Return to Darkness

by Rebecca Royce

  Maybe he’d expected a gasp from me. He got that from Aaron. But I didn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, I shook my head. “Dick thing to say, but I’ve heard worse. I spent my life trailing adulterers and insurance scammers. So have it. Say terrible things. You didn’t give me to Erdirg because back then you helped people. You didn’t live in a house trailing after your wife and your drunk daughter who isn’t taking care of her baby. Oh, and how about your son who is on drugs and went to jail? Or maybe you can throw more over on Aaron. He isn’t going to break under the strain or anything. Sure. Go ahead. Say terrible things. It changes nothing.”

  He visibly swallowed and looked away. “You’re talking about undoing everything.”

  “Maybe not. Maybe I’ll just vanish. Maybe you’ll stay just as you are.”

  He widened his eyes. “I know how to do that, actually. Assuming I know how to do any of this at all, and I’m not sure I do. I… I can send you away. Sure, fine. I’ll gladly do that. I don’t need a dead girl running around and making my kids upset. We’ll do that. You’ll leave. We’ll stay.”

  Chapter 13

  Of all the people I thought would argue, I didn’t think it would be Thorn. This Thorn was pretty easy going, and hadn’t shown a lot of bitterness or anger, but that changed after Mr. Chee spoke.

  “Fuck you.”

  I’d forgotten about him, snoring away, but he stood now and strode toward us, puffed up like he was ready to get into a fight.

  He said it again. “Fuck you, Ray. If you can send her anywhere, you send her right where she came from.”

  “We’ll stay as we are.” Mr. Chee’s voice shook, and Thorn narrowed his eyes.

  “Liar.” Oliver was looking a little green as he stumbled to us and pulled out a kitchen chair. He sat down like he couldn’t hold himself up any longer. “You’re a fucking liar. You can do it. Send her right where she came from, because if you don’t, I’ll fucking kill you.”

  That made me gasp. Oliver turned a hard gaze on me and lifted his eyebrows. “I killed the first man who killed you, and I’ll kill the next one who tries. My life is shit, Lacey. The only hope I have is you.”

  “And I’ll help him this time,” Thorn added.

  “Me, too.” Aaron pushed his hair out of his face before dragging his hands down his cheeks. Behind him, Colton crossed his arms and glared.

  For the first time since arriving in this reality, I got a glimmer of my guys. It made me miss them so much, my stomach clenched. God. I needed them. I didn’t work without them, and it was clear from all this that they didn’t work without me.

  “You’re serious.” Mr. Chee stared in disbelief at the four of them, but his gaze stayed the longest on Aaron. I wasn’t surprised. Aaron was steady and compassionate. The promise in his gaze though… If I were Mr. Chee, I’d watch myself.

  So I wondered—did he care enough about his own life to let his sons bully him into helping me?

  “Do you have the stones?” Turning away from the guys to face me, he held out his hand.

  I lifted my eyebrows. “If you think I’m giving these to you, you’re crazy. I have no reason to trust you.”

  He spun away from me and stomped down the hall.

  “And he’s never coming back,” Colton whispered, as if Mr. Chee were just a child having a temper tantrum.

  But a moment later, he appeared again. In his hands he held a mirror, one that sat on a table or vanity. He plunked it down on the kitchen table before jabbing a finger at me. “Sit,” and then strode off again.

  He did the same thing three more times, carrying three more mirrors. One was so large, Aaron had to help him prop it on a chair. He moved the mirrors until they were placed on each side of the four-sided table.

  “Time is like light. It can be deflected and bent. Nothing travels faster than light.” He adjusted one of the mirrors to catch a beam of early morning sunlight. With each mirror, he changed the angle at which they sat until that one beam of sunlight was reflected by each mirror and then cast off in a dozen different directions. “Hold onto those stones.”

  Chapter 14

  As the universe tried to tear me into a billion tiny pieces, I had the oddest thought. I should have said goodbye.

  Pain, unlike any I’d ever felt, flayed the skin from my bones. It pulled muscles while pressing me so hard, I wondered if I would ever be able to breathe again.

