only one of those options was available to me. Screaming would just bring my
shadows to me and upset Darren, and the spike covered baseball bat wouldn’t likely
end well for me. After a few moments of self-pity, I wiped the dampness from my
eyes and stood up. I needed a distraction, something to take my mind off the
oppression that was my life.
Walking around for a while, I finally came across the perfect branch for a bo staff
hanging low from a tree. No fucks given about Darren’s rules, I climbed up the tree,
jumped to the branch, and pulled it down as hard as I could until it snapped. I
landed on my feet easily and pulled the remaining pieces of the branch from the
tree. It was a little heavy, which was perfect, as was the length. Pulling each of the
smaller branches off, I worked the branch until it became one single long stick. But
it was still uneven.
Leaning the branch against the tree, I made my way over to the stream and
scanned the water for the perfect rock. I had to walk up and down the stream for a
while before I caught my foot on the edge of a sharp rock, scratching my ankle.
Bingo. Bending down and ignoring the scrape on my skin, I wedged the rock from
the muddy bank, pushing and pulling it as best I could until the mud finally
released my target. The rock was a lot bigger than I thought it was. Like plucking a
damn iceberg from water, it was much bigger at the bottom than I thought. But I
was strong, and I carried that heavy bitch all the way back to a good hiding spot so
that I wouldn’t have to worry about someone sneaking up on me.
Grabbing my branch, I whittled it over the sharp edge of the rock until the
broken nubs of the smaller branches were gone, and it was nothing but a smooth,
broad staff. The ends were still fucked up, but over time, I could whittle the ends to
a point, but I was low on time as it was.
With only about twenty minutes left, I made my way to the middle of the
clearing and tested my makeshift bo staff out. The aerodynamics were off, but the
weight was good, heavier than usual, and flowed nicely in my hands. Heavier was
better out here, considering it was excellent strength training. Not to mention, the
next time I got my hands on a real bo, it’d be a hell of a lot lighter, which meant I’d
be a hell of a lot faster.
It was easy to lose myself in the bo. Twirling it in my hand and around my body, I
forgot all about everything beyond that clearing. Meditation had nothing on this.
This gave me something to do, something else to focus on instead of merely the
sound of my own heartbeat and breaths. I loved the feel of the bo. Even if it was
uneven and rough, it was the perfect distraction.
A few short minutes later, the timer on my watch went off, reminding me I only
had five minutes left. I quickly found a good spot to hide the bo in the grass and
jogged my way back to the estate, emerging from the trees right on time. I found
Clive and Owen standing on the patio waiting for me, and I didn’t even bother to
acknowledge them as I trudged past them and into the house.
A scowl immediately lit up on my face as I saw Darren standing near the hallway
with Scott, signing some papers on a clipboard and discussing something. I didn’t
even hide my disgust as I walked past him, heading for my room.
“Jaden,” he said, taking my forearm in his hand. He almost sounded apologetic.
“Fuck off,” I snapped, swinging my arm out of his grip and continuing my pace.
I didn’t make it very far before I was slammed up against the wall, Darren’s hand
ready to crush my throat at any moment.
“The fuck did you just say to me?” he growled, and I felt my entire body respond
with heated fear and anger.
“What did you do with them?” I snarled back.
“With who?”
“My foxes! Did you kill them? You did, didn’t you!”
His gaze went from intense to furious.
“What have I told you about making accusations?” he barked, his fingers
squeezing around my neck for emphasis.
I winced at his voice, chewing on the inside of my cheek to avoid answering him.
I knew where this was going.
“Answer me, Jaden,” he warned, his voice turning deadly and convincing mine
to quiet.
“Not to make them,” I grumbled.
“That’s right, so stop trying to presume everything around you. Whatever it is
you think you might know here, you’re wrong, so stop torturing yourself with
assumptions. If there’s something you want to know, ask me.”
“Yeah, right! Like you don’t enjoy leaving me in the dark! For the first couple
