by Jo Holloway
“Tell me after.” He resumed staring out the windshield at the door to the hospital.
Cara shivered. She might have been coming down from the strain of the last half hour. The shaking might have been the aftereffects of adrenaline. But why did she feel like things weren’t over? It was more than just waiting for news about Liv.
“Jenyx . . . what else aren’t you telling us? I feel like this van is sitting on my shoulders. And please don’t tell me we don’t need to know.”
“We could tell them. It doesn’t break any of the laws,” Tomyx said to his old friend. “We aren’t killing another Pyx, not until the council of eleven decrees it. We wouldn’t be revealing the way to kill a Pyx to them. And we’re obviously not using a human pyxis. We can tell them without violating any of the three, and the time they need to know about it is probably upon us.”
A tense silence stretched across the van as they waited for Jenyx to speak.
“Several months ago, you asked me a question I could not answer at the time. I do not keep things from you lightly, child, only when necessary. At the time, you did not need to be aware of this; however, I should have told you once we learned of the presence of Livyx and I saw your involvement. For that, I apologize.”
Jenyx paused. Cara took a long breath and nodded in Jenner’s direction, eager for him to continue.
“This spring, a Pyx was killed. It is the second death in a span of a year. It should be impossible. Prior to the first, there had not been a death in the past four centuries. Not since the last council, and Pyx for hundreds of miles were aware of it at that time. These deaths are unexplained. There was no council of eleven for either, and we are not aware of what laws were broken. This is not something that happens. Not since we evolved past the first hundred million years or so.”
Cara’s mind reeled.
“While we can agree this Pyx has broken an absolute law, we must understand why. It is rare for any of the laws to be broken. Now we have a Pyx using a human pyxis and another Pyx being killed, meaning at least one of the other two laws were also broken. The chance of these two events being unrelated is too much of a coincidence to accept.”
The weight of their secret lifted from her, but she breathed out a loud sigh. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. So now you know most of what we know. Well, about this tiny thing, anyway,” Tomyx said, but the usual humor in his voice was lost in the dark mood.
Wes was silent. Cara leaned back against the seat. No one spoke for a long time.
“There!” Jory sat forward, pointing.
Rhys emerged from the hospital doors. They all scrambled out of the van. He looked stressed but not devastated. That was good.
“They got her stable enough to move to intensive care. The first couple doses of antidote helped, so the doctors aren’t arguing with my dad anymore. He hasn’t said a word to me yet.” He stared at his shoes. “I’m staying here tonight, but I can drive you guys somewhere first. Do you have someplace to stay?”
“We can use my house,” Jory said. “Gram won’t ask any questions if I show up at home for a night or two, and there are plenty of bedrooms.”
Cara nodded. It wasn’t like she could go home. What would she tell her mom? “We’ll walk, though. It’s not far, and you should stay here with Liv . . . and your dad.”
“Yeah, stay with her. And tell us as soon as you know anything,” Jory said. “Come on.”
He turned back to the van and scooped up Thomas, who struggled for a second before settling down in the crook of Jory’s elbow. A green gleam crossed the cat’s eyes as Tomyx’s voice said, “Oh good, a pony ride.”
Cara snorted. Even with the darkness hanging over them, even with the memory of Liv’s lifeless eyes still swimming in her vision, she chuckled. Wes did too, and Rhys managed a feeble smile. The bit of hope let some light back in. Poor Jory was left to blink in confusion.
“Just call us,” he said to Rhys, and he stalked away with Thomas bouncing along in his arm.
THE PHONE RANG AT 5:43 a.m.
When they’d arrived at Jory’s house, they were all too restless to settle down. Eventually they remembered they hadn’t eaten dinner, and Jory made them nachos for something to do. They sat around his living room, but there wasn’t much to say. They waited. Midnight came and went.
“We should probably try to sleep.”
That was Wes, being practical again. They should. She knew he was right. They weren’t helping anyone by staying awake all night. But . . .
