by Keya Jay
Chapter forty-one: Skylar Royce
By the time Skylar got home she had expected to see Ryder by now but felt a bit on edge when she didn’t, she was almost positive that Larissa’s condition wasn’t nearly as serious as he was making it out to be. Skylar had thought of many many ways to break the bad news to Sidney’s mother but none of them seemed right, if she were to tell her mother about Aaron’s death then it was only right to do it in person.
Skylar cleaned up all of the existing evidence and paper work from her coffee table and transferred them all into her dark room before locking hopefully for longer than a week this time. She made an attempt to find something else to do but when that miserably failed she got to her feet and walked to her front door ready to break a 40 something year old woman’s heart for no other reason than to get it over with so it’s no longer on her conscience. Just as Skylar opened her front door she had to stop herself from running head first into Ava and her Uncle Ethan.
“What the hell?!” Skylar said once she righted herself.
“Sorry hun,” Ava said as she passed her by and entered Skylar’s house without even waiting for any kind of invitation.
“What are yall doing here?” she asked.
“We need your help?” Ethan said. After recovering from her momentary shock from hearing those words leave Ethan Royce’s mouth Skylar asked the only question she could.
“Why me?”
“Look you might not believe me after I say this to you but I need you to focus on your job and solving this case instead of who’s involved in it ok?” he asked but didn’t wait for her to answer as he continued. “I need you to help us find Brooke because you are the only person who can.”
“What?” she asked confused. “Why are you trying to find Brooke?”
“Honey she lied to you, she lied to us all and at this very moment if we don’t find her than Aaron just might really be dead but right now he’s alive we know it and we need your help so that we can find her because finding her will result in finding him,” Ava explained. Before Skylar could even voice her disagreement her front door was kicked open and within it stood Ryder clutching—what she hoped was—a sleeping Larissa.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he entered the house eyeing first Ethan then Ava before his eyes rested on hers.
“Who is that?” Ava asked confused Ethan eyes looking as though he wanted to know too. “Skylar…you have a kid?” she asked shocked.
“She’s not mines, she’s my sisters, it’s a story I don’t have time to pretend I want to tell,” she said as she walked toward Ryder and tried to take Larissa from his arms but he wouldn’t budge.
“Again I’ll ask what the hell is going on in here?” he asked loud enough for everyone to hear though his eyes never left Skylar’s.
“Brooke Fields-Laurence is missing and we think that where ever she is she’s with Aaron so in order to find him we need to find her and we need Skylar’s help in order to do so,” Ava answered out of fear. Ryder looked more clearly at Skylar now before averting his gaze and peering at Ethan and Ava.
“I’ll take care of it,” he said as his eyes landing once again on Skylar.
“But—” Ava started.
“I said I’ll take care of it,” he said his eyes set in determination.
“Look Ryder I don’t know you well but this is important we need to know now not later,” Ethan cut in.
“You’re right you don’t know me well but when I say I’m gonna do something believe that I. Will. Do. It,” he said slowly before nodding his head toward the steps trying to get Skylar to go in that direction. Skylar rolled her eyes but didn’t move.
“You’ve been gone for two whole days with Larissa and didn’t bother to call or anything in order to let me know that she was at least alright and safe but now that you’re back you expect me to jump at your commands?!” she asked. Ryder actually had the nerve to look shocked at her accusations; it’s been at least two whole weeks since their last argument. “I don’t care if you don’t trust me,” she said knowing that it was a lie the moment the words left her lips, “but if you’re going to do something with that girl there,” she said motioning toward Larissa, “then at least send a fuckin letter or SOMETHING to let me know so I don’t have to worry half to death wondering if she’s alright,” that worry was for both of them actually but she tried to convince herself that it was more for the little girl. “And,” she said turning toward Ethan and Ava who sat silently shocked at her outburst, “You two are going to have to give me more than that to convince me that Brooke is capable of kidnapping and murder or else I’mma be forced to think otherwise. She’s my best friend and we’ve known each other for years so excuse me if I’m having a bit of a hard time believing any of this bull shit!” Skylar tried to get herself under control before continuing—her efforts weren’t very futile. “Now,” she said eyeing them all. “Who wants to talk first?” she said with a raise of her eyebrow.
