I took the lead and explored the man’s movements. “He grew aggravated at the wildflower area, but he wasn’t emotional when he came through here.” After following the man’s imprint for a while, I stopped short.
“This doesn’t look good, Logan,” I said. “Someone else met up with him. They were here at the same time. It’s,” I fumbled over the words, “he’s human, but his imprint is twisted.”
I shivered and followed a second trail of ugly colors. Grays, browns, and greens took on dark hues. They tangled together in ways that I had never seen. Lines of bleached orange were dispersed. The usual rippling stream in the Path was muted and stagnant. “His colors don’t flow.” I pressed forward. “They bend and twist around.” I gripped my stomach. “It’s not normal.” Nothing else existed except the twisting rivers of color and me as I became absorbed in my work.
The two Paths met and led to a dead end on an old rutted road in the woods. I blinked at the blending of their Paths. They left the area on a motor vehicle of some sort, and the trail ended. The man’s Path left me unsettled.
Logan put his hand on my shoulder. The world blurred and Paths disappeared. I blinked a few times and swayed. Logan gripped my shoulder, keeping me steady, while I looked around for Essy. “Where did she go?”
“She left a while ago. Others delivered messages to her. We traveled too far for a fairy not expecting an expedition. They relayed all information to her. I also told her we would send a guard to watch the area.”
I sighed and swayed more. If not for Logan, I would have followed the invisible world until collapsing into exhaustion or beyond. There were stories of readers who followed a Path into death. They may not have noticed death’s approach while absorbed in the shimmering river pressed onto the world. My limbs shook and I blinked my eyes rapidly.
Lines of worry marred Logan’s face before relaxing once again into his casual grin. Remembering how he created a Path while outwardly remaining calm made me wonder what emotions he hid. I sighed and rolled my head on my shoulders.
“There’s a team meeting us back at the ATVs,” Logan said.
Having no idea what to expect, I followed slowly behind, crunching through the debris on the ground.
We heard Travis when we approached. “I know it’s frustrating, but we have to wait. Logan, so glad you’re back. The fairies made it clear that they want no one near their home.”
“Can’t say that I blame them.” Logan eyed the group. A few seemed to shrink, leery of Logan. “We don’t need to go to their homestead.”
One of the men started to protest, but Logan cut him off. “The attack took place in a meadow not far away. There was a single shot that we heard. The fairies have confirmed that the man who fired the shot also killed the fairy, Uriah. We haven’t recovered the shell casing.”
“If you find it, don’t touch it.” Clancy, a squat man with a demanding tone, took a step away from the group. “You know I can’t work with it if it’s been touched.” Like me, Clancy had his own gift.
The men nodded. A few rolled their eyes. I recognized some of the faces from the office, but I hadn’t worked directly with any of them.
“Let’s head out,” Logan said. “I interviewed the fairies while Cassie worked. They gave us the description of one man, about my height, white, brown hair. Travis, you’re with me to see if we can get any more details. They’ll mind us less than others and we need to talk with them before their memories fade any further. Cassie will mark their movements through the meadow. Everyone else, start the grid search with the metal detectors.”
We all went to work.
Travis and Logan joined us again as I was finishing marking the trail with flags.
“Do they know why he fired the gun?” I asked.
“He tried to grab one of the fairies. They started dusting him and tormenting him. It seems he lost his cool and shot,” Logan said.
“But he missed the fairies,” I said. “Essy said Uriah was struck by flesh, not metal.”
Logan started moving again toward the meadow. “Yeah, he missed with the bullet but clipped Uriah with his hand while he floundered around.”
“Did we get anything else from them?”
“Just that Uriah died out here.”
Logan handed me an insulated bottle. I took it and almost choked on the bitter black coffee.
“Clancy brought this from the office,” Logan said. “He figured you would need it by now.”
Making a face, I drank more down.
“Take Travis through the trail you marked earlier. I’ll catch up,” Logan said.
We moved out of the meadow, each of us holding a bundle of flags. I pushed one into the ground here and there along the way. I checked the Path off and on, but our trail from the first time was pretty noticeable at this point. I pulled out Logan’s cell and found it dead.
“Do you have a phone on you? I need to call Gran and let her know I’ll be late.”
Travis looked up at me and smiled.
“She’ll probably worry.” I kept my tone light. Gran had moved in with me a few months ago. We were still trying to figure out how to live together.
“Margaret? She already called me.” Travis grinned wider. “Not even sure how she got my number, but she called. She wanted me to let you know that there was no reason to call her.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Your Gran is something else. How did she know?”
“She’s a psychic. The real thing.”
“I meet the most interesting people on this job,” Travis said.
Logan caught up with us and we met another team at the old logging trail. Logan sent them to work and we hitched a ride from one of the agents back to the Sanctuary parking lot. The sun was starting to dip in the sky and a dull, tired ache had spread through my limbs.