  Mr. Chee had sent me, hurtling, into the sun. The light was hot. Blinding. A roar filled my ears. Maybe it was the blood rushing from my body, or the speed I was traveling. Maybe I was screaming.

  Everything was gone until there was only me and the light and pain and the roar.

  And then it stopped.

  Spat out, I landed hard on my hands and knees. I slammed into a solid wood floor with so much force, I couldn’t hold myself up. Face-planting, I lay splayed and panting.

  Slowly, carefully, because my bones were mush and my muscles liquefied, I got onto my hands and knees and studied my surroundings.

  The furniture was different, the decorations different, but I knew this place. It was the Chee’s house. He did what he said he’d do.

  Hopefully.

  The memory of the first time I’d landed in an alternate reality hit me, so as fast as I could, I got to my feet and hurried out the door.

  The neighborhood was quiet, and no one was outside when I limped to the sidewalk. Thank god. Everything ached. I rolled my shoulders back, aware suddenly I was squeezing my hand tightly. Opening my fist, I found I’d held onto the stones. That’s something, at least. I wouldn’t have to break into the house again to find them. I stuck them in my pocket before reaching for my cell phone.

  My back pocket was empty. Okay, well, I couldn’t have all the luck. If this was some fucked up reality where things were even worse, then I’d have to bend time again. Or whatever Mr. Chee had done to get me here. I hoped this was my reality. With every ounce of my being, I prayed I was in the right place.

  With that in mind, I jogged out of the neighborhood. The first convenience store I came across, I went inside and begged use of their phone. The guy at the counter was nice enough, though I could tell from the way he raised his eyebrows, he didn’t understand how someone in this day and age didn’t have a cell phone.

  My fingers shook when I dialed Aaron’s number. Ironic that it was his was the number I could remember.

  It rang.

  And rang.

  Disappointment made my stomach clench and tears burn the back of my eyes, but just as I was about to give up, I heard his voice. “Hello?”

  My throat closed, and I swallowed hard.

  “Aaron?” My voice cracked when I said his name. “It’s…”

  “Lacey,” he practically shouted. “Guys, it’s Lacey. What number is this? Where are you?”

  I described the location, and fortunately, he seemed to know it. At least I wasn’t dead in this reality. I thanked the man who gave me the phone and pretended not to notice when he ogled my boobs. All right, asshole, take a gander. Have at it. I supposed it was worth the use of the phone. I rolled my eyes and left the store to head outside.

  Had I ever been so tired? My whole body hurt, even my ankles felt ancient. I sunk down onto the ground as a car screeched to a stop. I knew that car. It was Thorn’s. In my reality. He was out of the car in a second, followed by all three of the other guys. I’d never been so excited to see any people, ever.

  “Hi,” I managed to say as Colton picked me up in his strong arms.

  “Hi, yourself.” He kissed both my cheeks. “Where have you been? It’s been three days. Three very long days.”

  Funny. It hadn’t been that long for me. “I’ve been here. Well, not here. But yes here. In another version of this reality. One I didn’t care for quite as much. One where I was supposed to be dead and you are all living very different lives.”

  Oliver narrowed his eyes. “What did he change to create such a mess?”

  “I died. He killed Erd
irg. And other bad things happened.”

  How much should I tell them? Was there some kind of handbook for this? How to Tell Your Boyfriends What They Were Like in Another Reality 101.

  “Let’s get her home,” Aaron said quickly. “She has to be wrecked. Then we’ll get details.”

  “We have to stop your father,” I managed to say to the Chee boys as I placed my head down on Colton’s shoulder. “He can’t do that again. You have to find him and stop him. Or if he’s already done it, stop him from progressing.”

  “On it,” Oliver said. “I promise.”

  It was so nice to have this version of him back.

  I closed my eyes. I’d just let them handle things for a minute. Time travel just really, really sucked.

  I woke in the darkness and stretched. The bed where I lay was comfortable, and next to me, Thorn ran a hand gently through my hair. I could smell his soap—the sandalwood scent of it—and knew instantly it was him.

  “Hi.” I smiled at him. “How are you?”

