Voices in the Darkness

by Rebecca Royce

  Oh, right. Thorn snored. Colton hated that. And Colt talked in his sleep, which made Thorn nuts. I hadn’t thought about that in years. “Hard for me to imagine you and Aaron not living together.”

  “I tend to throw myself into things, and he’s more considering. I get mad at him for not jumping when things happen, and he can’t stand how I act before I think. We’re best friends. He’s my brother. It’s all good.”

  A beam of light suddenly hit me directly in the eyes, and my head throbbed. I should probably find a painkiller.

  The fire in the fireplace roared, and we both jumped. For a second, a ghost appeared right next to us. She was old, wearing a nightgown, and saying something I couldn’t hear. I cried out, and Oliver wrapped me up closer, putting himself between the ghost and me.

  As fast as she was there, she was gone.

  “I…” I had to catch my breath. “I… I’ve never had one of those appear in my house.”

  “So not a regular thing.” Oliver sounded perfectly calm.

  Ghosts were harbingers. This couldn’t be good news.

  4

  My home was my safe place. It comforted me and protected me, and now all of that was ruined.

  In one brief flash, my sanctuary had been invaded.

  “Not cool.” I stood up and marched to my kitchen.

  “What are you doing?” Oliver asked.

  I was too angry to answer. This house was mine. And while I was more well-versed in the paranormal than I had been when I first met Oliver, I didn’t want it showing up on my doorstep.

  I never took my work home with me.

  Rummaging through my cupboards, I found what I wanted. With the red-topped bottle in one hand and a small ceramic plate in the other, I strode into the living room.

  “What is that?” Oliver asked, and when I didn’t answer, stopped me by taking my arm. “Lacey. What are you doing?”

  Keeping my eyes on his, I undid the cover and flung the contents of the bottle into the fire. Immediately, my living room filled with the scent of smokey and dried sage.

  Oliver’s eyes widened.

  “When in doubt, sage it out,” I answered through gritted teeth. “I’m going to make a circle of protection around my house. Do you have a pair of snow boots?”

  Face clearing, Oliver slowly smiled. “You’re serious.”

  “I’ve learned how to protect myself. That ghost threw me for a loop, but I won’t be surprised again. Now, I’ve got some Morton’s in the cupboard and a jar of lavender bath salt. I think between those two things we can make a circle. Are you in?”

  Black eyes twinkling, Oliver nodded. “Damn straight.”

  A few minutes later, we found ourselves outside. Oliver shivered and stamped his feet on my stoop. “Let’s do this fast. I’m freezing.”

  “Meet you back here,” I said and took off. I ran around one side of the house, while Oliver ran around the other. I held the container of salt, sprinkling it around the perimeter of the house. At the back, by the chimney, I almost ran into Oliver. “You’re not out yet?” I asked.

  “Nope!” he answered and continued on his way.

  Shaking my head, I hurried through the snow back to the front of the house. If one circle of protection was good, a double layer would be better.

  It was slippery on the driveway, so I kept my head down, watching where I placed my feet.

  “Oomph.” I bounced off of something and flew backward, but before I could hit the ground, two gloved hands caught me.

  Bright blue met my gaze. “Holy fuck.”

  Colton.

  His face was clean-shaven, but it was him. Older, with the sort of frame that came from, I didn’t know, building fences and hammering railroad ties. He watched me.

  “Hey,” Oliver said from behind me.

  Colton blinked, like Oliver’s voice had shocked him back to life. One second, I was an arm’s length away, and the next I was pressed against his chest. “Jesus Christ, Lacey. I can’t believe it’s you.”

  “Take a moment!” Oliver called out. “I’m going inside. I’m freezing my ass off.”

  I blinked. We had to get the man proper winter gear if he was going to stay here. But the truth was, Colton didn’t have a coat either. Wow. I was really not thinking clearly. He was here, shivering in my arms.

