Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

the hammer. He reached for it with little hope and was incredulous as his hand closed easily, so very easily, around its shaft. He tried again to stand. Braced his legs apart.
    No one would get near the gate while he lived.
    kat-a-kat-a-kat-a-kat: Hurry! They will rip us both apart.
    â€œPerhaps he was delivered to us in the flesh so that he might be killed,” Ballard said.
    The gathered host murmured, considering this suggestion.
    â€œAt the very least, this bears new discussion, Ballard,” one of the host said. “He can’t even stand.”
    Shadowman had thought the cave was moving, but he guessed it must be him.
    â€œLook at his chest,” said another.
    Shadowman glanced down at the long slice of his wound. The blood had gone tacky, crusting at the edges. He touched the parted skin, which, yes, did not seem as raw as it had a moment ago.
    â€œHoly shit. He’s healing,” Custo said. “Does that make him one of us?”
    â€œNo,” Ballard said, his eyes narrowing.
    â€œBut he just fell to Earth. That has to mean—”
    Shadowman startled at a noise in the mouth of the cavern. All heads turned toward the opening. A scrabble of dirt. A knock of a fallen rock. An unfamiliar man descended, but Shadowman couldn’t tell anymore if the person was angel or human.
    â€œKeep it together,” Custo said to him, pitched low for warning.
    The newcomer had to be an angel, then, and conversing telepathically with the others.
    â€œWhat? What’s happened?” Shadowman questioned.
    â€œApparently, Adam’s been trying to get us a message.”
    Shadowman shivered under a wash of cold sweat. “Tell me.”
    â€œDo you know Abigail?”
    â€œThe oracle?”
    Custo blinked. “Okay, whatever. Apparently Shadow overcame Segue to claim her.”
    â€œHer talent was great.” So great it had ruined her youth and aged her body prematurely. Her sister had been holding on to her with everything she had, to no avail. If Abigail wouldn’t pass into Shadow, then yes, Shadow would come to claim such a one as her. He was glad Layla wasn’t filled with Shadow, or she, too, would eventually be overtaken.
    â€œWell, Shadow got her sister, Zoe, a few members of the Segue staff, and . . .”
    Shadowman closed his eyes to stop the name from dropping from Custo’s lips.
    It dropped anyway. “. . . and Layla, too.”
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    Layla went reeling into a tree as Scissor Lady released her grasp. The wood gashed her lip, and she held on to the harsh throb to keep her mind sharp. It was too easy to lose it here. The endlessness of the forest, the whispers of magic, all of it conspired to confuse and mislead.
    â€œI don’t believe you,” Layla said. Shadowman couldn’t be gone. Death was eternal. He was a constant in the great scheme of existence. Necessary. That was the whole reason why she’d been born a second time, to convince him to do his job or the three worlds and everyone within them would be in jeopardy. For that great purpose she’d given up both him and Talia. A family. Her life. Shadowman couldn’t be gone.
    And yet she’d seen Zoe change in front of her eyes. Handle Death’s scythe when she couldn’t. Where was Zoe now? Was she still fighting off opportunistic fae? Hell, all fae were opportunistic.
    â€œIt doesn’t matter if you believe me, does it?” Scissor Lady gave a sparkling smile.
    Layla threw back her shoulders. She’d faced a devil. She’d faced a ghost. She could handle one measly fae.
    â€œSo much temper,” Scissor Lady said. “No wonder Death liked you. I like you, too.”
    The feeling wasn’t mutual.
    â€œYou know, many have tried to thwart Fate through the ages. But like Death, Fate always catches up with you.”
    She must be talking about the doomed-to-die thing. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”
    â€œYou’ve reached the end. I think you know that.”
    The end, yes. Her mission was at an end, and so was this life. Twenty-eight years of loneliness, and then Shadowman and Talia. Was it worth it? Yes, a hundred times over. Was it worth this final capture by some vain fae? Yes, though she’d bet good money the worst was yet to come.
    Layla sought deep inside for the core of her will: the endurance of Kathleen. She’d need that now where she’d mocked it before. It was rooted in her connection to