"I did hear him say something, but whatever language it was in, I don't speak it," Boone said.
"And you," Logan asked, turning to me. "Do you know what the changeling said?"
"I could barely make out that he was talking at all." I rubbed my temple again. "Something went wrong with what I was doing. There wasn't much else I could pay attention to."
"I wish one of you knew something about it. I understood the words, but not the meaning."
"What did he say?" I asked.
"He said I was a traitor to my kind and the bastardized humans were bad news."
"It was bad enough he tried to kill me, but he called me a bastardized human on top of it?"
"Was he talking about you?" Logan asked.
"He referred to me and Vincent as 'you people’," I said. "Like there was something wrong with us. He said humans were bad enough, but 'you people' make things more difficult."
"Coming from the source, that's not a bad thing," Logan said. "Paulson should be here soon. I think Hank'll be with him, maybe a few others. I don't want them upsetting Margaret, though. She's had a long week."
I nodded in agreement. She had been through so much since she moved in with me. It was getting worse instead of better.
"Taylor's still in town. I think we should have him look in on her before Paulson talks with her."
"That's not a bad idea," I said.
"I think he needs to take a look at you as well," Logan said.
"Nothing happened to me." If you didn't count the fact that, it felt as though my heart had been ripped out. "I'm fine."
"Don't think I haven't noticed you've been getting headaches since you've been back. This one looks worse," Logan said.
Realizing I was still massaging my temples, I removed my hand from my forehead. "It's only a headache." But I said it half-heartedly.
Someone knocked, and before I could do more than glance in that direction, Rider strode in and looked around.
"I hurried over," Rider said. "Is everyone well?"
I drew my knees up to my chest, but didn't answer.
"Everyone here is okay," Logan said. "I need to call Taylor. I'll be back shortly."
Rider's forehead creased and his nose curled up at me.
"Don't even start telling me I smell," I said.
Rider nodded and didn't say anything, which was as good as telling me he thought I smelled odd.
"My partner?" Rider asked.
I looked away.
No one said anything, and Rider started moving through room. His nose would probably tell him more than we could.
A few minutes later, he dropped onto the couch. "I see. For the past month, since taking and releasing all the good souls from Einar, he has been lighter. Different. Less burdened. This may change things."
Rider was right. I had noticed it when we were in the mountains, but I didn't know its cause. It made sense, though. He had taken in so many souls from the golem, Einar, but they weren’t the monsters he usually dealt with.
What would he be like when he came back?
"We don't know he took the changeling's soul." I said it more for my own benefit than for anyone else.
"How will he fight the person any better there than he would here unless he takes their soul?" Rider asked.
"Funny, I had the same question," I said. "When he gets back, I intend to ask him." I thought about it for a moment. "In a loud voice."
Rider smirked, but he stared into space. "How long was he gone last time?"
"Do you mean how long was he out of this world? I know we didn't see him for over six months. Of course, I never really wanted to know how long he was gone. I knew the answer would tick me off."
"I think it was a week or more," Rider said.
"Why did he go last time?" Boone asked.
"Same stupid reason he went this time," I said. "Only then it was a vampire instead of a changeling."
"Vampire, as in the ones that have been here for a while or the ones that come over now?"
"I didn't know there was much of a difference." I could see Boone was going to fill me in, but I was too depressed to care. "This one was a new one, though. The demon we fought to get home? One of those opened a bunch of portals at once. Logan, Vincent, and I, ended up with the vampire."
Boone whistled under his breath.
"There was nothing we could do with the changeling here," Rider said.
"No," I snapped, "what you mean is we hadn't found anything yet."
"I haven't known Vincent long," Boone said, "but I get the feeling he can handle himself. I'm sure he'll be back as soon as he can."
We sat and listened to Logan's voice from the kitchen and Gran on the phone in her room.
"I'm sorry I brought this onto you all," Boone said.
"What?" Having been caught in my own little world where Vincent was able to come immediately back, I hadn't been paying attention.
"This thing was here because I was here," Boone said.
"No one blames you," I said. "This was the changeling's fault. We can’t stop what we do because someone wants to kill us."
"You would never leave the house if that were the case," Rider said.
"Not everyone wants to kill me." I grinned, although I was thankful Rider was trying to lighten the mood.
"This is true," Rider said in all seriousness. "It is only the people that meet you."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "I can't help it if I rub people the wrong way."
"Actually, I do not believe you do anymore," Rider said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"With your soul put back together, I don't think you will have the same issue you used to have with meeting new people," Rider said.
"Maybe I should have thought about that before I broke it apart again."
Rider looked confused, so I told him what happened.
"That explains the smell," Rider said.
"I do not smell," I muttered.
Rider grinned. "You have a smell. Although the smell of you and Vincent being together is much more powerful."
