It was working on Ethan, and the officer with him. Vincent had made himself virtually immune to my antics, so it didn't affect him, but Mr. Davidson was having a hard time. He looked torn between holding on to his anger or letting it go.
"I think we're good here. Let's go check on Logan and Rider," Vincent said.
"Sure," I said. Worried about leaving Ethan behind with a ticked-off general contractor, I added a bit more emotion and tied it off to Mr. Davidson.
Ethan gave me a warm smile as I walked past him. I looked back a few times, worried that I had pressed things a bit too far.
"I think I may have overdone it. Do you think they're okay?" I whispered to Vincent.
He didn't glance back, but I noticed that Logan looked up.
"I'm sure they're fine," Vincent said.
I wasn't convinced, but we were starting to get close to the gray Path. Enamored with the thought of all those colors twisting around, I moved towards it to see if they were still visible. The gray was muted, as before, but as I followed the Path it turned darker, and I started to see the threads wiggling under the gloom.
"Cass?" Vincent said.
"Hmm," I replied, reaching out to touch the bits of color.
Vincent moved in front of me, blocking my way.
I put my hands on my hips and frowned.
"I think we're getting off track," Vincent said.
Looking around, I saw that I had walked past everyone as I followed the older Path.
"Oh. Sorry." Why was I even over here? I mean, it's interesting, but nothing new to be discovered. "I got distracted."
Lines of worry were worn onto the edges of Vincent's eyes. "Let's get back to the others."
"Yeah." I tried to stop reading the Path, but it acted like rubber. Trying to use force only caused it to bounce back harder. Keeping it open was easier, so I dammed it up until I was left with a small trickle of power. Even Rider's Path was barely visible.
"We're getting ready to start," Logan called.
When we came over, Logan handed Vincent a laptop. "You and Simon keep an eye on this," Logan said. "Rider, go get the shovels."
Rider looked all too happy to move away from the site.
Logan plucked up the first flag, turned on the machine, and drove it slowly over the area.
Over Vincent's shoulder, I watched the screen. Wavy lines spread across the monitor, black, green, yellow, and red.
"You've got it, Logan," Vincent said.
"What are we looking at?" Simon asked.
Logan swung around and ran the machine over another swath of ground.
"Once more," Vincent said.
The wavy lines became straighter on the second and third strips Logan went over.
"Let's hit the other side," Logan suggested.
Vincent frowned. "I think we have to start and keep moving in one direction."
"Maybe we should start again," Logan said.
"We've got what we need for now," Vincent said.
"Looks like we're about to have company anyway," I said, noticing Mr. Davidson approaching. "He looks calmer at least."
"Nice job on that," Logan said.
Rider had given Ethan a shovel to carry. I'm not sure why Rider thought we needed six shovels, but he appeared to be carrying another five.
"I'm still not sure what we're looking at here," Simon said.
I stepped away when Logan came over and Mr. Davidson joined them.
"See these smooth lines? Those are the natural ground. Then here, the ground starts to get disturbed. And where the flag was, that's a body."
Looking around, I saw another dozen or so flags. My stomach was growling, but I wasn't hungry anymore.
"A body?" Simon asked.
Chapter 10
"Yes," Vincent said.
Mr. Davidson nodded and looked around. "All these are bodies?"
"Yes," Vincent said.
"If that's true, we'll have to stop construction," Simon said, "but how do you know these are bodies and not animal carcasses or something?"
"The environmental survey checked for old cemeteries on record. There are none here," Mr. Davidson said.
Simon shook his head. "We're going to need more proof than some wavy lines."
"That's where the shovels come in." Logan beckoned Rider and Ethan over. "Let's get started. I'll take this spot. Ethan, you're going to want to oversee this. You and Simon. There are shovels if you want to help dig."
Mr. Davidson was still looking around at all the flags. "There's no way you're going to let us build here."
I’m not sure if he was talking to Simon, or us, but if those were bodies, he probably wasn’t wrong. At least for the next few weeks, there wouldn’t be construction in this area.
Having no interest in seeing what they would unearth, I went over to where the gray trail exited the ground. With the Path so closed off, I couldn't see anything useful. It was tempting to take a deeper look again, but I resisted the urge.
Mr. Davidson came over and started picking up pieces of rebar. He would lift a metal bar and drop it again. When he finally found a smaller piece, he swung it a few times and started humming. Then he turned back to the group huddled around an ever-expanding hole in the ground.
"Mr. Davidson," I said.
He continued humming. I ran after him, moving in front of him before he reached the group.
"Mr. Davidson, I'm going to have to ask you to stop right there," I said.
He kept moving forward. When he got close, he started to raise the rebar.
"Stop!" I yelled.
The Path surged around me and I welcomed its strength. As Mr. Davidson swung the rebar down on me, I lifted my arm in defense, creating a solid wall of Path at the same time.
Like a wall of air, it was invisible, but strong enough to stop the rebar. Davidson jerked the metal back and swung down again. Again, he struck air. His grin was becoming manic, and I was starting to falter. The Path dragged at me. It pushed, shoved, and turned me around. Something came between Mr. Davidson and me, which came as a great relief.
