AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  "There are dorms in another building. For agents and other workers that stick around."

  "Here is better. In case-" He broke off.

  After feeling the minotaur, he didn't have to tell me in case of what. "There are other hospital beds."

  "Full."

  "All of them?"

  "Yes."

  That sounded bad. "Things are busy, I guess?"

  "The doctor said that two Lost broke bones on the Farm today, due to a fight. Another Lost that lives outside the Farm became ill. Agent Thompson said her spouse poisoned her. Another Lost had an allergic reaction. They are not sure to what yet. The others were gremlin attacks. The portal opened again."

  "Hopefully that will stabilize soon. It's been months since it was forced open."

  "It is not good to have gremlins running around." Rider didn't sound convincing. For some reason, he liked the gremlins and jumped at the chance of taking one of the calls. "The portals reopening make it easier to send them back, though."

  Rider tried to get more comfortable in the chair. His long frame looked determined to hang over both ends.

  "Can you ask the doctor for my tablet before going to sleep?"

  He didn't even open his eyes. "Doctor Yelton said not tonight."

  "That doesn't look comfortable."

  Rider opened one eye and looked at me. He closed it again and tried to roll over in his chair. "It will work for tonight."

  "At least take a pillow and some blankets."

  Rider found a blanket in the wardrobe and forwent a pillow. After a few more twists and turns, he settled in. The chair lay back, but more than a few inches of leg hung over the footrest.

  Rider's breathing slowed as he fell asleep. I gave it a few more minutes before getting up to go downstairs.

  "The doctor will strap you back to the bed."

  I froze to the spot. Rider had gone from sound sleep to wide-awake within two steps.

  He didn't move, but I got back into bed anyway. I knew my sigh would be audible to the werewolf, but I made it a little louder than necessary to make sure the point got across.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning, when I walked into a conference room downstairs, it felt like pixies were flapping in my stomach. Hank, Logan, and Rider, I expected, but Kyrian was also sitting in on the debriefing of yesterday's incident. The conversation had started without me, and the room felt uncomfortably hot as I sat down.

  I received a cursory nod, and the conversation continued.

  Hank cleared his throat. "We haven't found a connection between the man in custody and our Lar, Bill, or to his three roommates."

  Kyrian leaned forward at the table. "Except the jewelry."

  I tried to get up to speed. "Are the necklaces the same?"

  Hank answered. "Similar materials, but different idols are represented in each. The idols are not related in any way."

  "Idols?" I asked.

  "Depictions of gods. One coming from Africa and one from Central America."

  "Where did Bill get his necklace from?" Kyrian asked.

  I crossed my arms. "I never asked. It appeared to hold some sort of power, so I thought we should take a look."

  "The other boys weren't wearing them, though," Logan said. "Nothing like it came up on the list of items found on the deceased."

  "It could be that they both happened to have the same cheap jewelry," Kyrian said, "but it's out of place. Clancy will take a look at Bill's necklace today. We should have the other as soon as the lab is done." Her attention turned to me. "You said something jumped from the necklace?"

  "Yes. I saw a trace of light," I said, "Logan held it before I did and it probably crossed half a dozen hands before it reached us."

  "So why you?" Kyrian drummed her fingers on the table and stared at me as though she was trying to put her finger on what I had done wrong.

  My heated response died when Logan jumped in. "There could be any number of reasons. Top of the list, she's a Reader. She can see things others can't."

  Everyone else's soul was nice, shiny, and whole. Mine was shattered into pieces. Not that I was feeling bitter about the fact. If it was a fragment of a soul, it would probably find itself at home with the other pieces I contained. Vincent had unintentionally kept a piece of my soul when he returned it last fall. Maybe this fragment found the hole left, although, I had a part of Vincent inside as well, filling that gap.

  However, my bosses didn't know that my soul was splintered and my powers had grown out of control.

