A.I.R. Shattered Soul

by Amanda Booloodian

  “I met James tonight. I don't know anything about him.”

  “Hmmm, he does seem to—” Rider stopped and stood. Freezing, I listened hard, but I didn't hear anything.

  “Rider?” I asked.

  “Something on the air,” he said quietly. He twisted and turned silently across from me.

  Without thinking, I opened the Path, trying to sense if anything was with us. Rider took a sharp intake of breath. In the Path, he had a vibrant twist of colors that moved throughout his body. The rest of the forest flowed through the path before us. The trees shot from the ground, grew to their length and died, only to be replaced by others. My eyes watered. I didn't dare blink, because I was seeing the past, present, and future of the area. The rarity of the event and the beauty of the passing of time made me not want to let go, even though it felt like I was drowning in the river of the Path. Sitting on that spot, I saw the river rise, and the sun rose and fell a hundred times. All the while, Rider's bundle of flowing colors did not change. I had no idea what it meant.

  “What are you?” Rider asked in a whisper.

  It was enough to shatter my attention and I snapped back to seeing only the present. I would have followed that vision until the end of time, even if I withered and died while watching. Pushing the Path away was a struggle. I wiped my watering eyes and pressed the torrent back.

  “There's no one close to us.” I looked at the trees. The world was so dull now. Without the colors that spun around inside him, even Rider looked diminished.

  “It is on the air. I smell blood.”

  “Blood? I shot you, it's not surprising.”

  “This is different. Troll blood, I think. Stay here and I will find out.”

  “Excuse me?” Sit here while he runs off? I don't think so. “The troll is my responsibility. If he's hurt? Well, I'm going with you.”

  Chapter 10

  Rider regarded me. In the dim light cast by the moon, Rider nodded. He started going into the woods, and raised no objections when I followed. Rider was almost silent as he walked through the trees. He avoided sticks and branches as he made his way through the underbrush. I found every last one of them, but to his credit, Rider didn't say anything.

  My heart thudded hard in my chest. Maybe Rider was wrong, or maybe the troll had injured himself. Until we checked out the area, I had to stay calm. We finally emerged near the cave where Logan and I had placed the troll days earlier.

  An acrid smell filled the air, forcing me to cover my nose and mouth with my sleeve. Usually, my night vision is good. The cliffs glowed white in the night, but at the base was nothing but darkness. I could see nothing, but there was no way I was going to try to open the Path here. Instead, I tried to get a feel for the area. The air vibrated at a menacing frequency.

  “Rider, I can't see anything.” The negative energy of the area seemed to push in on me. “There's something not good here.” The last came out in a muffled whisper, but I knew he could understand me clearly.

  “He is dead,” came Rider's voice softly. I could see his outline in front of me against the wall of rock. “Torn apart.”

  “Torn? Can you tell what did it? Or smell it? Is it still here?” I hated the anxiety that I let slip out through my voice, but the abhorrent feeling in the air seeped into everything around me.

  “I cannot tell what it was. The smell is unfamiliar. It seems to have gone off in that direction.” Under the darkness cast by the trees, I could only tell the general area where he was pointing.

  “I need to get Logan out here.” I kept my voice low. “I don't think we should track it.”

  Rider turned to me. “We should go back to the entrance and warn Travis and the others. You can call Logan from there.”

  “Warn them-- oh no, Essy. Rider, did that thing go off in the fairies' direction?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “You have to go warn Essy!”

  Rider hesitated.

  “Look,” I said, “you're quicker and quieter than I am. If you run into whatever did this, run away. Go!” He turned and was gone.

  I took a few steps backward. I couldn’t see where the dead troll lay. My imagination started getting the better of me. For all I knew, I could be standing in an area surrounded by pieces of dead troll, torn apart by something that could be roaming these woods. I took another few steps backwards. The air felt coated in an oily residue.

