Oblivion

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Dawson. He was in his human form when he skidded to a stop, facing me. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “You’re supposed to be with Katy.”

  Half tempted to pick him up and throw him through a tree, I struggled to keep a tight leash on my fury as I shifted back. “Yeah. I was with Kat, up until the moment Dee called me and told me you made a run for it.” Dawson’s hands curled into fists. “You didn’t need to leave her. You shouldn’t have left her. Not with—”

  “Don’t,” I warned, lifting my hand. “Don’t you dare think I don’t know how dangerous it is for her to be out there when I’m chasing your ass around.”

  “Then why are you here?” he fired back, his eyes turning luminous. Off in the distance, thunder cracked in response to the violent energy he was throwing off.

  I stepped toward him. “You really going to ask that question? Seriously? Did they knock a few brain cells out when the DOD had you?”

  “I’m going to knock a few out of your head.”

  Fighting my brother was the last thing I wanted. No. It was actually the first thing I wanted right now. I lifted my arms. “Try it.”

  Dawson didn’t need any further coaxing. Shifting into his Luxen form, his light tinged in blue, he lunged at me. I changed as I caught him. He was out of practice, because he wasn’t able to break my hold as I lifted him up and threw him back several feet. He landed in a nimble crouch and slammed his hand down in the snow.

  A wall of snow flew into the air, coming at me with speed of a racing train. I spun out to the side, but wasn’t fast enough. The heavy snow came down on me, burying me several feet.

  Son of a bitch.

  A burst of energy left me, throwing snow up in the air in a shower of light. I sprang out, furious as icicles fell from the elm trees. Jesus, those things could’ve impaled someone. Dawson was on the run again, racing over the fallen trees and mounds of snow.

  I took off after him, easily catching up to him. He tried to turn to the left, but I caught him around the shoulders, taking him to the ground. Dawson bucked, nearly tossing me over his shoulders, but I wasn’t letting go.

  Just stop, I told him. Just freaking stop.

  A shout of rage bounced around my skull. He rolled, and I almost lost my hold. I dug in, kicking up snow as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Standing, I forced him onto his feet. Don’t do this, I told him. Don’t put us through losing you all over again.

  You need to let me go. He gripped my arms as I felt a warm tingle along the base of my neck, but before I could investigate that, he broke my hold, managing to shove me back a foot.

  Oh, I was so done with this.

  I shot forward, wrapping my arms around his waist, and then I launched both of us into the air. I brought him back down into the snow, slamming him through the layers. Icicles and clumps of snow rained down all around us. Whitish-blue light pulsed out from Dawson, slamming into the trees around us.

  Jesus, Dawson grunted. That wasn’t necessary.

  I held him down, hands on his shoulders. It was necessary.

  Dawson tried to roll me, but we both froze as a voice spoke loud and clear. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Kat.

  Well, that explained the warm and fuzzy feeling along the back of my neck.

  We both shifted into our human forms as we looked over to where Kat stood.

  “I thought I told you to go home and stay there,” I said, voice thin with warning.

  “And the last time I checked, you don’t get to tell me to go home and stay.” She took a step toward us. “Look, I was worried. I thought I’d come and help.”

  My lips pulled back in a sneer. “And how would’ve you helped?”

  “I think I did. I got you two idiots to stop fighting.”

  I stared at her in a way that promised we’d be talking about this later.

  Dawson pushed at me. “Let me up, brother.”

  I looked down at him. “I don’t know. You’re probably going to run and make me chase you again.”

  “You can’t stop me,” he said, voice apathetic.

  Muscles in my arms and back flexed as I held him down. “I can and I will. I’m not letting you do this to yourself. She—”

  “She’s what? Not worth it?”

  “She wouldn’t want you to do this,” I seethed. “If the situation were flipped, you wouldn’t want her doing this.”

  Dawson reared up and got to his feet. “If they had Katy—”

  “Don’t go there.” My hands curled into fists.

  He went there. “If they had her, you’d be doing the same thing. Don’t lie.”

  I opened my mouth, but he was right. I wouldn’t lie. I already knew this. I glanced to where Kat stood, her arms wrapped around her waist, shielding her from the cold wind whipping through the trees. If they had her, nothing, and I mean nothing, would stop me from going after her. I stepped back, thrusting both hands through my hair.

  Kat inched closer. “We can’t stop you. You’re right.”

  Dawson jerked toward her. “Then let me go.”