  "It could have recognized something in her and made the jump," Kyrian conceded. "We'll have Cassie take another in-depth look when it arrives. You can inspect Bill's as well. Once Clancy is done with both."

  "We checked Bill's the other day. It didn't have anything like this," I said.

  Kyrian moved on. "Cassie, you said you saw a trace in the idol, and you mentioned a minotaur, uh, Path, I think. Go through what happened with us, from your point of view."

  This was turning into an exercise in patience for everyone involved. I explained what happened, but hard facts were slim. Saying 'something' jumped into me that held the rage of a minotaur was met with a thousand questions. No one had any of the answers.

  After I had described everything in detail, with many stops to answer questions and provide more details, I felt wrung out. Guilt also materialized. I gave all the details about the previous day, but I left off the lingering feeling that I wasn't quite alone in my own skin. That needed to be analyzed before I decided to let others know.

  Kyrian looked, well, maybe not completely satisfied with the description, but at least content that she had what we knew.

  "Hank, track down our lar, Bill, and ask about the necklace. Bring him in if we have to." Kyrian turned to Logan. "While you're waiting for that, go to yesterday's crime scene. See if we can find anything the police overlooked." Kyrian stood and looked at Rider. "Mr. Wolfe, I believe you are in training this afternoon. Join the others once you're done. Once we hear from Bill, find us a connection between the people or the purchases."

  We murmured assent and followed Kyrian out of the room.

  Rider disappeared to whatever training he had to attend, Hank returned to his electronic domain, and Logan and I went home. I needed a shower and fresh clothes, Logan needed to see his family, and we both needed a fresh perspective on the case.

  Yesterday's clothes felt grungy, but food had priority when I made it home. Gran was gone, but when I opened the fridge, I found a sandwich that she had left for me, secured in plastic ware from straight out of the seventies. As a fleeting thought, I wondered if she had 'seen' that I would want the meal, or if she had assumed. Hard to say with Gran, but either way, I had food.

  There was only time for one bite before the phone rang. Frowning, I looked from the sandwich to the phone. With a sigh, the phone won.

  "This is Cassie." I tried to sound distant and hurried.

  "It's Ethan."

  Frantically, I tried to recall how I had left things last night. "Oh, I’m glad you called. I mean, uh, after I left so quickly, I was hoping you would call." That was way too many words. "I didn't want you to think that..." Why was I still talking? "Well, anyway, I apologize." I bit down on my lip to make myself stop.

  Seconds of silence ticked by before Ethan cleared his throat. "This is more of an official call."

  Crimson embarrassment crept across my face, and my words came out quick. "Oh, right, of course, what's going on?"

  "Your office asked about gaining access to the crime scene."

  "Oh, right. Yes, our boss would like us to take a look around."

  Ethan's voice was purely professional. "I can meet you at the scene and take you and your partners through what we know. The DEA has been over the scene several times as well. If you'd like for them to join us, I can make those arrangements."

  "I don't think we need the DEA there." I didn't know if Logan would want them there or not, but I didn't want Ethan to feel like he ha
d to set up appointments for us. Besides, the agents we had met the previous night didn't instill me with a lot of confidence in anything they might do or say. "If you could walk us through the scene, though, we'd appreciate that."

  "I'd be happy to." His sounded less ridged this time. "Meet you over there in, say, an hour?"

  There was no way I was going anywhere without a shower, especially if it wasn't urgent. "Can we make it an hour and a half?"

  "I'll be there."

  "And, um..." If anything, my face grew redder, but he sounded distant, so I had to ask. "We mentioned getting together tonight?"

  Ethan was silent for a few beats and my heart quivered, as though ready to sink. "It didn't sound like you really wanted me to stop by."

  "I do." That sounded hurried, so I tried again. "Last night, work would have gotten in the way, but if you're interested, you could stop by."

  "Work may keep me pretty late tonight. We should receive some test results today."

  Damn. That didn't sound promising. "Sure, I understand."

  "I could text you when I'm free, and if you're up..."

