Wild Flame

by Donna Grant

  Ivy let Liv’s words repeat in her head as she frowned. “You talk as if you’ve been planning this.”

  “Well, of course.”

  “What?”

  Liv chuckled and walked to the side to lean against a wall. “You and Christian have been destined for each other since before you were born.”

  “That’s not how it works.”

  “Denial won’t change anything. You humans think you know so much, but in reality, you know nothing. The world runs very differently than you’ve been led to believe. There are some couples that are destined for each other. Like you and Christian. Then there are some that don’t happen until they meet, like Lincoln and Ava.”

  Ivy was thankful the wall was behind her because her legs were too wobbly to hold her.

  “We tried to keep Davena from Beau, but they were another couple fated for each other.”

  Ivy put her hands over her ears. “Stop talking.”

  “Is the truth too painful to bear?”

  The snarky tone was too much for Ivy. She closed her eyes and thought back to one of the few perfect moments in her life – sitting on the swing with Christian, listening to the rain fall.

  “Hold onto your memories while you can,” Liv said next to Ivy’s ear. “They’ll be gone soon enough.”

  Ivy opened her eyes, but Liv was gone. Ivy slumped to the floor and buried her face in her hands.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It was two days after Ivy vanished that Christian returned to the house. He had no intention of staying. He wanted to fill up his backpack with supplies, and then he was leaving.

  For good.

  “Christian,” Davena said as she descended the stairs and saw him in the foyer.

  He gave her a nod in greeting, then started up the stairs to his room. She stepped in front of him to halt his passage. Christian released a long breath and then met her gaze.

  “I know you’re angry with me,” Davena began.

  He smiled, but there was no humor in it. “You killed her.”

  “Nothing was going to stop the Hell Hounds from getting her. She wanted to make sure you weren’t killed in the process.”

  “Tell yourself whatever helps you sleep better at night. You did the spell because you didn’t want to lose Beau.”

  Davena’s green eyes stared at him coolly. “That’s true. Just as Olivia and Ava didn’t want to see Vincent and Lincoln die.”

  “I was willing to die!”

  Christian briefly closed his eyes after his outburst and got a handle on his emotions. He pushed past Davena and jogged up the stairs.

  “She did it because she loved you,” Davena called after him.

  He didn’t stop, though her words sent a slice of pain through him. Christian yanked open drawers and tossed clothes on the bed. Then he found his backpack and stuffed the clothes inside along with several knives.

  Slinging the pack over one shoulder, Christian exited his room and descended the stairs. He paused at the bottom when he spotted his brothers, their women, Kane, and Riley.

  He dropped the pack when Riley walked to him. They embraced. Christian held her tight as she sniffed.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  Christian closed his eyes. He couldn’t talk even if he wanted to. The pain was too raw.

  Riley leaned back and held his face between her hands. “We were about to go out looking for you.”

  “I know the bayou like the back of my hand.”

  Linc stepped forward. “That’s not what she meant. We’re not worried about you out there. We have an idea.”

  “Riley’s idea, actually,” Vincent said.

  Riley beamed. It was only because of his sister that he didn’t walk out right then. He hadn’t realized just how much her absence affected them all until she was back in the house.

  “Tell me,” he urged her.

  Riley took his hand and led him into the study. She gave him a little shove to sit on the sofa while the others filed in.

  “We’ve all been looking for a way to get Ivy back,” she began.

  Christian leaned his forearms on his thighs and dropped his head. “She’s gone.”

  “We’re not ready to give up,” Beau said. “I can’t believe you are.”

  Christian slowly turned his head to spear his brother with a furious look. “There’s no getting anyone back after the Hounds have taken them.”

  “That’s what we thought, as well,” Kane said.

  Christian refused to allow hope in. He had yet to come to terms with Ivy being gone. The idea that there was a chance he might get her back was too much to bear.

  “I lost her once. I can’t do it a second time.”

  Riley sat beside him and draped an arm across his shoulders. “All I’m asking is that you listen to what we’ve put together. After that, the decision will be yours.”

  He looked into Riley’s blue eyes and couldn’t say no. “I’ll listen.”

  “Good.” She got to her feet. “When Vin, Linc, and Beau didn’t find anything here, we started doing our own search in New Orleans.”

  Kane grinned. “Except ours wasn’t in books.”

  “Right,” Riley smiled as the two looked at each other like conspirators. “We each went to a faction and gathered all the information they had on Hell Hounds.”

  “As well as what happens if the person who sold their soul dies before the debt is paid,” Kane added.

  Ava jumped in then. “While they did that, I called in a favor to a Medical Examiner friend and had them look over Ivy’s mother’s autopsy. There was a high content of licorice root in her system. It can be used for herbal remedies and in tea, but when not used properly, it can cause heart failure. So, our guess was right. She committed suicide.”

  “Meanwhile, our cousins were putting all their findings together,” Lincoln said.

  Riley nodded vigorously. “That’s when we began to realize that they had one common theme.”

  “The Hell Hounds have never been stopped by a cloaking spell,” Davena said.

