Call Spirits in Your Past **Book Two**

Chapter 24 (Thursday evening)

"I can't say I'm sorry to see you go, but I wish you luck on your journey."

Kwayo waited for Verspri to reply, but he didn't say anything, so they silently crept forward, through a dim, low-ceilinged basement with too many cobwebs. Asha was leading them through a maze of crates and boxes, supposedly because they had an old teleporter.

"Thanks, Asha," Kwayo called out, earning a glare from Verspri.

"You're not going, Kwayo," Kessa whispered over her shoulder. "And besides, she just said she wants us gone. Why are you thanking her?"

Kwayo shrugged. "Because she's helping us."

Kessa shook her head.

"Are you sure this "old" teleporter is safe?" Tara asked, in front of Kessa.

"How should I know?" Asha replied, her voice echoing. "We haven't used it in years."

Tara audibly gulped, and Tamy started whispering to her.

Their line stopped moving, and Kwayo glanced back. Still no sight of Isaac or Razón. Aito had everyone else doing some activity--Ana mentioned tag, again--but Kwayo was still technically injured, so he was allowed to not play. Which was why he was here, watching Verspri and some of his classmates leave. Kwayo bit his lip, hoping Isaac and Razón hadn't gotten injured in the past thirty minutes.

"Are you sure about this, Verspri?" Kessa asked softly. "It was just a drawing."

"I'm not going because of some drawing Teremki told you about," Verspri turned toward them. "I need to see what's left of it."

"And we're not letting you go alone," Tamy said.

"Maybe because I asked you to come," Verspri muttered.

"You didn't sound very happy about it," Tamy replied. "But we're coming anyway. So you don't go alone."

Kwayo frowned at that. After talking with Asha, he and his friends certainly hadn't wanted Verspri to march out on a mission to blame himself for everything completely alone. But Verspri had asked others to come along. What was up with that? After finding that out, Ana wanted to discuss it with Mrs. Aterak, but they couldn't find the chance. Mrs. Aterak stayed by Aito or Alura's side all the time, hardly leaving space for a private conversation.

Banging came from the stairs, and Razón and Isaac barrelled through. "Sorry," Isaac huffed, "Xander was talking to us."

Takeat's heart skipped a beat. "Xander? Did he read your mind?"

Isaac looked at him quizzically. "Um, no?"

That wasn't reassuring, but he let the two of them push past. Dryda shouted get off me! in Kwayo's head, making him jump, and Ana sent frustrated images of water bouncing between the two of them. Kwayo breathed a sigh of relief.

Sudden whirring tore him from his thoughts, and a golden glow emanated from the corner of the basement. "There you go!" Asha said.

"Is...it going to the right place?" Isaac asked. "No offense, but I don't want to be dropped in the middle of nowhere."

"And you're sure it works?" Tamy asked. "I thought teleporters needed two sides."

Kwayo couldn't see Asha, but he could guess at her glare. Tamy took a step back.

"This baby doesn't need a return portal. Two-sided teleporters may be more stable, but they sacrifice flexibility in the process. You can't just teleport anywhere if you require a portal to already be there."

"Why don't you send one of your clones through first?" Razón suggested. "That way we could--"

"It's too far," Verspri snapped. "Unless it's closer than the edge of this town, Segundo will just come back."