Darkness in Green & Gold: A contemporary fantasy adventure (Green & Gold, book 3)

by Jo Holloway

  “Uncle Josh!”

  She ran for the front door.

  Josh stepped around the car to meet her, and she threw herself into her uncle’s waiting arms.

  “But, wait a second.” She immediately pulled back again. “I was just texting you. Why didn’t you say something? Are you here to take me with you? How long have you been spying on me?”

  “Whoa, calm down, kiddo.”

  It was the wrong thing to say. All the anger, fear, and frustration that had faded behind the shock of Dr. Flanagan’s revelations surged back to the surface.

  “Calm down? Are you serious? You knew all this, and you let me sneak out of school and risk coming through the woods with my friends instead of just coming to get me? Do you have any idea—How are you even here? I thought you were—” Actually, she had no idea where she thought he’d been. She’d forgotten to ask where he was off to next after seeing him over spring break. She was too used to him leaving again all the time.

  He held up his hands in surrender. “I know, I know. Sorry. Poor choice of words. And I never left. I’m glad you didn’t ask, though. I wouldn’t have wanted to lie to you. To answer one of your questions, letting you kids meet over here was a convenient way to set this up secretly so we didn’t have to hide it from other people at the school. Now let’s go in and I’ll answer the rest.”

  CHAPTER 26

  “AGAIN,” CARA SAID. She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned back to Josh.

  He raised his eyebrows at her and then lunged forward to grab at her arm. She tried not to flinch and quickly balled her hand into a tight fist below his grasp. Fighting the urge to pull away, she stepped into him, grabbed her own fist with her other hand, and started to turn.

  “Elbow up.” Josh corrected her form.

  She raised the elbow and twisted again. This time, she was able to wrench away from his grasp. She stood upright and rubbed at her wrist.

  “Don’t forget to use your core the whole time so you aren’t flailing around. Your jerk will be cleaner and won’t hurt so much. Then what?”

  “Run, if I can.”

  “Or?”

  “Pivot and don’t stop fighting. Eyes, nose, throat, groin.”

  “Good. Ready for a break? Let’s get you a cool cloth for that wrist.”

  For two weeks of training, it didn’t feel like she’d learned much yet, but it was better than nothing. At least she’d finally stopped tripping over backward every time her uncle attacked. Josh and Dr. Flanagan had managed to convince her to stay for only two reasons. Number one, it was true there was only a month of school left. Down to only two more weeks now, and exams would take up the last one. And number two, Josh was staying on campus with the sole purpose of teaching her some self-defense and working with her on separating her emotions from the Pyx. They were focused on keeping her safe, and she was focused on how she could use it to keep the rest of her friends safe.

  After the day at Whalton manor, her friends had forgiven her, though she still wasn’t sure she deserved it. A twinge of guilt still hit her every time she ended up alone with Liv and Jory. They’d never made her feel awkward before, but by lying and saying they did, she’d made things a little tense. It was improving, and Jory seemed fine, but she could tell she’d hurt Liv more than she could make up for in two short weeks.

  “Is Mr. Cook coming back tonight?” she called to her uncle.

  Josh stepped out from the kitchen and handed her the wet cloth. He sat down beside her on the couch. “No, he’ll be back in time for Monday morning classes.”

  Her English teacher had one of the staff apartments with a small second bedroom. Since he went home to his wife and kid in Portland on the weekends, he’d graciously offered the room to Josh when Dr. Flanagan asked around. They cleared out the living room for practice space from the time he left on Thursday evenings until he returned on Sunday night or Monday morning. Since Josh’s friend who taught at the school turned out to be Owen, and since Mr. Meyers lived in the boys’ dorm, Josh couldn’t simply crash at his place. Too many legal complications and background checks to be resolved in a short amount of time. This was the next best solution so he could be on campus but not directly with all the students.

  “Where did you learn all this stuff?” she asked. Her uncle’s knowledge had been a surprise—one of many that day and in the two weeks since.

