AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  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.

  The understanding went both ways though. We don't kill things unless the circumstances are dire. Things get relocated or sent back, unless they are an immediate threat and there are no other options. He would do it if I asked him, but it also meant that we lost one piece of the puzzle. This creature was not working alone. Someone on this side was helping it, and we needed to know who.

  Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and steeled myself. Opening them again, I looked down at the creature and the Path visible before me.

  “I think there is something I can do.” Rider made ready to say something but I overran him. “It needs to be done right away, so listen closely, because I am not sure how this is going to work.

  “This thing is going to have to stay in my line of sight. I'm too tired to try anything from more than a few feet away. It's also going to take all of my concentration, so whatever you do, don't break that concentration.”

  “Cassie—” Rider started to say.

  “Rider, it's okay,” I said. “I'm going to trap the energy away from it.”

  “If this thing wakes up, know that I will kill it before I let it hurt anyone,” Rider said.

  “Agreed,” I said. “Okay, let's do this. I'll let you know when it's okay to move out.”

  It took more effort than I thought it would. Pulling on my happiest memories, I began to bring brightness to the Path. This creature tried to live on darkness, so I was going to breathe light into its world. Before I moved the lighter Path close to the thing, I altered it. I made it reflect and repel the rest of the Path. The idea came from what surrounded Gran. Like a thin layer of glass, my creation surrounded the beast and cut all ties from it to the pool of dark energy swimming toward him. At some point, I know my feet left the ground, but I trusted that Rider would keep his word. The creature never left my sight.

  Logan carried the creature out, while Rider brought me along. They took us to the ATVs, but I barely registered being placed in front of Rider or the ride out of the sanctuary. My eyes were locked on the creature the entire time, concentrating on keeping the energy away.

  Once we were back at the truck, my concentration wavered.

  Chapter 28

  The moment my focus fell, I could feel the creature pull sluggishly on the energy around us. The clean crisp energy of the Sanctuary didn't flow for the creature like the inky darkness that I had pulled from him.

  Once I snapped the cage of energy back into place, I experimented. It took three tries to lower the amount of energy I used to keep the monster bound, but left enough for me to stay awake.

  The trip back to the office seemed endless. I was bound to the creature but I took some comfort from knowing Rider was nearby. The truck stopped and voices sprang up around us, but no one strayed into my line of sight. When I moved out of the truck, the pain in my leg ran straight up my spine.

  The only thing my mind could comprehend was pain. The enclosure around the creature dissipated. I tried to put it back up, but it was no use. The beast was unconscious, but how long would that last if it continued to leech energy from its surroundings?

  “Move back,” Dr. Yelton shouted.

  I didn't realize we'd gathered a crowd on the loading docks.

  “This should work.” The doctor gave the beast a shot. “Chemical coma. It should keep him unconscious until we are ready.”

  Through gritted teeth, I watched. “It's- I think it's working.”

  “Excellent,” Dr. Yelton said. “Your turn. Something for the pain.” To Logan he said, “Take her upstairs.” He eyed Rider. “You too, upstairs.”

  It didn't take long to diagnose my broken leg. Rider’s arm was on the mend, but he was sent home under doctor’s orders. There was work for a Reader at the office, so I was stuck.

  Once the doctor reluctantly released me, I headed to the control room where Barry, Logan, and I had a short meeting.

  “We have three men from Washington arriving in fourteen hours,” Barry said. “I want this taken care of before that time. I'll be in on the interview. Cassie, do you need to be in the room to see what that thing is doing?”

  I shook my head. “As long as I can see into the room, I can watch him.”

  “Do we know if it can talk?” Barry asked.

  “It can at least mimic,” I said.

  “The chances of this thing speaking a language we know are slim,” Logan said.

  Barry put on a dark grin. “We'll find a way to get something out of it. Be ready in forty. Cassie, oversee the transfer from the doctor to the interrogation cell.”

  I sighed and made my way back to the holding area where the creature was being kept.

  The doctor frowned as I entered. “Are you able to watch over this thing?”

  “We've gotta see if he has any answers,” I said.

  “Maybe we can push the interrogation back?”

  “The guys from DC are coming in tomorrow. We need this settled tonight if we can.”

  The doctor reached for his pocket. “I have something that may help. I really hate to suggest it...” There was hesitation from the doctor. “I think it will help.”

  My eyebrows leapt up when he pulled out a needle. It was odd he had the needle at the ready if he didn't feel good suggesting it. I wasn't in any condition to argue though.

  “What is it?” I asked, rolling up my sleeve.

  “It's experimental. You can say no to the suggestion, but I think it will help you through this.”

  “What's it do?”

  “It will react in your system much like adrenaline, but not as strong. The effect should spread through you gradually and sustain your system for several hours. It's kind of a pick-me-up.”

  “I could use a pick-me-up,” I said.

  Within minutes of taking the shot, I started feeling great. The pain lessoned and I was more awake than I thought possible under the circumstances.

  Before long, I found myself sitting and watching the creature through glass as it was chained down to the floor. Under the bright light of the interrogation room, I could see it clearly. It was much like the sordis that Logan had found online. Dull black hide with erratic patches of fur covering its body. It had leathery wings, which were now clipped behind it. It looked like bones were jutting out along the edges of the wings. It had stunted legs and feet with three talons. All the details were vivid, but somehow less real.

  Over the next hour, the sordis slowly regained consciousness. It didn't take much from me to keep i
t from pulling in energy. Whatever the doctor gave me must have helped.

  Logan and Barry were in place when the creature roused. Kyrian leaned forward and watched from beside me. A buzz of excitement filled the viewing room.

  The sordis pushed against its bonds, both physical and those that I had wrapped around its Path. It wasn't able to flex out of the restraints. It hissed and watched the men closely. Barry let Logan take the lead.

  “How long have you been here?” Logan asked.

  There was no answer. Barry grinned cynically.

  “Do you have a name?” Logan asked.

  No answer. Logan tried questions in languages I didn't know and received no response.

  Logan twisted in his chair. “Do you know Cassie?”

  “Cassie,” the creature hissed.

  “Yes, Cassie,” Logan said.

  The creature tried to bat his clipped wings and hissed again.

  “Tell me about Cassie,” Logan said.

  “Cassie,” the monster repeated. “In the way.”

  “In the way of what?” Logan asked.

  “I have a deal,” the sordis hissed. “Deals were made.” He swung his head between Logan and Barry.

  This isn't some monster, I thought as the creature formed his responses. He's one of the Lost. He wasn't some animal that escaped into this world.

  “What kind of a deal?” Logan asked.

  The sordis thrashed against his physical bonds.

  “Deals will get you nowhere here,” Barry said.

  “Stupid human,” the demon hissed. “Deals are forged. Fire awaits.”

  Logan's forehead crinkled. It was like trying to piece together a riddle with most of the words missing.

  “Tell me about the portals,” Logan asked.

  “Arrangement. Portals opened and I go free,” The sordis seethed.

  Barry leaned forward at the table. “Arrangements and deals mean nothing here.”