AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  Vincent nodded as though I had said something important. "For now, I think we should get some rest."

  The reminder was enough to make me yawn. "I can live with that."

  Leveraging myself to my feet, I tossed back my covers.

  "You know," Vincent said, standing up behind me, "Frank is a pretty great name for your rabbit."

  I looked over to the cage, and then beamed at Vincent. "I thought so."

  He stood close, and from the look he gave me, I thought he would close the distance. When he didn't, I was tempted to make that move. Instead, we stood there, frozen in the moment until it passed us by.

  "Good night, Cass."

  ***

  The only reason I pried my eyes open the next day was that I knew there was coffee and food in the house. Since I had no intention of going to the office, I stared at my closet. What do people wear when they're not working?

  It's pretty sad when you don't have enough brain power to figure out what to wear. In the end, I threw on what I would be wearing if I was going to work. It made things easier. Figuring that Frank would be hungry or thirsty, I took his cage with me.

  When I trudged down the stairs, I went straight to the coffee pot. Finding Ethan in my kitchen made me stop short.

  He looked nervous, but I was surprised to find no butterflies flying in my stomach.

  "Sorry," I said, "I didn't know you were here.

  "Your grandmother asked me not to wake you. She said you had a long day yesterday."

  "Yeah, it was definitely long. Where is everyone?"

  "Margaret went out and Logan picked up Vincent."

  He didn't sound upset or angry, so I nodded, set Frank's cage on the floor, and then went to the coffee pot.

  "I tried to call yesterday."

  "My cell phone is gone. I'm surprised you're not at work."

  "No cases," Ethan said. "Yesterday's case was passed to another team because it wasn't a victim from my case. This morning, I was told that my case had been closed."

  "That was fast," I said.

  "Is that...?" Ethan bent over Frank's cage. "That's not...Is that possible?"

  I shrugged and sat at the table. "Welcome to my world."

  "That's one of the reasons I'm here actually," Ethan said, joining me. "I don't know your world."

  "You know more than most."

  "But to navigate your life, I need to know more."

  The moment was laid out before me and there were so many avenues I could take from there. I could be sarcastic and condescending and end things right there, or I could try to make this work.

  "Do you want to?" I asked.

  Ethan took my hand. "Until I got here yesterday morning, it hadn’t crossed my mind that someone you were investigating would come to your home. Then I saw Vincent here."

  I nodded but wondered if that explained the odd look he gave me.

  “I’m fascinated by some of the things that you have happening around you every day, but things like this,” he traced a finger around the bruises on my neck, “they terrify me. I don’t know what to do, or ask, or say.”

  I studied Ethan, trying to figure the man out. "Do you know what happened yesterday?"

  "No, not after I left. I noticed Vincent's cast." His eyes landed again on the bruises. “But it looks like your day was harder than the others made it out to be. May I?” Ethan leaned forward, but waited for me to nod before he took a closer look at the bruises. “This looks bad."

  I caught his eye. "This is my world. Not always, not even often, but we don't always know what to expect from one day to the next. And the bruises are nothing." He looked like he was going to say something, but I overrode him. "No, I think you need to hear this. Einar did come to my house the night before last. He came back yesterday and threatened Gran until I went with him. My partners followed me and together we made sure that he can’t hurt anyone else."

  Ethan swallowed hard and folded his hand around mine. "He kidnapped you?"

  That made me think of the word victim again and my hand shook. "And Rider was shot. He almost died and he's still in the clinic. Vincent's arm was broken. We still worked to make sure Einar would never hurt anyone again."

  I didn't realize that I had started to shiver from head to foot until Ethan gathered me into his arms. I held him and concentrated on stopping the shaking and avoiding crying.

  Neither worked.

  "Come with me." Ethan tugged me to my feet and led me to the living room. We sat on the couch and he held me, not saying anything until long after I had regained my composure.

  I still didn't let go.

  "I don't have any special skills," Ethan said. "I can't do what your partners do, but I can try to be here for you. I'll do what I can along the way, but I can try to be here after the dust settles."

  I'm not sure what I wanted from Ethan, but right then I felt like I needed him.

  But he also deserved the truth. "I'm not sure this is going to work." I sniffed. "And I feel like a giant mess right now. Are you sure you want to be around all of this?"

  "It's not going to be perfect," Ethan said, "but I’d like to try."

  The phone rang.

  "Hold that thought." I wiped the last traces of dampness from my face and answered the phone.

  "Cassie, this is Hank."

  "Morning. Sorry I haven't called yet," I said.

  "Don't worry about it," Hank said. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you today. There's some paperwork that I need you to look over."

  "The reports? I can do that."

  Hank cleared his throat. "The reports are in there, but there's also a form to sign off on for your leave."

  "What leave?"

