AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  A familiar feeling crept over me as my vision clouded over completely. I could fall away, out of this existence and into the next. I'd taken that route once before and I wouldn't let it happen again. Sweat broke out as I made an effort to stop the aberrant activity of my soul. The confusion inside slowed, but I could no longer tell what was foreign energy and what was my own. Maybe they were the same now?

  Bright blobs of Path danced above me when I was moved. My mind refused to stop reading. When I closed my eyes, a falling sensation met me, and I jerked them open again. I couldn't leave, too much would be left behind.

  Chapter 16

  Time passed in lurches, and occasionally I heard voices, some familiar, and some unknown. I had no idea where I was moved to, but I felt safe each time I heard Logan's voice.

  Reality bent when I went from working to keep my eyes open, to trying to close them. People asked me questions, but I was having a hard time sorting through their words. My skin felt dry and stretched, but relief came when a lulling sensation spread over me.

  There was blissful darkness until arguing woke me up. Everything was too bright when I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar room.

  "You sobered me up for this?" A young man, maybe twenty, looked mad, and all his anger was directed at Taylor. "You're the damned doctor."

  Taylor spoke through gritted teeth. "You're the one with firsthand experience."

  "How the hell am I supposed to know how one of the Lost is going to be affected by energy?"

  "She’s not a Lost."

  "Don't be retarded dude." Even through his agitation, he sounded like he jumped from an 80's version of a Californian, getting ready to catch the next wave. "That elf told me what she can do. If you had read my research, you would know that having that much of an aberration could only be caused by the introduction of DNA that doesn't exist naturally in homo sapiens. On top of that, she hasn't ingested any drugs."

  "It acts like a drug in the system," Taylor argued.

  "Drugs are chemical compounds. This is not. Not knowing the parameters or extent of her ability, I cannot adequately judge her capacity to ingurgitate the power. Seriously, did you get your medical degree from the pixies?"

  Taylor rubbed his forehead and muttered. "Christ, you're such an ass."

  "Which is a well-established fact. So I'll ask again. Did you seriously bring me around for this?”

  "Look, you little shit," Taylor grabbed the front of the man’s T-shirt, "we need research. Take yourself into your little lab and Frankenstein this problem together. We want to know where the jewelry came from, what is anchoring the energy, and then I want you to get in touch with your dealers and find out where the hell this stuff comes from."

  "Dude, I can't go to my dealers with this? Unless you’re going to suck it up and start writing me scripts, the dealers stay out. If I turn narc, my supply dries up."

  "Just get to work," Taylor said, dropping the shirt and turning away.

  The man gave Taylor the finger. With his back turned, Taylor couldn't possibly see it, but he stiffened all the same. The man blinked and looked panicked, but he was able to duck out of the room before Taylor could turn around.

  With the newcomer gone, Taylor came back over to me. In his agitation, he didn't immediately notice I was awake. When he looked at me, I glanced at the door and back at him.

  Taylor took out his penlight. "That was Neil. Never mind him. Follow the light with your eyes."

  I did as I was told.

  "Tell me how you’re feeling."

  "Dazed," I admitted. A squelchy, bloated feeling squirmed through my system, but it felt like it was coming from the Path, not a physical symptom. "I'm not feeling myself at all. Where am I?"

  "You're at the MyTH offices in the infirmary."

  "Is Rider okay?"

  "He's fine. He had some mood swings for a while, but he metabolized the drugs quickly once he left the apartment."

  "There was that much meth in the air?"

  "Not when we got there, but Gordon found a supply hidden in the duct work. When the AC was turned on, it was blown throughout the crime scene. That was also our cover story for taking you and Rider out of there the way we did."

  "Is Logan okay?" I asked.

  "It never fazed him. He's with Gordon now at the local PD. The DEA is getting an earful, leaving the drugs in the vents was sloppy work. We took out the evidence AIR needs."

  "Rider said some left the apartment before we got there."