  It became very hard to breathe. The air pushed in on me and the smell was nauseating. I couldn't stay here. I tried to figure out where Rider and I had arrived through the woods, but I was disoriented in the dark. Instead, I followed the cliff, back away from the area.

  Maybe Gran would know to send Logan, I thought wildly. However, I couldn't count on that. Pulling out my phone, I pushed up against the cliff face yards away from where Rider and I had stopped. The air was not as thick here. Trying to collect myself, I breathed in and out steadily and tried to focus on what was around me. I dialed Logan. Safety, I thought. I need to make sure I'm safe. The call wouldn't go through. I jabbed the numbers again and again in futile effort.

  There was nothing else I could do but open the Path. I had to know. Concentrating hard, I tried to open myself a tiny bit to the Path. The air rippled then started rushing around with great strength. Not quite the deluge I'd experienced before, but it was close.

  Inky blackness choked the Path. Against the darkness, I pulled out feelings of safety. I was able to build a shimmery shell of safety, pushing back the defilement around me. I tried to sense anything alive that was close to me. It wasn’t until I searched up and reached the trees that I sensed anything.

  I looked up into the trees directly in front of me. Something large loomed above me. With as little movement as possible, I tried to make myself smaller by pushing myself further into the cliff at my back. Terror washed over me in waves. My concentration broke and the Path grew stronger around me, but I held onto my bubble of safety. I let the Path pour over me, afraid to expend the effort to push it away. With all the murkiness, I couldn’t make out what was watching me. The Path showed me only the present, for which I was thankful.

  I could sense the creature waiting. Enough, I thought fiercely. Would Logan sit here and tremble if he was left alone? Rider took off without any thought of what he might face when he rushed to warn Essy. If something was going to try to kill me, I wasn't going to sit here and let it happen. Very slowly, I pulled out my gun. I didn't move my eyes away from where I thought the creature perched.

  “You are standing near an AIR crime scene,” I said. I was surprised my voice came out so steady. “I order you to come down for questioning.”

  There was an odd screeching noise in front of me and the air chilled. A swooping noise filled the night. Something thudded on the ground close by. I couldn't see it, but pointed my gun in its direction. My bubble of safety was thrown back at me, followed by cold, dense darkness in the Path.

  Once again, the atmosphere became thicker and oily. I could see a dark outline of something in front of me. Was this thing causing the unnatural taint in the air? Needing my eyesight instead of the contaminated Path, I concentrated and pushed the Path away. The creature didn’t move, but I felt something flex. Something as solid as a wall slammed into me. It pushed me up hard against the cliff. The force disappeared and I bounced off the cliff, only to be lifted by nothingness and smashed again into the rock face.

  The air rushed out of my lungs as I hit and my feet were no longer touching the ground. The strength of the force did not dissipate, but instead, tried to grind me into the cliff face. I tried to scream, but had no air to do so. Every bruise and cut I’d gained the night before screamed pain throughout my system.

  The solid wall suffocated me. Death waited for me.

  The wall of energy vanished and I fell to the ground. Another swooshing noise filled the air. I sat up and swung my gun out in front of me, ready to fire at my attacker, but I found nothing to shoot at. Anger coursed through me. I looked at the sky, but still caught no
sight of my attacker.

  “Cassie!” Rider called from the woods.

  “Cassie,” mimicked another high-pitched hissing voice. The air grew lighter. I didn't drop my weapon.

  Rider came running out of the woods. “Where is it? What is it?” Rider put himself in front of me. He crouched down and then leaned forward, ready to pounce on anything that moved.

  Trembling, I moved my finger off the trigger and slid down to the ground. I'd already shot Rider once tonight, not that he seemed to care, but I certainly didn't want to shoot him by accident. I was having a hard time catching my breath.

  “Gone.” My voice wasn't as clear as before. Rider stood ready to attack anything that approached. He stayed like that for several minutes. I didn't move. As I sat there, I discovered tears running down my face. The adrenaline rush faded and I felt like I was falling apart. Silently, I wiped the tears off my face hoping Rider hadn't seen them. Rider began to relax his stance. He stepped beside me and leaned down to get a good look at me, never putting his back to the woods.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Was Essy okay?”

