This time he did grin, but only briefly. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Sure." I gestured to the chair.
Vincent took a seat, but he didn't say anything right away.
"To talk you need to use your words," I said.
"Maybe this was a bad idea," he said, standing up.
"No! Come on, I was kidding. Talk to me."
"Rider called me last night."
My heart sunk, and I'm pretty sure it showed on my face. "What did he say?"
"A lot, really. More than I had expected."
"He told you about what he thought when I was gone?"
Vincent shook his head. "We all had a lot of thoughts going on while you were gone. He didn't mention it, though."
"Oh. I asked him not to yet, so he's probably waiting for me to tell him it's okay. What did he say last night?"
"Is this something I should worry about?" Vincent said, looking like he already was.
"He had a stupid thought and he's worried you won't forgive him. I told him we all think stupid thoughts from time to time and you'd understand."
"I'll keep that in mind when I talk with him next."
I nodded. "So what did he say?"
"He's been upset over this challenge thing—"
"You know I didn't—"
Vincent held up his hand. "I know. He knows now, as well. He's on this kick about talking. He’s determined that everyone should—"
"Cassie," Gran called up from downstairs, "you have a visitor. Ethan has stopped and he will be at the door shortly."
I blew out a frustrated sigh and stood.
"I shouldn't be here," Vincent said. I wasn't sure if he was upset with himself or me, but he sounded aggravated. "I'll go. Give you all some time."
"No." The last thing I wanted was for Vincent to go. "This will only take a minute. I'm sure he just wants to see for himself that I made it back."
"You two should spend some time together," Vincent said. "With me out of the way."
"Why? Just please wait here. For me?"
Vincent looked angry, but there was no heat in his voice. "No. You all need time to catch up. I'm not getting in the middle of this."
"In the middle of what? Ethan and I broke up. I thought you knew."
The look Vincent gave me was pure confusion.
"Wait here," I said again.
I didn't give him time to say no another time. I ran down the stairs and plastered a smile on my face. Ethan stood by the door looking anxious.
"Hi," I said.
"I wasn't sure if I should stop by," Ethan said, "but I got your message last night."
"It's no problem," I said. A part of me thought I should offer him a seat and coffee or something, but most of me wanted to run back upstairs.
"This is awkward, isn't it?" Ethan said.
I grinned. "A little bit."
"I wanted to check in, is all, as a friend, and to see if you needed anything."
"That's nice of you. And it was great of you to be stop by and visit Gran while I was gone."
"You look better than I expected."
I wasn't sure how to take that, and it must have shown on my face.
Ethan chuckled. "I've seen you at a normal day at work and it's pretty obvious when it's been a rough day at the office. You just went to another world and back, and here you are, looking like new except for your arm."
"Which happened at the office. After I got back."
Ethan laughed. "That sounds about right." He looked at me for a few moments and the silence started to draw out. "I should go. Work calls."
"Thanks again for stopping by. It was good to see you."
"It was good to see you, too. Tell everyone I said hi."
"You bet," I said.
I watched him go from the door and Gran popped her head in from the kitchen.
"It was nice of him to stop by. Bad timin', but nice all the same."
I felt myself blush. "Where is everyone?"
"Out." Gran winked at me. "Get on up there before he leaves."
Not knowing if Gran was giving me a prediction or making a passing comment, I rushed back upstairs.
"Sorry about that," I said as I pushed my door open.
Vincent paced the floor and he didn't look in good temper.
"What's wrong?" I felt defensive even though he hadn't said anything.
"When did you two break up?" Vincent asked.
"Before—" I waved my arm around, not knowing how to say before I had left this world. "Before everything. Before I left."
"Because I was here that night?"
"No, I told you before I left that Ethan didn't have anything against you. It was his choice."
"This is why Rider wanted us to talk, isn't it?" Vincent asked.
"No, at least I don't think so. Why are you so upset?"
"I'm not."
I crossed my arms and glared at him.
"Not with you. With myself. For getting between the two of you. I should have done things... differently."
"I told you this wasn't your fault. I'm not saying it again," I said.
A ghost of a smile appeared and vanished in an instant.
He stopped pacing and looked like he was getting hold of himself. "If this wasn't what Rider was talking about, what was it he thought I should know?"
"Ah…" My anger fled. "Well, it could be a few things." I wrung my hands together, and the moment I noticed, I forced them down to my side.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked. His aggravation also seemed to have vanished.
"I'm not sure you'd say it's wrong. In fact, it's good news for you."
He looked confused and moved closer. It was good news for him, but for me, it still hadn't sunk in that I'd almost completely lost my abilities as a Reader.
"What is it, Cass?"
"I'm fixed," I said, blurting it out.
His confusion seemed to spread.
"My soul, I mean. The gremlins gave me something and they fixed it."
This didn't appear to fill in any blanks for Vincent. He moved to me, put a hand on my cheek, and stared into my eyes. But he didn't seem to be looking at me.
I half grinned. "Are you looking for it? It's there. I've checked. And rechecked."