  His smile was huge. “Lacey, I have so many things to say to you. I…”

  A car door opened and closed, catching my attention. Coming out of the passenger side was Aaron. His hair was still long, like it had been when we were younger, but tied back neatly to keep it away from his face.

  With some part of my mind, I registered the suitcases in the snow and the car backing away. But I was transfixed by Aaron’s face. He didn’t smile when he saw me, but there wasn’t anger on his face either. More like disbelief. His dark gaze asked a million questions.

  “Lacey.” His voice shook a little bit. “You aren’t a figment of our imagination, right?”

  I shook my head. “Not unless we’re all having the same delusion where you guys are made up in my head.”

  A gust of wind reminded me of what was happening. A decade earlier, I’d been freezing in Anchorage without the right clothing. I knew what that cold felt like. “Come on inside. Grab whatever you brought with you. Nothing stays in the car in this kind of chill.”

  “Right.” But Colton didn’t move. “If I let you go, are you going to vanish?” His voice was low. “Because I really like this moment. Even though it’s freezing. You’re here. Ten years older and beautiful. Alive. And in my arms. I don’t want to move an inch.”

  He had always been able to make me blush, and none of that had changed apparently. “I’m only going to head in the house. Hopefully, you’ll come with me.”

  He let go with one hand. “I will. Thank you for inviting us in.”

  Aaron took my hand, pulling me from Colton. “Get your stuff, Colt. Lacey, how do you do this kind of freezing on a regular basis?”

  “Alaska is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.” He had broader shoulders, but he was still lean. The boy who used to watch me from the porch across the street, who hid under my bed and took care of me, was still there in his face. But it was stronger and weathered in the last decade we’d been apart.

  Colton stepped backward, releasing me before going to get his stuff out of the snow. I let Aaron lead me into my own house. Oliver was seated on the couch when we came inside.

  Aaron stared at him for a second. “I see you’ve made yourself right at home.”

  He nodded. “Lacey has graciously agreed that I am going to be staying for a long period of time.”

  Colton walked inside, shutting the door behind him with a click. He dropped the bags and rushed toward the fireplace, holding his hands out to warm up. Aaron took off his coat and hung it on the hook by the door. He visibly shivered and moved next to Colton, who turned a little to face me.

  I’d never felt more awkward in my life.

  Better to just address the elephant in the room. “I’m so sorry I almost got you all killed. I’ve apologized to Oliver. I will keep doing so. I’m not sure I can ever make up for what happened. And I’ve stayed as far away from you as I possibly could so that it would never happen again.”

  I studied Colton and then Aaron, watching for the impact of my apology. Would it be thrown back in my face? I didn’t think it would be. Oliver had already surprised me, and I wasn’t a dunce. People didn’t travel a thousand miles north if they didn’t care for the person at their destination.

  But that didn’t mean I didn’t owe them a hell of an apology.

  “The other thing I need to apologize for, and again, you’re probably going to hear it more than once, is that I left you all without an explanation. My only thought was to protect you, and I know—that’s an excuse, and an apology should be an apology and not just an attempt to make yourself feel better—mmph.”

  Aaron placed his hand over my mouth, stepping toward me. “Apology accepted
. Now, how about you tell me why this place smells of sage and ghost.”

  “We had a visit from a ghost,” Oliver answered, sounding blasé. I wasn’t quite there yet, not when it came to ghosts in my house.

  Colton moved away from the fire and crossed his arms, gaze going to every shadowed corner of my living room. “I don’t feel anything.”

  Aaron must have seen my surprise. “Colt is good at picking up on changes in energy.”

  “I’m not psychic,” Colton clarified. “I’m just tuned into static, I guess you could say. It’s a physical thing.”

  It struck me how much we’d all changed. Colt was an archaeologist who could sense changes in energy. And I was a PI assistant who sometimes got a hunch that something was paranormal, then I delegated.

  I was a paranormal investi-delegator.

