Shadow Kissed 03 - Shadowman

she leapt, stumbling through the brush, after Adam to follow the story.
    â€œI want the wraith remains picked up and delivered to the holding cell for examination,” he was saying. “This one here first.”
    The smell was extraordinary, as if the wraith had been long dead. Layla had to cover her mouth and nose with her hand as she gazed down at the dry, yellowed husk of wraith tissue and bone. In the bushes was a swatch of stringy, dirty hair above jellied eyes. The remains lacked cohesion and weren’t remotely recognizable as human.
    â€œAnd to think,” Adam said, “not too long ago you were camped out in my woods, all by yourself.”
    The memory made her wince with a belated realization of how much danger she’d been in. She easily could’ve been killed.
    â€œWhat were you really after that day?” Adam took a pair of surgical gloves out of his pocket, put them on, crouched down.
    Layla thought of how she’d sat with her camera, willing Talia to step out of Segue. “A photo to run with my story.”
    She crouched down, too. What did Adam think he could learn from the body? Was it still possible to identify the man the wraith had once been?
    But Adam was looking at her. “You traveled down from New York, hiked for hours from Middleton, climbed my wall, and waited out in the cold for a photograph?”
    â€œI know it sounds insane.” She couldn’t believe she’d done it either.
    Adam shook his head, his hard expression softening. “Talia was all tears when she got back from visiting you the other night. I think I understand a little better now.”
    Adam’s face was haggard with exhaustion, there was a blood smear at his neck, and by the looks of things, he had a day’s worth of work ahead of him before he could rest. And if the wraiths were “testing the perimeter,” as he’d said, then he might just be back out there again come nightfall.
    A team of men in plastic coveralls joined them. They were masked and carried large, industrial-looking gray boxes, presumably containing equipment to gather and clean up the mess.
    â€œWe can talk more later, if you like,” Adam said. “I’ve got to take care of things here now. And you can keep the gun. You clearly know how to use it.”
    She still gripped the handle, finger light on the trigger. “Segue’s safe, then?”
    â€œFor the moment.”
    She nodded, then stood and stepped back to let the team do its thing while Adam managed the situation. Kept the gun in her hand, though.
    It was interesting, if disgusting, work. She’d never seen a wraith killed before or been privy to the collection of its remains. Her adrenaline tanking, Layla crossed her arms to dispel a shiver of cold. The sun was over the horizon, the world washed with pink. The smell of the woods seemed to warm, but the temperature didn’t. Soldiers walked among the trees and occasionally pinned the earth with a red flag to indicate the location of remains. And somewhere above, Khan was watching. He’d saved her life again.
    An image of the wraith diving through the air flashed through her mind. And here the public thought that wraiths were diseased human beings.
    â€œCan they all fly?” The alteration in the wraith’s trajectory easily had been the most frightening moment of the battle. And she’d been searching out their nests to discover what made them work. How long would it have taken for her to arrive at a paranormal explanation? Probably forever.
    Adam looked over at her. “Wraiths can’t fly any more than people can.”
    Layla understood his reasoning, but . . . “This one did. I swear it.”
    Adam’s face subtly tightened, but he didn’t respond.
    â€œReally.” No one ever believed the crazy shit she saw. She figured Adam would be different. “Ask Khan.”
    The cleanup team worked a slender spatula tool into the earth, and Adam turned back to monitor their work. She reeled back coughing when the movement of the remains sent fresh stink into the air. Okay, discussion over.
    She shivered again. Her ears ached from the cold, though the sun was bright yellow through the trees. Time to get back, take some notes on what she’d witnessed. She had a vision of a wall of Post-its in her bedroom divided into three parts for the three worlds. Maybe if she asked very nicely, someone would get her a whiteboard and a