Walking in the Dark

by Donna Augustine

  It was very irksome to think that even if he were the devil, this somehow implied a deficiency in my character. “I wouldn’t say it means anything about my standards. Maybe you had a reason to become the devil? Even if you were the devil, you’d still be you.”

  He pulled the car over and parked it. “Is that how you feel?”

  My hand edged toward the door handle. Why did that question make me want to run from the car? “What do you mean, is that how I feel?” And why was he staring at me like that? I’d just asked him if he was the devil. Insulted, yeah, I’d get that. Not this warm gleam in his eyes.

  “It means would it really not bother you if I were the devil?” He was staring at me, near demanding an answer.

  “You pretty much said you weren’t, so I’m not sure why this is important.”

  “But it wouldn’t matter.”

  I was getting a weird feeling from this conversation, and an even stranger one from the way he was looking at me. It was the same feeling I’d had after I found out he’d killed the other leprechaun. It was definitely time to go stretch my legs.

  His hand on my arm stopped me from making a hasty exit.

  “What?” I asked, looking down at his hand and then his face. “Are you going to tell me what you are now?” I asked, trying to cut through some of the tension.

  “No. But maybe I’ll knock the waiting period down.” He shot me a half-smile, and I settled back into my seat, knowing I was out of the danger zone.

  “Thanks.” Great. I’d become one of those annoying fake thankers just to move on.

  I took a look around. We were sitting across the street from a building that resembled my own. Well, almost. I had cute copper awnings over my picture windows. They had striped fabric ones. But they both had an old-world charm that lured you in. It had lured me in. It was one of the reasons I’d overpaid.

  One of the reasons. I turned away from the building, my attention on the other reason I’d overpaid.

  “Why did you do that?”

  Kane groaned.

  “Why are you groaning?” I knew my tone was snappish, but my blood was boiling simply from the memory. That had been really uncool of him.

  “Although I have no idea what you are talking about, I know this is going to be another one of those talks.” He shifted, like he needed to get more comfortable for what was to come.

  “Why did you run the price up on my building?” I shifted my body so I wouldn’t get a cramp in my neck as I stared at him.

  “Because I didn’t want you to get it.” He was stating the obvious and he knew it.

  Oh, so I could get questioned but not him? “It was mean. Why were you trying to be mean to me?”

  “It wasn’t mean. I thought you leaving was a mistake, and I was right.”

  He was staring forward, and I had a feeling that I was actually getting under his skin. It didn’t make me stop asking him questions, though. “Why didn’t you keep going up?”

  “Because I felt that if you wanted to leave so bad that you were willing to spend that much on a building, I should let you go.” Kane, Mr. Know-it-all, Mr. Relax, I’ve Got Everything Under Control, was riled.

  And all because I’d left? Somehow, seeing him like this, tense and not looking at me, vulnerable, it started to knit together all the little tears I’d felt in our relationship. He really did care about me. It wasn’t an act and it wasn’t to keep control of an asset. He liked me.

  Both of us settled into a peaceful quiet for a while, just long enough to take the raw edge off the recent emotions.

  It was a good twenty minutes before he spoke. “Are we going to keep having these conversations? Because I’m going to make you take your own car for the stakeouts if you say yes.”

  “It’s called communicating.” I yawned again, hoping he wasn’t being serious. Even though I could drive now without crawlers rubbing shoulders with me, I preferred to look out at the scenery and relax. And I didn’t want to take my own car. “Would you like to discuss some of my transgressions?” I hoped he didn’t want to. That would suck. It wasn’t like I wanted to dig up everything he’d ever done to me. I couldn’t seem to help myself, and now I was glad I had.

  He sat silently for a moment, his eyes meeting mine, and it was as if I could see them softening, warming. “No.”

  Didn’t he care about what I did? I agonized over everything that had gone wrong between us, each one ripping a little piece of me. But he didn’t care? It didn’t matter to him? Maybe I didn’t matter to him? Maybe I’d read his agitation wrong?

