Fire licked my spine, wrapped around my hips, and gathered between my legs. I countered every pump, slamming my hips against Aaron’s as I chased my orgasm.
He swiveled his hips, and the fire ignited. Maybe I cried out, but Aaron caught the sound. He continued to thrust, though his movements had lost their rhythm. He jerked, held himself deep, and let out a breath.
“Lacey.” He lifted himself up, arms straight, elbows locked and smiled. “You’re all right?”
How was he able to talk? All I could do was nod. All right? I was better than all right. If my brain would turn back on, I’d tell him that.
Whatever he saw in my face made him smile wider and chuckle. He leaned down, kissing me again. I dragged my fingers down his back like I had earlier. I loved his body. I loved the boy I’d met a decade ago, and I adored this person he’d become.
“Love you.” There. Those were the right words.
Aaron never hid his joy from me, and he didn’t now. “I love you, too.”
Rolling onto his side, he tucked me under his chin. I didn’t care that we were making a mess of my bed. I had four sets of flannel sheets. I’d change them later.
“Tired?” he asked.
Yes. I nodded. My eyes closed by themselves, and I hummed happily, wrapping an arm around his chest.
“Then go to sleep,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I had no idea how long I slept, but gray light filtered in through my window. I could make out heavy snowflakes falling, and in the distance, the deep, low rumbles of the guys’ voices.
“Hey, beautiful.” Aaron kissed my forehead, and I tilted his chin to meet his lips. He kissed me gently. “I don’t want to get up. But I’m afraid I’m starting to stink.”
I sniffed his chest. He smelled delicious to me. Musky and a little salty. And a little like me and the body wash I used every morning. I liked that, the idea of him carrying my scent on his body.
I got what he meant though. Our combined body heat and dried sweat made me feel like I wore a film of ick.
“I should get up, too.”
He kissed both my cheeks. “Probably a good idea. Before Oliver paces a permanent line in your floors. He’s a little bit worried, and blaming himself. And that’s good, because I’m blaming him, too. Of course, if you hadn’t been almost overcome by a demon, then I wouldn’t have had you all to myself in this bed and I wouldn’t have gotten to have that perfect interlude with you.”
I rubbed my hand over the stubble on his face. “Don’t blame him. I asked him to hypnotize me.”
“Yeah… well, maybe I’ll let him off the hook.” He kissed the end of my nose. “Later.”
He jumped out of bed and tugged on a pair of jeans. “Meet you downstairs?”
I shook my head, not ready to move. I watched him leave and close the door behind him. He was such a beautiful man.
“Lacey.”
A voice called out to me, and I jumped, looking around. No one was there, and it wasn’t one of the guy’s voices or Rick’s.
I shook my head. Okay. Hearing things was absolutely not okay. I stuffed my head into the pillow. I hadn’t heard things with Erdirg. This was a new development. Maybe there were just so many times you could be fucked with before those entities permanently screwed up your head.
I sighed. Footsteps came up the stairs, and Aaron appeared with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair really looked that good right when he got out of the shower.
He leaned in the doorway. “Seriously? I stood there waiting for you to join me.”
I gaped at him. “Did you? I… I… Well, that didn’t occur to me. I… I got nothing.”
Aaron laughed, throwing his head back. “Well, next time, just know that I would love your company. In the spray, or out of it.”
Blushing, I slid from the bed and kissed him gently. But it was time for me to take my own shower. So after sliding into a robe and grabbing a change of clothes, I hurried downstairs.
The water was already warm thanks to Aaron, so I stepped right in. I let it push away my bad thoughts. I’d had incredible sex. I could practically still feel Aaron inside of me. With his image in my mind, I let my hand drift down to my core. I was sensitive, still swollen in the best possible way from what we’d done. Yes, he’d known just how to…
“Lacey, how could you leave us?”
I jolted, moving my hand immediately, and my eyes flew open, sex now the last thing on my mind.
