Daemon’s face was an inch from Blake’s, the bill of his baseball cap creasing Blake’s forehead. “You touch her again and I will—”
“You’ll what?” Blake shot back, his eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do, Daemon?”
I grabbed Daemon’s shoulder and pulled. He didn’t budge. “Daemon, come on. Let him go.”
“You want to know what I’m going to do?” Daemon’s entire body tensed under my hand. “You know where your head and ass are? Well, they’re about to become well acquainted with each other.”
Oh, good Lord. We were starting to gain an audience. People were watching from their cars. No doubt an entire restaurant was witnessing this go down from the inside. I tried again to break the two boys apart, but both of them ignored me.
Blake smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”
“You might want to rethink that.” Daemon laughed low. “Because you have no idea what I’m capable of, boy.”
“See, that’s the funny thing.” Blake gripped Daemon’s wrist. “I know exactly what you’re capable of.”
A shiver rolled down my spine. Who in the hell was Blake?
Flannel Shirt Guy came out of the diner, hitching up his ragged pants. He spit out a mouthful of chew as he approached us. “Boys, you’re gonna wanna break this up right now before someone calls the—”
Blake raised his free hand and Flannel Shirt Guy just stopped. With a sinking feeling, I looked over my shoulder. Everyone in the parking lot was frozen. No doubt they were just as immobile inside the diner.
A whitish-red light crept along the outline of Daemon’s body. Tense silence fell. I knew he was seconds away from going all Luxen on Blake.
Daemon’s grip must’ve tightened, because Blake gasped. “I don’t care who or what you are, but you better give me a reason not to blast you into your next pathetic life real quickly.”
“I know what you are,” Blake choked out.
“That’s not helping,” Daemon growled, and I had to agree. I spared a nervous glance at Flannel Shirt Guy. He was still there, frozen with his mouth hanging open, showing off stained teeth. The light around Daemon was getting stronger. “Try again.”
“I just killed an Arum, and even though you’re an arrogant prick, we’re not enemies.” A choke cut off his next words, and I grabbed both of Daemon’s shoulders. There was no way I could let him strangle Blake. “I can help Katy,” Blake wheezed. “Good enough for you?”
“What?” I demanded, dropping my hands.
“Yeah, see, you saying her name alone makes me want to kill you. So, no, not good enough for me.”
Blake’s eyes darted to mine. “Katy, I know what you are, what you will become capable of, and I can help you.”
Shocked, I stared at him.
Daemon leaned in to Blake. His eyes were pure white and glowing, like diamonds. “Let me ask you a question. If I kill you, will these people unfreeze?”
Blake’s eyes widened, and I knew Daemon wasn’t kidding around. He didn’t like Blake to start off with and the boy—or whatever he was—obviously posed a threat of an unknown kind. He knew a lot, too much, and he knew what I was. What I was? Oh, hold up.
I shot forward. “Let him go, Daemon. I need to know what he’s talking about.”
His glowing eyes were focused on Blake. “Get back, Kat. I mean it; get the hell back.”
Like hell. “Stop it.” When he didn’t respond, I screamed, “Stop! Just freaking stop for a couple of minutes!”
Daemon blinked and his eyes flickered to mine. Taking the distraction, Blake swiped his arm across Daemon’s and broke the hold. He scrambled to the side, putting distance between them.
“Jesus.” Blake rubbed his throat. “You have anger management problems. It’s like a disease.”
“There’s a cure and it’s called kicking your ass.”
Blake flipped him off. Daemon started forward, and I barely managed to get in front of him. Placing my hands on his chest, I looked into eyes that were unrecognizable to me. “Stop. You need to stop now.”
Daemon’s lip curled into a snarl. “He’s a—”
“We don’t know what he is,” I cut in, already knowing what he was going to say. “But he did kill an Arum. And he hasn’t hurt me or anyone else, and he’s had plenty of opportunity to do so.”
Daemon exhaled roughly. “Kat—”
“We need to hear him out, Daemon. I need to hear what he has to say.” I took a deep breath. “Besides, these people have been frozen, like, twice now. That can’t be good for them.”
“I don’t care.” His gaze flicked to Blake, and, dear God, the look on his face should’ve sent Blake running. But he shook out his broad shoulders and stepped back, turning those diamond eyes on me. I shrank back. “He’ll talk. And then I’ll decide whether or not he gets to see tomorrow.”
Well, that was the best we could hope for at this point. I glanced back at Blake, who rolled his eyes. Boy had a death wish. “Can you, um, fix them?” I waved at Flannel Shirt Guy.
“Sure.” He flicked his wrist.
“Police,” Flannel Shirt Guy finished.
I turned to the guy. “Everything’s fine. Thank you.” Spinning around, I pushed my windblown hair out of my face. “My car—if you guys can get along in such an enclosed space?”
Without responding, Daemon stalked over and slid into the passenger seat. I let out a ragged breath and headed for the driver’s side.
“Is he always so damn touchy?” Blake asked.
I shot him a dark look as I opened the door. Not looking at Daemon, I turned the heat on and then twisted around in my seat, facing Blake in the back. “What are you?”
Staring out the window, his jaw worked. “The same thing I suspect you are.”
My breath caught. “And what do you think I am?”
Daemon cracked his neck but said nothing. He was like a grenade that had its tab pulled. We all were just waiting for him to explode.
