Uninvited: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Novel (The Dark Skies Trilogy Book Two) (11 page)

“
O
h shoot
!” I say aloud to no one as I leave the hospital ward.

I totally forgot that I’m supposed to start my training with Jax tonight.

With everything that happened today — and finding a second freaky note — it slipped my mind.

I dash back up to my empty dorm room and grab BrightSky, still cloaked as a red umbrella.

I pass Bella as I come blustering out of the elevator in the dorm lobby. “Hey there. Where are you headed?” She looks at BrightSky in my hand. “Expecting rain?”

“Um, yeah, I though it always rains in Oregon?”

She smiles politely, pretending that I don’t sound stupid. “I think you’re thinking of Seattle. Washington state and all that. I mean, we do have rain, but not all the time.”

“Oh,” I nod like this is news to me. “Good to know. Okay, I’ll see you later.”

I only know where to go because I passed the tall glass gymnasium structure when I got lost on my way to the barn this morning.

The sun has dipped beneath the horizon revealing a dark starless evening. But the mostly glass gymnasium glows like a warm beacon in the night.

You might think this modern architecture wouldn't fit in with everything else in the village of St. Benedict’s, but somehow it blends almost seamlessly. The gym’s tall arching windows harken back to those of the nearby cathedral windows, as does the angle and pitch of the roof.

Climbing the wide concrete steps of the gym, I see movement out of the corner of my eye near the far edge of the trees. A small gathering of white tail deer peacefully grazes on the large patches of clover growing in the shade of the pines.

One deer, in particular, a gorgeous buck with a huge antler rack, lifts his head up and watches me pass. I see the red collar.

“You’re late,” a familiar voice says before I’m even through the door.

“Fitz!” I say, happy to see him again.

“How you doing, kid?” he asks with a big smile, leaning back in a chair at a reception desk with his feet up.

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

He tosses a magazine on the counter and stands, “I was starting to think you were going to stand me up.”

“It was a crazy day. I’m still trying to get my bearings around here.”

Fitz comes around and ushers me into the gym. “Welcome to our little training center,” he says puffed up with pride.

Little is meant to be ironic because this place is ginormous. I can see why he's proud. It’s like American Ninja Warrior meets the Navy Seals.

A big blue floor mat, like gymnasts use, takes up one entire corner. A full-size basketball court sits right across from it. A padded running track rings the entire area. I see a massive weight lifting area, complete with every sort of workout equipment that you can imagine.

A group of high school kids are in the middle of a yoga class on a loft platform that rises above a narrow lap pool.

“What do you think?” Fitz asks.

“Jeez, where’s the football field and the batting cages?”

“We did manage to save a couple of things to put outside,” he laughs. “The Oregon winters can be long so we want to make sure we can make good use of our time. It's important that our students and agents are trained in multiple disciplines.”

As he’s speaking, a pair of super handsome, clean-cut guys, just a little older than me, with short haircuts and big biceps appear. They look like they just stepped out of the pages of a hot firefighter calendar.

“Astrid, meet Tyler and Jake. They're both former Navy SEALS, and they run things around here.”

“Nice to meet you, Astrid,” he holds out a hand for me to shake. “I’m Tyler.”

“If you need anything, you just let us know,” says the one who must be Jake. “We’re excited to see your Sword of Stardust in action.”

If training means working with these two gorgeous hunks, then I’m all in. I glance back-and-forth between the two and can't decide which one is better looking. After much deliberation, I decide that Jake is hotter, but Tyler is more handsome.

I pull out my best pretty girl smile and ask them, “You heard about my sword? Who told you?”

“I did,” says a familiar voice from behind me.

I turned to see Jax.

“Oh hey,” I reply, really wishing he would go away right now. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm here to start your training. Remember? Or did you forget I’m the one you’re working with.”

I sniff. “What? Of course I didn’t forget.”

“Maybe you were hoping for one of these two lunkheads to run you through your paces?”