  "It's standard in these cases. You take a few weeks off with pay. Rest and relax. Get yourself up to form and then when the doctor signs off, you come back to work."

  "I'm not injured," I said.

  "The company psychiatrist has to sign off."

  "Who?"

  "In a few weeks, they'll fly in, meet with you, and then you're back to work."

  "That's it?" I asked, skeptical of the description. "What about the others?"

  "Rider and Vincent have been stood down as well."

  Stood down. That's not a term that went over well.

  "Read the documents over," Hank said quickly. "I've emailed them. We'll get digital signatures and then you're on vacation."

  "Got it," I said, not able to muster any enthusiasm.

  I hung up the phone and stood in the kitchen thinking over the past week. Ethan must have noticed the call had ended because he joined me.

  "Bad news?" Ethan asked.

  "Um, I guess not," I said. An idea struck and I smiled. "Do you have any vacation time?"

  He smiled. "I do. What did you have in mind?"

  "I'm not sure yet, but let's get away from here for a while."

  "How long do you have?"

  "A few weeks."

  "I know the perfect spot."

  ***

  Continue to Fenrisúlfr: Novella 3.5 (AIR Case Files Book 3)

  Continue to Fractured Worlds (AIR Series Book 4)

  Back to Main Table of Contents

  ***

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to make a special thank you to my parents, both of which supported me in their own ways while growing up. Today, they both continue to support and encourage me.

  Thank you to JD Book Services and Frankie Sutton, my editors, for all of their assistance. Deranged Doctor Design has once again provided me with a wonderful cover design and formatting.

  Special thanks to Erica and Oliver Jones for helping me iron out any wrinkles along the way. Many, many other family, friends, and acquaintances have been incredibly supportive. Thank you all.

  Most of all I must thank my husband for his continued encouragement, patience, and assistance in all my writing endeavors.

  Fenrisúlfr License Notes

  Printed in the United States of America

 
Copyright © 2017 Amanda Booloodian

  Published by: Walton INK

  Cover Art by Deranged Doctor Design

  Formatting by Deranged Doctor Design

  ISBN-10:0-9973353-8-6

  ISBN-13:978-0-9973353-8-5

  All rights reserved

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions, please contact Walton INK.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental

  Walton INK

  booloodian.com

  Dedicated to my parents. Thank you for everything.

  Interested in information on upcoming releases?

  Sign up for the Hidden World Newsletter to receive information on upcoming releases, news, and more!

  Fenrisúlfr Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Mandatory leave. That’s what I was faced with. There were no appeals available, and arguing would only make me look bad during all the psych evaluations that I had to look forward to.

  The agency might as well have posted a sign telling me I screwed up my job.

  Gran was safe, though, and completely unfazed by the fact that someone had threatened her to get to me. After firing her gun in the house, she had ringing in her ears, but beyond that, she was unharmed, which left me relieved. Rider was on the mend, but wasn’t interested in speaking with me or letting me know what had gone wrong between us.

  My response? It was a perfect time to take a vacation. It might have looked like I was running away, but that’s because I was.

  After I had arranged for Susan to take Gran to her upcoming doctor’s appointment, I packed my bags and left town. Even better, my boyfriend, Ethan, was able to join me.

  Originally, I intended to sit on a beach for a week and get up only when the drinks were empty, but Ethan had other ideas in mind. When we got to our secluded mountain cabin, with no Wi-Fi, spotty phone service, and no other living person for miles around, I knew he was right. This was the perfect place.

  “Cassie, wake up,” Ethan whispered.

  “I’m awake,” I mumbled into my pillow while I kept my eyes shut.

  In truth, I was up the moment he moved. Having someone to share my bed with wasn’t something I was used to. Still, I was in adamant denial of the fact that I was awake well before dawn while on vacation.

  “We’re going to miss the sunrise,” Ethan said.

  “Humph.” Watching the sunrise had sounded like a good idea when we found the ridge on yesterday’s hike. In the dark hours of the morning, however, while lying comfortable in the bed and my boyfriend only an arm’s length away, it wasn’t on the top of my list of things to do.

  Ethan chuckled, laid back down beside me, and then put his arm around me. He was already dressed. Number two on my list of things to do was out, and number one, sleep, was being driven out of the building as well.

  “The starry night out there won’t last long,” Ethan said, “but it’s a beautiful view in here. We could stay in.”

  A grin broke out across my face as I blushed and then opened my eyes. “You’re right, it’s a good view.” So far, it had been two amazing days and nights with Ethan. Yesterday, we even managed to go on a short hike. Today, however, we told ourselves that we would go out into the world for the whole day.

  Looking into Ethan’s eyes in the dim light, I gave him a long kiss.

  “So,” he said, sliding closer to me, “we’re staying in this morning?”

