The House of Grey- Volume 5

by Earl, Collin

  Casey stumbled as a sidekick hit him. It must have been a whopper, too, as it was packed with enough force to cause Casey, the master martial artist, to fall.

  Monson and the others took a step back. Casey glanced upward looking enraged. All of that boiling emotion came to a screeching halt, however, when he realized who had kicked him.

  Chapter 48 – Kylie Reasoning

  “Kylie?”

  Kylie Coremack stood over Cassius Kay with eyes of pure rage.

  “Give it back Cassius; I need it!”

  Casey glared at Kylie. “If you need a favor, there are easier ways to go about it.”

  He touched his back gingerly. “That really hurt, you know.”

  “I know you have it, Cassius! Just give it back to me or I’m going to kick you again.” Kylie was trying to remain firm.

  Casey got to his feet. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to start kicking, my dear, as I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  A neck crack followed as Casey pulled slightly at his shorts, falling into his leg-centered form. “You might want to be careful, though—”

  Casey thrust forward, stepping with blinding speed. Before anyone knew what had happened, his right leg was high in the air, his foot inches from Kylie’s beleaguered face. His voice took on a deadly tone. “Because this time, I may just kick back.”

  Kylie staggered back a few steps. She looked angry at herself, but at the same time somewhat proud. “You’ve improved. I was barely able to read your movements.”

  Casey dropped his leg and rolled his eyes. “You weren’t able to read my movements at all, Kylie. If I hadn’t stopped, I would’ve knocked your pretty little head off.”

  Kylie scowled.

  Casey took a step back. “I know what you’re up to. Drop it. There’s nothing that you can do. She’s gone, Kylie, and she’s not coming back.”

  “You don’t know that Cassius! She could be out there!” Kylie screamed. “The reports are a load of bull. I have to find her!”

  She dropped her gaze, still holding her guard and ready to pounce. “Please, Cassius. I need to know.”

  Casey’s eyes grew conflicted, then stern—furious even. “No, Mary. She wouldn’t have wanted you to do this. Leave it in the cold case files. Your parents don’t need another loss.”

  “Then you give me no choice.” Kylie pounced, flying at Casey with a stream of lightning-fast kicks. Four, five, six, seven in a row, aimed at the head, shoulders, hips and thighs, each with amazing precision. Casey blocked every one of them but instead of countering, simply regarded her with amusement. On the seventh and final kick, Kylie pulled a back handspring into a back flip similar to Casey’s acrobatic feat when he fought the Men in Black.

  She stuck the full back flip, panting as she did.

  Casey clapped his hands mockingly. “It’s good to know that you’ve been practicing.”

  Monson and the others stared at Kylie in bafflement. Kylie was a martial artist—and a good one at that.

  Sheesh, thought Monson. Does everyone in this freaking school know karate? He glowered. He was definitely going to have to up his game.

  Kylie adjusted her stance, sneering. “I’m so glad you approve. Hand it over, Cassius. I know you won’t hit me and I’ll keep this up until you either give it to me or fight back.”

  She attacked again. This time with Casey’s signature striking form. Open-fisted jabs, massive crossover punches, and quick hooks. Casey defended well, blocking each blow with ease and even going so far as to use a single hand at one point. Kylie retreated a second time, panting even harder than before.

  Casey sighed, shaking his head. “If Sage could see us now. You would never know that you and I were best friends once.”

  Kylie lowered her guard. “Cassius, please. I need that diary. It has clues in it. I know it does.”

  “She’s gone, Kylie. She is not coming back. Whatever happened between you two wasn’t your fault. She loved you and you loved her. Why won’t you let it go?”

  “I can’t, Casey. I’m sorry, but this is your last chance. Will you give it to me?”

  Casey shook his head.

  Kylie narrowed her eyes as she bowed her head, slightly defeated. Her next movements were exaggerated, another of those rare times when the slow motion button for life gets stuck. She dropped her hands to her side and closed them slightly.

