Voices in the Darkness

by Rebecca Royce

  Thorn handed him the silver laptop, and Aaron typed away, then spun it around to face me. “See this? It says sigils of demons, but this particular ‘demon’ is apparently a magician who can tell past, present, and future.”

  “Are you telling me not to believe everything I find on the internet?”

  “Exactly.”

  The door opened and closed, and Colton came in. I turned my attention from the sigils and the god-forsaken demon problem to watch him remove all of his winter clothes. It was a whole process and he stumbled through it, nearly falling backward. He rolled his eyes at himself before he turned to grin at us. “I feel like a snowman.”

  I leaned back. “Is it snowing?”

  “Yes.” He strode toward us. “I used to love it when it would occasionally snow, but I could see actually getting sick of it here.”

  I had never gotten sick of it. “I just discovered sigils, and I’m pretty sure we’re dealing with a demon and not a hag, even though Thorn is reminding me that I can’t believe everything I read on the internet.”

  “Let me see.” He put his arms around me and stared at the computer screen. “Hold on a second. I’ve seen that before.”

  Now that was news. “You have?”

  He smelled like cinnamon. My guess would be that he’d had a hot chocolate and put cinnamon in it. I loved the scent. Mixed with Colton’s natural aroma, it was heady. I took a long, deep breath. Why had I been holding it for so long like I’d been attacked or something? The worst thing that happened to me today was that I’d eaten too many pancakes. I had to get a grip.

  “Yes. I went to this cave in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. There were all kinds of sigils there, but no demon activity at all. Eventually, it made me think that they were human carved and not demon indicators. But there were a ton of them.”

  I couldn’t imagine all the things they’d seen at this point. Not that I’d been sitting around doing nothing. But I hadn’t been staring at ancient symbols that were here before humans walked the earth, trying to make sense of it all.

  “Were any of them… Erdirg’s?” I had never gotten used to saying the name. Not that I’d spoken it aloud all that many times since I fled New Mexico. I absolutely had not. It felt wrong on my tongue, like it hurt to say the words. As though even using his name brought all that evil I’d used to knock him out back to the surface. And yet there was Aaron, there was Thorn, and there was Colton with the cinnamon scent he wore, surrounding me. The evil receded. It cooled, going down to where it was supposed to be.

  He kissed my cheek. “Yes, actually. And when I noticed it, I thought—I’ll see her again. It wasn’t about him, and how he was the scariest creature I’d ever seen. How he knocked me out and took away the greatest thing that ever happened to me. It was about you. So, yeah, I saw his sigil, but even if we drew him out, called him using the dang thing, it wouldn’t matter because it was about you, Lacey. It was always about you. And all of that light inside of you.”

  “Light.” I shook my head. I didn’t have any light inside me. “I’m so confused right now. Here’s a sign of a demon, but we were so certain it was the hag. What the hell?” I was getting annoyed, and I was frustrated with the way things kept getting more convoluted.

  Colton dropped his hands to my shoulders and began to knead away the tension. “Remember Erdirg was more than one thing—he had all manner of names and purposes. Demon or god. Hag or—I don’t know—fairy, it doesn’t matter what we call it because these creatures are older than any name we find. This sigil shows that it was communicating with other creatures. It’s announcing to the world, here I am.”

  “And come visit?” I added.

  Colton’s hands stilled before he went back to loosening all of the knots. “Maybe.”

  I let my head fall forward. “Shit. Though—way to break the demon glass ceiling with the fifty-legion army.”

  Thorn laughed from his spot. “How can you think there’s darkness in you, Lacey? Even when we’re talking about legions, you’re finding the humor.” He knelt in front of me and lifted one foot. He pressed his thumbs into my arches. I groaned.

  “Don’t stress about names, okay?” He went on, “It’s not a bad thing that you found this sigil. It’s helpful, actually. Now we have more information about what we’re facing.”

  Between Colton’s hands on my shoulders and Thorn’s kneading my feet, I was fast turning into a ball of mush.

