The books

I didn't find Dawson.

He found me.

He just showed up in the room Rebecca lent me, books in hand.

"What is this?" I demanded.

I could still feel the Nightlander's presence on him. Which would explain how he got in. He knew that getting this close to me would allow me to gain their power. So why show up? And why did he have the missing book and the diary?

"This," he informed me. "Is an act of betrayal."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"I'm betraying Kraken," he clarified. "Don't get me wrong. I still wish to bring down the plague of humanity. Just not their way. What with all the infighting, terrible planning, and general lack of competence, I just can't deal with them any more. And the Shadow's have grown weary as well."

"What about the rest of your team?" I asked.

"Myrir, and... what did you call him? Puppy Dog? They're still on my side." he said.

"Which one was Myrir?" I asked.

"The girl with the sword," he said.

"I see," I said. "So Haji and the Doll are still with Kraken?"

"Correct," he said.

I nodded to the books.

"So what's with those?" I asked.

"I've no more use for these," he said, tossing them to me. "And they don't belong with Kraken either."

"So you want me returning them where they belong?" I asked.

"Do whatever you want with them," he said. "Doesn't make a difference to me."

I examined them both. The book by R. R. Hood was indeed one of them. The other was a stack of papyrus sheets bound and scrawled upon with hieroglyphs. Fit Abdalin's description.

"Again," he said. "Don't get me wrong. We are not allies here. I'm not your friend. This is simply one last middle finger to Kraken as I depart. If you cross me again, I will kill you."

As he spoke, the shadows spread over his skin the same way they'd done last time, as if to intimidate me. Roll failed.

"You mean to say you'll try," I said.

"And you mean to say I'll fail?" I smirked. "We'll see. I bid you Farewell, Doctor."

He then melted into the floor and vanished. Once he was gone, I focused on my shadow, and watched as it rose off the floor, and morphed into a number of different forms flowing through my head, before returning to normal.

So I had gained their power. I could animate and manipulate my shadow now. I still don't know why'd he'd risk that outcome, as opposed to meeting me through proxie, but that's a question for another day. For now, I need to examine this book. Then I'll arrange to visit the AMU with Kallaway. Hopefully the Professor will be there. He has a habit of taking vacations...

Another thing I'd like to note. I managed to get the books back without needing to rely on the card I got from Abdalin. He insisted it would be useful. But if it didn't come into play here, then what exactly is it supposed to be useful for? I suppose I'll have to find the answer to that question another time...