When the Path surged, I fell on my back and was trapped in its flow. The sun rose and fell countless times. The grass grew, it was cut, and then it grew again. When dirt was poured over me, I started to panic. If this was the past or future, I couldn't tell. Whichever it was, the ground where I laid was covered with something. When I moved my arms to try to thrust it away, nothing happened.
Suffocation. I was being buried alive and suffocating. Trying to tell myself it wasn't real was no use. I couldn't touch it, but I could see it. The air tasted like dirt. I coughed and choked on the flavor.
There was a sharp tug on my chest. The feeling of hurtling forward stopped. Then the ground fell away. I felt heavier, but the air was fresh. Looking around, I saw that there was some sort of monument. It was broken and covered with dirt, but there had once been something there. Or maybe there would be?
It started to move away. The farther I got from it, the more sense things began to make. Strong arms were wrapped around me. There were noises. Real and tangible sounds that I could latch onto.
The air around me began to shimmer. When Rider appeared, apparently carrying me, I breathed a sigh of relief. He looked tense and had his eyes focused forward.
I reached up and touched his face, and he looked down.
"There you are," he said.
"Here I am."
"I could not find you."
"I think you're carrying me," I said.
Rider smiled. "It is time for you to come back."
Nodding, I closed my eyes and tried to press the Path away. It was a struggle. When I opened my eyes, the present was shaped around me, but the Path was still there.
"I think we need to move farther away," I said.
Rider nodded and kept walking. I closed my eyes and concentrated. When I felt the world lurch, my mind snapped back. I opened my eyes to the dull hues of the natural world.
"I don't think I've ever been as ha
ppy to see the real world as I am right now," I said.
"You are back," said Rider, beaming down at me.
"Thank you," I said. "I'm not sure where I would be if you weren't here."
"You would have found your way, but it might have taken longer."
His optimism amazed me. I shook my head and looked around.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
Rider turned around. Ethan was at a squad car, arms folded, and in a serious discussion with Vincent.
"Shoot. Rider, do you mind setting me down?" I asked.
He put me on my feet, but kept a hand on my arm, trying to keep me steady. I saw that Logan was talking with Simon. Logan looked like he was trying to keep an eye on everyone at once, while having the creepiest smile plastered on his face. Elves shouldn't be allowed to fake a smile. It never worked the way they thought it did.
"Who thought it was a good idea to let Vincent and Ethan talk?" I mumbled.
"Vincent said he is smoothing things over. I am not sure what that means. Is something wrinkled?”
"I think the situation is wrinkled."
"That may be true."
"What the hell happened?"
"You stopped Mr. Davidson from hurting Simon. Although Ethan thought that you were injured. Ethan has arrested Mr. Davidson. He made the officer do the actual arrest part. Logan is working with Simon now that he is assured there are bodies in the ground, and Vincent helped me find you. I did not know that was possible."
"How did he help?"
"He..." Rider's brow furrowed. "He tugged on a part of you and stopped you. Then he had me take you away. Like we moved you away yesterday."
"Hmm, away from the Path I followed," I said softly. I watched Vincent and Ethan. They didn't look happy, but it didn’t seem like they were yelling at each other. "That was a smart move. Any ideas on what we should do now?"
"I think that will depend."
"On?"
"On if you are able to walk unassisted."
Exhaustion leaked through my pores. "I can walk."
"Are you sure?"
I took in a deep breath and let it go, giving myself a moment to think. "I'm sure I don't want to look any weirder in front of Ethan."
"He likes you," Rider said. "Once you two become friends, it will not matter."
For werewolves, friendships didn't come easy, but once you were their friend, it was for life. You each held up your own end of the relationship.
"I'm afraid it doesn't always work that way with humans," I said. "It can, but only if they really understand. Ethan and I don't yet have that type of connection."
"He appears to be receptive. Have you tried?"
That didn't take much thought, which was sad. "Not hard enough."
"It can take a great deal of time."
"Unfortunately, that time isn't now. I feel dead on my feet."
"Logan would like to know if you are able to drive," Rider said.
I looked down the hill at Logan. Simon was walking back to his truck, and Logan was watching us. Rider and Logan could hear at considerable distances.
"I can drive."
"Logan says that you did good today. Go home, wrangle up some grub, and kick back." Rider looked confused. "Grubs are bugs."
I grinned, and then I had to stifle a yawn. "In this case, I'm pretty sure he means grub as in food."
"You are eating the grubs?"
Logan looked like he was laughing. Even from a distance, the elf's smile was catching.
"I'm not eating them. Grub is an old slang word that means food," I said.
"So many words mean the same thing," Rider said.
"That's true, but you know the language so well, no one would know that you came from another dimension."
Logan and his family were the same way. Most Lost have to know the language at least passably well before they can be integrated into the community.
"I did originate from here. Before my mother passed away. I think that helps."
I patted Rider's hand in sympathy.
"Ethan appears to be waiting for you," Rider said.
