm in a soothing response. “Let’s go through the box, figure out the human stuff, then we can revisit the other worldly stuff and make the guys explain it all to you better. When you’re ready.”

  “I’m so glad you’re with me, Le. I don’t know how I would handle all of this on my own.” I breathe a sigh of relief. If I have my best friend with me, I can get through this. “I love you, pixie.”

  “No shit. Everyone does. Now here,” she pushes
the box back in front of me, “let’s see what new crazy exists beneath that lid, shall we?”

  Before I can stop myself, I lift the lid of the box, placing it on the floor to my right. Inside there are folders, jewelry, what looks like a photo album, and a small wooden box. Leanne and I pull everything out, separating like items into piles. Once we have emptied the entire box, we sit, staring at the piles before us.

  “I’ll take paperwork, you take pictures. I’m not going to recognize anyone in them, but you might catch things I would miss. I can read through all of these files Grams kept and see what I find. Deal?” She doesn’t even wait for my response, just starts digging into the paperwork, opening the folder on the top of the heap. I reach for the leather bound book which, in fact, does hold photos. Bracing myself for what I might find, I open the beautiful album. As soon as I do, a small notebook paper falls into my lap. Grabbing it, I open it to its full size to see a letter addressed to… me?

  Grayelle,

  The time has come. I have left this world but you are in good hands. I knew they would find me even though I took every precaution I could. Gianna will protect you. Her people are kind and want the greater good as we all do. Oh my Gray. My heart breaks knowing I will not be able to see you grow. You are so strong, my sweet princess. Do not ever believe otherwise. You are going to do so many amazing things. Things the realms have never seen before. It has been my honor to be your mother. I regret nothing but that I will miss seeing you in all your glory. I pray to the olds that you discover the fierce woman inside of you. Discover her and love her. Know her. Trust your instincts, my precious girl. You are made of things even the council cannot comprehend. Be cautious, aware at all times of the enemy and how to defeat him. Protectors will come for you and your heart will know them. It has been foretold.

  Gianna and her people know the truth. They will guide you until you are ready.

  Grayelle, my beautiful, strong, mighty daughter, I love you. I will be with you, no matter what happens to me. Always. We are connected, my girl. My princess.

  Until we are together again. Blessings be with you.

  All my love, Mom

  For a girl who hasn’t let others see her cry for years, I seem to be drowning in my own tears too often these days. Mom. My eyes cannot hold back the flow and my body jerks as I am wracked with pain. Oh how I miss her. Why couldn’t she just be here to tell me all of this in person? Why? I need her. I can’t do this alone. Grams is gone, too. Everyone is gone. How am I supposed to be this fierce woman when all I manage to do is find more pain every day?

  Leanne lets me cry. I know she is there, and she knows I hate to be emotional. I cry and cry, my tears falling onto the letter my mother wrote me to say goodbye. The letter that says she is proud of me and how mighty I am. Oh, Mom. I am not! I am weak. I thought I was strong, but I can’t be what you want from me. I am not this girl everyone wants me to be. I am broken. I am alone.

  My sobs eventually fade off, leaving me curled in the bean bag. I stay that way, not bothering to look through the photo album right now, until Leanne starts shaking me.

  “Gray. Gray, come on. You need to see this. Get up!”

  I move slowly but sit up to see what she is so upset about. She thrusts some papers in my hand. My mind is still in a fog from the note from my Mom so it takes me a moment to catch what she is saying.

  “Look at the birth certificate! Look at the date. Gray!”

  My blurred vision means I only barely make out the details on the page but once I do, I wipe my eyes to clear my sight. There, in my hands, is my birth certificate. My real birth certificate.

  There, in bold, is my full name. Grayelle Serenity Marshall. Beneath it, my mother’s maiden name, something I never knew. Keilitara Valencia. My breath catches as I move my eyes to where it states my father’s name. On my birth certificate, the one I have seen before, my father’s name is listed there. Darren Charles Marshall. But here, on this copy, my dad’s name isn’t there. Instead, in its place reads a name I have never heard. Havrett Moriah.

  Who the hell is Havrett? And what kind of name is that? Of course, at nearly eighteen years old I am just now learning my real name is Grayelle, so I guess I don’t have much room to talk. Still, why have I never heard of this man? I know the guys said no one knew who my father was, but I guess I hadn’t considered the fact that it really wasn’t my dad, my human dad anyway. No, it’s some rando named Havrett.