“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered. The stark horror of what they’d just done and all the ways it could have gone wrong still threatened to overwhelm her every time she closed her eyes.
“Me either. I have an idea.” Jory led the way upstairs.
He passed his room and kept going. At the end of the hall, double doors opened into a huge bedroom. The widest bed Cara had ever seen only took up a third of the space.
“Is this your parents’ room?” she asked.
“Yep. They don’t need it. We can all stay in here.”
Maybe it should have felt awkward to flop down on a bed with two boys. But lying on top of the wide bed with her best friends on either side of her, all she felt was safe. Jenner and Thomas curled up on the end of the bed, between their legs. She stared at the ceiling until eventually, she must have fallen asleep.
The phone woke them with a start. It was ringing, not the quiet ding of a message. She checked her watch.
5:43 a.m. Twelve hours after they’d killed Liv.
Wes answered it on speaker. “Rhys?”
“She’s awake.”
CHAPTER 26
Breathe
RHYS PULLED UP TO JORY’S house to pick them up after dinner. They hadn’t been able to go back to the hospital to see Liv. She was still in the ICU and would be for a few more days at least. Rhys had kept them updated with a few messages during the day instead. She still slept a lot, but there was life in her eyes again when she was awake.
The tone of his messages had been relieved, but it was nothing compared to the change in his face when he hopped out of his van to greet them. His eyes blazed. The thunderstorm of grey and brilliant gold danced with new light, and the look she caught from him was half-crazed with relief—wild and raw. The breath caught in her throat.
“Nothing I can say would be enough, but thank you,” he told them.
There wasn’t much to say in return, either. Their faces reflected the same joy at how everything had turned out.
“She’s really doing as well as you said?” Cara asked as they climbed into the van for the drive back to school.
He nodded.
“And you? Did you sleep at all? How did things go with your dad?”
“I slept about an hour, I think. Once she got the antidote and got moved to the ICU, he grilled me for about eight hours straight. He still doesn’t know what to think of me. I had no answers for him. I couldn’t tell him why I did it. The looks he kept giving me . . .” He shuddered.
“Sorry,” she breathed. She’d hated leaving him there alone to face the questions and accusations, all while he didn’t know if Liv would pull through.
He blinked and gave his head a tiny shake. A small smile lit up his face. “Yeah. But you should have seen the look on his face when he heard the word ‘Dad’ in a voice that hasn’t spoken in a year and a half.”
Her throat tightened, and the road ahead of them blurred through the tears clouding her vision. She could only imagine. Twenty minutes went by before anyone spoke again.
“I bet the doctors are all confused.” Jory turned away from the window. She twisted in her seat to see him. There was color in his cheeks. He almost looked like he might grin again soon.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Rhys answered. “My dad is confused too. I couldn’t explain that part, either. He’s trying to suppress any investigations. Since the end result is so good, there’s a chance he can keep it from going too far and keep me out of it. Hop
efully it’ll just be written off as some medical mystery.”
“A medical miracle.” Jory did smile.
It wasn’t a grin, after all. Cara studied his face, but this was the sweeter smile she’d seen only a few times. It was the smile that smoothed out his features and made him look older. She glanced at Wes. He was watching his friend too. One corner of his mouth twitched up. She was glad everyone was feeling happier, but there was still the issue of the evil Pyx in the pyxis on the floor at Wes’s feet.
“So when do we get rid of that?” She pointed to the pottery vessel.
“Some friends are expecting us back at the big stone house,” Tomyx said.
His teasing tone did not bode well.
“Friends? Oh, crap. Ryx is back, isn’t he?”
Tomyx got the response he was hoping for, and his joy flashed through her, making her smile even though she didn’t feel like it. She shook her head.
Rhys got quiet as they drove, and the part of him still back at the hospital with his family grew farther away. It was a comfortable silence, though. She sat back in the seat with one foot up on his dashboard and her elbow on her knee, watching the forest go by. Wes and Jory chatted in the backseat, but their words washed over her like white noise.
