"That makes no sense. Do you know who's behind stealing the souls?"
The man gave me a look that clearly indicated that he thought I was the crazy one. "You ask what you already know? Huh." The man waved the hand holding his pipe around at me. "Waste of breath. Too young, too slow, too stupid, and wastes time. Not a good start."
I leaned forward further. "Did you call me stupid?"
The old man looked away and muttered again.
"Fine. It was a dumb question." I shifted around and dislodged a rock from under me. "Do you know where he is? The Walker doing this?"
"As your new little friends tonight said, information is valuable." There was a gleam in the man's eyes, which began to take on a reptilian look.
I had a flicker of uncertainty, but let it die. "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep." I slipped deeper into the sleeping bag.
The man chuckled. "Tell the Walking Man about the Palm Reader, and tell your grandmother I said hello."
I poked my head out of the sleeping bag. "What?" There was no one around. "Definitely an old coot."
Beside me, I could feel movement. Peeking out of the sleeping bag, I saw the same dim light from my dream. Beside me, Vincent was asleep, half out of his sleeping bag and mumbling. Despite my fatigue, I smiled. Who knew he talked in his sleep? My interest in the revelation was short-lived when I realized he wasn't dreaming so much as having a nightmare.
While staying in my sleeping bag, I scooted across the ground and sat up next to him. Our last few days together were rough, but he'd been on his own for months.
Not wanting to wake Rider, who was snoring a few feet away, I leaned closer and nudged Vincent's arm. "Vincent."
I couldn't make out what he was saying, or if they were words at all. I spoke as softly as the first time but nudged a little harder. "Wake up."
His hand shot out and clamped onto my arm, his eyes popped open, showing far too much black.
Right, not a morning person, I thought, trying not to wince.
"Cass?" Vincent sounded disbelieving and kept his voice low, but once he focused on me, he loosened his grip.
"It looked like you were having a bad dream," I said, watching his eyes grow lighter.
"Christ, Cass, I could have killed you." He sounded more tired than angry.
I laid back down and let my eyes drift closed again. "Rider did the same for me last night. Our waking hours have been bad enough. There’s no reason to stay asleep if it's more of the same."
Vincent's lack of response caused me to drag my eyes open again, and I watched him stare into the early morning sky.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I'm not sure I wanted to know the answer, but I had to ask. "Letting it out might make it easier to sleep."
"You first." There was an edge of sarcasm to the suggestion.
I thought that over and a knot formed in the back of my throat. "That's fair, I guess." Vincent looked surprised, but I kept going. "But not out here."
Rider twisted around beside me and soon stretched out.
"You've never been camping have you?" Vincent asked, raising his voice to a normal level.
"Not until this week," I said.
"Even as a kid?" Vincent asked.
"Hmmm, my mom and camping?" I mocked, thinking that over.
Next to me, Rider laughed. "That would be interesting to see."
"Yeah," I said, "I can't put together the words mom and camping."
"And no one else took you?" Vincent asked.
"I was probably too young when my dad was alive." I tried to picture him, but I couldn't. "I don't really remember. And my step-dad was about as outdoorsy as my mother."
"We spent the night in the woods last fall," Rider said.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure getting strung up by goblins doesn't count."
Rider laughed and sprang to his feet.
"Where's Logan?" I asked.
"Making coffee," called Logan. "We need to move out. I'd like to get to the truck by the end of the day."
"Do you think he, or it, will be back today?" I asked.
"I'm not going to guess," Logan said. "He doesn't leave a Path, smell, or tracks? He's seen only when he chooses to be seen? He prevented you, possibly the greatest Reader ever, to be tossed out of the Path? We have no idea what he is, and we're not sticking around to find out."
"Right," I grumbled, trying to motivate myself to get up. "At least it means a shower tonight." Getting up was a battle I wasn't expecting. "And a bed." Every muscle ached. "Why do people do this to themselves?"
Chapter 31
Logan was back to his usual jovial self by the time we reached MyTH, but it baffled me how he managed it hiking all day, and then driving ‘til after midnight. When we reached the rooms Sable had set up for us, I stripped down and took a shower hot enough to scorch my skin. While water poured over me, I daydreamed about being able to sleep in an actual bed.
When I stepped back into my room, I found Vincent, already cleaned and dressed, waiting for me. Drowsiness was beaten back when my heart sped up.
"Sorry if I startled you." Vincent was standing near the door, and I could tell he was trying to keep his face blank, but signs of fatigue and unease stood out for me.
"No, it's okay." I cleared my throat. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."
"We need to talk first."
"Okay. Want to sit?" I motioned to the only chair in the room.
"No, this won't take long."
Inwardly, I groaned, and it was like a breeze blowing through all the small fragments of souls. "Okay."
"What happened at Jin's can't happen again."
At the mention, a tremor started in my hands. "You won't hear an argument from me."
Vincent's hands clinched. "What I mean is that I would have told him anything. You were there because they wanted me."
"That's not your fault."
"There are people: humans, Lost, and Walkers that are worse than Jin."
"I'm sure there are." Did he have a point, or was he trying to scare me?
"I've made enemies with a lot of monsters."