“Look Skylar obviously you’ve been through a lot sweetie and quite frankly I can’t lie and say that I know what you’re going through but this case isn’t just important to you it’s important to us all believe it or not—”
“What happened to Naveen?” Skylar asked as she realized for the first time that she’s been absent lately.
“Uh,” Ava hesitated after Skylar’s sudden interruption, “We’re not sure she said something about being sick, I guess she just needed a day off you know she doesn’t like any of this whisperer stuff.”
“Did any of you two know about Naveen’s secret involvement with Erin/Hank?” she asked curiously.
“What?!” Ethan asked shocked.
“But…” Ava said stopping after having nothing else to say. “Doesn’t she have a husband and a kid?” she asked.
“Did you honestly think that any of those things would stop a person from cheating?” Skylar asked with a humorless laugh. Skylar could see from the corner of her eye Ryder move around her and head for the steps, she tried to convince herself that she didn’t care but she stopped herself immediately knowing all too well that she did.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Ethan asked at last.
“I don’t know maybe she was scared to go to work, I overheard one of her phone calls and she was a bit shaken, I mean she was crying and that is so unlike her. I’ve never in my life seen that woman cry before.”
“It’s a possibility,” Ava said with a shrug of her shoulder. “I have noticed her avoiding him lately,” she added.
“Maybe it’s more than that,” Skylar mused. “Maybe he’s her reason for not liking wisps, think back she wasn’t always like this she used to have no problem with them until recently.”
“What could he have possibly done to make her not like her own kind?” Ava asked.
“Not sure,” Skylar answered honestly.
“Skylar I think you might be on to something, Naveen and Aaron used to be a thing back in college before he got with Karen and then Ciana. I remember because Damon set them up.”
“My dad?” Skylar asked.
“Yea,” Ethan confirmed.
“Wait,” Skylar said remembering something that Erin/Hank had said. “When I first met Erin/Hank one of his first words to me was that he was one of my father’s friends, and how he helped him find the love of his life what if Aaron isn’t the connection and Naveen is and all of this was just a scam to get closer to me?”
“Hank realizes that you’re involved in almost everything and so he has to get involved as well so that he knows first-hand what you know, it makes sense but what about the constant change of appearances and the “killing” of Aaron and things like that?” Ethan asked.
“Erin/Hank who was Richard at the time had accused Aaron for killing his son, what if all of this was just a means to get revenge but his true goal was Naveen?”
“I think you figured it out,” Ethan said with a small smile.
“Bu that’s not all,” Skylar said. “Hank got carr
ied away none of this was supposed to happen. He got caught up in being able to do the things he never got to experience. He’s never had a family they died when he was young so he went from one foster home to the next and then he met Aaron’s family and apart of him wanted to be a part of it. Then there was the Whisperer of Night, Hank has never been a part of a group before, not at school, not ever so he found interest in the small band of wisps. Then there’s the explanation for the book of secrets Hank has never had a friend who wanted to talk to him and share secrets with him and that Book of secrets was the key to that, he tried to get Aaron to trust him enough to want to hand him the book but he never did and so he took matters into his own hands and went after it himself. All of this has become an obsession to him something he felt as though he needed to accomplish and now all he has left to experience is a real relationship which he thought he had with Naveen,” she said in a rush of words as all of the pieces started to fall into place.
“Ok so do you think Naveen may be in trouble?” Ava asked.
“No he wouldn’t hurt her because he loves her, so the most he might do is stalk her which I think he might have already been doing hence her sudden absence from work and her not returning phone calls. She might just be scared not entirely sure of Erin/Hank’s intentions.”
“Ok so now that we have figured that out there’s still the matter of the missing Aaron and the MIA Brooke Fields-Laurence,” Ethan pointed out. Skylar’s smile fell at the mention of that. “Come on Skylar you figured Erin/Hank out so I know you can figure this out too you just have to be willing to do so,” he said calmly though Skylar knew that this was an urgent matter.