  “We all take basic training and then refresher courses twice a year for work. Some of us who enjoy it do extra; plus, we get some advanced training depending on where we’re going. It’s a pretty good idea to know how to avoid being abducted in a lot of places.”

  She suppressed a chuckle. Someone should have taught all the Pyx Rhys had abducted. The laugh died in her throat when she thought of all the people basically being abducted now as Pyx took them over. “When are you going to teach me attacking stuff? I want to know how to use that knife.”

  “One step at a time. Master defense before you go attacking anyone.”

  She liked that her uncle never tried to talk her out of it. Sometimes it seemed like he had just been waiting for the right time to prepare her for this fight. Whatever the reason, she was grateful after the reluctance from both Jenyx and Rhys when she’d tried to convince them to help her learn how to kill Messoryx. This summer would be non-stop training with her uncle sticking around. He’d already found a place to rent in Portland for the next few months, and he’d bought the car since he’d be staying.

  “Fine, but I want to learn that move to break a hold from behind next.” She couldn’t forget the feeling of Lydia’s arms squeezing the life from her while she struggled uselessly against her grip.

  “We’ll get there. That one’s all about the hips. Unless you’re lifted off the ground, then it’s all about the heels.” Josh smiled. “Part two?”

  She groaned. As much as she enjoyed the self-defense lessons, she barely endured the lectures that always followed.

  “Do we have to? Scrappiness for beginners I’m all over, but Politics and Persuasion 101 is not my thing.”

  Now that they knew the Pyx weren’t leaving people in droves, and the opposite was true, she figured everyone would leave her alone about how she might be affecting them. For some reason, Josh hadn’t let the idea go, and he insisted on trying to teach her how to use her so-called powers of persuasion.

  “Like it or not, the world has a lot of politics in it. My job has it, your school has it, and the Pyx are no different. It’s about reading people. You saw the angles I worked for fundraising at the gala last year. That’s one side of persuasion in my job, but there are a lot more sensitive areas to navigate when we’re working with foreign governments and local people in the areas we try to help. It’s not my favorite part of the whole thing, but it’s a critical piece to know and understand so you can use it to your advantage. You’re naturally trustworthy, Care-a-lot.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze and ignored her exasperated look. “I’ve seen it. People gravitate to you, especially now that you’ve opened up and let people in. Look at Wes and Jory. They went from your sworn enemies to loyal best friends in, what, under two months?”

  “Great. I convinced a couple high school kids to like me. Next step, world domination.” Why did people keep thinking she could magically convince others to follow her? “Be serious. I need more than a pep talk. If you want me to learn this, I need specifics.”

  “Good. I don’t want it to be a pep talk. This is too important. How are you doing with separating your emotions from theirs?”

  This should really be called part three to this whole training thing. As much as she hated the pointers on manipulating people, which was how she insisted on thinking about it, this was the part she was struggling with the most. Her nose wrinkled.

  “The same.” She practiced with Jenyx most nights. He’d work on projecting some emotion to her, and she’d try to sense it without feeling it herself. So far, she’d startled Delaney by crying, bursting out laughing, and literally growling from her bed.
So yeah . . . it wasn’t going great.

  “Are you using the visuals we talked about?”

  “Trying to. I did a little meditation before Jenyx and I started, like we said. I pictured the room with the wall dividing it like I imagined that one time. I can’t make it work, though.” For a brief moment, when she’d confronted the vicious Pyx in the clearing before the attack on Linnaeryx, Cara remembered feeling the Pyx’s anger as if it were on another side of a wall from her own sorrow. It had been like her mind had opened up two sides of the space where she felt things—one for herself and one for the Pyx. But she hadn’t been able to replicate it since.

  “Keep trying. That’s important too.”