  Christian frowned as he considered what he had been told. “Then where did the Hounds go for those few days?”

  “That was my question,” Olivia said.

  Christian shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense. They wouldn’t just stop coming for Ivy.”

  “True,” Vincent said. “We looked at the date Ivy was last released from the hospital and never returned. The ten year anniversary was over two months ago.”

  “If they had come for her soul because of her mother’s suicide, they would’ve come for her two months earlier,” Christian said.

  Kane folded his arms over his chest as he widened his stance. “Exactly. We found it very odd that the Hounds waited until recently to come for Ivy, and even stranger that they left her alone for a few days.”

  “It’s almost as if they wanted the two of you together,” Riley said.

  Christian rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “This still solves nothing.”

  “But it proves that the Hounds waited until you and Ivy were in the same location to come after her,” Beau pointed out.

  Christian lifted his head then. He looked at each of them before he came to Riley. “What is your plan?”

  “I came to the conclusion that someone wanted you and Ivy to meet.” Riley paused and swallowed, her excitement waning a bit. “The only one who can send the Hell Hounds is the Demon of Souls.”

  Christian snorted as he leaned back on the sofa. “You think the Demon of Souls wants me?”

  “I think he wants our family,” Riley corrected him. “Somehow, he knew what would happen if you fell in love and lost that woman.”

  “So he put Ivy in my path? It could’ve been any woman.”

  Lincoln shook his head from the chair next to Christian. “It had to be Ivy. You were so adamant about not falling in love that it would only work if the woman was in need and you came to the rescue.”

  The longer they talk
ed, the harder it was for Christian to take.

  “What we do, battling the supernatural, means we have a lot of enemies,” Beau said. “I’m not surprised the Demon of Souls went to such lengths.”

  Christian sliced his hand through the air to halt any talk. “It doesn’t matter. The Hounds killed Ivy.”

  “Perhaps not,” Kane said.

  Riley picked up when Kane nodded to her. “Right. We did learn from the Voodoo practitioners that the few instances where the Hounds came for someone like Ivy, they didn’t kill them.”

  Christian got to his feet in a rush. “And you’re just now telling me this?” he bellowed.

  “You had to know all of it,” Vincent said.

  Christian ran a hand down his face before he looked back at Riley. “Anything else?”

  “We think they’re holding Ivy. The others that were taken eventually show up. Well, some of them. It appears that once they’re with the demons, they are tricked to sell their soul to save the one who originally sold theirs.”

  Christian knew Ivy felt guilty for what her mother had done to save her. Would she in turn sell her soul to save her mother?

  “We need to find Ivy,” he stated.

  Vin said, “You realize that means calling for a demon and traveling into Hell to find her?”

  “Yes. I also know that few come out after going into Hell. Which is why I’m going alone.”

  “The hell you are,” Lincoln said.

  Kane stepped forward. “I’ll go with him. You three have ties here. I don’t.”

  “And your brothers?” Beau asked.

  Kane glanced at Riley. “They’ll understand.”

  “Ivy went to great lengths to ensure that you three,” Riley pointed to Lincoln, Beau, and Vin, “remained to be with your women. Don’t screw that up now.”

  Christian nodded to Kane. “We call the demon tonight. I’m not going to keep Ivy down there any longer than I have to.”

  “I’ll be ready,” Kane said.

  Christian fell back onto the couch as it all sunk in. He looked to everyone. “Thank you all. It never occurred to me that Ivy could still be alive.”

  “You were distraught,” Olivia said. “It’s understandable.”

  Riley pulled a piece of paper from her back pocket and unfolded it. “Minka also prepared a spell that would help you locate Ivy quickly.” She paused and licked her lips. “I want to come with you.”

  “No,” Christian said.

  It was Kane who raised a brow. “What none of you realize is that Riley was hunting in Austin the entire time she was in college. She has been hunting with us in New Orleans, as well. She’s good. A true Chiasson.”

  Riley smiled at him, mouthing ‘thank you.’ Christian realized that the two of them had a friendship both needed. He was glad his sister had found that with Kane when she hadn’t from her brothers.

  “Having said all of that,” Kane continued. “I’m against her joining us.”

  “Thank God,” Vincent mumbled.

  Everyone but Riley laughed.

  Christian rose and walked to her. He took her hand and waited until she met his gaze. “You have no idea how important you are to this family. You’re not just our baby sister. You’re the only female. I’d love for you to face this undertaking with me, but you’re too precious. Please, Riley, stay here and keep those three in line,” Christian said, motioning to their brothers over his shoulder with his thumb.

  Riley inhaled and slowly released it as she blinked rapidly. “I’m not giving in because of all those pretty words. I’m agreeing not to go because you asked so nicely.”

  Christian had a feeling that one day they would all need Riley, just as he knew that his sister would never let them down.

  “The demons will figure out quickly enough what we’re doing,” Beau said.

  “And attack us,” Vincent added.