Once we were in our own vehicle, I stretched out before rummaging through my purse for acetaminophen to dull the ache. Logan called his kids first, ever the family man. Most elves that visited our world stayed here for a short time. Logan went to and from this world for fifty years, but set up permanent residence twelve years ago when his wife died. I was pretty sure he didn’t want to face his own world without his wife. He brought his kids with him. Like all the Lost that arrived in our world on purpose, they had their names assigned to them when they settled into this world.
“Next up, we need to interview the wolf.”
“The werewolf? I thought another team would take that.”
“The world keeps movin’ as we work our case. Besides, he lives close to the Sanctuary. We need to see if he was in the area.”
I should have known that. I needed a lot more investigative training.
“Who’s the wolf we’re seeing?” Logan asked. “Let’s get the details.”
“Rider Wolfe,” I said, pulling out the file. “Who decided that was a good name?”
“Better get our chuckles out of the way early. It could be a rough translation of his real name to English.”
“I’ve never met a werewolf,” I admitted.
“Werewolves can be touchy. I’ve met a fair few in my time here.”
“What are they like?” I asked, punching the address into the GPS.
“Private people, don’t like strangers much, but once they consider you a friend, you would be hard pressed to find a more loyal one. They’re friends for life. They also like their space.”
“Hmmm.” Not quite the B horror movie werewolf I had pictured.
“Bit grouchy,” added Logan. “I’ll let you do the introductions. I’ll back you up when you need it.”
My first werewolf, I thought, as we pulled up and got out of the truck. I smoothed down my sleeves as we approached the small house. The clapboard siding was painted yellow, peeling in spots. Shutters were painted green. There was a garden, brown and overgrown, at the side of the house.
I rang the doorbell and a sound like wind chimes came from the house. It took some resolve not to gulp and tak
e a step back when a man opened the inner door. He was easily over six feet tall with stark black hair, which set off his tanned skin. His eyes were strong and aware. He seemed to be sizing me up as I stared. His entire frame was muscle, but it wasn’t bulky. Instead, he had the muscles of a runner.
That made sense. I bet he ran all the time. On four legs.
“Um,” I stammered, trying to break the tense silence, “are you Mr. Wolfe?”
His eyes focused on me and he nodded.
“My name is Cassie Heidrich, and this is Logan Seale. I think you were expecting us?”
Again, he nodded.
“We, uh, ran into some trouble earlier, so we’re coming by a bit late. Sorry about that.” I clamped my lips shut to keep from jabbering on. Looking to Logan, I waited for him to say something. He rocked back and forth on his feet, humming softly to himself.
“Um,” I said again, silently berating Logan for not stepping up to help the conversation. “We wanted to stop by and see how you were doing, Mr. Wolfe. Maybe talk a bit?” I didn’t mean the last part to come out as a question, but it did nonetheless.
“Call me Rider,” the man said at last. He opened the screen door and stepped out. I took a mental note of the hostility in his voice.
“Rider. I do like that name,” Logan said.
Rider nodded. “Logan Seale?” Rider asked. He didn’t catch Logan’s infectious smile. “Not what I would expect for an elf. I was expecting tree names or something.” Logan nodded, smiling broadly. Rider’s gaze landed once again on me. “I’ve never met an elf before, or one of you. What are you?”
I was stumped. I had never been asked what I was before and wasn’t sure how to approach it. “Ah, I’m human.”
“Sorry, I have only met a few people on this side. You smell different from the others.”
“Oh, you’re smelling the Reader on her.”
I gaped at Logan. He never told others what I could do.
Logan noticed my dumbfounded expression. “Ah, well, anyway,” Logan stammered before catching himself. He turned once again to Rider. “We wanted to see how things were going. Make sure you’ve found the grocery store, maybe met some locals and that sort of thing.”
“How often will you be checking in?” asked Rider. He watched me.
Was he smelling me? How creepy is that?
“Oh, probably every other week or so to start. Once you get settled in, we’ll come less frequently if you’d like.”
Rider nodded. “Do you need to know names of people I have met?”
“Nothing like that,” I said quickly. Rider was guarded, and I wanted to put him more at ease. “We want to make sure you’re fitting in and have someone you can ask questions. That sort of thing.”
“Travis has mentioned you two before,” Rider said. He looked at me as if I were a puzzle to solve.
“Excellent!” I grasped onto the subject. “Travis is trustworthy and should be able to answer your questions.”
“Sure, Travis shelters a few fairies and helped us set a troll up in one of the caves. Have you met any of the fairies?” Logan asked.
“I met Essy while out on a run,” Rider admitted.
“Get too close to her homestead?” asked Logan. “I swear that little woman nearly took my ears off when I went out looking for her one day. She dusted me so much I thought I’d itch for a week.”
Rider seemed to loosen up a bit at hearing this. Fairies live among the plants and trees in the woods. To ward people away, they sometimes drop dust from ground-up poisonous plants. In Essy’s case, it’s usually a mix of poison oak and poison ivy, something that most people would be allergic to. She was trying to find something that would bring a reaction from me, so she could add it to her mix. Not that I had aggravated her, I had only met her a few times, but fairies kept their weapons close at hand, just in case.
“Something like that.” Rider’s voice lost some of its edge and the atmosphere around our little group became a bit lighter.
