by Jo Holloway
On Saturday, they walked with Jenner over to Tolstoy’s house to visit Tolyx. The house was close to Cara’s, near the diner she and her mom frequented.
The little Pekinese bounced across his yard at the sight of them. “It’s so nice to see you kids again.” The cheery voice completely suited his pyxis, whose entire body wiggled with excitement at his visitors. “I’m still incredibly grateful to you for getting us all out of that place and returning me, and so many of the others, to our homes here.”
Jenner and Tolstoy sniffed each other from opposite sides of the fence while the three teens stood around on the sidewalk, trying to look like they just happened to pause there.
“Have you heard anything, Tolyx?” Cara asked.
“Nothing certain, but there’s a rumor another Pyx went missing.” His cheery tone turned grave.
“Really?” Wes pulled out his phone. There hadn’t been any more alerts for missing animals in Portland matching any pyxides they knew of.
“Not a pet. Her pyxis was a wild rabbit. The Pyx was a wanderer, not well known to anyone in these parts. The only suspicious thing is the same rabbit was seen again with no Pyx. So we don’t actually know if she moved on or if something worse happened,” Tolyx explained.
“You yourself have not seen the figure you noticed previously again?” Jenyx asked.
“No. There were those two times I saw the figure lurking at the end of the block over there. I got Tolstoy to run to the door and bark like mad both times, and the guy seems to have given up now,” replied Tolyx.
They filled Jory in on the details as they walked the one block to Lily’s diner. Jenner curled up to wait for them outside the door in the cool shade. The familiar chimes sounded overhead, and the mingled smell of grease and sugar prickled her nostrils as Cara entered. She hadn’t been here much in the past year aside from picking up food with her mom occasionally. She and the boys had come once at Christmas, right after returning Tolyx to his host.
The three of them chose a large booth in the middle of the room and sat down with a whoosh as air escaped from the padded bench seats. The worn surface of the table was smooth under her hand as she picked up the menu, though she knew it by heart. It was good to be back.
The only problem was the troubling news from Tolyx about the wanderer, if it was news at all. It might be nothing. While Wes and Jory read their menus, she glanced around at the other customers. Her eyes lingered on one booth at the far wall. It sat empty today, but she could picture the guy who had sat there a little over a year ago, the same night Jenyx had first spoken to her after her eighth-grade graduation.
The idle fantasies about magically bumping into him again last summer had mostly been replaced by new daydreams ever since the Skai run in November when a mystery guy had caught her in the soft moonlight as she tripped, and her heart had raced at the sound of his voice and the feel of his arm around her. But the longer she’d gone without finding that guy at school, the more she’d found herself remembering the way her skin had tingled after the guy in the diner had accidentally brushed her arm. She recalled with a little lurch how she had caught herself imagining what the guy’s soft-looking hair would feel like between her fingers. Soft, poufy hair . . .
After the visit with Tolyx, something clicked. The blood drained from her face.
That was the same night Tolstoy went missing. After they rescued him in November, Tolyx described the guy as having poufy hair. The guy she remembered had been here the same night, only a block from Tolstoy’s house. It couldn’t be the same guy, though, could it? Had she actually seen him right before he’d abducted Tolstoy?
Wes was giving her that look again, the same one he’d worn when she’d let the comment about the jerks at her old school slip out. It was somewhere between confusion and concern, neither of which she wanted to address right now. She gave her head a small shake.
No. Not possible. Not the same guy.
She would have noticed something off about him. There was no way she could have felt . . . whatever she’d felt at the time about someone who could do the things this guy had done. She’d been working on trusting her instincts lately.
Just a coincidence. You can’t be that wrong.
“Cara?” Wes was still looking at her sideways.
“Yeah?” she answered, trying to make her face cooperate.
“What’s going on? You look like you saw a ghost.”
“What? No.” She shook her head and lifted the menu still clutched in her hand. Her vague feelings about the diner guy were too embarrassing to share.
THE NEXT MESSAGE LIT up her phone at 9:52 p.m. on Sunday. She had finally spent a full day at home again, reading a book and then watching a movie with her mom after dinner. She was lying on her bed, finishing the last chapter, when the small chime sounded.
(Wes V.) Another one.
Belle. The golden retriever.
Just got the alert.
She sat up, wide awake, her book forgotten. Jenner lifted his head at her movement. She could already see someone else typing, but she started to type at the same time. She hit send first, but Jory’s reply followed in a second.
Crap. Where does she live?
(Jory M.) That’s the one off Sunset, right?
What are we going to do?
(Wes V.) We have to find this guy.
How? And what do we do then?
There was no response from either of them for the next several minutes. She chewed her lower lip, jittery from waiting. Finally, she got impatient.
Hello? Ideas?
(Jory M.) Wes is thinking of something.
How do you know?
(Jory M.) Because he hasn’t responded yet.
(Wes V.) Sorry, was thinking. Meet at Cara’s house at 9.
Jory, I’ll pick you up. Bring Thomas.
(Jory M.) K
Is someone going to explain what’s going on?
