I told her to have fun and then we said our goodbyes.
My thoughts were becoming less muddled, but more cluttered as worries and questions took up space. Being alone in the room gave me time to reflect on the situation, but I wasn't sure that was a good thing. How many little pieces of essence had rushed into me?
I sat up and closed my eyes. Spinning like a whirlpool, my entire being felt like it had been torn apart. Worse yet, it felt like I wasn't the only one whirling.
My eyes snapped open.
The vertigo didn't leave, so I carefully laid back on the bed and focused on my surroundings. First, the ceiling, then the remaining room. The walls were padded, which made me shiver. Had they thought I would hurt myself?
That idea was thrown aside before I spent too much time worrying about it. We had rooms like this at AIR. Maybe it was built this way to muffle sound or protect a Lost that wasn't sentient and didn't want to be trapped in a room.
When I felt ready, I sat back up. Noticing I was wearing a hospital gown gave me the motivation I needed to get out of the bed.
Looking for my clothes let my mind wander back to the small room at the crime scene. Agent Wilson smacked me and Rider threw me across a room. What would have happened if I had been on my own facing that?
I blamed those thoughts on my unfamiliar surroundings. AIR agents had partners, which helped ensure that no one had to face things like that alone. By the time I found my clothes, I was ready to crawl back into the hospital bed. Instead, I put on my pants and shoes, but my shirt was missing a few buttons, so the gown stayed on. Since I hadn't found my tablet, I settled for a pen and paper to take notes. The paper already had print on it, but when I glanced it over, it looked like my own medical readouts, so I didn't feel bad about using it.
The notes didn't get far before Rider came into the room.
Tension I didn't know I had begun to unravel at the sight of my friend. "I take it your blood work is clear?"
Rider picked up my bandaged arm when he reached me. "The drugs are gone." He inspected my arm from every angle, moving himself more than the arm. "Doctor Taylor has said that my blood is clean."
"Call me Taylor." Taylor strode into the room and stopped when he saw me. "I wasn't expecting to see you out of bed." He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead grabbed a chart. "How is everyone feeling?"
Rider shrugged and didn't look up from his inspection. When he was apparently satisfied, he sat my arm back down and looked around the room.
Taylor watched him walk around the room, and then he turned to me.
"What did you keep in here?" Rider pressed the padding on the walls.
"Most recently, a griffin." Taylor didn't take his eyes off me. "Angel, a co-worker, spotted that it had a damaged wing. I treated the wing and we took her home. And, how are you feeling?"
"I feel okay." The response was automatic.
Taylor raised his eyebrow.
I sighed and tried again. "Physically, I feel fine. A little sore, but nothing serious."
"And, outside the physical. Has everything worked through your system?" Taylor asked.
I squirmed uncomfortably, unsure of how much to say.
"Your reactions, according to your partners, are different this time." Taylor appeared to take my non-response as a response. "We need to closely monitor your behavior and reactions."
"We?" I asked.
Taylor smiled. "Mostly your partners, but also myself while you're here. If you request, I'll forward the records on to your doctor as well, but not without your request. Whatever details you can tell us might be able to help."
He couldn't tell work. At least not more than they needed to know.
That made my decision easier. "As far as I can tell, it's all there. It doesn't go away."
"I thought it might be. We should go over this in detail when you’re ready, but first, I'd like your permission to add this to Neil's research. I know he'll be able to help."
"The kid that was here earlier. He sounded like a hyped up surfer and looks like he's barely out of high school."
"He's older than he looks. Unfortunately, he's a genius. Even worse, he knows it."
Chapter 17
While I was on the phone with Kyrian, Logan arrived. The conversation began with Hank, but our boss broke in and left Hank taking notes in the background. Keeping all personal details to a minimum, I gave them both an overview of the day. With that taken care of, and a borrowed shirt from Taylor, Logan and I ventured out of the infirmary and into the offices of MyTH.
