A.I.R. Shattered Soul

by Amanda Booloodian

  Like earlier, I tried to let only a little through. Opening my eyes, I looked around. Ignoring the glowing centers that were Logan and Vincent, and the vestiges they left behind, I started feeling for the remains of emotional residue from the creature. Once I found the traces, I tried to follow them back into the past. It was a struggle. The deluge of colors roaring by and the constant shimmer in the air didn't want to go back; it only wanted to move forward. It was almost as if the Path itself wanted to get rid of the creature's presence.

  Something in the air caught my eye. Streams of blues and white swirled around. Currents ran into each other, mixed, and swirled apart. Fascinated, I watched as it moved through the trees, making them sway. Was I seeing the wind?

  Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I turned. Vincent's feelings of concern fell over me. His Path was firmly in the present. His whirl of color mixed with others, much like the waves of air. Inside, he fought against waves of other energy crashing against him. There was one current wrapped firmly around his own. He wasn't fighting that flow. It didn't take long for me to realize that current was my own.

  The realization struck me like a blow. Distracted, the Path swamped over me. Closing my eyes, I saw its flux of color, but with some effort, I managed to push it away. When I opened my eyes, I looked at Vincent.

  “Did you see anything?” Vincent asked. He was detached, and could have been asking what I saw inside him or what I saw in the area.

  It was better to take the easy route until I thought through what I had seen inside Vincent. “I couldn't see anything about the creature,” I replied.

  His eyes searched mine. In the flare light, I could see small signs of relief as the tightness of his face relaxed.

  We moved the flares around the murder site. The smell was horrendous, but Logan managed to find some vapor rub in the bottom of our bag. We put some under our nose, which helped a little.

  “Take a look at this,” Logan said, indicating something on the ground. As I leaned in closer, I realized he was inspecting a piece of the body. I swallowed hard a few times to keep from retching. “Look at the joint,” Logan continued.

  Vincent joined us and then moved to another area. “It's the same with this piece as well,” Vincent said.

  I hated knowing that I was missing something. Blaming it on fatigue was an option, but not a good one. Instead, I cleared my head and tried to detach myself from the situation. I looked at the finger joint, and then moved over to Vincent. The joints had the same type of damage.

  “He was literally torn to pieces,” Logan said.

  “At each joint,” Vincent added.

  Repulsed, I had to keep my mouth firmly shut in order to keep my lunch down. What was happening with my job? Overnight, I went from relocation to homicide investigation, and, let's face it, I'm no detective.

  “Do you think the creature you saw would be capable of something like this?” Vincent asked.

  I swallowed hard. “It pulled me off the ground without touching me. Whatever it is, it's powerful.”

  “You remember anything else about it?” Logan asked.

  “Nothing,” I replied. “Why would it tear apart the troll? I mean, it doesn't look like it ate anything. There's no way the troll would have attacked it.”

  “Hard to say what the thing eats,” Logan said. “Maybe it tasted the troll and didn't like it?”

  We searched for any sign of missing parts. Opting to examine the smaller pieces, I let Vincent inspect the torso. I'd never say it out loud, but I didn't think I would be able to examine the troll's insides. How I was coping with the smaller parts was a mystery. Every time a morbid thought crept up, I pushed it back down. When I remembered that this troll was alive less than twenty-four hours ago, I locked the thought away. If for one moment I really thought about what happened, I would be done. Logan and Vincent probably thought the same thing. If they could keep going, so could I.

  “Looks like all the parts are here,” said Logan.

  “Lot of blood, too,” Vincent added. “It's not a blood drinker.”

  “Food wasn't its motivation,” I said. “We can start by trying to track its motivation.”

  “You up for seeing more?” Logan asked. I stared at him blankly for a moment. Realization dawned slowly. He wanted me to read the area. The thought churned my stomach.

  “I'm not sure I'll have much luck,” I said. “The other spot didn't give anything up.”

