Groaning, I rolled onto my side and placed my hands on the split asphalt. My arm shook as I attempted to push myself up. My insides felt rattled and rearranged. I needed to get—
Darkness crept along the edge of my vision. There was a second before I realized it wasn’t because I was on the verge of passing out. Goose bumps rose along my arms. Something cold pressed along me.
Arum.
I flattened my body and wiggled under the van, seeking a few extra seconds to regain my strength and bearings. The smell of oil and fumes clogged my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut as I slid over the road, ignoring how the asphalt abraded my skin. I made it out on the other side and crawled around a sedan, gripping the bumper to lift myself.
The van started to shake, and then it slid out of the way.
The Arum stood in his human form, pale and eerily beautiful, a cold and apathetic beauty that stole my breath and repelled me. A slow, unnerving smile twisted his lips, and it was like being hit with frigid air.
He didn’t speak as he raised his arms.
Air stirred around me as I stumbled backward. Behind me, the palms shook and metal groaned. Wind roared, and at the last second I ducked. The trees were uprooted, spinning toward the Arum. The car slipped out of my grasp as if he were sucking it in. A tourist brochure rack spun in the air. Pieces of the road rose up, hovered for a second, and then flew to him. There was a sharp scream that pierced my ears.
A woman was flung past me, disappearing behind the Arum. Another crumpled body joined those on the ground.
He was like his own personal black hole, sucking up everything around and drawing it to him. I was no exception. No matter how hard I dug in, my feet dragged over the ground.
His icy fingers wrapped around my throat, and he lowered his head to mine. I couldn’t remember seeing an Arum’s eyes before. They were the palest shade of blue, like all the color had been leeched from them.
“What do we have here?” The Arum spoke out loud. He inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as if he could taste me. “A hybrid. Tasty.”
I was so not down with being an intergalactic late-night snack.
I threw my arm back, pulling on the Source, but the Arum’s free hand clamped down on my wrist, his grip punishing. My heart leaped in my throat as his cold cheek pressed against mine. His lips moved near my ear, sending a shudder of revulsion through me.
“This might hurt. A little,” he said, and then he laughed harshly. “Okay. It might hurt a lot.”
He was going to feed.
And that little part of my brain that still functioned thought this was a hell of a way to go out. After everything—Daedalus, the guns, the bullets, and everything else—I was going to be sucked dry.
Everything tightened inside me, a mixture of fear and rage, disgust and panic. It unraveled like a compressed Slinky, lashing out from the inside.
Energy roared through me, heightened my senses. I felt the Arum against me. I felt him align his mouth with mine, a scant few inches apart. I felt the breath he took, the deep shudder of power opening up inside him. And I felt the chilling, sucking pull that reached deep inside me, digging in with tiny hooks.
I placed my hand on the Arum’s chest, and that rush of energy left me like a sucker punch. There was no space between it and the Arum, nothing to lessen the effect. The Source exploded from me and immediately went into the Arum. The flare of light from me to him was intense. Energy imploded, throwing us apart.
The stars did cartwheels.
I hit the pavement on my side and rolled onto my back. The Arum was suspended in the air, his arms and legs spread wide. His body trembled once, then twice. A spot of light over his chest, the mark the Source had left behind, raced across his body in tiny fissures of white cracks, encompassing his entire body.
He burst into a thousand little pieces.
Holy alien babies…
As I staggered to my feet and twisted at the waist, my eyes met that of a young man. He looked like someone who was on autopilot, seeing everything but not really understanding what he was witnessing. I kind of sympathized with the dude. I was sure I’d had that same WTF look on my face when I saw Daemon stop the truck and realized I wasn’t dealing with something human.
I probably had that WTF look on my face right now.
My gaze dipped.
In his white-knuckled grip was a smartphone. Everything—he had captured everything on his cell phone. Namely my face. Such a stupid thing to worry about in that moment, especially considering everything else he must’ve captured, but I thought of this video being loaded on the Internet, going viral like those damn Hey Girl memes.
