Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

It will change you.”
    Layla had to tilt her head to look up at him. Meet Talia today. Yes. Okay. And if he didn’t produce, she’d have reason to back out. And all she’d have to do was endure his melodrama.
    â€œI agree.”
    â€œSwear it.”
    â€œI swear I’ll stick with you until I learn the truth about the wraiths, provided that I meet Talia Thorne today.” How he was going to pull that one off, she had no idea. Talia Thorne was in West Virginia and they were in New Jersey.
    That familiar smile tweaked his lips again. “Done.”
    A moment hung in the air between them. Layla didn’t have a good feeling about this. Not at all. Her palms still smarted from her skidding fall during the attack. Her sweater was dirty, the neckline pulled out of shape. And without her phone and gun, she was unarmed. At least at Segue, she’d be a lot closer to her Glock, though she didn’t think they’d let her out to fetch it.
    They’d need to get to the airport soon. The police report would have to wait. Tomorrow morning, for sure. Her attackers could not be left to prey on other women.
    Khan made no motion to get his own car keys. Layla prompted him with a drawn out, “So . . . ?”
    â€œYes. So.” He inhaled a slow breath, then asked with an air of great deliberation, “Do you believe in magic?”
    Layla never answered questions like that.
    â€œOf course you do,” he answered for her. “Or will, shortly.”
    Something flickered at the edge of Layla’s vision. A free-standing mirror, gilt framed. She hadn’t noticed it before. Weird.
    â€œI imagine you need your things?”
    Layla shrugged. Would be nice.
    â€œWhere do you live?”
    As a rule she didn’t tell sources or strange men where she lived. She answered vaguely. “New York City.”
    Khan gestured to the mirror. “Well, let us go and get them.”
    Layla stood in place. Yeah, she wanted to go, but it seemed like he wanted her to look in the mirror first. When still he hesitated, she ducked her head for a quick, obligatory peek. As she pulled back, what she’d seen registered.
    Not a silvery, reflective surface. The mirror was full of dark trees. Familiar trees. She knew those trees.
    Layla stepped directly in front of the glass to get the full effect. The trees had realistic depth, though the coloring was fanciful, as if deep jewel-toned light emanated from within them. Actually, the setting reminded her of her silly princess dream. Hadn’t Khan been there, too? Weird. The mirror had to be some sort of plasma screen. A moving window. She could get her computer monitor to look like a fish aquarium, and she’d seen similar things in futuristic sci-fi movies.
    â€œIs this your art?” He must have found a wooded area with more than a touch of mystery, lit it just right, then filmed the trees for an extended period of time. Created the interface. “Does it show other places, too?”
    â€œCome,” he said. His hand dipped through the surface.
    That she hadn’t seen. Made her heart clutch, anxiety roll over her. She gritted her teeth against it but felt the first prickle of sweat anyway.
    Not again.
    She’d seen a lot of uncomfortable stuff that went away with a hard blink and firm shake of her head, so . . . there had to be a reasonable explanation for this. It was a wicked technological effect, that’s all. She’d be fine when she figured out how he did it.
    She stepped closer herself, fingers ready to touch. She held up her hand against the screen, reached. Her hand— oh no —tingled and joined his on the other side. She felt him move closer, his hard chest at her shoulder as his free arm circled her waist. They were almost dancing, and she fit against him perfectly. Her skin tingled at his nearness, her blood warmed. This was starting to be a problem.
    â€œDon’t pull away,” he said, then stepped them both through the surface.
    The trees seemed real, but she only had a passing impression of them. A deep, layered scent, heady. A hurtful longing ripped at her heart. Whispering voices filled her head: Remember!
    But the single step carried them into the middle of a city. New York. Across the street from Central Park.
    They’d been in one place . . . and were now in another. Impossible.
    Her knees gave, but Khan held her up and pulled her into a close embrace. This couldn’t be real,