A.I.R. Shattered Soul

by Amanda Booloodian

  Rider looked taken aback by my anger.

  I turned to Logan, “I’m going to grab some gear.”

  He nodded but didn't say anything. Logan whispered something to Rider, but it was too low for me to hear. I glared at both of them before leaving the room.

  I pulled my hair into a braid so it wouldn't get in my way and checked out the truck. The tranquilizer guns were there, so I loaded them up and made sure they were ready. I even checked the expiration date on the tranquilizers. When I first started working with Logan, expired tranqs made a job more difficult than expected. That was one mistake we’ll never make again. I paused now and again in my preparation to pull myself back into my center. Once I was finished, I was calm and ready to go. When I went back into the conference room, Rider was there, but Logan was gone.

  “He is contacting his family and speaking with Hank,” Rider said.

  I nodded and helped myself to more coffee. It was promising to be another long night. I asked Rider if there was anything in particular that he might want. He didn't apologize and didn't bring up the earlier discussion, both indicators that Logan had a talk with him.

  Since we last saw the creature at the Sanctuary, I called Travis on the way over. It was almost dark when we arrived and the place was clear except for the fairies. The ATVs were waiting when we arrived. Travis agreed to stand by on the short wave radios in case we needed the cavalry called in.

  Logan led the way and Rider brought up the rear. We made two stops on the way out to the cliffs where the troll had been killed. Twice Rider called something out and stopped for a few moments before giving us the go ahead. By the time we reached the cliff, the night had turned cool.

  We ditched the ATVs when we could take them no further and tromped through the woods that met the base of the cliffs. Well, okay, I tromped. Rider was almost as silent as Logan. We agreed to go over the area where the troll died and where I was attacked before trying to pick up any other trails. After so much time, I figured the scents of this area would have dissipated, but Rider assured me they were still strong enough to follow.

  The area where the troll died didn't tell us anything new. Logan and I went back to where it attacked me, while Rider ran through the woods, following the creature’s progress to where it actually met up with me. We didn't have long to wait. Rider said he made a loop through the woods ending up where I was attacked.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on that spot, trying to get a sense of where the creature went next. I closed my eyes twice, but they popped back open again. It wasn't until Logan and Rider moved closer that I felt safe enough to keep my eyes closed and concentrate. I was getting pretty good at opening only a small portion of the Path, but that trickle of power wasn’t enough and I failed to see far enough back. Bracing myself, I opened the full raging power of the Path. Instantly, my breathing ratcheted up. Logan reached out to steady me. It struck me again how amazing his pattern was when viewing it this way. Equally amazing that it was hidden before now.

  Pushing myself, I felt back to the time when I faced the creature. Blacks and grays swirled in the memory of the creature's passing. The Path tried to resist the imprint the beast had made, but the energy hadn't yet been swept away. The Path of the creature went above me, over me. I looked up the face of the cliff. I told the guys where it had gone and we were off.

  We walked back to the ATVs and started out. Rider was in the lead this time with Logan bringing up the rear. The trail went pretty far out of the way, but we were steadily climbing upwards. I'd never been to this part of the Sanctuary and I was all turned around from the twists and turns of the trail. Rider and Logan had a good sense of direction, however. They'd be able to lead us out if needed.

  Rider dismounted the ATV and led us to the top of the cliff where the creature had disappeared. We followed it until he caught a scent. Since we had no idea where the scent led, we stuck together. Sometimes, the guys seemed to forget that I was slower. Rider and Logan were on the hunt. At one point, I found myself completely alone in the middle of nowhere and had no idea where to go. It scared me, which was good. Being scared quickly led me to being pissed off. Much easier to be in the woods alone in the middle night and be pissed off than it is to be alone and scared.

  I crossed my arms and leaned against a nearby tree. “If I get stuck out here alone all night I'm going to get really ticked,” I said lightly. There was no response so I raised my voice. “And if you stumble across my dead body, don't let that get in your way.” It was a bit dramatic, but it worked. Rider popped into view and stayed closer to me.