The blush crept up and through my face. "Remind me to talk to you about boundaries again."
Rider's forehead crinkled in confusion. "Boundaries mean not walking in without knocking. It is the clothes thing."
Boone chuckled.
"You're not helpful," I said to Boone.
The crunch of gravel in the driveway announced the arrival of the agency and we all went silent. Sighing, I stood to get the door, but Logan came out of the kitchen, still on the phone, and waved at me to sit back down. He went to the door and ushered Paulson and his partner in. Hank arrived shortly after.
After that, work took over. Paulson stuck to the living room and questioned me, and then once Taylor had looked in on Gran, Paulson spoke with her as well.
There were reports, but there were always reports. This time, there were a few more. Apparently, the office had been upgrading their paperwork involving people going into other worlds. Not everyone thought going between the worlds counted, but to Paulson it did.
For hours, people from the office trampled through the living room and kitchen. They took readings on strange little machines, trying to measure something in the air. They tried to fingerprint everything that may have been in the changeling's Path in the kitchen. What they thought they could get from a changeling's fingerprint was beyond me.
Slowly, people started to filter away. The cleanup crew left, then Paulson and his partner. Boone hitched a ride with them, claiming he needed to arrange a few meetings. A while later, Hank went with Logan out the back door.
Taylor, Rider, Gran, and I sat around the kitchen table. Gran made hot chocolate, but I went for something a bit stronger. My head pounded, and I couldn't shut out the horrible knowledge Vincent had gone somewhere with a monster and I couldn't follow.
"This day has been somethin' else," Gran said.
"We should talk about it more," I said, not meeting her eye. "Work has
come home with me a little too often lately."
"Well, I was going to wait till tomorrow to tell you, but I have been givin' that some thought."
My stomach clenched as I waited for the inevitable. It would be better if we didn't live together anymore, but I would miss it all the same."
"Tomorrow mornin' a friend of mine is comin' over."
"Okay," I said carefully, at a loss as to where the conversation was going.
"He said he has somethin' that's gonna solve the problems we've been havin' with strangers comin' into the house."
"What, like an alarm system?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. It's hard to tell with that old coot."
My eyebrows snapped together. "Is this the same old man you sent to find me?"
"One and the same," Gran said.
His answer to getting me home had been to put a demon into the same world as me and let it attack us. Since it worked, I couldn't really complain, but I hated to think what he would do to our house.
I shook my head. "What are you doing tomorrow, Rider?" I asked.
He still looked dejected. "I do not know. I am off work due to my arm."
"I'll be at the Farm again tomorrow to help Dr. Yelton," Taylor said, "but when I'm done, I'd like to invite you both to the city. There are a few things I wanted to go over with Cassie, and we have something we might need some help on."
"Sure. Do you want to stay the night?" I asked. "I'm sure Vincent wouldn't mind you using his room."
"I have a few patients at the Farm to work with tonight, but I'll give you a call when I'm back in the city."
I nodded, knowing I'd need whatever I could get to distract myself from Vincent's absence.
***
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***
Writing the AIR series has been a fun and amazing experience. There’s more planned for Cassie and her partners!
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on Amazon, or on the site where you made the purchase. Leaving a review helps the reader and author in many ways. Your support is appreciated!
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Amanda Booloodian
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Acknowledgements
While editing Fractured Worlds, I started to get nervous. It’s pretty common for me to get nervous around that point, but this time, it struck a little deeper. Taking Cassie into another world, introducing a new character, and changing relationships seemed like a lot of changes. My biggest concern was, will fans of the series like this?
For that very reason, I’d like to give a special thank you to Tamera Walton, who took the time to read the book and give me feedback in a few short days! I also need to thank JD Book Services and Frankie Sutton, my editors, for their feedback on the book which helped me get passed the anxiety.
Working with Deranged Doctor Design has been amazing. They’ve provided the entire series with wonderful covers and formatting. I love their work and their flexibility.
Many, many other family, friends, and acquaintances have been incredibly supportive.
For all the people who gave reviews online, you are amazing! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.
About the Author
Amanda Booloodian lives in Missouri with her loving, and often times peculiar, husband. Amanda has been passionate about the written word throughout her life. Now, much of her spare time is spent at the computer, delving into worlds accessible only through vivid imagination. In warm weather, when she isn’t pounding on the keyboard, she can often be found wandering through the wilderness. Occasionally she gets it into her head to SCUBA dive or to sit back at home and make wine, which can have interesting results and inspire her writing.
You can find out more about Amanda and her writing, including upcoming releases, on www.Booloodian.com. You can also find her on Facebook: Amanda Booloodian - Author, Twitter: @ajbooloodian, and Instagram: AJBooloodian.
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