A.I.R. Shattered Soul

by Amanda Booloodian

  The tail slowed for a moment. At least he could understand Logan. Logan smiled his infectious smile. I folded my hands on the table in front of me, trying to feel at ease in the room.

  “Can you give us your name?” Logan asked.

  The sphinx stood up and started pacing once again.

  “We need something to call you by. We could call you kid.”

  I winced. Most young people did not like to be called kid. The sphinx was no different; his tail started to swing faster.

  “We are trying to help you,” Logan said.

  The sphinx pawed at the ground and sat back down. His face scrunched up. He looked much younger than I first thought.

  “Iuput,” the sphinx said at last.

  “It's nice to meet you, Iuput. The men you met out in the woods, they were bad men. They shouldn't have done what they did.”

  Iuput looked like he was going to cry. I breathed deeply a few times and did what I could to help the situation. I pulled on a feeling of safety and trust. Once that feeling welled up inside me, I let it pour through the room. I blinked a few times. The feeling filled the room. I could feel it stretch past the walls. The influence had never been so wide spread before. Another side effect, but it did the trick. The sphinx's tail stopped twitching.

  “What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?” Iuput asked.

  Thankfully, Logan provided the warning against answering a riddle. The answer, man, was on the tip of my tongue, ready to spill out.

  Instead, we waited. We sat in silence, ignoring the riddle that Iuput gave us.

  Iuput pawed the ground a few times. He began to speak. Unfortunately, I had no idea what he said. Logan nodded and made encouraging sounds. Since I couldn't understand him, I concentrated on the Path instead, letting a trickle of power through. The room grew a little brighter. It was closer to how the Path had looked before I met Vincent.

  Logan and the sphinx continued their conversation. The calming effect I produced swirled around the room. The sphinx produced similar shades of blues and yellows. Logan's Path was the usual blank slate. It would take more power to see his Path.

  The sphinx stood and came over to Logan. Logan took his paw in a sort of handshake. I beamed. I wasn't sure what happened, but I thought it was a good sign. Logan led the sphinx out. After giving Iuput a short tour of the office, Logan led him upstairs.

  Vincent joined me in the control room. I beamed. Vincent's blank face loosened into a brief look of happiness. Before I could say anything, Logan joined us.

  “We had a good talk with Iuput. The men appeared in the sphinx world. They went through the portal, found him, shot him, and he woke up here.”

  My good mood drained away. “Iuput seemed to understand English. He even gave his riddle in English. Does he know if the kidnappers said anything?”

  Logan shook his head. “Not a word. The kid was out before he knew what happened. He did say there were three men, not two.”

  “No one else was found in the area,” Vincent said. “The second team finished their sweep. The satellite showed only two men and the sphinx.”

  “They left a third man in the other world?” I asked.

  “Hank said something else showed on the images.” Vincent said. “It was moving too fast to be a person and it was well away from the others. We assume it was some sort of animal; a deer or something.”

  “Let's take a look,” Logan said.

  Chapter 17

  We went over to the main consoles in the room. Large displays filled the wall. The night tech brought up the recorded images. We could clearly see the bright energy as the portal snapped closed. Two men dragged a body behind them. In the far corner, an image flashed out of sight. It appeared to be an animal, as Hank suggested.

  We watched the images again, slower. Nothing new was revealed.

  Logan yawned and stretched. “It's almost morning. I think we call it for the day.”

  “Is there someone else who can talk to Iuput?” I asked.

  “Someone's coming in. The kid knows a few languages. Hank found someone from the city that's going to help us out.”

  “Another agent?” I asked.

  “Ex-agent. He runs MyTH now,” Logan replied.

  MyTH is a non-profit that works with Lost. It advocates for those who need it. It would have been interesting to meet the man, but the reminder that the next day was getting started made me realize my exhaustion. Too many late nights and not enough sleep. Getting back on a regular sleeping schedule seemed impossible at this point.

  As the three of us made our way home, the sun broke over the horizon.

  I was surprised to find Rider crashed out on the couch. He woke up as we entered. Logan gave me a look and went to talk to Gran in the kitchen. Vincent frowned and immediately headed upstairs. I watched him go before turning to Rider.

  At first, I was puzzled as to why he was there, and then I remembered that he kept an eye on Gran for me.

  Rider beamed at me. He was definitely a morning person. I apologized and thanked him for watching over Gran. We chatted for a bit. I yawned and Rider decided it was time to leave and let me sleep.

  When I entered the kitchen, Logan was already gone.

  “Is it weird that Vincent's staying with us?” I asked her.

  “In the beginnin’, I think it was a necessity, but he wants to fix up his mistake,” Gran said. “You should eat something before you head to bed. You look worn out, but I bet you haven't eaten all night.”

  Gran gave me a plate of warm toast and eggs. She joined me with a plate of her own.

  “Vincent thinks meditating might help.” I yawned.

  “It might be nice if you two meditated together.”

  I raised an eye at her. “Do you think it will help me get my power under control?”

  “I can't say for sure, but it wouldn't hurt to try.”