  Christian rubbed their hands together. “Then let’s make sure we have a grand welcome waiting for them.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Ivy stared at the black walls, her anxiety growing by the moment. How long would she be kept in Hell? She had no intention of telling them anything about the Chiassons that others didn’t already know.

  It would be the worst kind of betrayal for her to do that to Christian and the others after they’d worked so tirelessly to keep the Hell Hounds away from her.

  She owed them so much, especially Christian. No matter what the demons did, she wasn’t going to break. She was strong. She could withstand whatever they threw at her.

  Ivy must have dozed off because when she opened her eyes, there was someone standing in the far corner. She couldn’t make out who it was with the lack of light. She didn’t like how the demons could come and go so easily, and she never knew when they would arrive.

  With a door, at least she would have a second or two at the sound of opening to prepare.

  “Who are you and what do you want?”

  The person moved away from the corner, and Ivy’s heart stopped when she recognized her mother. She could only stare, taking in her mother’s short brown hair and blue eyes.

  “Mom?”

  “It’s me, sweetiepie.”

  Ivy jumped up and ran to her mother, throwing her arms around her neck and holding tight. The black dress Ivy had buried her in felt smooth beneath her palms. She blinked back tears. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “I know,” her mother said and squeezed her tight. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  Ivy leaned back and smiled as she took in her mother’s face. “How did they let you in here?”

  “They told me they had you, and then I was here. Ivy, what is going on? What are you doing in this place?”

  She stepped back and shrugged. “Mom, why didn’t you tell me you sold your soul?”

  “As if,” her mother scolded. “Why would I tell you?”

  “Why did you do it?”

  Her mother rolled her blue eyes. “Why do you think? I had already lost your father and brother. Doctor after doctor couldn’t treat you. They had you on so many medications that I knew weren’t good for you. You were dying. Slowly. I saw it month after month, year after year. I couldn’t lose you, too.”

  “You shouldn’t be in Hell,” Ivy said and felt a tear fall on her cheek.

  Her mother smiled sadly. “One day, you’ll understand the lengths a parent will go to in order to help their children. My soul was an easy price to pay, knowing that you would be healthy.”

  Ivy nodded because she couldn’t get any words out. It took her a few moments to push the tears aside. “How did the demon find you?”

  “I was coming out of the hospital chapel after another set of prayers.” Her mother looked away, sadness contorting her face. “He approached me then, but I walked right past him.”

  Ivy wrapped her arms around her middle. There was so much to know and say, and now was the time for her to listen. She could ask questions later.

  “I saw him for three consecutive days after,” her mother continued. “Two days later, we finally got results back on another round of testing the hospital had performed, and just like before, the doctors had no clue what was wrong with you. If they couldn’t diagnose it, they couldn’t treat it.”

  Ivy had heard that far too many times from baffled doctors who shuffled her off to someone else.

  “You’d already spent so many years watching life from your bed in the hospital and at home. You deserved a life instead of watching others’ on TV. I decided then that I would talk to the demon. It took me another two days before I found him again. This time, I approached him.”

  Ivy waited for her mother to continue. When she didn’t, Ivy urged, “And?”

  “I was desperate to heal you. I accepted his offer for my soul for your instant recovery. I was told I would have ten years with you before my soul would be claimed.”

  All this Ivy knew, but to hear it from her mother. It was so...wrong. “You died a year too soon.”


  “I did.”

  “That doesn’t normally happen.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “It does sometimes.”

  “You killed yourself, didn’t you?”

  For a long silent minute, her mother simply stared at her. “Yes. I didn’t want to chance you being around when the Hell Hounds came for me.”

  “Did you know that when a person who has sold their soul commits suicide, the Hell Hounds come for the one that was saved?”

  Her mother blinked, a shocked expression crossing her face. “No.”

  “Yes.” Ivy tucked a curl that kept falling in her eyes behind her ear.

  “How did you figure all this out?”

  Ivy thought of Christian. “I had some help from people who fight demons and the like.”

  “Really? Who are these people?”

  She quickly changed the subject to get it off Christian. “The Hounds found me and brought me here.”

  “What happens now?”

  “After I see you, they kill me.”

  Her mother put her hands over her mouth and shook her head. “I won’t let that happen.”

  “It’s too late.” Ivy wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to tell her mother about Christian or the demons interest in the Chiassons. It was jut a gut feeling, and Ivy didn’t fight it.

  “What about the people who told you of the Hell Hounds? Will they come to help you?”

  Ivy shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  “What are their names? Perhaps we can find a way out?”

  That’s when Ivy knew that she wasn’t talking to her mother. The woman who had sat beside her hospital bed for months at a time would never care more about learning a name than finding a way to get Ivy out.

  “There’s no leaving Hell,” Ivy said.

  Her mother looked around the room. “There’s always a way. We need to learn what we have that can be used to bribe the demons.”

  “You sold your soul,” Ivy said in a flat tone. “There isn’t a demon here who would release you.”

  “Ivy,” her mother admonished. “I can’t believe you would say something so cruel. I sold my soul for you.”