Sure enough, Vincent was walking over to Logan and Ethan was leaning on his car. His arms were still crossed and he didn't look happy.
"I'll go talk to him, and then go home," I said before another yawn came.
Rider frowned. "What if there is more magic at your house?"
"Logan thought it might have been more of a greeting than anything else. I'm sure things will be normal at home."
He nodded slowly. "That is possible."
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow sometime, now that we seem to have a case."
"I will come over in the morning."
Remembering my date, which I hoped was still on, I said, "Not too early."
Each step towards Ethan seemed to weigh me down. Still, I fabricated a positive attitude and tried to hide my fatigue.
The approach was awkward and made even more so when Ethan didn't say anything as I walked up.
"Hey," I said before things got too uncomfortable.
"You doing okay?" Ethan asked.
"I'm good. I got a little shook up, but I'm all right." I should have asked Rider what Vincent had told Ethan.
"Shook up?" Ethan finally uncrossed his arms and stood up. "What were you thinking jumping in front of that guy?"
My mind was sludgy, so I hoped I had misunderstood him. "What do you mean?"
"Cassie, he could have killed you."
"But he didn't, I'm fine." I was tired, mentally and physically. Despite that, I could read between the lines. It boiled down to the fact that I was a girl and shouldn't have gotten in the way. Keeping my cool was difficult. Why did Ethan have to try to pull this macho stuff now? Still, I managed to bite my tongue.
"How you're not injured is beyond me. But that's not the point."
"What exactly is the point?" I asked. Immediately, I wished I could take the question back. No answer could come out of his mouth that I'd be happy with.
"The point is that it was reckless."
His concern and frustration were battling it out. I could feel each strike, even with the Path closed.
"I was doing my job," I said, dropping all pretense of positivity.
"There were others there that could have done that job, and what the hell was wrong with your partners? Rider didn't look like he planned to help at all until after the second strike. Logan seemed madder at Vincent than anything else, and Vincent was the only one that acted like he gave a damn."
"Are you kidding me with this?" I asked, lowering my voice. "This is my job and how dare you judge my partners. Rider knows I can handle myself and I knew he would help when I needed it. If Logan was mad at Vincent, you could bet Vincent was doing something out of line."
"It's not—"
"Shut up," I snapped. "Like it or not this is my job, and believe it or not, a woman can take care of herself. Don't ever, ever expect me to stand out of the way and let someone else get hurt. It's not going to happen."
"Cass," Vincent said behind me.
"What?" I asked, turning my frustration in his direction.
"I need to talk with you. Let me walk you to your car."
I rolled my eyes. "Fine."
It felt like my aggravation was the only thing keeping me on my feet as I stalked off to my car.
Vincent walked with me, but didn't say anything until we were far enough away that Ethan couldn't overhear.
"Are you alright?" Vincent asked.
"Don't you start too."
"I think you need to give him a break."
"What?" The words tempered my frustration with confusion. I never thought I'd hear something like that from Vincent.
"He was scared. That's all."
"You didn't hear what he said," I mumbled.
"I didn't have to. I've been there. He was scared and upset with himself for letting it happen."
"Letting it happen?"
"You know what I mean. Not reacting fast enough. N
ot being able to help."
"Is that what he said?" I asked.
"He didn't have to."
"Why are you taking his side?"
"We're not teenagers, Cass. There are no sides here. I'm sure he said something stupid, but from the way he talked, this was the second time in two days he could have been seeing you dead on the ground."
That took the wind from my sails and I slumped against my car.
"You didn't tell me about yesterday," Vincent said.
"It was a non-event."
"I'm pretty sure he doesn't see it that way.”
"How do you know so much about what he's thinking?"
Vincent shook his head. "He wasn't the only one thinking them."
"That's not my fault." I crossed my arms, but couldn't muster up a glare.
"It's not," Vincent agreed. "I'm only suggesting that you take a step back and look at things from his point of view."
"The way he talks, his point of view is that I can't take care of myself."
"It's not that you can't take care of yourself. It's that you shouldn't be pushed into situations where you have to defend yourself. None of us should. But when you watch someone close to you being put through those things, you don't always have the best reactions."
"Why are you making so much sense? And why are you sticking up for Ethan."
There was the slightest tightening to Vincent's eyes. "The only person I'm looking out for here is you."
Chapter 11
After Vincent walked off, I momentarily thought of apologizing to Ethan. My mind was too muddled from fatigue to make that decision. There was more than a little chance that I wouldn't make it that far without falling anyway. With knots in my stomach, I looked over the site before I steered the car towards home. It was barely past noon and I was already planning on going to bed. After getting food that is. The faster the better.
Sometimes being a Reader sucked. Luckily, Logan had Vincent and Rider to help him out.
By the time I reached the driveway, I had already eaten my drive-thru lunch. When I entered the house, I had a twinge of uncertainty. After this morning, being home alone, not knowing what may be invisible and waiting for me, made me uncomfortable. Still, my bed called. The slow trek upstairs yielded no surprises. The only conscious decision I made was to turn on my alarm to ensure I had enough time to get ready for my date. Assuming I still had one.
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