  “She and the others are in hiding until I let them know it is safe.”

  Sighing with relief, I leaned my head back against the cliff face.

  “You are bleeding,” Rider said.

  “I was tossed into a cliff wall and then ground into it. Of course I'm bleeding.”

  “We should leave.”

  “Give me a second.” I steadied myself. I made sure the Path was pushed firmly away. I thought I might drown in caustic darkness if I slipped back into the Path here. “What's the quickest way back?” I asked.

  “Can you walk?” Rider asked.

  Since there was no way I was going to let someone carry me out of the woods, I said the only thing I could. “I'll be fine.”

  “This way,” Rider motioned.

  The shortest way back didn’t involve a trail. It was straight through the woods, across a field, and through more woods. We ended up taking several breaks. Twice Rider heard something moving through the thick foliage, but both times, he decided it was animals moving around. A few times, we stopped so I could rest and catch my breath. When we finally emerged behind one of the buildings, it looked like the gathering was over. Only Travis and James lingered. They headed toward us after we stepped out of the woods. I leaned against the building and slid down, sitting hard on the ground. Rider stood close to me.

  When Travis was close enough, I asked him to call Logan and get him out here. He didn't ask any questions, which was a relief. The ordeal in the woods was too fresh to relive.

  James moved closer to me. Rider made a low menacing noise, and James stopped.

  “I'll bring no harm to anyone here,” James said.

  Rider took a step back to stand beside me, but didn't relax. James walked forward and crouched in front of me. “I'm sorry for earlier. I'm not sure what came over me.”

  I nodded.

  Travis ended his call and came to join us once more. “Logan is already on his way. Cassie, are you okay? James sensed something in the area and we sent everyone away.”

  I was getting sick of everyone asking me if I was okay. Maybe if I didn't give people reason to be concerned, they'd stop asking? “I'm good, just worn out.” I glanced at James, and then back at Travis. Travis took the hint.

  “James is safe to talk to, Cassie. He has clearance and I'll vouch for him.”

  Nodding, I looked up at Rider. He kept his eyes on the woods. After rolling my head on my shoulder to let some of the tension loose, I followed Rider's gaze. I let the Path fall over me without resisting it and felt through the area around us. Rider shivered, but didn't take his eyes off the woods. Checking the entire area around the building, and above for good measure, I didn't sense any of the oil slicked energy that resonated around the creature that attacked us.

  Before I felt overwhelmed by the force of the power, I pulled myself away from the Path. James looked at me appraisingly. He didn't ask any questions and I didn't offer anything.

  “Let's move inside, out of the open air.” I pulled myself up and we entered one of the buildings. I cleaned up while we waited for Logan. He arrived with Vincent in tow.

  Logan's face looked more angular. It seemed wrong to me that the elf hadn't smiled much in days. He didn't say anything as he came over, giving me a cursory glance. He glared at Rider, Thomas, and James. “Who are you?” he asked gruffly to James.

  “He has clearance,” Travis said.

  “Show me.” Logan looked over the card that James produced. After careful inspection, he passed it back. “Fine. Explain.”

  I didn't need to see the Path to feel how infuriated Logan was. His fury engulfed the entire room, bouncing off walls and people. Rider filled Logan in. Looking around, I saw that Vincent stood a bit away from the others. His hands were balled into fists. From here, his eyes looked solid black. His arms trembled slightly.

  As soon as Rider finished, filling in my part of the story for me, Vincent turned around and headed out the door.

  “Now, wait a minute!” Logan called after him.

  “No.” Vincent’s voice was shaking. He walked out.

  “Stay away from the Troll!” Logan yelled as Vincent retreated. He turned back to the room. “I've gotta go out and take a look at the site. Travis, would you mind if I used one of your ATVs again?”

