by Donna Grant
Delia barked with laughter and yanked the towel off her head, her wet, dark blonde hair spilling to her shoulders. “Louisiana is our home.”
“It’s where Delphine lives. God!” she yelled and glanced helplessly at the ceiling. “You’re just like Mom. She knew the threat was there, but she remained, taunting Delphine with it until Delphine killed her. And you want to remain in the same state with a Voodoo priestess who wants us dead?”
“You don’t get it do you?”
“Obviously not,” she replied sarcastically. “Explain it.”
Delia crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip out. “I’m going to make Delphine pay for what she did to Mom and what she’s put us through these last six years.”
Davena shook her head in regret. “What have you done, Delia?”
“Nothing. Yet. But I will. I’ll get strong enough, and I’ll face Delphine.”
Davena put her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. “Mom didn’t teach us any of the spells, because she didn’t want us involved.”
“I followed her many nights while you were out running around with your friends in New Orleans.”
Davena dropped her hand to her side and stared dumbfounded at her sister. “Please no. Mom went out of her way to help those who had been cursed with Voodoo. She began it before we were born, and she tried to get out of it after us. She couldn’t. Dad was killed as a warning, which is why she spent many, many years away from it all.”
“She helped them in secret,” Delia said, a smirk on her face. “Mom told you she was out of it, but she wasn’t.”
Davena’s stomach began to churn again. “I knew she helped those in deep. It wasn’t in her nature to turn away someone suffering.”
“The spells she learned while practicing Voodoo are what allowed her to do that,” Delia said. “I want to do the same.”
“You want to use those spells to kill Delphine. How is that any different than what Delphine did to Mom and Dad? You’ll be a murderer.”
“I’m following in Mom’s footsteps. Someone has to. It isn’t going to be you,” she said with a scathing look.
Davena was taken aback. “Following in her footsteps, my ass. Mom helped people. She would protect us, and the house, but she never harmed anyone – not even Delphine. How is that doing what Mom did?”
“I’ll help people once I kill Delphine.”
Davena slapped her hands on her legs in frustration. “Do you hear yourself? Do you even know what you’re saying?”
“Yep. I’m saying I’m staying here. You can do whatever you want,” Delia said and turned on the blowdryer before putting her back to her.
Davena gave up and went to take her shower. The entire time she was bathing, the bad feeling festered in her belly until she was sick with it. There wasn’t another word shared between her and Delia the rest of the morning, or on the drive into work. Delia opened the car door before the vehicle was in park and jumped out, practically bounding into work with a bright smile.
Davena shut off the engine and remained in the car. Her mood matched the gray sky. It was Friday, which meant they closed up at two. Hopefully by then she could decide what to do.
The thought of leaving Delia behind didn’t seem right, and yet she knew they couldn’t remain in Crowley. Something bad was going to happen, of that Davena was certain.
She had ignored the warnings until the last minute before, and then her mother had pushed her words aside. Hours later, their mother was dead, and they were running for their lives.
Davena looked down at her right hand where the skin was puckered on her palm from the burn she sustained while trying to get the door opened. The scar ran horizontally across her palm, a constant reminder of how quickly life could be changed.
She was so tired of trying to keep going. So many times she wanted to fall down and curl up in a ball, to pretend that life didn’t suck major moose dick. The fact was, life did suck the big one.
Not once had she allowed herself to fall apart. That had been Delia, and one of them had to stay strong. Only once had she come close to loosing it. Somehow, she had pulled herself together and carried on. Had it not been for Delia, Davena knew she would’ve never made it as far as she had. It was her sister that kept her focused.
She wanted to believe that Delia was right and that six years were long enough for Delphine to forget them. But Davena knew how vengeful the priestess could be. She had seen the evidence when the people would come to her mom for help.
It would be a cold day in Hell before Delphine ever forgot them.
CHAPTER FIVE
The hush that fell around the kitchen table was deafening. Beau let Maria do all the explaining of what was going on. He didn’t volunteer what he had experienced that morning yet.
Vincent put his arm on the back of Olivia’s chair and touched her as he looked at Maria. “And you have no idea what it could be?”
“No,” Maria said.
Lincoln rubbed his forehead, his face already lined with worry. “We need it narrowed down some. Is it a ghost? A demon? A creature?”
Maria slid her dark gaze to Lincoln. “How many times do you know what you’ll be hunting when you leave this house?”
“Maman’s right,” Olivia said. “It doesn’t matter what it is. It’s just another supernatural problem we have to solve.”
“We?” Vin said with a raise of his brows. “Oh no, sweetheart. It’s a problem my brothers and I have. You and Ava aren’t going to leave this house.”
Ava lifted her amber gaze to Lincoln. “I thought the entire Chiasson property was warded and protected like the house.”
“It is,” Lincoln said as he took hold of her hand and squeezed it. “The house is safe. We need y’all to remain inside.”
“Don’t leave unless one of us tells you to,” Vincent told Olivia.
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, babe. You’ve got to let that go. I thought Maman was in the hospital. How was I to know that creep was responsible for all those deaths?”