Tyler and Jake look embarrassed and shake their heads. “Oh no, we could never train you at the level that Jax can,” Tyler says.

“No way,” Jake adds. “We may be good with guns and knives, but the art of wielding a sword has gone out of fashion in today's modern military training.”

Jax grabs the red umbrella out of my hands as he passes me. After a couple of steps, he lofts it back at me. “Alright Princess, let's get started.”

I grab it as it sails through the air and swing the umbrella around in a big circle. This motion somehow shakes off the cloaking, revealing the beautiful sword of stardust.

“Please stop calling me Princess,” I say, leveling a steady gaze at Jax.

Every eyeball in the gym focuses on BrightSky and me. You can hear a pin drop. What can I say? Every now and then, a girl’s got to show off a little.

“I’ll never call you that again,” Jax nods. Then adds, “Okay, your highness?”

Agent Simmons, the red-headed beauty that helped us rescue my uncle, hurries toward Fitz. “Sir, we need you in the Eye. Radar picked up two more sightings.”

“
E
verything okay
, boss?” Jax asks. I’m quietly hoping Fitz will explain what “sightings” means.

“Everything’s fine,” Fitz replies, following Simmons toward the front entrance. He turns to Jax and me. “Alright you two, play nice. I’ll check in with you later.”

After Fitz leaves, Tyler and Jake saunter back to the nearby weight room where I suspect they both spend a great deal of time.

Jax slides an athletic bag off his shoulder and sets it on the ground. “Alrighty then. Let’s get started. I have plans for later.”

As I’m wondering what type of martial arts or combat gear could be stored in the bag, he pulls out a shiny blue tennis racket and pair of yellow-green tennis balls.

“I hope you’re not looking for a mixed-doubles partner,” I frown. “Cause, just FYI, I’ve never played before.”

“No need to worry, I already have a pretty solid mixed-doubles partner,” he smiles slyly.

I decide to ignore that. “I see a whole lot of sports stuff around here, but the one thing I do not see is a tennis court.”

“Don’t need a court to hit the ball,” he winks then walks towards what looks like the obstacle course from Greatest Ninja Star that TV show where contestants battle their way across these crazy hamster-cage courses by running, jumping, climbing, swinging and dodging their way past different obstacles, while things shoot out, swing at their head and try to take out their knees.

“Welcome to the Leap of Faith.” Jax grandly points to the obstacle course.

“You named the human habitrail?”

“For your information, this happens to be one of the toughest indoor obstacle courses you will ever attempt.”

“It’s likely the only one I’ll ever attempt,” I counter.

“Well, get ready either way…” He walks over to the starting platform. “Cause, like it or not, you’re about to take a leap of faith.”

I have a bad feeling about this.

Ten minutes later, I’m standing ten feet off the ground on the starting platform to this crazy course holding BrightSky.

“Okay, so let’s see how you do,” Jax says.

I nervously look over the edge of the platform. “It’s a long way down if I fall.”

“You'll be okay. People fall all the time. There’s plenty of padding,” he says, dismissing my fear. “Or, you could just not fall.”

I roll my eyes. Obviously, the solution is not to fall off the course. But that seems easier said than done considering all the things that are flying at your head and trying to take your feet out.

“Hold BrightSky for me.” I hand him my sword.

Jax holds up his right hand. “On your mark… get set…”

I take off down the platform.

“Go!”

The first obstacle is a trapeze bar across a ten-foot expanse, followed by a tunnel, a narrow balance beam, then over a foam wall.

So far, not so difficult.

I belly-crawl under mock razor wire, and hopscotch across fake rocks and all sorts of other crazy obstacles.

Crossing the finish line, I proudly twirl a couple of victory circles. “Yes!”

I’m not going to admit it to Jax, but it was actually sort of fun.

Meanwhile, Jax stands at the finish line, giving me the sarcastic slow clap.