When they pulled up to Whalton Manor, she sat up straight again. A black shape flashed in front of her face as soon as she shoved open her door and stepped out. She ducked.
“Caw, caw, Cara.”
“Ugh, Ryx,” she groaned. Yep, so annoying.
The raven did make her think of the ceremony Wes had described, though, and the transferring spirits. There was so much about Pyx she still didn’t know, and recent events made her want to know it all.
A breeze from larger wings made them all turn around, even Jory. A great-horned owl landed on the roof racks of the van, and the raven touched down beside it.
“You’re sure it’s okay if this one sees us all?” The new voice resonated in Cara’s mind. It was clear the Pyx in the owl meant Jory. It couldn’t have hidden from the rest of them.
“Oh yeah. He’s trustworthy,” Tomyx answered.
Cara and Wes glanced at Jory, smiling. Tomyx might like to tease, but he knew his friends.
“What?” Jory was keeping one eye on the impressive owl towering above them.
“Bit nosy . . . but trustworthy.”
Cara kept a straight face, but Wes had to look away quickly.
“Were you successful? Do you have the law-breaker there?” the new voice asked.
Rhys flinched at the sound. It did take some getting used to once you actually started to listen to them. Cara remembered the first summer for her and how jarring it had been every time a new voice spoke to her.
“Oooh. This one’s twitchy too,” Ryx taunted.
She half expected the raven to take flight to dive bomb at Rhys the way he’d done with her before, but he kept his perch. The seriousness of the discussion outweighed any personal wishes.
“Yes, it worked,” she said. She glared at the raven and hoped Ryx would take the hint to leave Rhys alone. “What do we do with it now?”
“It’ll rain tomorrow,” Ryx announced.
“Um, okay. What does that mean?”
“Water, from the sky . . .”
“Ryx, I swear—”
“Gently, child. What Ryx is so ineloquently trying to say is that tomorrow there will be fewer people about outside, and it will be a good time to hand over the pyxis.” Jenyx spoke calmly.
Breathe, Cara. Don’t let him get to you.
She sighed. “Fine. How do we do that?”
“For now, take it with you up to the school. We shall go together tomorrow.”
“Cara or the dense kid. I don’t trust twitchy yet.” The raven took off, and the owl bobbed its head once before following.
“Did he just call me dense?” Wes asked after watching them soar over the treetops.
Jory’s face swiveled to his friend with a look of outrage.
“Relax, Jor.” Cara put a hand on his shoulder. She turned to Wes. “He just means a dense spirit. Like—intense, deep. The elders described you that way a long time ago—actually, I think they used thick, so I didn’t understand it at first, either. But that’s what they meant. Of course, this was Ryx, so . . .”
“You guys should head back to the school,” Rhys interrupted. “I don’t think I should drive you if you want to blend in like you never went anywhere. You should probably sneak back in the way you left so no one sees you.”
“Are you staying here tonight?” Cara asked.
“No, I think I’ll come up too. I should really start trying to settle back in properly.” He shuffled his feet and then started around to the driver’s side of the van. “Maybe I’ll see you guys at breakfast, and thank you . . . again.” He pulled open the door and ducked around behind it.
The rest of them, including Jenner and Thomas, set off across the meadow to the familiar path. Wes carried the pyxis with the frog and the Pyx inside. Cara glanced back over her shoulder once before entering the forest. Rhys sat behind the wheel, watching them go.
Jory went ahead with the animals, walking with purposeful strides back toward the school. Wes drifted behind. She joined him.
“What are you smiling about?” she asked.
His long lashes fluttered before he turned to look at her. “A lot. Liv is recovering, and we did what we set out to.” He hoisted the pyxis in his arm.
“And?”
“And Jory.”
“What about him? He seems better now. Was he that stressed about what we were doing?”
“It’s more than that. You noticed how he’s been acting.”
“Of course I did. He’s been all serious and quiet a lot lately, ever since the first time we all went to the hospital.” She kept her voice down, though Jory was easily fifty feet ahead of them by now.
