“The Shadows, the energy if you prefer, of the people inside there today. It’s what you already do, allowing yourself to sink into a person and find where they need Healing.”
He folded his arms over his chest, unsettled and annoyed. “What I do isn’t anything like that.”
“Isn’t it?”
He wanted to argue that it was completely different. That he was simply aware of where people were hurting so that he could use his nice clean scientific medical skills to help them. But he couldn’t say it. The truth was, it was a lot like what he did; he’d just never properly understood it before.
They were both silent, staring up at the former workhouse as the noise of traffic filtered slowly back. A blackbird sang somewhere nearby, jarring him with its cheerful tune.
Kay gave him a small smile. “I’m sorry it was… difficult, but if I’d warned you, you would have wondered if it was a trick. Yesterday you mentioned hypnosis.”
He nodded slowly. She was right; he probably would have thought it was some kind of hypnotic suggestion.
He leaned back, trying to settle his thoughts. Somehow the experience had made him more aware of the Shadows around him. If he concentrated, he could see Shadows on everything. The midnight-blue velvet around Kay. The quiet worshipful energy around the church they’d passed. The slumbering growth of the plants in the small garden they were standing in.
Shadows undulated gently everywhere he looked, making it impossible to pretend it hadn’t happened.
He blinked and looked away. The Shadows fell from his vision, but he was left with the feeling that now he would always know that they were there.
ChapterTen
Ethan rested against the wall,his irritation slowly fading. People entered the gardens talking and laughing, and the blackbird’s song rose, somehow more melodic than before. Everything was normal. Natural. And yet, entirely changed. He could see the Shadows whenever he chose. They were part of him, and it wasright. Kay had given him a gift.
She stood quietly beside him, relaxed in their silence. Giving him time to process everything. “We’re just down from Camden, if you’d like to get a drink?” she asked eventually. “Or I can go if you need some space.”
Did he want space? A week ago, he would have said yes. But now? Now, he didn’t want space. If anything, the gap between them—the gap he’d created—felt too big. He wanted to close it, to feel her in his arms, anchoring him. Focusing him on what was good in the extraordinary new world he’d suddenly found himself in.
He twined his fingers slowly with hers, feeling her warm, dry palm settle against his. Her hand was tiny compared to his, but firm and confident. And she had callouses. When had he ever held hands with a woman who had more callouses than him? He had never realized how sexy that would be. She could kick his arse, and it only made him like her more. “Let’s get that drink.”
They walked in companionable silence up to Camden Lock, found a seat in a pub overlooking the water, and both ordered a pint.
He sat quietly, not knowing what to say, as they drank their beer and watched the world. It was one of those places filled with people of all kinds, from preppy tourists with cameras to goths, punks, and everybody in between. A passing parade of the beauty of humanity, alive and vibrant. It was even more beautiful now that he could see their gleaming Shadows, undulating softly, whenever he chose.
He took a sip of his beer and turned to Kay. “Last night I decided I had probably imagined your Shadow puppet. I thought you were good at light tricks and redirection, like one of those mentalist people…. Today was a shock, but I understand why you didn’t warn me.”
“Thank you,” she replied quietly.
They both sipped their beer for a few minutes as Ethan thought back over her descriptions of Shadows. “Kay, why were you sick after fighting with those men in Oxford Street?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I told you already.”
“Please tell me again.”
She shuddered, for the first time looking less than entirely certain. “They had a kind of dark Shadow on them. It felt like it had control over them somehow…. I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it, but it felt like the workhouse. Rotten and disgusting.”
“What’s it from?”
“I wish I knew enough to tell you. My gran had some disturbing visions, and then I saw those Shadows…. I don’t know what it means, and I don’t know how to solve it.” She shrugged, but her face was serious. “I don’t like it. I prefer to have a clear idea of what I’m dealing with so I can tackle it head-on.”
He couldn’t help his soft chuckle. “Yeah, I think I’ve realized that about you.”
Ethan looked out the window, occasionally glancing at Kay as she relaxed back into her chair and left him to his thoughts while she watched people go by and drank her beer.
Eventually, he put his glass down and leaned forward. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m thinking?”
“Do you want me to ask you what you’re thinking?” She looked genuinely confused.
“It’s definitely what my other….” He let his voice trail away. What was he going to say? Other girlfriends? Amanda specifically? Why was he even comparing Kay with Amanda?
