AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  "What's happened so far?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low.

  "The place has been dusted and inventoried. Some of the drugs were being moved off scene when we arrived. Gordon put his foot down and holed up with the lead DEA agent to tell him off. I'm not sure what it accomplished."

  "It bought us some time at least. They didn't move any of the jewelry?" I asked.

  "No, but they moved quite a bit of meth out."

  "Rider?" I didn't have to raise my voice. His ears picked up everything. "Can you try to tell if any of our evidence walked off?"

  I saw Rider nod and walk into the room where Logan had disappeared. I guess he was getting a good scent off the items in question. When someone yelled, I followed my partner inside but found Rider blissfully ignorant of the man’s attention. Even with the voids cutting through the sliver of Path I was watching, I could tell the jewelry was what we were looking for. With so many pieces together, even from here I could feel the energy radiating from them.

  "It's here," I said quietly.

  Rider perked up and went to the jewelry while a man continued to yell at him. Logan and a balding gray haired man that I assumed to be Gordon, watched the angry man.

  "Don't touch it," I whispered to Rider, knowing my voice would break through the other noise to reach him.

  Rider rolled his eyes, a move he'd recently picked up from me, and hovered around the plastic folding table that held our evidence. He paced back and forth, and then breezed past us, out of the room and on the trail.

  This only upset the man further. "What the hell does he think he's doing? You all can't—"

  My patience had reached its tipping point. "Excuse me, we can and we will. You are?"

  He brought himself up to his full height, ensuring that he stood taller than I did. "I'm Special Agent Wilson of the DEA, and this is my crime scene."

  I heard someone scoff from in the other room. Apparently, some of the local officers weren't too thrilled about the joint task force.

  "I think we've heard enough for now." Logan didn't lose his smile, but his eyes looked hard as they settled on Wilson. "Let's get the place cleared out."

  Gordon was keeping silent. Trying to ignore the feeling that the blank spots in the Path were trying to fold in on me, I held out my hand and introduced myself. "I'm Agent Heidrich."

  Gordon peered at me, hesitating only momentarily before shaking my hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Agent Gordon." He shook my hand, but our introduction was interrupted.

  Gordon might not have minded meeting me, but I wasn’t so lucky with the other agitated man in the room.

  Wilson honed in on my motion like a shark and swore at me. "Who the hell do you think you are? Walking in-"

  Trying to keep my cool wasn't working. "Agent Wilson-"

  Wilson's face turned redder and stepped closer to me. "That's Special Agent Wilson. Don't you forget it!"

  Trying to rein in my anger, I took a long look at Wilson. The man was too close, but there was no way I was backing up for this jerk. Even when people were put off by my shattered soul, I had never encountered anyone on the job that acted this unprofessional.

  Logan moved up to the man, speaking in a calm voice. "Special Agent Wilson, why don't we go for a walk and discuss this situation."

  While Logan tried to pacify the man, I watched reds and oranges pop onto the Path, and then wrap themselves tight around Special Agent Wilson.

  Wilson's Path melded into a cloudy shade of red as blackness snaked in and I almost took a step away. The bright glare flaring up on his hand was what grabbed my attention.

  His hands balled into fists. "Why don't you and your team go-"

  "He took evidence." The words popped out of my mouth before thinking.

  Any sense of restraint Wilson may have had broke. Open palmed, his hand slammed across my face. Shock ran through me almost as fast as the stinging pain in my cheek.

  Logan broke his cool. Even had I not been in the Path, I would have sensed the explosion of aggression that jumped from the elf. In the Path, the usual golden color that surrounded Logan burst away, replaced by anger so violent that it etched into the room. His features looked sharper, which was a clear indication things were about to get bad.

  Before I could fully take in the situation, Doctor Taylor was there. In a blur, he twisted Wilson's arm behind his back and tipped him forward enough to shove him into the floor. Rider was at the door. I'm not sure if he heard what was happening or felt Logan's anger. I caught his eye, he took a step into the room, but I held up a hand to have him wait; there was already too much confusion. Rider was going to object, but I waved him away. He leaned against the doorframe.