“I wouldn’t even know where the hell to start I thought I knew her so well but if I was wrong about this then maybe I don’t know her as well as I thought.’
“You know her better than any of us do and I’m already pretty sure you know where she’d go. Think about it, you told me that you know where the wisps are being dumbed correct?”
“Yea, they’re being dumped behind restaurants in this area.”
“Does that sound like something Brooke would do?” Skylar thought about it though she already knew the answer.
“Yea,” she answered reluctantly. “She wouldn’t put it somewhere spaced out because I told her once during another case that I had been working on at the time that that was what an investigator would be looking for because it was a typical move to space the bodies out away from where the killings were being done, or where the hostages were being kept.”
“And now you know that the wisps were being taken from the same area, correct?”
“Yea but I only think she did that because she doesn’t like Ryder,” she mused.
“That means that the hostage has to as well be in this area, so where do you think that would be. Think like Brooke,” he added. Skylar thought about it. Knowing Brooke she knew that the girl had to have done her homework in order to find Aaron; Skylar refused to believe that she had had Aaron all of this time.
“Thinking like Brooke won’t work I have to think Like Erin/Hank he was the one who had hidden Aaron first and knowing Brooke it was less work for her to do so she wouldn’t have bothered to move him especially if the location was a good one,” she explained.
“Ok so where would Hank have hid Aaron?”
“Does anyone know if the Whisperer of Night tournament sight is still open?” she asked.
“No it closed right when Aaron and Richard had disappeared because the band of wisps no longer had a leader.”
“But they would have had a leader,” Skylar whispered. “I read an article on Aaron, and because Richard who had “beaten” Aaron in the tournament for the title had gone missing they—as in the refs of the fight—had no choice but to consult Aaron’s back up leader.”
“Back up leader?” Ava questioned.
“Yes back up leader, every leader has to have a backup leader just in case something happens to them, it’s almost like a will,” Skylar explained.
“So who was the backup leader?” Ethan asked. Skylar looked toward the stairs and then back toward Ethan and Ava.
“Ryder?” Ethan questioned shocked.
“It was said in one of the interviews of Aaron that Ryder was one of the best fighters Aaron knew, it was Ryder who was supposed to fight some Jordin kid during the tournament but because of family issues Ryder had to back out and Eric, Richard’s son had fought the kid instead; that’s how he died.”
“Damn,” Ava breathed out.
“The location of the Whisperer of Night is discreet so that it’s not possible for a human to accidentally stumble upon it and if anyone knows where knew location is now it would be Ryder.”
“And you’re sure that that’s where Hank hid Aaron.”
“Has to be the place was crowded so Hank couldn’t have really carried Aaron’s body out of there without being noticed he had to get rid of him right then and there.”
“So now what?” Ava asked.
“Now Skylar has to get Ryder to tell her the location,” Ethan said.
“Oh well that should be easy,” Ava said but Skylar didn’t feel as confident.
“I don’t know about that,” Skylar mumbled.
“What do you mean?” Ethan asked.
“Aren’t yall like a couple or something?” Ava asked.
“Or something,” Skylar mumbled.
“What? Is it just…you know, like, a friends with benefits type thing?” she asked. Ignoring Ava’s comment Skylar looked toward Ethan.
“He’s very secretive, seriously, I’ve known him for about two whole months now and I don’t even have his phone number, shit I don’t even know where he truly lives. If he so much as thinks that the kind of information he provides will impact him somehow then he won’t give it to me.”
“So are you saying that it’s not even worth trying?” Ethan asked.
“No, I’m not saying that I’m just saying don’t get your hopes up,” she said before turning toward the stairs and taking them two at a time.
Skylar could hear voices coming from Larissa’s room so she went into that direction. She pushed the door open slowly to see Larissa looking up at Ryder who was telling her his story again. Ever since he had told her that first night she had wanted to hear it more and more and every time he added a little more to it as if he was really writing the story.
“Is there a pwincess yet?” Larissa asked. Ryder looked toward the door at Skylar he hadn’t taken his eyes off her as he answered Larissa’s question.
