Shadows of Green & Gold: A contemporary young adult fantasy suspense (Green and Gold, book 2)

by Jo Holloway

  He had been leaning against one of the gold-banded trees, one foot up behind him on the trunk, basking in a ray of sunshine streaming through the canopy overhead. She remembered thinking at the time he looked like some sort of Adonis statue, until he spoke. Then, he’d turned into an annoying teacher or parent as he scolded her for leaving school grounds again.

  His eyes flashed over to the trees as they walked by, even though they stayed in bounds and followed the other path that curved right and ran back toward the school. “You haven’t been going back there, have you?” He shot her a piercing blue stare.

  She hated lying to his innocent, pretty face. “Of course not.” She stumbled on a loose rock and looked down. “Ryx is still guarding the mansion and reporting back to Jenyx. I have no reason to go there. I don’t know why I did that one time.”

  That was the excuse she had given, but it hadn’t been only that one time. She couldn’t help herself. She kept going back. She kept telling herself it was the last time.

  CHAPTER 2

  Good One

  “HEY, WES, WAIT UP,” Cara called to her other best friend on the way to their afternoon class on Wednesday.

  He turned around on the path in front of her and waited for her to catch up so they could walk the rest of the way together. Students flowed around him like a stream around a sharp rock.

  “How was Spanish class?” she asked when she drew level with him.

  “No estaba mal,” he replied easily, “and how was French?”

  “Whoa, you’re getting fancy on me. Okay, I’ll try this game. C’était aussi bien,” she attempted.

  He smiled at her. In his dark-brown eyes, hundreds of gold flecks showed what he was. They matched the solid gold color of her own eyes—Pyxsee gold. When Wes smiled, it was like seeing another side of him, and she was struck every time by how completely opposite he was from his best friend. Jory’s face defaulted to his glowing grin, where Wes defaulted to dark and serious, and he only let a few people glimpse that hint of something deeper.

  She returned his rare smile. “What masterpiece are you going to finish today, the plate or the vase? Or are you starting something new?”

  Wes shrugged his response and held the door to the art building open for her. Since Cara had found no aptitude for any of the creative electives during their rotation last fall, she had chosen pottery this semester simply because she liked the feel of the cool, wet clay slipping between her fingers. If she was going to be bad at something, she might as well find it relaxing while she failed. The sharp, earthy scent welcomed her to their classroom.

  She took her place with the sad-looking mug she was working on, and Wes took his spot beside her with his vase. She gave a satisfied nod at his choice.

  “You’re going to help me finish my stupid mug, right? It doesn’t have to be as perfect as that big one you did last week. Just help me pass, please.” She whispered her plea from the corner of her mouth.

  “Of course.”

  “I still don’t get how you’re so good at this.”

  Wes shrugged again.

  “No, really. I sit here making lopsided bowls and mugs that cave in on themselves while you churn out perfect projects like it’s no big deal. And then there’s those.” She pointed to the vase.

  Every now and then, when she lifted her head from her latest mess, she would glance over to see some beautiful sweeping form he’d created from nothing. It was like magic. Half the time, he squashed it to start again, and it made her want to cry. She was glad he had deemed the vase good enough to complete.

  “What’s your secret?” She squinted at him.

  He glanced over, expressionless. “Genetics.”

  “Seriously?”

  “No.” There was that transforming smile again as he shook his head at her.

  “I knew that,” she said quickly. “Now how do I get this stupid handle to stay on this thing?”

  Even if she tried, she couldn’t think of him as a dark cloud, his original nickname, anymore. It didn’t suit him at all. There was another side to her serious friend. Flashes of something more vibrant occasionally broke through his calm, quiet front—the enigma of Wes she was still getting to know.

  “There,” he said, putting the finishing touches on her mug and passing it back to her.

  She took it carefully so she wouldn’t ruin the work he’d done. The red-brown clay on his fingers blended with his skin, so it looked like he hadn’t even gotten messy while he’d helped her. It wasn’t fair. She set it down with her stained, clay-covered hands and whispered her thanks.