He looked as though he searched anyway, not taking my word for it.
"You can't see it, can you?"
He shook his head and dropped his hand. "Not see, no. It's more of a sense. Getting a feel for it."
I looked away. "Well, like I said. It's there and all in one piece."
"You don't look happy about that. Cass, this is a good thing," Vincent said.
My eyes started to burn and I blinked hard. "Is it?"
"Of course," He took one of my hands in his and stroked my arm with the other. "It's a very good thing."
I sighed. "You saw me yesterday—in the fight with the changeling. I couldn't do anything."
"What are you talking about?" Vincent asked. "You sent him flying."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Physically, but he did all the work for that."
"You mean you weren't using the Path?" Once again, there was that look of confusion, but it was fleeting.
"No. I don't have to use it for everything." I was being defensive and it was stupid. "Which is good," I added. "Because I don't think the Path is good for much of anything now."
"Your power is gone?" Vincent asked.
I shrugged. "Not gone. Not all the way, but it's diminished to the point I can barely trace a Path more than a few hours old. I'll be useless in the field."
"Useless?" Vincent shook his head and gave me a soft smile. "You'll never be useless. Not in the field or anywhere else."
That earned him another eye roll. "Anyway. I'm fixed." I sniffed and added the part I had been dreading. "You're off the hook."
"Off the hook?"
"Sure. You said you were staying to fix my soul. It's fixed now." I swallowed hard and tried my best not to tear up.
"No," I said in a rush of air. "Never. I want you to—"
He kissed me. Hesitantly, at first, but harder as we got caught up in the moment. Passion flared and I fell straight into it. The world around me disappeared and only the two of us remained.
He pulled me to him, as close as two people could be without occupying the same space. When the kiss ended, he didn't pull away, but looked down at his arms wrapped around me.
There were stray tears which had worked their way out, but I was floating. I was also at a complete loss for words.
"We should talk," he said. Since he hadn't moved away, I knew he didn't regret it.
For some reason, doubt sprang up and I stepped back. "This wasn't because of my soul or because I lost my abilities, is it?"
He shook his head and closed the gap again. "This was something I should have done ages ago."
I let out a relieved breath. "I agree."
The second kiss came almost as unexpectedly as the first. It was hard and demanding, and turned my insides to jelly and had me trying to pull him even tighter to me.
Then I felt his hesitation and he pulled back again. "That's probably too fast." He looked concerned.
I didn't know if he meant too fast for me or for him, but I didn't care. "It's been over a year since you kissed me in the hall. Trust me when I say this isn't rushed."
His face was soft and he wore a smile. An actual smile that the whole world could have seen, except it was all for me.
"Cassie!" Gran screeched from downstairs.
Vincent's emotions fled from his face before I had a chance to turn away. There had been a trace of distress in his eyes.
Vincent and I tore out of the room. My own terror gripped my heart. Gran was scared. I've never heard my grandmother cry out in fear, and it put all other thoughts on hold.
Gran appeared coming from the kitchen. She looked pale and shaky.
"What's wrong?" Our footsteps thundered on the stairs, but she didn't look our way.
"We're about to have company in the kitchen and it doesn't look good," Gran said.
"Margaret, go to your bedroom and lock the door. Call Logan."
It was a testament to how scared she was that she didn't argue, but mutely left, grabbing the phone on her way.
"Where's your gun?" Vincent asked.
He already held his, but I couldn't think. I had just gotten home, so how was I supposed to know where my gun was?
"Where is it?" Vincent asked.
"I don't know. No one gave me back my gun or anything else."
In the kitchen, we heard the back door slam open.
"Stay behind me," Vincent said.
Logan walked into view. "Howdy, partner. You in a spot of trouble?"
What the hell was Logan doing there? I looked to the front door, making sure nothing came toward us in that direction. Vincent had his gun trained on Logan.
Rushing into the Path, I saw the truth of the person. Being this weak with my power, I knew there was no way I could have seen the Path of an elf.
"You're not gonna shoot me now, are you?" the changeling asked.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked.
"Now that hurts." The fake Logan put a hand to his chest.
"Don't move," Vincent said when the thing started to walk forward.
It didn't stop and Vincent didn't give another warning. He fired repeatedly, but the creature kept walking toward us. When the magazine was spent, the changeling grinned.
Vincent dropped the magazine and put another in place.
Something shifted in the changeling's face—its skin elongated and began to turn dark.
"It's you people." He slung the word people around as though it were an insult. "The humans are bad enough, but you people take something easy and make it complicated."
Gran's voice filtered into the room. The changeling shook his head.
Gran was in the house, but he wouldn't bother her, right? He had scared her. I knew that. What had she seen that could have made her go so pale?
"Is there anything you can do?" Vincent asked, not bothering to lower his voice.
Could I? Vincent was here and with me. Really with me. This thing couldn't come in here and wreck my life.
"I think so," I said. I took Vincent's arm and drew on the power of the tiny shard of my soul that lived inside him. Warmth radiated through me.