Logan scratched his temple and looked at me pointedly. “The fairies have had a bit of trouble recently.”
I took the hint and opened the Path.
Rider was a leery jumble of raw emotion. Pain, joy, anger, and happiness were under the surface. His Path rippled. Shades of green and brown vibrated from instinctual animal to the more complex hues and turns of human. It was beautiful to watch.
And I was watching. Staring really, and Rider was staring right back, with his head cocked as if trying to examine my actions. I pushed the Path away and cleared my throat. I felt my face blush in the light of the sun.
Logan said. “Were you around the Sanctuary today at any time?”
Rider didn’t take his eyes off me. “No.” He didn’t offer any additional information.
“It might be best to give the fairies a wide berth for a while. Have you seen anyone out there recently, besides them and Travis?”
“No,” Rider said.
I cleared my throat again. “Have you seen anyone around your house recently? Someone that didn’t belong here?”
Rider looked confused. “I have seen you.”
“Anyone besides us?” Was my face getting redder?
“No.”
“Everything else going well?” Logan asked.
“I have met a few people. I have found the grocery store. I do not have any questions right now. Anything else?”
An abrupt way to end our visit, but it was effective. We said goodbye and let him know to call us if there was anything he needed. Rider only nodded.
As soon as we were back in the truck, I asked Logan, “Do I smell weird?”
Logan laughed and nodded toward Rider. For the first time, I could see a grin on the werewolf’s face. Logan laughed again and started the truck. Without looking into a mirror, I knew my face was fully crimson.
“He could hear me?” I asked.
Chapter 3
“Oh yeah,” Logan responded. “Werewolves have very good hearing. Better than most any creature that I know of. You smell fine,” Logan explained as he turned the truck around and started back down the driveway. “You smell a little different than most people. Actually, to a werewolf, you probably smell a great deal different. Each gift leaves a mark on the person. Did you get anything off him?”
“His Path didn’t cross the ones we walked last night. His Path is— well, it’s unique. I would have noticed if he had been in the area of the wildflower field.”
“At least we’ve ruled him out. We can head to the office.”
I contemplated the different scents we had. What other kinds of markers do beings from the other side discern in us?
All the way back to the office, Logan bobbed his head to music only he could hear. Every now and again, he would belt out something about being in a saddle. I listened while focusing on the coffee we stopped for. It had taken years to tame the West. I hoped this fad didn’t last as long. Still, it was better than show tunes. Logan’s last partner shot him over show tunes.
Our offices were located at the Farm, a massive area of land fenced to look like a horse ranch. I vibrated with all the sugar and coffee coursing through my veins as we went through security. The only time I reflected on the fact that AIR was a government institution was when I received my paycheck from the US Treasury Department and when going through security. Logan entered the code to get past the first gate. Further in was a second gate and a much larger fence. Surveillance cameras monitored the fences twenty-four hours a day. Logan swiped our ID cards and moved on through.
The job came with a government clearance, but that seemed to be a requirement for getting into the Farm. As far as I knew, we didn’t actually answer to any government agencies. We had never been audited, for instance, and there were never any inspections. As a former accountant, I had genuinely been curious about the audits so I looked it up. I couldn’t find a single record of one.
We parked our car in front of the main office, a four story white stone building with many win
dows. Around back, you could reach the first basement level through loading docks, but sub-basements could be found under that. In the darkness, the glass doors to the building were well lit both inside and out. After pressing the fingerprint scanner and going through the deserted reception area, we went straight down the hall to command central. We had to swipe ID cards and perform a retinal scan before accessing the main room. Our boss, Barry Milner, and his shadow, Assistant Director, Kyrian Thorne, watched large monitors on the far side of the room. Most of the staff at the Midwest branch of AIR was human. Several agents had special abilities, but neither Barry nor Kyrian did, unless being suited for government work was a gift.
From what I had heard from others, Barry, at one point, had been a remarkable field agent. Once he started moving up the chain of command, he moved quickly. Kyrian seemed good natured and nice to everyone, but it was fake. She didn’t want to step on any toes on her way up. It seemed to work for her, because she now shadowed Barry, even though she had only been with the organization for a few years. She had never done fieldwork, but that was probably for the best. She didn’t seem like the type to get her hands dirty.
“Good timing,” Barry said as we approached. “We have a full team still at the Sanctuary. Have you interviewed the fairies?”
Logan took the lead. “We have all the details they remember. I’ll get it written up tonight.”
Barry handed a stack of papers to Logan. Logan promptly handed the papers off to me. Logan was allergic to paperwork. He preferred talking to people.
“Put a copy on my desk. I want to know what they know,” Barry said.
“There might be a related case.” Kyrian pulled out another file. Barry lifted an eyebrow. “A gnome went missing in Tennessee.”
I moved to take the file, but Barry reached it first.
“We’ll do more exploring to see if the case is related,” Barry said. “In the meantime, you two get to work on the case in front of you. Don’t get distracted.”
Kyrian looked at me, a pleasant expression plastered on her face. “Cassie, during the interviews, uh, did you spot anything out of place?”
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