  “But we can’t do that, either.” She glanced at me before she continued. “Dee and your brother have spent the last year believing you were dead. That killed them. You have no idea.”

  “You have no idea what I went through,” he said, and then looked away from her. “Okay, maybe you do a little. What was done to you is being done a thousand times over to Beth. I can’t just forget about her even though I love my brother and sister.”

  I inhaled sharply. It was the first time Dawson had even acknowledged that he gave two shits about us since we had him back.

  “And they know that,” Kat rushed on. “I know that. No one expects you to forget about Beth, but running off and getting yourself captured isn’t helping anyone.”

  “What are the alternatives?” Dawson asked.

  Kat drew in a deep breath as she glanced at me again. I stiffened, having a feeling I wasn’t going to like what was about to come out of her mouth.

  “Let us help you.”

  “What?” I demanded.

  She ignored me, like always, it seemed. “You know bum-rushing the DOD isn’t going to work. We need to find out where Beth is, if they are even keeping her here, and we need a plan to get to her. A really thought-out plan with low fail potential.”

  Both of us stared at her. I had no idea what Dawson was thinking, but I wanted to throttle Kat…in the gentlest way possible. How could she offer to help him when we had no idea where to even begin looking for Beth? Because I doubted she was being kept where Dawson had been. The DOD couldn’t be that stupid. But most importantly, I didn’t want her anywhere near the DOD or this issue with Dawson. No way.

  Dawson turned away from Kat, his back straight as he stared up at the trees. “I can’t stand the idea of them having her. It hurts to breathe just thinking about it.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  My brother nodded. “Okay.”

  A muscle began to tick along my jaw, and it took a huge amount of self-control to keep my mouth shut.

  Kat had no problem talking. “But you have to promise to give us time. You can’t get impatient and run off. You have to swear.”

  A shudder rolled through Dawson as he faced her. His arms dropped to his sides. “I swear. Help me and I swear.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  I closed my eyes for a brief second, partially relieved that Dawson was backing down and partially infuriated by Kat involving herself in this. Her fingers were like ice cubes when I took the keys from her. The walk to the SUV was strained and silent. We piled into my car, Dawson in the back. The fight had gone out of him, and he was resting his head against the backseat of the SUV, eyes closed.

  Kat watched me as I pulled off the shoulder of the road, then she peered over the back of her seat. “Hey, Dawson…?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you want to go back to school?”

  My hands tightened on the steering wheel.<
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  “I mean, I’m sure you can,” she continued, nibbling on her finger. “You could tell people you ran away. It happens.”

  “People think he’s dead,” I pointed out, my voice harsh.

  “I’m sure some runaways all across the nation are believed to be dead and aren’t,” she reasoned.

  “What do I tell them about Beth?” he asked after a moment.

  “That’s a good question.” Challenge dripped from my voice.

  Kat paused from gnawing on her finger. “That you both ran away, and you decided to come home. She didn’t.”

  Leaning forward, Dawson rested his chin in the palms of his hands. “Better than sitting around thinking about everything.”

  “He’d have to get registered for classes,” I said, and as much as I hated to admit it, her idea was a good one. If Dawson was in school, I wouldn’t have to worry about him running off while Dee and I were there. He would be contained at least eight hours a day. “I’ll talk to Matthew. See what we can do to get it taken care of.”

  Proud of herself, Kat settled back in her seat with a smile.

  Dee was waiting on the front porch when I pulled into the driveway, Andrew standing sentry beside her. Dawson was out first, heading toward Dee. They spoke and then embraced. That was another first since he’d arrived.

  Turning off the car, I looked over at Kat. “I thought I told you to go home.”

  Her smile faded as she looked over at me. “I had to help.”

  Turning my gaze to the windshield, I dropped my hands to my lap. “What would you have done if it wasn’t Dawson you came upon, but me fighting the DOD or whatever the hell the other group is?”

  “Daedalus,” she said. “And if it were them, I would’ve still helped.”

  “Yeah, and that’s what I have a problem with.” I got out of the SUV and walked around to the front. Leaning against the bumper, I waited for her.

  A handful of seconds later, she joined me. “I know you’re upset because you worry about me,” she said. “But I’m not going to be the girl who sits at home and waits for the hero to wipe out the villains.”

  “This isn’t a book,” I snapped.

  “Well, duh—”

  “No. You don’t get it.” I turned to her, furious at her and frightened for her. “This isn’t a paranormal fantasy or whatever the hell it is you read. There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren’t obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings and you—” I lowered my head so we were eye level. “You are not a superhero, no matter what the hell you can do.”