  He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear before his eyes shifted to my mouth and my insides started to warm.

  His thumb grazed my lower lip, and my breath quickened. He wasn’t acting like he didn’t care.

  “Wh-why not?” I asked.

  “Because I understand why you’ve done the things you’ve done, and I accept you.”

  His other hand wrapped around the back of my head, his eyes shifting to my lips.

  And then I felt it. Crem was here.

  “What?” Kane pulled back a bit, studying my face.

  I held up a finger, silently asking for a minute so I could pour all my concentration into what I was feeling. Crem was definitely here, but could I pinpoint where the feeling was originating from?

  The feeling was growing so strong, but I couldn’t read the direction. I glanced over at Kane, and I knew he was feeling it too now. We got out of the car at the same time, both of us scanning the area.

  How was I not seeing him approach? Crem was right here. Had to be, from how strong the feeling of magic in the air was.

  Then it was gone. It was as if the magic had vanished.

  Did Kane still feel it? When I turned to ask, he was looking at me with the same question.

  I was still shaking my head as I scoured the area, not believing what my senses were telling me. “I think it’s screwing with us. I don’t know why, but I’ve got this niggle in my brain telling me we’re being played.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got that same feeling.”

  “Why leave this ER intact?” I asked, hoping Kane would have some brilliant idea that was escaping me.

  “I don’t know, and I can’t figure out how it keeps getting by us.” We both stood staring at the building for another minute before he said, “I’m going to lap the place and make sure we aren’t missing anything.”

  Kane headed off, and I took a couple of steps back, trying to take in the whole picture, find an angle to this that we’d missed. Was it dipping in and out of the Shadowlands? Was that how the magic turned on and off?

  If I shadow walked now, would I find Crem hovering nearby? If I did find it in there, what would I be able to do about it? I didn’t even know what I was capable of doing yet. Still had to try.

  Kane was walking around the building, peering in windows, as I headed back over to him.

  That was when a shadow on top of the building drew my eye. There it was, horns and red eyes. It must’ve been muting its power somehow. Then a wave of magic hit me so hard I almost fell to my knees. Its mouth opened, and I knew what was about to come. I looked down and realized it was hovering right above where Kane was standing. I knew in that second that Crem wanted to kill Kane.

  I opened my mouth to scream as flashbacks rolled over me. It was just like the night I’d lost my family. I couldn’t let it happen again.

  With no time to spare, magic flew over my lips as I ran toward him. I didn’t know what I was saying, but my legs were moving at a speed faster than I’d imagined possible, and I could feel the soles of my shoes growing warm.

  I caught an astonished look on Kane’s face right before I plowed into him and kept moving. The heat came, but I was outrunning the blast. We landed in a thump a block away, my landing a little rougher than when he’d done me a similar favor.

  Debris flew around us, and I heard the fire raging before I lifted myself off Kane and saw it.

  I fell back on my ass, barely holding
myself up with my arms outstretched behind me. However I’d managed to outrun the blast, it had used up everything in my tank.

  Kane sat up, watching the flames as I watched him. My eyes started to burn as I realized how close he might’ve been to death. As the series of events ran through my mind, I knew that had been the point.

  “I think Crem wants you dead. He was luring you in.”

  “It would seem that way.”

  Chapter 30

  Kane was leaning back in his chair as I lay on the couch, bouncing his tennis ball off the wall. I could see how this could become addictive, especially if you were wound up, which I was after Kane had nearly been blown to bits in front of me.

  We’d already been hashing it over for an hour, with no ideas why. The lack of motive made it worse somehow.

  The usual suspects had come in and out, chiming in, but no one had a solid idea. They’d grab a cup of coffee from the Keurig and mumble about whose turn it was to stock the French vanilla—I wasn’t sure why, but the gargoyles wouldn’t touch K-cups.

