Return to the Darkness (The Coveted Book 3)

by Ripley Proserpina

  I walked around, looking at my surroundings. “I’d just left you guys and I came out here like I knew what I was doing. No training on it. Just holding the few things I’d managed to take from the house. I bled.” Wincing at the memory, I rubbed the spot where I’d cut myself, a phantom pain. I didn’t have any marks on me from that time. It was a decade ago. That was what I had to keep remembering. I was ten years older than that girl.

  Was it possible to get stuck in a time and never really leave it? Was this why Mr. Chee was doing what he was doing? Trying to mess with the timeline because even though a decade had passed, we were all sort of stuck in a time loop?

  The never-ending pain of Erdirg.

  The scars that don’t ever heal. The way that a single day could determine the rest of my life.

  “You’re amazing. We’ve all told you that from day one.” Aaron kissed my cheek. “The girl we never forgot, who became this strong woman we can’t get enough of. Who has the kind of love that it’s okay to share.”

  I smirked at him. “Or I’m just fucked up so much that it takes four of you to walk that minefield of loving Lacey.”

  “You’ll always find a way to put yourself down. Two seconds of conversation and you’ll find a way.” Oliver raised a dark eyebrow at me. “Mark my words, a decade from now when Aaron gives you a compliment, you’ll do a novel thing and say thank you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We’ll see.”

  I turned my attention back to what I was doing—trying to remember what had happened here.

  I couldn’t even remember how I’d gotten to Alaska. That was some heavy-duty power involved in that. I’d learned from fighting Mara and her nightmares that power could take many forms, even amnesia, if it wanted.

  “So… we’ve got to try to figure out if Dad is here.” Aaron sighed. “Any suggestions on that, brother?”

  Oliver shook his head. “Not so far. I was sort of hoping a portal would open up and we’d just walk into it or something.”

  Aaron laughed. “Lots of portals opening in your life?”

  “You might be surprised.”

  He scratched his head. “I would be, because I’ve known you my whole life and I don’t remember there ever being a portal before. I think you are full of shit.”

  “Aaron—”

  I held out my hand, interrupting them. I’d never had a sibling, and despite living with my cousin, we hadn’t had this kind of vibe. “Don’t fight. You’re both badasses. So we have no portal opening. Now what?”

  The day was beautiful as we sat there in silence. It was winter. The air was warm for me because I was used to Alaska, but no one would call it hot, exactly. Still, this had been stifling to me as a child, more because of who and what was happening, not because of the actual temperatures.

  I pointed at the ground. They didn’t have answers. Maybe I did. “We need to dig.”

  “How do you know?”

  I didn’t. It was an instinct, but given that we didn’t have a lot of answers or options, I thought it was a good one to follow. “I saw your father standing over a hole in the ground. If I tried to use logic, I’d say we should do this down by the riverbed, but here just feels right.”

  “I don’t suppose anyone brought shovels?”

  In the distance, dust kicked up as a car approached. “Must be Colton,” Aaron said.

  He slowed and came to a stop right behind our car. “Hi.” He jogged over to us, then wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my temple. “How are you?”

  “Fine,” I replied.

  He made a noise of disbelief. “What’s the plan?”

  “Our girl says we should dig, so we dig,” Oliver answered.

  “I have shovels in my car.” Colt stepped toward the car and opened his back seat. Sure enough, there were two shovels in back. “I thought I’d need them, just didn’t know when.”

  “Well, when is now.” At least, I hoped this was the right thing to do. “We could be digging for nothing.”

  “You’re so full of doubt,” Oliver said. “Stop it. Listen to your instincts. We will.”

  “If your instincts are saying to dig, then I think we should dig.” Colt handed one shovel off to Aaron, who had held out his hand. “Where?”

  “Right here.” We stood in front of a rectangle of cinder blocks, the place where a trailer had been placed long ago.