"Taylor has given us the run of a conference room down the hall," Logan said. "He and Sable will be joining us soon. How are you feeling?"
After glancing up and down the halls, I let Logan know where I stood. He looked worried and didn't ask any questions, which wasn't like him.
When we reached the room, I made a point not to fall into the nearest chair, even though my body was protesting the fact that I was on my feet. "How did things go at the police station?"
"Well, the local PD and DEA are steamed, mostly at each other, but they're out inspecting the crime scene. Special Agent Wilson wanted to talk to you."
"I was hoping he'd be off the case."
"I told him you'd rather talk to a rattlesnake right now, so he sent along his apologies. They're using the meth as an excuse for his behavior like we did. He's been stood down from field work for a week, but he's minding the paperwork, which is almost as bad as being off the case."
Knowing Logan's aversion to anything relating to paperwork, I grinned. "A horrible fate, I'm sure. Anything from the people they arrested?"
"Gordon and I interviewed them but came up with nothing. They said the pieces of jewelry were good luck charms, given to them."
"That doesn't sound like they're being used as drugs. Who would give that to them?"
"They were definitely being sold as a drug and an expensive one at that. One of the men being charged told us they had a test batch, and they worked. Some had a few bad side effects, but a few users experienced things they couldn't explain. They had their trinkets on when they were arrested."
Bad side effects was an understatement from where I was sitting. "We have the pieces now?"
"They're on their way to the office, along with most of the ones we collected. We're hoping Clancy can give us news. Gordon is meeting with Kyrian, so he took charge of them."
"Most of the ones we collected?"
"The evidence the police moved out before we arrived is being tested here. I'm told there's a smart lad taking care of it for us."
Getting near those things wasn't high on my priority list, but the thought of someone handling them didn't sit well with me. "The person isn't affected by them? Wilson couldn't have been wearing his for long, so some of them could be more potent."
Logan studied my face before answering, but I wasn't sure what he was looking for. "I checked things out. They've got it covered."
The old elf looked tense, so I shifted our focus. "The people arrested, who gave them the jewelry?"
"They couldn't say."
"You mean wouldn't?" I asked.
"No, I think it was couldn't." Logan leaned back in his chair. "They didn't have any issues talking about the jewelry, since it wasn't technically drug related. Their lawyers suggested they'd earn some good will by giving us what they knew. They couldn't remember who gave it to them. We'd have to bring Darla in to know for sure, but I'd bet an ear tip they weren't lying."
Darla had been AIR's retired truth detector, and there was no one better, but she wouldn't come in if we already assumed an answer.
"Were they too high to remember?" I asked.
"Maybe. One girl thought someone used them as payment, but she couldn't say for what."
"Anything else?"
"I grabbed this out of the truck for you." Logan slid over the tablet that I had been using for this case.
"Thanks." I set the device aside, not bothering to turn it on.
"You sure you’re okay?" Worry was etched across Logan's face.
"I'm frustrated. This case seems to be getting nowhere."
"Hank is tracking our victims back home to see if they lead to any of our suspects."
There was a rap on the door, and Sable entered the room carrying a large stack of papers. "We have some information." She slid packets to us and sat down. "Neil has found a few things of interest."
Taylor and Rider came in, grabbing a packet on their way to their seats.
"Is this for the case, or..." I trailed off, not wanting to ask if it was for me. I had given permission to add my issues to the research, but I didn't like the idea of sitting around a conference table discussing it.
"This is limited to case knowledge," Taylor said, "nothing else."
"What does 'Dummies Guide' mean?" Rider was reading the top page.
Taylor grimaced. "That little shit."
"I am sorry about this." Sable's face was red, but I wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. "Neil is—" She stopped and looked like she was reforming her words. "He doesn't deal well with strangers. Or Taylor."
Taylor was scanning the remaining contents and didn't respond.
Logan chuckled. "We can ignore it."