  Her gray eyes turned stormy. “I know this isn’t a book, Daemon. I’m not stupid.”

  “You’re not?” I laughed without humor. “Because being smart isn’t rushing off after me.”

  “The same could be said about you!” Anger rose in her voice, matching mine. “You run off after Dawson without knowing what you’re getting into.”

  “No shit. But I can control the Source without trying. I know what I’m capable of. You don’t.”

  “I know what I’m capable of,” she threw back.

  “Really? If I’d been surrounded by human officers, would you have been able to take them down. Live with yourself after that?”

  Her lips parted as blood drained out of her cheeks. Her voice came out as a whisper. “I’m prepared to do that.”

  God, I didn’t want to hear that. I took a step back, shaking my head. “Dammit, Kat, I don’t want you to experience that.” Raw emotion slammed into my chest. “Killing isn’t hard. It’s what comes afterward—the guilt. I don’t want you to deal with that. Don’t you understand that? I don’t want you to have this kind of life.”

  “But I already have this kind of life. All the hoping, wishing, and good intentions in the world aren’t going to change that.”

  That just pissed me off more, because I never, never wanted her to experience any of that. “That issue aside, what you promised Dawson was freaking unbelievable.”

  “What?” Her arms dropped to her sides.

  “Help him find Beth? How in the hell are we supposed to do that?”

  She shifted from one foot to the next. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.”

  “Oh, that’s good, Kat. We don’t know how to find her but we’ll help. Awesome plan.”

  Heat flooded her cheeks again. “You’re such a hypocrite! You told me yesterday we’d find out what Will was up to, but you have no idea how. The same thing with Daedalus!”

  I opened my mouth, but shit, she had me.

  “And you couldn’t lie to Dawson when he asked what you’d do if they had me. You’re not the only one who gets to make brash and stupid decisions.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  She cocked a brow. “Lame argument.”

  I shot forward. “You had no right to make those kinds of promises to my brother. He’s not your family.”

  Kat flinched as she took a step back, and a part of me regretted my words, but she had made a promise we had no idea how to keep to my more-than-slightly-unstable brother.

  “Dawson is my problem, because he’s your problem.” Her voice shook as she continued. “We’re in this together.”

  My eyes met hers. “Not on everything, Kat. Sorry. That’s just the way it is.”

  She drew back again, blinking rapidly. “If we’re not together on everything, then how can we really be together?” Her voice cracked. “Because I don’t see how that’s possible.”

  My eyes widened. Shit. “Kat—”

  She shook her head and then backed away from me. Pivoting around, she walked over to her house, her movements stiff. I wanted to go after her. I wanted to stop her. I didn’t want tonight to end like this.

  But I didn’t.

  Chapter 6

  After I met with Matthew Sunday morning, he said he could work something out with the officials that would allow Dawson to return to school. It wasn’t going to be easy, and not just the technicalities of Dawson reentering school. It was going to be a lot for him to deal with.

  “It’s a good idea,” Matthew had said.

  Yeah, it had been a good idea, but it was going to be a freak show when it happened, just like it had been after he and Bethany had disappeared and after Adam had died.

  The only thing different this time was that we could prepare for it. Since Dawson wasn’t able to make his grand reappearance until sometime midweek, we were going to be able to lay the groundwork as soon as we returned to school Monday. Dawson’s return wouldn’t be kept secret there.

  It was Sunday afternoon and Dee was upstairs with Dawson, attempting to convince him to let her cut his hair. I was pacing the length of the living room, my thoughts on the house next door. On the person next door.

  Some of the anger had faded from last night, enabling me to see that I kind of made a mess out of explaining why I was so furious with her. As impossible as it was, I wanted her far away from all of this.

  Scrubbing my hands down my face, I muttered a curse under my breath. How could I keep her away from any of this? She was a part of this, like the damn center of it all.

  I dropped my arms to my sides. Staring at the wall, I wanted to slam my fists into the plaster. Damn, sometimes not caring about anyone was so much freaking easier. Feeling for a person, wanting them safe at all costs, was probably one of the scariest stunts I’d ever pulled.

  I started for the kitchen when I sensed a nearby Luxen. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Glancing out the window, I saw that it wasn’t Adam or Matthew, not even Ash.

  Lydia stood at the door.

  Not surprised that someone from the colony finally showed up, I went to the door and opened it. “I know why you’re here and no, you can’t see him.”