Burning Ember

Chapter 16

It had been weeks since the last time I saw the masked man. Hale had been coming over quite regularly because the whole thing had spooked him too. Christmas was approaching, and Ivy was finally coming back to visit. It took her longer than she wanted to be able to get the time off work, but with the holidays, her boss relented. Hale offered to pick her up from the airport, so while I waited, I made dinner and even baked a batch of her favorite macadamia cookies.

Ivy walked through the door with a wide smile on her face as she carried a large gift bag while Hale trailed along behind with her luggage. Dropping her bag to the floor, Ivy rushed over to greet me, wrapping her arms around my neck and nearly knocking me back. "Ember," she squealed in my ear. "I've missed you so much. We can't go that long without seeing each other again."

"I missed you too, and I agree, two months is too long," I said in a teasing manner.

"You look great by the way," commenting subtly on the weight I had gained. Not that it was much, but I had begun to fill back out since I wasn't constantly running in survival mode.

"Thanks, you do too, as always." Flattery was her favorite form of endearment.

As Ivy walked through the house, she said, "I see you've been doing some decorating. Oh, and you got a T.V."

"You can thank Hale for that." He was the one to make the suggestion, only right he should get the credit.

'Thanks Hale," she grinned.

The three of us sat down for dinner as Ivy filled me in on everything that has happened since the last time she saw me—in detail. Still, it was great having her around. She always livened up a room with her laughter and naturally vibrant nature. She kept giving me the side-eye any time my eyes lingered on Hale for more than a few seconds, or when he smiled at me the way he did, dimples on full display.

As the evening drew to a close, I walked Hale to the porch. He insisted on giving Ivy and I some girl time, but I knew it wouldn't be long before he was ready to come back. We loitered on the porch as we said good night, his hands on my waist and mine gripping his neck as he kissed me. Though I missed my sister, and was looking forward to spending time with her, I didn't want him to leave. His teeth tugged my lip as he pulled back, the heat still lingering between us. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said stepping off the porch.

"Can't wait." I smiled back at him as I turned for the door. Ivy was on the other side, grinning at me like she had busted me committing a crime and was preparing to black-mail me with the evidence. "Oh, don't even start," I told her as I locked up.

"I knew it," Ivy turned her nose up with a smirk.

"You know nothing," I countered, forcing away a smile. Ivy followed me up the stairs to my room as she continued to pester me further about Hale.

"Come on, Ember, I want the details. How was it?" she said waggling her eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes as I dropped onto the bed. "You're so weird. Why do you even want to know?"

"I gotta know if man's been treating my sister right," she teased as she crawled onto the other side after kicking off her shoes.

Rolling my head to the side, I pulled the blanket up to cover half my face as I said, "He's amazing."

She squealed with excitement as she bounced on the bed. "You two are so cute together, I'm so happy for you Em, you more than anyone deserves a good guy." Her smile subsided just so as she added, "Though I still think you need to get out of the house more. Have you thought about getting a job? It might help, social situations can be beneficial."

I sat up, propping my head onto my hand. "I have thought about it. I just don't know what I want to do."

"Start out small, get a job at a café, or a department store. Nothing too fancy or stressful, you might make some friends out here, other than Hale," she suggested as she nudged me with her elbow.

"I know, I know. I'll look into it," I conceded as I let my head fall back to the bed. "We did it there." I pointed to where she was sitting in hopes she would go her ass to bed.

Instead, she grinned wider and said, "Yeah you did."

After another hour or so of Ivy interrogation, she finally went to her room for the night. It didn't take me long to fall asleep, after draining my social quota for the day, I was exhausted.

Hours later, well past midnight, I awoke to Ivy rushing into my room with a panicked expression as she shook me awake.

"What is it?" I asked as I jolted up.

"Your house is definitely fucking haunted," she whispered as if whatever presence was eavesdropping.

I blinked, "What happened?"

Ivy shook her head as she crawled under my blanket and said, "I was sleeping, and I felt something touch my foot. Then when I sat up, a candle got knocked from the dresser and I just ran."

"Really? Did you see anything else?" I asked praying it wasn't another masked intruder situation.

"No," she said, eyes wide and honest. "I didn't see anything. No one else was in the room, there was enough light from the window to see that much. It fell over—all by itself."

"You're sure?"

She nodded, her lip in a pout. "I'm sure. You've got ghosts."

Leaning back against the headboard, I propped my pillow behind me as I corrected, "Ghost, I think it's Geneviève."

"Probably, I bet it was her husband that did it. He probably found out about her and Henri and—" she made an exaggerated squelching noise as she ran her finger across her neck for emphasis.

Laughing, I said, "That was my thoughts, too." Ivy climbed under the blanket and snuggled in. "I think she led me to her body. It was weird but it was like she was drawing me to it."

"Well, if she did, it certainly hasn't put her spirit to rest. I wonder if there's still something she wants you to uncover." She thought for a moment before adding, "Maybe Henri's body is lurking around here somewhere."

"Ugh, don't say that. The last thing I need is more skeletons."

Ivy ended up sleeping in my bed, and when we got up, we went into her room to search for clues. She was on a ghost hunt. The candle holder was on its side in the floor in front of the dresser, but the candle had come loose and rolled underneath. On my knees in the floor, I reached back as far as I could, straining to grasp it. Something sharp snagged the side of my thumb and I quickly withdrew my hand. A trickle of blood ran down from the slice in the side of it. "Ow, what the hell," I hissed as examined the stinging cut.

"What happened?" Ivy asked as she crouched beside me.

"It felt like something was sticking out of the floor, maybe a nail?" I guessed. Ivy helped me push the dresser aside. The candle stick rested against the wall, and a rusted nail poked up beside a loose board. Ivy's eyes connected with mine as we both looked at each other.

"What if there's something under there?" she asked, her brows raised.

After running to the kitchen to get a butter knife, we went back up to the room and began prying. It didn't take much effort. The board popped up without much protest. We peered inside, cobwebs obscured the view, but I could make out a bundle of fabric that had been wrapped around something and tied in the middle with the same black ribbon as the letters. Ivy reached in and pulled it out and set it on the floor beside the opening. She stuck her arm inside, patting around before she pulled it out with cobwebs stuck to her skin. "That's all. I didn't feel anything else."

Pulling the ends of the ribbon, I unwrapped the bundle. Sitting inside was a dagger. The wooden handle wove together to the hilt, and the blade had three sharp edges coated in a rust-tinged patina.

Ivy gasped, "The murder weapon."

I rolled my eyes, though she may be right.