  “Was this yours?” he asked me as he walked by. He stuck the shovel in the dirt, then removed it and began to walk the perimeter. Every so often he stuck the shovel in as if testing to see what was beneath the surface of sand.

  “My house?” I searched the area for the riverbed. That was the only way I knew where my house was. We’d had a slight hill and the riverbed in the backyard.

  “I hope we don’t have to go too deep,” Colton said, “because there’s a ton of rock here.”

  I finally figured out where we were, so I pointed in the general direction I thought my house had sat. “Over there, I think.”

  “That’s a relief.” Colton began to shovel, the tool slicing cleanly into the dirt. “It’s sort of creepy to imagine digging beneath where your house was. It’s a little too horror movie.”

  “That’s what creeps you out?” I asked. I sat on one of the cinder blocks. “Not the demon we’re going to find at the end of this?” That was our endgame. Mr. Chee was trying to awaken that demon in some dimension, and I had no doubt Erdirg was going to wake up in one realm and then head straight for ours. Unless he was already up. I was half-convinced he had to be.

  The sun was getting lower in the sky, and I shivered a little bit. “Should we call Thorn and tell him we’re out here?”

  “I will.” Oliver took his phone from his pocket and headed toward the cars.

  “What can I do?” I asked as the guys added dirt to a growing pile.

  Colt’s shovel hit something hard, the sound pinging. “Well. I found a rock, so you can help me lift it out.”

  Aaron bent over before I could and grabbed his shovel, helping Colton pull the rock out.

  I stood watching, with nothing to do, but it was like I’d run a marathon. I could hardly move. My whole body hurt. I rubbed at my arms and the exertion was almost too much. The world spun and my knees gave out. I hit the ground hard.

  Crying out, I rolled left and right. Fuck. What was happening to me?

  “Lacey?” Aaron stood over me first and Colton was suddenly at my side.

  “Baby?” He smoothed his hand over my forehead as Aaron picked me up into his arms.

  “She’s hot,” Colton spoke slowly, like through a fog.

  I had to force myself to speak. “Hazy…”

  I wasn’t sure how else to say it? And it didn’t matter anyway, because a second later I wasn’t with them. Not really. I mean, maybe I was. How was I supposed to know when nothing made sense?

  I looked around, my head clearing. I was in the same place—but not. Because instead of Aaron staring down at me, it was his father who knelt over me. “Lacey?”

  I nodded, sitting up on the ends of my elbows. Okay. This was odd. “You’re in a time loop. Am I in a time loop now, too? How did that happen?”

  He offered me his hand, and I stood. When I’d been younger, he’d seemed like this daunting person. He didn’t smile much, and he’d been intimidating. But now? He was just another man. I was a grown up and maybe he had one of those resting mad faces that always looked annoyed even when they weren’t. Or maybe I didn’t care if he was constantly annoyed anymore.

  It wasn’t my job to make people feel better. I was prickly, but I didn’t cause this.

  “Did they move the rock?” He ran a hand through his hair.

  I looked around. Wherever we were, the rock was back where it was before Colton had picked it up. So things were not exactly the same here. Interesting. “They did.”

  “Good.” He paced back and forth from me to the hole in front of him. “That will help. They’ll uncover the blue calcite and atacamite when they do.
Then Oliver will know what to do.”

  Maybe he would if he could see past how angry he was with his father. Me being passed out was only going to make that worse. “How am I here?”

  “You’re different somehow. There is something about you that straddles the paranormal, the other. You could see me in your dreams.”

  He didn’t know the things we knew right now. “I’m not one hundred percent human. We think at some point one of my ancestors had a relationship with a fae or something. I’m part pouque.”

  His eyes widened. “That makes so much sense. It’s the other in you that keeps drawing these things to you and allows you to converse with them the way that you do.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not conversing with them. That would be a misunderstanding of what’s actually happening.” I took a deep breath and squared up to the man whose actions, however well-intentioned, had dragged us back to a place I hated. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, but you need to stop.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head. “I can’t. I’m the only one who can make things right.”

