AIR Series Box Set

by Amanda Booloodian

  Most of this stuff I already knew. The fact that she knew it from looking at my hand was unnerving, but I hardly think Gran would send me here for my love life.

  "Lucky girl. There is more than one path to relationships that will lead to happiness."

  She lost me on that one. I don't see my personal life ever becoming that complicated.

  "Unfortunately, each way has its own complications and pain." Fatima squeezed my hand and looked at me. "But that is always the case with love."

  That part, I believed.

  "Next, we will look at your headline. This helps us take a look at how your mind works." Fatima traced another line on my hand. "I see stagnation of your intellect in the recent past, but in the present and the future, you will add to your stores of knowledge. This isn't unusual for someone your age. You will gain great knowledge from what you do, but also from unexpected sources. Your mind spent some time in apathy, but is now growing."

  Which told me nothing beyond I had moved to a new job, and let's face it, all of my sources of new knowledge were unexpected.

  "Your stubbornness can cause strife for others, but that appears to be fairly balanced with your intellect and your ability to know when to speak the truth and when to hold your tongue. Although, the stubborn nature leads the way a great deal of the time, and that's not always a bad thing."

  I would like to say I could argue against that one, but that would be a lie to me.

  "This is your lifeline, which tells us of your physical heath and events that disrupt our lives in—" She grabbed my hand tighter and twisted it around, looking at it from many directions.

  I leaned forward. "I've not encountered this before. You— This says you have died recently." Fatima twisted my hand again pulling it closer to the candle. "It says you've died twice. There have been several cataclysmic events in your past and present. So much pain feathering out and you have even greater turmoil in your future." Fatima blinked her eyes rapidly, closely examining each little branch of my lifeline. "There are three places where your lifeline rolls over on itself, to become you and not you at the same time."

  Wait, had Gran said that?

  "Things become confused here. It's almost as if you are relocating, but—" She narrowed her eyes and looked confused. "But you're not at the same time. Looking at your lifeline with your travel lines only confuses the matter further. The trip that is not a trip will become of great importance.

  "You have ominous lines that affect your lifeline again." She was so caught up in what she was reading that she dropped her accent completely. "Interesting to see the clouding of the lifeline, but to see the future beyond that. Do you die again? Does that cloud your future? There are relics and other items, of course, that can do this. They can alter your path, remove obstacles and move you into a better future. Is this the effect of such a relic?" She dropped my hand and inspected her own, before looking at them at them side by side.

  Fatima was silent for a while, which only built the anticipation I was feeling. Travel, but not travel, death twice in my past. I knew I died last fall, but twice?

  I cleared my throat. "Did you say I'll die again?" I asked.

  Fatima looked up at me, not really seeing me. She blinked a few times until she was actually looking into my eyes. Her cheeks turned red. "I am so sorry," she said, regaining her accent and removing her own arm from the table. "You have a very interesting palm. It is unique, and I let my professional curiosity get the better of me. Please forgive my rudeness."

  "It's no problem," I said quickly. "Did you say I was going to die?"

  "Your future is clouded. I see injuries, relocation, and possible death before, of course, the inevitable death. There are many events in your future that could lead to perilous outcomes. Many Paths will open themselves to you. Choose wisely moving forward. Don't rush to judgment or rush a decision."

  "Is there anything I should be doing now? I mean, for the immediate future."

  Fatima swallowed hard. "Keep your friends close, beyond that, I can say no more that would help."

  I stood when she did and looked at my hand. Keeping Logan and Rider close went without saying, but what she had said about my future shook me. Everything else had been so accurate, so was her prediction of the future going to be the same?

  Pat was led back into the room, practically vibrating with excitement. Lost in thought, I looked around the shop. Had Gran wanted me to hear all that? Could things change?

  Several items in the shop seemed to sing out. There was a long thin piece of clay that looked like a stick. When I reached out to touch it, little warning bells pinged me from the Path, even though I had it closed tight. No touching, got it.

  Was that the type of item that Fatima had mentioned? One that can change the shape of the future?

  Right, time to get a grip here. Even if Fatima was the real thing, which I suspected, then I had a little warning, but the future was still the future and it's all coming towards me. Nothing I can do, but be prepared.

  Other peculiar items in the shop seemed to clamor for my attention, causing me to feel jumpy. After a stroll around the shop, I found that around the register looked like the safest place to stand. Little Buddhas in bulk and the other items sitting out here looked safer to inspect. On the wall behind the counter, some pictures weren't covered up. Family maybe. There was one in particular that stood out, with Fatima and a man embracing each other. There was a familiar look in his eyes, but I didn't know him.

  "That is my betrothed," Fatima said from behind. "My family is very old fashioned, and they have only recently allowed the union." She laughed. "Not that it would have stopped us."

  Pat was very quiet, but not altogether unhappy. While she paid, I looked through the glass facing of the counter.

  My heart sped up, and my breath hitched. A tiny silver pendant of some unknown Indian god stared up at me. The case had a few different gods, all silver, and all the same size as the pendants we have in evidence.

  Maybe this was why Gran sent me here.

  "These look interesting." I was amazed my voice was steady.