“That’s the point,” Christian said as he leaned back in his chair. “The only people you can trust are in this house.”
Beau watched the way the two couples looked at each other before he turned his head away. If his brothers didn’t have Olivia and Ava, they would be facing the growing threat differently. They would be heading out now to look for it, not worrying about whether the girls were safe.
Like he was worrying about Davena.
He looked back at the group to find Christian’s gaze on him. Beau shoved his hair out of his face and got to his feet. “The women will be safe here. Let’s get out there and find whatever this is.”
“Night is the best time for hunting,” Christian said.
Lincoln grunted. “Most of the time, but if it’s a human we’re after, we can find them in the day.”
Maria pushed the chair away from the table and stood. She walked to her purse and reached for her keys when Olivia rose so quickly she knocked her chair over.
“Maman, where are you going?”
Maria smiled softly. “Back to my house. As I said earlier, Grace is waiting for me.”
“Vincent can bring Grace here. Make Maman stay, Vin.”
Vincent stood beside Olivia and pulled her against his side. “Your grandmother is a grown woman. I can’t make her stay.”
“Damn right,” Maria mumbled, the smile gone.
Olivia jerked her head to Vincent. “But you can make me stay?”
“We both will,” Maria stated in a no-nonsense voice.
Olivia harrumphed and flattened her lips as she glared at her grandmother.
Maria gave a small nod. “Now that that’s settled, I’ll expect to hear from y’all later. Grace and I will remain at the house, safely ensconced inside.”
She then opened her arms, and Olivia flew into them. They shared a lasting embrace before Maria turned to Ava. Ava hugged Maria tightly, soft words falling from Maria’s lips.
Beau
and Christian remained behind as the two couples walked Maria to her vehicle. It was still raining, though the rain had diminished to a drizzle.
“I’m going to take a drive around to see if I can find anything. Want to tag along?” Christian asked.
Beau knew the driving would eventually take them into Crowley. That would put him too close to Davena for his peace of mind. “I’ll pass.”
“I don’t know who you’re trying to stay away from, but it won’t work. It never does.”
“Don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Beau said as he pushed open the screen door and walked off the porch.
It didn’t matter that he was getting wet. He had spent the last few days soaked, and today wouldn’t be any different. Beau looped his thumbs in his belt loops and gazed out over the bayou.
No matter how he tried, he couldn’t determine what the threat was. More unsettling, was the fact that he had felt something. Maria sensing something he could understand since she practiced Hoodoo, but not him.
“Thank goodness Maria knows Hoodoo, huh?” Lincoln said as he came to stand beside him.
Beau nodded. Voodoo was a religion, but Hoodoo was a practice of magic that combined some elements of Voodoo. There were instances where Hoodoo was used to combat Voodoo curses. Sometimes they worked. Sometimes they didn’t.
“Voodoo isn’t to be trifled with,” Lincoln said and pulled his long hair back at the base of his neck before he wrapped a piece of leather around it and tied it off.
Beau swept his arm across their view. “We live in Louisiana, Linc. That’s like saying a gator shouldn’t be teased. It’s common sense, even for those who don’t live near those practicing the religion.”
“Ah, but we’ve both seen how the Voodoo religion has profited from tourists while we’ve been in New Orleans. They sell spells, Voodoo dolls, and anything else they can think of.”
“I know.” Beau had never cared to be near those shops. Some sold fake items, but there were a handful of stores that sold the real things.
Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest and blew out a long breath. “You’ve been peculiar all morning. Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“No.” Beau dropped his chin to his chest and kicked at the wet grass. “Maria wasn’t the only one who felt something.”
There was a heartbeat of silence before Lincoln pushed at his shoulder so they faced each other. “What the hell? And you didn’t say anything?”
“Why?” Beau said with a shrug. “Maria’s explanation was good enough. There was no need to add mine.”
“Did Christian hit you and addle your brains? Of course there’s a need,” Lincoln said peevishly. Then he mumbled, “Damn fool.”
Beau rolled his eyes. As the youngest of the brothers, he was constantly being picked on. Not even Riley was teased as mercilessly as he was, and she was the youngest of them all. But she was the only girl, and for some reason that made her different.
“Enough of that shit,” Beau said, his patience at an end.
Lincoln threw up his hands. “Fine, but you’re going to tell me everything.”
“There isn’t much to tell. I woke up with a feeling of dread twisting my stomach. I came downstairs and found Maria.”
Lincoln gave a shake of his head and looked at the house. “Beau, not a single Chiasson has ever had those kinds of things happen to them. We aren’t psychics or seers or anything of the sort.”
“I know,” Beau said wearily. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already told himself, but there was no doubt in what he had felt – was still feeling.
“For both you and Maria to feel something...” Lincoln trailed off and hung his head as he put his hands on his hips. “We need to be extra careful. I’m worried like I’ve never been worried before.”
“Ava and Olivia will be safe. We’ll remain in two groups to watch each other’s back. Christian wants to drive around. I’m going to go out into the bayou.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lincoln said and lifted his head. “We live dangerously every day, but I get the feeling that whatever is here is infinitely more treacherous.”
