Speak No Evil Trilogy Read online

  Speak No Evil Series

  By:

  Amy Richie

  *Unspoken *Soft Spoken *Outspoken

  Copyrights

  All rights reserved. Published by Amy Richie. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

  Copyright 2014

  Cover by: Cover Me Beautiful

  What people are saying about “Unspoken”

  This is such an intriguing story. I was hooked from the first page. ~ Caissy Boudreau - Author of Skylar's Dream

  Amy Richie’s Unspoken is the Sixth Sense meets The Grudge. Ren’s story will have you hiding under the covers as you wonder if you are truly alone. ~ Lynn Shaw - 2 girls & a book

  I enjoyed reading this story right from the beginning. It was very suspenseful at times, and had me turning the pages as quick as possible. ~ Blushing Divas Book Reviews

  ...overall LOVE this story. I like the supernatural feel to it, it drew me in and never let me go. ~ Sandra Love - author of the Broken Wings Series

  This was an amazing book, that had me on the edge of my seat page after page! I can't wait for Soft Spoken. ~ Katelyn Wilkinson -avid reader

  I really enjoyed reading Unspoken by Amy Richie. Her cast of characters and story were unusual but in a very, very good way. ~ Peggy Fenn - avid reader

  I just read Unspoken and it was fantastic. The story was written so beautifully that I could see the story unfolding before my eyes. ~ Kimberly Woodall - avid reader

  Dedication

  For Megan. Thank you for lending your face to give life to Ren. You are beautiful, my dear, don’t ever forget that.

  Unspoken

  Chapter One

  “Lights out!” a deep female voice boomed across the static filled intercom. Like most things at Nine Crosses, the system needed replaced with something more modern.

  I cringed lower in my seat at the dreaded words. Was it night already? Trying not to be too obvious, I craned my neck until I could just make out the black night sky through the dingy window set high on the wall. My sigh came out too loud, deflating my shoulders until my chin nearly rested against the skin on my chest.

  Nights were always the hardest.

  “What’s the matter kid?” a familiar voice called out. “Not tired?”

  As if they weren’t attached to the rest of my body and could act on their own, my eyes slid over to take in the tall dark haired man leaning heavily against the door frame. His thick eyebrows shot up on his lined forehead with a smile that offered no warmth. If his coffee colored eyes lit up at all, it was only the harsh glare of contempt.

  Toby.

  I hurried to pull my eyes away from him before the nurses noticed anything. The only thing worse for me than night was Doctor Moore’s med increases. Maybe the tranqs would be welcome though, my thoughts sparked down a new path. I’d be able to sleep at least. The night couldn’t affect me if I was unconscious.

  Yes it can, a panicked corner of my mind argued. My eyes slid closed in defeat. Thinking about the last time I was rendered unconscious at night time was almost too much to bear, but the memories were already opened and there was no shoving them back in now.

  No wonder I had landed a bed at Nine Crosses, I sniffed loudly.

  “She’s talking to you, Idiot,” Toby’s low voice hissed in my ear.

  My eyes fluttered back open, the wide nurse with bleached white hair taking up most of my vision. I couldn’t see Toby anywhere, but I knew he wasn’t far.

  “Are you alright Ren?” she asked in her estrogen-depraved voice.

  How long had she been standing there? I shot immediately to my feet, trying to control my reaction to Toby’s reappearance. No med increases, I silently pleaded, especially not at night.

  “I understand exactly why your parents hid you away in here,” Toby taunted cruelly. He stood with his shoulder against the wall, his mouth disfigured by an ugly snarl. “You’re an embarrassment.”

  I kept my eyes carefully averted as I followed Nurse Grey down the long, empty hallway to room 36. “Do you need some help sleeping tonight, Dear?” she asked kindly while I slipped past her through the open door.

  My head jerked sharply in response. Correcting the spastic movement, I shook my head softly - not looking back at her. My eyes strayed to the neatly made bed that wasn’t my own, creating a new round of shudders.

  “You’ll need to keep an eye on Ren Collins in room 36, bed B,” I heard Nurse Grey’s loud whisper just before the door clicked shut.

  A familiar chuckle made my shoulders stiffen. “You’re pathetic,” Toby sneered. “Your mom should have done the world a favor and finished the job when you were six.”

  My lips began to shake, as they always did when he brought that day up. The trouble with Toby wasn’t that he was mean or cruel, or the fact that he only seemed to enjoy himself when he made me feel like I shouldn’t be allowed to live. The worst thing about Toby was that no one else could see him.

  “What a waste,” he muttered.

  I inched forward, always prepared to duck away if Toby lunged forward. Or if someone else decided to show up. Pulling back the stiff grey and white sheets on bed B as little as possible, I squeezed myself into the small opening. It was false comfort, I knew, thinking they wouldn’t be able to get to me if I kept the covers tight - but it was all I had.

  It wasn’t until I started school that I realized that not everyone could see my ghost people. Talking about them only scared the grown ups and made my mother angry, so I stopped speaking. My eyes darted around the room, searching through the dark shadows for the ones that would take shape and stand over me. Although they were normally nicer than Toby, my ghost people scared the hell out of me.

