Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Teamwork

I gulped fresh air in the back yard. I'd been so engrossed in my training I didn't even realize it was full dark until Erica was taken. I tried to get my head on straight while I struggled with my emotions.

Erica was gone. Celeste possibly dead. As much as I disliked the latter, I never wished anything of the sort on her. And as for Erica... she was my mom's best friend, my second mother my whole life. Yes, she bugged me sometimes and treated me like a kid. But she tried and I knew she loved me.

And she was gone.

I felt him before I saw him, leftover residual power from the link, but I was very happy he was there. Uncle Frank hugged me and held me while I cried on his chest. He was still cold so he hadn't even taken time to eat before coming to see me.

"It'll be okay, kiddo," he said. "We'll find her, I promise."

It wasn't just Erica, of course, but a mix of sleep deprivation and one emotional blow after another turning me into a weeping mess of Syd.