Oblivion

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  A gun went off. Once. Twice. A third time.

  My head whipped toward the sound, and I smiled. The bullets stopped inches from my face, hovering as if they were suspended. My gaze flickered to Vaughn’s. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”

  Comprehension flooded Vaughn’s pale face. “No—no!”

  The bullets flipped over and returned to the sender with an alarming speed. They hit Vaughn in the chest. He crumpled to the ground. Red splashed across the snow.

  Blake tore free, knocking into the side of the bumper. He staggered a step and then gained his footing. He took off, and Kat was right behind him. Both were moving incredibly fast, tapping into their borrowed abilities.

  I chased after them, picking up speed as Blake spun around, sending a blast of light behind him. It struck Kat in the chest, knocking her back a few steps. I clenched my jaw when another hit her in the shoulder and then her leg. She hit the ground on her hands and knees, and I roared my rage.

  “I’m sorry…” he said, shaking. “Katy, I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”

  Switching back to my true form, I moved to her right as she picked herself up. What do you want to do with him?

  He…he killed Adam. She swayed unsteadily as the wind whipped her hair around her. “He killed him. And hurt Dee.”

  I nearly lost it then. Energy rose inside, violent and destructive. Taking a step toward him, I shifted back.

  “So many have died tonight,” Kat whispered.

  Blake’s gaze darted toward her. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry. I never wanted any of this happen. I only wanted to protect Chris.”

  My hands closed into fists. At that moment, I didn’t give two shits about this Chris, but there had been so much death tonight. Adam. The Arum. Vaughn. Now I’d killed three humans, and I wanted to add a fourth to that terrible list. So badly, but taking out Blake meant I would be taking out the Luxen too, and this Chris was obviously very much alive. That would be five deaths on my hands. Blake deserved it, but I…

  I wasn’t going to be the only person looking for him. So would the DOD. If I let him go, he would find his death at the hands of someone else.

  Blake drew in a ragged breath, wiping at the blood under his nose. “I’m—”

  “Shut up,” I growled. “Go. Go now before I don’t give you a choice.”

  Shock splashed across Blake’s face. “You’re letting me go?”

  I glanced at Kat, but she lowered her head, silent. I was done. So was Kat.

  “Go and never, ever come back here,” I ordered. “If I ever see you again, I will kill you.”

  Blake was still for a moment, and then he pivoted around, taking off. I watched him go for a long moment, and then I turned to Kat. She staggered to the side, and her knees went out. I caught her before she hit the ground and switched into my Luxen form.

  Instinct took hold, and as I held her close, I folded one hand along the back of her head and I healed her. God, I was so angry, but I took away the bruises and the pain. I wished I could take everything else away—all her lies, the guilt she would now face, the pain that would cut deeper than any physical wound, because this…all of this could’ve been prevented if she had just listed to me.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, my arm around her waist tightened. I pinned her to my chest as I swallowed the knot in my throat. Pressure built in my chest as I lowered my cheek to the top of her head. I sat back, my ass planted in the snow. My throat seized off.

  Daemon?

  My fingers curled in her hair. I told you we couldn’t trust him.

  Kat trembled. I’m sorry. I thought…I thought if I learned how to fight, I could keep you safe, all of you safe.

  I lifted my head as I returned to my human form. Staring down at her in disbelief, my entire body shook with the force of the anger rolling through me.

  “Daemon, I—”

  “Don’t apologize. Just don’t apologize.” I lifted her out of my lap and sat her on the ground. Climbing to my feet, I drew in a short, rough breath. “Did you know he was working with the DOD this entire time?”

  “No.” She shot to her feet and swayed. I caught her elbow, holding her until she stopped moving. Once she was steady, I let go. I had to. Tears streamed down her pale face. “I didn’t know until a few nights ago. And even then I wasn’t sure.”

  A few nights ago?

  “Dammit,” I spat, forcing myself to take a step back from her. “Was that the night you went to Vaughn’s on your own?”

  “Yes, but I wasn’t sure.” She lifted bloodied hands and stopped short from thrusting them through her hair. “I should’ve told you then, but I didn’t know for sure, and I didn’t want to add anything for you to worry about.” Her voice cracked. “I didn’t know.”

  I looked away, jaw clenching. “Adam is dead. My sister almost lost her life.”

  She sucked air. “I’m so—”

  “Don’t! Don’t you dare apologize!” I yelled, eyes glowing through the darkness. “Adam’s death will destroy my sister. I told you we couldn’t trust Blake, that if you wanted to learn how to fight, I would’ve shown you! But you didn’t listen. And you’ve brought the DOD into your life, Kat! Who knows what they know now?”

  “I didn’t tell him anything!” Her voice broke again. “I never told him you healed me.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Do you think he didn’t guess?”