  Logan stood unmoving while he bottled up his flare of fury. He looked strained while trying to regain his composure.

  Trying to steady my own anger didn't take the heat from my voice. "The ring on his finger needs to be taken off."

  Without losing his grip, Taylor reached down, slid the ring off, and held it out for me to take.

  Some part of me wanted it. I wanted to open the Path and let that tiny piece of the Lost jump into me.

  My heart nearly skipped a beat and I shivered before taking a few steps back, bumping into the wall. Taylor took his eyes away from the agent for the first time and watched me as Logan took the ring.

  Wilson sputtered, went slack, and his breath sounded as if he had run his out of shape body through a marathon.

  I ignored the look from Taylor and addressed the man on the floor. "Special Agent Wilson, it's time for you to step aside and pull yourself together."

  The man had hit me, I didn't retaliate, and now it was too late. This realization did nothing to temper my anger. "Or should I have the good doctor here escort you out?"

  Taylor managed to pull Wilson to his feet, even though it looked like the agent outweighed him by more than twenty pounds. Without waiting for an answer, Wilson, looking confused, was led to the door. Rider left without saying anything. Taylor said a few whispered words to Wilson who nodded, more towards the ground than at Taylor. Taylor dropped Wilson's arm and followed him out of the room.

  Wanting to make sure the man was far away from me, I stepped out and watched Wilson leave. Everyone bagging evidence very carefully kept their eyes away from the men leaving. Concentrating on the Path, I couldn't see a void, but the last smear of rage that had surrounded Wilson fell away.

  "Moron," I said, not bothering to keep my voice down.

  Back in the room, Logan was handing an evidence bag over to Gordon.

  "So this is what we're after?" Gordon held the bag up to the light.

  "That's it, or at least part of it." I gestured to the plastic table holding many pieces of jewelry.

  Gordon turned the bag around in his hands. "Does the bag dampen the effects?"

  I glanced towards the door. "We don't really know yet. Everyone that's responded has been wearing the ring for a while. Agent Wilson could have put on the piece hours ago." I glanced towards the door again and nailed down the source of my anxiety. "Maybe Rider should try to spot if anyone else has a souvenir?"

  "I'll talk with him," Logan said on his way out the door.

  "Are you ready for us to bag evidence?" Gordon asked before Logan left.

  Logan glanced at me before addressing Gordon. "If you can get us started, then that would be great."

  Gordon agreed, and Logan left, to be quickly replaced by Taylor.

  At the table, Gordon took a few pictures before pulling out some evidence bags. "What do we know about these items?"

  We had approval from AIR to work with MyTH, and Gordon was technically an agent with clearance, so I filled them in on what we knew so far about the jewelry. I stayed across the room while Gordon and Taylor bagged each piece and sat them back on the table. It was interesting how each one of them checked the seals on each bag multiple times to ensure they were firmly sealed.

  "Do we know if this is all of it?" Gordon asked.

  I c
ouldn't tell if Gordon was asking Taylor or me.

  "I'll be able to look around more once what we have is out in the van." My skin felt itchy being this close to it. I wanted to walk over and put my hands on each piece of jewelry. I was already leaning against the wall, so I couldn't back further away. I was about to walk out when Rider reentered holding a box.

  "Any other pieces picked up?" I asked.

  "One more and I think another piece or two left earlier. I am not sure if it was before, during, or after the authorities entered the building." Rider dropped the box on the table and reached out to grab a bag.

  "Wait," I said.

  Rider drew back and looked at me impatiently.

  "Let's wait until Logan gets back," I said.

  Rider stalked to the other side of the room and then paced back to the table. We weren't sure how the Lost would react to the fragments in the jewelry, but I didn't know how to say that in front of the others.