  Sleep that day didn’t last as long as I would have liked. When I woke up later that day, Vincent was waiting for me in the living room. His stoic face gave a hint of a smile.

  “Is Gran around?” I asked.

  “She went out.”

  “Did work call?” I asked.

  “I talked to Logan a few minutes ago. Hank said that Seth, the man we caught, isn't awake. He also said they couldn't find anything on him in the system.”

  “He didn't have any identification on him?”

  “We think he's a professional kidnapper, but he has no record. For now, we should return our attention to you.”

  “To me?” I asked.

  “We need to start meditation.”

  I took a deep breath. “We've been putting off meditation for work, but I guess there's nothing standing in the way now. Let's get this mess fixed.”

  Vincent's hint of a smile disappeared. His eyes tightened slightly. “This may not do anything to help.”

  “At least it may help me get my power under control. I need to be useful in the field again. I've had limited success in the past few days. If I only use a trickle of power at a time, I can manage to read and affect the Path.”

  “Are you able to do that all the time?”

  I shook my head. “The slightest distraction makes things spin out of control. It feels... It feels like I'm drowning.”

  “Have you told anyone at the office about this change?”

  “Only you and Logan know,” I admitted, “and Gran of course. Do you think I should let them know?”

  “No.” Vincent's voice was sharper than I thought necessary. “I don't suggest telling them anything about what you are capable of.”

  I nodded thoughtfully. “Let's give meditation a try.”

  We found comfortable positions on the floor facing each other. I looked at Vincent and immediately closed my eyes. Once again, I became aware of the fact that we were entirely alone. It wasn’t an uncomfortable realization.

  Vincent led me through the meditation. At first, I struggled to empty my mind. I even
opened my eyes a few times to see if Vincent had his eyes closed as well.

  He did. I sighed and closed my eyes again. I took a few deep steadying breaths. Thoughts of the case rose. The murder of the fairy, the kidnapping of the centaur I had never met, the troll, the sphinx. Having my soul ripped out.

  My eyes popped open on the last thought.

  “You're too anxious,” Vincent said. “Put thoughts of the case out of your head.”

  “Easier said than done,” I mumbled.

  Closing my eyes, I thought of the Path. I remembered the gentle ripple that flowed through the world. The genial mix of colors and emotions that swirled through the landscape. I sighed, content on the memories.

  “Describe how you enter the Path.” Vincent's voice was calm, low, and soothing. Something I never expected.

  “Most of the time it takes no effort at all. I could slip into the Path because I was so used to doing it.”

  “What do you do when it does take effort?”

  I thought for a moment. “It's kind of hard to explain. I would do a short meditation on what I know the world to be. Our world. Then I reach for the edge of that knowledge. Where the knowable world stops. Then my mind stretches beyond that knowledge. Something snaps into place and I can see the Path.”

  “How long does that usually take?”

  “It used to take a few seconds. Always less than a minute.”

  I heard Vincent swallow hard, but he kept his voice steady. “And now?”

  I sighed. “It's unpredictable.”

  We sat quietly for a while, meditating. I thought over pulling a small piece of the Path instead of the whole thing. It didn't always work, but I itched to try again.

  I reached for the Path, slowly and carefully. I imagine a stone wall that only let a sliver of Path peek through.

  It worked.

  I opened my eyes. “It worked,” I said. “I thought of a way to block most of the Path.”

  Vincent watched me. I looked at him and he shifted uncomfortably, so I moved my gaze around the room. A dim light of the Path filled the area. Filled the world.

  “It's not as strong as it used to be,” I said.

  I took a deep breath and tried to pull a thicker stream through.

  It didn't work. The stone wall broke apart. The dim glimmer became a raging river storming over me. My breathing increased. Vincent reached forward. His intense concern crashed into me. I pulled myself back. When I closed my eyes, the bright light of the Path was still there. Concentrating hard, I pushed it away.

  The effort left me panting. Fatigue rolled over me.

  “Maybe we shouldn't try that again.” Vincent's voice was flat. I didn't need to look at him to know his features would be expressionless.

  “It was only our first time. I expected it to take longer.” That was a lie. I wanted a magic wand to be waved and for me to go back to normal. I yawned and stretched.

  “Do you want to try again?” Vincent asked.

  I nodded.

  “This time, feel for the power, but don't open yourself up to it.”

  That sounded like an easy concept, but the moment I tried, it was a struggle. I closed my eyes, felt for the Path, and tried to feel what the power was.

  “It's there,” I said, “but it twists out of reach.”

  “Don't try to force it, let it move to you.”

  Once I allowed myself to relax, the flow moved toward me. “It's like a ripple of water and silk.”

  “Is there anything else there?” Vincent asked.

  “I don't sense anything else,” I said.

  “What happens when you slowly take hold of the Path?” Vincent asked.

  Mentally, I stretched out toward the Path. Right before I reached it, I saw something.

  “There's a glimmer,” I said, “before I take hold.”

  “Describe it,” Vincent said in a calm voice.

  “The power is there, but when I reach to it, the Power is reflected back. It shines.”

  “Is there only one glimmer?”

  “No, it's like small diamonds glittering.”