  He flipped on the light by the bed, and I winced, but eventually adjusted to see him.

  “Sorry.” He winced. “I just wanted to see that you were okay. You scared us. Three days, and we had no idea where you were.”

  “Well… I was with you, actually. All of you. Just not the you, you.”

  “You’re okay?” he asked again, and I nodded. He took a deep breath and rolled, coming up to his knees. “Jesus fucking Christ, Lacey, you scared the ever-loving shit out of me.” His voice got louder. “If you ever fucking take off like that again, I’m going to take you over my knee. I swear to god. Do you know how frantic I was?” His shoulders lifted and lowered like he’d run a race.

  I put my hand over his heart and found it was racing. “Thorn.”

  “Ray is driving us fucking crazy, making decisions for everyone without discussing it, and then you go off and do the same goddamned thing!”

  Oh my god. I’d terrified him. And he was right. He was a thousand percent right. I’d done the exact same thing Mr. Chee had done. I told them what I was going to do, then I did it. They’d argued with me, and I hadn’t listened.

  “I had to.”

  Someone knocked on the door. Aaron came in, took one look at us and crossed his arms. “Reading her the riot act?”

  Thorn nodded. They were ganging up on me.

  Aaron strode toward the bed, lifting me away up until we were toe to toe. Then he kissed me. He kissed me desperately, like he thought he’d never kiss me again. A tremor ran through his body and his hands shook as he pushed my hair out of my face. “I can never explain how frightened I was. How frightened all of us were. There was literally no way to get to you.”

  I felt about two inches tall. “I’m sorry.”

  “She’s sorry.” He looked over my shoulder at Thorn. “She’s fucking sorry.”

  “Hey!” I was willing to apologize, but geez. If this had been Colton or Oliver yelling at me, I’d have given it right back to them. But Aaron and Thorn were my steady guys. I cupped his face in my hands. “I am so, so sorry, Aaron. I never should have made a unilateral decision. But did it work? Is your dad back?”

  Oliver came inside, took one look around the room and smiled. “I don’t even need to say a word, do I?”

  “Nope.” I popped the p-“p”sound. It was unnecessary for anyone to make me feel more like an asshole. I stood on my tiptoes to kiss Aaron. “So? Did he? Did he come back?”

  “My dad?” Oliver clarified. “Yeah. He’s back. Not as apologetic as you. Still feeling pretty certain of himself.”

  Huffing a breath, I shook my head. “Get him over here. I’m going to enlighten him.”

  Colton drove to pick up Mr. Chee, and he must have been speeding, because he was back within the hour. We gathered in the living room. I was barely awake, struggling against what had to be the worst case of jet lag in the history of time. My stomach was queasy, and my head pounded. Aaron brought me some tea and biscuits, and I sipped and ate. After their blow-up, the guys had settled right down. Whatever worry and anxiety they’d been holding on to had exploded just like their tempers.

  I really was nauseated.

  I swallowed.

  “You okay?” Oliver side-eyed me, and I nodded. I had enough dignity—I hoped—to not puke in front of Ray. I wasn’t a big fan these days of either version of him, and the last thing I wanted was for him to see that I was vulnerable. If he was fine, I was fine.

  “Ray.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You screwed things up in a huge way.”

  He shook his head. “Couldn’t have been too bad if you’re here. You found your way back.”

  I poked him right in the shoulder. “Only because your own sons had to bully you into it. Oliver was a mess. Addicted to drugs, he went to jail for killing my cousin.”

  Next to me, Oliver jerked. “What?”

  I couldn’t stop to explain, although I would later. I pointed at Aaron. “He’s a wreck, taking care of Oliver, taking care of you and your wife—who is half drugged up all the time on prescription meds—smoking cigarettes. And no one is taking care of your grandson, who is somehow surviving despite the neglect.” By now I was full on shouting. If Aaron had a reaction, he didn’t indicate it, or I didn’t notice. “Thorn and Colton were miserable. Well, Colton was. I’m not really sure if Thorn is happy with his life or not. We hardly got to talk. But no one is happy or nearly as successful as they have been in this life. Or as healthy.” I really might never get over seeing Oliver that way. “So I’m sorry if you don’t like your relationship right now with your children. Get to fixing it here and stay the fuck out of destiny.”