“Not yet,” he whispered to her but Skylar could clearly hear him as if he had whispered it into her ear. “But,” he said as he brought his mouth closer to Larissa’s ear while his eyes stuck to Skylar’s, “someday soon I hope there is one and if there is you’ll be the first to know,” he whispered. Larissa squealed in excitement and hugged Ryder around his neck but still his eyes refused to leave Skylar’s. Skylar looked away from them and toward the hallway to clear her eyes before looking back at them.
“I want Robby to be happy!” she said in her excited voice.
“Robby doesn’t seem happy to you?” he asked as he finally averted his eyes toward the little girl.
“No ‘cause Bella won’t trust him and he’s nice to her all the time,” she said with a little pout.
“I wouldn’t say he’s nice to her all of the time, he personally thinks that they argue too much but he knows it’s partly his fault. Robby doesn’t want to be controlling all of the time but he’d rather have Bella understand that sometimes he can’t help it,” he said looking back toward Skylar. “Sometimes he gets scared that if he doesn’t have at least a little control over her then she’d run all over him and hurt him like the other’s did,” he whispered, not to Larissa and not to Skylar but it sounded more like he was speaking to himself, as if he was admitting the truth to himself.
“Does Robby still think Bella is a monster?” Larissa’s question shocked Skylar, Bella did sound a lot like
Bēlua but she didn’t want to make that connection.
“Yes, she’s still a monster,” he answered. Skylar looked from Larissa to Ryder who was still looking at her. His answer hurt her but she knew it shouldn’t have, she was just seeing things that weren’t really there. “But I like to think she’s my monster,” he added with a sly smile, Skylar smiled back despite herself but once she caught what she had done she quickly dropped the smile.
“I need to talk to you,” she said before Ryder could say anymore.
“Hi Auntie Shky,” Larissa said once she noticed her in the door way.
“Hi baby,” Skylar said her smile returning to her face as she entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asked her.
“Good, Wyder got me a pwesent,” she said excitedly as she removed the square shaped pillow from beneath her head and showed it to Skylar. On the pillow so neatly stitched were the words Skylar remembered telling Ryder one night, a saying that her mother used to say to her every time she was sad. Keep smiling because life’s such a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about. That had brought a smile to Skylar’s face and tears to her eyes. “Why you crying auntie?” Larissa asked as she ran her chubby fingers down Skylar’s face in order to wipe her tears.
“A beautiful woman once told me that,” Ryder said to Larissa as he smoothed out her hair.
“You mean the pwincess?” Larissa asked excited.
“Yea the princess,” Ryder agreed. “I have to talk to your aunt ok?”
“Are you still weaving?” she asked sadly.
“Yea kiddo I am,” he said as he kissed the top of her head before getting up and taking Skylar’s hand. Skylar dropped the pillow not because she didn’t want to take it with her but because she shocked by what he was saying. He’s leaving? She questioned to herself in her mind. Ryder walked Skylar toward the hall way and closed Larissa’s door quietly.
“You’re leaving her?” Skylar asked though what she really wanted to say was: you’re leaving me? Ryder didn’t answer her question as he led her back to her room and closed her door in the exact same way he closed Larissa’s door.
“What is it you want to talk about?” he asked as he turned to face her after letting go of her hand once she was in the room.
“You’re leaving her?” Skylar asked again.
“Is that what you wanted to talk about because I don’t think it was, now I’m kind of in a hurry so can we hurry this up?” What the hell was wrong with him? He sure as hell wasn’t acting like he was in a hurry when he was with Larissa, she said to herself. Skylar sighed and ran her hands threw her blond tangled mess of hair.
“I need your help but seeing as though you’re in such a hurry I don’t see how you can be much help,” she said quietly in a way not trying to raise her voice by showing her anger. Ryder sighed and check his watch before looking back up at her. He did look as if he was in a hurry but she was sure he was just in a hurry to leave like he told Larissa he would.
“Fine I’ll spare some time but please make it worth it,” he said shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe he was actually doing this.
“If you just want to go—”
“Skylar don’t do that I just fuckin submitted and agreed to help you so please just take the got damn help before I get a chance to regret it.” Skylar was shocked that he did indeed just submit.
