Eyes in the Darkness (The Coveted)

by Ripley Proserpina

  “Stonehenge is thought to be the center of ley lines and appears to be a sort of energy portal, or place of power. If you draw lines from places of spiritual significance, one to another, they create these ley lines.” I followed his finger as he traced a series of lines which all seemed to be centered around one spot.

  “Is that here?” I asked.

  “That’s a spot in the desert. It’s about five miles outside of town. A little trailer park.”

  The vision from the night before. “Red Rocks Trailer Park?” I asked.

  Colton and Thorn had never met my mother and father. They didn’t know where I’d started my life. “My old house is there,” I said. “That’s where I lived until my grandmother took me in.”

  “Well, that makes sense,” Ray said. “I guess that answers the question of how it found you and where all this started.”

  “And probably the question of where it is. So why don’t we go kill it?” I asked.

  “Because it’s too strong to go in without a plan,” Oliver replied. His hair was fastened at his neck, and he pulled it over his shoulder. “He’s spewing poison. Drawing out spirits. Taking physical shape. He’s murdering and maiming. When we fight him, it’s going to be one time and one time only.”

  “Okay,” I drew the word out. “So what’s the plan?”

  “The plan is to keep you as far away from him as possible. I realize it’s impossible to keep you locked in the house, but please understand that is my first inclination. My son tells me you reject being told what to do, and while I admire the spunk, right now keeping you alive comes before your feelings on the subject. Try to tell me off like you did Oliver, and you won’t like what happens. I’ve had to keep rude teenagers alive before. I know how to do it.”

  Aaron winced. Oliver still had yet to make eye contact with me. It was Aaron who spoke. “He doesn’t mean physically hurting you or anything. But he could knock you out so that you’re basically stoned until this is over.”

  “Hold on.” I held up my hand. Jacinda liked me, but it was clear that Ray suddenly didn’t. “I’m going to help with this. It’s me that the thing is after.”

  “That’s why you’re not going after it.” He shook his head as though I wasn’t very smart before he pointed back at the map. “I’m going to go check out these places. Jacinda will come with me. She’s good at it. You are going to stay here with these guys, and Oliver and Aaron are going to teach you some basic monster defense. Like don’t drive into the poison net.” This time the look was shot at Colton, whose cheeks reddened even as he stayed quiet. “This is life or death.” His gaze turned back to me. “Don’t be an asshat about it. We have a pretty good track record. But sometimes people die.”

  “Dad,” Oliver cut him off. “Enough.”

  His father shook his head again. “I don’t think it’s nearly enough.”

  I hated to point out the obvious, but I really couldn’t be locked up here in some kind of stoned, keep-Lacey-out-of-trouble plan to shut me up. Even if I could sort of see his point. I did need to have a conversation with Oliver, just not here with his father breathing down our necks. “I have to go to school. And I have community service that starts tomorrow for the phallic drawing incident. I have to pick up trash. I can’t stay here. Authorities will come looking.”

  Jacinda breezed into the room. “Hello. Ready to go? Wow. We could cut the tension in here with a knife. Everyone very unhappy?”

  “When you go to school, Aaron will tag along,” Ray informed me. “He’ll stay outside, but he’ll be close if something goes wrong. You don’t have a phone, so you can take Oliver’s for the day.”

  Thorn raised his hand. “I bought her a phone. Just need to set it up.”

  “Thorn.” I didn’t know what I’d say after that because they all kept talking.

  “Even better,” Ray said. “Aaron will be close. When you do the trash pick-up, Aaron will be there, too.”

  Aaron cleared his throat. “Look, I’ll never complain about hanging out with Lacey. But wouldn’t Oliver be better at that? He might actually be able to survive a physical fight with the thing if that happened. He has before. With the succubus in Atlanta.” I gaped. A succubus? Like a demon? They were continuing on. “I’m not sure I would at this point. I’m not there yet.”

  “You’re right. He’d be better. But Lacey has already proven she won’t listen to Oliver. Maybe you’ll stand a chance since she seems to like you.”