  That one she believed him on. She’d been wanting to separate her emotions from the Pyx since she’d started feeling the hostility in the area, and especially since Wes’s injury after she’d let herself be swept up in it. But by the time Josh walked her back to the dorms before dinner, Cara’s eyes had glazed over from all the talk of the power of persuasion. She’d earn her black belt and master knife-throwing before she ever learned this leadership crap.

  “HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD at this, Wes?” Cara gave the knife in her hand a dirty look.

  He looked at her with a serious expression. “Genetics.”

  “Ha ha. Not falling for that again. I guess it makes sense you’d have a bit of an edge with the aim, being so good with your bow. Your mom did tell me you were a natural when you started that too.”

  “Aha. So it is an unfair advantage,” Harrison said. “I knew it.”

  “Natural talent or not, any target activity takes practice. A lot of it. This is no different.” Josh wrenched the knives from the backstop of the archery range and picked up the ones that had fallen uselessly to the ground. “Don’t worry about the rings for now. Work on a consistent throw and figuring out your distance.”

  Cara and her uncle had decided to use the archery range when she insisted he start training her how to throw knives. He’d been hesitant, saying he was no expert at it, but eventually gave in and said he knew enough to show her the basics. She’d been the one to suggest the range, and checked with Wes when it would be free. They’d decided to go together since Harrison had asked Wes for one last training session before exams and the end of school. He didn’t need it. The school teams were all done for the year, but Wes had agreed to one more as a favor, so they joined Cara and Josh and practiced alongside them.

  “If you get decent at this, you’ll need a proper instructor who knows what they’re doing. I still don’t think I should be trying to show you this. And your mom will probably kill me, Cara-vel.” Josh gave her a conspiratorial grin to go with his never-ending nicknames and handed her two of the knives.

  He wouldn’t let her use the knife she’d taken from the tree.

  “That’s a multipurpose knife,” he’d said. “It has an edge all the way along it. Too dangerous and difficult for you to start with. These are throwing knives. They have a point but barely any sharp edge to them. We’ll start with these, at least until you know what you’re doing. Plus, they’re made for this, so they’re a little easier to learn with.”

  On the plus side, he also hadn’t taken that knife away, and with the sheath he’d found for her, it was tucked carefully inside her shorts, fastened to a thin belt resting against her hip and hidden from view. They’d agreed not to tell anyone she was walking around school with a knife now. Dr. Flanagan might be tempted to allow it if she knew, given the circumstances, but then she’d lose her job if anyone found out. This way, the headmaster could deny knowing anything about it. Cara tugged at the tank top she wore, making sure it was covered. The flared bottom of the shirt was more fashionable than her usual athletic look, but it hid the top of the knife perfectly without a weird bulge she couldn’t explain.

  Wes and Harrison had abandoned their bows to watch her, and they each took a few turns when Josh offered. So far, Wes was the only one who’d managed to hit one of the targets. Cara had only hit the backstop properly a couple times. All the other times, even if she hit the rings, the knife was the wrong way around and clattered off the wood to fall to the dirt. Harrison was worse than she was.

  “Try again. Straight wrist. Like swinging a hammer,” Josh encouraged her.

  She set her left foot forward and shifted her weight until she felt comfortable. Holding the knife with her fingers in the groove at the end of the handle, she let it settle against her hand between her thumb and forefinger like Josh had shown her. Her eyes focused on the target in front of her, and she took a couple breaths before raising the knife. Her hand moved in a smooth arc in her peripheral vision, and the blade spun across the space to dig in with a satisfying thunk.

  It was high. Off target. But it was pointy end first, and that was a win for today. Harrison gave her a cheer that far exceeded what she’d accomplished, but she grinned back at him.

  “Enough for today?” Josh asked. “You don’t want to be too sore for our training tomorrow if you want to work on that hold break you keep asking about.”

  “Sounds good.” She perked up to hear he would finally show her how to break the hold Lydia had used on her. The memory of the woman’s preternaturally strong grasp around her ribs still haunted her.