  “I understand if you don't want to try,” Logan said.

  Vincent’s eyes narrowed at Logan, although I’m not sure he noticed. My partner knew which buttons to press. When he put it like that, I had no choice.

  Instead of attempting to pin down the darkness of the creature's energy, I concentrated on the troll. The atmosphere didn't fight me like it had earlier. The troll's imprint didn't want to leave. This was its home, and it wanted to stay, not be lost and forgotten. The wilderness seemed content to keep his memory.

  Pulling through the Path, I went back. I saw the troll alive. He walked back toward his cave. The shimmer of the path dulled. The darkness swelled. I caught movement in the Path, but it blurred. The Path struggled to wash away remnants of the darkness. I struggled against it, trying to pull back the darkness and see, but it was no use.

  The energy of our victim was there. I watched as our troll was torn apart, the darkness hid some of the details, but I had seen enough. It was too much. I threw back the Path.

  I fled away to the edges of our scene and my stomach contents ended up on the ground. No one came near me, for which I was thankful. Slowly, I pushed back the emotionally charged images I had witnessed. Once I got myself under control, I joined the others. In the distance, I could hear an ATV. Our clean-up crew was almost here.

  Taking a deep breath, I plunged in. “There was no reason for it. It appeared, tore-- er, did what it did,” pushing back the images took a bit of effort, “and left.”

  “What was it?” Logan asked.

  I shook my head before his question was fully formed. “No idea. It was hidden, but I saw what it did. I couldn't see any motive.”

  “Where did it come from?” Vincent asked.

  “It came in following the cliff face from that direction,” I said pointing.

  “Where did it go after? Or did it stay here for a time?” Vincent asked. This was a harder question. I was pulling myself out of the Path when it was leaving.

  “It went into the woods,” I said.

  “You bring up an interesting question,” Logan said. “Where did the creature come from?”

  “Wouldn’t we have known if something like that lived around here?” I asked.

  “How often do you get Portals?” Vincent asked.

  “We get six or seven natural portals a year in the Mid-West.” This was the type of question I could answer. “That's why we only have a handful of field teams. There are more down south, which is why we have a hub in the Ozarks.”

  “Same locations each time?” Vincent asked.

  “Each time. Our techs let us know when one is getting ready to open. They can monitor the buildup of energy,” Logan said. “Sometimes we don’t get a lot of warning though. Natural portals can be unpredictable.”

  “We're there when one opens to keep anybody from wandering through. In either direction,” I added. “We have a few standard created Portals on the farm.”

  “Nothing from a dimension that might have a creature like this?” Vincent asked.

  “Nothing,” said Logan.

  The ATV noise was gone, and voices approached. We held our discussion as Travis led the other team through the woods. Travis looked weary when he approached. We handed the crime scene over to the crew. They were armed with bags, lights, and coolers. I didn't want to think about what they were going to use the coolers for.

  Chapter 12

  Hiding under my covers all day was tempting, but wasn't really an option. The workday loomed ahead, so I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for the day. When I wal
ked through the living room, Gran's cat hissed at me and scratched my leg. Luckily, I was wearing jeans. I shooed the cat until it slunk away into Gran's room. Gran had left some ibuprofen for me on the counter with a note saying she was over at Morgan's house today. She had also made a pie for Logan and his family.

  Grabbing a drink, I downed the pills. I heard the shower turn on upstairs and knew that Vincent was up. I grabbed leftovers that Gran had left, eating them cold. Wondering what the weather was like, I wandered into the back garden. This was Gran's domain in the summer. She and Cici, the stray fairy that Gran adopted, tended the garden, which produced vast quantities of veggies and herbs throughout the summer and early fall. Cici kept the garden free of insects, except the bees of course, and Gran took care of the planting. The plants were clinging to life. We might even get a few more tomatoes before the end of the season. I wandered out near the tree in the central part of the yard. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to push back the sadness that threatened to swamp me from the day before. I heard a high-pitched buzz and squeal. Looking around, I spotted Cici flitting around the tree.

