It has already been two weeks since Lincoln Blackwater was found dead; two more people have been found out in the woods with the same arrow to the head with purple lips.
Asher, Waverly, Clay, and I had gone for a walk through the gardens, and when we returned to the school, we were approached by a frantic Mercedes.
"Asher, have you seen Shelby?" she asked.
"No, why do you ask?" Asher replied as his face whitened.
Mercedes' broke into sobs, "I haven't seen Shelby since yesterday." she said between sobs.
Gasp, oh no!
"I didn't see Shelby out in the forest," I said, "Do you think someone may have taken her?"
"But why would someone take her?" asked Asher.
"I don't know…." I replied, then asked Clay, "Do you know of a way to track Shelby?"
Clay nodded, "Yes, I just need something of hers, something that she holds a lot that would have her energy attached to it."
Mercedes hurried away, then returned holding a cell phone.
"I found her cell phone in her room. She holds this the most," explained Mercedes.
"I thought we weren't supposed to have cellphones," I said, "Since they can be traced by humans who are out hunting for us."
"We shouldn't be using cell phones, but that's not what we should worry about now," Clay explained. "We need to go somewhere to perform the ritual. Asher, you are also needed for the ritual. You and Shelby are twins, so I figured you would have a strong enough connection to increase our chances of finding her."
Asher nodded, then said, "I will do whatever it takes to find my sister."
After finding a place to perform the ritual, I watched Clay create a salt circle around him and Asher, then lit five candles facing North, East, South, and West. When all the candles were alight, he lit a smudge stick made of sage to help guide him on his journey, then handed it to me.
"Little Bird, can you please walk around the salt circle and continue to smudge us with the sage?" Clay asked.
"Of course," I answered, taking the sage he handed me.
"Okay, now, Asher, try to breathe in as much of the sage as possible, then close your eyes and think of Shelby," Clay said, then closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, then chanted, "Oh, Great Spirits! Guide us to our missing sister, Shelby!"
All five candles lit up at once, and a strong breeze kicked up that sent aromatic sage smoke spiraling around them.
As I walked around the salt circle with the smudge stick in my hand, I gasped in surprise when a thin red line appeared that led out the door.
"Clay, I think it worked," I said.
Clay opened his eyes and saw the red string of light, "Thank you, Great Spirits, for your guidance!" said Clay as he rose to his feet and then closed the prayer circle.
"That was really awesome, Clay," I said with a smile, "You should show me how you do that someday."
Clay returned my smile, then leaned in for a light kiss, "I promise to teach you everything I know. Now let's go find Shalby."
Asher, Waverly, Clay, and I followed the red string through the school and outside, cursing when it led beyond the school property.
"Well, looks like it's going to get more difficult," I stated.
"You don't say," Asher says sarcastically, then hangs his head as tears fill his eyes, "I just hope she is okay."
"I hope so too, Ash," I said, wrapping him in a one-arm hug.
"Well, are we doing this then?" asked Clay. When the three of us nodded, Clay sighed, then ran a hand through his hair, "Well, let's get going then."
"If you guys are leaving, I'm coming too!" Gray yelled as he hurried to catch up with us.
"And why should we let you come?" asked Clay, "You are just going to slow us down."
"I will just tell my father if you go without me," Gray replied, "and then you won't get to look for your sister."
"Gray, how old are you?" I asked.
"Umm, I'm seventeen," He answered, "Why?"
"Because you're acting like a ten-year-old!" I yelled, "It's time you grow the hell up! If you don't, you will be all alone one day."
"Well said, sister," said Asher, "But we don't have time for this! We need to go!"
With a sigh, I said, "Come if you must, but if you slow us down, we will leave you behind."
Gray nodded, looking a little sheepish, then walked over to catch up as we turned and stepped out of the protection of the school.
As we stepped through the magic wall surrounding the school, I felt an odd static sensation all over my body. It was shocking to feel the temperature drop so drastically.
"Oh shit, it's cold!" I complained as the others stepped through.
"Well, duh, we are in Alaska," Gray Remarked
"Why don't we shift?" said Clay, "It will keep us warmer."
"But what about communication?" I said, "None of us are pack-connected."
"Clay and I are connected," Explained Asher, "and you and Clay are connected. We should be safe enough."
Waverly nodded, "It's better than freezing to death."
"We should have planned this a little better," I grumbled as I hid behind Clay to remove my clothes and then shifted.
Now, that was much better, I thought as I shook out my fur.
After rubbing his fuzzy head against mine, Clay took off into the trees, following the red line deep into the forest of pine trees.
We followed the red line until we found a small log cabin that appeared to have seen better days. The wood was moldy and looked like it could cave in any minute. But we followed the red line, then hopped on our hind legs to peer through the broken window.
"I see something inside," I murmured to Clay.
After peering into the window, Asher hopped down and hurried toward the door, then shifted as he hurried inside.
"Shel?" he called out as he rushed toward the crumpled figure in the corner.
As I got closer, I recognized Shelby, curled up on the floor in her wolf form with a choke chain around her neck, which was attached to a chain bolted to the floor.
The brindled wolf shifted after Asher removed the chain, then threw her arms around his neck.
"I'm so glad you found me," she cried as he scooped her into his arms.
"Who did this to you?" asked Asher.
"It was Elder Payatt. That fucker thought I was Eve and took me," Shelby said with a glare in my direction, "but when he learned that I wasn't Eve, he decided to use me as bait."
Gray, who had been standing in the doorway, walked over to Shelby in a daze that seemed oddly familiar.
Seeing Gray, Shelby's face reddened as she hid her face against Asher….Who knew that Shelby could be shy?
"What is your name?" asked Gray as he dropped to his knees before Shelby.
"My name is Shelby," she replied.
Gray's face lit up with a megawatt smile before he said, "I'm Gray, Grayson Okhmhaka."
Oh great, it looks like Gray will someday be my brother-in-law, but due to Guardian traditions, Shelby will have to move to Gray's pack… Which I believe is located somewhere in Montana.
"I think we should get out of here before Elder Payatt returns," Clay says.
"Too late, young pup, I have returned," We all turned to find a naked Elder Payatt in the doorway, holding a tranquilizer gun. As he lifted the gun, he turned and aimed it at Clay, "Now it's time for you all to take a little nap." he said, then swiftly shot everyone.
Clay growled and snarled as he fought the dart, but Payatt shot him with another dart that knocked him out.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked as the darkness began to cloud my brain.
"Why, you ask? It's because sometimes sacrificing one person can help save a few others," he explained as he brought the butt of the gun to my temple, causing the world to go black.