  Ray visibly swallowed. “He was on drugs. And…”

  “Yes, all of it was true. He was so sick from it he had to take a hit just to function. I swear if you do one more thing to screw this up for all of us I will… I will think of something terrible to do to you and feed your body to pigs.”

  Colton snorted, and then covered his mouth and nose with his hand. His eyes danced with amusement. That was good and fine, but I wasn’t joking. I really would arrange it so they never found Ray’s remains. Pigs were good for that kind of thing. My years as a PI had taught me quite a lot. I could actually dispose of a body and never get caught. I was sure of it.

  “The point being,” I guessed I wasn’t done, “Erdirg won’t be the only evil thing running around here if you try that shit again.” I held up my finger toward Aaron. “I know. He’s not evil. He’s just another creature, but so help, me he’s evil to me.”

  Aaron nodded fast. “Got it.”

  My shoulders slumped. Now that I’d had my rant, my energy was gone. Pulling out one of the kitchen chairs, I sat down heavily. “You can never imagine how hard it was. Everything you wanted, it wasn’t there.” I met Mr. Chee’s gaze. Understanding dawned slowly, but when it did, the same anger that must have sustained disappeared.

  “They were hurt.”

  I nodded. “You just have the bare bones of it, but I never want to see the hopelessness in Kelly’s eyes. Or feel the way her son curled into me just because no one held him.” I turned my gaze from him to the guys. They were watching me with such love. “You all loved me there, too, but you didn’t love yourselves. And it was the hardest thing…”

  Thorn came to me. With one swoop, he lifted me in his arms and took my place in the chair so that I was in his lap. “We didn’t even get to talk there?”

  I leaned my head on his shoulder. He smelled so good and so familiar. Home. “No. But you helped me. In that unfamiliar reality, you still cared for me.”

  “Did you care for them?” Mr. Chee’s question surprised me, and it put me in a sticky spot because no matter what plane of existence I was on, I loved these guys.

  “I love them.” I took Thorn’s hand from where it rested on my thigh and lifted it to my lips. “Thorn is Thorn no matter where he is, but you can’t understand how much it hurt to tell them it was this version of them I loved.” Flawed a
s they were, my subtle rejection of them must have cut deep. “And how horrible am I for hoping they don’t exist anymore, because I can’t stand to imagine their lives.”

  “I only wanted to help.” Mr. Chee stared hard at his sons, first Oliver and then Aaron. It was with Oliver that he had the most difficult relationship, but there was a distance between him and Aaron that was obvious. “I wanted to show you both I put you first. Like I always should have done.”

  “So will you now?” Oliver asked. He came to stand in front of his father. Arms crossed, face set in serious lines, he resembled the man who stared up at him. “Will you stop rearranging the past?”

  After a moment, Mr. Chee nodded. “I will.” He let out a breath. “Will you forgive me?”

  “Eventually.” Oliver gave a half-smile, and his father chuckled.

  “I suppose that’s the most anyone can ask for.”

  For any of us. But since I had Ray here, I might as well ask about Erdirg.

  “Has anyone seen him? Any sightings?”

  He scratched his head. “Yesterday, I heard someone saying something mean about you. On the street. They don’t even know that you’re back, but it’s starting again. So I’d say he’s starting to influence.”

  I got to my feet. I didn’t care about the small-minded people in this small town anymore. It wasn’t a personal affront. If Erdirg could influence them so easily that they were going to start to talk trash about a person they hadn’t seen in a decade, then they weren’t worth my time anyway. The four guys in here weren’t so easily manipulated. That was more important.

  “Erdirg visited me in the other place. And now that we know that he wants me because I…” I steeled myself to say the words. “Smell good to him thanks to my fae blood, then we can use that. I don’t have to find him. I just have to kill him.”

  Oliver nodded. “Yes, except this time, I’m not going to be knocked out in some cavern. We’ll help you. I agree you are the best person to kill him. What do you need?”