  “Do you hear yourself right now? You sound insane. You’re the only one who can make things right? You’re jumping through time, and you have no idea what it is you’re affecting. It could be that you just put Erdirg to sleep, and if that’s what happens, good for you. I’ll be the first one to pat you on the back. But you have no idea what will happen as a result of the changes you make. If you fuck something up and I don’t meet your sons, I’m going to open a portal, go back and time, and kick you in the dick.” I meant it, too. “Wouldn’t it just be easier to talk to your kids? Go to fucking family therapy? I’ll even pay for it. Hell. I’ll go as well! I’m already two-parts crazy.”

  Mr. Chee snorted, his shoulders relaxing. “Lacey. You’re the best thing that happened to my boys. You did more to make them the men they are—men I am proud of—than I did. I see that. But you’re wrong. I’m not just trying to change things to make our relationship better. I’m doing this because if I could change one thing about my past, it’d be to put my kids first. Not my pride. Not responsibilities. My kids. And I think you can understand that, because you’d put my boys first, too.”

  Fuck. He was right. “Well then, talk fast. Tell me exactly what you’re up to before I get sucked back through time again.”

  As if saying it made it happen, the world around us grew gray, color leaching from the scenery. “Just follow your instincts. And tell my sons to follow theirs. They’ll figure it out.”

  I opened my eyes to find myself in the cool car, rushing through the night desert. Aaron held me in his arms while Oliver drove and Colton spoke rapidly into his phone.

  “Did you find it?” I asked.

  At my voice, Oliver started and the car suddenly veered as he glanced over his shoulder at me. “Thank fuck.”

  “Your dad put stones beneath the rock. He left them there for you.”

  “We found it.” Aaron smoothed my hair away from my face before leaning down to kiss my forehead. “You’re much cooler now.”

  The car was so cold, goosebumps broke out along my skin and I shivered. “We didn’t have much time to talk.”

  “I don’t want to hear it.” Oliver’s voice was hard and cut like a whip. “He doesn’t get to control us. He shouldn’t be pulling you away from us. You don’t belong with him.”

  “I don’t think he’s trying to pull me away.” I sat up, but leaned against Aaron. My whole body ached. “Can you turn the air conditioner off?”

  Aaron slung his arm around me and drew me against him. His body warmth seeped into me, and I sighed happily. I was in his arms, which meant I was safe.

  For now.

  “The stones affect me. Bring me through time. He said to listen to your instincts. You’ll know what to do. And he’s trying to put you first.”

  Oliver shook his head. “Putting us first would be respecting our decisions, doing what we asked, and treating us like adults. Not… this.” By the time he finished, he was shouting.

  Aaron winced. “Oliver. Take a couple of breaths.”

  “Tell me to breathe again, little brother, and I’ll pull this rental car over and break your nose.”

  Colton sighed. “Both of you, calm down. You break his nose and I’ll break yours. It’ll be a whole bloody mess. Literally. We’re family. We don’t do this to each other.”

  Aaron laughed. “I’ve got news for you. This is exactly what family does. He’s threatened to break my nose about a million times. He’s never done it. I broke his once.”

  “You did?” This really wasn’t important, but I had to ask.

  “He was two.” Oliver scowled. “He whacked the heck out of me with his forehead.”

  “I’m still the only one out of the two of us to make the other bleed.”

  They were reverting. Two seconds talking about their father and they were acting like little boys again. “Guys, seriously. What do your instincts tell you to do about the stones? What is it that you think needs to happen here so that we can get through this?”

  Colton met my gaze. “Erdirg is gone. If that was his sleeping place, he’s not there.”

  That was what I’d been pretty sure about, but it was nice to have it confirmed. Okay. I was going to have to put that creature to sleep again.

  Did we ever get to really escape the demons, real or figurative, that chased us through time?

  Tears that I wasn’t going to shed gathered in my eyes. They stayed where they belonged. It was funny to feel that ice forming inside of me again. I’d gone north to thaw. Less than a day back and I was once again shielding myself.