  "They are beautiful, are they not? It is said that they bring luck." Fatima took one out to show me.

  I was very careful not make contact with the pendant, but I looked closely. "You know, I could use a few gifts for some friends."

  As Heather, I ended up having money for five after paying for the reading and had them wrapped and placed in a bag, which I held carefully by the handle.

  The sunlight was blinding after the dimness of the shop. My eyes took time to adjust before spotting Neil by the car, looking dejected.

  "That was intense," Pat whispered on our way to the car. "How about you?"

  "That's a good description."

  "You think she's the real deal?"

  I looked back at the shop and said, “I think she is."

  "Me too, but don't say anything to Neil. He's too smart for his own good and gets all weird if he doesn't understand everything. But I guess you know that."

  "Yeah." Heather would know, but I had no idea what she was talking about. "My lips are sealed if yours are."

  ***

  That evening, Pat took a pass on the drugs, giving me a knowing look, so I felt free to do the same. After she had gone to bed, I got to work.

  Neil opened one of the packages that Fatima had wrapped for me and almost dropped it. "Dude," was all he said. Then he placed it on a table for me and appeared to forget about it in a haze of pot smoke.

  Concentrating on the little figure didn’t give me hints that there may be a fragment of a Lost inside. Taking the next step, I closed my eyes and went to reach for the Path. Waiting for me were hundreds of flecks of light, glittering, wanting to be seen, and they stood between the Path and me.

  Some of those were pieces of my own soul, right? Was I still me?

  Trying and failing to shake the unnerving feeling, I stretched over the milling shards of soul and opened my eyes to a world of incandescent color
.

  I spent the next thirty minutes depleting my energy, trying to find some spark in the necklace pendant.

  Neil was the one who reminded me that I might be pushing too far.

  "You're like, pale and shit. Are you getting a contact high or what?"

  There was a fizzy feeling running through me, so I dropped the Path. Seeing the colors turn even more muted than usual, I thought the contact high wasn't far off.

  Ignoring Neil, I reached out tentatively.

  "That's a bad idea, man." Neil watched, but didn't try to stop me.

  "You know I'm a girl, right."

  "That's pretty obvious. But Taylor's going to kill me if I bring you back broken."

  I rolled my eyes. "Too late to worry about that."

  The silver was cool, and while I had braced myself to add yet another shard of soul to the horde, nothing happened. "Humph. Nothing." I carefully unrolled the other trinkets, each one cool to the touch, but void of a companion soul shard.

  Sighing, I stowed them all away. "We should go soon."

  "Sure, man, the couch is comfy, and I need a few more minutes. Short dude will be back soon."

  "Hey man, I'm not short," said the guy ambling back into the room with a bottle of tequila.

  "You're shorter than me, which makes you short dude," Neil said.

  I laid my head on the arm of the couch and watched Neil drink and smoke dope.

  ***

  Pat could probably walk into any club, bar, or party in town, which worked out great for me because it was her influence that got me onto the list for the party. It was naive of me to think that would make things easy. Pat dropped her car off with the valet, but the man on the door was one of those people that took an instant dislike to me.

  "She's on the list." Pat jabbed a finger down on his clipboard.

  "No ID, and it's obvious she doesn't belong here." The man sneered at me.

  My aggravation caused a flurry of activity inside me, and it amazed me that no one noticed.

  "Wait here." Pat strode into the massive structure. Within two minutes, a man came out and waved us in. Before the door closed, I heard the doorman being chewed out for upsetting a VIP.

  At the door, our cell phones were confiscated, and since Logan and Rider had remote access to mine, I was feeling a little lost without it.

  The music was loud, there were loads of people dancing, and you only had to walk a few feet into the room to see that drugs were being passed around like candy. Pat jumped straight into the mix. Someone dropped something into her mouth as she hit the dance floor.

  "Look," Neil said quietly, "don't take a drink from anyone but me and keep your hand over it when you’re not drinking." He sounded sober enough that I didn't hesitate to agree. "I'll keep you in sight, but we have to mingle."

  Neil handed me a drink, gave me a joint, and then disappeared.

  Chapter 20

  My plan was to pull up the Path and take a look at things from the fringes of the party. This could work in the ballroom, where the lights were dim, the noise was loud, and everyone was dancing, but the other rooms would be difficult.

  Watching everyone dance made me feel conspicuous, so I drained the glass Neil gave me and met Pat on the dance floor. It had been so long since I'd danced that I felt thoroughly embarrassed, but each time I turned around, I was dancing with a new person. What better way to fit in and meet people? We barely had to talk.

  Neil showed up long enough to pass me another drink, and I left the dance floor with Pat. There was no telling what she was on, but she didn't sit on the sidelines long. When she went back to dance more, I stayed put. It was time to get to work.

  "What's a hot little thing like you doing over here?" Arms reached around me from behind.

  Adrenaline hit my system. My skin dropped a few degrees, and I broke out into a cold sweat. I could feel the man's breath on my face, and I cringed. He trapped my arms in a bear hug before I could react.

  My mind worked frantically trying to figure out what Heather would do, or what I should do to get out of this.

