Broken Paths (AIR Book 2) Read online

  License Notes

  Copyright © 2016 Amanda Booloodian

  Cover Art by Deranged Doctor Design

  Formatting by Deranged Doctor Design

  Published by: Walton INK

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN-10: 0-9973353-2-7

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9973353-2-3

  All rights reserved

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions, please contact Walton INK.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Walton INK

  booloodian.com

  Dedicated to silver for supporting and encouraging my dreams.

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  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  I hate having a gun pointed at me. Having two aimed in my direction made me downright cranky. The man in front of me shifted his aim to Rider, and that pissed me off.

  Sure, as a werewolf, he'd likely survive a bullet or two without a problem, but he was my partner and my best friend, so I never wanted that theory tested. Lucky for me, as a Reader, I could arm myself without anyone else knowing. My control was shaky, but when guns were involved, I had to chance it.

  "You're on private property." The woman who spoke was human and short in stature, but there was nothing like a weapon in the hand to make a girl loom over others.

  Mentally, I stretched out and grabbed the Path. Everything in this world left its mark and with the Path roaring around me, I could read that residual energy.

  I made sure my voice was clear. "We're from the Treasury Department. Drop your weapons."

  The man's eyes flickered to me, then back to his target. "Let's see your ID."

  "Rider, show him," I said.

  With my eyes on the guns, I molded the turbulent Path into a more solid line, shielding Rider and me from the strangers. The effort of keeping air solid burned through my strength fast.

  The woman craned her neck to glance at Rider's credentials. "I'm putting away my weapon. We didn't recognize you."

  I kept things formal. "And you are?" They put the guns away, but I was tense and didn't drop my guard.

  "I'm Sable, and this gentleman is Doctor Wes Taylor. We're with the Mythological and Terrestrial Humanitarians. We own this property."

  The Path peeled apart the wall that I had created once I stopped pouring energy into it. While working for the Agency for Interdimensional Regulation, the organization known as MyTH had come up a few times.

  The Path showed the myriad of colors that swirled around Sable, indicating emotional upheaval, but she appeared to be trying to rein herself in.

  "No one at the office mentioned this was MyTH property," I said. "Can I see your ID? Both of you?"

  While Doctor Taylor got out his ID, I dragged myself out of the Path. It wasn't easy. I'd ripped open the Path, and my mind wasn't ready to let it go.

  When I dropped myself back into the natural world, I took his credentials. Looking it over gave me an excuse to hide a few deep, steadying breaths, as the world grew dull around me.

  There was some unwritten rule that badges and licenses must have horrible pictures. Dr. Taylor was one of the rare exceptions to that rule. His pale brown skin, rounded teardrop eyes, and short, stark black hair, looked almost as good in the picture as in person. He looked like he wanted to ask something, but I nodded and handed him back the piece of plastic.

  "I'm Cassie Heidrich with AIR." I extended my hand to Doctor Taylor and then to Sable. "This is Rider. I think my usual partner Logan Seale may have worked with you in the past."

  "Logan, yes." Sable smiled but didn't look at ease. "Is the old elf here?"

  "He's back at home today," I said.

  "And what brings AIR out to the woods?" Sable asked.

  I realized that while Sable was talking, the doctor was sizing us up.

  "We received word that there was a disturbance," I said.

  "With the gnomes?" Sable asked.

  "Yes. Doctor Taylor, is everything okay?" He'd been peering at me for far too long, which was starting to get unsettling.

  "Please, call me Taylor," he said. "Sorry, I was trying to place you. There's something off, and I can't put my finger on it."

  People always thought there was something off when they met me, but very few openly spoke about the feeling. Still, it was better than some reactions.

  Sable shot a look at Taylor. "The gnomes have had a death in their family."

  "It appears to be natural causes," Taylor said.

  Things in my job were rarely clear-cut. "What do you mean appears to be?"

  "There are no signs of trauma," Taylor said, "but the gnomes are insisting that the death wasn't natural."

  "So you've examined the body?" AIR maintains a working relationship with MyTH, but I wasn't sure where medical examination falls in our lines of communication.

  "Yes," Sable said, "but they have refused to allow me to take her back to the lab. I took blood and tissue samples to check for toxins and poisons," Taylor said.

  Death wasn't what I had expected to find out here, and I was sure if the office expected it, they would have sent someone else. I'd only been in the field about a year, and technically, Rider was in training.

  "I'll have to call this in," I said, "but first, can you lead us to where the death took place?"

  "Certainly." Sable's tension was noticeable as Rider and I followed the pair.

  Her reaction made me wonder if MyTH would have called AIR about this type of incident, or maybe, like Taylor, she was put off by meeting me.