  “I should go with you,” Travis responded. “It's dark and I know the way well. James, would you mind staying here with Cassie?”

  “I'm going,” I stated.

  “Cassie,” Logan started.

  I glared at him and stood up. Without looking back, I walked outside.

  Chapter 11

  The trip there was short compared to the journey that Rider and I took. Travis stayed with the ATVs, ready to lead us back out again. Logan handed out flashlights and then grabbed his bag. Rider led us along the cliff toward the area where the murder occurred. The oily residue still clung to the air. Logan stopped at one section of the cliff and flashed the light around. It took me a minute to realize that this was where my encounter with the creature took place.

  Shining my flashlight through the trees, I tried to search out the area where the creature must have stood. There was no evidence that it had been there. We went further toward the cave until we found what remained of the troll. My stomach clenched and threatened to rebel. The acrid smell, which must have been the troll's blood, filled the air. Rider was right. It had been torn to pieces.

  The turbulent energy in the area lingered. Between the smell of blood and presence of that horrible residue in the air, I was beginning to feel ill.

  “This is a mess,” Logan said. I could hear the sadness in the elf’s voice. “I’ll call it in.” He turned away and called the office asking for a code four clean up at the Sanctuary.

  He turned back to us when he hung up. “Let's go back to where you were attacked.”

  “Sure,” I said, thankful to get away from the smell.

  It didn't take long to reach the spot.

  Rider stopped and inspected part of the cliff. From his position, I could tell that was where I had been crushed into the rock face. Rider was a mixed jumble of energy, so it was hard to get any clear reading of him without entering the Path.

  “We're going to send you back to the entrance with Travis,” Logan said to Rider.

  “Thanks for your help tonight, Rider,” I said, looking at the cliff.

  He nodded. “Do I need to wait for anyone at the entrance?”

  “No. We'll stop by if we have any questions,” Logan responded.

  Rider nodded. With another glance at the cliff, he went back to Travis. Logan waited for them to drive away before pulling out flares for the area. We only had a few in the bag. Logan placed them all around the perimeter.

  “You know,” Logan said, “that hole in Rider's side looks an awful lot like a bullet hole.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said, �
�it was the strangest thing.” I had forgotten about how Rider and I met up that evening. I relayed the story.

  “He attacked you?” Vincent asked. Jumping, I turned and almost fell as Vincent walked out of the woods. Logan, however, didn't seem the least bit surprised when Vincent joined the conversation.

  “He said it was instinct,” I said, relating the information again. I shrugged. “He made up for it here anyway. If he hadn't shown up, I would probably be dead now.”

  “Where'd you go?” Logan asked Vincent.

  “I attempted to track the thing, but had no luck.”

  “It flew away,” I said. “Hard to track that.”

  Vincent shrugged.

  “Look,” Logan pointed at Vincent, “you can’t wander away on your own. You're either a part of our team or not. Make a choice and stick with it.”

  Vincent's surprise mirrored my own. To cover the awkwardness, I started to go over what happened at the cliff. I flashed my light once more into the trees above me. As I finished my part of the story again, the enormity of the night started catching up to me. I pushed it back down. Being scared about it wasn't going to help.

  Logan scaled the tree the creature sat on, but didn't find anything. The ground wasn't wet, so there were no footprints.

  “Anything in the Path?” Logan asked me.

  “I can try it, but I'm adjusting to how much I see now,” I admitted. “I'm not sure how much use it'll be.”

  “It's been a few days. Things aren't back to normal?” Logan asked. I looked up at him just in time to catch a glare he shot in Vincent's direction.

  “Perhaps you could explain the change,” said Vincent. If he noticed the glare, he ignored it.

  “The Path is different now. There was so much of it hidden before. I see things—” I broke off, trying to think of a better way of explaining. “I see floods of information when I saw only a trickle before. I'll adjust.” Before they could say anything more, I closed my eyes and opened the Path.