"And you think one of them might come after me?"
"That's not going to happen."
I rubbed my temples trying to revive my tired brain. "So, they're not going to do anything?"
"My transfer to the Mid-West is permanent now. We can be co-workers, partners, and even friends, but we can't go down the path we were moving towards last fall."
My hand dropped to my side. "Oh." I didn't know what else to say. On one hand, I wanted to roll my eyes at his arrogance and tell him I was seeing someone, but, in truth, it felt like my heart was being squeezed.
He looked tormented. "I've seen horrors in this world and beyond, but watching them hurt you was-"
"Don't." Cold blood pumped through me. "I don't want to think about that." I hadn't realized I had backed up until I hit the wall.
Vincent looked stricken but strode across the room. "I wasn't thinking."
"No." I held up a hand and moved down the wall, towards the bed. "I'm okay, tired is all."
He stopped and looked at a loss for what to do. "Let me find Rider."
"No, it’s okay." I tried to make my voice even and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I'll be fine after some sleep."
Vincent appeared frozen in indecision, which I didn't think was possible for him.
Dammit, I was not the person who gets scared and backs up into a corner. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to prove something to Vincent or me, but I made myself walk over to him.
"I'm sorry, Cass."
He didn't pull away when I took his hand and gently led him to the door. "I understand what you're saying and why you're saying it. If you don't want to be anything more than friends, then that's what we'll be."
"It's for the best."
Next to the door, I looked at him as though memorizing his face. With my free hand, I traced the thin new scar on his temple. When I let go of his hand, he gripped mine
tighter and took a step closer.
"You know," I said, "I never thanked you for getting me out of that basement."
"You're the one that got us out."
"It's possible that neither of us would have gotten out without the other."
Vincent studied my face. "Are you sure you don't want me to find Rider?"
I knew he was looking for signs of distress, so I tried to keep neutral. "I'm sure."
"Do you want me to stay?"
My heart skipped a beat over the implication, but then I thought about Ethan and glanced away. "I think that would move us off in the wrong direction."
Vincent looked like he was going to say more, but I broke in first. "We should really get some sleep." I gave his warm hand a final squeeze, and then stepped away. "Sleep well."
"Goodnight, Cass."
Alone, I climbed into bed, but when sleep came, so did the nightmares.
The third time when I jolted awake, I gave up, got dressed, and began the morning search for coffee.
Even though I was up early, there were others awake before me. A team had brought in a centaur in need of medical attention. The centaur had been patched up, and I found Rider with him in the hall. The centaur had bandages around his flanks, but beyond that, he looked great. Incredible in fact. His torso and forearms were tanned which blended seamlessly into his brown coat. There wasn't a hair out of place. He could have been going to church instead of a doctor's office.
At least he could if centaurs went to churches.
Rider waved me over, and the centaur looked up at me, smiling, but his mouth twitched, turning it into a grimace. The centaur pawed at the ground with his front foot, and I took a step back.
Crap, it was way too early for this. Sometimes, meeting new people really sucked.
The centaur reared back and yelled. By the look on his face, I thought it was probably a good thing I didn't know his language.
Rider planted himself firmly between the centaur and me, pressing both of us back. "Cassie. Leave."
"What?" Streaking from crankiness to pure anger in record time, I crossed my arms and glared at the centaur.
It's not supposed to be like this.
Shards bubbled up inside me, and one of them lanced its way out.
Rider looked back at me. "You should go."
I felt lighter, bouncier, and more awake, but most of all, I felt absolutely thrilled at the idea of a fight.
My glare turned into a smirk. "This is going to be fun."
"Stop now!" Rider's demanding voice rolled over me, but the centaur stopped dead.
The hair on my arms stood up and I laughed. The souls, including my own, twisted around.
"I wasn't expecting it to be you two kicking up the fuss," Logan said from down the hall.
I laughed again, and my voice caused my skin to crawl. "Oh, and the elf. This is going to be fun!"
"It's not her, Logan." Rider looked worried.
"That's not playing fair." Anger became effervescent, bubbled to the surface, and then I launched myself at Rider.
Rider grabbed my hands, which were aimed straight for his eyes. My knee went up, but didn't make contact, so I threw myself back. Logan's arm went around my neck in a chokehold, Rider held my hands.
"What do we do now?" Rider leaned down and looked at me, eye-to-eye. His brown eyes sparkled so much that they practically glowed.
With Logan holding me firmly, I couldn't look away, but the soul overriding my system tried to flinch and pull back all the same. There was definitely an animal lurking behind Rider's eyes.
"I don't know," Logan said. "What set her off?"
The flinch and that tiny slice of fear allowed my own soul to gain a foothold.
Rider gestured back towards the centaur, who was looking confused and embarrassed. "She looked very tired and the centaur..."
"Had his first encounter with her." Logan sounded resigned.
Using the foothold, I pushed back that small, but horrible little chunk of soul. Once I gained control, my muscles turned watery, and I sagged. My whole body felt heavy.
Logan shifted his hold before I could choke myself out on his arm and Rider let go altogether.
"You good?" Logan sounded hopeful but wary.