  "There is a hit of X here with your name on it," he said into my neck.

  "I'm not an X kind of girl." I tried to keep my voice light.

  "I could change your mind." He moved one rough hand down my side.

  This worked out well for me because he had to loosen his grip, which allowed me to pull, at least partially, away.

  "First time here?" The man laughed, and I could tell he thought this was all in good fun.

  Still, he had a strong grip on my arm, and he didn't look ready to let go. "Making a scene can get you tossed out. Let's go have a chat. I can tell you all you need to know."

  "No thanks, I'm good." Trying to break his hold on me was becoming a futile effort. "Besides, I need to go meet up with my friends."

  "I'm not seeing any friends here," the man said.

  "Leave the girl alone."

  Vincent?

  My face turned red, embarrassed at being caught like this, and I searched for the face that came with the voice.

  The man didn't look away from me. "Mind your business."

  "Back away." Vincent walked out of the shadows.

  He didn't look at me, but I couldn't take my eyes off him.

  I knew I was safe now, but my stomach twisted into tighter knots, and it was a struggle to keep calm.

  "Shove off," the man said, not letting go of my arm.

  Vincent reached out and held the man's shoulder.

  The man's eyes widened, and he dropped my arm while trying to move away. "We were only having a bit of fun. I don't-"

  The man dropped to his knees.

  Vincent's face was blank, and he didn't let go. When the man's eyes closed, I tried to pull Vincent away, afraid he would kill the man.

  Looking into my eyes for the first time in months, Vincent let go. I couldn't detect a trace of emotion, but I noticed that Vincent had a thin scar angled across his temple. I stared at him, unsure of what to say. What do you say to a man you cared about when he returned without telling you? I wanted to scream at him or hit him. I wanted to hug him and ask him where he'd been. I wanted to take him out of the party and find out everything that had happened, but where would I start?

  "Dude, you gotta step away." Neil kept his eyes on the ground and tugged at my arm. "Come on, Heather, we've gotta move back into the party. The party is the party, the fringes are bad news."

  Impassive as ever, Vincent looked down at Neil. "Go away."

  Neil bobbed his head nervously. "Sure thing, man. Only, I don't go without her."

  Vincent's eyes pierced mine. "She stays."

  My glare was instantaneous. Did he seriously tell me to stay?

  Neil cringed. "Yeah, no problems. I gotta stay with her man."

  Vincent closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then looked back at me. "He's with you?"

  "Yes." I emphasized this by taking a step slightly in front of Neil, shielding him from Vincent.

  "You both need to go." Vincent looked away, back into the crowded room.

  "Are you serious?" I didn't know what else to say. He saved me only to turn around and piss me off.

  "Don't draw attention to yourself and don't look for me." Vincent walked away.

  "Wait," I called.

  There was a hesitation, but then he moved out of sight.

  My chest tightened. There had been no chance to say goodbye when he left last fall. There hadn't been time. Tonight, though? He walked away without provocation, and he wasn't rushed.

  After that, the party was too loud. There were too many bodies pressed together having a crazy, drugged up experience. Before, I hadn't noticed the driving energy of people and music. Now, even with the Path closed, I could feel the giant swirling mess that was this party.

  "So yeah, new rule. Stay away from the edges of the party. That dude was seriously scary. Did he kill that guy on the ground?" Neil asked.

  "I don't think so." I swallowed hard and didn't
bother looking down. Simmering up, another fragment tried to press itself out. I stamped it back down and tried to do the same with my thoughts of Vincent.

  Neil moved us back into the party. "It's about time for you to do your crazy voodoo shit and then get the hell out of here."

  "Right," I said dully. "Crazy voodoo shit."

  There was a job to be done, and this party was our best chance to find what we needed. I could blow that if I followed Vincent. Sadly, I wasn't convinced I made the right choice. Wanting to get this over with, I grabbed Neil's arm for support. He bobbed to the music and ignored me while I opened up the Path and looked across the party.

  I wasn't far off the mark when I thought the party might look psychedelic. Purples, blues, reds, browns, and blacks swirled together while yellows exploded and dissipated. The Path was as high as the people fueling it.

  One bright, tarnished golden spot stood out and drew me forward. I dropped Neil's arm and tracked the brightness only to find an elf who was watching the partygoers.

  Turning around, I scanned again, looking for another target.

  When nothing stood out, my mind latched to my former partner. Vincent being here couldn't be a coincidence, which made me tense. Wouldn't we know it if he was here for an assignment? Considering we didn't know he was in this world, there was a chance the answer was no. I'm not sure what hurt worse, the possibility he came back and went to work without telling me, or the possibility that no one knew he was here and was wrapped up in this case, but on the wrong side.

  Trying to dislodge the thoughts, I focused on finding other clues. If he was involved, we'd find out.

  Figuring someone high in a drug dealing organization would sit and make people come to him, I moved around the room. My attention was caught near the bar close to the dance floor. This bar not only held booze but an assortment of drugs behind the counter. The bartenders, slash dealers, were working together smoothly to take care of their customers.

  With samples at the bar, I assumed the dealers weren't far away.