Taylor closed the document, looking more resigned than cross. "Neil was able to review the evidence collected today. Your offices allowed us to experiment with four items. From initial findings, it appears that these items are used to anchor some form of energy. There are residual traces of electromagnetic energy."
Rider looked hopeful. "So it is energy stored; not part of a soul."
"What is a soul?" Taylor asked. "Everything is made of energy. We can't rule out that this isn't some fragment of a Lost trapped."
Logan looked thoughtfully. "But without a soul, the Lost would die. We haven't had any suspicious deaths."
"That's the overlying problem of our initial searches," Sable said. "Hank and our team as well were looking for suspicious deaths. When a soul gets removed from a body, the body can live on for a short time."
"Vincent mentioned that." I didn't want to drag his name into this, but I drove on. "The person wastes away and dies."
"Exactly." Taylor flipped through a few pages. "The Lost community perceives it to be a natural death and doesn't report anything suspicious. They note fewer of their number when visited."
"You've found deaths?" Logan leaned forward and flipped through pages.
"We've discovered fourteen recent deaths by natural causes," Sable said.
Rider shuddered next to me. "Over how long?"
"Approximately three months," Taylor said. "At least two of those appear to be actual natural causes, but we have no way of knowing without examination. Even then, I'm not certain we'd truly know."
"Says here we've lost a minotaur." Logan looked pointedly at me before looking back through the list. "A gnome, two pixies, a fairy, two trolls, a changeling, a gremlin, and a witch."
I frowned and tried to find the area he was reading from. "That's not twelve."
Logan pursed his lips and took out his phone. "The others mentioned aren't Lost. I need to make a call."
"Humans, not Lost?" Confused, I watched Logan walk out before returning to my search. "Why?"
Towards the end of the report, I found what I was looking for. A list of names, the reported date of death, and their species: gnome, two pixies, fairy, minotaur, troll, changeling, gremlin...
"How did we find out about the gremlin?"
"Neil has his ways," Taylor said, sounding reluctant.
I read on. There was another troll, a witch, and then my heart froze.
A psychic.
My gaze jerked from Taylor to Sable and back down, trying to find more context to the list. "How do we know the humans ended up dying because their souls were taken out?"
"With these people, nothing has shown up in autopsy reports, but not many were autopsied. The others had suspicious circumstance around them. Like Am, there was no indication of illness, but the Lost reported an unexplainable feeling in the area around the home, or site where the body was found." Taylor's voice sounded harder than it had before.
"Someone is targeting the Lost?" Rider asked.
"It's not only Lost on the list." My voice was raised in my panic, but I didn't waste the breath to apologize for snapping.
"Which you seem far more concerned about." Taylor's voice was thick with animosity, but his face was impassive.
Fury clawed its way up out of the disaster or my soul. Fear and worry exploded into anger and I moved slowly to my feet, glaring at Taylor. "How dare you."
Rider moved in front of me, and I tried to push him out of the way. It felt like I was trying to move a wall. My veins filled with fire and crushing rage. All sense of myself shunted aside.
Taylor had also risen. He was studying my reactions, but I saw accusation written across his face.
Vertigo rolled over me and I felt off balance, but I let the anger keep my stance. "You don't know me. Each person on that list-"
Rider grabbed my face and made me look straight at him. "This is not you."
His eyes bore straight into mine. I wanted to knock him out of my way to get at Taylor.
At the same time, I cringed at the thought. This was Rider. No part of me should want to shove around my friend. Grabbing hold of that feeling, I stared at Rider, anchored my thoughts to him, and began the struggle to pull myself out. The fury danced below, trying to keep hold, but I didn't, and couldn't, let it take control.
My muscles felt used beyond their ability, but it was me again. I gripped Rider's arm and he dropped his hands. I'm not sure what he saw, but he relaxed and dropped his gaze. Rider looked confused but kept eyes on Taylor, since Taylor hadn't sat down.
"I need to examine you. Now," Taylor said.