  The trees had begun to put out buds, but brown was the dominant color until we arrived near the gnome hollow. The holes were nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the environment. However, as we moved closer, the air became more vibrant.

  A tiny blur came from the direction we moved. It circled us and went back the way it came. Soon there were more. It was like being surrounded by an indistinguishable swarm.

  We stopped. How do you avoid stepping on one of these little guys?

  "Nord," Sable called.

  A blur came to a stop in front of her. It was hard to tell if the gnome was male or female. Despite their speed, they were plump little cre
atures that never reached a foot tall.

  "This is Nord, who speaks for the family," Sable said. "Nord, this is Cassie and Rider with AIR. They would like to see Am."

  Nord peered up at us from the ground for a few moments before nodding curtly and disappearing.

  "This way." Sable moved deeper into the woods.

  Moss clung to rocks, and the trees were becoming noticeably greener. The air smelled of moist soil.

  Whistling rang out around us as we approached the home of the gnomes. It sounded like a flock of birds, only most of the chittering was at ground level. Every now and again, a tiny person would come to an abrupt stop and look at us before moving on.

  "You won't step on them," Taylor said. "They don't get underfoot, and if they did, they are fast enough to move."

  Looking back, I saw that Rider had fallen behind and was watching the ground closely as shapes swirled around him.

  Sable fell back, and Taylor led me to where a tiny body lay on the ground. "This is Am." Taylor kneeled on the ground next to the unmoving shape.

  My heart felt squeezed when I bent down next to Taylor and looked at the body of Am. She looked fragile, and her skin was as pale as chalk. Trying to keep my mind focused on the job, I took in the surroundings. A long slit in a rock shelf had many eyes peering out of it, which made me assume the gnome tunnels opened there. They probably had burrows below us, but there was no telling how many.

  I cleared my throat twice before I trusted my voice not to break. "Was this where the gnomes found Am?"

  Taylor kept his focus on the tiny figure. "This is where Nord led us. They said they didn't move her since it wasn't a natural death."

  "And you think it was natural?" I asked.

  Taylor looked uncomfortable. "I can't be certain without an autopsy, but they've refused to let me take her."

  Gnomes held a very strict set of beliefs that said the dead must remain in contact with the ground of the hollow. From what little I knew, it was difficult to work around.

  "But you're taking an educated guess?" I asked.

  "From a cursory examination of the remains, it appears that she suffered a heart attack."

  I paused to think that over. "That's a normal death for us, is it normal for a gnome?"

  "It is," Taylor said, "although they don't know that's what it's called."

  Nodding, I leaned back. "Have you worked with anyone besides Nord?" I asked.

  "Nord speaks for the whole family," Taylor said.

  "Nord?" I blinked in surprise when the small man appeared beside me. He must have been close by and listening. "What about Am's death makes you think it was unnatural?"

  Nord cocked his head and looked at me. So far, the gnomes hadn't taken the usual aggressive stance against me. "Am died in an unnatural way. There was no age, no illness, no famine, and no fight."

  "Could it be that her body gave out?" I asked.

  "No signs," Nord said.

  "Did anyone see anything out of place?" I asked.

  "Only Am. Something not right. Still not right. Something came here." He was silent for a moment. I was about to ask my next question when he spoke again. "You are not right."

  I could feel the heat creep into my face. "I'm going to do what I can to help, though. Tell me, what came here?"

  "No one knows," Nord said.

  "Did anyone see anything?" I asked.

  Nord shook his head.

  I studied the area again, and when I looked back down, Nord was gone. Logan would know what to do. He'd been at this much longer than I had, which was what made him a good mentor. Rider was even greener than I was, and I was out of my depth.

  "Is there anything else you can tell us?" I asked Taylor.

  "Not until I get the test results back," Taylor said.

  "Did you see anything in the area when you arrived?"

  "Nothing." Sable joined our conversation. "While Taylor examined Am, I looked around. Nothing looked disturbed. The only footprints were our own."

  "Rider, can you check around a bit, see if you can pick up anything that is out of place?" I asked.

  Rider frowned. "We are out of place. They are out of place."

  I rolled my shoulders. "Agreed. See if you can sniff anything else out. Maybe one of your new friends can help you find your way around."

  Rider looked around at the tiny figures at his feet. He bent over at the waist until he was nose to nose with a gnome. "What is your name?"

  "She no English," piped up another figure. "My name is Indi. I show you."

  Then they were off. Rider didn't seem to have any trouble following. He looked more comfortable with putting his feet down.

  I stood and examined the ground around Am. We'd already trampled anything that might be a clue, but I had to look.

  Taylor slowly rose to his feet next to me. "What did Nord mean by you're not natural?"