This wasn’t how I’d wanted my mom to discover that I was alive. Maybe not alive and well, but definitely kicking around.
But it was really too late.
I started toward the guy to get the phone, but he snapped out of it and took off. I could’ve run after him, but there were bigger problems to deal with.
The stench of smoke and death was everywhere. I staggered back to where I knew I had seen everyone last, using the red tourist bus as a destination, aching on a cellular level as I took in the damage. The guns—those PEP weapons—weren’t harmless if they didn’t hit a Luxen or hybrid. Lampposts were broken in two or melted, about to collapse. Pockets of fire lit up the entire Strip.
There were bodies littering the road.
I shuffled around them, grimacing at the melted and burned clothes, the ragged holes and scorched skin. It seemed unnecessary that there’d be so many innocent deaths. The Luxen were glowing like walking lightbulbs, and even we hybrids were pretty obvious. It was like the military didn’t care how many were taken out in friendly fire. Were they insane?
And I knew how the government would spin this—that it was our fault, that the Luxen were to blame, even though they had made the first strike, taking innocent lives.
Looking at all the bodies turned my stomach, but I kept picking my way through them until I felt the warmth skittering over the nape of my neck. Lifting my head, I saw Daemon in his human form fighting hand to hand with a soldier. My heart leaped when the soldier got a right hook in, but Daemon rebounded, taking him out with one punch.
He looked over, his gaze locking onto mine. His hair was damp, clinging to his forehead and temples. His eyes glowed like diamonds. Relief shot across his face, and he shook his head, the emotion in his eyes unbearable.
There was a flare of red farther down the Strip, reminding me of how incredibly dangerous the streets still were. I took another step forward, seeing Ash and Beth rounding an overturned Humvee. I was happy to see them still standing, even though tears were flowing freely from Ash’s eyes. Her brother…
I sucked in a breath. So much—
“Kat!” roared Daemon.
Strong arms circled me from behind. The instinct to fight and struggle kicked in, but I was pulled back an instant before a red pulse shot past right where I’d been standing. The PEP zoomed by, heading straight for Beth. I heard Dawson’s enraged shout, and time slowed down until it was a near crawl. The arms around me loosened enough. Archer’s voice was yelling in my ear. Daemon was running, leaping cars.
Ash spun toward Beth, moving incredibly fast, as fast as a bullet. Her arms went around the girl and she twisted, shoving Beth out of the way.
The shot hit Ash in the back.
Light exploded up her spine, following the network of veins. Her head snapped back and her knees folded under her. She fell forward, lacking the grace that always seemed natural to her.
She didn’t move.
I broke free from Archer’s hold, reaching her side the moment Daemon did. He grasped her shoulders, turning her over. Shimmery blue liquid spilled out of her mouth as her head flopped back over Daemon’s arm.
Somewhere, a man’s scream was cut short by a sickening crunch.
“Ash,” Daemon said, giving her a little shake. “Ash.”
Her eyes were fixed on the endless sky above. Part of me already kne
w it, but my brain refused to accept it. Ash and I would never be friends. We probably would never be upgraded to frenemy status, either, but she was incredibly strong, stubborn, and I honestly thought she’d be like a cockroach, outliving nuclear fallout.
But that beautiful human form—those painfully stunning features—faded in the soft glow that quickly dulled. There was nothing of Ash in Daemon’s arms, just a shell of translucent skin and narrow veins.
“No,” I whispered, staring at Daemon.
His body shuddered.
“Dammit,” Dawson said. His arms were around a softly crying Beth. “She…”
Beth gulped. “She saved my life.”
Standing beside Dawson, Dee pressed her hands to her mouth. She said nothing, but it was all etched upon her face.
“Guys, we really need to…” Luc appeared behind Daemon, pausing with a severe frown. “Damn.”
I lifted my head, having no idea what to say. And it would be pointless if I had. A car or something exploded somewhere.
