Stolen Sight (AIR Book 3) Read online

  He was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure I understand."

  "Everything leaves a Path in this world. I can follow those Paths and get information from them, even if what or who left the traces is no longer there."

  "That sounds pretty useful."

  I blinked at him, completely taken off guard by his reaction. "I see things that aren't there. Well, they are there, but no one else can see them."

  "I'm not going to pretend I understand what it is you're saying, not completely, but I understand your sincerity, and I can see by those around you," Ethan nodded towards Logan, "that they know about this."

  "They do," I said uncertainly.

  "I don't know what your job entails, but it seems to me you wouldn't have gotten to where you are if your partner thought you were crazy. At least not in law enforcement of any type."

  "That's true," I said. I wasn't sure how this turned into Ethan assuring me that I wasn't crazy, instead of me convincing him.

  "It sounds like a useful tool."

  "It can be," I looked away, worried about how much to tell him, "but things have happened in the past year that have made it unpredictable. That's why Logan thought it would be best for me to tell you. A year ago, I could probably have gone by completely unnoticed, but now it's hard to say."

  He tugged me closer to him. "Maybe we can get together sometime soon and you can fill me in." It hadn’t been a hug, but more than I thought I’d see on a job site with everyone around.

  I looked up at him. "You're really not put off by this?"

  Ethan chuckled. "I'm still not really sure what this is, but I believe you, if that's what you mean."

  My tension started to fall away, and I smiled at him. "I'm really glad I said yes to that date a few months ago."

  "So am I."

  At that moment, I really wished we were alone. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, but with the crime scene not too far away, it wasn't the best time.

  "I guess we should get to work." Regret filled my voice.

  Ethan moved his arm and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, then stepped aside.

  "We're ready, Logan." I didn't bother raising my voice. I knew Logan could hear everything we said. Elves had exceptional hearing, even when their ears were tucked away to look more human.

  Logan joined us, grinning ear to ear. "You're a good man, Ethan.” To me he added, “Feeling better now?"

  "Yeah. I think that will make things easier," I admitted. "Still, do you have a dart?"

  "You think it's a good idea for me to dart you here in front of your boyfriend?" Logan glanced from Ethan and back to me again, clearly unsure.

  I shrugged and looked at Ethan. "It may seem odd, but know that whatever my partner does, he does it for a reason and I trust him."

  Ethan looked more confused than ever, but nodded.

  Thinking that this was a lot of effort for one crime scene, I walked over to the large hole in the ground. Logan and Ethan were close behind. Closing my eyes, I dredged up thoughts of the known world and stretched my mind beyond. There was a short mental struggle where my mind didn't want to move past what it truly knew to be real.

  Usually, things were much simpler.

  Much faster too.

  Pushing myself further, I felt the familiar snap as my brain made the jump. I held back the raging flow of the Path before it became too much to handle and allowed only a trickle of the energy to come through. Blinking, I opened my eyes to a whole new world. Shimmering rivers of colors twisted through the landscape.

  Lots of light blue tones gave the impression of crewmembers going about their work, but in a bored, monotonous way. I caught the pluming gold colors of Logan out of the corner of my eye. I avoided looking at Ethan altogether, afraid of what it might show me after our conversation.

  Looking out over the site, I mostly saw what I expected, but there was a distinctive Path that stood out from the others. It was gray in color, but throughout it were fine threads weaving in and out, which were a multitude of vivid colors. Yellows danced outward and purple stretched. Each time they were engulfed once again by the larger gray Path. There was even a glimpse of a shining teal color, which I couldn't recall ever having seen before.

  "I think something was here," I said. Looking into the hole, I could see the palest of gray leading inside. I stood up and scanned the area for evidence of what had made the marks. "But it doesn't make much sense."

  "Is something buried down there?" Ethan asked.

  I looked at the Path leading away from the hole, seeing that the gray grew darker. The sight of it made my stomach clench. Closing my eyes, I pressed the Path away. The shimmering colors melted away leaving the dullness of the real world behind.

  "Um…" I looked at Logan, unsure of what to say in front of Ethan.

  "Why are you standing in a graveyard?" Rider’s voice came from close by.

  I looked up, thankful for the distraction. My best friend and sometimes partner was standing well away, looking uncomfortable.

  "It's a construction site," I said. "They could be digging holes for buildings."

  "Ethan," Logan said, "I'd like you to meet our colleagues. You've met Rider, and that fella over there is Vincent."

  Oh shit. That single thought filled my brain for a few moments before I plastered a smile on my face and moved toward the group. Vincent was the man that had wrecked my soul. It had been an accident, and he had only been doing his job. Now we partnered up together from time to time while he tried to figure out how to fix what he had broken.

  Not that I held any of that against him. The oh shit sentiment had more to do with Ethan and Vincent meeting. Ethan had no idea that Vincent and I had almost dated. Vincent, however, knew about Ethan. To know was one thing, to see it may be altogether different.

  Since Vincent was an agency-sanctioned assassin, I had been hoping to keep the two apart.