  “Oliver, what should we do?” I asked again.

  “We use the stones to get my dad back. Thorn will know how. Then we figure out what the fuck he did, undo what we can, kill Erdirg, and get the fuck out of Dodge.”

  Well… that seemed like a plan. And one I could get behind. “Okay. We’ll do that. And when I see him, what should I tell him?”

  This time it was Oliver who met my gaze. “Tell him we’re coming for him.”

  Chapter 6

  Thorn was standing outside when we drove up to the house. As soon as the car stopped, he was running to us.

  After he opened the door, he pulled me into his arms. “You’re okay?”

  “I’m good.” He was breathless, and his body shook. He’d really been frightened. “Thorn. I’m good.”

  “I jumped through portals to get to you, Lacey. Don’t go anywhere I can’t follow.”

  I’d never thought of it like that. If our roles were reversed and the guys were disappearing in front of me, I’d be a mess. “I don’t do it on purpose.”

  “Not yet, anyway,” Oliver said as he exited the car. “Let’s go inside.”

  It was cold outside, and without Aaron’s body heat, I started to shiver again. With his hand on the small of my back, Thorn led me inside. It was a little bit warmer, but not much. We went into the living room, and I grabbed a blanket off the back of the sofa.

  “She’s been cold since she came through,” Oliver said. It was true. The cold had seeped into my bones, along with the disquiet that came from knowing what was coming next.

  I curled up on the sofa. Thorn sat on one side of me and Oliver on the other. “We’re going to get your dad back.” I yawned. “He sent us back with stones.”

  Thorn tensed. “What sort of stones?”

  Aaron took them out of his pocket and handed them to him. They fit in the palm of his hand, and he shook them. “Okay.”

  “Will they help us get Mr. Chee?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he replied. “It’s going to line up our timelines and yank him right through.”

  “The sooner we do it, the less damage he can do.” I honestly feared for Mr. Chee when Oliver got a hold of him. Not that Oliver would hurt him, but he was going to rip him a new one.

  “Let’s do it now.” I made a move to take off the blanket, but Oliver reached for the edges and
pushed them back together.

  “Not tonight.”

  “Ol—” Aaron started.

  “No.” He cut his brother off. “She’s still freezing. You saw what happened. Just because she can do something, doesn’t mean she should. And I’m not willing to risk her for our father. We don’t know what will happen.”

  “She’ll pull him through,” Thorn said. “That’s it. With the stones, she’ll act like a magnet.”

  “And what else might come through?” Oliver asked. “Or reach through and grab her?”

  “Guys. I’m right here.” I appreciated what Oliver was saying, but this was their dad. And I could see that while Oliver was clear about what he wanted to happen, Aaron was torn. I couldn’t make them both happy, but I needed to do what was right. Before anyone could stop me, I tumbled off the couch and snatched the stones from Thorn’s hand.

  “I’m doing this.” I told them, in case it wasn’t clear. “So any instructions you might have, go ahead and give me, now.”

  Thorn held up his hands. “I’m not really in the habit of telling you what to do, Lacey.”

  I probably could have handled this differently. But it was too late to take it back because the next second the world tilted in that way again and I was… well, this time I wasn’t passing out. No, it was a different sort of trip.

  One time, when I’d started out living with Rick, I accidentally stumbled upon his so-called evidence locker. Rick wasn’t a cop and wasn’t necessarily interested in following rules. If his clients committed crimes, like say, selling a new designer drug that was pretty close to traditional LSD but re-labeled, that wasn’t really his problem. If they paid him to spy on their mistress, he didn’t care what they did in their free time.

  And sometimes, less and less once I got involved with helping, he’d hide their shit while they went through legal battles where their exes might have their houses turned over. One time, I thought I’d found a piece of candy.

  Yeah… it was pretty dumb. But I was eighteen, and despite my upbringing, really sheltered from drugs.