Free Shadows of Fate (Shadow Born) by Angela Dennis

sewers. I’ll slow you down.” She clenched her fists, fighting against the urge to touch him.
    “Agreed.” His hands slipped to her shoulders. She shuddered beneath his embrace. “I will bring her back if I can.”
    “Understood.”
    With a nod, he returned to the table. Gathering up the documents, he shoved them into the file folder and handed it to her. “Work on this while I’m gone so we don’t lose time.” He grabbed his coat and slipped from the room.
    “Thank you.” She just prayed he came back with good news.

Chapter Five
     
    The Underground existed inside the abandoned sewage system of Denver. After the Fall the state had been in a severe drought for over fifty years, water as rare as a twelve carat diamond. The survivors had been forced to be creative. The sewer system had been abandoned to make way for more efficient uses of waste water.
    In time, the homeless deviants trapped in this world and forced to live outside society had been drawn there. Connections had been made and crime syndicates formed. Now it was a place mostly avoided, and if people did choose to visit, they always came well-armed.
    When Gray first came to this plane, before he’d even re-established contact with Seraph, he had lived in the Underground. The connections he’d made there were more beneficial than any from the IRT. It was time to draw on them.
    Near dusk, Gray and Sam drove down the winding dirt road a few miles from the city. Gray could feel Sam’s anticipation for the hunt, twined with his fear for Marissa. Gray’s own empathetic abilities had failed at rooting out the relationship between the two, which surprised him. He would have to watch Sam. The incubus had a hot head that would get him in trouble down here.
    He slowed the truck as they approached the old sewer gate. Rusty and bent, the gate had seen better days, but, as the entrance to the Underground, was a symbol of power. It wasn’t until his feet hit the dirt that he saw the emaciated man standing beside it.
    Ga’loh. The biggest sewer rat of them all. He had his fragile finger on the pulse of the Underground. Nothing escaped his notice. Even so, asking him for help would cost them. But there was little choice. It had been three hours and they had found no trace of Marissa. They were running out of time.
    Telling Sam to stay put, Gray strolled toward Ga’loh, careful to appear unhurried. “You came,” he said.
    Ga’loh stepped out of the shadows, tossing the butt of his cigarette to the ground. “Of course. I don’t get many inquiries from men as powerful as you.”
    The moonlight highlighted the other man’s appearance. He looked even worse than Gray remembered. Ragged wool pants hung loose around legs as thin as bones. The trousers seemed to be held up only by the wide rope belt he had tied around his waist. A gray tunic hung limp across his chest. It billowed in the wind, occasionally flattening against a chest more bone than skin. He had covered the rest of his disease ridden face with a clear mask, but it did nothing to hide the sores and blisters that covered his flesh. Long black gloves covered hands missing several fingers.
    Ga’loh had contracted a form of leprosy during the Fall. It had stripped away not only his flesh, but his soul. All he cared about now was cause and effect. Ga’loh would help them if it amused him. Then he would extract his payment. Magical blood provided a respite from the pain of his disease and his existence largely revolved around his next fix.
    “How can I help you?”
    Gray offered his hand. Telepathically he sent images of Marissa and the marks Sam had seen to the other man. “I need her brought to me. If she’s dead, no deal.” He released the other man’s hand and stepped back.
    “It doesn’t work that way.” Ga’loh’s lips played against broken black teeth. “I promise nothing but my assistance. You pay me regardless of the outcome.”
    Ga’loh pulled another clove cigarette from his coat