The front door banged open and Logan, the real Logan walked in. The changeling didn't waste any time, immediately launching itself at the elf. I don't know what it said. It sounded like a curse, but by then, the thing’s face was a nightmare.
I took a deep breath, gathered my strength, and hammered straight through my soul.
"Dammit, not that," Vincent said under his breath.
Too late. The small stream of the Path started to grow. As my soul broke apart, the power amplified. The changeling made one swipe at Logan before I could grab it. I flexed the Path around the creature and squeezed, drawing it away.
The Path wouldn't work exactly the way I wanted, but it was the best I could do. The energy was raw and burned hot as a flame through my mind. I grabbed my head and vertigo swept over me. Logan yelled. His face contorted, and he balanced on the balls of his feet. He had stretched taller and his eyes grew larger as his features became sharper.
The power started to rip through me, and it felt like chunks of myself went with it.
Vincent gripped my arm and I looked up into slate-black eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said.
Before my brain could make sense of the words, he was gone. Vincent dove into the creature and they both disappeared. With the changeling gone, my power had nothing left to hold onto and fell in on itself.
Chapter 25
"What?" I screeched. "No! Damn you!"
I tried to get a grip on my power. When Cole had tried to take Vincent between the worlds, I had dragged them back. It wasn't one moment they were here and the next they were gone. It had taken time, but I had pulled them back. It had to work now.
But there was nothing for me to grab. With two Walkers, one trying to leave and the other trying to stay, there had been something to work with.
I stared at the spot where he had disappeared. There was nothing there. Raw energy poured through me, but I didn't much care. It started to drain me dry. Still, I searched for something to grab hold of.
"Let it go, darlin'," Gran said.
"No," I cried. "If we couldn't fight the thing here, what made him think he could fight it there?"
"There's nothin' that can be done about it." She gripped my arm and I wavered. "He's gonna be upset if he comes back and finds you've done somethin' that got you killed."
"If?" I asked.
"That's all I have, sugar," Gran said. "Come on back."
I nodded and sniffed. Logan was back to normal. He looked human anyway. He was on the phone with Hank if I had to guess. Boone was on the phone as well. His eyes kept straying to where Vincent had disappeared and then to me.
I was making a spectacle of myself. It was stupid. Vincent knew what he was doing. If he did something crazy and got himself killed, well, I'd track down his soul and give it a piece of my mind.
Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths and then began to push the Path away. The power ran coarser than it had before. It wasn’t more difficult to handle per se. Before, I had trouble stopping when my power got out of hand. This was different.
“Time to come back,” Gran said again.
Something brushed by me from the side. I turned, but there was nothing there. However, I saw the Path of something, although, not the flowing colors I usually saw. This was solid. It had substance.
Something jostled me from behind, but when I turned, again there was nothing there.
"Cassie, what is it? What's wrong?" Gran asked.
"I don't..." There was a hint of something which rounded the corner into the kitchen. I took one step to f
ollow it, and then fell.
"Cassandra Anala Heidrich, don't make me tell you again. Get back here."
It was an automatic response, which was good because that was about all my brain could handle at the moment. It felt like I rode a boat on rough waters, but I pulled my mind back together and left the Path behind me.
It felt as though I had run a race.
"Rider's on his way," Logan said.
"I'm okay," I said.
"Yeah," Logan said, "you look it."
"I just need a minute," I said.
"Well, you can take a minute, but I need a few first. Paulson's coming."
I groaned and put my hand to my head, rubbing my temples.
"I need to know what happened and I need to know fast," Logan said.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed myself up. I wouldn't lie on the floor while they hovered over me. Sitting on the floor would have to do though. I wasn't up to moving much further.
"Gran," I said, staring at the spot where Vincent had disappeared, "do you want to start?"
Gran didn't have to talk long before Logan led her to the couch and had her sit down. By looking at her, you'd never have guessed she had been scared. Forcing myself to my feet took all my willpower, but I managed it and sat down next to Gran on the couch.
When she finished, she announced she needed to make a call and went back to her bedroom. Worried, I watched her go.
It didn't take me long to fill Logan in. At first, I thought there wasn't much to tell, but then I had to back up and explain things a few times. I had to tell him about the gremlins fixing of my soul before I could fully explain how I had torn it apart again.
He glanced at Boone a few times while I spoke, and he didn't look too happy, but Boone said nothing. I didn't care if Boone knew. I was too upset to care. Too tired to care.
Besides, I trusted Boone.
Logan, on the other hand, did not.
The third time he cast a not so friendly look at Boone, I spoke up. "It's okay, Logan. Boone knows everything about what I've told you, except what happened today."
"He does, does he?" Logan said. "I'd like to know where he lands on this before we have company arrive."
Boone shrugged. "I saw a Walker take down a changeling. That's all I know."
I gave Boone a grateful look.
Logan didn't look like he believed Boone. "Did you hear what the changeling said?"
AIR Series Box Set Page 121
