Oblivion

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  to not damage the rose, and squeezed gently. “It most likely has nothing to do with you.”

  She opened her mouth.

  “I mean it, Kitten.” My eyes searched hers. “Statistically, this has nothing to do with anything we’ve got going on. Okay?”

  Looking away, she nodded. “Okay.”

  I let go of her hand, knowing that no matter what she said, she was afraid that Simon’s disappearance had something to do with what happened Friday night with the windows. Truthfully? I wasn’t so sure it didn’t.

  Coincidences nowadays weren’t very likely.

  I’d checked in with Matthew later that day to see if he’d heard anything about Simon. Being that he was on staff, I figured he might know more, but all he knew was what we did. Simon’s parents had reported him missing the night before. He hadn’t been seen in over seventy-two hours.

  It wasn’t long before the cops showed up. They’d questioned all the students, though Kat was paranoid about the fact that we were in the first wave of students questioned. I wasn’t entirely surprised. It was common knowledge I wasn’t a fan of Simon, but the police didn’t appear too concerned about Simon’s well-being. I could tell they thought he was a runaway.

  I filed what was going on with Simon in the back of my mind, because there were other more pressing things to take care of. Like getting Kat’s newfound abilities under control.

  And wooing her through lattes, egg-and-bacon breakfast croissants, and glazed doughnuts. Kat seemed to approve of these tactics, because she didn’t complain when I showed up at her house after school whenever she wasn’t with Dee and hung out with her.

  During that time, we watched movies. Or she blogged. We grabbed food from Smoke Hole or just ate snacks. I wanted her to relax before I started to work with her. I figured if she was in a good place, it would be easier. So that meant I kept my distance. For the most part. Douche Bag stayed away from her. I knew he texted and called, but there were no more dinner dates, and when I started eating lunch with her in the cafeteria, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

  I had a plan for her on Saturday, though, a pretty damn good idea, I thought.

  Leaning against the railing with my hands in my pocket, I waited for her out on her front porch. Thanksgiving was a handful of days away, and the air was chilly, so I was relieved to see her step outside with a hoodie on. It wasn’t a jacket, but at least it was better than nothing.

  She held the door open for me. I stepped inside, brushing past her. “You look nice today.”

  Kat glanced down at herself with a frown and then her hand flew to her hair, smoothing back a wild strand. “So…what’s up?”

  “I just wanted to see you,” I replied, which was partly true, because I always liked seeing her.

  “Oh.”

  I chuckled. “I thought we could take a walk. It’s nice outside.”

  Glancing in the direction of her living room, she bit down on her lip, worrying it. I was probably interrupting her book gushing.

  “I’ll behave myself,” I said. “I promise.”

  She laughed softly at that. “All right, let’s go.”

  Grinning, I steered her outside and to my SUV. She stopped in front of it, casting me a long look before asking, “Exactly where are we going to take a walk?”

  “Outdoors,” I replied, opening the door for her.

  “Well, I think I figured that part out.”

  “You ask a lot of questions, you know.”

  “I’ve been told I’m very inquisitive.”

  I leaned forward and whispered, “I think I figured that part out.”

  She made a face, but climbed into the car. I headed around the front and got in. Kat was quiet until I backed out of the driveway. “Have you heard anything about Simon?” she asked. “I haven’t.”

  “I haven’t, either.”

  The trees crowding the highway were an array of gold and red. Soon, the branches would be bare.

  “Do you think an Arum had anything to do with his disappearance?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I haven’t seen any, but we can’t be too sure.”

  Kat was quiet as I drove, but as soon as I pulled the SUV off the road and parked it along the entrance to where all the field parties were held, she climbed out. “Why here?”

  Dead leaves of various colors littered the ground, crunching under my steps as I walked over to her. “This place might hold a lot of residual energy from our fight and from Baruck’s death.” I stepped around a fallen limb. “Watch out, the branches are scattered everywhere.”

  “This might sound messed up, but I’ve wanted to come back here. I don’t know why,” she said. “Crazy, huh?”

  “No. It makes sense to me.”

  “Is it the whole energy thing?”

  “It’s what’s left over.” I bent and pushed another fallen limb out of the way. “I want to see if I feel anything. If the DOD has been out here to check it out, it might be good to be in the know.”

  The rest of the trip was in silence, and I wondered what Kat was thinking by the time we reached the area. She toed at the dead leaves, brushing them aside. I squinted as the scarred ground came into view. Kat unearthed most of the burned patch, her hands shoved into the pocket of her hoodie. Thin slivers of light streamed through the branches, catching the red tint in her dark hair.