I’m confused. “Wait. What’s wrong? I made it through all the obstacles without falling?”

“Yes,” he says, glancing dramatically at his watch. “But I’m pretty sure you just broke the record for the course’s slowest time ever.”

“You didn’t say I was being timed?” I argue.

“You were being timed.”

This guy is never happy. “Fine. I’ll do it again.”

“Great!” he says with a big wide grin. “But we’re going to do it a little differently this time.”

“What, like, blindfolded or something?” I say sarcastically.

“Oh! That’s a good idea.” His eyes go wide at the thought of making some poor soul complete this course blindfolded. “Maybe we’ll try that tomorrow.”

Instead, Jax grabs the tennis racket and the bag of tennis balls.

“What's up with the tennis ball?” I ask, fearing the worst.

“This time, as you go through the course, you need to block the tennis ball.”

“Block them with what?” I ask.

He points to my sword.

“With BrightSky?” I ask.

“Exactly,” he nods, bouncing a ball on the floor.

“Are you crazy?”

“And you’re going to try to go a little faster this time.”

“You want me to go faster while holding a sword and fending off speeding tennis balls?”

“C’mon! It’ll be fun.”

Right. More fun than a barrel of monkeys.

As he’s about to push the timer to start, I ask, “How am I supposed to jump and swing; slide and roll while I'm holding a sharp sword?”

As the timer starts counting, Jax pitches the little tennis ball up in the air and whacks it at me.

“Hey!” I duck to avoid getting beamed in the head by the speeding ball. “That's not nice.”

But before the words are out of my mouth a second tennis ball hits me squarely on the shoulder. “Ow!”

“You better figure it out,” he says.

“That's going to leave a mark.” I cry, clutching my arm.

The ball hit me almost exactly on the wound I have from where the Grail cut me with Draconian steel. One of the only substances from which I don't instantly heal.

“What’s is wrong with you?” I spit out. “I don't know if you did that on purpose or just got lucky.”

“If I were you, I’d get going, or you're going to find out.”

I sigh. Fine. I might as well give it a try.

I take off down the course but don't make it very far. I tuck the sword under my arm as I jump up to the trapeze bar that will carry across a ten-foot chasm.

First, I dropped the sword; then I nearly impale myself when I fall right next to it. But, in the process, I manage to deflect two more tennis balls.

“Okay, not horrible,” Jax says, almost sounding sincere. “Let's go back and do it again.”

After another half dozen failed attempts, I'm exhausted. Not to mention the fact that I've been hit with at least 25 tennis balls.

“You can give up when you make it all the way across,” Jax replies.

“I'm obviously not going to make it all the way across today.”

“Then we’ll be here until tomorrow.”

“You might be. But I’m leaving.” There is no way I'm going to keep trying to do this impossible course with an insane teacher.

“Yes, you are,” he says.

“No, I’m not.” I swing BrightSky around, turning her back into an umbrella. I jump down to the gym floor. “You can stay here as long as you would like, but as for me, I'm going to the dorm to have dinner. That is if they’re still actually serving dinner.”

“Don't be a quitter,” Jax follows me to the exit.

“I'm not a quitter.”

“Quitter. Quitter, quitter.”

“I happen to be smart enough to know when to call it a day.” On that note, I stalk out of the empty gym and down the steps.

I’m ten steps away when I hear a deep growling in the bushes right in front of me.

Jax and I both stop and listen.

Something is coming my way. Something big. And it’s getting closer and closer. Whatever it is, it emits another low guttural growl.

Jax steps protectively in front of me. “Get behind me.”

“
I
f whatever’s
in there decides to attack, you run back inside the gym.” Jax grips something in his hand. I’m comforted by the thought that it’s a weapon, but as he turns into the light, I realize it’s just his tennis racquet.

“What’s your plan? To kill ‘em with your overhead serve?”

“My plan is to stand here while you get BrightSky out of your bag,” he hisses.

