"Now, dear," Gran said to Mom. "I know you're upset about this, but you don't want to say anything you're going to regret. Your daughter has made up her mind. It's best to do what we can to support her now."
"And you just love this," Mom said. "Don't you, Mother?"
"Anala," Gran snapped, "this is how things are going to be."
A few people glanced at us and Mom looked around, her cheeks reddening. She didn't say anything for a while.
"You're right, Mother," Mom said. "We have to support you the only way we can. Your training is over when?"
That was a one-eighty, and I was always leery of Mom's quick changes in attitude. "Around New Year I'll come home, then I'll have another few months around here before I actually go into the field."
Mom smiled. "That's good timing."
"Um, okay," I said when she didn't elaborate.
"Bob and I are leaving now. You two have a lovely evening." She popped out of her seat and went to the bar to get Bob.
Gran and I watched them leave.
"She's up to something," I said.
"Maybe she's changed her mind." By her tone of voice, I guessed that Gran believed that about as much as I did.
***
It was almost seven months later when we finally learned what Mom was up to. Since I had been out of town during the holidays, we all got together at the new house Gran and I had purchased, and we celebrated belatedly. Mom was practically vibrating with enthusiasm when she presented me with a stack of papers.
"What's this?" I asked, thumbing through the pages.
"A list of current positions, resume requirements, and applications for every position currently available, and a few that are not even on the market yet," Mom said.
The proceeding fight had been awful. It ended with Mom storming out and me pacing my bedroom. Gran and I were still figuring out how to live with each other, so she gave me my space. It wasn't until Logan came over the next morning that I reentered the world.
Logan had helped us find the house and it was perfect. Gran had a master suite downstairs and I had one upstairs. There were two spare bedrooms upstairs, one of which Gran wanted to turn into a second living room for me.
It was also perfect in that Logan’s backyard and ours were almost connected. There was a small field area between our houses. At least, I called it a field. It was far too large to be a yard. Logan and his kids visited often and left loaded down with baked sweets.
Who knew elves had a sweet tooth?
Logan drove me to the office. I didn't have clearance to get through security and access the Farm, a large plot of land that looked like a horse farm if you drove by. Any idiot could get through the first security checkpoint. Hidden from the road was the second checkpoint where tall razor-wire topped fences stood, cameras continuously filmed, and an empty guard stand stood sentry. Retina scans were required to enter, along with a card, a scan of the vehicle, and probably a dozen other things I didn't know about. Inside, you would find our offices, trails, and several bundles of houses hidden away in the hills, which accommodated the Lost, which were mythological creatures from other dimensions.
They were the ones not ready to live alone in our world. Dwayne would have stayed there, but the agency managed to get him back home.
That's one of the things AIR, the Agency for Interdimensional Regulation, did for the Lost. They found, housed, relocated, and, in as many cases as possible, sent the Lost home when they accidentally stumbled into our world. Those that came to our world on purpose, or who were stuck here were acclimated to our society if possible, and they were found work in areas they wouldn't be discovered.
Now, it was my job to help them. At least it would be after the final paperwork was signed.
Barry, the Director of the Mid-West branch office, met Logan and me in the control room, a massive area where most of the action happened, and he shook my hand. Logan hadn't been the only one that thought having a Reader on staff was a good idea.
After that, I was put in an office in a hallway off the control room with a large stack of papers that had to be read and signed. The door was open, so I saw the occasional person walk by, discreetly checking out the new girl.
They knew I was a Reader, which was unique to them, but after seeing the male-dominated staff, the fact that I was a woman might have been a novelty as well. When I found out the Assistant Director was a woman, I was thrilled, but she was a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of person. I was an agent in training. That was pretty much where her interest ended.
The stack of paper seemed never-ending, but I could hear snatches of conversation from the control room that continuously distracted me from reading. Soon, I would be out there, hearing it all.
After signing a page and flipping it over, I thought about the office make-up. I'm pretty sure there were more women than the handful that I had seen around. There had to be, right? Sometimes with the Lost, it was hard to tell, so there could be more, and I knew that many employees were outside the central office.
Everyone was friendly enough, though.
Whistling from down the hall alerted me to the fact that Logan was nearby. I recognized the tune Funny Face from the movie he left for Gran and me to watch a few nights before. There was that, and the fact that no one whistled like an elf. Two tones accompanied each other simultaneously, which created a captivating melody.
"I'm not sure I've ever seen a pile of paper that high," Logan said as he stood in the doorframe.