  With that, he stormed from the room. Jacinda gave me a smile as she followed him out.

  “He really doesn’t like me,” I said.

  “Actually,” Aaron said. “That’s dad-mode. That tone? I hear that at least once a week.”

  “More.” Oliver coughed into his hand. “Way more.”

  Aaron flipped him off, and a part of me relaxed. That’s what caring looked like? I had some messed-up views on the subject, and I was kind of worried I always would. I should never have kids. I’d just fuck them up.

  “I know that it’s hard not to help out,” Thorn said. “But Colton and I had an idea.”

  I sat up straighter. “Make weapons?”

  “Make—what?” He drew his eyebrows together and glanced around the table. “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.” I had to use my extensive television knowledge. “Stakes? Holy water? Garlic water? Ummm… something with silver?”

  Oliver and Aaron laughed. “There’s more truth in that kind of stuff than you’d realize.” Oliver’s statement reminded me of the shelf full of books he had in his room. Maybe there would be some information in there that would be useful. The guy must have been thinking the same thing because he said, “I have some books, and I’d like to do more research. Like my dad said, this monster is different. I’d like to reference a few things.”

  That I could help with. But what about Colton and Thorn’s idea? They were having some kind of wordless conversation because Colt nodded. “Our idea can wait.”

  Oliver stood, and I followed him into his bedroom. He began to peruse the shelf, choosing the books he wanted. I held out my hand for the first one, and he handed it to me without looking at me.

  “I’m sorry I bit your head off yesterday.” Had it only been yesterday? It felt like a million years ago. “I’m used to taking care of myself.”

  “I know.” He grabbed another book and straightened. “I don’t hold it against you. I’m not angry about it.”

  As he passed by me, I touched his arm. “I feel like you are, but you’re too nice to say anything.”

  He shook his head. “Trust me, Lacey. I’m not that nice.”

  “You brought me to the horses. Rescued me. Took me on my first motorcycle ride. Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re a nice guy. And I was an asshole. You only wanted to help, and I wasn’t kind. I’m sorry. I promise to try to listen.”

  He peered up at me, reminding me of Colton who had the same way of gazing at me through his long lashes. Finally he sighed. “I am a little pissed.”

  I snapped my fingers. “I knew it!”

  Rolling his eyes, he pinched my fingers together. “You tough girls. You never want to listen.”

  His words sucked the lightheartedness out of the room. The way he demanded things and had little patience for arguing, it started to come together for me. My mouth wanted to speak the question, but it would be pushing it. India. Someday, hopefully he’d trust me enough to confide in me what other tough, argumentative girls had changed his outlook on the world.

  “I’d appreciate anything you could teach me to survive this.”

  He lifted his gaze to mine. “I won’t let this kill you, Lacey. If you listen to me. I won’t ask you to do anything I don’t have to.”

  I took his hand in mine. “Thank you.”

  He lowered his voice to a near whisper. “My brother is head over heels for you. Those two out there, too.”

  My cheeks heated up. I didn’t know what to say to that. “I don’t know about Aaron. Colt and Thor
n have both spoken to me, but I’m not really comfortable speaking about it.”

  “I just bring it up because I think you feel alone. And you’re not alone. You’re the furthest thing from alone in the world.”

  I had trouble swallowing past the lump in my throat. “I can see that what you’re saying is true, now. But it wasn’t always. Most of the time it’s not.”

  He nodded. “I know. Come on. You can learn some things that could keep you safer.”

  I liked that idea. “Okay.”

  Oliver stopped. “Lacey, if I tell you to run inside, I need you to do that. Without asking me why. In here, you have all the protections of this house. I showed you some of them last night, and that only touched the surface. Outside, you’re exposed. If I say run inside, I want you to do that without questioning me.”

  “I’ll do it, Oliver. Please show me the things I need to know.”

  It was a hot day outside. Thorn and Colton stood on both sides of Aaron. I’d have to have been blind to not see they’d bonded together. The guys in my life all liked each other. That certainly made things easier. Oliver walked in front of us. Even Oliver, who could be prickly sometimes, seemed at ease with them.