  Taylor checked my pulse. "They found it pretty quickly. Two items were mixed in with the drugs removed earlier in the day. At least that's what we were told. I'm going to draw blood."

  Taylor tied a piece of plastic around my arm, and I cringed at the sight of the needle.

  "Anything you want to tell me about the bruises?" he asked. "The old ones I mean."

  As he stuck the needle in, I looked at the patchwork of bruises, new and old. There was also a large fresh bandage.

  "Job hazard," I said as I tried to puzzle out the new injury. "Doctor, what happened to my arm?"

  "It's Taylor," he said, "your partner ripped through the skin. He's in another room while we finish up blood tests. I wasn't sure if you wanted him in here right away."

  "If he's not cracked out, let him in," I said.

  Taylor hesitated. "We'll confirm the blood tests are clean before he comes in. Even without drugs, werewolves are known to become dangerously aggressive without provocation."

  A flash of anger took hold and I had a sense of churning inside, but I turned it aside and managed a normal tone of voice. "It sounds like you have issues with werewolves. Is that prejudice? From someone working with the Lost?"

  Taylor's forehead creased, and he sounded serious, if not offended. "No, it’s been my experience with them. I've been lucky enough to have a few call me friend in my lifetime, and I learned their habits."

  The conversation was becoming too weighty for me and my anger fizzled away, so I coerced myself to smile. "My gran would chop off his tail and put a stop to his sugar supply if Rider acted like that."

  Taylor laughed. He looked good with a smile on his face.

  "And believe me, she'd know about it. Probably before I did. Speaking of which, can we wrap up here so I can call her?"

  "I think we're done for now."

  Taylor handed me my phone and left the room with vials of my blood. Paranoia bubbled up, but it dissipated quickly. What could he do with my blood?

  Gran picked up on the first ring. "Darlin- I am so sorry."

  It was good that I didn't have to fill her in. "I'm okay. How much did you see?"

  "Enough to know that you might be dinged up."

  "It's not that bad."

  "There was another thing, but I don't know what it means."

  "Maybe it will make sense later on. What was it?"

  "It was you, but at the same time, not you at all."

  My hair on my arms raised and I broke out in gooseflesh. "Was I doing anything?"

  "No, it was you, but something else at the same time."

  The thought wasn't comforting. "Will the 'something else' go away?"

  "I'm not sure..." she trailed off.

  "I'm sure it will make sense when the time comes." Trying to sound upbeat was becoming hard work. "Everything okay at home?"

  "We're good here. Susan and Gerald are with me, and we're baking lemon bars."

  I told her to have fun and then we said our goodbyes.

  My thoughts were becoming less muddled, but more cluttered as worries and questions took up space. Being alone in the room gave me time to reflect on the situation, but I wasn't sure that was a good thing. How many little pieces of essence had rushed into me?

  I sat up and closed my eyes. Spinning like a whirlpool, my entire being felt like it had been torn apart. Worse yet, it felt like I wasn't the only one whirling.

  My eyes snapped open.

  The vertigo didn't leave, so I carefully laid back on the bed and focused on m
y surroundings. First, the ceiling, then the remaining room. The walls were padded, which made me shiver. Had they thought I would hurt myself?

  That idea was thrown aside before I spent too much time worrying about it. We had rooms like this at AIR. Maybe it was built this way to muffle sound or protect a Lost that wasn't sentient and didn't want to be trapped in a room.

  When I felt ready, I sat back up. Noticing I was wearing a hospital gown gave me the motivation I needed to get out of the bed.

  Looking for my clothes let my mind wander back to the small room at the crime scene. Agent Wilson smacked me and Rider threw me across a room. What would have happened if I had been on my own facing that?

  I blamed those thoughts on my unfamiliar surroundings. AIR agents had partners, which helped ensure that no one had to face things like that alone. By the time I found my clothes, I was ready to crawl back into the hospital bed. Instead, I put on my pants and shoes, but my shirt was missing a few buttons, so the gown stayed on. Since I hadn't found my tablet, I settled for a pen and paper to take notes. The paper already had print on it, but when I glanced it over, it looked like my own medical readouts, so I didn't feel bad about using it.