  “The ground will never heal,” I said. “I don’t know why, but it took on his essence and nothing will grow from this spot.” I took over, pushing back the leaves until the area was uncovered completely. Staring at what was virtually a grave site, I thought back to the first time I’d taken down an Arum. “Killing at first used to bother me. I didn’t like it, taking a life. I still don’t. A life is a life.”

  Kat swallowed. “It’s something you have to do. You can’t change it. It only wreaks havoc on you to dwell. It bothers me knowing that I’ve killed…two of them, but—”

  “You aren’t wrong for what you did. Never think that.” My eyes met hers briefly, and then I cleared my throat. “I don’t feel anything.”

  She was quiet for a moment. “Do you think the DOD found anything?”

  “I don’t know.” I walked over to where she stood. “Depends on if they’re using equipment I’m not familiar with.”

  Her chin tilted up. “And if they are, what does that mean? Is it something to be worried about?”

  “I don’t think so, not even if the levels of energy are higher.” I smoothed back the strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail. “It doesn’t really tell them anything. Have you been experiencing any outbursts recently?”

  “No,” she replied, pulling her hands free from her hoodie.

  I really didn’t believe her.

  My hand lingered on her cheek for a few seconds, and then I caught her hand. Lifting her hand to my lips, I pressed a kiss against the center of her palm. I felt her shiver.

  “Did you bring me out here just to get me completely alone?”

  “That may have been a part of my master plan.” That hadn’t been a part of my plan. Not really. I wanted to see if she could use her abilities here, but I figured I could multitask. Lowering my head, I kissed her gently.

  Kat kissed me back for like a nanosecond and then jerked back. “No kissing.”

  “I’m trying not to.”

  “Then try harder.” She slipped her hand free and took a step back, shoving her hands back into the pocket of her hoodie. “I think we should head home.”

  Kissing her had been a bad move, because now her walls were up, and I wasn’t going to get her to do anything. “Whatever you want.” When she nodded, we started back. A few moments passed. “So I was thinking.”

  Her glance was wary. “About what?”

  “We should do something. Together. Outside of your house and not just walking around.” I stared straight ahead, bracing myself. “We should go out to dinner or maybe a movie.”

  “Are you asking me out?” she asked.


  I laughed under my breath. “That’s what it sounds like.”

  As the trees thinned out, large bales of hay came into view. “You don’t want to take me out on a date,” she said.

  “Why do you keep telling me what I don’t want?” I really wanted to know that.

  “Because you can’t,” she reasoned. “You can’t want any of this with me, not really. Maybe with Ash—”

  “I don’t want Ash.” I stopped walking and looked at her. “If I wanted her, I’d be with her. But I’m not. She’s not who I want.”

  “Neither am I. You can’t honestly tell me that you’d risk every Luxen around here turning their backs on you for me.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. “And you have got to stop assuming you know what I want and what I would do.”

  She started walking again. “It’s just the challenge and the connection, Daemon. Whatever you feel for me isn’t real.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I spat.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I know.” I appeared in front of Kat, eyes narrowed as I stared down at her. I thumped my hand off my chest, directly above my heart. “Because I know what I feel in here. And I’m not the type of person to run from anything, no matter how hard it is. I’d rather face-plant against a brick wall than live for the rest of my life wondering what could’ve been. And you know what? I didn’t think you were the type to run, either. Maybe I was wrong.”

  Kat blinked as she pulled her hands out of her hoodie. “I don’t run.”

  “You don’t? Because that’s what you’re doing,” I argued. “You pretend what you feel for me isn’t real or doesn’t exist. And I know damn well you don’t feel anything for Bobby.”

  “Blake,” she corrected, walking around me. I followed “I don’t want to talk—”

  I ground to a halt; my heart caught and then sped up in my chest, mirroring Kat’s. Two Expeditions were parked on either side of my car, blocking me in. Without saying a word, I stepped in front of Kat.

  The DOD was here.

  Chapter 15

  I recognized all of the DOD officers immediately. Officer Lane was the first to step forward, his wary gaze trained on me. “Hello, Mr. Black and Ms. Swartz,” he said.

  “Hey, Lane.” I kept my voice calm. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

  “We got into town a little early and saw your car.” Lane smiled.

  Officer Vaughn squinted, as if trying to see through me. For once in her life, Kat was remaining quiet behind me. “What were you guys doing out here?”