  Gordon looked at Rider. "We'll finish bagging each item. Why don't you help Agent Heidrich check out the rest of the place?" He winked at Rider.

  Since I didn't know Gordon, I didn't want to leave him alone with the evidence. "It might be easier once the apartment is cleared out."

  Gordon went back to work. Rider paced around the room, throwing jittery yellow streaks onto the Path.

  Watching my friend, I worried. "Rider?" I reached out to him to stop his pacing, but he shook me off. Nothing from the room appeared to be interfering with Rider, but his Path was becoming more vibrant, and increasingly wild. "Rider, I think you should slow down."

  Gordon continued putting the evidence away, but Taylor was now watching Rider pace. Taylor waited until Rider had walked across the room again before slowly approaching, which caused the werewolf to issue a low growl. Taylor stepped back and Gordon, after a quick look, moved away and put his back against a wall, putting space between himself and Rider.

  Rider moved quicker and he looked lost in his thoughts.

  "It's not the jewelry, but there's definitely something wrong." It was said more to myself than the others. Feeling anxious, I stepped in front of Rider, blocking his way. "Rider, stop for a second."

  Rider reached out and grabbed my arm in a vice-like grip. His fingers elongated and claws dug into my skin. Looking into his eyes, my heart froze and I stopped breathing. Rider's normal calm and curious eyes were gone, replaced with an intensely animal presence.

  Rider's wolf showed through. It was the first time I'd seen it, and nothing in those eyes looked like they knew me.

  "Get out of my way." Rider's voice was soft, but the menace it contained made the hairs on my arms stand on end.

  Rider's eyes narrowed and he tossed me aside. There was barely time for me to think when I left the ground, but true panic jumped in when I landed on the table.

  Chapter 15

  My body tensed as I slammed into the table. Tiny bits of essence flew straight into me. Before I could really think of options, I ripped through the Path and molded it into a shield around myself. I could feel a few alien bits of energy ratcheting around in my body. The new essence wasn't mixing well with what had already claimed me as home. As other pieces began clinging to my shield, I put as much focus as possible into keeping it up. This was becoming more and more difficult with the chaos of the room.

  Rider attempted to rush over to me, whether to help or throw me again, I wasn't sure. For the second time today, I had Taylor to thank. He barred Rider's advances.

  Rider looked like he was trying to get himself under control and he didn't lash out at Taylor, but it also looked like he was losing the battle.

  Gordon came over to me to try to help, but I shuffled away from him, further into the wreckage of the table. I wasn't able to articulate the warfare going on inside.

  Gordon took the hint and backed off. "What the hell is happening? Is this the jewelry? He didn't touch them."

  It didn't take Taylor long to come to a conclusion. "It's meth. It looks like he's hopped up on meth."

  "Isn't he a werewolf?" Gordon hissed the words, trying to keep his voice low. "A tweaked out werewolf is not ideal in a small room."

  "In any room," Logan said.

  Relief flooded me when I heard my partner enter. It didn't last long however, my bubble of protection wavered. Logan could handle Rider at least, and I could concentrate on my own issue.

  Rider turned his head to Logan and back to the others a few times. His Path was becoming gray and muddled with the greens and browns of his non-human side.

  "Confusion. Paranoia." I couldn't form complete sentences, but I would be damned if I wasn't going to help.

  Doctor Taylor looked ready to launch himself against Rider. Fleetingly I thought, how stupid can you get? I've seen Rider beat a demon to death. I'd hate to see what he could do with a man like Taylor.

  Logan was prepared. He took out his tranquilizer and actually threw the dart at Rider. It didn't put him to sleep, but it took a little of the wind out of his sails.

  Logan turned to Taylor, "This isn't going to last long." He glanced at me before he continued. "How do you treat meth?"

  "He needs an opiate. I have some in my med kit." Taylor looked hesitant to leave.