  Instead of the usual warm welcome I received from Cici, she cried out in alarm and started pelting me with acorns.

  “Ouch, Cici!”

  She fluttered around and started sprinkling a fine powder down on me. Assuming it was some sort of poisonous plant, I retreated into the house.

  Feeling dejected, I called Logan. It was past time to get the day started.

  “Busy day planned, we’ll need to split up. The cleaning crew is working on the site. One of us needs to go out and check on the progress in person now that the sun is up.” Logan said.

  “Sounds like a job for Vincent.”

  “I was thinking the same. Hank is running through old records, checking to see if any portals popped up in the last month that might have been overlooked. I’m meeting with him this afternoon. I’m going to have dinner with the family tonight. Jonathan wants us to meet his girlfriend.”

  “It looks like Gran left you a pie for dinner. One of us also needs to check on Rider today.”

  “It would be a good idea after last night,” Logan agreed.

  “I'll do that,” I said.

  “The doc will have my ears if you don’t take things easy today.”

  “Dropping in won’t exactly be strenuous.”

  “I’ll be by shortly. If you see Margaret, let her know we appreciate the pie.”

  “Where are you dropping in?” Vincent asked as I put the phone down. I jumped. How did he always manage to sneak up on me?

  “Uh, Rider,” I said. “I’m checking up on him after yesterday. There are leftovers in the fridge if you want anything.”

  Vincent shook his head.

  “Logan will be over soon,” I said.

  Vincent didn't respond.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, and then caught myself. “I mean, I know everything isn't okay, after yesterday. But—”

  “You gave me quite a scare last night.”

  “When?”

  “I’m guessing it was about the time you shot the werewolf.”

  “What are you talking about? You weren’t there.”

  “And yet, it felt as if I were.”

  It was too early to wrap my brain around what he was trying to say, so I didn’t bother replying.

  “It felt unpleasant,” he said.

  “Well, you made me feel unpleasant when we met.” I meant for it to be sarcastic, but nothing but anger came through. “I guess that makes us even.”

  “I don't know that we will ever be even,” Vincent said miserably. “What I did—”

  “Is in the past,” I interrupted, thinking Vincent wallowed in his own self-pity. “This is a hell of a way to start a day. Can't this wait?”

  “No, there are things you don't understand.” He paused, “I'm not sure that I understand them. I think I made what happened last night much worse than it could have been.”

  “Because everything is your fault?”

  “No,” Vincent sighed. “But I should have warned you. Rider is a werewolf. They are predators.”

  “Rider saved my life,” I said fiercely.

  “He also tried to kill you. Besides the predatory nature that exists in Rider, I have no objections to him. Please let me explain.” When I didn't interrupt him, he continued, but he vibrated with anxiety. “Your essence is shredded. That I was able to return it to you was a miracle, but it is in pieces inside of you.”

  “You really want to do this now?” I asked.

  He nodded, but his anxiety didn't fade. I had been avoiding this since we met, but there was no avoiding it anymore. We'd barely begun talking and I already felt my blood pressure rising.

  “I've never seen this happen before, so I didn't understand the consequences,” he said. “I'm starting to see some of them now. Things are falling together in a frightening pattern. Logan is unsettled and angry, which clashes with his general nature. I don't want to upset you, but it's more evident when you are present.”

  “He's upset because everything is in turmoil right now,” I replied. “He's upset because you blundered in.”

  “That's part of it I think, but then I heard the Shaman's reaction to you. I'm not sure precisely what happened between you and Rider. But it sounds like Rider fought his own natural instincts. He wanted to harm you.”

  I started to protest, but it was feeble. Rider himself said he wanted to eat me, whatever the hell that meant. Maybe it was literal.

