Broken Paths (AIR Book 2)

by Amanda Booloodian

  "Sorry about that." Ethan sat back down across from me, looking abashed.

  "It's no problem." It sounded fake, even to me.

  Ethan leaned in. "He lost his wife about a month ago. He's a little lost, I guess."

  "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. If you want to go-"

  "No," Ethan said quickly, "no. Only, I didn't want you to get the wrong impression."

  His worried expression and sincerity made me want to take his hand. "No wrong impressions," I said.

  "Can I get you another drink?" Ethan asked.

  Crap, in theory, it had been a good plan.

  I wanted to say something clever about only having one alcoholic drink, but I had nothing, and the way he looked at me, made my stomach flutter. "I wonder if they have coffee."

  Before I could get the words out, Ethan was frowning, but he was looking behind me.

  "Parker," it sounded like Ike was right behind me.

  I turned and then there was beer. Not the good kind, like oh, say, anything in a glass. This was the bad kind that ended up all over me.

  Gasping, I turned fully towards Ike. He appeared confused by what had happened, which made me wonder if it had been an accident, or if he was confused because he couldn't believe he had done it on purpose.

  Ethan jumped up with the two napkins we had at our table, Ike babbled while one of his friends tried to pull him away, and I began to realize that people were turning to watch. Even without the Path, I felt the mixed bag of emotion begin to weigh me down.

  My face began to turn red, and I felt the need to get out of there before drawing any more attention to myself. I grabbed my jacket, thanked Ethan, assured Ike on the way that I knew it was an accident, and then got the hell out of there.

  The temperature had dropped, and as much as I didn't want to get my jacket soaked with beer, I was well aware of how cold wet clothes can get in the early spring. I had a momentary pang of guilt about leaving so abruptly, and without paying, so once I ruined my jacket, I moved a short way from the door and leaned against the building, waiting. It was surprisingly peaceful with the turmoil and noise trapped in the bar. It was too cold for many people to be outside for longer than necessary.

  After a few minutes, I figured Ethan must have been talking with Ike. I pushed myself off the wall and tried to remember where I parked my car.

  "I didn't expect you to be out here," Ethan said.

  Embarrassment tried to creep up, but I nudged it away. After everything had already gone wrong, it was much easier to relax. How much worse could it get?

  "It seemed rude to leave," I said.

  Ethan grinned. "My friend just poured a drink on you, and you're worried about being rude?"

  "It's not like you asked him to do it." I gave him a wry look. "I mean, you didn't, right?"

  Ethan chuckled. "No, but I keep some clumsy friends around. You must be freezing. Can I walk you to your car?"

  "Sure. I'm, um, that way."

  We moved up the hill in silence.

  "Tonight didn't go well, did it?" He sounded hesitant.

  I laughed, not sure if he meant it as a question, but I answered him anyway. "It most certainly did not. I mean, I don't go out often, but I'm pretty sure this was not a successful first... time out for drinks." I almost said date. Did drinks count as a date?

  "I'm around the corner," I said.

  "Do you want to try again?" Ethan spoke quickly.

  I looked down at the ground and thought about it. He was cute, friendly, and there was a chance we might have things in common. Now that he was familiar with me, my soul didn’t affect him at all.

  I crossed my arms across my chest as though cold, so Ethan wouldn't see them shake with nerves. "No beer involved?"

  Ethan's eyes caught mine. "I promise I will not send you home smelling like a brewery next time."

  "Don't make promises you can't keep," I said.

  "Dinner?"

  "Let's give dinner a try."

  "Tomorrow night?"

  "In a hurry?" I gestured across the street in the general direction of my car. "I'm over there."

  "I'm afraid you'll really start to think about tonight and change your mind."

  I laughed. "That's not a bad idea."

  "Are you free?" Ethan asked.

  "I am now, but work can be... tricky."