  I raised an eyebrow at him and ignored the question. "Did anyone else give you additional information?"

  "Actually, you got more out of him than we did," Sable said.

  Taylor was eying me again. I tried not to glare in return. It wasn't professional to glare at a pseudo colleague, but staring at me wasn't professional either.

  I turned my back to him and continued to survey the area. Rider looped back into view, and I was relieved. Taylor's eyes were becoming a physical weight.

  "Did you find anything?" I asked.

  "I did not. The area feels unsettling, but there are no traces of anything but forest," Rider said.

  "Hmm. I'm going to take a look around as well." I caught Rider's eye, and he nodded. More than anyone else, I trusted Rider to have my back. "Why don't you have Sable and Taylor tell you what they know?"

  Rider spoke to Sable and Taylor while I stepped away.

  Taking my time, I closed my eyes and peeled back reality until the vivid Path was on display. Rider felt like something was off, so I didn't hold back.

  Opening my eyes left me in shock. Thousands of trails covered the grounds. Bright yellow strands crisscrossed every inch of the clearing. They even climbed trees and led to holes I hadn't noticed with my normal sight. Turning on the spot, I followed the shimmering yellow tapestry.

  When I looked towards Rider and the others, I could see them clearly. Rider was throwing off waves of inquisitive energy, warm blue wrapped around Sable and it hid traces of purple and black throughout, but Taylor was something altogether different. Earlier, my focus was on the guns, and I had assumed he was human, which was stupid. My partners were an elf and a werewolf. Gran even kept a fairy in our backyard. Then, when I meet someone new, while standing yards from a gnome hole, I assumed they were human.

  I was as gullible as ever.

  Chapter 2

  When I turned my focus back to work, I tried not to berate myself for making such a rookie mistake. Looking into Doctor Taylor could wait until I was back in the office. He wasn't human, but he also wasn't a threat now. The browns and blues with sparks of orange that flowed around him told me he was anxious, but no threat.

  Moving my focus to the gnomes, I looked down at the body of Am. Everything left a mark on the Path: people, animals, objects we used, and plants. The dead left a reminder of themselves on the Path. Where they die usually held an imprint that was long lasting, as if the person was unwilling to go.

  Am had no imprint. No part of her pressed against the Path in memory. Am looked so small, surrounded in bright yellows and radiant shimmers. A small pocket of air around her was void of all Paths. Nothing rippled or glided over the area. The unnaturalness of the empty space made my skin crawl.

  Leading away from Am, and away from the gnome hole, there was a larger empty spot in the Path. Eyeing the space closely, I reached out to it, but when I neared the emptiness, gooseflesh broke out on my arms.

  Hollow. The Path had been hollowed out.

  The idea of forcing myself to touch the blank spot made me shudder, so I dropped my hand.

  The Path was everywhere. Th
e air was full of glimmers that represented the currents of the Path. It was a constantly flowing moving force. Except here.

  My eyes rested on Am again, and my stomach twisted. She was sitting in that deadened space. The thought chilled me.

  "Nord," I called. A race of yellow color stopped at my feet. Tiny twists of pale blue wrapped themselves around his yellow core. "It's important that you move Am's… It's important that you move her." I almost said Am's body, but I didn't think that would be well received.

  He hesitated and puffs of blue-green issued from him.

  "Not far," I said. "We can do it if you'd rather."

  "It will be done," Nord said formally. Moments later, three gnomes raced up and then stopped next to Nord. In a slowness that I didn't think gnomes could possess, they reverently picked up Am and moved her on top of a nearby rock.

  Once she was moved, the Path flowed over her. A sigh of relief escaped, and I rubbed the gooseflesh from an arm. At my feet, the bubble of emptiness stayed stubbornly in place.

  Glancing up, I saw that Taylor was watching me intently, despite the fact that Rider was trying to keep his attention.

  Ah, well, it couldn't be helped. I put Taylor out of my mind. I put my hand against a nearby tree for support and tried to move upstream against the Path. A few minutes of the past ghosted by, but it wasn't enough. I needed to dive back much further.

  The powerful flow surged and tried to roll me back to the present. It wasn't long before I sagged against the tree, while reading the area ate away at my strength. Determination took me further, but I could tell it was wasted energy. A person could only do so much, and I had pushed myself to that limit. I let the current sweep me back to the present, and once solidly in the present, catching my breath took a few moments.

  Rider had Sable distracted, but Taylor's attention was on me, watching as though he were trying to analyze the situation.

  Anything that could leave those blighted holes in the fabric of the Path wasn't natural, and that was one certainty. Inspecting the emptiness again, I could see that the Path had gained a little ground, making the void smaller. I dropped the Path and hoped that the damage wasn't permanent.