There were things I’d learned in my time away from the guys. I’d done my paranormal research. Right now, something was knocking on the door of my mind, waiting to be let in.
Not gonna happen.
I hurried through my shower, angrily scrubbing my body as I imagined a wall between me and whatever wanted inside me. This was my head. My body.
I threw on clothes and made my way to the guys.
“Something’s in my head,” I announced without preamble as soon as I got into the living room.
Oliver’s dusky face went slack, and he dropped his hands in his head.
“It’s not your fault.” I went to him, pushing his hands out of the way so I could drop into his lap. “I asked you to hypnotize me. The problem is, something got in, and now it’s talking to me.”
“What’s it saying?” Colton asked angrily.
“‘Don’t leave us.’ ‘Why did you leave?’ ‘Lacey, come back.’ Variations on those creepy twins from The Shining.” I was making a joke of it, only because the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. “I’m not inviting it in. I’ve visualized a door, but as soon as I let my guard down, it’s there.”
Aaron came in with two cups of coffee and handed one to me. “We’ve done a cleanse. A pretty heavy duty one. There’s no reason why it should still be in your head.”
“You know.” I took a sip of the coffee, grimacing at the heat. It warmed all the way down my throat and into my belly. “Here I was, sticking up for the thing because it was called a hag. But I can think of about twenty worse things to call it now.”
Thorn shook his head, grinning briefly. “I think what we have to face is that there is something about you that draws the supernatural.”
“A paranormal magnet,” Colton said. “There are lots of examples of that throughout history. The problem is, once you’ve opened yourself up to something other, it can’t fully be erased. No matter how many cleanses we do.”
Aaron nodded, seating himself next to Thorn. Oliver wouldn’t look at me. “I asked you to hypnotize me,” I said again. “I don’t blame you. Not one bit.”
“You don’t have to,” he replied. He gripped my knee. I thought he was going to pull me closer, but he shifted me carefully until I sat next to him. Then he stood. “What did the other people do?” He looked at Colton. “When things stuck to them? What did they do?”
“Usually, those people became Trappers or Scouts. They became the thing to draw out the creatures who hurt humans, and then the Trappers took care of it.”
“That’s it?” Oliver asked. “There has to be another option.” He pushed his hand through his hair and paced around the living room.
“Oliver,” I said gently. I’d never seen him like this—wild eyed and overwhelmed. “It’s exactly what I’ve been doing for Rick. Speaking of…” I glanced around. “Where is Rick?”
“He had to go to work. Said it couldn’t wait.” Colton sighed. “All right, guys, if we can’t get it out of her, then we have to use her to get whatever is after her. Stop acting like Lacey is seventeen and in need of saving. She’s tough. I think she can do this.”
“I’m not acting like she’s seventeen,” Aaron answered. “Trust me on that. And I agree. If Lacey is up for it, let’s go get the fucking thing at the sleep clinic.”
“Of course, you get a say.” Thorn faced me. “If you’d like to be locked up while we try desperately to save you and fail miserably without your help, we could do that, too.”
I laughed, throwing my head back.
>
“Are you all out of your fucking minds?” Oliver yelled so loud, the sound reverberated off the wall. “I barely hypnotized her and look what happened. It was barely a touch. We hadn’t even gone deep. There is no way we can use her and not get her killed. There are things worse than killed, by the way. You all know that. That could happen, too.”
Okay. This couldn’t stay like this. “Oliver, can we speak alone?”
He rubbed his eyes. “Sure. Where would you like to do that?”
“Let’s go get some food. You and me. Somewhere else. Come on.”
I needed some air, and Oliver did too. Clearly.
I wasn’t a breakfast all-day girl, and yet, that was just what I was in the mood for. Carbs of the pancake variety. I poured syrup all over them.
“It’s not unusual after a demon experience to crave sugar.”
I nodded. “Yep. I know that. Listen, we need to talk about this. Okay?”
He looked away from his eggs. “I’m being unreasonable. I can hear myself doing it. But like it or not, blame me or not, I’m the one who let that thing in your head.”
