They clung like that, together in the dark, a pocket of the universe that didn’t wholly belong to any world. She almost would have begged him to make a little universe of their own, if not for the trouble they’d leave behind.
He let his big body collapse on top of her, oblivious to the fact that she required oxygen to breathe. When she gasped for air, he rolled to the side and took her with him. But he wouldn’t let her go. One arm held her fast at the small of her back. His other tangled in her hair at her nape. She trembled, gripping him just as hard, as if a hurricane might blow through the room at any moment and tear them apart, when really they both intended to walk into disaster freely come morning.
Layla woke to the light snore of the mage known as Shadowman. She’d fallen into the crook of his arm sometime in the night, his muscle her pillow. That’s how they would sleep if they could have a future. With him breathing deeply beside her, she’d bet her nightmares would be a thing of the past. Nuzzling, she kissed his chest. He was as warm as the tint of his skin, and very little could have compelled her to leave him, but she had work to do, and only a few hours to do it.
First, a difficult responsibility, sure to frustrate her newfound family. She ducked out to the car to get a laptop she’d borrowed from Adam, then settled into the hotel room’s sofa. She titled her article “Wraiths, Shrouded in Secrecy” and spotlighted Segue, the place she considered home. With the emergence of the wights and the reorganization of the wraiths, the public needed to know what the world was up against. She corrected the dates for the firstknown cases, referencing murders found in Segue’s case files over twenty-three years ago. She vouched personally for wraiths’ near-immortality and stated that The Segue Institute had discovered a means to kill them, but she didn’t divulge more, to protect Talia and The Order. She described in detail the signs of a wraith kill, and then, after a hard internal debate, revealed what the wraiths fed upon for sustenance: human souls. Denied nourishment, the wraiths became wights, specters of such little substance that not even gravity could hold them. The wights troubled her most now. She went on to state that Segue was also in the process of developing capture and control techniques, called Barrow-tech. And last of all, for fun, she referred questions to Adam Thorne.
As the sky grayed outside her hotel window, she e-mailed the article to her editor, and blind cc’d Adam, so he’d be prepared for the phone calls. Not that the public would believe her claims, but at least she’d done what she’d come to do. People were dying. A new age of magic was upon the world. The Order might strive to reverse it, and Segue might try to control it, but really there was no going back.
Having done her worst, she sought pen and paper (more personal) to write a note to Talia, but after addressing the sheet in her best penmanship (never good), she couldn’t figure out what to say, and heart aching, she abandoned the project altogether.
She turned when Shadowman shifted to sit up, his physique glorious in the dappled morning light. “Morning, sunshine.”
The black got deeper in his eyes.
All right then, a kiss. Which rapidly turned into more. And even though they had several hours of driving ahead of them, they ended up in the shower together. Breakfast on the road. Doom on the horizon.
The gate started rattling in her head as soon as they turned onto Interstate 81 heading south. She tried the radio to cover the sound, but it was no good. The metallic, angry jangle only increased its volume until she could barely hear herself think. And here she’d been looking forward to talking with Shadowman, to having this last time together. The rattle made her want to turn the car around for a little peace. To save themselves.
kat-a-kat-a-kat: How about just one more day?
Rose and Moira had tapped her deepest fears. The gate was playing a crueler game, taunting her with her forfeited future.
kat-a-kat-a-kat: A day for love.
“I hear it, too,” Shadowman said, massaging the muscles at her neck. He must have put some magic into the touch, because she could breathe again. Focus.
’Cause, see, a day would never be enough. Not with Shadowman, warm and vital at her side, not with Talia, friend, sister, and so much more. The gate could only offer portions, which was a cheat. And a mean one. With its destruction, the danger would pass, and Layla would carry the precious memory of love with her beyond. None of the nightmares that had plagued her life. Just a bittersweet joy. She wasn’t afraid anymore, just impatient.
She gripped the steering wheel and floored the gas. Angels must have been on the road, parting the traffic, turning the cops’ speed guns the other way, because she got up to 120 and stayed there. Adam’s car could more than handle it. The tolls were empty, gates lifted, metered exits flashing green. The several hours were cut in half.