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

Chapter Twenty-seven

We sat as close to the giant stone monolith as we could and I prayed whatever sacredness it held that kept the bad things at bay held.

"Bear's Den," Coyote explained later, after we'd turned off the ATVs and let the horses rest. Cody had been upset that there wasn't a readily available source of water for them, but there wasn't much we could do.

It felt like we sat in the darkness for hours, huddled against that massive rock. We kept mostly quiet, allowing the creatures kept at bay by ancient wards to vent their frustrations for us. They snarled and howled. Gnashed their razor teeth and every once in a while, turned on one of their own and devoured it as the pack of at least 20 paced the invisible boundary between us.

We weren't doing much better on our side of the ward.

Asha had stopped rocking back in forth, but she still hadn't said anything. Coyote and Skye had tried over and over again to ask her what it was that she'd seen or who had hurt her, but she wouldn't say anything. She sat huddled against herself with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring blankly out at the demons.

"Are we waiting to die?" I asked Renn quietly. I didn't mean to be so morbid, but it seemed like we didn't have a plan and no way to get past the sentries that blocked our way.

In the east, the sun started to peek through far peaks along the horizon and for once, I actually wished the stupid things were vampires. At least the stupid ones would turn to dust before taking cover. But sunlight didn't slow them down, as we learned back at the Whalen's ranch.

Renn sat down next to me. I'd planted myself on next to a boulder and leaned against it for support. Skye was on the other side of it, eyes closed last time I checked. I was pretty sure it was impossible to sleep, but he was at least going to take a crack at it.

Cody sat back against the huge stone structure next to Asha. His eyes were open, too, and from what I could tell, he was studying the demons—most likely taking notes about their mannerisms and the way their bodies moved in case he got a chance to take one down. Coyote had warned us earlier not to waste any ammunition by taking shots until we absolutely had to.

"I'm not planning on dying," Renn finally said. "And I'm damn sure not going to let you die, either."

I snorted.

"Didn't plan on letting myself die, either," I said. "I was more worried about you, actually."

Renn cracked a smile and stared out at the sunrise.

"You know, there's this scene in the Hobbit where Gandalf the wizard summons these giant, flying eagles to rescue the Hobbits just as the Orcs were closing in."

I heard Renn snicker before I could finish my sentence.

"Seriously," I said. "Now more than ever your mind-control ability over giant flying birds would come in really handy."

He put a hand over his mouth as he laughed, trying to stay quiet. I'm sure he worried it wasn't exactly and appropriate time to chuckle.

"No birds around here," he said quietly. "They left long before we got here."

"How sensitive are animals to things like that?" I motioned out at the pack.

"Depends on who feels the most threatened," he replied. "The birds are almost always the first to leave and are pretty reliable messengers. Bigger mammals will disappear but if they're curious enough, they'll slink around unseen just to see what's going on. "

"Nosy animals? I like the sound of that."

"The big cats are the most curious," he continued. "They're rare, so I don't come across them too often, but when I do, their first instinct isn't always fear."