  “I just want answers. I want to fix whatever is going on, and I want to move on.” I was so tired of waiting for the darkness to ruin everything. It was bound to happen. “I’ve been down this road before.”

  “I wonder…” Aaron took the computer. I hoped no one dropped it. “I wonder if we have some creatures working together. It would explain the history of the place. Oliver!” He gestured for his brother to join him while staring excitedly at the screen. “Do you know what I think this is?”

  “No idea,” he muttered as he came to stand next to him. Slowly, a Cheshire-like grin grew on his face. He glanced up at me. “Nice work, Lacey. I think we’ve got it. Sleep. Awake. Dreaming. Hell. Heaven. Earth. Do you know what you’ve found?”

  I literally had no idea.

  Thorn suddenly shot to his feet, dropping mine. “Holy shit. A vortex.”

  I could honestly say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I didn’t have the slightest idea what he’d just said. A vortex? “I’m not—that is—I don’t know what a vortex is.”

  Aaron made a spinning motion with his finger, followed by a whoosh.

  Oliver elbowed him. “That’s not helpful.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Simplest terms? If we were dealing with math and science, it’s a swirling mass of substance, like air or fire. Maybe water. But in this realm, it’s a cross point between fields of energy on intersecting ley lines all over the planet.”

  I tried to follow this. “So… places that come together where creatures who are not human connect?”

  “More or less.” Oliver nodded. “And it seems like we’ve got one here. Lots of things going on in that sleep clinic.”

  “With all of them focused on our girl.” Colton sighed. “I don’t suppose we could just burn it to the ground.”

  I laughed, but none of them did. “Are you seriously talking about burning down the building?”

  “Well,” Oliver said. “It couldn’t hurt.”

  “Guys, we can’t just burn down the place. It’s in the middle of a commercial area. There are video cameras and people around. Also, someone could be hurt. We can’t just be like, hey… let’s burn down places that might be spiritually difficult.”

  Thorn shook his head. “No, we’d need massive doses of sage and other powerful things. Then we’d really have to get the blaze going. But moving a ley line? No, that’s not going to change from the burn. Something else will have to compel it to leave. I need to think about this. I wonder if we could do it with a strong enough Wi-Fi signal?”

  We all stared at him. I was glad I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe what he’d just said.

  He shrugged. “It’s not that different of a thing. We’re talking about a signal no one can see or feel. Why isn’t it possible that it’s a similar ability? Like we can push one signal out with another one?”

  My throat closed. It was a strange sensation before it utterly consumed me with terror. Someone had their hands around my throat. But it was no one in this room.

  I put my hands around my throat. Aaron dropped the computer. “Lacey?”

  “She’s choking. Was she eating anything?” Oliver asked.

  I couldn’t process anything else with the lack of air and the pain in my throat. It was all consuming. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to die.

  “I could make it stop.” The pale woman in black appeared in front of me. “But if you think that I am going to stand here while your friends try to destroy my home, you have another thing coming. I think they’re starting to understand my power at this moment, but just to
demonstrate it more, take a nap, Lacey.”

  The world went black.

  I ran down a hallway. I’d been here before, and yet, I couldn’t quite remember it. Someone laughed. The hag…

  Yes, in this place, I knew her. I understood who she was and what she wanted.

  The little boy we’d seen fall from the building rushed toward me. He had dark circles under his eyes. His little arms reached for me, and I picked him up. “I don’t want to travel anymore, Lacey. I want to stay here with you.”

  The boy’s weight barely registered, but his arms wound around my neck.

  “Where are we?” I didn’t recognize the hall; it wasn’t the sleep clinic. The floor was tiled in puke-green linoleum. Every few feet, there was a door, but all of them were closed. Some had signs, but I found no matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn’t read what they said.

  “It’s a place to stop. Decide where to go. And then go there.”

  That didn’t sound like a great place to stay. There was nothing here. Just rows of doors. “Why?” I asked.