“I need to know where the Whisperer of Night is; actually I need to be taken to the location.” Ryder looked confused by her request.
“Why?”
“Because I’m sure that that’s where Aaron is being held.”
“How sure are you?” he questioned.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she asked shocked.
“Skylar the Whisperer of Night is held where people can’t stumble upon it for a reason so I need to know that you’re 100% sure that he’s there before I break yet another rule for you,” he explained.
“What the hell do you mean before you break yet another rule for me?” she asked confused.
“Skylar Please,” he said urgently. “Are you or are you not 100% positive, I trust you to be but I need to hear you say it.”
“You trust me to be?” she asked with a mirthless laugh.
“Don’t start,” he growled.
“Yes, I’m 100% sure,” she said with a sigh. Ryder said nothing for a while and then he turned toward the door.
“Fine then let’s go,” he said as he opened the door and headed toward the stairs. He didn’t stop once he hit the bottom he just kept walking out the door and toward his car even if he didn’t realize that Skylar was not behind him he didn’t even attempt to open her door as he slip into the driver’s seat and started it up.
“What the hell is with him?” Ava asked once she saw Skylar.
“He’s…just in a rush to get there so…he can leave,” she said as she turned toward the door and headed for the car. “Are yall coming?” she asked.
“No we’ll just follow in my car,” Ethan said as he and Ava headed toward the car that was parked a block away from Skylar’s house. How the hell hadn’t she noticed that? She thought to herself as she slid into the car and buckled up. Skylar didn’t bother even trying to hold up a conversation with Ryder as she turned so that she was farthest away from him—that was of course physically possible seeing as though they were in the same car right next to each other—and faced the window. She’d rather see the passing trees and the people she didn’t at all know than to see the anger and frustration on his face.
“Skylar,” Ryder said.
“Please don’t talk,” she said not even bothering to look over in his direction. “You seriously don’t have to.”
“Well how the hell else do you expect me to tell you if you don’t want me to talk?” he asked. Skylar could tell that he was serious; there was no humor in his words as he said them. Skylar lifted her head from the no longer cold glass of his side car window and peered out of it.
“This doesn’t look like much of anything let alone a place,” she said.
“Well it is,” he said as he hopped out of the car but went no farther than that. “Listen to my directions and try not to get lost,” he said as she hopped out of the car to stand beside him.
“Wait you’re not coming with me?” she asked.
“No,” he answered simply. “Now it’s very simple, go straight threw the tree’s don’t turn until you see the piece of shirt hanging on one of the lowest branches, its plaid, red. Once you reach that checking point you turn right and again you’ll see that shirt so you continue to go straight then again you’ll see the shirt and you turn left until you reach a giant bolder and when I tell you that that bolder is giant I mean it, move the bolder you’re a whisperer so it shouldn’t feel at all heavy to you. Once you move the bolder you’ll see a big enough hole that you can slip through once at the bottom of that whole the rest should be easy if you know what you’re looking for.” Skylar didn’t want to complain but how the hell was she supposed to remember all of that? “You’re part Espy don’t doubt yourself trust me when I say you’ll find whatever it is you’re looking for,” he assured once he saw her hesitation.
“Part Espy?” she questioned.
“Yes, which explains why you can feel certain things a whisperer or normal human wouldn’t be able to feel or hear or even see. You must have developed the sense during one of your…binges for power one of your victims must have been one,” he explained.
“Is that…a good thing?” she asked.
“What? That you killed an Espy and drained it of its power and stole it for yourself?” he asked. Skylar didn’t at all like how he said that. She said nothing as she looked back toward the trees. She could see from the corner of her eye Ethan’s car pull to a stop so she made her way toward them while trying to fight back the tears Ryder’s words had caused.
“Is this the place?” Ethan asked.
“Yup, supposedly,” she an
swered as Ethan passed her by to check it out himself. Skylar walked along side Ava who stopped not that far away from Ryder’s car.
“Aww what’s wrong sweaty?” she asked as she noticed the dried up tears on Skylar’s face. Skylar ran her hand down her face and tried to smile at Ava while silently cursing her name for drawing the attention of the two boys who were currently deep in conversation.
