AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  Instead of the usual warm welcome I received from Cici, she cried out in alarm and started pelting me with acorns.

  “Ouch, Cici!”

  She fluttered around and started sprinkling a fine powder down on me. Assuming it was some sort of poisonous plant, I retreated into the house.

  Feeling dejected, I called Logan. It was past time to get the day started.

  “Busy day planned, we’ll need to split up. The cleaning crew is working on the site. One of us needs to go out and check on the progress in person now that the sun is up.” Logan said.

  “Sounds like a job for Vincent.”

  “I was thinking the same. Hank is running through old records, checking to see if any portals popped up in the last month that might have been overlooked. I’m meeting with him this afternoon. I’m going to have dinner with the family tonight. Jonathan wants us to meet his girlfriend.”

  “It looks like Gran left you a pie for dinner. One of us also needs to check on Rider today.”

  “It would be a good idea after last night,” Logan agreed.

  “I'll do that,” I said.

  “The doc will have my ears if you don’t take things easy today.”

  “Dropping in won’t exactly be strenuous.”

  “I’ll be by shortly. If you see Margaret, let her know we appreciate the pie.”

  “Where are you dropping in?” Vincent asked as I put the phone down. I jumped. How did he always manage to sneak up on me?

  “Uh, Rider,” I said. “I’m checking up on him after yesterday. There are leftovers in the fridge if you want anything.”

  Vincent shook his head.

  “Logan will be over soon,” I said.

  Vincent didn't respond.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, and then caught myself. “I mean, I know everything isn't okay, after yesterday. But—”

  “You gave me quite a scare last night.”

  “When?”

  “I’m guessing it was about the time you shot the werewolf.”

  “What are you talking about? You weren’t there.”

  “And yet, it felt as if I were.”

  It was too early to wrap my brain around what he was trying to say, so I didn’t bother replying.

  “It felt unpleasant,” he said.

  “Well, you made me feel unpleasant when we met.” I meant for it to be sarcastic, but nothing but anger came through. “I guess that makes us even.”

  “I don't know that we will ever be even,” Vincent said miserably. “What I did—”

  “Is in the past,” I interrupted, thinking Vincent wallowed in his own self-pity. “This is a hell of a way to start a day. Can't this wait?”

  “No, there are things you don't understand.” He paused, “I'm not sure that I understand them. I think I made what happened last night much worse than it could have been.”

  “Because everything is your fault?”

  “No,” Vincent sighed. “But I should have warned you. Rider is a werewolf. They are predators.”

  “Rider saved my life,” I said fiercely.

  “He also tried to kill you. Besides the predatory nature that exists in Rider, I have no objections to him. Please let me explain.” When I didn't interrupt him, he continued, but he vibrated with anxiety. “Your essence is shredded. That I was able to return it to you was a miracle, but it is in pieces inside of you.”

  “You really want to do this now?” I asked.

  He nodded, but his anxiety didn't fade. I had been avoiding this since we met, but there was no avoiding it anymore. We'd barely begun talking and I already felt my blood pressure rising.

  “I've never seen this happen before, so I didn't understand the consequences,” he said. “I'm starting to see some of them now. Things are falling together in a frightening pattern. Logan is unsettled and angry, which clashes with his general nature. I don't want to upset you, but it's more evident when you are present.”

  “He's upset because everything is in turmoil right now,” I replied. “He's upset because you blundered in.”

  “That's part of it I think, but then I heard the Shaman's reaction to you. I'm not sure precisely what happened between you and Rider. But it sounds like Rider fought his own natural instincts. He wanted to harm you.”

  I started to protest, but it was feeble. Rider himself said he wanted to eat me, whatever the hell that meant. Maybe it was literal.

  “You were attacked by something in the woods. Something that had left, but sensed your presence and returned.” Vincent stopped. He clearly looked uneasy about where this conversation was going.

  That made two of us.

  “So putting that together, where do you think that leads?” I asked. I was pretty sure I didn't want to hear his answer and he seemed equally unsure if he should give the answer.

  “I've made you a target,” he finally said. “People sense your change.”

  “Why would shredding my soul make me a target?”

  Vincent flinched. “Predators, like Rider—”

  I made a small noise of protest. Vincent sighed, which only aggravated me more.

  “You're one to talk about predators. It was your job to come in and kill me. You tried your damnedest to do just that.” Vincent started to say something, but I wasn't through yet. “You didn't even question what you were told. You came in and tried to kill me. How many others have you killed?”

  “What I do saves lives.” Vincent started to get angry now. “This is the first time an accident like this has happened.”

  “Do you even care that what you do saves lives?” I asked. “You walk around trying to look expressionless most of the time. You didn't even seem too fazed by the troll last night. The only thing that seemed to bother you was that you didn't get to catch the thing that did it.”

  That caught Vincent off guard.

  “I was doing my job,” Vincent said, “which wasn’t at the murder site.”

  “Of course not. You ran off to create another.” His eyes started to grow dark, but I didn't care. I pushed forward. “Do you know what happens after you kill someone?” I asked. “After you suck their soul out of them?”

