Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

together. Breakfast on the road. Doom on the horizon.
    The gate started rattling in her head as soon as they turned onto Interstate 81 heading south. She tried the radio to cover the sound, but it was no good. The metallic, angry jangle only increased its volume until she could barely hear herself think. And here she’d been looking forward to talking with Shadowman, to having this last time together. The rattle made her want to turn the car around for a little peace. To save themselves.
    kat-a-kat-a-kat: How about just one more day?
    Rose and Moira had tapped her deepest fears. The gate was playing a crueler game, taunting her with her forfeited future.
    kat-a-kat-a-kat: A day for love.
    â€œI hear it, too,” Shadowman said, massaging the muscles at her neck. He must have put some magic into the touch, because she could breathe again. Focus.
    â€™Cause, see, a day would never be enough. Not with Shadowman, warm and vital at her side, not with Talia, friend, sister, and so much more. The gate could only offer portions, which was a cheat. And a mean one. With its destruction, the danger would pass, and Layla would carry the precious memory of love with her beyond. None of the nightmares that had plagued her life. Just a bittersweet joy. She wasn’t afraid anymore, just impatient.
    She gripped the steering wheel and floored the gas. Angels must have been on the road, parting the traffic, turning the cops’ speed guns the other way, because she got up to 120 and stayed there. Adam’s car could more than handle it. The tolls were empty, gates lifted, metered exits flashing green. The several hours were cut in half.
    When she crossed the state line into West Virginia, the rattle reached a crescendo, so loud she had to grab her head to keep it from bursting.
    Shadowman took the steering wheel, while she curled into herself, her foot a brick on the gas. Tears ran down her face as the gate to Hell shook every bone in her body and chattered her clenched teeth. Hateful, hateful thing.
    The car bumped off the road and she knew to release the gas. They bounced and skipped into a grassy meadow, gone yellow for the winter, until the car finally came to a stop. She felt Shadowman take her head into his hands. She looked him in the eyes, and the rattle receded a bit.
    She couldn’t drive like this anymore, and he didn’t know how. They’d have to walk, though she really just wanted to throw up.
    They got out of the car, and Shadowman took her hand as they made their way back to the road. She didn’t notice the waiting van until she was being lifted inside, and then she shuddered into Shadowman’s embrace on a bench in the middle. She had identified Adam Thorne in the front passenger seat, expression concerned, mouthing something she didn’t understand. She was here, wasn’t she? That was all that was important. Custo sat on her other side, his stoic face deep in concentration. The rattle in her mind mellowed to a distant hum, as if that infernal voice had been blunted.
    And so they were delivered to Hell, its dark mouth like the gullet of some long-dead dragon, their destination its sulfurous belly. She was handed down into the slippery, frigid black earth. Bones of rock hung from the ceiling and reached from the floor, like fossils from ages past. Electric torches lit their way, and every time she fell, Shadowman’s hands were there to keep her upright.
    Suddenly the gate was before them, a black throb of iron. Tall and barbed, it loomed larger than ever, its shadows reaching to the ceiling, reaching as if it could go on forever.
    kat-a-kat-a-kat: Open me!
    Layla swallowed. Pulled herself up. Turned to Adam, who trembled, his eyes going bloodshot as he looked on Hell. Sweat beaded on his forehead. The gate must’ve been speaking to him, too.
    â€œAdam!”
    His attention snapped to her, violence in his gaze. The cords of his neck stood out. His skin was flushed. The man needed to get out of here. Bad.
    â€œTalia, Adam,” Layla reminded him. “Your babies. Michael and Cole.”
    He teared as his jaw worked. Shame brought his head low, but his chest moved in a deep breath.
    â€œGive them my love, okay?” she said.
    His nod brought tears down his face. He made to speak, gaze filled with things to say, probably a message of love from Talia.
    â€œI know,” Layla answered. Talia had a forever hold on her heart. “I felt it, too.”
    Adam froze,