  Ethan nodded and looked up and down the street. "Work could pull us away at any time. We could agree now, not to let it bother us when we're called away."

  "Even if it leaves one of us twiddling our thumbs at a restaurant?"

  "I'll always call you," Ethan said.

  "That might work. I'll do the same."

  "Are you okay to drive?" Ethan asked.

  "Yes, not that any cop in the world is going to believe me if I happen to get pulled over."

  Ethan chuckled. "Flash your badge and I'm sure you could probably explain and get out of it."

  "Oh no, if I get pulled over, I'll have them call you to explain."

  He flashed a grin that made my heart beat faster. "I'll wait by the phone."

  I had no idea how to say goodbye at the end of a date, but since I was freezing, I figured I could get away with leaving in a hurry. "See you tomorrow night." I slid into my seat, cranked up the heat, and then drove away.

  ***

  Logan, Rider, and me decided to begin our day early in the spot where Oliver had broken his neck. Despite our destination, I had a smile that I couldn't quite shake.

  Logan took notice and on the drive over decided to ask, “Last night go well?"

  "Not at all." I laughed behind the words. "A beer spilled over me, and I left smelling like I had been at a frat party gone bad."

  "Why the good mood?" Logan asked.

  "We're trying again. Dinner. Tonight."

  "Good to hear," Logan said.

  When we arrived, there was no crime scene tape, and everyone was walking around, business as usual. I didn't waste any time diving into the Path. Since I was trying to pressure myself into the past, I let the full power wash over me. Too little sleep and too much coffee made my stomach agitated, as the flow of colors and shapes rushed by. After a struggle, I found the time I was looking for. Standing still in a surging river wasn't easy, so I could only stay rooted to the spot for a few seconds before being tossed back into the present.

  The turbulence had taken my breath away, so I took a few moments before letting the others know what I saw.

  That also gave me time to sort through the fragments I witnessed. "It was almost as if the Path jumped into his way."

  "I am not sure what that means," Rider said.

  "Neither am I," I admitted.

  "Have you ever seen anything like it?" Logan asked.

  I tried to think of a comparison. "No, it’s almost like someone made a wave on the Path and that landed on the victim."

  "What can do that?" Rider asked.

  "I'm not sure," I said.

  "Let's go check the other site, see if there are any similarities," Logan said.

  We drove across town to where the hit-and-run occurred. All the while, I tried picking apart what I had seen. Once we arrived at our suspected crime scene, apprehension hit me. The roadway was busy, and our spot was right at the edge.

  "We won't let you wander into traffic," Logan said.

  I'm sure Logan couldn't read minds, but there were times, like when he answered a worry before I formed the question, when he made me wonder.

  After briefly meditating, I jumped into the Path.

  The raging current caught me up and propelled me forward. Rider made a grunt of surprise, and when I looked at him, he was clearly standing in front of me. Logan, however, disappeared and cars zipped by faster than a gnome.

  I tried to gain control and move back to the present, but the Path was persistent. Cars dissolved from view and the sun fell and rose so fast it was impossible to follow. As the roadway crumbled beneath me, I fell to the ground. Rider, still solid, knelt down next to me. We
stared at each other as trees rose and died around us and then he spoke, but the sound was lost before it reached me. He cocked his head, reached out, grabbed me, and then tugged me into his arms.

  With a slingshot motion, my world pitched. The Path went from some distant future into the present in an instant, and then it abandoned me altogether.

  My stomach took longer to catch up. I shoved myself away from Rider and lurched far enough away to lose my breakfast. Eyes clenched shut, I rubbed my temples against the buildup of throbbing pressure.

  It was a while before I could stand again. Rider was leaning against the van, not looking at me. Logan, on the other hand, was pale and rigid.

  "Whatever you did, let's not try that again." It was rare to hear so much tension in the elf's voice.

  I shook my head. Vertigo threatened to toss me back to the ground, so I closed my eyes again until I was steady. "It wasn't something I tried. The Path dragged me along for the ride."