“Oh. Right.” I’d totally forgotten that I had her with me.

We hear the growling again; low, guttural and mixed with odd clicks.

“What’s making that sound?” I fumble with my bag, trying to get the red umbrella untangled from the straps.

“I’d say it could be wolves or a mountain lion. Maybe even a grizzly, but it sounds too big.”

The sound drifts out at us again. This time, it’s considerably weaker and more garbled.

Jax adds, “Whatever it is, it sounds injured.”

Finally, getting the umbrella untangled, I take a step back and turn BrightSky back into a sword.

“If it’s a wounded animal, it could make whatever’s in their way more dangerous,” Jax say. “An injured grizzly will tear your head off if it feels threatened.”

Suddenly, like silent ninjas, Fitz and two of his men slide up behind us with real rifles in their hands.

“Status?” Fitz asks.

“A potentially injured creature, sir,” Jax reports. “Likely alien in nature.”

Alien? He didn’t say alien before.

“Only one?” Fitz asks.

“Uncertain,” Jax answers with military precision.

The branches rustle and snap as the silhouette of the beast becomes visible in the moonlight. Whatever it is, the creature is way bigger than a grizzly bear. It's even larger than an elephant.

“On my command,” Fitz instructs his men, as they train their guns on the rustling leaves.

The tension is thick. A prickle of fear creeps up my spine.

“As soon as we have a clear shot.” Fitz cocks his gun

As the creature advances, I hear the familiar tinkling of a little bell.

“Don’t shoot!” I cry, panic sweeping through me. “That’s Tom. That’s my cat!”

Tom, back in his huge alien form, lumbers forward, limping badly.

“Lower your weapons!” Fitz commands.

“He’s hurt!” Jax says, trying to get a better look at Tom, who comes to a stop in front of us. His front legs collapse, and he rolls to his side. “He’s lost his ability to cloak himself.”

From where I stand, I can see a wound in the side of his head and a large gash on his flank. He’s bleeding everywhere. “Something attacked him.”

Tom growls aggressively as Jax tries to approach to examine him.

I move forward and stroke his head. “It’s okay, Tom. He wants to help you.”

Tom calms down enough for Jax to be able to get a good look at his injuries. “I can't tell if these slashes are teeth or claw marks, but either way, whatever did this to him appears to be both larger and stronger.”

“That's not possible.” Fitz looks out at the forest beyond. “There's nothing on this planet that could get through our security system or hurt a valerian drolgon.”

Jax shakes his head looking concerned. “What makes you think it's something from this planet?”

“Then what did this?” Fitz asks.

At this point, I don't really care what did all this damage. I just want to get Tom patched up. I stroke his big head. “It's okay, baby. You're going to be okay.”

Hot tears sting my eyes. It occurs to me that I have become one giant bad luck charm. Everyone I care about seems to suffer from bad luck. First, my uncle is injured trying to save me from the Grail, then Chad is captured, Ruby is forced to leave her family behind, and now Tom.

They’re all cursed. Because of me.

Jax talks on his phone. “… so we're going to need the flatbed truck, not the pickup. That's the only way we'll be able to transport this animal. And you’re going to need to bring the winch too.”

Fitz has other concerns. He talks to his agents. “Check the entire perimeter for any breaches.”

“We already did, sir,” O’Malley reports.

“Then check again!” Fitz barks. “Send out several armed teams, beyond the perimeter, to scour these woods. I want to find out what attacked this animal. I am not putting this entire compound and facility at risk.”

“Yes, sir,” O’Malley replies.

“No one rests until we have answers.” Fitz marches off with his men following him.

I wait with Tom until help arrives. He seems comforted by my presence. I stroke his enormous head and sit calmly beside him.

Waylon appears with Jax’s medical bag. Jax rummages through and pulls out a large syringe apparently meant for something like cattle or horses. Jax inspects the contents then injects Tom in his rear leg. “I’m giving him a painkiller. Should help calm him down and make the ride back to the stables a little more comfortable.”