  I swallowed thickly, rejecting the idea to cover my head. It was best to see what was coming for me, even if I was scared. Maybe they wouldn’t come tonight; sometimes Toby scared them off. I glanced over and made the mistake of meeting his hard glare.

  “What are you gawking at, Crazy?” his top lip curled upwards.

  I quickly squeezed my eyes shut, hoping for sleep but knowing it wouldn’t be that easy. “Ren,” a sharp whisper made me groan. “Ren, I know you’re awake.” I kept my eyes closed.

  I had always seen the ghosts and until my mother told me otherwise, I didn’t think anything was wrong with them. They came with their share of trouble though. Three years ago, at my “special school for troubled kids”, had been the last straw for my already stressed father and he decided Nine Crosses was the only option for a daughter who wouldn’t talk but tended to destroy everything she touched.

  Even if I knew all the right words, he had stopped seeing me years ago - long before I got a bed at a mental hospital.

  There was a sharp pull on my blanket, exposing most of my bare arm to the frigid cold. Giving up quickly on the futile game of tug-of-war, I wrapped my thin arms over my chest.

  “Ren, wake up!”

  The cold seeped deep into my body, making me gasp and scramble to the corner of my bed. Please go away. Despite my resolve not to, I peeked out at the newcomer. He wasn’t someone I recognized.

  A thick mess of honey colored curls were hanging haphazardly around his neck and ears. Deep set, shadowed eyes watched me intently. His full lips turned up into a soft smile. “I see you,” he called lightly.

  “We should just get this over with,” I heard Toby say but I couldn’t take my eyes away from the good looking stranger perched on the edge of my bed.

  “She’s not ready yet, Tobias,” he murmured without taking his
eyes off of me either.

  “Then why are you here?” Toby growled.

  The man shrugged one shoulder lazily. “I missed you?”

  Toby snorted his familiar disdain, breaking my intense stare down with the man so I could peek over at him. “Old friends,” he explained curtly with a jerk of his well chiseled chin.

  “I guess that is one way to introduce me,” the man grinned. I swung my attention back to him, careful not to talk out loud to the people that only existed in my own head. “I’m Tristan.” He inclined his head while keeping eye contact.

  “And this is Ren,” Toby stormed over to my bedside. “Actually Rennota, but she goes by Ren.” He shrugged. “She comes to anything though. Kind of like a dog, just depends on your tone of voice.”

  “Yes Ren,” Tristan spoke kindly through his suddenly thinned out lips, “Toby has always been an ass.”

  “It’s not you, it’s me,” Toby added sarcastically. “Oh, who I am I kidding?” He kicked the side of the bed with a low curse flying through his lips. “It’s you, you’re crazy and weak.”

  “Who are you to call anyone else weak?” Tristan scoffed.

  “Now we’ve come to the part in the story where Tristan lures the pretty young girl out into the night so he can murder her, thus sealing my fate for all eternity,” his eyes widened dramatically.

  “I told you, she’s not ready yet,” Tristan snapped, his face scrunching with anger.

  Who were they talking about? Me? Was Tristan here to kill me? Was that even possible? My ghosts had never tried to hurt me before. They caused me trouble, but never injury. My heart sped up as the two men held their glares for way too long.

  “Relax Ren,” Toby turned to me first, “he said he wasn’t killing you tonight.”

  “The sisters are moving. I heard Nona was over this way.” Tristan said the words nonchalantly, almost bored - but Toby’s head snapped up in response.

  “Why?”

  “That’s why I’m here.” He stood up slowly until he was face to face with Toby. “Couldn’t resist coming to see you while I was in town.” For the first time since he had appeared on my bed, fear crept in when Tristan looked over at me. He raised his chin slowly, his eyes narrowing with the movement.

  “As always, it’s been good seeing you, Tris.” The screaming hate on Toby’s face contrasted severely with his words.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon for her.” He was speaking to Toby, but his eyes stayed trained on me until he was gone. Vanished from the room.

  Chapter Two

  Toby stood still in the middle of the room for a long time after Tristan left. Cold crept into my body, leaving me shaking but unwilling to move the few feet it would take to put myself under the covers. Tristan was unlike any of the other ghosts that came to me. For one, most of them never talked to Toby. No matter how much he screamed at them, they paid him little attention. And no one ever left him shaken up. If Toby was afraid of Tristan…what did that mean?

  “Go to sleep now, Ren,” he half whispered.

  I didn’t want to listen to him, but as it often happened; my body responded anyways. Crawling obediently under the covers, I let my head fall against the stiff pillow. I didn’t expect sleep to come as easily as it did.

  I opened my eyes slowly, already knowing before the light even touched my pupils that I wasn’t in room 36 anymore. A woman crouched low so her pale green eyes were level with my face, which was resting on hard concrete. Her lips were pressed into a hard line, which didn’t change even when she realized I was awake.

  “You’re a hard girl to find, Rennota Collins,” she declared in a surprisingly soft voice.