  Rider was calm enough for Logan to reach into his pocket. Logan took the tranquilizer that had been meant for me and drove the point into Rider. Rider was on his feet, but his Path was looking sluggish.

  Logan looked at me again before turning to Taylor. "Bring everything you have."

  Taylor left the room at a run while Logan stayed between Rider and the door.

  "What's the situation over there?" Logan asked me.

  Rider was shaking his arms and rolling his shoulders, burning through the tranquilizers.

  I leaned against the wall, watching the blurs of light roll around on the enclosure keeping them at bay. "Take care of him."

  Rider was wearing down the carpet again by the time Taylor came back. Taylor had a bag in one hand and a needle in another.

  "What's his metabolic rate?" Taylor asked.

  "Fast," Logan replied. "Why isn't the meth out of his system?"

  "It must be in the air. We need to move him out of here."

  "Dope him up and we'll get him into the truck," Logan said.

  "Will it hold him?" Taylor asked.

  "Those things will hold a rampaging chimera. It'll hold him," Gordon said.

  Logan took care of Rider while I immersed myself in my own issues. I struggled to maintain my shielding and watched tiny bits of sparkling light trying to break through the shield. Almost breaking my concentration, I heard a scuffle, but when I managed to look beyond my shield, Rider was calm, and Logan took him away.

  "Watch over her, but don't touch her," Logan said as he left the room.

  "The meth indicators were clear earlier," Gordon said. "We shouldn't get a higher concentration after it's removed. I'm going to poke around more." He left me and Taylor alone.

  Taylor crouched down and watched me from a short distance away. I looked at him, but my focus was internal. Weariness settled in as I burned myself up to keep those bits of energy from reaching any further. Even the essence that had jumped into me were being burnt out through the effort.

  "I've seen looks like yours on battlefields." His gaze was intense.

  I didn't answer. If you looked at me, you'd see me sitting there, doing nothing. However, my grip was slipping. I'm not sure what would happen if everything jumped into my system at once. Could I handle that?

  "Can you tell me what you need?"

  I wanted Logan here, but I had Taylor for the moment. He was a doctor, maybe he knew how to help better than we did. I closed my eyes, trying to think of anything useful.

  "Not sure what she's going to need, but we have an idea about what's happening." Logan stood nearby, which made me feel stronger. "That jewelry holds fragments of the Lost. She attracts it to her, like a fairy is attracted to plums. My guess is each and every one of those necklaces and
rings are empty now. Did you keep them off ya?"

  "Mostly," I managed to say.

  "Well, let’s get you out of here," Logan came towards me, but I backed away along the wall, clattering through our evidence on the way.

  "They're here, surrounding me." I shuddered. "If they jump, a raging elf won't help."

  Taylor lifted an eyebrow and looked at Logan.

  Logan answered his unasked question. "She's afraid they'll jump from her to us, and she's right, it's possible." Logan squatted and watched me. "Anyway to get rid of them?"

  Feeling myself drain away, I made the only decision I could to keep everyone else in the room safe. Looking straight into Logan's eyes, I said, "Be ready."

  Before he could form a response, my barrier crumbled.

  My body went rigid as everything punched into me. Power whipped together. My own essence felt drained but began to revive as it joined the rolling turmoil. Whatever mores my shattered soul had made in my body were ripped away as it mixed with the new fragments that were swarming into me. I went slack and couldn't move.

  The reaction wasn't only internal. The Path around me didn't fall away, but instead it began to fight. Empty spaces in the Path broke out around me, trying to erase traces of my presence from the room. The Path didn't want evidence of me removed. I had been there and it knew it, so it struggled to sweep the empty spaces away.

  As I watched, Logan's face appeared. He moved me into a flatter position on the ground. Taylor also appeared and looked like a professional at work. My vision clouded around the edges, but I saw Taylor lean over me with a stethoscope. If I could have spoken, I might have protested when he ripped a few buttons off my shirt, but he was completely clinical in his examination. He listened closely to my heartbeat.