(Wes V.) Tomorrow
Her body tensed in frustration at not knowing what was going to happen next. She recapped the messages for Jenyx and told him the boys and Tomyx would be there in the morning. She supposed she should try to sleep. Picking up her book, she tried to finish, but the ending felt completely unsatisfying when she did. She tossed it into the corner next to the beanbag chair, knocking over the precarious stack of other books sitting there. With a grunt, she switched off her light.
By the time the doorbell rang the next morning, she’d been up for two hours already. She dashed to open it and found Wes on the other side with the strangest expression on his face. Elena’s car pulled away from the curb, and Cara waved in her direction. Jory followed Wes up her front walk, normal grin in place, with his hand around a thin green leash. At the other end, the large alley cat wobbled up the walkway in a matching green harness.
Her eyes widened, and she clenched her teeth, trying her best not to burst out laughing. Her cheeks tightened with the effort of restraint. Now she understood the expression Wes was wearing, because hers matched it perfectly.
“Don’t talk to me,” said Tomyx as they got closer.
That did it. Cara and Wes both sputtered and doubled over. Jory’s face was blank.
“What’s funny?”
Neither of them could answer for a moment. Cara had to hold on to the front door for balance. Eventually, gasping for breath, she calmed down enough to say, “Was the harness really necessary, Jor?”
“Well, I didn’t want him to run off. He could get hit by a car.”
Jenyx sounded equally confused when he addressed Tomyx from the door to the house. “Old friend, did he not understand your pyxis could make his way perfectly well on his own? He is especially safe with you sharing his mind.”
“Couldn’t exactly tell him, could I? Not a great listener, that one.”
At this, Thomas the cat flopped over on the front step, flat out on his side, and refused to move when Jory tugged on the leash. Cara and Wes dissolved into a fresh round of laughter, clutching their stomachs.
> “Didn’t I tell you not to talk to me?” Tomyx said. “It’s all I can do to keep Thomas moving in this thing.” Thomas finally stood up and made his way across the threshold into the house.
As soon as the door closed, Cara reached down and slipped the harness off him without another word.
“Come on. I want to hear whatever brilliant plan Wes came up with last night, because I have nothing,” she said, leading the way into the living room.
“Actually, there’s a new first part to the plan, because the golden retriever is back already. The family posted an update first thing this morning. They found Belle scratching at the back door.” Wes held up his phone for them to see.
“So it might not have been him. Belyx might still be fine,” said Jory.
“Or she might be gone. Either way, the first part of the plan is to go check,” said Wes.
Cara narrowed her eyes with a growing uneasy feeling. “What’s the second part of the plan, Wes? Does it depend on the answer to part one?”
“Sort of. If Belyx is gone, then we know two things. One, this guy has gotten better at tricking Pyx out of their pyxides. Or more terrifying at threatening the animals.” His mouth twisted in disgust, and he paused. “And two, Stormy and Belle live in the same general area not far from here. Tolstoy’s nearby too, and he’s been back there. It could be his hunting ground.”
“Hunting ground? Like a serial killer?” Jory did not sound happy at the description.
“Figure of speech,” Wes replied.
“And,” Cara prompted, “the rest of the plan is . . .”
“A trap. With bait.”
There was a beat of silence, and then another. Cara got there first, and she turned to Jory, biting the inside of her lip.
Realization dawned in his bright blue eyes. “Thomas? Absolutely not, Wes. Have you lost your freaking mind?”
“He’s the only one who can. The guy knows him. If he’s back in that same area and spots Thomas, we’ll be able to tell. We’d be right there watching him.” His low, quiet voice was determined, yet he appeared upset at Jory’s outburst.
Cara was already busy pondering the next problem.
Before she could bring it up, Tomyx spoke. “The kid makes sense. It should be me.”
Wes and Cara exchanged a glance, one Jory caught immediately.
“Great. Now I don’t even get to know. What did he say?” Jory crossed his arms and sat in the large brown armchair in the corner.
Cara took a few steps closer and perched on the edge of the couch, facing him.
“Sorry, Jor, but it’s not really up to you. Tomyx gets to choose.”
“For himself, yeah. But he’s supposed to protect Thomas, not put him in danger.” Jory’s scowl deepened.
Jenner walked past Thomas to sit facing Cara, and she waited for Jenyx to give his opinion. “While I also have hesitations about this plan, we can be relatively certain Thomas would be in no danger. We have seen time and again the animals return unharmed in the end, though we do not know exactly what they have been through.”
“That’s true. Jenyx says to remember the animals always come back fine. But, Tomyx, are you sure? We don’t know what happens to the Pyx now. We don’t know exactly what this Pyxsee is trying to do or how far he’ll go. We can’t trust him not to hurt you,” Cara said.
“I don’t need to trust him. I trust all of you. Kid Genius here is right. You guys will watch me. It’ll be fine,” Tomyx replied.
Wes rolled his eyes and only told Jory the part about Tomyx trusting them.
“Actually, Jory shouldn’t be there,” Tomyx added. “This guy knows what he looks like. If anyone’s in danger, it’s him.”
Cara’s stomach lurched. She hadn’t considered that.
Wes shifted uncomfortably. He leaned forward. “I thought of that. Jory, you’re going to have to stay hidden. I know we can’t keep you away, but the guy could recognize you.”