  We crossed back and forth through the woods, coming to the cliffs following one trail before catching a fresher trail and taking us away, over and over again.

  “Rider, can you tell how old the scents are that we are following now?” We were working ourselves back away from the cliff again.

  “Maybe three days old.”

  “And the one we followed to the cliff previously?”

  “Maybe four days.”

  I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. “In other words, it's going back and forth from the cliffs each day?”

  “It seems that way, but it takes a different path each time.”

  “Why don't you leave me back at the ATVs? You can follow the scents back and forth until you find the most recent ones. You'll get done faster that way.”

  “What if we run into it? Or it runs into you?” Logan asked.

  “I don't think it will,” I replied.

  “Why not?” Rider asked.

  “Because I think it killed the troll to take its cave.” I tried not to look too pleased with myself.

  Chapter 27

  “The troll wasn't killed in its cave.” Logan said.

  “Right,” Rider added, getting excited. “It was killed well away from the cave. That way, no one would check the cave, and it would not smell up the place if no one found the troll.”

  “Nice work, Cassie,” Logan added, “You could be right about this. Rider, find the most recent scents and follow them. I'll take Cassie back to the ATVs and we'll wait for you there. If you run into it, run away. Nothing else.”

  Rider nodded and disappeared. I couldn't tell how fast he moved, since there wasn't much noise, but I knew it was much faster than we had been moving together.

  Logan led the way back to the ATVs and we sat together discussing tactics.

  Rider joined us again. “Last trace of a scent ended at the top of the cliffs. It could still be in the cave below.”

  “Excellent,” Logan said. “Here's our idea. Since you move fastest through the woods, circle way out and come out on the other side of the cave. You can wait there. I'll be across from you on the other side of the cave. Cassie is going to step out straight in front. If the thing's asleep, she'll get its attention. You and I will move back to be to the left and right of her. That way, we don't risk hitting her or each other. When it comes out, we shoot it.”

  Rider looked a little nervous. So Logan continued, “I also think that Cassie should keep a tranq dart in her hand. That way if it gets close enough, she can stab it with the dart. This will drop an elephant, so it'll drop whatever this is.” Logan said something else under his breath, but I couldn't hear it.

  We all hopped onto the ATVs and went back to the base of the cliffs. Hopefully, we had enough gas in the tanks, because I didn't want to think about walking out of here.

  When we parked and moved toward the cave, I started to tense. Scenarios started playing themselves out in my head. When Logan guessed we were about half way to the cave, we stopped. This was where Rider jumped off. We'd give him twenty minutes to get into place before continuing on.

  Before he disappeared into the night, Rider said, “Stay safe. I will be very disappointed if you two get hurt.”

  Twenty minutes later, Logan and I moved forward quietly. Crossing my fingers, I hoped Rider was in place. We walked for a while, but it seemed way too soon when Logan stopped and turned to face
me. I moved up next to him. He didn't say anything, but pointed in the direction I needed to go. Bracing myself, I walked alone into the darkness.

  The cliffs were white stone as high as a two or three story building. The moon bathed them in light until they seemed to glow. I couldn't have traveled more than thirty feet, but it seemed like a long walk to take on my own. Even among the trees, I felt exposed.

  The mouth of the cave was obvious as I approached it. The black gaping maw waited for me at the base of the cliff. I stayed within the trees until I was in front of the cave opening. There was a small clearing, so I stayed among the edges of the trees.

  Feeling alone, even though I knew my two friends were close by, I couldn't bring myself to yell into the cave. It felt too quiet to yell. Instead, I whistled.

  Which led to nothing. Apparently, whistling was not going to do the trick.