“It’s not after us right now, but based on what Maria sensed, we’ll find it and get in its way.”
Lincoln snorted. “That’s when it’ll come for us.”
“Yeah,” Beau said weakly.
Lincoln faced the house as Vincent and Christian joined them. “The Chiasson land has always been a refuge against the things we hunt.”
“Your point?” Vin asked.
Beau knew what Lincoln was going to say, and he knew how much it was going to cost both of his brothers.
“Aww shit,” Christian mumbled and slapped his hand on his leg.
Linc cleared his throat. “If Maria is right and this thing does come after us, I won’t lead it back to Ava or Olivia. I don’t want any of us to return here once we figure out what it is.”
Vincent opened his mouth to argue, and then stopped. He briefly squeezed his eyes closed and nodded. “You think it’s that powerful?”
Lincoln glanced at Beau. “I do. Beau felt something, as well. It was enough to hear it from Maria, but Beau too? I don’t want to take any chances, no matter how well we think the house and land are warded.”
“Before y’all jump my ass, there was no need to tell you anything. Maria’s senses were more targeted than my ominous feeling,” Beau explained.
“Shit for brains,” Christian said with a wry twist of his lips.
Vin scowled. “I don’t care what you thought. You should’ve told us.”
“He’s done it now,” Lincoln said. “Let’s leave it and move on to the next step. I’m going to head out into the bayou with Beau.”
Christian scrubbed a hand along the top of his head to ruffle his short dark locks. “I’m going to drive around.”
“I’ll join you then,” Vin said. “We remain together. We don’t normally take our cell phones out on hunts, but I think we need to this time. Keep them on vibrate, but at least we’ll be able to get ahold of each other if necessary.”
Beau gave a nod. “Agreed.”
“One more thing,” Linc said. “We don’t tell the girls we might not be coming back until this is over.”
Vin made a sound at the back of his throat. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I’d rather explain to Olivia after it’s all over than argue with her now. Besides, we might not find anything today.”
Christian slapped Vincent on the back. “Better you than me, bro.”
Lincoln shoved Christian, causing him to slip on the slight incline leading up to the house. With the wet grass, he went face down with a loud grunt.
Vincent kicked Christian’s legs out from underneath him when he tried to get to his feet. Beau joined in the laughter, and waited until Christian was up on his hands before he pushed down on Christian’s back, causing him to face plant again.
“I’m going to kick y’all’s asses!” Christian bellowed.
The three ran to the house with Christian right on their heels. To some, it might seem odd for them to be joking around when circumstances were so dire, but they had to relieve their emotions somehow so they could face the danger.
They came to a screeching halt in the kitchen when they found all their weapons laid out on the table with the girls packing food and provisions.
Vincent and Lincoln went to their women while Christian kicked off his muddy boots and headed upstairs to change. That left Beau once more unsure of where he stood or what he wanted.
He didn’t want the added weight of someone else to watch over and worry about. His family was more than enough. Nor did he want to anxiously await the day his wife would be taken from him in the most heinous way.
In that regard, he wholeheartedly sided with Christian.
Yet no amount of rational thought could stop the need to share his life with someone. To curl up in bed with a woman, and talk about the day or the future. To wake up with her every morning in amazement that someone
had chosen him.
As he watched his brothers sharing whispered words with their women, Beau wanted it more than ever.
And he knew who he wanted – Davena.
CHAPTER SIX
Beau stood knee deep in the bayou and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. The rain halted an hour into their search of the bayou. With the clouds moving fast, the sun was baking them, making the heat oppressive.
He started forward when he caught sight of a snapping turtle swimming across his path. It was a big one, measuring nearly two feet long. Once the turtle was past, Beau continued onward. Lincoln was off to his left searching, and unfortunately, nothing had been found by either of them in the four hours they had been out.
Every few minutes, Beau cursed himself for not going into town with Christian. He might have caught a glimpse of Davena, which would have calmed him some. Maybe. Hell, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Not since that encounter with her. She was on his mind constantly, and that could get him killed in his line of work.
He didn’t know how Vin and Linc did it. It might help his brothers knowing their women were safe on Chiasson land. He didn’t have that. Davena was out in town with danger closing in.
If they only knew who they needed to protect.
It would also help if they knew what they were after.
The crickets were singing loudly, as were the birds. All the animals of the bayou were out in the sunshine after days of rain.
He worked his way forward searching for the tiniest hint of paranormal. It wasn’t easy in the murky water, and the longer he went without discovering anything, the more frustrated he became.
Lincoln let out a three-tone whistle. Beau jerked his head to his brother and saw Linc motion him toward an outcropping of land. Beau didn’t need to be told twice. He waded forward, careful of where he placed his feet. Lincoln was already there when he stepped out of the water.
Lincoln pulled off his rubber boots and wiggled his toes. “My toes are going to become webbed if we keep this up.”
Beau chuckled and sank down on a fallen log next to his brother and removed the pack from his back. He pulled off one boot, then the next before he yanked off his wet socks and slapped them on the tree next to him. “Tell me about it.”