  I also needed a second. “I’m going to make tea.” Tea was my go-to, and it would let me escape and gather my thoughts, just enough so I didn’t jump onto Colton or attach myself to Aaron like a limpet. “Anyone want tea? I want tea.”

  Spinning on my heel, I started toward the kitchen when someone’s smooth hand grabbed mine. I glanced over my shoulder to see Aaron.

  His face was dark, and he frowned. “Don’t run again, Lacey.”

  Shame filled me. “I’m not. I just need to make some tea and wrap my head around everything I’ve missed.” My throat tightened. This was a happy event, and I didn’t want to cry in front of them.

  Just like he used to, Aaron seemed to understand. “Okay.”

  I padded into the kitchen and started the kettle, the guys’ low voices carrying across my tiny home to my ears. They were really here.

  Right away, I was struck by the easy conversation that drifted my way. They were utterly comfortable with each other. I imagined barbecues and watching football together. They’d made a little family.

  And they’d done it without me.

  Which was what they should have done. It wasn’t like I had wanted them pining over me, unable to move on with their lives. God knew, I’d tried to move on. I grabbed mugs out of the cabinet and lined them up. My kettle started to whistle before I could bang my head against the counter and concuss the memory of my one attempt at a relationship out of my head.

  “Need some help?” Colton’s voice startled me, and I dropped the box of tea in my hand.

  He bent over and picked it up. In a swift move, he handed it to me.

  “Thank you.” I took the tea from him and placed a bag in each mug. “I’m not usually this clumsy.”

  “She’s concussed,” Oliver shouted toward the kitchen. It was a small house. We were all going to hear every word everyone said.

  Colton furrowed his brow. “Are you okay?”

  I shrugged. “I will be. Not my first concussion, actually. I have a hard head.” I proceeded to pour the hot water into the mugs. It was good to have something to do with my hands.

  “Lacey.” Colton’s voice was low. “I owe you an apology. A big one.”

  “What?”

  “It was my job to guard you that day. I got tricked into leaving my post. If I hadn’t, none of the things that happened would have happened.”

  I swallowed through the dryness in my mouth. “Colt, you spent a year practically trapped in California by a compulsion to stay away from me, and you are apologizing? You saved me over and over. No, you don’t owe me any apology. A demon tricked you. As it turned out, none of you should have been doing that. I should have just handled it myself from moment one.”

  He put his hand on mine on the counter. “No, beautiful, you shouldn’t have.”

  Colton smelled really good, like soap and sandalwood. For just a second, I could see him how I used to when we were in high school. Years removed from my insecurity and jealousy about Thorn, I could remember how he’d ruled the school. The confidence he had, the way he could speak to five people practically at the same time and make them all feel like they had his complete attention.

  He’d also always been stunningly good looking, and age hadn’t changed that.

  “I’ve been looking for you for so long. I always knew I would find you again. Or, as it turns out, Thorn would, and Oliver would dash to your side. But I tried to get here fast, too. The weather didn’t cooperate.”

  I pulled my hand away to offer a mug to him.

  “Thank you for wanting to see me again, Colton.”

  His smile was fast, and he put the tea back on the counter. “There are things I’ve figured out about myself in the last ten years, and one of them is that I am very persistent, and the other is that I don’t let go of things easily. Oh, and that I really hate the taste of pesto. Yeah, can’t stand that either.”

  I laughed. His joke pushed aside some of the intensity of this reunion. “I heard you became Indiana Jones.”

  He tapped his head. “If only I had the hat.”

  “Just the hat you’re missing?”

  “My whip is in the suitcase. TSA wouldn’t let it through.”

  I took a sip of my tea right as he said that and ended up snorting in the laugh that overtook me.

  Coughing and choking, I bent at the waist. He took my tea, pounded me on the back, and laughed along with me. When I could finally breathe, I looked up and started laughing all over again.

  I could just see him, dusty and sweaty, wearing a wide brimmed hat with a whip tied at his waist. Next year’s Halloween costume, for sure.