  The notes didn't get far before Rider came into the room.

  Tension I didn't know I had begun to unravel at the sight of my friend. "I take it your blood work is clear?"

  Rider picked up my bandaged arm when he reached me. "The drugs are gone." He inspected my arm from every angle, moving himself more than the arm. "Doctor Taylor has said that my blood is clean."

  "Call me Taylor." Taylor strode into the room and stopped when he saw me. "I wasn't expecting to see you out of bed." He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead grabbed a chart. "How is everyone feeling?"

  Rider shrugged and didn't look up from his inspection. When he was apparently satisfied, he sat my arm back down and looked around the room.

  Taylor watched him walk around the room, and then he turned to me.

  "What did you keep in here?" Rider pressed the padding on the walls.

  "Most recently, a griffin." Taylor didn't take his eyes off me. "Angel, a co-worker, spotted that it had a damaged wing. I treated the wing and we took her home. And, how are you feeling?"

  "I feel okay." The response was automatic.

  Taylor raised his eyebrow.

  I sighed and tried again. "Physically, I feel fine. A little sore, but nothing serious."

  "And, outside the physical. Has everything worked through your system?" Taylor asked.

  I squirmed uncomfortably, unsure of how much to say.

  "Your reactions, according to your partners, are different this time." Taylor appeared to take my non-response as a response. "We need to closely monitor your behavior and reactions."

  "We?" I asked.

  Taylor smiled. "Mostly your partners, but also myself while you're here. If you request, I'll forward the records on to your doctor as well, but not without your request. Whatever details you can tell us might be able to help."

  He couldn't tell work. At least not more than they needed to know.

  That made my decision easier. "As far as I can tell, it's all there. It doesn't go away."

  "I thought it might be. We should go over this in detail when you’re ready, but first, I'd like your permission to add this to Neil's research. I know he'll be able to help."

  "The kid that was here earlier. He sounded like a hyped up surfer and looks like he's barely out of high school."

  "He's older than he looks. Unfortunately, he's a genius. Even worse, he knows it."

  Chapter 17

  While I was on the phone with Kyrian, Logan arrived. The conversation began with Hank, but our boss broke in and left Hank taking notes in the background. Keeping all personal details to a minimum, I gave them both an overview of the day. With that taken care of, and a borrowed shirt from Taylor, Logan and I ventured out of the infirmary and into the offices of MyTH.

  "Taylor has given us the run of a conference room down the hall," Logan said. "He and Sable will be joining us soon. How are you feeling?"

  After glancing up and down the halls, I let Logan know where I stood. He looked worried and didn't ask any questions, which wasn't like him.

  When we reached the room, I made a point not to fall into the nearest chair, even though my body was protesting the fact that I was on my feet. "How did things go at the police station?"

  "Well, the local PD and DEA are steamed, mostly at each other, but they're out inspecting the crime scene. Special Agent Wilson wanted to talk to you."

  "I was hoping he'd be off the case."

  "I told him you'd rather talk to a rattlesnake right now, so he sent along his apologies. They're using the meth as an excuse for his behavior like we did. He's been stood down from field work for a week, but he's minding the paperwork, which is almost as bad as being off the case."

  Knowing Logan's aversion to anything relating to paperwork, I grinned. "A horrible fate, I'm sure. Anything from the people they arrested?"

  "Gordon and I interviewed them but came up with nothing. They said the pieces of jewelry were good luck charms, given to them."

  "That doesn't sound like they're being used as drugs. Who would give that to them?"

  "They were definitely being sold as a drug and an expensive one at that. One of the men being charged told us they had a test batch, and they worked. Some had a few bad side effects, but a few users experienced things they couldn't explain. They had their trinkets on when they were arrested."