  "Yeah." I felt a little better. "That sounds good."

  Once we hung up, I called Logan and, after filling him in, I ran upstairs, sandwich in hand, and ate as I got ready. After my shower, I caught myself taking too much time trying to pick an outfit since we were meeting Ethan. As soon as the realization struck, I put on normal work clothes. Last fall that would have consisted of jeans and a T-shirt. Seeing Kyrian move up so quickly, take charge, and make big changes in our branch of the agency, made me take a closer look at my own career trajectory. So far, I wasn't aimed in any particular direction, but slacks and a button up shirt began to make regular appearances in my wardrobe.

  On the way to the crime scene, I read out parts of the file from our tablet. The details along with the crime scene photos painted a gruesome picture.

  I pressed my hand to my stomach when I looked at the victim. "He beat her to death."

  Logan glanced over at the picture. "No human was meant to carry the fury of a minotaur."

  "Did I-" I stopped, not knowing where I really wanted to go with the question.

  Logan filled the dead air. "You didn't hurt anyone."

  "I don't remember much, but if you and Rider weren't there, I'm pretty sure I would have attacked someone. I was so... angry."

  "Did the feeling start as soon as you touched the idol?"

  "Before actually. Zander had me ticked off before the energy jumped into me." I explained what it felt like after the alien energy settled into place and the rage began to build. "Do you think Ed felt the same way I did?"

  "Hard to say for sure, but I don't think so. It jumped straight into you, which may have amplified the intensity. The necklace probably affected him, but I don't think anything entered him like it did you. Otherwise, it would have affected someone else at the station."

  "It certainly felt intense."

  "When you woke up, could you tell the energy was gone?"

  "Gone?" The silence drew out again as I tried to figure out how to answer the question. The anger was gone. Everything seemed normal, except the small nagging feeling that I wasn't alone in my own skin.

  "Put a rain check on that." Logan was eying the newly installed GPS device in the truck.

  In the past, we made do with maps, and then Smartphones began to trickle in a few months ago. Once Kyrian took over, new tech rolled in, which led to a GPS system in almost every work vehicle.

  It looked like we were a few blocks away, but I wanted to let the subject drop. "We have a civilian on the scene with us, what should we focus on?"

  "Delving into the past should be avoided if possible. The police have the murder covered, so there's no reason to get a replay of events as they happened. We're looking for any signs of where the necklace came from, how long they had it and are there any connection to the kids that died the other day."

  "Sounds good." Looking at the pictures of the crime had been bad enough. There was no way I wanted to see the scene played out, especially with Ethan watching over us.

  Ethan was waiting in front of the building. "Agent Seale, Agent Heidrich."

  Logan shook the offered hand. "I think we can lose the formality. First names are good for us."

  My partner knew me so well. With Ethan wavering about tonight, there was no way I would have mentioned the whole name business, but really, who wants to be called agent all the time?

  Ethan appeared to be okay with the suggestion.

  "We're going up to the second floor, to the back facing apartment on the left." Ethan led the way into the apartment and up the stairs. "The neighbors below called the disturbance in first. They could hear the argument through the floors. Before the police were on scene, the neighbors from across the hall called it in as well."

  "Have the neighbors made any complaints about them before?" Logan asked.

  "They’ve lived here about two years and no one contacted us about them before this incident. It's not the worst neighborhood around, but not the best either. People tend to mind their own business, and no one in the building seems to know anyone else. At least not when we ask.

  "We had to kick the door in, but a new door jamb was put in this morning to keep people out." Ethan took down crime scene tape that made a flimsy, but effective barrier to the apartment and opened the door.

  I handed Logan a pair of disposable gloves and put on my own. While pulling them on, I closed my eyes and mentally moved to the edge of my mind. There was a feeling of something watching beyond that edge that made me uneasy, and I hesitated, unsure of what would happen when I crossed the chasm into the Path.