  “I think this is the root of the problem.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, feeling the reflected power of the Path.

  “Your essence is the core of your power. It's been torn to pieces. Each of those pieces is reflecting the Path. It's amplifying your Power.”

  There was a quaver in the Path, as excitement broke my concentration. I was engulfed. Trying to use what little I had learned, I tried to step out of the Path, but it didn't work like that. The power coursed around me.

  My breathing increased. Vincent was talking, but I couldn't make it out. Battling back the Path took all my concentration. The Path clung to me, but with extreme effort, I pushed it away. My newfound excitement had already died.

  “That didn't work.” I was leaning against the couch trying to catch my breath. “Maybe we can try again later.”

  “I'm unable to find another solution. I've been talking to a friend, another Walker, and we've gone over and over what I've done.” Vincent stood up. “We hypothesized about what it would mean to pull out a soul and put it back. What it might mean if we repeated the process.”

  I shivered but said nothing. That sounded like the worst idea ever.

  “So far we've come up with nothing that might work,” he said.

  “Maybe it's something that will fix itself over time,” I suggested. “It's all there. Well, except for the piece you kept. Maybe it will pull itself back together?”

  Vincent's eyes darkened. “Why do you insist on the idea that Walkers keep a part of what we take from others?”

  I shrugged. “It's there inside you. I can see it. Surely, you can feel it.”

  “I—” He cut his words off and shook his head.

  I rolled my eyes. If he wanted to avoid the issue, that was fine by me.

  I stood up, stretched, and then headed for the kitchen. I needed food. I needed sleep. We all needed another break in the case.

  Gran arrived while I was throwing together sandwiches.

  Once he had food in front of him, Vincent concentrated on that, but the tightness in his eyes told me he was annoyed by our conversation. After dinner, he excused himself for the evening.

  Gran and I stayed up to talk for a while. She talked about her garden, playing bingo, and Dee Dee’s new boyfriend. It was a welcome reminder that the world was moving on around us while we worked the case.

  ***

  Gran looked amused when I made my way downstairs. “Vincent's out. I told him it would be better if he stuck around, but he didn't listen.”

  Everyone listened to Gran. Vincent would learn in time that her suggestions were always dead on.

  “He'll learn or he will live a life of regret.” I was surprised I hadn’t noticed that he was away.

  Gran laughed. “I was about to make breakfast.”

  If Vincent and I can be apart, maybe things were starting to settle down for my soul. That put a spring in my step.

  “I'll cook this morning. Pancakes? Eggs and bacon?”

  “Pancakes sound perfect.”

  We chatted while I pulled out our pancake recipe and whipped us up breakfast. Gran did most of the cooking, but I learned how from her and Mom while growing up. Cooking skills ran in the family as much as unnatural abilities did.

  “I should call the office before we eat,” I said, putting the plates on the table.

  “They'll call after a while.” Gran winked at me.

  Smiling, I dug into my breakfast.

  “Logan's having a family meeting this morning,” Gran said.

  “Did he call?”

  “He didn't have to.”

  “Pick up anything new on Vincent?” I asked.

  Gran hesitated.

  “Gran?”

  “I think that young man is having a difficult time. He’s easier to read when the two of you are together, but even then it’s difficult.”

  Thinking over the l
ast week, it wasn’t surprising he was having a hard time. “I can understand that,” I said.

  Gran looked like she wanted to say more, but it was hard to tell. We cleaned up and Gran started another pot of coffee brewing. She brought down three travel mugs.

  “Any idea what we're up for today?” I asked.

  “Nothing specific yet.”

  “I'll get my gear ready. Just in case.”

  Gran's cat slunk into the room. He hissed at me as I walked by. My mood sank a little, but I tried to ignore the cat. What did he know anyway?

  When I got back into the kitchen, Gran poured coffee, sugar, and milk into the tumblers. The phone rang and I sighed. Time to get the day started.

  “Cassie,” Barry was on the other end of the line, “I couldn't reach Logan on his cell, and I’ve got a job for your team.”

  Chapter 18

  “Of course, what's the job?” I replied.

  “We requisitioned an infrared scan of the area. Hank discovered property about an hour's drive from the Farm. According to tax records, the buildings are derelict. There is a mass of heat registering in one of the outbuildings. We're sending a team with you, but you all are going to take point on this.”

  “How many buildings are in the area?” I asked.

  “I'll send the images to your phone. The area is isolated. It could be a meth lab, so we're trying to get more satellite imagery before bursting in.” Last thing I needed was to be blown up in a meth lab. “Keep me informed. Back up will be heading your way. Get Logan and Vincent and get out there.”

  Barry hung up and I disconnected. The realization that I was in way over my head wasn't lost on me. We were either breaking up a methamphetamine lab or a kidnapping ring. Not exactly the relocation work that I was used to doing. I called Vincent back home, letting him know that we had a job, and then I walked over to Logan's house.

  Sounds of crashing came from inside before I had a chance to knock on the back door. Wishing I had my gun, I rushed in.

  Gerald was at the kitchen table reading, and barely looked up when I entered. “Hey, Cassie, Dad’s in the living room.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, keeping my voice low.