Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

past her time already.”
    Adam laughed bitterly. “One of these days, I’d appreciate it if you’d fill me in on how it all works, because as far as I know, Talia’s mother had a heart condition and Layla looks pretty damn healthy to me.”
    â€œFate had Kathleen die in youth before, and Layla will follow suit, by violence or by accident. Kathleen and Layla both had the same allotment of time in mortality; they are the same soul. Her measure of life is at its end. We cannot hold her with us long.”
    â€œOh, that’s much clearer.” Adam shook his head, but the emotion churning the air around him was changing again, taking on the fierce whip of his rising determination. Adam would not allow Talia to lose her mother again, not if he could help it. His eyes had a steely glint when he asked, “And this gate business?”
    â€œAsk Custo. It is in his care for the time being, but let him know that only I can destroy it. If he or his angelic host tries, they will only harm Layla.”
    She must have bound herself to the gate in some way when she’d turned the black handle. He had not considered that eventuality. The destruction of the gate bore a great deal more thought before it was attempted again.
    Then there was the devil, a predator in an unsuspecting world. If Custo could be trusted to prevent The Order from dismantling the gate, then the devil was the first order of business. The thing had to be sundered before it could wreak havoc in mortality.
    â€œKeep Layla safe. I will return as soon as I can.”
    â€œYou’re leaving?”
    â€œIf Layla may remain here, then I must attend other pressing matters.” The creature would be learning the kind of power it wielded, though the thing would ultimately have to bow to Death.
    Adam was all resignation now. “I’ll make her as comfortable as I can, keep her out of danger. Where are you going?”
    Khan summoned his now sluggish Shadows out of the weak shades in the mortal world. “I go hunting.”
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    Layla lost the last half of the doctor’s question about her medical history when she spotted Adam’s approach. She stood, pulling at the hem of her sweater, and prepared herself for another boot back to New York. With all the hopping around today, she wouldn’t be surprised at all to find herself back where she started.
    â€œMs. Mathews”—Thorne held out his hand—“it’s a pleasure to have you back at Segue.”
    Had to be sarcasm under that control.
    â€œI want to know what’s going on. And where’s Khan?” He’d promised to tell her everything. He made her feel . . . but she wasn’t going to think about that.
    But Thorne shifted his attention to the doctor at her side. “Dr. Patel?”
    â€œShe looks like she’s been beat up a little, but I can’t find anything that warrants further examination at this time.” Dr. Patel turned to her. “You let me know if you start feeling poorly, and I’ll take another look.”
    Thorne nodded a dismissal to the doc and regarded her again. “Khan tells me that you’ll be staying at Segue for the time being.”
    â€œUh . . . I . . .” She couldn’t keep up. If someone would just answer her questions . . .
    â€œI understand this must be very disorienting,” Thorne said. His eyes were full of trouble.
    â€œTo say the least.”
    â€œAnd Khan is quite the enigma.” A little sarcasm there.
    â€œTakes one to know one.”
    Thorne gave her a half smile with a short chuckle. “I’m going to ask for your patience on those answers of yours. I’ve got more than a few questions myself. This has taken me by surprise, too.”
    â€œWhat did Khan tell you?” The information disconnect was unsettling, but her sense of displacement was more so. She normally felt like she didn’t belong, a remnant from her childhood. Now she felt like the ultimate outsider. Magic? Madness. Where the hell was Khan? Why did she have that . . . that pain attack?
    Thorne sighed. Scratched his head. Shrugged. “Some business about a gate. I’ll have to make a call before I know what he was talking about.”
    â€œA gate?” Layla felt sick to her stomach.
    Thorne dropped his arm. “You see one recently?”
    In a nightmare. When I was knocked unconscious. But she didn’t verbalize it. She’d sound like she