Things were not supposed to turn out this way. "Yeah." I tried to get my muscles under my own control.
Rider cleared his throat. "That was-"
"Take care of the centaur," Logan said.
Rider hesitated but left with the centaur.
"I think I need to sit down." It was an understatement. My body was exhausted. Mentally, it had already been a long day.
When Logan let me go and I sat down, back against the wall, depression welled up. How could I do my job if my partners had to worry when I was going to attack them next?
Logan crouched down next to me, silent for a few heartbeats. "Do you know what that was?"
I closed my eyes and leaned back. "No." I listened to my breath go in and out. My heart felt as if it fell lower with each exhale. "I'm sorry, Logan."
He took a seat beside me. "We're not doing a good job of keeping you safe."
"That's not your job." I sniffed and didn't bother opening my eyes. "It's not Rider's either."
"It looked like you found your way back. On your own again," Logan said.
"This time." My heart felt like it hit a rocky bottom. I had attacked Rider, my best friend, all because I couldn't keep control of myself.
"If you managed to take control over that, well, I think things may be getting better," Logan said.
"It doesn't feel like it from my end." I clasped my hands tightly together on my lap. If I lost control at the wrong time, what would happen to my partners? I let out a shaky sigh. "I think-"
"You've had a long couple of days. Too long really." Logan cleared his throat. "I don't have the details about what all happened, but there was enough to know that you should have taken a few days off after you- well, after we got you back."
"You're taking me off the case." I had meant it as a question, but it came out as a deadpan statement.
Logan grinned. "For a day, maybe two. We've got some stuff to track down and we can get by. You can go home and get some rest."
"Everything okay?" Vincent asked. His face was blank as he approached, but I could see there was a hint of wariness in his eyes.
I didn't take the time to read what he was feeling. "Vincent can fix this." My heart began to rise and I took to my feet.
"Fix what?" Vincent asked.
"I don't think it works like that, Cassie," Logan said, "and I don't think we should risk it, even if it were possible."
"Risk what?" Vincent asked.
"Your friend, he took all these souls. All these little pieces from who knows what and you can take them back."
"Release them from what's holding them?" Vincent asked.
"No, release them from me." I breathed faster, excited by the prospect of gaining some semblance of normalcy, but a part of me was trying to rein that enthusiasm back in. "You can take them and let them go, wherever it is they need to be."
Vincent reached out and took my arm.
"Don't," Logan warned.
"I'm not sure what's going on." Vincent was looking at me intently, as though trying to peer into me to see all those Lost floating around.
"Those souls your friend smashed up," Logan said, "they stay where they're put when most people touch them, leeching out a little over time. But when Cassie touched them, it seems they found a more permanent home."
Vincent's grip on my arm hardened. "Are you okay?"
"They slip out from time to time," Logan said, "trying to take some sort of control."
"How many?" Vincent didn't take his eyes off me, and my eyes were glued to his.
"It started with one," Logan said. "The next was an accident."
Vincent relaxed a little. "Two? Do we know what they are?"
Logan let out a resigned sigh. "There was an incident at a drug bust
. We went to confiscate our evidence, and things didn't go so well. Cassie was knocked into a table covered in the stuff. She kept them off as long as she could, but there's only so much a person can do."
"The count?" Vincent's voice could cut diamonds.
"Our best guess is north of fifty." Logan sounded sad, but I had hope.
"Is it possible," I asked, "to take the others and leave mine? Or take them all and strip off the extra?"
Vincent visibly paled. "It's not an option."
I blinked and stared, waiting for more.
"Look, Cass, I'm sorry." Vincent looked at Logan. "You were right, it doesn't work like that. There's nothing I can do."
"It's okay." Logan sounded understanding, but there was a trace of sadness mixed in. "It's not the kind of thing we'd want to experiment with."
My chest seized up. "Right." I looked down the hall, not wanting either of them to see my disappointment, but I didn't think I could hide it for long.
"Maybe we should talk, Cass? We could go for a walk," Vincent suggested.
I feigned a smile and turned back to face them. "No, it's okay, I understand. I had to ask, right?"
"I'm sorry," Vincent said.
"Don't be." I looked him in the eye and tried to sound as sincere as I felt. "It's not your fault."
Vincent looked away. "If I hadn't hurt you last fall, none of this would be happening."
"Which you more than made up for when you saved us from dying at the hands of a vampire," I said.
"She's right you know," Logan said. "You saved both of us, and who knows how many more."
I had never been so relieved for my partner's back up.
"And only a few days ago, you got me out of that basement. Any debt you think you owe me is gone." My breath shuddered at the end. I had to get away. "You boys don't have too much fun without me."
"Where are you going?" Vincent asked.
Walking off, I waved over my shoulder, not wanting to face them again. "Home."
I stopped in the bedroom I had used and grabbed my stuff, and thought about calling Gran to let her know I would be home for a day or so.
I'd also ask her if she knew the man we had ran into while camping.
My bag was packed, full of laundry, but instead of going to my car, I found myself at the clinic. I knocked on a few doors before finding Taylor in his office.
Broken Paths (AIR Book 2) Page 26