"There doesn't appear to be an end to it," I said.
"Better you than me," Logan said. "You know that's all headed for the shredder, right?" He chuckled and waved before disappearing down the hall whistling his show tunes.
I was going to work in a place where you could run into an elf in the hallway. There was also a tour of the offices today with a centaur in the group. Even though I hadn't seen him yet, I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.
Shouting and an angry voice snapped me out of my reverie. A gunshot went off and I jumped in my seat.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.
Gripping the chair, I strained to hear what was going on. They hadn't even given me a stun gun yet, and I had no idea what to do.
The entire office had gone quiet. It was strange, but even with the Path closed I could feel the tension.
Someone, it sounded like Hank, one of the handlers that I had met, was speaking in a low voice, not far away. As though someone had cut a rope, the tension began to lessen.
Noise and voices returned with conviction.
My hands shook as I stood and moved slowly towards the door. Before I reached it, Barry poked his head in.
"Everything good in here?" Barry asked.
Logan’s whistling could be heard again, which for some reason caused my jitters to ease.
Barry didn't look fazed, so I wasn't sure how to react. Does this kind of thing happen often?
At this point, would I leave even if it did?
"I'm almost halfway through," I said this as though I heard gunshots every day. Although, when it came down to it, during my crash course training, I guess it had been almost every day.
"Good to hear," Barry said. Then he disappeared from the doorway.
"Logan." Barry had stopped not far from the door. I even heard him sigh. "Dr. Yelton. Now." He sounded resigned. "We'll talk later."
"Sure thing," Logan said.
Do I what, go back to my paperwork? I guess that's all there was to do.
"You look ready to get to work," Logan said when I had cautiously sat back down.
I almost jumped again, but felt pretty proud of myself when I didn't.
My first question, 'does this happen often,' fled my mind. "You're bleeding," I said.
"Just a scratch," Logan said. "He wasn't in an aiming frame of mind."
I could feel the blood draining from my face. "And if he had been?"
Logan shrugged. "I know my partner pretty well. He'd never aim to kill. Gotta go. Have fun
with your papers."
He walked off humming Tomorrow from Annie.
When I could finally pry my eyes away from the empty doorframe, I skimmed through the documents.
This was not what I expected in a new job, but I was eager to see what would happen next.
***
Continue to ShatteredSoul (AIR Series Book 1)
Back to Main Table of Contents
***
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Writing the AIR series has been a fun and amazing experience. There’s more planned for Cassie and her partners!
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Thank you for reading!
Amanda Booloodian
Acknowledgements
This book probably would not have been created if not for Andrea Ridgeway. In conversations with Andrea I mentioned the possibility of sending out short stories about Cassie and how she got started with the Agency for Interdimensional Regulation. Andrea’s enthusiasm ramped up my own, which is how the short story turned into a novella.
Thank you Andrea!
Thank you to JD Book Services and Frankie Sutton, my editors, for all of their assistance. Vicki Deiter is doing fantastic work with formatting. Deranged Doctor Design has once again provided me with a wonderful cover.
Thanks to everyone who made this possible.
Shattered Soul License Notes
Copyright © 2016 Amanda Booloodian
Cover Art by Deranged Doctor Design
Formatting by Deranged Doctor Design
Published by: Walton INK
ISBN-10:0-9973353-0-0
ISBN-13:978-0-9973353-0-9
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 silver.
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Shattered Soul Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Stalking a troll required quiet finesse. Logan, my mentor and partner, moved silently ahead. For all the noise he made, he could have been walking on carpet. Maybe elves learned that with age. Logan was over one hundred and fifty years old. You can learn a lot in that time. Then you have me. If there was a twig or leaf on the ground, you could bet I would break it.
Logan pushed his sandy blond hair behind his ear. The ear looked misshapen, too thick on top. Then it twitched. Flesh rolled outward and upward. Within seconds, the expanded ear led up to a point, until it was more than twice the original length. The late morning sun showed that the newly exposed pale skin was thin, almost to the point of transparency.
I loved my job. What other humans had the chance to work with elves, much less see them unfurl their ears?
Our quarry was a small cave troll, one of the Lost, an Inter-dimensional creature that didn’t originate in our world. It was Logan’s and my job to find him and relocate him. Intel said he would be stocky and around four feet tall.
Being a foot and a half taller than the troll should have made me feel as if I had the advantage. The tranquilizer gun in my hand should have given me some sense of security. However, neither did. My mouth was dry and my insides coiled like a spring.