  Monson gawked in trepidation as a mist-like energy flowed up from Kylie’s hands. He turned to stare at Grayson, who was wide-eyed, and turned back to Kylie, stunned. Kylie was able to use Kei! He paused as a second revelation registered. Kylie’s Kei: He could see it! Monson watched as the Kei poured from her hands, and instantly noticed something. Kylie’s Kei was a different color than Casey’s blood red. A warm violet color streamed out of her palms, drenching her immediate area. She jerked her hands, causing the flow of Kei to reverse itself and rush back into her palms.

  Artorius leaned over to whisper to Monson. “Grey, doesn’t that form look like Casey’s flash fist?”

  Monson nodded. “Oh yeah, that’s a flash fist form if I’ve ever seen one.”

  A movement out of the corner of his eye caught Monson’s attention. He raised his eyebrow in surprise.

  “That’s quite enough of that.” Marie, with glowing green hands, grabbed Kylie by the wrist. The violet Kei dissipated like smoke in the wind. It was Kylie’s turn to gawk as Marie twisted her upturned wrist in a vice-like grip.

  “Miss Coremack, there are easier and more appropriate ways to make your point.”

  Marie released Kylie, who slumped to the ground before looking up at Marie, her shock turning to rage. The rage hardened her features in an almost disfiguring expression and then faltered as it melted into disconcerting realization. She looked at her hands. A palpable feeling of despair swarmed the area as Kylie Coremack started to cry.

  Monson watched Casey’s hesitant eyes flashing skyward.

  Monson cocked his head to the left, almost pleading with him. Go Casey, he thought.

  Casey bounded to Kylie’s side and hovered over her like a worried father.

  ***

  Fifteen minutes later, the six of them were gathered in Monson’s sitting area, everyone still on edge. Upon their arrival, Brian made a unique kind of herbal tea and gave each of them a cup. One sip was all it took to soothe their hearts, allowing them all to relax. Despite the tea, Monson was still in a sort of shock over what had happened. While he was ready to get some answers, he knew that it was not his place to ask. Everyone in the room sipped their tea for a few moments, no one daring to talk. Marie finally broke the silence.

  “So are you two ready to converse or do you want to start kicking again?”

  Kylie and Casey glanced up at each other sheepishly. Kylie spoke up.

  “I might as well explain my part. I’m sure that Cassius has already told you all that I—”

  “Don’t be so quick to assume, Kylie. I haven’t told them anything.” Casey sounded incredibly harsh.

  Kylie’s mouth dropped a little in surprise. “You didn’t tell them even after you found the diary? But why would you—”

  Kylie stopped herself.

  Artorius cut in, sounding annoyed. “No, he hasn’t told us anything. And he probably failed to mention to you that he beat the crap out of those MIB that were after you last fall. Could you two take a timeout for just a minute or two? We all know that you don’t hate each other as much as you pretend. Why don’t you tell us what’s going on?”

  Kylie shook her mantle of blonde hair in a defeated sort of way. “I’ve always liked you Arthur, do you know that?”

  Artorius put out his hands, grinning. “And who could blame you?”

  Kylie’s smile was faint but it was there. She took a deep breath.

  “Get comfortable; we’ll be here for a while.”

  She was quiet for a moment as she attempted to gather her thoughts. “I’m not the person I used to be.”

  Well, that
much was true. Monson thought back to the picture that Artorius had showed him so many months ago. Not that he was in any position to talk appearances.

  Kylie continued.

  “My story is kind of scattered. In truth, I don’t know where I grew up, but I do remember it wasn’t a very nice place.”

  Everyone continued to stare without saying a word.

  “When I was about six, I was found and adopted by my family. Very kind and loving people, they took care of me, creating a home I could have only dreamed of. I have a mom and dad who are sweet and compassionate, an older brother who has always looked out for me, and an older sister I absolutely adored.” She stopped there, looking sad. Monson interrupted.

  “When you say found, what do you mean exactly?”

  “Kylie’s dad found her wandering the streets.” Casey answered Monson. “That’s what she means by found.”