  "Your gran would have had my ears if not for Rider," Logan said.

  Looking from him to Rider and back again, I said, "I couldn't get back to the hit-and-run. I went forward instead." I'm sure I didn't want to know what happened, but I couldn't be left in the dark either. "What am I missing?"

  Logan looked uncertain. "I wish I could say for sure. You got hazy around the edges, and then you were gone."

  "I'm not sure I follow." I rubbed my forehead, trying to throw off the ache and take in what Logan was saying.

  "I need to go to the Sanctuary," Rider said. Not looking at us, he got into the back seat of the truck without another word.

  "For the case, we can work with what we have for now," Logan said, "but we need to talk about this."

  "When you say disappear, do you mean... gone?" My voice was lower, and I watched Rider.

  "As in no longer here."

  "Did Rider?"

  "No, he was as solid as you should have been."

  "He was for me too," I said.

  "What I want to know is where you went?"

  "I didn't move. Not really anyway." Logan didn't look satisfied, so I grabbed a guess out of the air. "Maybe the Path hid me? It was strong."

  Logan appeared to mull that over. "What happened didn't have anything to do with the case, right?"

  "No." I wish I were as certain as I sounded, but the truth was, I had no idea what happened or why. "Not a thing."

  "Leave it off the report." Not waiting for a response, Logan walked away.

  Chapter 7

  "We'll check in on Essy," Logan said when I joined them in the truck.

  Rider said nothing.

  Worried about Rider, I kept an eye on him. "I'll call Travis and let him know we're on our way."

  The Sanctuary was a government owned area in the middle of nowhere, and we relocated the Lost there on a temporary or permanent basis. Essy was the Speaker for a tribe of fairies that were permanent residents.

  After calling Travis, I could have begun my report, since other than Logan's humming, things were quiet in the van. I felt shaky, though. I had no idea what had happened at the second crime scene, or why. The Path can take a Reader forward or back, but moving forward in time was rare, and either direction you go, you're in the real world, only the overlaying Path changes.

  Except for today.

  We made one stop so I could pick up a piece of fruit for the fairies, but it wasn't until we reached the Sanctuary that I felt steadier, although, the sight of the horses didn't help. My limited experiences riding have been less than stellar.

  Without a word, Rider walked past the horses, which bucked and moved out of his way, and then he disappeared into the woods. Travis tried to calm the horses while watching Rider retreat.

  I passed a worried look at Logan who shrugged. Once the horses were calm, we approached and took the reins from Travis.

  "I take it Rider won't be going," Travis said.

  "No, he'll meet up with us later," Logan said. "Want to join us?"

  "Sure, we’re not expecting anyone out here until this evening," Travis said.

  Logan patted the horse. "Let's saddle up."

  I eyed my horse suspiciously before getting on. "Is someone relocating here?" I knew the horse was tame, but my heart thumped harder as I clumsily jumped into the saddle.

  Travis flicked his reins and led the way. "Not yet, but another team wants to test temperature and conditions at the lake. I'm not sure what for yet."

  "How's Essy doing?" Logan asked, changing the subject.

  "The family is doing well,” Travis said.

  The ride took us through woods and stretches of fields filled with prairie grass. By the time we reached trees with denser foliage, my headache was gone, but my thighs were protesting from the ride. We dismounted, tethered the horses loosely to the trees, and then continued on foot. Spring was stretching into the area, and the canopy of branches above us was starting to fill back in with greenery. There was a chill saturating the air, but the warmth was nudging it away. In fact, the further we went into the woods, the warmer it grew and the denser the greenery became.

  Whispers of wings on the wind, which could be mistaken for the buzz of bees, began to override other forest sounds. The further we walked, the louder the noise became.

  Logan stopped. "We seek an audience with the Speaker."

  There must have been enough fairies around to state our purpose.