  Bad side effects was an understatement from where I was sitting. "We have the pieces now?"

  "They're on their way to the office, along with most of the ones we collected. We're hoping Clancy can give us news. Gordon is meeting with Kyrian, so he took charge of them."

  "Most of the ones we collected?"

  "The evidence the police moved out before we arrived is being tested here. I'm told there's a smart lad taking care of it for us."

  Getting near those things wasn't high on my priority list, but the thought of someone handling them didn't sit well with me. "The person isn't affected by them? Wilson couldn't have been wearing his for long, so some of them could be more potent."

  Logan studied my face before answering, but I wasn't sure what he was looking for. "I checked things out. They've got it covered."

  The old elf looked tense, so I shifted our focus. "The people arrested, who gave them the jewelry?"

  "They couldn't say."

  "You mean wouldn't?" I asked.

  "No, I think it was couldn't." Logan leaned back in his chair. "They didn't have any issues talking about the jewelry, since it wasn't technically drug related. Their lawyers suggested they'd earn some good will by giving us what they knew. They couldn't remember who gave it to them. We'd have to bring Darla in to know for sure, but I'd bet an ear tip they weren't lying."

  Darla had been AIR's retired truth detector, and there was no one better, but she wouldn't come in if we already assumed an answer.

  "Were they too high to remember?" I asked.

  "Maybe. One girl thought someone used them as payment, but she couldn't say for what."

  "Anything else?"

  "I grabbed this out of the truck for you." Logan slid over the tablet that I had been using for this case.

  "Thanks." I set the device aside, not bothering to turn it on.

  "You sure you’re okay?" Worry was etched across Logan's face.

  "I'm frustrated. This case seems to be getting nowhere."

  "Hank is tracking our victims back home to see if they lead to any of our suspects."

  There was a rap on the door, and Sable entered the room carrying a large stack of papers. "We have some information." She slid packets to us and sat down. "Neil has found a few things of interest."

  Taylor and Rider came in, grabbing a packet on their way to their seats.

  "Is this for the case, or..." I trailed off, not wanting to ask if it was for me. I had given permi
ssion to add my issues to the research, but I didn't like the idea of sitting around a conference table discussing it.

  "This is limited to case knowledge," Taylor said, "nothing else."

  "What does 'Dummies Guide' mean?" Rider was reading the top page.

  Taylor grimaced. "That little shit."

  "I am sorry about this." Sable's face was red, but I wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. "Neil is—" She stopped and looked like she was reforming her words. "He doesn't deal well with strangers. Or Taylor."

  Taylor was scanning the remaining contents and didn't respond.

  Logan chuckled. "We can ignore it."

  Taylor closed the document, looking more resigned than cross. "Neil was able to review the evidence collected today. Your offices allowed us to experiment with four items. From initial findings, it appears that these items are used to anchor some form of energy. There are residual traces of electromagnetic energy."

  Rider looked hopeful. "So it is energy stored; not part of a soul."

  "What is a soul?" Taylor asked. "Everything is made of energy. We can't rule out that this isn't some fragment of a Lost trapped."

  Logan looked thoughtfully. "But without a soul, the Lost would die. We haven't had any suspicious deaths."

  "That's the overlying problem of our initial searches," Sable said. "Hank and our team as well were looking for suspicious deaths. When a soul gets removed from a body, the body can live on for a short time."

  "Vincent mentioned that." I didn't want to drag his name into this, but I drove on. "The person wastes away and dies."

  "Exactly." Taylor flipped through a few pages. "The Lost community perceives it to be a natural death and doesn't report anything suspicious. They note fewer of their number when visited."

  "You've found deaths?" Logan leaned forward and flipped through pages.

  "We've discovered fourteen recent deaths by natural causes," Sable said.

  Rider shuddered next to me. "Over how long?"

  "Approximately three months," Taylor said. "At least two of those appear to be actual natural causes, but we have no way of knowing without examination. Even then, I'm not certain we'd truly know."