  “That should at least get a pass, as long as your edge holds up until it’s fired.”

  “You’re a lifesaver, Wes.”

  No one but her would have noticed the tiny crinkle beside his eye as he took pleasure in her compliment. It took a Pyxsee to be that observant.

  She rushed back to her dorm room at the end of class to wash up and change into running clothes. Jory was waiting for her at their usual meeting place by the stables when she got there.

  She lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey, Sunshine.”

  His eye roll was visible from a few steps away. He pushed off the fence post he’d been leaning on and took a couple steps closer to her. She ducked out of the way as he lifted a hand toward her face.

  “No, hold still,” he said, reaching his hand out again. “I thought you girls had mirrors in your rooms. Aren’t you supposed to be super observant?”

  He used his thumb to wipe something away from her cheek and held it out for her to see.

  “Oh. Thanks.”

  Good one, Cara. That’s not embarrassing at all.

  She hadn’t checked her mirror when she’d changed after pottery. The bit of clay must have been on her face the whole time. She hurried into the stables to hide her blush and hoped no one else was around. She’d already faced the rumor mill of dating Jory once last fall. Only yesterday, Emma had teased her at practice about her extra runs with, as she’d called him, “just-a-friend” Jory. Cara scoffed at the memory of the air quotes Emma had used.

  There wasn’t anything to the rumors, but Jory had a bit of a reputation from dating four girls, including her ex-roommate, Cassidy, in his first few months here. Fortunately, he’d slowed down lately. Whether Meygyn dumping him had actually had that much impact on him, or the concussion he had received shortly afterward had knocked some sense into him, he hadn’t dated anyone in the past six months. She chuckled. He was probably overdue.

  When she emerged several minutes later with Jenner following her, Jory was still standing in the sun, leaning on his fence post. A big bay horse shook a fly from its ears behind him.

  “What are you grinning about now?” she asked him.

  “Just thinking of clay-related nicknames for you.”

  She grimaced. “I have an idea. How about don’t?” When his grin faltered, she waved him forward. “Let’s go. Lead the way.” Jenner took her instruction to heart and bounded ahead of both of them.

  She and Jory started jogging to the familiar trail through the forest. Cara still loved her occasional early morning runs when she got time to herself and could revel in being out before anyone else was up, but more and more, she enjoyed the company on these afternoon runs.

  They ran together through the opening between the trees, and she savored the thrill of the cooler forest air as it passed over her skin. The grounding smell of damp undergrowth filled her nostrils. They picked up the pace.

  “Let’s take the other trail today,” she called out when they reached the far side of the school.

  “We’re not going to the mansion, Cara.”

  “Of course not. I meant the one that ends at the grotto. It’s such a nice day. I bet there are lots of people hanging out there. I didn’t mean the mansion.” Her voice trailed off.

  That was why Jory went running with her so often. He suspected, rightly, that she was going back to the huge house down the forbidden path more than she let on. She couldn’
t stop, but why? What was it that made her want to hide it from her friends? She wished she knew why it felt so personal.

  The flutter in the middle of her chest nagged her again. It had to be anxiety. At least they seemed to have stalled the kidnapper for several months, but he could be regrouping to start over. Keeping an eye on the mansion made her feel the tiniest bit less useless, even though Ryx was already watching it. So far, all the Pyx had reported were a couple members of the Whalton family who owned the place coming and going on weekends.

  The Whaltons owned this whole piece of land, and had for centuries—every piece of packed earth her feet struck as she ran, every tree root and rock she avoided, it was all on land the family leased to the school. Her uncle’s warning not to trespass again after he’d saved them last fall rang in her mind, and her stomach squirmed at her broken promise.

  She never went on weekends when the family might be around, no matter how strong the pull became. But with Randall Whalton, the modern-day head of the family, working as a neurosurgeon in Portland, they spent most of their time at their other house in town. Weekdays, the mansion in the forest stood empty. She willed her thoughts to stay on the trail she ran along.