“Nothing,” she said shaking her head, “I’m fine,” she assured as she turned back to the men who had stopped talking to look at her.
“Are you sure? You look…I don’t know, like you’re about to be sick,” Ethan said with a concerned look on his face.
“I guess I’m just a little scared of what we’ll find,” she lied as she again tried to smile. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.” Ethan didn’t look convinced but he said nothing as he tried to resume his conversation with Ryder but Ryder was too busy staring at her he as well was obviously not convinced. She didn’t know what he was thinking but quite frankly she couldn’t bring herself to care either. She was tired of caring for people who no longer cared for her back. “So are we doing this now or later?” she asked as she avoided Ryder’s eye.
“I vote now we don’t really have time to waste,” Ava reminded us.
“Speaking of time I have to go but good luck with all of this,” Ryder said motioning toward the bundle of weeds that may or may not involve the answers they’ve been so desperately searching for. Ryder hopped into his car and without hesitation sped off.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the rest of the directions he seemed a little distracted,” Ethan said looking pointedly at her, “so hopefully you remember them.”
“I do,” she said as she stepped up toward the weeds and led them through it. Like Ryder had said after passing like the sixth tree there was red plaid shirt ripped and tied to one of the branches, with Ryder’s directions still fresh in her mind she went left and continued on until she bolder.
“Now what?” Ava asked as Skylar stopped. Skylar walked toward the boulder and prepared herself to lift it but like Ryder said it was surprisingly not at all that heavy. She moved the bolder to the side and looked down the narrow hole. “What the hell are we supposed to do with that?” Ava asked.
“We’re supposed to go down it,” Skylar answered as she sat on her ass and stuck her legs with in the hole, she was scared that something might come out and pull her legs but she didn’t let that fear show as she shimmied her way through the tight spaced hole. “I hope none of you are claustrophobic,” she hollered up once she touched ground.
“Aww damn,” Skylar heard Ava say before she attempted to slide down the hall. Unlike Skylar where she had a little meat on her bones Ava was all flesh and bones she easily squeezed her way out of the hole. Sadly for Ethan though he was all muscle so it took him a lot longer to squeeze through.
“Alright now what?” Ava asked as everyone stood around in what looked like a fairly lit cave.
“I’m supposed to know where to go from here supposedly but I haven’t got a clue honestly,” Skylar answered.
“Well seeing as though this section of…whatever the hell this even is, I’m not sure if it’s a cave or just a hole beaver the size of a small bear had created, but whatever it is just seems to go one way and that’s straight so we’re probably supposed to just go straight,” Ethan commented. Ethan was right there was only one direction to go and nowhere to turn so they all started straight until they emerged out of what they were now positive was a tunnel. From the looks of it they were now in the middle of a field, there were bleachers all along the field.
“This must be where they watch their fights,” Skylar commented.
“There’s a door here,” Ava said as she walked toward it.
“Is it locked?” Skylar asked.
“No, but it just looks like a locker room.”
“All locker rooms have a way in and a way out on both sides so there has to be something else at the end of that locker room,” Ethan said and so they all followed him into the locker room to see if his theory was true, and indeed it was. The door wasn’t locked which only meant one thing to Skylar.
“Someone must have traveled this way because none of the doors are locked,” she said to the other two in front of her. Once they all entered through the door they could hear banging and Ethan and Ava immediately drew their guns, Skylar on the other hand didn’t have a gun so she was shit out of luck.
“What the hell was that?” Ava asked.
“Not sure but it came from this direction.” Both females followed Ethan at his signal and came across the first door that was locked. Ethan motioned for them to be quiet as he stuck his ear against the door. Skylar looked around the irritatingly all white hall way they were in and noticed that there was another door; she stuck to the wall as she made her way toward it she tested the knob and realized that it was open.
“Guy’s” she whispered. They both looked at her in unison. She motioned toward the door and tried to communicate in something resembling sign language that it was open but before she could she was pulled from behind, her head hit the floor hard and she was immediately immersed in blackness as she lost focus.