  Casey turned to Kylie. “Why are you telling them all of this? What are you trying to accomplish?”

  “Background. They need to understand where I’m coming from.”

  Her next words were quiet, like it was costing her a great deal to say them.

  “Despite everything I gained when I joined the Coremack family and for reasons that now are maybe not so obvious, I had a lot of self-esteem issues. I was shy, a bit chubby, had a weird-looking face—not to mention a serious speech problem. When I was in elementary school, I used to come home crying every day over how I was treated because of my appearance and inability to communicate. Despite all this, I was very happy at home. My older sister was a great comfort, protecting me and cheering me up in the most unusual ways. I owe many of my happiest times to her.”

  Kylie’s eyes started to well up at this point. Casey tried not to look at her.

  “But Sage disappeared,” Monson prompted softly.

  Kylie gave a great sniff and jumped in surprise as Bob the cat popped into her lap with a loud purr.

  Kylie righted herself, looking even more embarrassed at her reaction to the feline. She petted him lovingly and then looked at Monson with an inquiring look. “How did you know?”

  “Gossip Guy. We stumbled upon the story.” Monson tried to convey his compassion for her.

  Kylie glowered. “I hate that site.”

  “Sage actually got into Coren on scholarship,” said Casey, continuing Kylie’s narrative. “She and I were actually pretty close. I remember how excited she was to be able to do something on her own without her father’s money. She was incredibly independent, but innocent; she thought to change the world. It makes you wonder why she wanted to come here in the first place.”

  “Mystery.” Kylie answered Casey’s question, ignoring the fact that it was probably rhetorical. “So many modern-day witch hunters come out to the valley; it intrigued her. The lure of the historic unknown was too much.”

  Casey grinned, nostalgia reflected in his eyes. “I’d forgotten about that. You remember the summer she tried to convince us that Bigfoot was real?”

  “Yeah,” laughed Kylie. “How could I forget? It was the summer before she disappeared….”

  She sighed.

  “If you’ve read the story you know that this is where my sister disappeared, back when students had more freedom to move about. That was two years ago. I thought that coming here might help me figure out what happened to her. She has got to be out there, somewhere.”

  There was another awkward moment during which they all let the information soak in. Finally, Monson broke the silence.

  “The story on the blog was actually kind of vague. It really related more to the Diamond—apparently they were friends? What can you tell us about her disappearance? Maybe we can help.”

  Kylie hesitated, and then answered. “Not much. The official record, or police report, or whatever, says she ran away. They claimed that there was no evidence of a struggle, and no clues suggesting kidnapping—and no ransom demands ever surfaced. They said they had to rule it a runaway.”

  “But you came anyway?”

  Kylie nodded.

  Grayson interrupted. “And you didn’t find anything, did you?”

  The group glanced around at each other, baffled. Grayson grinned playfully in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  “I remember the story. It was the biggest scandal in the school’s history. Everyone was talking about the security breach at Coren. It only blew over when it was ruled by the authorities as a runaway student and the press found something else to get worked up about.”

  Kylie gawked at Grayson, not a flattering look for her.

  Grayson scratched at his nose, a clear sign he was trying to be clever. “My family does run a detective agency, after all.”

  Kylie pressed her lips together but almost instantly let them relax. “He’s right. It wasn’t long after Sage’s disappearance that Damion made his first big splash on the football field; from zero to hero just like that. Sage’s story became less and less publicized from there.”

  Monson thought of a question. “So if you’ve been trying to find information about Sage’s disappearance, what have you been doing in the library all this time?”

  “Trying to trace the beginning, middle and end of Sage’s witch hunt,” said Kylie.

  “What do you mean?’ asked Monson.

  “As weird as it sounds, Sage was a secret lair kind of gal. She liked to go exploring to find forts, caves, ruins and all that stuff, and sort of set up camp there. She had been doing it since we were kids. I knew if I could find what she was looking for, I might find some clue as to what happened to her.”