  Vincent's eyes were tight when they were introduced, but when Ethan put out his hand to shake, Vincent didn’t avoid it. The moment their hands touched, fury and misery slashed across the landscape. Even without opening the Path, the strength of the emotions felt suffocating.

  Vincent and I almost became a couple, and it wasn't fair that he still felt this way. We resonated together like nothing I had experienced before, but before we came together, he had pushed me away and decided that we wouldn't see each other.

  This was his choice.

  Then Vincent took a step back from Ethan and watched me. I could see the concern lining his face and the feeling began to lift. He must have bottled up his feelings again.

  Rider watched his partner carefully. Besides me, he was probably the only other person that noticed. As a werewolf, sometimes he could sniff out things like that.

  Ethan looked from Vincent to me. Maybe Rider wasn't the only one that noticed.

  "Let's saddle up and get this show on the road," Logan said. "Cassie, what do you have for us?"

  I looked at Logan, confused for a moment as my worlds collided. "Right. There was definitely something in this area. No idea what it was. I'd have to follow it to see if it's related at all."

  Logan raised his eyebrows at my succinct wrap-up. "Anything more specific?"

  My partner wasn't going to let me skate by on this one.

  "I've never seen anything like it. The Path leads away from the hole, but I don't see anything leading to it beyond the police, crewmen, and us. I'm hoping Rider can help us out further," I said.

  Rider's nose flared. "There are workers, policemen, and objects. Workers for days, over and over again."

  "Can you tell if there was anyone out here last night?" I asked.

  Rider began to walk carefully over the area. His nose wrinkled by the hole. "Your smells are most recent. Several humans from earlier this morning. Yesterday, late day, there were people as well. In between, I can sense nothing else. There were objects only."

  "Do we know when the victim died?" Logan asked.

  Ethan shoo
k his head. "We assume it was sometime last night. With the remains being the way they are, we can't know for sure at this time."

  "Do we have anything that links this site to the death?" Logan asked.

  I shook my head. "I can follow what I see here. I won't know until then."

  "Then let's check out the crime scene we know we have so the lieutenant can get moving on this," Logan said. "Rider, we need you up there. Ethan and I can stay with Cassie."

  "I'd like to, but I need to be at the crime scene since I brought you all in." Ethan didn't look happy saying no.

  "Alright, Vincent, you're with Cassie," Logan said.

  The fact that I needed a babysitter at all pissed me off to no end.

  I gritted my teeth in frustration and walked back over to the scattered rebar. The faster I started, the faster I could get back to the real crime scene. I could hear the others walking away as I closed my eyes to reach for the Path.

  Again, there was a struggle. I was used to the Path fighting me, but this was altogether different.

  "You appear to be having more difficulty than usual," Vincent said, keeping his tone even.

  "It's fine," I said, urging my mind to make the jump.

  Finally, the Path locked into place. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. My eyes opened to the scene similar to the one earlier. Vincent's released agitation marred the Path with black and red that seemed to resist the flow of the energy, but it was nothing that wouldn't smooth over with time.

  "What are we looking at?" Vincent asked.

  "I'm not really sure. Something came out of this hole. It may not even be related."

  "An animal?"

  "I don't think so. The Path starts out almost non-existent. It's like a gray puff of smoke, but with something else wrapped around inside."

  "Starts that way?"

  "Yeah." I began to follow next to the Path. "It starts to get darker as it moves away."

  "What leaves a gray Path?" Vincent asked.

  "Anything can leave gray. It's the stuff threaded throughout that is more interesting."

  "How so?"

  "All Paths left behind are distinct, but if I followed Rider's Path, it would shift and move as Rider does. With his moods and actions. This..." Finding the words to describe what I was seeing was a struggle. "This is something I haven't seen before. The colors look like they are actively covered up by the main Path."

  Vincent was silent and I started to lose track of time. We followed the trail as it wove through clumps of trees. We continued to move through some of the buildings under construction.

  "It's starting to turn almost black," I said, "and the lines of colors are more distinct."

  I reached out to touch the Path, intrigued by the twists of color, but hesitated. I'm not sure I wanted that strong of a connection with what I was following.

  "Tell me about the lines of color," Vincent said, keeping his voice light, almost soothing, as if we were meditating.

  "It's like a cobweb of reflected color threaded throughout the center of this Path. At least, I think it's only the center. It twists and moves as if the gray is trying to drown the color."

  "Here," I gestured to an area invisible to anyone but myself, "it's actually almost entirely black at this point." Once again, I reached out to the color, but paused short of making a connection.

  "I think this is related to our crime scene," Vincent said.

  "Is it?" I asked, watching the swirls of black glitter overtake a vivid string of teal engulfing it. That color was gone, but a brilliant blue made its move to break away, only to be absorbed again.

  "We're almost to the others."

  "It's like the other colors are trying to escape. Maybe if I put some more power into it—"

  "No." The words came out like an order.

  "Did you by some stretch of the imagination think that I was asking for permission in any way?" I asked. I was only half paying attention. The swirling river of the Path held too much interest.

  "Cass, what’s going on?" Vincent asked.

  "That’s what I’m trying to figure out." I moved on. I was starting to feel light-headed. Something inside of me wanted to call out to those little threads. I'm not sure if I wanted to join with them or take them away.

