Where the hell was the doctor? Where the hell was Custo?
Securing a new plane, Adam hoped. This one was obviously not fit for flight.
Talia’s tremors subsided until only her chest hitched in shallow hiccups. Adam found her hot cheek and brushed away the twisted strands of hair that covered her face. Herchin quivered under his fingertips as she wept without tears.
Adam understood. Between the constant terror of the wraith’s pursuit and her current physical condition, Talia would need considerable time and care to return to health.
“You’re safe with me, Talia. Just rest. Everything is going to be fine.” I hope.
Adam’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dark until he could just make out the shape of her face condensing into solid form. Her skin gleamed against the backdrop of shadows. Downright ghostly. Disturbingly so. Her gaze sought his, the set of her eyes unusually slanted, and she seemed to relax. The cabin lightened further.
Her features and coloring were a study in contrasts. He found the combination interesting. Strangely so. She reminded him of Jacob, perfect in some otherworldly way and yet, not. But it was the simultaneous lightening and darkening of the surroundings with her seizures that jarred him. Coincidence?
The nurse and doctor rushed forward and dropped their bags on the floor. Adam drew back, knees smarting from glass, to allow room for them to work.
No. The concurrent return of Talia’s lucidity and the shift in their environment from mute darkness to light could not be denied. The same damn thing had happened with her in the alley when darkness had blotted out the stars, the light from the street, even the glow from the apartment windows above. The wraith approached, and what had she said? Use the dark.
The wraith had not attacked until Talia had passed out, when the darkness receded.
Talia’s gaze sought Adam, her oddly tipped eyes looking to him for assurance. He forced himself to smile and nod: You’re going to be okay, now.
As Adam glanced out the window, he was surprised to find the plane had taken off during the blackout without incident. Adam lowered into a seat across the aisle from Talia and her doctor, his mind blazing through the implications.
Talia hadn’t altered the environment, only his perception of the environment. Altered the wraith’s perceptions in the alley, too.
Handy, that. No wonder the wraiths were so determined to fi nd her.
Whatever had happened, the event was localized to her immediate area. The plane and its captain were unaffected, taking off, business as usual.
“Did that scare the shit out of you, too?” Custo put a hand to the back of his neck.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Adam said. “Talia’s doing it.”
“You can’t be serious.” Custo dropped into the seat opposite Adam.
Adam continued his thoughts aloud. “The dark. The strange sounds. She’s doing it somehow. I figured the wraiths were after her because of the Shadowman mention in her paper, but maybe it’s something more. She’s not normal.”
“Wraith?” Custo’s gaze shifted to Talia’s supine body.
Adam took in her white face, the deep circles under her eyes.
“No. She’s seems to be having a typical response to the extreme heat. Frankly, I don’t know what she is. We may have stumbled onto something here that will finally give us some leverage against the wraiths.”
The idea made him both cautious and excited, as if he had just found a rare butterfly in an urban jungle. He dropped his gaze to the floor. He needed time to think events through. To disregard all his conclusions and open himself up to new ones.
He took a deep, steeling breath. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I want all the information there is on her. I wantfriends, professors, neighbors questioned. I want birth records, medical records, report cards. Anything and everything.”
“We have a good start already from our missing-persons search. I’ll go back further, dig deeper,”
Securing a new plane, Adam hoped. This one was obviously not fit for flight.
Talia’s tremors subsided until only her chest hitched in shallow hiccups. Adam found her hot cheek and brushed away the twisted strands of hair that covered her face. Herchin quivered under his fingertips as she wept without tears.
Adam understood. Between the constant terror of the wraith’s pursuit and her current physical condition, Talia would need considerable time and care to return to health.
“You’re safe with me, Talia. Just rest. Everything is going to be fine.” I hope.
Adam’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dark until he could just make out the shape of her face condensing into solid form. Her skin gleamed against the backdrop of shadows. Downright ghostly. Disturbingly so. Her gaze sought his, the set of her eyes unusually slanted, and she seemed to relax. The cabin lightened further.
Her features and coloring were a study in contrasts. He found the combination interesting. Strangely so. She reminded him of Jacob, perfect in some otherworldly way and yet, not. But it was the simultaneous lightening and darkening of the surroundings with her seizures that jarred him. Coincidence?
The nurse and doctor rushed forward and dropped their bags on the floor. Adam drew back, knees smarting from glass, to allow room for them to work.
No. The concurrent return of Talia’s lucidity and the shift in their environment from mute darkness to light could not be denied. The same damn thing had happened with her in the alley when darkness had blotted out the stars, the light from the street, even the glow from the apartment windows above. The wraith approached, and what had she said? Use the dark.
The wraith had not attacked until Talia had passed out, when the darkness receded.
Talia’s gaze sought Adam, her oddly tipped eyes looking to him for assurance. He forced himself to smile and nod: You’re going to be okay, now.
As Adam glanced out the window, he was surprised to find the plane had taken off during the blackout without incident. Adam lowered into a seat across the aisle from Talia and her doctor, his mind blazing through the implications.
Talia hadn’t altered the environment, only his perception of the environment. Altered the wraith’s perceptions in the alley, too.
Handy, that. No wonder the wraiths were so determined to fi nd her.
Whatever had happened, the event was localized to her immediate area. The plane and its captain were unaffected, taking off, business as usual.
“Did that scare the shit out of you, too?” Custo put a hand to the back of his neck.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Adam said. “Talia’s doing it.”
“You can’t be serious.” Custo dropped into the seat opposite Adam.
Adam continued his thoughts aloud. “The dark. The strange sounds. She’s doing it somehow. I figured the wraiths were after her because of the Shadowman mention in her paper, but maybe it’s something more. She’s not normal.”
“Wraith?” Custo’s gaze shifted to Talia’s supine body.
Adam took in her white face, the deep circles under her eyes.
“No. She’s seems to be having a typical response to the extreme heat. Frankly, I don’t know what she is. We may have stumbled onto something here that will finally give us some leverage against the wraiths.”
The idea made him both cautious and excited, as if he had just found a rare butterfly in an urban jungle. He dropped his gaze to the floor. He needed time to think events through. To disregard all his conclusions and open himself up to new ones.
He took a deep, steeling breath. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I want all the information there is on her. I wantfriends, professors, neighbors questioned. I want birth records, medical records, report cards. Anything and everything.”
“We have a good start already from our missing-persons search. I’ll go back further, dig deeper,”
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