  If I spoke out loud, I knew my fear would seep through my voice. I pulled some energy into me, then formed it into a fine string and sent it forward. At first, it groped around and found nothing, but in the back of the cave, down a small side passage, I hit pay dirt. There was something in there. Bracing myself, I reached into the Path. The churning route the creature took in and out of the cave was visible. Standing out against its surroundings, the creature's Path of black flecked with red didn't ripple in the raging river of the path. It stood stark against its flowing background. Putting my finger on the newest Path was a force of will. I didn't want to touch the stuff. Immediately, I charged the line of blackness leading to the cave, forcing the creature to take notice, before dropping the line completely. Struggling, I closed off the Path and waited. If this turned out to be a groundhog or a bunny, I was going to feel really stupid, but not as stupid as I would have felt if I had yelled.

  I felt the air around me change. It felt heavier and darker than before. Menace resonated. I brought up thoughts of clean crisp air and spread that around me on the path. I was able to keep most of the heavier atmosphere at bay.

  Then that high-pitched reptilian voice said, “Cassie.”

  The voice stretched out the name in one long breath, which chilled me to my core. I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself, but it didn't work. There was no way to find my center; fear lived in its place.

  Gripping the tree to my right, I forced myself not to move.

  My body began to tremble. My flight or fight instinct kicked in and I gripped the dart. I wasn't sure when I had pulled it from my pocket, but I had it ready. When the thing fully emerged, I tried to get a good look at it. It’s body was dark against the white stone. I expected the thing to be taken out as soon as it emerged, but for some reason, darts did not appear.

  “Cassie,” the thing hissed in a whisper, and then it raced with a speed I could not follow. Before I could suck in a gasp of surprise, it stood before me.

  “Cassie brought friends. I'll play with them next.” The slow voice drew out every syllable.

  Noises came from where I suspected Logan and Rider to be standing. They weren't talking, but struggling.

  “Let them go!” I shouted at the thing. I could feel the Path connecting the creature and my friends. It held them tight. Would it crush them, like I almost crushed that vampire?

  Taking a step toward the creature, I stabbed it with my dart. The creature lashed out against me with an invisible force throwing me back. I crashed roughly into a tree, but jumped back up. Rider and Logan were making strangled noises, which scared me much worse than the creature in front of me.

  Jumping into the Path, I started lashing out at the creature. I made a small part of the Path solid and pushed it at the thing at a speed which alarmed even me. The creature slammed into the side of the cliff, but immediately recovered. I tried to imagine a cage around the creature and freeze only that part of the Path. Faster than I could follow, the fiend made a slash through the cage and moved to the side. It struck out at me again. Concentrating on the air around me, I made it solid, almost like the glassy smoothness that I felt surrounding Gran. Instead of lashing out once more, I copied its slashing move and slashed through the bonds of energy running between it and Logan, then between it and Rider.

  My energy rapidly faded. There was no way I could keep this up. Once again, the beast thrashed out with its energy, hitting me like a whip. I fell to the ground. It rushed forward. With a band of energy rushing ahead of it, I was encircled and lifted into the air. The creature took flight.

  We moved into the treetops. Trying everything I could, I fought against my cage, but I couldn’t muster enough strength. The thing landed on a tree and sat there for a moment. It seemed to be catching its breath, or maybe it was wearing down too. I tried to sense around the beast to test its strength, but I found it was gaining strength. The Path rushed toward it from everywhere.

  I put my hands out to my sides until they brushed up against my cage. The formed energy of the cage didn't ripple in the Path, much like the Path of the monster. I closed my eyes and started pulling in the Path with all my might. The creature made a harsh hacking sound and started to fly again. I couldn't tell what it did or where it tried to drag me, but it didn't matter. I was determined it wasn't going to take me far.

  My concentration was locked inside me. The energy I pulled in was dark. It didn't take long before my hands felt like they had been dipped in oil, but it didn't stop there. The oily feeling climbed up my arms and coated my torso. It slid down my legs, and then moved up to my head. Soon it felt like I floated in an oil slick. Breathing became difficult, but I kept pulling the energy in.

