Page 12 of Remington’s Mate

You should not be here without a guide.

Busted. I don’t need you to babysit me.

Somebody has to do it.

I’m fine.

Your tether to the real world is almost gone. Come back.

He felt a pull at his solar plexus, and then he was in the air near the cliff. He turned to look at the she-leopard, but all he could see was her eyes, calling silently to him, pulling him back.

He tried to reach her, and suddenly he was in human form, flying through the air towards Squatch. He fought, but the bear’s power was too strong.

Remy slammed into his own body, his eyes popping open. He was back on his own couch, and he felt like he’d been squashed by a giant bear paw.

Glancing at the angle of the sun through the window, he realized he’d been gone for hours. It had never been this long before.

Fuck.

Maybe it was a good thing Squatch had pulled him back.

He got up, feeling stiff and hungry, and stuffed the talisman in his pocket. He’d put it away later. When he opened the door to the hallway, Squatch was on the other side.

Remy jumped. “Sheeyit,” he said. “I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on people.”

Squatch just gave him the freaky stare. “What magic are you using to get into the spirit world?”

Remy didn’t need this shit, even if he’d maybe stayed too long this time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Squatch didn’t even bother to call him out on the lie. “Being in the spirit world alone is dangerous. I’ve told you that. You will lose yourself there.”

“No I won’t. I have my bond to Colt, and to the crew. Just like my dad did, when he went there to save my mom. They’ll always bring me back. They’re stronger than anything in the spirit world.”

Squatch just gazed at him. Into him. Through him.

“Are they?” he said finally. “What about the halaika?”

Remy stared. “The what, now?”

“The entity you were with. They lure those who enter the spirit world without understanding it. They become more important than anything in the real world. And when that happens, you will lose your bond to everything else you love, and never find your way back. Even I could not find you.”

A little voice inside him said, Would that really matter so much, if I was with her? He ruthlessly suppressed it.

“Fine. I’ll stop doing it, okay? I’ll quit.”

Seven times. Seven was a lucky number.

Squatch gave him that stare again, and then said, “Next time I’ll tell Brandon.”

“You sound like a five-year-old.”

Squatch just shook his head and walked silently away.

Chapter 6

It was Monday morning, a week after Jaeda started her new job.

It had not yet lived up to her expectations. Neither had her boss, Ethan Sutcliffe.