  From the left we heard, "Logan, I recognize you as keeper of the AIR treaty." Essy had arrived.

  Some treaty, I thought, as dust drifted down onto me. The greatest defense a fairy had was the woods they lived in. The dust that I was trying very hard to ignore was a powdered form of poisonous plants from the area. They haven't found anything I'm allergic too, but have been persistent in their efforts ever since we met.

  Even though I knew the answer, I looked to see if Travis and Logan were getting the same welcome, but there were no fairies hovering above them.

  "We will oversee any complaints or requests," Logan said, maintaining the proper greeting.

  "We have neither complaint nor request."

  With that out of the way, Logan dropped the formality.

  "How was your winter?" Logan asked.

  Essy landed on a small branch. "It was difficult, but we prevailed."

  I stepped forward and held out an orange. "I brought something for you." Fairies loved sweet foods, and the orange would be exotic since they can't forage for them locally.

  Essy glared at me and made angry chirping noises.

  Feeling deflated, I handed the orange off to Travis and tried not to be too upset by the exchange. No fairy wanted to talk to me since my soul had been ripped out last fall. Essy knew me long before the incident last fall, but there was no changing how she felt about me now.

  In the end, they took the orange from Travis after he ate two pieces to prove that it wasn't poisonous. A walk with Rider would have been more productive, even in his mood.

  While Logan and Travis finished their visit with fairies, I took a step back, wiped the dust off the shoulders of my jacket, and watched my partner interact with Essy. I was relieved when he wrapped the visit up, and we walked back to the horses.

  "Sorry about Essy," Travis said.

  "She'll come around eventually." I held no real hope for that to happen, but I didn't want Travis feeling sorry for me.

  We rode back, and I tried to hide my disappointment with the fairies, and my disdain for horses by talking with Travis.

  Rider was leaning against the truck when we returned. He was sweaty but wasn't breathing hard. I'd never seen Rider in any other form than the one he wore every day, but I was curious if he ran on two legs or four. It sounded like an invasive question, so I raised the subject.

  As soon as the horse stopped, I jumped off.

  Logan remained in the saddle. "I'll help Travis with the horses, and then we can go to the office." He was always reluctant to leave the saddle. I'm sure he'd keep a horse in his backyard if he
had space.

  I thanked Travis and handed off the reins. Logan was humming when the two rode away.

  "How was Essy?" Rider asked.

  "Everyone was okay," I said.

  Rider wrinkled his nose. "Poison Ivy?"

  Sighing, I wiped off my shoulders again. "Probably." Rider looked more amiable than he had when we arrived. "Uh, I'm not sure what went on earlier, but I wanted to thank you."

  "I was able to help, so I did," Rider said.

  "You're okay, though?"

  "It was—, there were no side effects," he said.

  I glanced towards the stables to see if Logan was on his way. "Do you know what happened?"

  Rider hesitated. "I do not."

  Werewolves have a distinct view of friendship, so I was fairly certain Rider wouldn't lie to me. It was hard to get into their inner circle, but once you were there, you were friends for life. Each of us held up our end of the friendship and always assumed that the other would do the same. I was learning what that meant.

  I think he was holding something back, but I didn't press the issue.

  When we made it back to the office, Rider went to the command room to check in with Hank, while Logan and I went to the clinic upstairs. No major catastrophes had befallen field agents or the Lost that day, so the doctor was available.

  "I'm assuming you all are not here for a checkup," the doctor said as we walked in.

  AIR had a few medical rooms on the second floor of the office. When field agents get hurt, there is not always a way to explain the injuries. You can't go to the hospital when a demon injects you with their venom, so we see Dr. Yelton. He also oversees care of the Lost.

  "Good morning, Dr. Yelton," I said. "We're here to see what you have on Am. What can you tell us?"

  "There's not much to tell, really," he said pulling out a folder. "The report will be entered tonight, but I expected the lack of information would pull you into the office."