  “Everything that I pull out gets thrown between the worlds. You have no idea what I do.” His voice grew softer, but held a sharp edge.

  “You're right. I have no idea what a Walker does. Logan thinks your race is cursed. Want to know why you're cursed?” I leaned in and watched, as his eyes turned to a flat black. No white remained. “Not everything you take in gets thrown out. You keep a piece of every soul you take away from people.”

  Vincent's hands were clinched. “Nothing stays with me.”

  “Really? Because the evidence is coiled around inside you. It pulls together and becomes part of you. Tell me, Vincent,” I spat. “What makes you kill? What do you have living inside you?”

  He didn't move or make a sound. Those flat black eyes bore into me. Realizing I didn't have my gun on me made me think that I might have pushed things too far.

  “Aren't you two glad you got that out of the way?” Logan asked, coming in from the backyard. Logan took a few steps into the room. His movement was fluid, and he wore a smile. “I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, but things have been busy.” Logan rocked back and forth on his heels and started humming.

  I recognized the tune 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow'. Logan had been humming the tune the first day we met. It did the trick; my anger deflated. I don't say it often enough, but I have the best partner in the world. When I wondered if I could make it to my gun, Logan saved the day.

  Looking up at Vincent, I saw that he struggled with his anger. He had unclenched his fists, but his eyes were stark. He closed them and took a few deep breaths. When that didn't work, he shook his head and walked out of the room.

  “Thanks,” I said. “How did you know?”

  “I hesitated walking in, but it seemed like good timing.”

  “Your timing couldn't have been better,” I said.

&
nbsp; “Good to know. I'd let him cool off before trying to talk to him again.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “I’ll call him once he’s had some time,” Logan said.

  I nodded to the pie on the counter. “Gran left this for you.”

  “I’ll give her a call too. That little lady is something else. Can I borrow some sugar, too? Gerald ate our last bag.”

  Elves have a sweet tooth that Gran loves to feed, so she always keeps loads of sugar on hand.

  “Thankfully, the department has dental insurance,” I said. The last vestiges of anger and resentment faded away.

  “It’s best to make good use of these things. Check in later.” Logan tipped an imaginary hat and left.

  I didn't try to look for Vincent. He might have been in the guest room, or he might have left. Either way, I thought it best if we both had some space.

  Before I left for Rider's house, I strapped on my gun and put the tranq gun in my purse. Better safe than sorry. For good measure, I used a bit of body spray. With Rider always talking about how I smelled, I was getting a little self-conscious. Grabbing my keys, I headed to Rider's house.

  “I am surprised to see you today,” Rider said when I arrived. “I thought you would be over at the Sanctuary.”

  “We were there through the night. Other agents are there now.”

  Rider nodded.

  “I wanted to stop by and see how you are,” I said.

  “Kind of bored after last night. That was the first excitement I have had in this world,” Rider said.

  “Your side isn't sore?” I asked.

  “My side?”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “Your side. Where I shot you.”

  “That was a scratch,” Rider said. “It healed quickly.”

  “Good to hear.” There was an awkward silence for a while. He was fine, so I figured it was time for me to go. Standing up, I said, “I wanted—”

  “Do you want to go do something?” Rider asked.

  “Um, what did you have in mind?” Going home didn't appeal to me, so I was up for almost anything.

  Rider shrugged. “I have no idea. After yesterday, I feel cooped up here.”

  “There are a lot of great state parks and hiking trails around if you want to go walking. Would you be interested?”

  “That sounds wonderful,” Rider said. “Is Logan joining us?”

  “Nope, just us.” I hesitated, “You're not going to try to kill me again, are you?”

  “I think I can avoid that.”

  “That's reassuring,” I said, heading out the door.

  The nearest state park was a large one, so I headed in that direction. When we stepped out of the car, I breathed the fresh warm air rustling through the area.

  “Which way are we going?” Rider asked.

  “Let’s head this way,” I said, stepping onto a trail. “There's an old tunnel up here that's pretty neat. Ghosts haunt the area above the tunnel. Sometimes when you're inside the tunnel, you can hear phantom noises.”

  “Ghosts?” Rider asked.

  “Ghosts are spirits of the dead.” Rider still looked puzzled, so I went into detail about specters and old ghost stories from the area as we walked. Rider wanted to see one, so I explained that most of the time they can't be seen, and that was kind of the point.

  It was turning out to be a pretty good day. We reached the tunnel and walked through it slowly, listening for phantom noises. I didn't hear anything, but Rider jumped and turned around a few times. He looked a little freaked out, but he also looked like he was having a really good time. Before we left the tunnel, I started making ghostly noises. Rider laughed and chased me out of the tunnel. We kept on walking.

  “What else do you do in the area?” Rider asked.

  “If you like to watch sports, there are games at the University.”

  “You watch them? Would you not have more fun playing the sport?”

  “I guess. I'm not really into either. Work keeps me pretty busy.”