"You stay away from me," I snapped. Feeling rubbery and worn, I sat before I could fall. I didn't look at Sable, and I decided to ignore Taylor completely.
Exhaustion kept the panic from rising too far.
"Rider, there are psychics on the list." My voice matched my mood.
Taylor moved towards me. "The-"
Rider let out a low growl before Taylor could say anything else. Rider's low rumble filled the room and left me feeling like nightmares waited in the shadows.
The room was motionless even after the sound faded.
"When did you last speak with Margaret?" Rider's voice didn't hold a trace of the menace he had unleashed.
"I spoke with her a few hours ago, but Gran doesn't hide who she is. And Mom, oh God." Panic crept back in my voice. I hadn't talked to my mother in over a month, but Gran had recently talked with her, right?
"You're a Reader in a family of psychics?" Taylor's voice was low and held remorse, but I ignored him.
Logan came back in the room. My fear was on display, but I didn't bother trying to hide it.
"Margaret will be staying at my house for now," Logan said.
I let out a slow breath, but the tightness in my chest didn't go away. "Is anyone checking on my mom?"
"Your mom is pretty closed off about what she is," Logan said.
"Only after my dad died. When she was younger, she was good at what she did. That's hard to hide and even harder to forget."
Logan already had the phone back out. "We'll ask Hank to get someone to keep an eye on her until this gets sorted out."
"And your family?" I asked.
"Jonathan's handling it for now. He'll keep them safe."
Logan didn't shut the door behind him, but he moved far enough down the hall that I couldn't hear what he said.
"Cassie, I'm sorry," Taylor said. "I didn't mean to imply-"
"That I thought humans were more important than the Lost?" I glared at Taylor. "I'm pretty sure that is exactly what you meant."
Taylor cleared his throat and spoke more formally. "You're right. I should not have assumed anything. I apologize."
I wasn't comfortable wit
h his solemn attitude, but I tried to let go of the last threads of anger. "You didn't know. And I shouldn't have gotten so agitated."
"Speaking of which. May I?" Taylor waved a penlight he'd been holding.
"May you blind me repeatedly?" I sighed. "Go for it."
By the time Logan returned, Taylor had checked my pulse, listened to my chest, taken my temperature, and of course, shined lights to check my pupil dilation.
"Hank has someone on the way. They'll keep an eye on her," Logan said.
I finally relaxed.
Logan didn't leave time for a thank you. "The Lost and anyone with an ability outside of the normal is being targeted. The office has begun their own search, and they are going to try to pinpoint areas with the highest risk of being affected. Teams will be moving to those areas soon. Sable, I think they'll ask MyTH to help work through the city."
"I'll talk with Gordon and call people in," Sable said.
After Sable left, Logan looked around the room and frowned. "I feel like I've missed something in here, but we need to move on. We need suspects."
Taylor, already sitting back down, cleared his throat. "Neil has a list on page twenty-seven that should help us."
Rider sat back down, and we all flipped to the page Taylor mentioned.
The list was much longer than I suspected. Some of these types of Lost I had never heard of and several had subcategories listed. There were human abilities here as well.
"Has there even been an alchemist in this country?" Logan asked.
"Neil is thorough," Taylor admitted. "He's allowed for the possibility that anything could be around without us knowing."
The word ‘Walker’ jumped out at me from the list. I expected it to be there, and I tried to concentrate on the others, but my eyes were drawn back to the word again and again.
The list of demons was extensive and most of the words, if they were actual words, were unpronounceable, but a few of the names I knew. Demons weren't beasts of the underworld, but I could see where people got that idea. Like other mythological creatures, they come from other planes of existence. Their home dimensions, at least the ones I knew about, resembled different forms of Hell. They come to our world through portals, like the other Lost. Demons, along with several others on the list, aren't allowed to be brought to this world intentionally. That doesn't mean they aren't around, but it's hard for them to remain inconspicuous, so the likelihood that one of them are behind this wasn't high.
Broken Paths (AIR Book 2) Page 14