“I don’t think this is about the hag. Not between you and me, anyway. No, this is a lot more complicated than that. This is about Erdirg, and when you passed out and couldn’t stop me from leaving.”
He stapled his fingers together. “Maybe.”
“Come on. No maybe about it. We aren’t going to repeat history here. We’re adults. Let’s get the hag, use me as we need to, and move on. I promise not to get on a bus and run away.”
His mouth twitched. “This time, it would be a car or an airplane. Or dogsled.”
I pointed at him. “Oliver, come on. You couldn’t save me then. I had to save myself. I did that. Now let’s prove to ourselves that we are better than this hag.”
He finally put some eggs on his fork. “Tell me about the voices.”
“They want me. The hag, or whoever it is. It says ‘they’ when it speaks to me.” I took another bite of pancake. I was going to order more. I signaled the waitress, and she came over. “Could I get another stack?” I asked.
She wrote it down without a side-eye. I appreciated not being judged. “You got it. Can I get you anything?” she asked Oliver.
“Just water,” he replied, and she left.
“Do you hear more than one voice?” he asked when she was out of earshot.
Good question. I thought about it. “The voice sounds the same, the same ‘person,’” I made air quotes. “No Greek choruses if you get what I mean.”
He chuckled and finished his water. “I wish I had been smarter about hypnotizing you. We could have gotten some more information about whoever this they is. According to Thorn’s research, the hag is a singular entity. And it’s funny you mentioned the Greek chorus, because the Greek god of sleep is Hypnos.”
“Ohhh!” I loved it when things all came together. “Do you think what’s going on there has to do with a Greek god?” I had flashes of Percy Jackson and demigods. “That would be better than demons, for sure.”
Oliver smiled, his gaze going over my head. A second later, the waitress appeared with my pancakes and his water. I’d just finished the last of my pancakes, so the timing was perfect. She sat my food in front of me, and I immediately covered them in maple syrup.
“Aaron wasn’t joking about being hungry,” I said before tucking in.
“You might want to slow down,” he said wryly. “So the sugar doesn’t hit you all at once.”
I paused, lifted my eyebrows, and swallowed. “I can handle my sugar, Chee.”
“You can handle a lot of things, Madison,” he countered, his gaze hot.
When I couldn’t hold his gaze a moment longer, I cleared my throat. “So getting back to the Greeks. I know a little about Hypnos. He’s the father of Morpheus, who is the god of dreaming, but I thought there were more…”
“Hypnos supposedly has a thousand sons.”
“This sounds totally separate from the hag and possession. I don’t want to lose sight of what it is that brought us to the sleep clinic in the first place, no matter how fucking wild the idea of tangling with Olympian gods might be.”
“I don’t think we can rule anything out.” He took a sip of water. “One thing I don’t like about this whole thing is how quickly these beings attach themselves to you. And the other is—you’ve read Greek mythology. You know what the gods are known for doing.”
“Getting jealous?” I wasn’t sure what he was hinting at.
“Yeah,” Oliver said. “But also taking the forms of those who give them access to beautiful women. That doesn’t fall too far from the possession idea.”
I grinned at him. “You’re so smart. I mean, like scary smart. Look at what you did there. Making a connection between Zeus and possession. I’m speechless.”
He held my gaze. “Erdirg frequently looked like other people in your life.”
That was true and….
“Lacey.” I winced. The voice again.
“Happening here?” He squeezed my hand.
“Yes.” My pancakes were suddenly less appealing to me, and I wished I hadn’t ordered a second stack.
“Interesting. So we at least know that it isn’t just the house. It’s everywhere. Does it hurt? Burn? Cause a ringing in your ear?”
I shook my head. “Just the voices. I mean… it’s not a nice sound. I guess.”
“Aw, Lacey. Do you not like your sisters and brothers?”
I blinked, turning to the left. There she was—the hag. Sitting next to me in the booth like she’d joined me for breakfast. I opened my mouth to show Oliver, but he was frozen, like he and the rest of the room had paused. Only I continued to move in time.