“Exactly. Since the first time we saw Liv. He got quiet and still that time. He did it again this time.”
“I saw. You had to run for help instead. I wouldn’t have expected him to freeze.”
“He wouldn’t. Not normally. But when he smiled in the car today, I saw it. He smiles like that around my family sometimes, when we’re all hanging around the backyard, or Mak’s ribbing him about something. It made me think of the story my mom tells about the first time we met.”
She breathed out. Her own faint smile spread across her face. “He recognized his real family.”
Wes nodded. They walked in silence. An orange leaf drifted in front of them, and her eye traced its path to the ground. Fall colors had begun to spread through the forest.
She sighed, watching the leaves and thinking of the connection she’d felt to the girl in the hospital. “I hope you’re right. Something tells me I’m really going to like her.”
They still had a lot to do. The pyxis in Wes’s arm was reminder enough. She wanted to learn so much more about the Pyx and the connection between the broken laws Jenyx had spoken of. They needed to know what caused it. But for now, they had each other and maybe a new friend recovering in a hospital room back in town. The rest could wait. They’d learn more tomorrow.
EPILOGUE
One month later
THE GLEAMING WHITE skull stared up at her from the ground. Cara shivered. Below the empty eye sockets and bared teeth, ribs stuck out of the dirt, and a skeletal arm reached up from the earth at an absurd angle. She grimaced at the decorations set out beside the path to the dining hall. She’d blinked, and Halloween was upon them. She pulled her jacket tight around her in the damp morning air and hurried in for breakfast.
She hadn’t given a single thought to a costume for this year, and was grateful they’d decided to skip the school dance last night. Instead, their Saturday evening had been far more enjoyable, and the memory warmed her as she spotted Wes and Jory already eating at a table. She gave them a wave and went to fill her tray.
She scanned the other tables as she passed, even though she knew
the person she tried not to look for every day wasn’t there. Rhys had spent the night at the manor house with his family after their visit. Liv was coming back to school tomorrow, and they’d gone to officially meet her at Whalton Manor. For them, it was a reunion of sorts and the first time Cara had been back to the mansion in a month, but for Liv it was a fresh start. After all, none of them had ever had an actual conversation with Liv. They’d never heard her voice or seen her intelligent eyes so full of life. All that had changed now.
Kaylee called to her as she walked by, and Cara put her quest for breakfast on hold long enough to go say hi. Ethan and his friend Mike sat around the table, along with Delaney, who had walked over with Kaylee that morning while Cara was out for a run.
“So? What’s she like?” Kaylee asked. She bounced in her chair, and Ethan smiled at her. The month might have flown by, but Cara had still had enough time to notice Ethan and Kaylee spending time together, and not just at cross country practice. “Is she great? Tell me she’s great.”
Cara laughed at her enthusiasm. “She’s great. You’ll like Liv, I promise.”
Kaylee was finally getting a new roommate. Since Liv had missed even more school than her brother, she was starting back at Scovell Academy for her sophomore year, so she would be in their class—and in the Cedars dorm with them. Technically, she’d never finished her freshman year, but the headmaster, Dr. Flanagan, had made arrangements to give her credit for it so long as she could keep up with the work they were doing now and pass this semester. Cara, Wes, and Jory had vowed last night to help her get up to speed and make up the first two months of classes she’d missed, and it was the excuse they’d given when they got permission to leave with Rhys the previous night.
She had no doubt Kaylee would love her. Liv was as bright and warm in person as the drawer full of bathing suits in her room had suggested, in spite of what she’d gone through.
She had pulled Cara aside before they’d left to thank her for coming to the psychiatric unit and finding her there. Tears had welled in both their eyes when Liv explained how she remembered her time while she and Livyx had held each other captive, but it was like she’d viewed her life on a screen, and maybe underwater. Everything had felt distant to her but she remembered Cara’s visit, for better or worse. After that, things had become even foggier until the moment she’d awoken in the ICU.