  I struggled to sit up straight, not wanting to get any closer to the beautiful woman, but she didn’t seem in any hurry to put distance between us. Her short black curls danced wildly in the nonexistent wind, further spiking my heartbeat. Where were we? How did I get out of Nine Crosses? I tried to look past the woman; only a long deserted highway stretched behind her though. At least, as far as I could tell.

  “The brothers were trying to keep you hidden,” she finally smiled at their apparent failure. Whoever the brothers were.

  I scooted backwards a few inches.

  “I know you have this strict ‘no talking’ thing,” she rolled her eyes, “but that only counts in real life, right?”

  I swallowed past the fear in my throat.

  “Nope,” she half way grinned, “this isn’t real life. This is a dream,” she waved her hand all around in front of her face. “You are still asleep in your comfy bed at that crazy house.” Her body relaxed further until she was sitting on the ground in front of me. “I’m sure you have a bunch of questions?” she raised one eyebrow in a clear challenge.

  “Do you know Toby?” It shocked me that my long neglected voice still came out clear and recognizable. I had expected it to be more raspy and deep. Maybe it was just the dream land playing with my mind.

  Her eyebrow jumped back down to furrow low on her forehead. “Guess you’re used to crazy, huh?” she pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Who are you or what are we doing here would have been my first guesses.” She shrugged. “Oh well, can’t be right every time.”

  “I don’t…”

  “I’m Nona,” she waved away my stammering.

  “Nona?” My head jerked back slightly. Tristan had said she was here. Was she looking for me?

  “I see you have heard of me. Has Tristan already been to see you?” Her lips tightened momentarily but then smoothed back out. “It’s true, I have been looking for you. I thought it was time you and I had a chat.”

  “About what?”

  “Your fate, Ren.” Her smile grew until it took up most of her small face.

  “M…my what?”

  “Do you think just anyone gets to see the Cursed?” she asked as if I knew what that meant.

  “I…I don’t know.”

  “Toby,” she snarled.

  “He’s a …Cursed? Is that why I can see him?”

  “You can see all the Cursed.”

  “You mean the ghosts?” My voice dropped low at the taboo mention.

  “Yes, I mean the ghosts. Toby should have told you about them by now. How old are you?”

  “I’m not sure.” I answered truthfully. It wasn’t like we had big celebrations at Nine Crosses. My father hated being reminded that I was even still alive. Every day just became a blur after a while.

  Nona rolled her eyes again. “You must be close to eighteen, maybe nineteen.”

  “Probably close to eighteen,” I nodded.

  “You should already know,” she snapped at last.

  “I’ve always known about the ghosts though.”

  She bit her lip, regarding me with that half glare that I couldn’t decide if she was angry or just irritated. “So it’s true, you’ve always seen them?”

  I nodded.

  “None of the others had the sight until they were well into their teens. What makes you special?”

  A memory flew back at me, knocking the wind from my lungs. A lunch hall three years ago. Brenda Hall. “What makes you special? Freak!”

  I shook my head quickly. “I’m not special,” I answered Nona. “Not at all.”

  “My sister, who almost always speaks in riddles, said there would come along a woman who could destroy Tristan.” Nona raised her chin into the breeze that had suddenly started up. “She would be special, a warrior.”

  “I don’t know anyone like that,” I shook my head. Did she think my ghost people could destroy someone like Tristan? “My ghost people don’t really hurt people. I don’t think they can”

  “Not the Cursed.” Her lip curled up in disgust. “I mean you.”

  Her words created a physical ache in my stomach, a panic that wanted to claw upwards. “Me? I can’t…do anything. I’m not a warrior.” I was supposed to be the crazy one here. Seeing people that weren’t there and having conversatio
ns with a strange woman on a road that led to no where. Why was she saying things like that then?

  “We’re all warriors when we have no other choice.” She kept her voice even, but the vein throbbed in her temple, giving away the intensity boiling inside her.

  “No,” I scrambled to my knees. “You’ll have to find someone else. I can’t do it. I don’t even know what you want me to do.”

  “Destroy Tristan.” She said the words as if it were no big deal. Killing a ghost that scared Toby; no biggie.

  “I want to go back to my room now.” I could feel the tension along my neck and down to my shoulders. My breath came out in short sounds, but luckily not raspy. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to see how much her words shook me up. “I just want to go back to my own room,” I half whimpered.

  Nona sighed heavily through her nose, kicking up the wind again. I shifted nervously but nothing stronger than a light breeze hit me. “Tristan has already made contact with you,” she explained impatiently - as if I should already know what that meant. “You can’t just hide anymore.”

  I wanted to be angry with Nona; to tell her that I wasn’t hiding. I had been stashed away so my father didn’t have to tell anyone that he had a crazy daughter. But it wasn’t hiding. I couldn’t hide from the ghosts; they found me where ever I went. I didn’t say any of that though. Instead, I asked a really stupid question. “Will he kill me?”

  “He’s certainly going to try,” she replied without hesitation.

  Behind Nona, on the empty road, the shadow of a woman appeared. Nona’s eyes flitted closed but she didn’t turn around. “Our time is running short,” she warned without opening her eyes.

  “You mean…he’s going to kill me soon?” I couldn’t seem to make myself afraid enough of that.

  “I mean,” her eyes popped back open, “you’re waking up.”