  “I met a bunch of the Lost at the Farm. Fairies, centaurs, gnomes, and pixies, but no other werewolves.”

  “Logan mentioned that he met a few,” I said.

  “My dad lived here for a while, but he did not mention any other Werewolves,” Rider said.

  “When did your dad live here?” I asked.

  “He came over about thirty-five years ago. He stayed for a while. He met my mom and they had me, but my mom died soon after I was born. Dad and I went back to our world.”

  “I'm sorry about your mom.”

  “My dad talked about her some.”

  “Is that why you came to this world?”

  “One of the reasons.” Rider started to look uncomfortable about the shift in topics.

  “My dad passed away when I was really young. I remember him a little, but not much,” I said.

  “What do you remember about him?”

  I grinned. “For some reason, I remember our last Halloween together. He dressed up with me and we went trick-or-treating for hours. I was dressed as Tinkerbelle. I had my hair done, make-up, everything.” I reflected on the memory. “You know, Halloween is coming up.”

  “What is Halloween?”

  “It’s my favorite holiday. People dress up in costumes and kids go door to door for candy.”

  “Why do they dress up?”

  “It used to be to confuse the spirits. Or ward off spirits. Now people dress up to scare other people, or as a chance to pretend to be something or someone else for a night.”

  When the sun started to set, we swung around and headed back. The thought of being out after dark made me a little nervous, but I felt safe enough with Rider. He was intrigued by the idea of Halloween, and it led to discussions about other holidays. Easter thoroughly confused him.

  It was nearly full dark when we reached the tunnel. Once again, we walked slowly through, listening for noises that we couldn't explain.

  Rider grabbed my arm. “Cassie, I think I see something!”

  Chapter 13

  We crept forward slowly. “I see it!” I whispered.

  We stopped and watched a form move to the edge of the tunnel entrance. Rider broke into a run. I ran after him, laughing and excited about the prospect of catching up to one of the fabled ghosts. I had never seen one, but the company was sometimes called in to relocate ghosts and poltergeists.

  We ran out the opening and turned to the left, trying to spot where the figure had disappeared. Only it hadn't disappeared. Rider was thrown back. He slammed into me and we both thudded to the ground. Fear pulsed through my veins. I struggled to push Rider off me to reach my gun.

  The thing was tall, emaciated, and pale, with skin that hung around it as though it were an ill-made suit. This was no ghost.

  Fumbling a bit as Rider jumped back to his feet, I tried to unsnap the holster to get to my gun. I felt a strange new power rush over me. Lurid and rhythmic energy pulsed through the air. It held me enthralled and the pulsing went through to my core. I could feel it in every inch of my body.

  Rider's fury nearly threw me back, snapping me back to our situation. The pressure in the air increased. Rider lunged.

  Hurling Rider away, the figure turned to me. Unblinking eyes stared, glowing with an inner light. The crushing fury that belonged to Rider shifted.

  I managed to get off two shots before the creature lurched forward and struck me. Sharp pain tore through my body, as I flew back and smashed into the tunnel wall. I rolled over and took aim from the ground.

  Rider sprinted forward, struck, and retreated, before the creature could retaliate. My heart thudded in my chest as I waited to get a clear shot. Rider took a blow to the face and fell back. The pale skinned being darted towards me. I was struck again by rhythmic thumping. The sensation wrapped itself around me. Entranced, I could only stare.

  “Stop!” Rider’s yell was a command.

  The slack pale skin stopped moving. The pulsing stopped and I started to come to my sens
es.

  Shots echoed through the tunnel as I emptied my clip. Each bullet struck home. The monster screamed and charged towards me again. Rider came at it from the side.

  Staggering to my feet, I rushed toward the creature. I dove to the ground and snatched up my purse. Within seconds, I had a second clip in hand and jammed it into place.

  Claws slashed across my back. Where each nail ripped through skin, fire erupted from my flesh. Rider yelled as I lifted off the ground. It had me in hand. Agony poured through me and it pulled me up to its face. It drew me close. The peculiarly lit eyes were inches from my face.

  I pushed the gun into the folds of skin under its face and pulled the trigger. A shriek tore from the creature's throat. It dropped me.

  Rider used the distraction to grab the creature’s prone throat. The scream was short. Blood from the thing pooled on the ground around me. When the body was limp, Rider pushed the corpse aside.

  So much blood. How much of it was my own? My back felt scorched. Rider pulled me up, but the pain grew too intense. For a while, there was nothing.

  I started to become aware of what surrounded me. The air brushed by, light and warm before energy whipped around me in a flurry. Then I felt detached and floated away.

  As I rose up, my restraints fell away. The noise died away, but my eyes opened to increased activity. Rider was on the ground. He appeared to be injured, but no one was coming near him. Tears ran down his face. Something was cradled in his arms and he rocked back and forth. It wasn't until he yelled out that others approached. Vincent was there. Anguish, pain, and anger marred his features. He seemed unable to speak. Logan was there. There was no fluidity to his movements and he looked grim.