  That thought brought me up fast. I was getting ahead of myself. Just because our reunion was going so well now, didn’t mean we’d make it a year from now. After all, I had feelings for four guys, and ten years had passed. They didn’t know my history anymore, and I didn’t know theirs.

  We might not be the same people.

  Scratch that. I knew I wasn’t the same. It was still my first line of defense to be prickly, but I’d found out that the world wasn’t such an awful place. People—it turned out—were basically good and wanted to do the right thing. My town had been influenced by a demon for who-knew-how-long. For as long as that desert spot existed, the evil from Erdirg would have seeped out of wherever he slept into the people who came to inhabit his land.

  Maybe.

  It was hard to imagine my gran as anything other than a drunken abuser.

  “You don’t still live in town, do you?” I asked.

  Colt frowned. “No. We live in New Mexico, outside Santa Fe, but we couldn’t stay in town. Not after everything that happened. I couldn’t walk by our principal or the teachers who’d been cruel to you. The last thing I wanted to do was run into some so-called friend at the grocery store. If you ask me, that town should have been burned to the ground and the earth salted, but it’s a desert. Nothing’s supposed to grow there anyway.” He gave me a rueful smile. “You’d like Santa Fe. There are places in New Mexico that are pretty beautiful, Lace.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I picked up my tea and blew across the top. After taking a sip, I pulled a tray from next to the microwave and loaded up the other mugs. “But you’ve never seen Alaska in the dead of winter. If you want stark, I’ve got your stark right here.”

  “Winter is coming,” Aaron called from the living room. “It’s snowing again.”

  “Colton was telling me you moved out of town. What about Kelly?” I asked.

  Oliver took a mug and gave me a smile. “She listened to the podcast Dad was on,” he said. “So she’s got a little of our backstory.”

  Backstory. Ha. “So? Kelly?”

  “Kel went east. She’s living in upstate New York, working at a vineyard. It was an internship that turned into her running the events and promotion. She has a boyfriend. She’s very happy away from everything,” Aaron told me.

  I liked that picture. Upstate New York. Fall foliage. Cool weather. I could almost see Kelly holding a clipboard and wearing one of those headsets as she directed all the guests at a wedding. For a social butterfly like her, this sounded like the most perfect thing I could hope for her.


  “She’s also not speaking to our parents,” Oliver finished off.

  Aaron looked between us. “Oh, you got that far. Yes, the Chees have cooled off. Our father doesn’t know the meaning of the words I’m sorry, and our mother has never stood up to him, ever.”

  I paused with the tray. “That’s not how I remember them.”

  Colton put his hand on the small of my back, and with the little pressure there, I walked with him back into my living room. Aaron plopped down on the loveseat opposite Oliver, and I perched on the arm next to him after sliding the tray onto the coffee table.

  “How do you remember them?” Aaron leaned back. He had the slightest dark smudges under his eyes. These guys had traveled a long time to get here fast, and now, they were here during our dark season. It tended to make people tired.

  “You guys were the first family to really be nice to me in a long time. Mom and Dad together, three kids. You all spent all your time together. To me, it was kind of beautiful.”

  Aaron shook his head slowly. “I can see how it could seem that way, but no, it wasn’t. Colton here had the most normal family of all of us. Even more than Thorn’s. They split up right after the incident.”

  Thorn’s parents had split up? I couldn’t picture it. They’d been such a power couple in our small town.

  Colton shrugged as he plopped next to Oliver. “My parents are still together, but they’re assholes. I mean… they just are. I’m almost thirty years old. I can say that now. Ass-holes.”

  This close to Aaron, he smelled like peppermint. I breathed him in, and it was almost like it filled up my soul. He met my gaze and smiled. “Ghosts haven’t been a problem before.”

  “Not in my house,” I answered.

  He turned his attention to Oliver. “You’re not dragging something along with you, right?”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “I’m clean. But she went at it like an impressive expert. That thing isn’t getting back in here any time soon. I salute you, Lacey.”