Page 50 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“So you’re a shadow walker?” There was no sense in beating around the information I already knew, since he was performing party tricks.
“Yes.” He cracked open the bottle as I handed him a glass. “Wait. How did you know that?”
“I saw you last night.” I waved him off. “You were with those men who had accompanied X. I followed you after I realized you left your phone in the car.”
“And that’s why you’ve been avoiding me.” He sighed.
“Yes.” I placed the kettle on the stove. “I needed time to process what the hell I saw. I’ve seen a lot of freaky things in my life, but never that.”
“But you already knew what I was. How did you figure it out?”
“I had to phone a friend.”
“The one you said was returning for dinner.”
“Yep.” I nodded.
“And what are you?” he asked. “Clearly, you aren’t new to any of this. So, what’s your deal?”
“There really isn’t a name for what I am. Descendant of magical alien abilities, connected to nature and can use it at my will.” I shrugged. “Call it whatever you want. Closest definition is a green witch because of my connection with nature. Except I don’t really do spell work, though a lot of witches come to me for what they need. I have the best stuff.”
“That explains a lot.” He grinned.
“Does it?” I asked.
“I know a few others with similar abilities. They’re control freaks too. They also have that same hypnotic ability over non-magical beings.” He sipped his drink and smiled. “That explains why I’ve had to fend off that sad sap a few times.”
“Who?” I raised a brow.
“The guy who showed up that night. What was his name? Deonta?” He tapped the table with his finger. “He started showing up at the office early in the morning, trying to catch you off guard. That’s why I was coming in early for a while. I had to set him straight.”
“That’s why? I thought you were just being a pest.” I chuckled. “Why would you do that?”
“Of course you did. I wanted to protect you and Natalie. He could have hurt her, since she often gets there before you. But I think he’s gotten it through his thick head now.” He laughed. “Now that I know about you, I realize you could have handled it on your own.”
“True.” I paused; I hadn’t considered Natalie’s safety when Deonta showed up at my office. “I have a solution for men who get a little too enthusiastic. It’s an elixir I make that works like a memory eraser.”
“You make them forget about you?” He scoffed. “That’s a shame.”
“It may be, but it’s the simplest solution. It’s pretty easy to do when they don’t know anything real about me. Most of them never even know my real name. Deonta found a way around that.”
“Damn, woman.” He sucked his teeth. “You’re a lot tougher than I thought.”
“Anyway, we’re not here to discuss all that. There are more important things to focus on.” I sat at the table across from him. “Why are you being attacked?”
“Getting down to business, as always.” Raymond fiddled with his cup.
“Yes.” I looked out the window. “There’s no time to waste skirting around the issue. Tell me everything.”
“I have enemies.” His shoulders lifted and dropped with a deep sigh.
“Enemies who are clearly not from this world,” I commented. “I exist on the outskirts of the supernatural community, but even I would have heard about those things if they were from Earth.”
“They’re from the Bane,” Raymond confirmed. “A long way from here.”
“And what exactly is the Bane?”
“Another world often described as a hellscape,” he explained. “It’s where I’m from originally. Things went bad while I was there, so I left. I thought I could live here peacefully, and for a long time, I have. But it seems my problems have followed me.”