  There was a jarring motion and I fell away from the creature, back to the ground, but that didn't stop my attempt to pull the blackness. It became almost like a hunger. Inside, the darkness was consuming me. My body went cold and rigid, and I pulled in more. Ideas and thoughts skidded through my brain.

  Gruesome thoughts. Blood, bone, and carnage.

  I reeled.

  My concentration broke.

  Drowning. I felt like I drowned in a sea of oily darkness. I screamed out and started clawing at my skin. Something grabbed me from behind and I lashed out, using my newly absorbed energy to bat it away.

  When I used the energy, some of the morbid darkness slipped away. I began to feel a little lighter. Leaning forward, I put my hands on the ground and pushed. The Path that I had soaked up started to leave me, so I pushed harder. All the murkiness I had gathered, I pushed into the ground. Breathing became easier and I slowed. Concentrating hard, I skimmed the remaining obscene Path away from my mind and let it flow into the ground. As soon as I was clear from it, I pushed away from the area as fast as I could from the ground.

  I only made it a few feet before my energy gave out. The air was lighter now, so after flopping over onto my back, I stayed where I was, sucking in as much oxygen as I could. My entire body felt numb, and I stared up at the treetops and onward into the stars. It would be so easy to stay here and not move.

  I rolled over and looked around, looking for the creature and seeking out my friends.

  “Logan,” I whispered out, “Rider?” Please don't let them be dead, I thought over and over.

  There was a tree next to me. I used it as leverage to push myself unsteadily to my feet. Wincing, I shifted my weight over to my left foot. My right leg didn't want to support me. Once I was standing, leaning heavily against the tree, I heard the snap of a twig.

  “Rider,” I breathed with relief. When I spoke his name, he walked out of the darkness. I couldn't make him out very well, and he stopped well away from me. “Rider, are you all right? Where's Logan? Where is that, that thing?”

  “Logan is making sure it is drugged up. He is okay, Cassie.” Rider's voice softly reached my ears.

  Relief poured over me and I slid down the tree, thankful that I didn't have to force myself to stand any longer. Rider rushed over, but kept some distance between us.

  “Cassie? Are you okay?” His voice remained quiet, as if he was unsure of what would happen if he
spoke in a normal voice.

  Up close, I could make out more details, and Rider did not look well.

  “Rider,” I gasped, holding my hand out to his face. He froze for a moment, but then leaned into my hand. His face was swollen and he held his arm close to his chest.

  “It tried to crush us,” he said simply. “We will be okay. Where are you hurt?”

  “I, er, I'm not sure.” My whole body was worn out, bruised and cold. “Something is wrong with my leg, but I think I'm okay.” Then I felt it. The black energy that I threw into the ground was there. Like a pool of oil that led deep into the ground. Something pulled on that dark energy. Like taffy being pulled, it started stretching away into the woods.

  “Rider, help me!” I said hurriedly. He pulled me upright and kept his good arm around me, supporting most of my weight. “Where's Logan? We have to get to him now.”

  “He is over there,” Rider answered, pulling me up into his arm and carrying me through the trees. We followed the path where the darkness led.

  Logan leaned over the creature, making sure it was restrained. The creature was unconscious, but feeding on the energy, soaking it into its pores. Rider sat me back on the ground, but kept his arm around me and supported me.

  “Logan, it's pulling the energy back inside.”

  Logan stepped back. “What does that mean?”

  I did a quick look over of Logan. He seemed bruised, but he moved around easily.

  “I don't know. It's drugged, right?”

  Logan nodded.

  “I'm not sure then. How is it pulling in the energy?”

  “Is there any way we can stop it?” Logan asked. “We need the thing alive, but maybe that's not an option.”

  Logan looked at me. He would never ask me to do anything more at this point. He understood that I was exhausted and injured. He would never hold it against me if I decided to do nothing else.