  “Colton,” Oliver spoke to him first. “I thought what you did was incredibly brave. My dad can have his own opinion. He wasn’t there. You couldn’t have gotten away from it. You took it on like you’d been doing it forever. I was impressed.”

  Colton widened his eyes. “Thanks, man. I—I’m going over it in my head a lot. What I could have done. Not done. That means a lot coming from you.”

  A car skidded in the distance and someone nearby used a jackhammer. I forced myself to tune it out.

  Aaron rocked back on his feet. “The first thing you need to understand is that hand-to-hand against a monster, we can’t win. Not ever. They are made to be stronger than us, deadlier. It’s like wrestling with a grizzly bear. We can’t…”

  He talked, but past him in the distance, a woman stood. Well, a ghost of a woman. She stared at us, and before I could help it, I cried out, backing up until I was in Thorn’s arms.

  “Lacey? What is it?” Colton looked all around.

  Aaron zeroed in on where I stared.

  “Ghost,” he supplied.

  Oliver whirled around. “Shit. Yes. Ghost.”

  “My mother,” I managed to get out. I took a breath. This was my mother. Ghost or not. “What do I do, Oliver? Run or stay?”

  Just like the ghost in the store, my mother floated over the earth toward us. My heart pounded, and I wanted Oliver to tell me to run, but he didn’t. “Let’s see what she wants.”

  “The last ghost I saw was a warning. Why would this be any different?”

  Aaron scanned the horizon. Colton and Thorn had separated, each one standing next to me.

  “I don’t sense anything else,” Oliver said.

  Whatever I would have said left me when my mother stopped in front of me. She looked the way I remembered. Tired. Bags under her eyes. Clothes too big and baggy. But underneath all of that, there was a woman who’d once been pretty, before life had worn her down.

  She studied me and then opened her mouth. Just like the first ghost, I couldn’t hear anything she said. Frowning deeply, she approached me. Her lips were moving a mile a minute, but I couldn’t make out one word.

  “I don’t understand.”

  My mother spun in a circle, looking for something. The sand around her not-feet swirled like a dust cloud, and she stopped. A look of determination came over her face, and she knelt in the sand and gestured for me to come closer.

  My mother and I held each other’s stares, and I knelt next to her. Staring at the ground, she began to drag her finger in the sand. At first, nothing happened. She frowned deeper and kept at it. Over and over she made the same movements, and finally, a line appeared. Then a curve. Another line. “Remember.”

  “Remember?” There could only be one thing she wanted me to remember. “Remember how this started?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “I only have bits and pieces,” I told her. “I was too young.”

  She blinked at me and pursed her lips. I wondered if she was trying to communicate with me in my head or something, so I continued to watch her. She stood and then rushed toward me.

  The guys cried out just as she hit me full force. Reflexively, I shut my eyes. I was flying, like she’d launched me through the air. The fall would hurt. I waited for it.

  But none of that happened, and when I opened my eyes, I was home.

  “Ryan, I told you I don’t want any part of this!” That was my mother’s voice. I spun and found her standing a short way off. The man with her was my father, and he was glaring. Maybe he’d been handsome once, but his insides were ugly, and that had started to show on his skin.

  The world seemed bigger. My parents loomed over me, and when I started toward my mother, it took me longer than it should.

  “Look,” my dad said. “This is a one-time deal. We found a shit ton of artifacts, and Joe knows a guy who will take them, no questions asked, if we just keep it quiet.”

  The wind picked up, and my mother put her hand over her eyes, staring out at the desert. “I don’t like it.”

  “Have you seen this stuff?” Dad kicked a bag of something. Curious, I knelt at his feet and dug inside. He didn’t notice because there was something in the desert, kicking up sand. “Is that a storm?”

  “Who else did you tell?” Mom asked. “Does it look like the cops?”

  “Shit.”

  I didn’t have much time. If I wanted to see what was inside, I’d need to open it now, before Dad took it away and hid it. Spreading the sides, I stared inside. Clay pots. Arrowheads. Boring.