  Monson eyes narrowed. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  Kylie smiled weakly. “Sage came here for one reason and one reason only.”

  She glanced around at everyone while wearily running a hand through her hair. “The Midday Darkness.”

  Artorius and Grayson started to laugh, drawing a cross look from Marie. They desisted immediately, and Grayson spoke up.

  “Kylie, the Midday Darkness is an urban legend, no more valid than Bloody Mary or the story of the Snake in the Toilet.”

  “Don’t say that Grayson,” interrupted Artorius. “That one is totally true. My great Uncle Larry—”

  Casey groaned. “Not the boa constrictor and the Port-o-Potty story again. I just ate, Arthur.”

  Artorius scowled. “Shut up Casey, it’s totally—”

  “Guys!” Monson clapped his hands together. “Hello, a lost sister, girl who’s emotionally drained, pouring out her soul. Can we focus here?”

  Casey and Artorius glanced around uncomfortably.

  Monson started again. “Back up a second. I’ve heard about this—Midday Darkness, was it? But someone explain it to me.”

  Grayson answered. “The Midday Darkness is a legend about the Coren Valley. In the history of the valley, there have been—”

  Monson interjected, “Three different groups have settled it. Yeah, I know that much. Sage wasn’t looking for the reason why the Indian tribe and the settlers disappeared, was she?”

  Grayson smiled. “You’re surprisingly well versed—”

  Monson shrugged. “Yeah, I think we’re supposed to cover this in Mr. Gatt’s class at some point.”

  “But it sounds like you only know half of the story. In answer to your question, I doubt she was looking for the Midday Darkness; if I were to guess, she was probably looking for the Garden of the Gods.”

  Artorius chuckled a second time. This time it was Casey who joined in. Grayson also cracked a smile.

  Monson glared. “I don’t think I’ve heard that one.”

  “The Garden of the Gods actually refers to two different places. One is as real as you and I. It’s a park of natural sandstone formations that was gifted to the city of Colorado Springs in the early 1900s. The other garden is a legend. Possibly where the city got the name for the Colorado park, though I doubt they would ever admit it. This legend is even older than the Midday Darkness. God’s Garden for short, it was origin
ally spoken of by a chief of the Yakatory Indian tribe who said that the Garden was where the powers of all the gods of creation touched the earth and anyone who witnessed its power would unlock their potential as a Sumpa.”

  Grayson sped up, anticipating the question about to be asked.

  “Sumpa in Yakatory means ‘Being’. The Garden was supposed to unlock the true potential of beings, but only those who were worthy could access the Lock. Anyone else would be destroyed.”

  Monson finished the thought. “Destroyed by the Midday Darkness.”

  Grayson pointed at Monson. “Bingo.”

  Monson looked confused. “Wait, what are they talking about Lock? Lock to what?”

  “Unknown,” said Grayson. “Cultural anthropologists seem to think that the Garden wasn’t actually a Garden but rather some starting point for a spirit journey of discovery. The Lock isn’t a lock at all but sort of staring to point for the journey.”

  Monson pushed forward before Grayson could continue. “Why did they call it a garden?”

  Everyone including Grayson stared at Monson blankly.

  Monson glowered. “That is a totally valid question. Think about it. How does The Garden of the Gods translate into some sort of hero’s journey? Where’s the symbolism in that? A garden is well, a garden – a place where things grow. It seems pretty idiotic to me to assume its anything else.”

  Grayson ignored him, which enlisted a glare from Monson. “Treasure hunters have a different take. They think the Garden is a treasure cave of some sort, but no one really knows. I’m not even sure where they developed that theory.”

  Grayson paused considering his own words. “The Garden of the Gods in the context of a location and Midday Darkness haven’t been given much in the way of real attention, as there isn’t anything to verify their existence. Heck, there’s next to nothing to give any sort of understanding as to what they even were, though there was a rather amazing discovery a couple of years ago. I’m going to assume you understand at least some of the story, so I’m glossing over much of it for the sake of time.