“If you’re doing this, I’m coming,” Jory said firmly.
“Okay, but there’s still the rest of it.” Cara was thinking of the next problem. Wes had thought of everything so far, but she really hoped the remainder of his plan wasn’t what she expected it to be.
They’d had this conversation several times over the last seven months. The first time was at Lily’s diner at Christmas, after returning the Pyx to their hosts. They had been talking about what kind of person could be doing this, and why. Cara and Jory had gone back and forth over what possible motivation the guy could have, getting more and more outlandish as they went, while Wes sat in silence.
The next time it came up was when they’d gotten back to school. As soon as the question of why was raised again, Wes had broken his silence on the topic, saying, “We should ask him.” When she and Jory had both looked at him in disbelief, he had simply shrugged. “What? It’s the simplest way to find out.”
Since then, Wes refused to comment on any of the wild theories. It wasn’t like they had come up with anything better—just a lot of crazy plans for what they would do if they ever found the guy. Nearly all of which were impossible, illegal, or both.
“Well, you know what I think,” Wes said now. “I still think we should just ask him why he’s doing it. But I know you both hate that plan.”
Jory nodded. “It’s a dumb plan.”
“It’s not a plan,” Cara said, shooting a look at Jory before she turned back to Wes. “You have another idea, though.” It wasn’t a question.
“We take his picture.”
“And what? Plaster it on the internet? Like one of those shaming things?” Jory asked.
“No, we use it to find out who he is.” His face was neutral when he spoke, and Cara was struck with a memory of Jory telling her when Wes said something, it was “just truth, you know.” This plan made some sense. They could figure out the rest once they knew what, and whom, they were dealing with.
“Where?” She was on board.
“Well, I thought about the alley where we first talked to Tomyx . . .”
She was off board—out of board—overboard? Whatever. She was not in. Not with that stupid alley as part of the plan. She didn’t even realize she was shaking her head until Jenyx spoke.
“What is it, Cara? I was under the impression you thought this was a good plan,” he said.
“The plan is okay. Does it have to be that alley, though?” She shuddered.
The place held nothing but bad memories. Nothing but old, awful feelings. Nothing but misunderstandings and conflict.
That alley was where she had yelled at them, and the memory still burned after all this time. It was where she had lost sight of Stormy before she knew what she was chasing. It was where she had bubbled over with tension so fierce, she’d thought she would pop, only to lead to the longest night of her life when the voices had started. Even after learning Pyx were real, the bad feelings from that alley encounter had lingered and were part of why she had originally suspected the boys sitting in front of her were the kidnappers. More misunderstandings.
It felt like a bad place to stage this whole thing. She didn’t want them to be cursed by the alley before they started. Anxiety fluttered in her chest again, and she wished she could stand in front of Whalton Manor and let the mansion soothe her.
“I really hate that alley,” she pleaded.
“I know, but it’s perfect.” Wes leaned forward to catch her eye, speaking softly. “We know he’s been in that area, and it’s a place Thomas used to go regularly. Plus, it’s full of spots for us to hide and watch from. That little gap at the fork in the alley is perfect. It’s the best place I can think of. Sorry.”
I hope we won’t be sorry.
“Fine. I’m being ridiculous, I know.” Cara took a deep breath to chase away her dark thoughts, and they left to go check on Belle first. Thomas rushed out the door before anyone could put a harness on him.
CHAPTER 7
Think Fast
THE FIRST TWO DAYS of staking out the alley were
hot and uncomfortable. And boring.
They had found Belle happily chewing a stick in her backyard with no Pyx sharing her mind. After that, they checked on Stormy too, in case the family simply hadn’t posted an update. They spotted the grey cat in her window, apparently no longer allowed outside. Stormyx was gone. Two days later, nothing more exciting had happened.
By the third day of the stakeout, they were all on each other’s nerves. Jory was frustrated at being left alone in a well-hidden spot behind some bushes a few houses down. After the fourth time he had come out to talk to them, Wes had gone over to talk to him. Cara had no idea what he had said, but Jory hadn’t come back out since.
For her part, she was tired of being stuck in the narrow opening between the white fence and the stark garage wall with both Wes and Jenner. Wes dealt with his frustration that his plan wasn’t working immediately by being annoyingly silent. Jenyx betrayed her irritable feelings with his calmness. She tried to crouch in the small line of shade cast by the fence. Her feet ached from standing, but sitting on the sharp gravel wasn’t any better, and there was no room for a chair. She was bringing some sort of cushion tomorrow.
They were all grateful when a bank of grey clouds swept across the crystalline sky, offering some relief from the heat at last. Only Tomyx was still too surly to welcome it.
“If it starts raining on me on top of this dumb sideshow I’m putting on, I am done with this,” he said as Thomas strutted past their hiding place for the eight hundredth time.
“Quiet,” Wes said.
Cara huffed. “Honestly, if he blows this after all this time because the guy hears him, I swear I’ll—” She broke off.
You’ll what, Cara? What are you going to do about it?
She ground her teeth. She hated feeling so powerless. “Can’t you tell him he has to shut up?” she said to Jenyx.