  Then a bright blue shape caught my attention. It was a mask, so small it’d fit in the palm of my hand. I wanted to touch it.

  So I did.

  It hurt my hand, like I’d been bitten. I yelped, tears coming to my eyes and flooding down my face. My blood covered the mask and then disappeared, as though it’d been absorbed. I dropped the mask on the ground. My mother ran over, and in the process of picking me up in her arms, she stepped on it. Even as I screamed because of the pain in my hand, the mask covered in my blood cracked on the floor, breaking into three pieces, immediately turning into dust.

  I wailed.

  Seconds later, I blinked. The ghost that was my mother stared at me while Thorn held me, his arms around my waist.

  I studied my mom, knowing that now that she’d shown me what I needed to know, I’d never see her again. I wiped at my tears. “Thank you.”

  She raised her hand as though she’d reach for my cheek, but the second she would have touched me, she was gone, nothing more than a breath of air flittering past us, as though she’d never been there at all.

  I covered my face with my hands and tried to breathe. Thorn kissed the side of my head. “Holy shit. That was your mom.”

  He hadn’t known her. Thorn hadn’t come into my life until my grandmother took me in, and we’d started going to church with his family. My parents had never taken me that I could remember.

  He ran a hand through my hair. “I saw her picture once in a drawer at your gran’s when she used to let me over. It was hidden in her bedroom. We played hide and seek. I was snooping. That was the last time she let me over.”

  “She doesn’t like to remember her.” I wiped at my eyes. “My father stole some artifacts from a site in the desert. One of them was a mask. I cut my hand on it.” I remembered how the mask had absorbed the liquid. “It was like it drank my blood.”

  Oliver and Aaron wore matching expressions of alarm. Aaron turned to his older brother. “She woke him up. She is why he’s here now.”

  Colton sighed. “Forgetting that I just saw a ghost, and that shit is real.” He shook his head. “Can you explain that?”

  “In the old days—the kind of old that isn’t recorded in textbooks you read in school—people used to perform ritual
s to wake gods. Or that’s what they called these creatures. You woke him, Lacey, gave him your blood like it was a sacrifice, and probably left him wanting more.”

  I nodded as though any of this made any sense. “That’s disgusting.”

  Aaron snorted before throwing his head back laughing. They were all smiling now, even Oliver, and that was pretty funny because I hadn’t actually intended to be amusing.

  I grinned at all of them, my tears finally stopping. “Show us how to defend ourselves.”

  Sixteen

  It came as no surprise to me that I was an ass-kicking prodigy. Or maybe that was all in my head. Oliver, who’d been in a contemplative mood since working out the monster’s origin, didn’t seem to appreciate me calling out my moves.

  “Sweep the leg!”

  “Parkour!”

  “Turkey tap!”

  “Turkey tap?” I’d just pretended to hit Colton in the balls.

  “Yes.” I stood straight. “Isn’t that what it’s called?” I glanced between Colton and Thorn.

  “Yeah, actually,” Thorn answered. “It is. But you’re going to do better in a fight if you’re not yelling your intentions.”

  “And we don’t even know if the monster has balls,” Aaron replied.

  “If he wants me as a mate, then he definitely has balls.” That sounded wrong. “Sorry.”

  “For real now.” Oliver got us back on track. “I’m going to grab you from behind. I want you to counter the move.”

  I did. This time only screaming my defense in my head. Dead weight! Barrel roll! Burpee! Knee to groin! I didn’t actually knee Oliver in the groin. Jumping back before he could grab me, I bounced on my feet, hands up in the defensive stance the guys had shown me. “How was that?”

  “Good.” Oliver shrugged. “We need to keep doing it until it’s second nature. I could see you processing each move. They need to be smooth.”

  “Okay,” I replied, because I was having fun with this. Fighting. Getting away. These things were useful.

  I spent the rest of the day fighting. Sweat covered my body, and Aaron would have to force me to stop and drink water. When the sun got too hot, we went inside and pushed the furniture out of the way. By the end, my legs wobbled like Jell-O and I had rug burn on my elbows.