  Butch had left a few minutes ago, leaving Kane and I alone again. He’d been staring at me strangely the entire way back. I’d been rehashing the newest events, looking for crumbs in the forest, so to speak, when I caught him staring at me again.

  I hated when he stared at me like that. That look was like my on switch, lighting every cell in my body. It was irritating when I was trying to relax and wanted the lights set to dim.

  I made a circular motion toward his face. “You have to stop doing that. I don’t know what idea you’ve come up with, but it’s unsettling.”

  He didn’t stop, just kept staring at me. “You saved me. You could’ve yelled a warning and I would’ve had plenty of time to get out of the way, but you saved me.” He held up a finger. “I didn’t technically need saving, but you did it anyway.”

  “Excuse me, but you wouldn’t have had time. I definitely had to save you. But to your point, you’ve saved me enough. I didn’t get all weird about it.”

  “It’s different,” he said.

  “Why? Because I’m a girl or because I’m a Shadow Walker?”

  “Neither. I usually do the saving, is all.”

  “And the killing, don’t forget that part.” I bounced the ball a couple of more times, amused with myself.

  He let out a laugh as if me calling him a murderer was somehow funny to him. It wasn’t long, though, before he was looking at me in that weird way again.

  “If I’d known you were going to get all weird about it, I would’ve let you die.” I dropped the ball by my side and grabbed the stack of magazines that had started showing up again. I flipped through one, not seeing what was on the pages but having the luxury of being able to block his stares with it.

  “I’ll make sure to remember that for next time.”

  “You do that, because I am not bluffing. Next time Crem tries to blast you into oblivion, you, sir, are on your own.” Even if only the idea of it ripped me into itty-bitty pieces.

  “Accepted,” he said.

  I knew he didn’t believe me. I didn’t believe me, so why would he? I peeked over the magazine to see he was still looking at me strangely, like he’d seen my soul or something. It was altogether uncomfortable, worse than the world watching you run down the street screaming like a lunatic. I’d done that, so I could speak with conviction.

  I’d just ignore him until he became normal. That was the thing to do.

  He made a hmm noise, and when I peeked at him this time, the weird look was gone. His eyes were sharp and focused, like he was in the midst of a discovery.

  I dropped the magazine onto the table and went back to the ball. “What? You come up with some idea why Crem would want to kill you?”

  “No. But I’ve got something else.”

  Whatever it was, it was a biggie from the way he was focusing. I stopped bouncing the ball and sat up. “Are you going to tell me?”

  His head tilted to the side, his eyes never leaving mine. I went back to bouncing the ball while I waited. It was easier than maintaining eye contact while he was sucking up all the oxygen in the room.

  “You didn’t leave here because you wanted to save Asher.”

  Great. Now he was back to some theory where I had something to do with the missing items? “What are you talking about?” I jerked my head back to him, irritated by the notion and expecting to see a matching anger. “Are you saying I was involved in the missing items?”

  “No.” He had a slight smile, and my tension eased with it. At least we hadn’t gone back to that again.

  “Please share your insight, then, because I’d love to hear why I do what I do. It’s so enlightening for my feeble brain to be able to listen to the All-knowing Kane.” I bounced the ball again as I thought of how amusing I was.

  “You used Asher as an excuse to leave.” It wasn’t a question. He was utterly confident in what he was saying.

  After a near miss catching the ball, I forced myself to keep bouncing it. He had no idea what he was talking about. “I know you’re bossy and all, but I never thought you’d try and tell me what I was thinking, too.”

  I kept my eyes on the ball as I tracked him getting out of his chair and walking around his desk to perch on the corner. He crossed his arms, looking like a cat with a bowl of cream in front of him. “You didn’t run for him. You ran from me. I made it clear I was interested in more. You didn’t know what to do with your feelings, so you ran. But you just couldn’t bring yourself to run too far.”