  She winced and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

  I flinched, because sorry…sorry changed nothing. “And those times you were covered in bruises? That was him, wasn’t it? He was hurting you during training, wasn’t he? And never once did you think there may be something wrong with him? Goddammit, Kat! You’ve lied to me. You didn’t trust me!”

  “I do trust—”

  “Bullshit!” I shot forward, in her face. “Don’t say you trust me when it’s apparent you never did!”

  Kat said nothing, because there wasn’t anything to say. I was right.

  A burst of energy left me, slamming into an oak tree. It cracked with a loud snapping sound and then folded into a tree beside it. Kat jumped, gasping for air.

  “All of this could’ve been prevented. Why couldn’t you trust me?” My voice cracked, and a fresh wave of tears coursed down her cheeks. I started forward, but stopped. Our eyes met. “I would’ve kept you safe.”

  Pain flared in her eyes. She lifted her hand, reaching for me, but I stepped back. I turned and I left her there, in the barren coldness that had invaded my chest.

  Chapter 27

  Dee was awake when I returned to the house. She was on her knees, her cheek pressed to Adam’s still chest. Her entire body shook with the force of her sobs. Seeing her so broken killed me.

  I walked over to her and knelt down, placing my hands on her shoulders. She didn’t seem aware of me. Ash was in Andrew’s arms on the other side of Adam. Matthew stood above them, and I could barely look at him.

  It was Adam my gaze settled on and stayed there for a while. Adam hadn’t deserved this. God, none of us deserved this. Not even Kat.

  “Come on.” My voice was gruff as I tugged Dee away from Adam. Her blotchy red face crumpled a second before she wrapped her arms around my neck. “Shh,” I whispered as I picked her up. “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be all right.”

  Her tears were already soaking my shirt.

  I looked at Matthew. “I’m going to take her next door, and then I’ll take care of everything outside.”

  He nodded without looking at me. “I’ll…I’ll take care of this.”

  “Can you stay with Dee first?” I didn’t want her alone.

  Dragging his gaze from Adam, he looked dazed. “Yes.” Matthew followed me next door. I kept Dee’s face pinned to my chest so she didn’t see Vaughn’s body. Warm air rushed at us as I walked into my house. I gently placed Dee on the couch. She immediately rolled onto her side, away from me.

  I pressed my forehead to her cheek, my hands shaking. “I’m sorry, Dee. I’m so
damn sorry.”

  Dee cried louder.

  Matthew sat by her legs, his head hanging. “God…”

  Pushing away from the couch, I knocked the hair off my forehead and pivoted around. Energy rippled through me. I wanted to destroy something, but shit, there was already a mess outside.

  “Where is he?” Matthew asked, his voice hoarse. “Blake?”

  “Gone,” I answered after a moment. “He’s gone. He won’t be back.”

  “You let him go?” Surprise filled his tone.

  I closed my eyes. “We’ll talk when I get back, okay?”

  None of this needed to be said in front of Dee.

  I walked back outside. Ash was standing near the body of Vaughn. She didn’t look up as I went to her side. “Andrew is taking Adam back…back to the house.” Her voice was shaky, fragile. “I…don’t know what to do.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said again, the words nowhere near adequate.

  “I thought it would be you.” Her teary gaze met mine. “I thought she would get you killed, but it was my brother.”

  Despite what I knew and what I didn’t know yet, I defended Kat. “She didn’t want this to happen. If anything…” I sighed, weary as my gaze fell to Vaughn. “If anything, she was trying to avoid this.”

  “But it did happen, didn’t—” Her voice broke off.

  The next thing I knew, white light swallowed Vaughn’s body. The Source was coming from Ash. I didn’t stop her. Nothing but ash remained where Vaughn once lay. “I want to kill them all,” she gritted out. “All of them.”

  Ash brushed past me, and I turned halfway, watching her head into my house. I knew what she was feeling. I’d gone through it before, and there would be nothing that I could say that would make it okay.

  I took care of Vaughn’s Expedition and Blake’s truck, moving them both farther down the road before I tapped into the Source and lit them up. I fed the fire that engulfed them, the flames turning white. After several minutes, there was nothing left of them, not even a burned-out shell.

  Exhausted and raw, I returned to the house. Ash was sitting on the couch with Dee’s head in her lap. I went straight to my sister, picked her up, and held her in my lap. Her sobs had quieted, but every so often, she trembled.

  “I’m going to go next door,” Matthew announced. He’d been standing near the window. “She’s going to need help.”

  I closed my eyes against the fresh wave of anger and damn near crushing disappointment. Ash didn’t say anything. None of us did. All I could think about as the three of us sat there was how lucky I was right then. Because no matter how pissed off I was at Kat, she was alive, and it had nothing to do with the life-and-death connection between us.