  Jory’s voice called back to her. “Actually, Cass did say that she and Gabby and Tish were heading to the grotto after class for a bit.”

  The distraction was welcome. “Wow, she’s Cass again now? Taking drama together . . . You guys are really patching things up, aren’t you?”

  “She’s cool,” he said between breaths. “I’m not going to start dating her again, if that’s what you’re asking,” He ramped up the pace a bit more.

  “That’s not—I wasn’t. I’m glad you guys are friends again, that’s all.” She pushed to keep up, starting to be out of breath.

  They rounded the bend and sprinted the last stretch before finally slowing with relief. Sounds of laughter floated along the trail from the grotto ahead. Jenner bounded up the path to see what friends he could find at the popular hangout. She got the feeling Jenyx was amused by their conversation—never a good sign. She split away from Jory to go say hello to a couple other freshman girls.

  Back in her dorm room that night, she lay on her bed, trying to re-read the novel they had to study for their English final. Jane Austen’s words had gotten her thinking.

  “Is this how you learn?” Jenyx asked, jolting Cara back to the present.

  The book was down on her chest, and she was staring at the ceiling. She had no idea how long ago she had stopped seeing the words on the page. Rolling to her side, she looked down at Jenner curled up on her floor. She couldn’t answer Jenyx because her roommate, Delaney, had her head bent over a book at her desk a few feet away.

  She settled for an eye roll in his direction.

  “There you are,” Jenyx said in that laughing tone he had sometimes. “You humans are so very complex. I’m sure you have a lot to think about at this age. I often marvel at how much animals have to change during adolescence. For humans to have to feel so much and change in so many ways as you reach sexual maturity—”

  “AH! Stop.” Cara cut him off before it got any more awkward.

  Delaney whirled around in her chair to see what was going on.

  “Cara?”

  “Sorry, D, itchy foot, really annoying. I didn’t mean to yell.”

  “Oh.” Delaney hesitated, thinking. “Does that help? Maybe I should try yelling at it next time my foot itches.”

  “Um, no? No. It doesn’t really help.”

  “Oh, too bad.” Delaney turned back to her books, and Cara shot a warning look intended for Jenyx at her dog.

  “My apologies. Perhaps my phrasing was not suitable,” he offered.

  She rolled her eyes again and got up. Since she couldn’t focus on studying anyway, she might as well get ready for bed. She walked down the hall to the showers. It turned out some things were still a little uncomfortable when it came to having voices in her head. If some awkwardness was the worst part about living with Pyx, it wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, having them around brought along its own unique dangers, as their reckless rescue mission had shown.

  THE NEWS CAME ON THURSDAY, after her last track practice of the year. She and Jory were quizzing each other back and forth across the boys’ dorm room, studying for their chemistry final while they waited for Wes. Cara sat on Wes’s bright white bed, absentmindedly stroking Thomas’s soft fur.

  “What element has the chemical symbol Y?” She glanced at the answer on the class flash cards displayed on her laptop screen.

  Jory was about to answer, when Wes swept through the doorway, looking flushed.

  “Good, you’re all here.”

  Jory and Cara stopped their studying to look at him. Jenner lifted his head from his spot in the middle of the floor, and Thomas stood and stretched. Green gleams passed across both animals’ eyes. The Pyx were paying attention.

  “Wes? You okay?” Jory’s voice deepened with concern.

  Wes closed the door behind him. “I’m fine, but it started.”

  “It?” Cara noted the phone in his hand, the expression on his face, and his out-of-breath tone, and understood in an instant. “You got an alert.”

  Wes nodded. “Stormyx.”

  There was no need for him to elaborate. They knew what the alert on his phone was for. As soon as they had returned the Pyx they’d rescued to the city at Christmas time, Wes had set it up to monitor all the missing pet forums for Portland.

