Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

alternative, Death. If he could not control his Shadows, that’s exactly who he would be.
    Layla stepped over the threshold, looking around to take in the trappings of his residence. He had to admit, the style, drenched in the memory of the old world, suited him. The furniture was framed in thick, scrolled wood. The fabrics were rich with deep color: burgundy, royal blues, and burnt golds. A large medieval tapestry hung on the wall, its roaring lions and crest faded with time. Candlesticks littered a nearby table, upon which a map was unfurled, the unknown expanses of sea and land marked by monsters. Holding the corners down were a stack of books and the sculpted head of Buddha, the “awakened one.”
    Layla wrapped her arms around herself. “How can you live here? Eventually someone’s going to rob you. Aren’t you afraid you’ll be murdered in your sleep?”
    Khan smiled. “I am in no danger. For the most part”— you being the exception —“I’ve been left alone. May I ask why you ventured into such a dangerous area?”
    â€œInsanity.” She fidgeted in place, worrying the frayed neckline of her shirt. “You didn’t happen to see my coat or bag outside, did you?”
    He had, and he’d put them aside. “No.”
    â€œWell, can I use your phone?” She looked around again, as if searching for it.
    She’d chosen reality, and now he had to produce it. Khan reached for Shadow and mentally exhaled, and the object materialized in his palm. He lifted the phone, as if from a pocket, and held it out, saying, “Really, why are you here?” He needed her to acknowledge some small part of their connection, the pull that had drawn her to him.
    She took the phone, concentrating on its face. “Wraiths. I’m doing a story on them.”
    â€œI don’t understand.” The gate hadn’t called her?
    â€œI’m a journalist. I got a lead that the source of the wraiths might be here, so I decided to check it out.” She hit the buttons with growing frustration. “How do you power this thing on?”
    Wraiths. The cursed empty husks of used-to-be people. They plagued his daughter and her family but would not venture near Death. They’d given their souls for immortality, but he could still cast them out of the world. This warehouse was likely the safest structure on Earth from wraiths.
    â€œI think it’s dead,” she concluded. Of course it was; the phone was a good facsimile, but he could not simulate the energy it required, nor the signals she needed it to send. “Do you have a landline?”
    â€œI’m sorry, I don’t.” If indeed she came for information on the wraiths, another great power had to have directed her his way. Because he could not believe, not for a moment, that she was here by chance. Not his Kathleen.
    â€œWell, is there a pay phone nearby? Without my keys, I’ll need to call a locksmith or tow truck for my car.”
    â€œWhat car?” The source that had brought her here had to be a formidable power, the same that had cut her lifeline, even as she was delivered, once again, to him. Moira.
    Layla half turned toward the door. “It’s just up the block.”
    He gave a little shake of his head. The vehicle was there, but his Shadow concealed it.
    â€œOh no,” she said, whirling to the door and out to the sidewalk, staring down its length. Her hands went into her hair, disbelief and anger radiating out of her. “Stole my piece-of-crap car. My camera was in there. Damn it!”
    Fate was meddling in Kathleen’s life again. And thus their story would begin anew: Kathleen, no, Layla, on the brink of death, and he, powerless to stop it. But this time, Layla had no idea who or what he was.
    â€œI think I can help,” Khan said. This Layla was a resourceful woman. Sooner or later, she would find a way out of her predicament. Probably sooner.
    â€œNot if you don’t have a phone, you can’t.” Her smile was at odds with the irritation that sparked around her.
    â€œI meant the wraiths,” he clarified. If information would hold her here, so be it. “I know who made them, and why.”
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    Layla took a few steps back inside the warehouse. “Excuse me?”
    Her gut told her that Khan was just saying what he thought she wanted to hear. He’d have to offer something solid before she’d believe