  Apparently, I am focusing on the wrong part of the brand spanking new information placed in front of me, because when I mumble something about my name being Grayelle, Leanne rolls her eyes and points at the place where it lists my date of birth. I blame the fact that I just learned my father’s name and my real name as the reason why it took me a minute to realize why she was so adamant about the date. That and because, you know, math. Sure enough, it reads that I was born on the 20th of December. That’s correct. Only… only according to this, I am not turning eighteen in a few months.

  No, according to this birth certificate with my real name and my father’s real name, I was born two years earlier. Meaning in just under six months, I will be twenty. Meaning, if this is correct, I am old enough to keep Charlie on my own.

  “Holy…” I begin.

  “Dude, you’re like, old!” Leanne says before I can finish. “Like, in a few months it is going to get really awkward when everyone thinks you are finally eighteen and, in fact, you’re turning twenty! Especially since your boyfriend is still in high school!” She is snickering but honestly, once again, new information has come into my life and flipped it all the fuck around. It cannot be possible for this much shit to happen to one person, right?

  “We don’t know that this is true, Le. Maybe it’s like some weird other realm version. The guys told me time was different there.” I say these things out loud but, in my heart, I know they’re wrong. But why have I been lied to all this time about my age? Why didn’t my dad, Darren, say something when Mom died? Why didn’t Grams? My whole life really has been one big lie after another. I wish I knew where my dad, my human dad, lived. When he ditched Charlie and I after Mom died… after she was killed, he disappeared. Grams never talked about him and neither Charlie or I ever really asked. Char was so young when we got sent into our first home and no one ever felt the need to keep a few kids updated on where their father had run off to.

  The anger is back. Anger at the lies. Anger at my father. Both of them, actually. Where was this Havrett person? Does he even know I am his daughter? That I exist? Does he know Mom is dead? Shit, is he a god, too? I mean, his last name is the same as where the guys said I come from. Since Mom’s is listed as Valencia I get the impression that they aren’t real last names so much as markers for the realms they come from or, in Mom’s case, rule over. Does that mean he is still in that realm? Blissfully ignorant? Does he have a family? Oh my god, I might have siblings besides Charlie. Shit, is Charlie even really my brother?

  So many questions are boiling inside of me. I read the letter three more times before something clicks. Grams. Mom said Grams’ people would know what to do. Grams might be gone, but that lady in the shop is still around. And, from the picture, it looks like Petra is part of that group, too. I push up out of the chair, Leanne scrambling to move the papers out of my way as I walk across the room to where my phone sits on the nightstand. Digging into my pack, I yank out the card Petra gave me with her information on it when she dropped me off. My shaking makes me dial the wrong number like four times but eventually I get it right and hold the receiver to my ear as it rings. Leanne is, thankfully, quiet, though I can see from her face she has questions. Welcome to the club, friend.

  The line rings and rings. I start to worry she won’t answer and no logical words form that would make a reasonable voicemail message. Thankfully, she picks up just as I am about to hang up.

  “Gray?” She says, calmly and matter of factly, like she was waiting for me to call.

  “I’m nineteen,” is all I can mana
ge at the moment.

  “You are. In human terms, you have aged nearly twenty years. You opened the box, I see.”

  “Do you know who my father is? My real father? Are you part of Grams’ people?” My breathing is heavy from both my anger and my nerves. I wait a beat before adding, “Is Charlie really my brother?”

  She breathes into the phone, sharp like she is frustrated but accepting some unfortunate fate. “We will meet tomorrow. Will that work for you?”

  “I have plans tomorrow with my boyfriend and friends. With Charlie.” Idiot! You want to know the truth, don’t you? Of course, there is no going back from these questions. There is no retracing my steps from here. Maybe one more day with my family before my entire life changes yet again isn’t such a bad idea.

  “Very well,” she says without questioning my hesitancy. Maybe she gets it, too. I need this last day to just pretend to be normal before the shit hits the fan completely. “I will meet you at your school in two days. We must settle the manner of your educational requirements immediately. Then, we can have lunch before resolving all the outstanding legal matters you are responsible for. I will disclose what I know, based on your questions, at that time. Will that work for you?” She talks to me as if this is all one big business transaction. Seriously? This is my whole damn life right now lady! Still, the last thing I need to do is piss off the woman who holds power over my future and my brother’s.

  “That works for me. What time do we meet?”

  “I will send a car for you at precisely nine. Be ready and presentable. We will have much to discuss, I am aware, but you must be able to show you can handle the life you will be asking for. I will see you then.” I am about to hang up when she whispers into the phone, like she doesn’t want anyone else to hear. Maybe that’s why she is being so formal, she isn’t alone.