  I started to feel like I was floating. Maybe flowing away on the river of the Path.

  A hand clasped my shoulder. My shoulders dropped. Time to come back to earth.

  Looking ahead, I could see a turbulent mass. "What's that?"

  I started to move forward, but another Path moved in and blocked my way.

  "Cass, time to come back."

  Those swirls and curls of color stretched away from the inky cloud and became more vivid. They seemed to call to me.

  "Cass?"

  Chapter 3

  "Right," I said, trying to look away. There was almost a pulse to the cloud. I reached out again, but something blocked my hand. "Sure, coming back."

  When I closed my eyes, the Path was almost as vivid as it was with them open. Still, it helped me concentrate. I could hear someone talking, but I shut it out. The Path fought. It wanted to be seen. Those little strips of color wanted recognition. The dam I built up to stop the flood of power strained. Emotions boiled up around me, making me feel smothered.

  "Not helping," I muttered. Or at least I think I did.

  Another hand settled on my arm. I looked up and Rider loomed next to me. No matter where I was in the Path, it seemed like he could follow me. His own Path shifted from instinctive animal to intelligent person, which was beautiful to see.

  "You are taking your time," Rider said.

  "Do you see it?" I asked him. I had never asked him what he saw when I was in the Path, but I know that it affected him in some way.

  He shook his head. "Others are worried."

  "I'm trying," I said, getting aggravated.

  "Maybe we should move away," Rider suggested.

  I glanced at the black mist. "Maybe," I said with reluctance.

  He kept a firm grip of my arm as we walked away. The lure from the Path behind me caused me to look over my shoulder a few times.

  "Is it easier now?" Rider asked.

  When I took another step, my world lurched. Exhaustion poured over me like bags of sand. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep, right then and there, but other things started clamoring around my skull. Like unruly children, shards of souls rushed forward.

  "Not now," I muttered, driving them back. The last thing I needed was to have the soul shard of a raging minotaur mucking up my day.

  The Path, the soul shards, the exhaustion, everything. I shoved it down. I blinked in the dull light of the world and swayed.

  Rider steadied me.

  "I'll be good in a minute," I murmured, hoping that only Rider could hear. "This is embarrassing."

  He looked puzzled. "You have done nothing wrong."

  I shook my head. How could I explain? My own powers were betraying me. Even now, I wanted to see the swirling black mass. I’d had a hard time opening the Path, and had an even more difficult time forcing it away.

  Looking back at Logan and the others, I found my partner trying to keep Ethan's attention. Vincent was nowhere in sight.

  "I hope the others feel the same way you do," I said. "Where did Vincent go?"

  "I think he was worried that he might have been making things more difficult."

  "That may be my fault because I think I said something I shouldn’t have. I don’t think it was him, but he’ll blame himself. Will you keep an eye on him for me? Make sure he's okay?"

  Rider smiled. "He is my partner. I will look out for him."

  "What did you all find?"

  His smile died. "It is a horrible sight. Ethan is having it cleaned up now."

  I nodded. "That's good. Did you get anything from the area?"

  "I found nothing. The man was torn apart by nothing and then part of him left. Logan has called it in to Hank."

  "Wha
t?"

  "I smell no other person. No human, no Lost. Only objects."

  "But you said the man left."

  "Logan said that it might be because of the bones. His bones left."

  I shivered at the thought.

  "They are finishing their conversation. Should we join them?" Rider asked.

  "I think so."

  I began to lose balance after only a few steps. My body was worn.

  "Do you need assistance?" Rider asked, looking worried.

  "What? Oh." I hadn't noticed that I stopped moving. "No, I'm good. I was just thinking."

  Rider didn't look convinced, but I straightened my back and kept walking. No way was I going to let Ethan see me any worse off than he already had.

  Logan looked me over, but didn't say anything when we walked up. Ethan’s expression appeared to be a mixture of worry and leery. Not a good combination. I couldn't say that I blamed him, though.

  "You alright?" Ethan asked.

  "Yeah, I'm good. Rider says you all didn't find anything," I said, changing the subject.

  "Nothing we can use to help. Hank said we need something solid to dig deeper. How about you?" Logan asked.

  "I'm not sure what it was." I gave them a quick recap of what I saw.

  When I looked at Ethan, he looked uncomfortable, but he tried to cover it up. Swallowing hard, I concentrated on Logan as I finished filling them in.

  Logan shook his head. "Sorry, Ethan, it looks like we wasted a bunch of your time. I'm not sure we can help further."

  "Maybe," Ethan started, and then stopped. He cleared his throat and tried again. "You see movements that people make?"

  "Yes," I said, wondering where he was going with this. My stomach started twisting in knots when he paused for a while before responding.

  "Is there any way to see what carried parts of him away?" Ethan asked.

  "I'm fairly certain it was whatever was heading towards him," I said carefully.

  "Did you see anything in the trail leading away?" Ethan asked.

  I shook my head. "I only saw the approach."

  Gran was the psychic, not me. Still, I could see his question before it formed.

  "Can you check for us?" Ethan asked.