Fall into Fire (Shamans of the Divide, Book 2)

Chapter Twenty

It was almost midnight and I found myself critiquing faux crocodile laptop bags with Ernie. I wasn't tired and forcing myself to try to sleep wasn't working either.

"You're crazy if you think Flamingo would go with more career-wear ensembles than Mustard," he muttered, completely offended that I'd liked the pink bag over the yellow one.

"Did you just use the word 'ensemble,' Ernie?"

Ernie ignored me and I laid back on my bed, pulling the pillow over my face.

A knock at the guest house door made me jump and I looked over to Ernie.

"Don't look at me," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I don't open doors."

I waited, hoping maybe Asha would answer it, or that whoever it was would go away. All I needed was to fight another deranged Clint off my legs again.

The knock sounded again and I groaned.

I half expected to find Red-Woman at the door, ready to stoke the fire and flambé me again, but instead I found Renn standing at the door with his hands in his back pocket.

"Asha's not here," I said, glancing back to the open bedroom door. It was dark and Asha usually slept with her door closed. I started to close the door, but Renn put his hand out to stop me.

"I'm here to talk to you," he said, waiting for me to let him in. I hesitated, but finally moved aside and he walked past.

We sat in the small living room that Cody and I had used to clean up my legs after Clint tried to scratch them off, back when poor Cody still might have believed that a bear had done a number on my leg a few weeks back and that the world he'd known for almost twenty years didn't just sort of blow up in his face. I know I should have been focused on Renn, but I couldn't help but feel for Cody and wonder what he was going through right now. He hadn't tried to contact me all day.

"Cowboy get in touch with you yet?" Renn asked, and I looked quickly at him.

Was he reading minds now?

I shook my head.

"What do you want, Renn?" I asked him, switching subjects. "It's pretty late."

"I've been thinking a lot about what Red-Woman said to you out by the horses," he said. "Have you thought much about who the he might be? Who's giving her help to cross the boundary permanently?"

I'd thought about it a little bit, but I don't think he'd like my guess. I said it anyway.

"The only person with reason to hurt me is your uncle."

I didn't miss Renn's eyes widening a little before he recovered.

"That's crazy," he said quickly. "Coyote's not your biggest fan, but for different reasons than you probably think."

I could only imagine the reasons Coyote had for not liking me.

"Well, that's my short list," I said. "And Coyote's hated me from the moment you brought me to his house. What else am I supposed to think?"

Renn looked a little conflicted.

"His biggest worry is that I'll be distracted by you and bad things will happen to all of us," he said. "Why would he set something free that could do more damage than any of them have ever seen? That makes no sense at all."

I know there were bigger problems at hand, but I'd gotten caught up on the distraction part.

"Why would I distract you to the point of total world annihilation?" I asked, clearly offended. "Coyote's got a flair for the over dramatic."