  “Because I’m waiting for someone,” he said. “If I leave, I might miss her. And now you’re here. Things are better with you. Everyone likes you.”

  Laughter echoed down the hall that seemed to grow longer the farther we walked. It took me a moment to grasp what he was saying. “Everyone?”

  In the distance, a door opened, and light spilled into the hallway. The boy tightened his arms. “Wait. You should wait.”

  I stopped, but the light came closer and closer. The boy was squeezing so hard now, it hurt. I gave his arm a little pull, but he held on. “Stop.”

  The boy reared back, and I stared in horror at the creature in front of me. She wavered, coming in and out of focus. Her hands were around my throat. She drew me closer and smiled, mouth a gaping black hole. She was frightening and beautiful, eyes huge and dark.

  “Lacey. So kind. So sweet. Do you see why this place is so important?”

  Behind me, a door slammed shut. Her fingers loosened enough that I could draw in a breath. “This is your purpose.

  “Creatures like me exist on planes you can’t imagine. This place is important. It is the place between places. Without it, my kind is stuck.” She smoothed my hair away from my face and cupped my cheek. “I should kill you and those boys, but I can’t. I don’t know why, but you fascinate me. There’s something about you. I can’t understand it.”

  I had that effect on people. I almost said that, but from the widening of her smile, I didn’t need to.

  “I know all about your past suitor. He slumbers, but I visit him. I open the door and dance into his dreams. He is so jealous of me right now. I’ll take this memory to him, tease him a bit.”

  She couldn’t mean Erdirg. This was too much. “Let me out of here.”

  Frowning, she released me. “I’m going to send you back with a message. Stay away from my home. I’m so tempted to keep you. Take you apart and see what’s inside that makes you so very interesting.”

  Her white skin was smooth, unnaturally so, and tight over her bones when she frowned even deeper. So deep, her mouth was a black wound on her face. Wanting to get away from her, I stepped back.

  “You don’t do what I expect, so I’m giving you your memory. Take it, and see why you must stop.”

  She touched my forehead, and the memory of the day in the sleep clinic flooded into my mind. “Now. Wake up.”

  I gasped for air as I woke up, arms and legs flailing. Memories hit me hard, all of them. Every time the hag took me rushed into my head. I cried out, my muscles spasming as I accidentally kicked Aaron right in the head. He fell backward, covering his eye.

  “Oh!” I reached for him, but I still didn’t have clarity. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head. “I’m okay. You’re breathing. That’s… that’s much more important than my eye.”

  Oliver had his arms around me from behind. He was saying something in a low voice. A chant of some kind. I didn’t understand it.

  Thorn and Colton were on both sides of me, holding my hands, which were drenched in sweat. In fact, my whole body was.

  Colton brought my palm to his lips. “You’re okay. Fuck. What was that? I’ve never seen anything like that before. Was it other? Or are you allergic to something? Did your throat close because you got sick, or was it…”

  I took a long, deep breath. “No, it was the hag. She’s been messing with me since the sleep clinic. I didn’t know it. But she was. She has decided I can have those memories to share with you because she wants us to know that a) she can kill all of us, and b) she doesn’t want her home touched.” I rubbed my eyes. “I am supposed to relay that message to you.”

  I didn’t need to see the expressions on their faces to know this was bad. The hag had been in my head, messing with me this whole time, and I’d had no idea.

  Colton rose fast. Oliver had stopped his chanting, and so he took me from him. I needed him, too. His whole body vibrated.

  “I don’t know right off the bat how to get rid of a hag, but clearly we’ve upset it.”

  “Her.” I cleared my throat. “She always seems like a she. And it isn’t just me. She has other people. It’s some kind of transport station.”

  He nodded. “We’ll deal with the details in a minute. For now, you’re breathing. You stopped for a second there. So now I need to breathe because you are.”

  I understood what he was saying. “She called Erdirg my former suitor.”

  Oliver groaned. He got to his feet and walked over to kiss me on the back of my head. “I’m getting a drink. A stiff one, and then if I have to, I’m going to call my fucking father. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  Aaron followed him, doing the same. “Make mine a double.”