  If I wasn't willing to access the Path, what was I even doing here? Forging forward, there was an unsettled feeling before the Path snapped into place. It dissipated before I could put a name to the sensation. Making sure I had a firm hold on my power, I stepped into the apartment.

  "The incident occurred in the front room," Ethan said.

  It was like stepping into another world. I've seen bursts of anger that sank hooks into the Path and remained in place, but this was a blight on the Path. Angry reds twisted around thick black waves, and although the Path flowed, the storm of emotion crashed back into itself and remained in place.

  "It's a mess, I know," Ethan said, coming up beside me and looking around the room, "but I can tell you what we know and which areas are most affected."

  Ethan must have mistaken my reading as being overwhelmed, which wasn't far from the truth, but mostly, I didn't want to step any further into the room. I was already being buffeted with the residue that poisoned the apartment. My own rage, or at least the rage that had filled me, hadn't been gone for long. What would happen to me if I stepped into this hell?

  "Well, partner, any area in particular you want to start?" Logan asked.

  Tearing my eyes away from frenzied mess was difficult since it dominated the room. When I found other flows of color, I regretted looking away.

  I pointed to an area by the window before I let the meaning of the Path truly soak in. "Over there. I'm guessing that's where the girlfrien-, uh, the victim was found." It wasn't really a guess. The confusion of color left behind was concentrated in one small spot.

  "Yes," Ethan said, "the body was discovered here, and our perpetrator was found in this room as well.”

  "Why don't you talk me through what happened, Ethan," Logan said.

  With Ethan focused on Logan, I could concentrate more on the apartment.

  Looking from the stormy mass left behind by the boyfriend and back to the condensed spot of fear, sadness, and spark of anger left by the woman, I felt overwhelmed. The intense fear and disorientation the woman felt was somehow more powerful than the rest of the room, where the fury might be permanently woven into the fabric of the Path.

  It was too much. After taking one last calculating look, trying to take in the whole room without feeling, I pushed the Path away. I welcomed the mute
d dullness of color that came with the normal world.

  Ethan and Logan were moving to the rest of the apartment. I stood not far from the door, which probably didn't look good from an outsider’s point of view. In fact, it must have looked like I did nothing. Would Ethan think I was so affected that I couldn't go through the crime scene?

  With great reservation, I went further into the room. Even without the Path, I could feel the remains of the fight, so I concentrated hard on the physical. Except where the fight had disturbed things, the room was tidy. Looking around, I found the small kitchen. It was dim and depressing, with no natural light, but it was clean, and someone had tried to make the room better with sunny canisters and curtains around a fake vinyl decal window over the sink.

  Exploring further, I found Ethan and Logan in what might have once been a second bedroom, which had been turned into an office of sorts. There was a cheap desk and chair with a computer monitor, a small bookcase, and the rest of the seating was beanbag chairs and floor cushions. The room was fairly neat, but the smell of cigarette smoke and pot clung to everything.

  While Ethan listed the drugs and drug paraphernalia confiscated, I took a closer look at the bookshelf. The titles made me roll my eyes. There were a few books on drugs, but other titles were things like, The Healing Power of Crystals, Magik in Nature, and an eclectic mix of books on secret societies, prophesies, and the end of the world. The book on mythological creatures peaked my interest, but when I flipped through the pages, I didn't discover anything out of the ordinary. There were a few photos on the bookshelf and on the desk, so I shifted my focus to them. Most of the pictures were of the couple, but a few contained what could have been friends or family.

  Without looking up, I asked, "Do we know who's in the pictures? Could one of them be the person that Ed mentioned, Terry?"

  "We're checking on a few. Ed hasn't been as talkative since speaking to a lawyer, so our trek to getting answers is longer. So far, no one by that name."

  Concentrating on the smaller details in the photos, I discovered that Ed appeared to be wearing a chain around his neck. It might not have been the source of all this trouble, but it was the only photograph that showed him wearing any jewelry. The only other jewelry in the picture was a ring that his girlfriend was wearing.