  “You were attacked by something in the woods. Something that had left, but sensed your presence and returned.” Vincent stopped. He clearly looked uneasy about where this conversation was going.

  That made two of us.

  “So putting that together, where do you think that leads?” I asked. I was pretty sure I didn't want to hear his answer and he seemed equally unsure if he should give the answer.

  “I've made you a target,” he finally said. “People sense your change.”

  “Why would shredding my soul make me a target?”

  Vincent flinched. “Predators, like Rider—”

  I made a small noise of protest. Vincent sighed, which only aggravated me more.

  “You're one to talk about predators. It was your job to come in and kill me. You tried your damnedest to do just that.” Vincent started to say something, but I wasn't through yet. “You didn't even question what you were told. You came in and tried to kill me. How many others have you killed?”

  “What I do saves lives.” Vincent started to get angry now. “This is the first time an accident like this has happened.”

  “Do you even care that what you do saves lives?” I asked. “You walk around trying to look expressionless most of the time. You didn't even seem too fazed by the troll last night. The only thing that seemed to bother you was that you didn't get to catch the thing that did it.”

  That caught Vincent off guard.

  “I was doing my job,” Vincent said, “which wasn’t at the murder site.”

  “Of course not. You ran off to create another.” His eyes started to grow dark, but I didn't care. I pushed forward. “Do you know what happens after you kill someone?” I asked. “After you suck their soul out of them?”

  “Everything that I pull out gets thrown between the worlds. You have no idea what I do.” His voice grew softer, but held a sharp edge.

  “You're right. I have no idea what a Walker does. Logan thinks your race is cursed. Want to know why you're cursed?” I leaned in and watched, as his eyes turned to a flat black. No white remained. “Not everything you take in gets thrown out. You keep a piece of every soul you take away from people.”

  Vincent's hands were clinched. “Nothing stays with me.”

  “Really? Because the evidence is coiled around inside you. It pulls together and becomes part of you. Tell me, Vincent,” I spat. “What makes you kill? What do you have living inside you?”

  He didn't move or make a sound. Those
flat black eyes bore into me. Realizing I didn't have my gun on me made me think that I might have pushed things too far.

  “Aren't you two glad you got that out of the way?” Logan asked, coming in from the backyard. Logan took a few steps into the room. His movement was fluid, and he wore a smile. “I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, but things have been busy.” Logan rocked back and forth on his heels and started humming.

  I recognized the tune 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow'. Logan had been humming the tune the first day we met. It did the trick; my anger deflated. I don't say it often enough, but I have the best partner in the world. When I wondered if I could make it to my gun, Logan saved the day.

  Looking up at Vincent, I saw that he struggled with his anger. He had unclenched his fists, but his eyes were stark. He closed them and took a few deep breaths. When that didn't work, he shook his head and walked out of the room.

  “Thanks,” I said. “How did you know?”

  “I hesitated walking in, but it seemed like good timing.”

  “Your timing couldn't have been better,” I said.

  “Good to know. I'd let him cool off before trying to talk to him again.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “I’ll call him once he’s had some time,” Logan said.

  I nodded to the pie on the counter. “Gran left this for you.”

  “I’ll give her a call too. That little lady is something else. Can I borrow some sugar, too? Gerald ate our last bag.”

  Elves have a sweet tooth that Gran loves to feed, so she always keeps loads of sugar on hand.

  “Thankfully, the department has dental insurance,” I said. The last vestiges of anger and resentment faded away.

  “It’s best to make good use of these things. Check in later.” Logan tipped an imaginary hat and left.

  I didn't try to look for Vincent. He might have been in the guest room, or he might have left. Either way, I thought it best if we both had some space.

  Before I left for Rider's house, I strapped on my gun and put the tranq gun in my purse. Better safe than sorry. For good measure, I used a bit of body spray. With Rider always talking about how I smelled, I was getting a little self-conscious. Grabbing my keys, I headed to Rider's house.