“I’ve got a big SUV about a block down the road—all of us will fit in it,” Luc started. “We’ve got to go while the road is clear. They’ll send more soldiers, and I won’t be able to take them out again. Neither will all of you. We’re running out of steam.”
“We can’t leave them here,” Daemon argued fiercely.
Archer chimed in. “We don’t have a choice. We stay here a second longer and we join them—Kat joins them.”
A muscle flexed in Daemon’s jaw, and my heart ached for him. They’d grown up with the Thompsons, and I knew a part of Daemon did love Ash. Not the same way he loved me, but no less important.
“I don’t want to leave Paris here,” Luc said, catching Daemon’s eyes. “He doesn’t deserve to be left behind, but we have no choice.”
Something must’ve connected in Daemon’s head, because he laid Ash down gently and stood. I followed his lead. “Where’s the car?” he asked, his voice hard.
Luc gestured down the road.
I reached out to Daemon, and he took my hand. There had been ten of us however many minutes ago. Now only seven raced across the dark road strewn with burned-out cars, bodies, and debris. I kept my legs moving, refusing to allow myself to really think about things.
Luc had found a Dodge Journey and a truck, but we only needed one of them now. That realization sent a pang of grief through me. Archer got in the driver’s seat of the Journey and Luc in the front.
“Hurry,” Luc urged. “There’s still some traffic up ahead, but it’s moving, and the blockade is gone. People are fleeing the city. We should get lost among them.”
Dawson helped Beth into one side while Daemon and I went to the other. We climbed into the very back, and Dee joined Dawson and Beth in the middle row. The doors weren’t even shut before Archer peeled off.
Numbness settled into my body as I twisted in the seat, staring out the back window as we raced around cars and narrowly avoided panicked people in the streets. We were leaving the city behind—leaving Paris, Andrew, and Ash behind.
I kept staring out the back window, watching Vegas burn.
Chapter 30
KATY
The ride was silent and tense. Besides the fact that all of us were looking over our shoulders, expecting the entire military to be on our tails, none of us knew what to say or if anything could be said.
Turning in Daemon’s arms, I pressed my face into his chest and inhaled the rich, woodsy scent. The scent of death and destruction hadn’t lingered on him, and I was grateful. If I closed my eyes and held my breath until I lost a few brain cells, I could almost imagine that we were just taking a ride in the desert.
He hadn’t bothered with the buckling stuff. At some point, he had pulled me away from the back window and nestled me between his thighs. I didn’t mind. More than anything, his embrace was grounding in the aftermath. And I think he needed it, too. I wished I could be inside his head, knowing what he was thinking right now.
I smoothed my thumb over the spot above his heart, mindlessly tracing odd shapes against his chest. I hoped guilt wasn’t eating away at him. None of what happened—the deaths—had been his fault. I wanted to tell him that, but I didn’t want to break the silence, either. It seemed that everyone in the car was mourning someone.
I hadn’t been close with Andrew and Ash, and I hadn’t known Paris that well, but their deaths hurt nonetheless. Each of them had died saving someone else, and most people would never know their names or what they’d sacrificed. But we would. Their loss would leave a mark on all of us for a long time coming, if not for eternity.
Daemon’s hand smoothed up my back and threaded through my messy hair until his fingers brushed the back of my neck. He shifted slightly, and I felt his lips on my forehead. My grip on his shirt constricted along with my chest.
I stretched up, my lips brushing against his ear. “I love you so very much.”
His body tensed and then relaxed. “Thank you.”
Unsure of what he was thanking me for, I curled against him, listening to his heart beat steadily. Every part of me ached, and I was tired, but sleep seemed impossible. Two hours in, Luc had said that heading to Arizona would be too risky and too close to Vegas. I hadn’t even noticed in which direction we were heading. There was another place he had—in one of the largest towns in Idaho, something called Coeur d’Alene. Another fifteen hours from where we were.
Dee had spoken up then, asking how he had so many properties when he was barely pushing fifteen. I thought that was a very good question.
