Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

She really, really wanted to do something to Grace. Her hand was burning with it, and her ears were pounding with the urge to act. But the gate had warned against further bloodshed, even if it was warranted. Said she could and would be tracked by it.
    Inconvenient. The food was getting cold. Her belly was rumbling.
    â€œHow about you just run up and get your wallet.”
    â€œHow about you put a fork in your eye?” Rose snapped.
    No one was more shocked than Rose when Grace did just that. Opaque fluid mixed with blood spurted, then ran down her hostess’s cheek. Grace held the fork’s weight up, hand shaking, and covered her oozing eye with her other hand. Goop leaked between her fingers.
    The screams that followed made Rose ball up one of the nice linen napkins and stuff it in Grace’s mouth. Too bad the screams went on in Grace’s head.
    Helpme, please, ohgodohgod, pull it out! Ohgod, hospital, helpme helpme . . . !
    Rose pushed Grace into the kitchen pantry, shut the door, lodged a chair under the knob, and took her breakfast to go. She wore Grace’s coat, a classic wool in royal blue, and had Grace’s wallet in her pocket.
    The old lady in the antique store was harder to push, but after a few forceful suggestions, she handed over the money in the cash register and danced around her store naked like a monkey.
    There really wasn’t anything Rose couldn’t do.

Chapter 9
    â€œWhat the hell did you think you were doing?” Adam yell-whispered at Zoe as he removed the magazine from the gun. He waved away the soldiers who arrived at the apartment door, and they moved out in short order.
    â€œIt’s my fault.” Layla kept her voice low, too. No one wanted to bother Abigail. “And my gun. I was just showing Zoe how it works.”
    â€œShut up,” Zoe said to her. To Adam she stuck up her chin. “I can have a gun if I want.”
    â€œNot at Segue, you can’t.” He tucked the barrel into the back of his pants. “You almost killed Ms. Mathews.”
    Layla waved. “Still alive, though.”
    Adam ignored her. “I can’t be bothered about what’s going on inside when I’ve got wraiths on my doorstep.”
    â€œThen give me the gun, and you won’t have to worry about me.” Zoe smirked and held out her hand.
    Reluctantly, Adam gave both the gun and the magazine to her. “I want you trained. No exceptions. Today.” He left cursing under his breath. He shut the door softly, with excessive control.
    â€œYou can leave, too,” Zoe said, transferring her gaze to Layla. “We’re done.”
    What a piece of work. Layla could’ve been ticked, but she chose to laugh. “You mean we’re not going to braid each other’s hair?”
    Zoe made a face, and Layla let herself out.
    The elevator door at the end of the hall was closing, which was just as well. Layla needed time in her own head before she faced her long-lost family. This next reunion could only be awkward.
    She took the hallway at a slow walk, shaken by what she’d seen in Zoe’s apartment and the implications for herself. Layla had seen some disturbing things over the course of her life, but nothing compared to the raw transparency of Abigail’s condition.
    Abigail’s body had been limp in her bed, like an old woman waiting to die. She seemed bird brittle, used, her limbs loose. And in her unblinking eyes lurked Shadow, smoldering with knowledge. Whatever Abigail witnessed in the dark churn of her vision about Rose must have been terrifying, the horror of it in the O of her open mouth. And behind her were Khan’s trees stretching out of nightmare while the rest of the room was solid, mundane. Abigail wasn’t ordinary. There was no denying that she’d been cursed with a gift. And somehow Layla knew Zoe couldn’t save her, no matter how hard she might try.
    It was a sorry situation, one that Zoe shut everyone out of as she simultaneously grieved for and clung to her sister. To her only family.
    And it seemed now that Layla had a family, too, though she had no idea how to handle the revelation. The thought made her chest tight with strange, contradictory emotions that threatened to unravel her. Best thing to do was head back and go through the motions of the day until it felt normal again. Gauge Talia’s reaction. Conduct her interviews. Layla already knew what Khan wanted.
    â€œHe’s gone