  Jory’s face matched Wes’s serious expression for once. “Is it the right one this time? This is, what, like the third Stormy you’ve gotten an alert for?”

  “There were bound to be a lot of cats named Stormy across an entire city. But yes, I’m sure. Right neighborhood, right description, including the white patch on her chest,” Wes replied.

  “That's the first confirmed one, then,” Tomyx said.

  Cara looked down at Jenner. “Are we totally sure she's actually missing? Stormyx didn't seem like the most reliable type when we talked to her last summer, did she, Jenyx? If it was one of the others, I'd feel more sure. Could she have wandered off somewhere for a while?”

  Even before Jenyx responded, Cara grew discouraged, like she knew what he was going to say. Her face fell. Wes gave her a curious look before Jenyx spoke in both their heads.

  “No. I am afraid we need to assume Stormyx has, in fact, been taken. It is true she is not always reliable at recounting facts; however, she knows we are on high alert and would not put Stormy at risk by straying too far from her home.”

  Jory waited for Wes to give him an interpretation of what Jenyx had said, and Wes shook his head to convey the basic message.

  Jory blinked and then turned to the rest of the room. “Do we think there's a chance he'll use Whalton Manor again? Should we go check it out?”

  He looked to Cara for an answer. Wes gave a tiny sigh. When she glanced at him, his gaze dropped quickly to the floor, and the undertone in his cheeks turned a little redder. She hoped he wasn’t growing jealous of her friendship with Jory, whose head turned back and forth between them as if he were picking up a weird vibe. Her lips pursed together.

  Tomyx interrupted the strange moment. “I really doubt it. The guy would have to be an idiot to use the same place again after you all saved me from it, wouldn't he? Are humans often that dumb? I mean, I guess so. Never mind.”

  “Thanks, Tomyx,” Cara grumbled.

  “Tomyx said some humans are dumb enough,” Wes quietly relayed to Jory so he would understand.

  “What are you saying, Jor?” Cara grimaced. “You think we should go there?"

  She was hesitant to ask since it was just yesterday they’d had the conversation about not going to the mansion again. Wes glanced between them, shifting on his feet and looking uncomfortable again.

  “Maybe you and Wes should go. You two are the super observant ones. You'd be able to tell if something's changed, and you can get an update from Ryx while you're there,”
Jory suggested.

  Wes gave him a long look, and Cara caught Jory winking at him when he thought she wasn’t looking. Wes winced. What was going on with these two? She was definitely missing something.

  “No, I'll go alone,” Wes said. “It's already after eight. If I can't get back before curfew, listen for me at the window because I'll need you to help pull me up. Cara can't be out past curfew. She can't exactly explain it to her roommate.”

  “Wes, I really don't think you should be out past curfew either. It's not worth it,” Cara warned.

  “It is worth it if we catch him.” Wes grabbed a light jacket and was out the door before she could protest any further.

  “Leave him, Cara,” Jory cautioned.

  She had stood up to follow Wes, and now she stared at Jory. Wasn’t he worried about his friend’s rash behavior?

  Jenyx spoke before she could come up with something to say. “Tomyx and I will go see if there are any Pyx nearby who could fetch news from the city. Cara, would you let us out the door, please?”

  Shaking her head, she let Jenner and Thomas out the exit door at the end of the hall, trusting the Pyx to bring them back safely. She returned to the room. It was time for some answers.

  “What the crap was that, Jory? What’s going on with you two?”

  “Nothing. What do you mean?”

  Cara stared at him, her hands on her hips.

  “Sometimes Wes is better off left alone when he gets awkward. That’s all,” Jory said through his typical dopey grin.

  She gave him a stony look, and Jory avoided her eye. “That was him being awkward? It felt like something else.”

  “Nah, just Wes.”

  Cara stayed silent and continued to stare at him, but Jory was better at this, and he managed to hold her gaze with that annoying look on his face. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. “I saw your wink. You know I hate being left out. What are you up to?”

  “Nothing.”