  I bounced a little faster, refusing to look at him. That wouldn’t help my nerves any. “That’s hogwash you’re making up so you don’t feel bad that I’m going to let your ass burn next time.”

  “No.”

  He was digging in, which meant it was time for my exit. I tossed the ball on the seat and got up as casually as I could fake it, when I wanted to run for the door.

  He leaned back, watching me. “Look at you, even now, with me bringing the subject up, you’re ready to make a run for it.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “I wasn’t running. I’ve been on that couch for a while and I was stretching my legs.”

  His eyebrows rose as he nodded slowly. Placating bastard.

  I crossed my arms and shook my head, as if that could undo all his nodding. “You’re so wrong that I’m nearly embarrassed for you.”

  “Okay, let us examine the facts for a moment. See who’s right?” He lifted his foot and kicked the chair toward me, practically daring me to sit.

  If I didn’t sit, he’d say I was running. I had nothing to lose. He had no facts. You couldn’t lay out evidence of feelings.

  “Sure, I’ll play your little game for a while if it makes you feel better.” There, how’d you like that placation, buddy?

  He smiled, not seeming to mind.

  I walked around the side of the chair and slumped into it, hooking a heel on the edge so I could use my knee as an armrest.

  He hooked a foot around one of the legs and dragged it closer while I pretended I didn’t mind.

  “If you had such a dire fear for Asher’s life, why did you stay in Boston? Common sense would’ve told you to get farther away.” He sat, arms folded, waiting for his reply, as if I were on the stand under cross-examination.

  “Excuse me, but Boston is my town, too. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move, but it had nothing to do with you. I’d lost enough and thought it could work. Miscalculation on my part, but nothing to do with you.”

  He didn’t seem to miss a beat as he continued. “Fine. Let’s move on to you trying to work with Collin, someone you knew I didn’t trust and had warned you off.”

  “Oh, sure. Now even my talking to Collin is about you.” I scoffed loudly in case he hadn’t picked up on my disbelief.

  He stood, paused as he passed my chair, and then walked over to the window that overlooked the Underground. “You know one of the reasons I keep this place going is the information I get by allowing everyone here. There�
��s countless shifters downstairs that owe me favors. You knew that, and you were forcing my hand after I refused to work with you.”

  I stood and turned to face him. “I didn’t have a choice.”

  He nodded again in a way that made me want to slap him. “Did you go the retired Shadow Walker to see if she could point you in the direction of other anchors?”

  I shrugged. I stood then stopped myself. I was not going to pace the room. “I understand that you know everything, so you should be aware she was too unstable to rely upon for anything.” And it hadn’t really occurred to me. Why hadn’t it? Why had I run right to Collin after Kane shot me down? I’d known it was going to get back to him. Was he right? And how embarrassing was that?

  “So? Is that all your proof? That I stayed in Boston and didn’t ask a nutcase for help? Your case is looking pretty thin.” At least on the surface.

  “No. Actually, it’s not.”

  He looked way too pleased with himself, and it sent shivers through me. Why was he so sure of himself?

  Had I held my ground long enough to make a run for it now without being utterly obvious? I leaned back on his desk, trying to keep calm as he walked back to me. I scooted farther back on the desk to keep my space as he leaned forward, a hand on either side of my legs.

  “Do you know I have surveillance for five blocks in every direction from here?”

  My eyes shot to the door and then I forced them away. I should’ve run when I had the chance, because I knew why he was so sure of himself now.

  “Getting that running feeling again?”

  “Absolutely not.” My lungs wanted to kick into overdrive, and trying not to breathe was making it harder. I was doing all I could to not show my hand, but the way he was looking made me think my cards were marked and he knew exactly what I had. “So what? You’ve got some cameras?”

  “I’d gotten some reports that you’d popped up in the area a few times, hovering a block away. They told me you’d drive up, pause, and then drive away after five or so minutes.”

  “I got lost a few times. I’m not used to driving.” I edged to the side and forward, seeing if he’d move out of my way.