  Thorn cleared his throat. “I may be stating the obvious. But we’re not going to be saying or doing anything about this at all. The hag is listening, so that’s the end of that.”

  Everyone was quiet for a second, and I pulled away from Colton. Thorn couldn’t be serious? Colton squeezed my arm. Did that mean I was supposed to be quiet? Was Thorn playing at something?

  I stared at him, wishing that along with my ability to attract demons, I could also read minds. What the fuck are you talking about, Thorn? Narrowing my eyes, I concentrated on sending him the message, but he burst out laughing. “Stop, Lacey! We’ll talk later. Okay?”

  Fine.

  My throat was tight. I still had the sensation of hands around my throat, and I touched the skin. There were no tender spots under my fingers, but the phantom impression remained.

  So. Couple of things I had to deal with. Thorn wanted to leave. Oliver wanted to call his dad, something that didn’t bother me, but obviously messed with his head. Aaron was digging through my cabinets in search of booze. Good luck. I had a bottle of red wine I’d used for cooking and maybe a light beer.

  From my spot on the sofa, I saw Oliver pull down the bottle and hand it to Aaron. He sniffed it and wrinkled his nose.

  “Sorry.”

  Aaron shrugged and put the wine above my fridge again. “I’m going to run out. Colton, I’m taking the car. You okay with that?”

  Something about him leaving seemed wrong. “Wait!” The abrupt shift in volume sent me into a coughing spell.

  “Calm down,” Thorn said, standing with me.

  Every cough shoved shards of glass out of my throat.

  “Lace?” Aaron approached me, holding out his hands, and I took them. Shaking my head, I tried to catch my breath.

  They’d restored my memory, but what about Aaron? The hag had touched his mind, too. And I didn’t want him coming into contact with her again. Despite what she’d said about being interested in me, I didn’t trust that. Who wouldn’t be just as fascinated with these guys?

  “Not alone,” I got out. “Please.”

  He studied me for a moment and then let out a breath. “Okay. If it’s that important to you.”

  It w
as. But I had no idea what to do next. Thorn didn’t want to speak aloud, but we had things to work out.

  Which reminded me—somewhere in Anchorage was the person who had hired Rick. I owed him and them an explanation.

  I glanced around the room, searching for my cell phone.

  “What are you looking for?” Colton asked.

  “My phone,” I answered, swallowing hard. My throat was killing me.

  As if he could read my mind—even though now I knew for sure he couldn’t—Thorn asked, “Do you want some tea for your throat?”

  “Yes,” I answered. There. It had slipped behind the pillow on my couch. I took it out and texted Rick. “Things are more complicated, but we need to stay away from the sleep clinic.”

  Delivered.

  Then, because it had been a few hours since I’d last talked to him, I wrote, “Doing okay? Need anything?”

  Rick wasn’t a big texter, but he would usually send back a one-word response. If it needed anything more than that, then he’d call. So it was weird that he didn’t reply at all. But the message said delivered.

  He was probably doubly busy since I was out. I set a reminder on my phone to call him in an hour if I didn’t hear from him.

  “Here.” Thorn handed me my tea, and I took a sip. He’d put honey in it, and it soothed my throat. He studied me and seeing my relief, faced Oliver. “Can I see you outside?”

  They were going outside? It was freezing out there. “Guys, you’re not in New Mexico. You can’t just go outside and be okay.”

  Thorn winced. “Forgot for a second. Let’s get dressed for it and go outside.”

  I walked toward Aaron, leaving them to it. Clearly, they didn’t want me to hear what they were going to say. That was irritating, but fine. With the hag in my head, I wouldn’t trust me to hear things either.

  Once again, it was Lacey excluded. Except this time, I was surrounded by people who were living in my house. What was it about me that made these creatures so preoccupied with me and left me so constantly on my own?

  Colton kissed my cheek. “They’ll be back inside in a second, I think. Then we’ll all talk.”