“What did you do to him?” My voice shook, but I wasn’t going to let the fear of this overtake me. I’d lived real terror. This wasn’t that. For now, this was mild fear. Not that it couldn’t increase exponentially in seconds.
“Nothing. He’s fine. In fact, for him, all it looks like is you glanced over your shoulder. He has no idea what’s happening here, and if you love him, and I think you do, you’re going to obey. Otherwise Oliver. And Aaron. And Colton. And Thorn, will all have to know about me. Personally, I’m not sure they can manage things like you do.” She stroked her finger down my cheek. “I can see why he wanted you. The primitive Erdirg. There is something about you, Lacey. Don’t get me wrong, there is something about all of my babies. All of your sisters and brothers. All of you are special, gifted in some way. That’s why you’re so appealing to us.”
I shivered. “Don’t touch me.”
“But I like touching you. You’re mine now. I wanted you—coveted you—and now, I have you. That is how things work. And together, we’re going to figure out all the ways that you’re gifted, all of the things that make you extraordinary, Lacey. You and me? We’ll figure it out together.” She smiled, and I wanted to puke. “Don’t worry, darling. Oliver never needs to know anything about this.”
I blinked. Had something just happened? The waitress delivered our check, and as Oliver stared at me, he furrowed his brow. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Sure. Maybe it’s all that sugar.”
He grinned. “Told you so.”
8
I sat in the living room, staring out the window. Since returning with Oliver, I hadn’t been able to concentrate. Rick hadn’t called, but his secretary assured me he’d checked in with her. A sense of impending doom sat heavy in my chest, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was missing something.
Phone in hand, I looked up the sleep clinic online. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I studied the website.
Website. Technologically sophisticated demons. Who knew? There was a symbol over the sleep clinic, much like the ones I saw at hospitals—what was that thing called? A caduceus. Dual serpents wrapped around a winged staff.
I studied it, moving the cursor to expand it, but the hovering arrow expanded another page.
; A Wikipedia page. Looked like someone copied and pasted an illustration straight from the other site. I squinted, reading the page. Sigils of demons. This specific illustration was ascribed to someone named Bathan, “who commands fifty legions in hell. Helps attain astral projection.”
Dick me dead and bury me pregnant. Another demon.
I stood, clomping toward Thorn, who was on his computer. “This guy familiar to you?” I turned my phone around.
Thorn leaned forward, eyes scanning as he read the page. “Shit.”
“I was prepared for a hag. Hell—” I could feel myself starting to get pissed. “I was prepared for a Greek god. But I don’t want to fight another demon.”
“Lace—” he started.
“No.” I held up my hand. “You don’t get it. The last time I went toe-to-toe with evil, it pulled out a darkness in me I hadn’t known existed. And I’ve struggled with that darkness every day. Now, here’s another demon. A fifty-legion commanding demon, in fact. And it’s down the road. What do you think this one will reveal, Thorn?”
My hands shook. I dropped the phone and linked them in front of me. Fuck. I didn’t want to do this again.
“How did you find this?” he asked, ignoring what I said.
“It was a symbol on the website,” I answered.
He thumbed through my phone. “Ah.” He relaxed back into the couch. “Sigils.”
“Yes, demon sigils.” Was he missing the most important word in that phrase? Demons?
“Just because there’s a sigil, doesn’t mean there’s another demon. It just means that they’re sort of—announcing themselves. Or maybe they’re even—”
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped. “What the fuck?” My heart pounded in my chest, but it was just Aaron. “Aaron. Holy crap. Give a girl some warning. Make some noise.”
“I overheard Thorn. I wanted to alleviate some of your worries.”
I waved my hand magnanimously. Yes, do. “Be my guest.”
“Sigils, like Thorn said, are announcements, but the demons represented by sigils aren’t all bad. For example, Thorn, can you hand me your computer?”
Voices in the Darkness Page 13