The Agency for Interdimensional Regulation, AIR, hired me less than a year ago. I had only been in the field for six months. Very few people knew that mythological creatures sometimes enter our world through portals connecting dimensions. We can create portals to familiar worlds, but most are naturally occurring. The Lost slip through to find themselves in our world. Three years out of college and I worked to keep that secret. It was overwhelming and amazing at the same time. For this relocation, I knew that cave trolls were simple-minded, non-verbal, and strong. That was the extent of my knowledge, and I had learned it from a case file.
Logan put a finger to his lips. I stopped moving, anticipating a sound but hearing nothing. He gave the signal to take cover. My steps were noisy but quick. Reaching a tree, I flattened myself against the trunk, keeping a low profile. I scanned the forest floor while watching for more instructions from Logan. Logan crouched behind another tree and considered the terrain.
Mentally walking through where my hands should be placed, I gripped my tranq gun. Finger above the trigger, never on the trigger. Safety off. Pointed at the ground.
A twig broke to the right. I gripped my gun tighter. Turning, I brought it up, ready to shoot. Two squirrels froze for a moment and then zipped away. I pointed my gun back to the ground and let out a steadying breath.
I rolled my eyes and looked at Logan. He was hunched over in a silent laugh. Rubbing my head, I frowned at him. He waved me over.
“Thought you were going to tranq the squirrels.” The silent laughter continued and Logan braced himself against the tree.
“That only happened once, and it was a deer.” I punched Logan in the arm. I couldn’t keep my smile in any longer. Frankly, I was just as surprised that I didn’t tranq the squirrels.
My death tight grip on my gun loosened as the mood lightened. “How far away?”
“He’s by the creek. The sound of the water makes things difficult to hear. Let’s use that talent of yours and see if we can narrow down the search.”
My shoulders pulled back and I grinned. How does it happen that a human accountant with no investigative skills is hired to help keep the Lost safe and secret from the world? Obviously, that human must have special skills.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. The smell of warm wood surrounded us. Concentrating on the fringes of my knowledge of our world took a short meditation. In moments, something in my mind stretched tight and popped back into place. I opened my eyes and tried to keep a smug smile from my face.
The world around me had taken on a new look and feel. A shimmer, much like rippling water, pressed itself against everything. Almost everything in the world leaves traces. From the Path, I could read movements, emotions, and interactions of the past and present. Once or twice, I had even caught glimpses of things yet to come.
I am a Reader. The shimmers and colors of the Path tell a story that few can see. There are parts of that story missing.
Looking at Logan, I found the usual blank page. I had never seen an elf leave a Path in our world. Luckily, for my job and me, most other things left fragments that could be followed.
Logan pointed in the general direction of the creek.
Pale green shimmers near the ground showed animal trails. I ignored those, as they were too small and too light in color to indicate our target.
The sound of rushing water grew stronger as we moved closer to the creek. The number of animal routes also increased.
Light yellow and blue threaded themselves together with light green. “Got him. The color is darker to the north. We head in that direction.”
“Nice work, Cassie.”
The ground next to the creek rose up and flattened out. My pace quickened as I followed the animal trail. The Path was recent. I gripped my gun, holding it ready at a moment’s notice. Up ahead, the creek rushed out of a small cave.
“The Path leads to the cave.” I kept my voice low, but increased my pace.
A yowl came from the left. Looking up, I saw a blur of color and skin, as it crashed into me. My heart skipped a panicked beat as I dropped straight into the rocky shallows of the creek. I scrambled up, blood pumping hard. My concentration broke, the world dulled around me, and the troll was gone.
“Where did he go?” I slid on a rock, but managed to keep upright.
Logan held out a hand and I leveraged myself out of the water. “Spirited little guy. You okay?”
“He ambushed me. Where’d he go?”
“He’s feeling cornered so he’s lashing out. We’ll follow him into the cave.” Logan looked me over before heading toward the small entrance. “Watch for crevices and stay in the light. Don’t rush at him unless it’s necessary. Any questions?”
I shook my head.
Logan rushed forward with fluid movements. I darted after him, my feet squishing water out of my boots with each footstep. I flipped the safety on my rifle and slung it over my shoulder. My gun had smashed into a rock when I fell, but I didn’t have time to check on the tranquilizer dart, so I wasn’t sure if it was intact. My nerves rattled at the idea of going in virtually unarmed. As we entered the cave, I grabbed a flare out of my cargo pants. Logan had one of his flares lit.
AIR Series Box Set Page 9