  Laughing, I pushed myself slightly away. “No, this morning we see the stars.”

  He closed the distance between us and kissed me. It didn’t last as long this time. “It’s difficult to think of leaving the house with you here next to me.”

  “I guess that means I had better get dressed.” I stretched out beside him, getting ready to leave the bed in search of clothes.

  “Mmm.” Ethan ran his hand down the line of my body.

  Before I had finished stretching, he leaned up on his elbow and was over me, kissing me.

  I giggled through the kiss and folded my arms around him, bringing him closer.

  The sun was well over the horizon before we made it out of the cabin.

  ***

  The drive to town was over an hour long, which was one of the pitfalls of being in the middle of nowhere. Only a few months into our relationship though, this meant we had more time to talk and get to know each other without the distractions we had back at the cabin.

  Tomorrow morning, dark and early, we would try again for the sunset on the ridge.

  As we approached town, I looked out the window and watched the trees. “I really needed this.”

  Ethan was quiet for a while, but then reached out and took my hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “About what?” I asked.

  Ethan gripped my hand. “Darling, you were taken from your home by a man that wanted to kill you.”

  I didn’t look away from the window, but I didn’t see the trees anymore. “Einar didn’t do anything to me.”

  “But Rider-”

  I tensed at the words. “Is okay. He’s back on his feet.”

  “It’s great that he bounced back so quickly.” Ethan was forcing his words to sound lighter. “I still can’t believe that one of your partners is a werewolf.”

  A partner that was supposed to be a friend, but wouldn’t talk to me. By werewolf custom, friendship should be an unbreakable bond between us, but with Rider and me, I could see cracks starting to form.

  “So, are there any mythological creatures in these parts?” Ethan asked.

  I could tell he was trying to salvage the conversation, so I decided to put on a smile. “Any Lost, you mean? I didn’t think to check the records.” The agency I worked for, the Agency for Interdimensional Regulation, worked with people and creatures from other dimensions that were trapped in this world, or that had moved here intentionally. “I imagine with all the woods, there are several in the area, though.”

  “What type would live out here?” Ethan sounded genuinely curious, so I looked away from the window and moved my mind from thoughts about my last few cases.

  I thought over his question. “The area is large enough to hide pretty much anything. Fairies, gnomes, and pixies, can take up a relatively small area, even with the whole family living together. Out here, though, a herd of centaur would go unnoticed. A large tribe of goblins would be right at home as well. Any of the larger, more solitary people could hide and never be seen.”

  “Larger?”

  I looked over at Ethan and he looked like his head was spinning. He was also taking a lot more glances into the woods beside the road.

  “Elves can fit in pretty much anywhere,” I said. “But a big troll or ogre can’t go to town anytime they want. Well, it’s discouraged anyway.”

  “It’s hard to imagine that all of those different creatures are here,” Ethan said.

  “And people,” I corrected.

  “What?”

  “People. Everyone I mentioned is a person. Creature implies they’re animals. We have those as well, but anyone who’s intelligent is a person.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Want to have lunch after we get supplies?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

  Ethan shifted in his seat. “Uh, yeah, we can do that. It’s a long ride back, so we’ll want to pick up any perish
ables after lunch.”

  He looked uncomfortable, but it wasn’t until we settled into a booth at a local diner a few hours later that I realized why.

  Despite putting on my best smile, the waitress pretty much ignored me. Months ago my soul had been torn to shreds. After that day, it was almost impossible to make a good first impression. Some people instantly hated me, while others ignore my existence, even Ethan. He had been practically hostile towards me when we first met.

  Rider described it as natural selection. My soul doesn’t sit well with anyone around me, so they react in unexpected ways. Most people were too wrapped up in themselves, so they didn’t notice. The smartest people I’ve met stare at me as if I’m some sort of puzzle they’re trying to figure out. If someone is unsure or uncomfortable with themselves, they tend to ignore me, or purposefully try to wreak havoc on my day. It’s the people that are dominant, natural predators, or just cranky and looking for a reason to lash out that I have the most problems with. They are more prone to get physical.

  Once people get used to me, they get over it. No matter how nice I was, though, there was no way this waitress was going to treat me with anything but contempt.

  When I didn’t get my drink, I excused myself and let Ethan do my ordering. Since I didn’t particularly want to get back to the table before the food arrived, I turned on my phone to check for a signal.

  Two whole bars. I guess we’re back to civilization.

  I waved the phone at Ethan and motioned that I was going to step outside. Standing in the warm, early summer sun, I called Gran.

  “Mornin’, sugar,” Gran said when she picked up the phone.

  I forgot about the time difference. Gran was an hour behind me, so it was still before noon there. “Morning. I wanted to call to see how things are going.”