“There’s a lot of money in the kind of club I run, and favors don’t come cheap,” he said. “So I like to keep my options open, own a couple of hidey holes around the States. You never know when you’ll need them.”
Dee seemed to accept the answer. And really, what choice did we have?
We stopped once to get gas somewhere in northern Utah the following morning. Dawson and Daemon went in to pick up some drinks and food, but not before changing their appearances. The rest of us stayed behind the tinted windows while Archer filled the tank, keeping his head low under a baseball cap that had been in the car.
Too anxious to sit still, I leaned forward and checked on Bethany.
“She’s sleeping,” Dee said quietly. “I don’t know how she can sleep. I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again.”
“I’m sorry.” I placed my hand on the back of her seat. “I really am. I know you were close to them, and I wish…I wish a lot of things were different.”
“Me, too,” she said, placing her hand over mine. She laid her cheek on the seat and blinked several times. Her eyes were misty. “None of this seems real. Or is it just me?”
“It’s not just you.” I squeezed her hand. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up.”
“And it’ll be months ago, right before prom, huh?”
I nodded, but that kind of wishful thinking was a one-way ticket to Downersville. Daemon and Dawson returned, their arms full of bags.
When Archer was once again behind the wheel, they started doling out drinks and snacks. Daemon handed me a small green bag of Funyuns. My breath was going to be kicking. “Thank you.”
“Just don’t try to kiss me for a while,” he said.
I smiled, and it felt weird to do so, but his eyes glimmered when I did, and I knew the no-kissing rule wasn’t going to last very long. Not when he had that look in his eyes.
“Did you hear anything interesting in the convenience store?” I asked, curious.
Daemon and Dawson exchanged a quick glance. I couldn’t decipher it, but I was immediately suspicious when Daemon shook his head. “Nothing important.”
My eyes narrowed.
He arched a brow at me.
“Daemon…”
He sighed. “There was a TV on behind the counter, airing live from Vegas. It was muted, though, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”
“Nothing else?”
There was a pause. “A few people
checking out were talking about aliens and how they always suspected that the government was covering it up. Something stupid about a UFO crashing in Roswell back in the fifties. I honestly stopped listening.”
I relaxed a little. That was good news. At least there was no mention of lynch mobs hunting down aliens. We drove most of the day, but the more miles we put between Vegas and ourselves didn’t really ease the tension. It would be a long time before any of us was truly comfortable.
The first things I noticed about northern Idaho were the tall fir trees and the majestic slope of the mountain range in the distance. The town near the large, deep blue lake was small in comparison to Vegas but bustling. We passed an entrance to a resort, and I tried to pay attention to the directions Luc was giving Archer, but I sucked at directions. He lost me at “turn right at the intersection.”
Another fifteen minutes or so and we were at the edge of the national forest. And if I thought Petersburg was in the middle of nowhere, I obviously hadn’t seen anything yet.
The Dodge bumped along a narrow dirt road crowded with firs and other trees that looked perfect for hanging Christmas decorations.
“I think we might get eaten by a bear,” Daemon commented as he stared out the window.
“Well, that might happen, but you won’t have to worry about too many Arum.” Luc twisted in his seat and flashed a tired grin. “This place has natural quartzite deposits but no Luxen that I’m aware of.”
Daemon nodded. “Good stuff.”
“The Arum…do you think they just happened to show up?” Dee asked.
“Not at all,” Archer replied, looking in the rearview mirror for a second. He smiled a little, I think for Beth. “Daedalus has some Arum on the back burner, called out when Luxen…step out of line. There was this issue in Colorado, right before they caught up with you guys outside of Mount Weather. Some lady in a wrong place, wrong time situation, and an Arum was brought in.”
“You met him,” Luc said, glancing back at Daemon. “You know, the Arum at my club you wanted to go all He-Man on? Yeah, he was called in by the DOD to take care of one of the problems.”
Lux [4] Origin Page 32