  “There was a party here last night, and we were looking for her cell phone.” I threw a grin over my shoulder and prayed to whoever may be listening that she didn’t have her cell on her and it didn’t ring. “She lost it and we’re still looking for it. So I can meet you guys later. Once we find the…”

  The passenger door of one of the Expeditions opened and an icy blonde-haired woman stepped out. I swallowed a curse, recognizing the sharp features. “Underage drinking?” She smiled, but it was fake. It was wrong.

  Every part of me tensed as I stared at Nancy Husher. Dealing with Lane and Vaughn was one thing, but this woman? She was trouble, and not the fun kind. I didn’t see her often, and the fact that she was here did not bode well.

  “We weren’t drinking,” Kat spoke up. “He knows better. His parents are like mine. They’d kill him.”

  I kept my face blank as a sheet of paper.

  “Well, I was hoping to catch up with you, Daemon, and we could get an early…dinner.” Lane motioned toward his Expedition. “We only have a few hours. I hate to cut your cell phone search-and-rescue short.”

  Staring at Husher for a moment, I nodded. “It’s okay. I can take her home and meet up with you guys.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Husher said. “We can take her back, and you guys can catch up.”

  Oh, I did not like that. Not at all. A muscle thrummed along my jaw, and I was seconds away from telling Husher she could go screw herself, but Kat stepped forward with a bright smile. “That’s cool with me,” she said. “I just hope it’s not going out of your way.”

  My right hand clenched and I wanted to shout at Kat. She didn’t know Husher, didn’t know what that woman was capable of. I didn’t want Kat in the same zip code as Husher, let alone in a vehicle with her.

  “It’s not out of the way,” Husher replied. “We love the roads back here. Fall colors and all. Ready?”

  Kat walked toward the SUV, glancing back at me as Husher opened the back door of the Expedition. I forced my legs to move toward my car, but I didn’t take my eyes off the vehicle. Not when Husher closed the door on Kat. Not when that woman smiled in my direction before climbing into the passenger seat. Not when Vaughn got behind the wheel. Not until the Expedition backed out of the field and pulled out onto the road, disappearing from view.

  There was nothing I could do.

  Helplessness poured into me, followed by bitter frustration.

  Lane stopped by his driver’s door. “They’ll take your friend home, Daemon.”

  I met his steady gaze and spoke the damn truth. “I don’t trust a single one of you.”

  “That’s a vice versa thing,” he replied. “Always has been. You and I know that, but they will take your friend home.”

  His words didn’t ease the tension building in me. “People know she left with me today,” I said, which so wasn’t true, but figured it couldn’t hurt. “If she disappears, it’s not going to look good for me.”

  Lane shook his head. “Like I said, that girl will go home.”

  “She better,” I warned, and left it at that.

  He opened his car door with a sigh. “I’m hungry. Let’s go grab something to eat.”

  Getting food was the last thing I wanted, but Smoke Hole was closer to home than where we were, so we headed there in each of our cars. Even though it was a Saturday and the waiting area was crowded, I came to Smoke Hole enough that we were seated immediately

  And the fact that the waitress was a Luxen and recognized who Lane was helped.

  No one was seated near us in the back.

  All I ordered was a glass of water, but Lane went all out, picking the meat loaf off the menu, like he always did when we met here. After the waitress rushed off to fulfill the orders, Lane leaned back in the seat, and when he spoke, he kept his voice low. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. What went down on Halloween night?”

  I folded my arms across my chest and met his stare. “Why has it taken so long for you all to come around and ask me?”

  “I just got my orders on Friday to talk to you,” he replied.

  “That doesn’t tell me anything.”

  “I don’t need to tell you more than that.” He raised his hands. “I’m not trying to be a dick to you, but I just carry out my orders, and when they change, I know better than to question them. You should learn from that.”

  My lips twisted into a wry smirk. “Well, you know me, I’m not real good at learning things.”

  Lane laughed drily. “Now, I know that’s not true.” He paused when our drinks arrived. “What happened over Halloween?”

  I took a healthy drink of my water before responding. “One of the guys from the colony got a little out of control. He was threatening my sister and… and my friends.”

  “Kind of odd to see you with a human friend,” he cut in.

  My finger trailed along the cool glass. “Well, it’s kind of hard not to when she lives right next door. That’s not my fault. You all let her and her mother move in. Anyway,” I went on, feigning boredom with the conversation. I went along with what I knew the Elders had told the DOD according to Matthew. “He was out of control. We fought. It was pretty impressive.”

  “I’ll say. Took out a satellite.”

  I grinned. “Cool.”