  She didn’t mind quitting for today with that promise for tomorrow. Besides, the Pyx would be happier once she was out of the woods. Grawlls stood from his position in the trees at the southern edge of the range, ready to accompany them. Jenner shook bits of forest from his coat when he rose from his spot near the bench. Their unease had prickled the back of her mind the whole time they’d been here, but with no other sign of the outlaws, it was background noise among her other thoughts and feelings.

  Harrison and Wes gathered their gear to leave too. The little red fox slipped out from the underbrush and trotted over to weave around Wes’s ankles once before she led the way down the path toward the football field and the rest of campus. Her tail swished in the air with each step, and Cara had to suppress an urge to skip along the trail after her. With a quiet giggle, she looped her hand through Wes’s free arm.

  “I think she likes you,” she whispered.

  He couldn’t help a little smirk, and she squeezed his arm. After his anger at her for upsetting Liv and Jory when she’d tried to leave, he’d gone right back to being her stoic best friend. She couldn’t express how grateful she was that he hadn’t believed her rants for even a second. She’d always thought Jory was the fiercely loyal type, but Wes might have him beat. He just did it quieter . . . with less punching people in the face.

  “I know we have to study for exams, but how about one last old movie night tomorrow after my self-defense session with my uncle?”

  “Definitely. We haven’t had one in a while. We can watch the old DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet and call it studying at the same time.”

  “Ooh, good idea. I love Benvolio in that version. I have no idea why.” She glanced at his face and found him trying not to laugh at her. She gave him a playful hip check. “It’s a date.”

  “Ah, Cara?” Wes’s face twisted into a curious look. “Is that a knife in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

  Her cheeks flushed. She’d forgotten the knife was there, and gave a quick glance to make sure Harrison was out of hearing range, but he was chatting with her uncle several steps behind. “Don’t say anything, okay? I feel better having it on me, even if I don’t know how to use it yet. I don’t want to be helpless again.”

  “You were never helpless. Rhys told me how badass you were with Lydia, and I was there when we fought her off the first time. But I get it. I’ve started keeping my bow in my room instead of leaving it with the rest of the team’s stuff. It feels better having something nearby.”

  “Not that it helps us. We don’t know what to do with them. I know the Pyx can’t tell us how to kill them, but I wish I knew. What if something happens? How are we supposed to protect ourselves?”

  Wes re
ached his other hand across to cover hers where it still rested on his arm. He didn’t need to say anything. It was enough to know he was there with her.

  The Pyx didn’t have to say anything either. She felt their anxiety every time she brought up the topic. She sighed and said goodnight to her uncle before heading to the dorms for a wild Friday night of studying for exams.

  CHAPTER 27

  “READY?”

  Cara nodded, and Josh’s arms closed around her from behind. Fighting off the flash of panic and a shiver at the memory of Messoryx’s attack in February, she ran through the steps in her head.

  Back up into it. Hips to the side. Twist down and spin. Elbow up.

  “Good.” Josh blocked her elbow at the side of his head as she spun out of the hold for the dozenth time.

  She turned her back to him to start again.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded, and he squeezed.

  “Now this time—” He squeezed her tighter, and her feet left the ground.

  Her vision tunneled. Goosebumps rippled down her limbs, and she shrieked. His arms loosened immediately, but not before she flashed back to the dark space between two buildings when Lydia’s arms had crushed her ribs and driven the air from her lungs with the super strength of Messoryx’s control. Tears made the room swim as she remembered the panic in Rhys’s eyes looking back at her and her desperate struggle to breathe.

  She dropped to the floor, and bitter hatred flooded her. Messoryx had nearly taken her life the way he’d taken so many others.

  “I’m so sorry, Care Bear. I should have warned you first.”

  Her uncle reached for her as she turned and stumbled a step away from him with the lingering fear and anger surging through her. Jenner leaped up with a growl. He snapped at Josh’s outstretched arm and almost caught him before Josh could jerk his hand back in alarm.