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” I’m almost afraid to hear the answer.

“If we get his wounds cleaned up and bandaged, he should stabilize,” Jax answers, and I feel a sense of relief. “That is unless there's poisons or some unknown toxin in his wounds.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t know what did this to him. Some alien predators have developed a defense mechanism whereby they have lethal toxins in their claws or their teeth.”

“So you think whatever attacked him was alien?”

“I don’t know what else it could be. Unless there’s a Tyrannosaurus Rex hiding out there in the woods.”

“How will you know if he’s been poisoned?”

“We'll send a blood sample to the lab and observe him,” Jax says. “If he makes it until morning, he'll probably fully recover.”

While we’ve been talking, nearly everyone from the zoology club has arrived. They’re standing nearby staring at Tom. Bella and Waylon and everyone else waits solemnly, looking very concerned.

If I were them, I’d stare too.

On the way to the stables, Bella rides next to me in the passenger seat of the large flatbed truck. “Astrid, are you okay? There was a rumor that you were attacked too.”

“No, I'm fine,” I say not surprised that the rumor mill has already started. “It was just my cat.”

“Pretty big cat,” she says, looking at Tom as the truck pulls to a stop outside this broad doors of the stable. “And sort of ugly for a feline.”

“Yeah, he's one of those crazy rare purebreds,” I reply.

She nods, “Like a hairless sphinx cat.”

“Exactly,” I reply, and we both laugh.

“Well, he's in good hands with Dr. J. If something bad is going to happened to him this would be the place for it to happen.” She looks flustered the minute the words come out of her mouth. “I mean, not that it's good that something bad happened, it's just that if something bad happened—“

“I know what you mean, Bella.” I cut her off. “It's okay.”

“I guess if you have a Valarian Drolgon then that must mean you’re one of our alien guests,” Bella asks, giving me nervous side glances.

“That’s true,” I confess, but can see she seems very anxious. “But don’t worry, I can’t shoot lasers out of my eyeballs or anything like that.”

“That's a shame. That would be super cool,” she smiles.

In his alien form, Tom doesn't fit in the barn built for alien creatures. Luckily the members of the zoology club quickly knock down a wall between the outdoor covered paddocks creating one large stall.

The painkiller must be working because Tom is practically sleeping, or unconscious, by the time they get him settled into the stall. Jax draws blood and gets him hooked up to a bunch of crazy looking, futuristic medical machines.

I try to stay out of the way and let everyone do their job. I have to admit; it’s pretty impressive to watch Jax in action.

When he's done, Jax strides up to me and says. “We've got him set up for the night. You should probably head back to the dorm and get a good night sleep.”

“I'm not going anywhere,” I reply.

“I promise he’ll be safe here,” Jax says softly.

“There's no way he is going to wake up in the middle of the night and find himself all alone in this unfamiliar place,” I say, getting even more emotional. “The only think I can think about is all the nights I woke up to find Tom right next to me. He’s always been there as my protector, keeping watch over me. Who knows how many other times he saved my life that I don't even know about? So don’t try to force me to leave.”

Just then two girls enter, holding an armload of blankets and pillows. Waylon brings up the rear, carrying a foldout cot.

Jax gestures to them. “Sort of had a feeling you were going to say that. Gets pretty cold out here at tonight.”

“Thank you,” I say sincerely, realizing he knew the whole time I wouldn’t leave Tom’s side.

After another twenty minutes, everyone leaves Tom’s stall. Still, I can hear them quietly moving around up in the front of the barn, so I know we’re not alone.

I finally get myself settled on the cot and close my eyes, listening to Tom’s rhythmic breathing.

It’s hard to fall asleep with the knowledge that both of my guardians have been injured. This would be an ideal time for some of my enemies to come after me.

And from what I’d been told, half of the known galaxy wants me dead.