We searched for four days, nonstop and wild eyed, tearing through the land like demons ourselves. Asha had been taken back to the Whalens' ranch by some kind BLM rangers who helped us search for Renn.
We found nothing in those hundreds of miles we combed.
Not a hint or clue or whisper of him or Silas, the Betrayer.
Silas had Renn trapped on the other side of the Divide and none of us knew if he was alive or dead.
"Only spirits can travel to the other side," Leonard had said. "Silas must have enough of the dzoavit magic in his blood to do it now, but what about Renn? Would he have survived the crossing? I don't know."
Leonard had looked so tired and heartbroken back at the ranch. Billie was getting better, but not by much and she was still in the hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Eventually, Leonard had decided it was best that we all went home. Coyote would stay and help the elders search for Renn and Silas, but the rest of us, including Asha, would return to Shades. Cody had volunteered to stay behind and help as well.
Skye and I were a couple weeks shy of starting the new school year and my Nana expected me back soon, anyway. But I didn't want to leave with so many questions still unanswered and Renn trapped inside the spirit realm.
"Regroup," Coyote said to me, his hands on my shoulders as I stood next to my car. "We will find him."
I nodded, mostly to make him feel better. My eyes were sore and bleary from the last few nights of crying and nightmares.
Returning to the Whalens ranch three nights ago, I'd hoped to find Ernie there waiting for me. If anyone would be able to give me some sort of news about the spirit side, surely he could.
But he wasn't there. He never showed up and that was the moment that I knew everything with Silas was much bigger than what had happened at Bear's Den. As much as I hated to admit it, it was even bigger than getting Renn back.
Skye sat in the front seat of my car and waved to his father. I'd reluctantly agreed to take Asha to Coyote's wife, Lacey. She'd stay with Coyote and his family in the meantime while all of this was sorted out.
She'd be lucky to survive the ride home to Shades in one piece if I had anything to say about it.
We rode in silence, each of us working through our own maze of grief and fear when Skye finally broke the silence.
"Call me crazy," he said, looking out the window. "But I think extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures."
I raised my eyebrow at him as I drove Roberta down the road.
Skye continued.
"We're just going to have to find a way to send you and your dzoavit-infected self in after Renn..."
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Fall into Fire (Shamans of the Divide, Book 2)
Teen FictionOn her own under council training, July comes face to face with a new evil. A vindictive, vicious spirit known as Red-Woman has been set loose and uses her uncanny ability to incite jealousy in the group and nearly causes its undoing. Renn returns a...