  I had no idea how much time passed before Matthew returned. Then it was the four of us. At some point, I passed out while holding my sister, and I knew Ash slept, but I didn’t think Matthew did. In the morning, Andrew returned. When Dee woke, she didn’t want to stay here, and I didn’t really want to let her go with Ash and Andrew, but she wanted to be with them. I couldn’t refuse her. I watched the three of them leave and then turned to where Matthew sat on the arm of the couch.

  He rested his hands on his knees. “I helped Katy clean up.”

  Feeling as if I were a hundred years old, I sat in the recliner. I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t find anything to say.

  “She thinks all of this is her fault,” he continued when I said nothing. “I…I don’t know all the details, Daemon, but I think…I think she was trying to prevent this.”

  I scrubbed my hand over my face. “I know. I know that, Matthew.”

  He drew in a stuttered breath. “She’s hurting.”

  Closing my eyes, my hand formed a fist against my forehead. Everybody was hurting. All of us. But I knew Kat’s was a different kind of pain.

  “She told me that you two let Blake go,” Matthew said. “And she told me that he claimed the DOD was forcing him to work for them. That they had one of ours, the one who…who changed him, in their custody.”

  “That’s what he claims,” I said tiredly, lifting my head. “I don’t know if any of it is true, but a Luxen had to have…changed him. Killing him would’ve…”

  “Killed the Luxen.”

  I nodded. “That wasn’t the only reason, Matthew. I was just…I was done. Killing a human, even him…I was just done.”

  A few moments passed while Matthew stared at the blank TV screen. “He won’t get far if what he claims is true. The DOD will be after him.”

  “They’ll be after all of us.”

  Matthew shook his head. “It sounded like Vaughn went rogue. From what I gathered from Katy, he was taking her somewhere, and it had nothing to do with the DOD. Blake might’ve been sent here by Husher or other DOD members, but with him on the run, maybe they don’t know about Katy. From what he told her, Vaughn wasn’t telling Husher anything Blake was reporting back to him. Something else was or is going on.”

  “I guess we’ll find out.” I sighed. “Is it messed up that I’m not even worried about that right now?” I laughed, because that sounded crazy. It was crazy. “It feels like no matter what we do, everything is already set in motion. Nothing…nothing will change it.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what I believed anymore.

  Matthew was quiet for several moments. “You…changed Katy, didn’t you? That was why you were asking all those questions?”

  Nodding, I didn’t see any point at the moment to mention Dawson or Bethany, which was a huge freaking wake-up call, because Kat hadn’t been the only one lying.

  So had I.

  “How did it happen?” he asked.

  Leaning back against the cushion, I eyed Matthew. “Halloween night. She was hurt, and so was Dee. I’d been knocked down and I…I tried to heal her so she could get away from Baruck, but something happened. She pulled the Source from both Dee and me, and she killed Baruck.”

  His eyes widened slightly. “That wasn’t the first time you healed her.”

  I shook my head. “After the attack at the library, I did and…and once more, a minor injury. I wasn’t thinking when I did it. But after she killed Baruck, she was hurt. She was…” My voice trailed off, and I cleared my throat. “She was dying, Matt. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  He stared at me. “You love her.”

  My mouth opened, and for a moment I couldn’t speak. Then I did in a voice I barely recognized. “I do. I love her.”

  “Of course.” His smile was sort of sad. “You wouldn’t have been able to change her if you didn’t.”

  Some of the pressure squeezing the hell out of my chest lessened. I loved Kat. I was in love with her, and I was damn lucky she was alive. Despite all the craziness, the arguing and fighting, the lies and the miscommunication, I was in love with her. Was that such a shock? Not really. Truth be told, I fell for her the first time she mouthed off at me. I just hadn’t fully admitted it to myself.

  “I know you’re upset with her right now, but it’s obvious that what you feel for her isn’t some fleeting emotion. You love her,” Matthew said quietly as he rose. “You need to talk to her, because right now, you both…you both need each other. More than ever.”

  I didn’t say anything as he walked toward the front door. “I’m going to go check on Andrew and Ash.” He reached for the handle and stopped. “Happy New Year, Daemon.”

  I’d slept what felt like an eternity before waking Sunday evening. After I took a shower where it felt like I scrubbed off years of emotional crap, I headed downstairs. I didn’t stop. I walked outside and went next door. I didn’t feel her in the house, but I had a feeling I knew where she’d gone.

  Snow continued to fall as I walked down the road. The fluffy white stuff covered the scorched marks from where I burned the two vehicles. It was almost like I could pretend none of that happened yesterday.

  A warm tingle spread across my neck. I stepped out of the woods an
d into the snow-covered clearing. She was standing at the edge of the frozen lake. Jesus, she was barely dressed to be out here. Granted, she was definitely something more than human, but would wearing a jacket every once in a while kill her? The moon reflected off the ice, casting silvery light across the still surface. I stopped directly behind her and for a moment just…just reveled in the fact that she was still standing, that the one person outside of my family who meant the world to me was still here. Matthew had been right. We needed each other, especially in this moment, more than ever before.