“I didn’t know at first.” Blake sat back. “There was something about you that drew me to you, but I didn’t understand what it was.”
“Proceed with caution when it comes to your next word choices,” Daemon growled.
I squirmed in my seat, clutching the obsidian in my hand. “What do you mean by that?”
Blake shook his head and then stared straight ahead. “The first time I saw you, I knew you were different. Then when you stopped the branch and I saw your necklace, I knew. Only those who know to fear the shadows wear obsidian.” Seconds ticked by in silence. “Then our date…yeah, that glass and plate didn’t just fall into my lap on its own.”
A snicker came from the passenger seat. “Good times.”
Unease tripled my heart rate. “How much do you know?”
“There are two alien races on Earth: the Luxen and the Arum.” He paused as Daemon twisted in his seat. Blake swallowed. “You’re capable of moving things without touching them and you can manipulate light. I’m sure you can do more. And you can also heal humans.”
The inside of the car was too small. There wasn’t enough air. If Blake knew the truth about the Luxen, wouldn’t that mean the DOD did? I dropped the necklace and clenched the steering wheel, my heart racing.
“How do you know this?” Daemon asked, his voice surprisingly even.
There was a pause. “When I was thirteen, I was leaving soccer practice with a friend of mine—Chris Johnson. He was a normal kid like me, except he was super fast, never got sick, and I never saw his parents at any games. But who cares, right? I didn’t until I was goofing around and stepped off the curb, right in front of a speeding cab. Chris healed me. Turns out he was an alien.” Blake’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “I thought it was pretty cool. My best friend was an alien. Who gets to say that? What I didn’t know and what he never told me was that he lit my ass up. Five days later, four men entered my house.
“They wanted to know where they were,” he continued, hands clenching into fists. “I didn’t know what
they meant. They killed my parents and my little sister right in front of me. And when I still couldn’t help them, they beat me within an inch of my life.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered, horrified. Daemon looked away, jaw working.
“Not sure he really exists,” Blake said, letting out a dry laugh. “Anyway, it took me a while to figure out that when you’re healed, you take on their abilities. Shit just started flying everywhere after I was sent to live with my uncle. When I realized that my friend had changed me, I researched as much as I could. Not that I needed to. The Arum found me again.”
Acid churned in my stomach. “What do you mean?”
“The Arum in the diner, she couldn’t sense me because of the beta quartz—yeah, I know about that, too. But if we were outside of the quartz range, we are just like your…friend to them. We’re actually tastier.”
Well, that confirmed one of my fears. My hands slid off the steering wheel. I had no idea what to say. It was like having the carpet pulled out from underneath my feet and face-planting on the floor.
Blake sighed. “When I realized how much danger I was in, I started training physically and working on my abilities. I learned about their weakness through…others. I survived the best I could.”
“This is all great, the caring and sharing crap, but how did you end up here of all places?”
He looked at Daemon. “When I learned about the beta quartz, I moved here with my uncle.”
“Awful convenient,” Daemon murmured.
“Yeah, it is. The mountains. Very convenient for me.”
“There are plenty of other places packed with beta quartz.” Suspicion clouded Daemon’s tone. “Why. Here?”
“Seemed like the least populated area,” Blake answered. “I couldn’t imagine there being that many Arum here.”
“So everything was a lie?” I asked. “Santa Monica, the surfing?”
“No, not everything was a lie. I’m from Santa Monica and I still love surfing,” he said. “I’ve lied as much as you have, Katy.”
He had a point.
Blake leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. He sank into the shadows, fatigue weighing his shoulders down. It was obvious his little freeze show earlier had worn him out. “You’ve been hurt, haven’t you? And healed by one of them?”
Daemon stiffened beside me. My loyalty to my friends wouldn’t allow me to confirm that. I wouldn’t betray them, not even to someone who may be like me.
He sighed again. “You’re not going to tell me which one it was?”
“It’s not your business,” I said. “How did you know I was different?”
“You mean besides the obvious obsidian, the alien entourage, and the branch?” He laughed. “You’re full of electricity. See?” He reached between the seats and placed his hand over mine. Static crackled, jolting us both.
Daemon grabbed Blake’s hand and threw it back at him. “I do not like you.”
“Feeling’s mutual, bud.” Blake looked at me. “It’s the same whenever we touch an Arum or a Luxen, isn’t it? You feel their skin hum?”
I remembered the first time we’d touched in biology. “How do you know about the DOD?”
“I met another human like us. She was under the DOD’s thumb. Apparently she exposed her abilities and they swooped in. She told me everything about the DOD and what they really want, which isn’t the Luxen or the Arum.”
Now that had Daemon’s full attention. He was practically in the backseat with Blake. “What do you mean?”
“They want people like Katy. They don’t give two shits about the aliens. They want us.”
Icy fear shot through me as I gaped at him. “What?”
“You need to explain that a lot better,” Daemon ordered as static built in the tiny car.
Blake leaned forward. “Do you really think the DOD doesn’t know what both the Arum and Luxen are capable of, that after studying your kind for decades and decades that they don’t know what they’re dealing with? And if you really believe not, then you’re stupid or naive.”
Another jolt of terror shuttled through me, but this time for Daemon and my friends. Even I had my doubts, but they’d seemed so convinced that they’d hidden their talents.
Daemon shook his head. “If the DOD knew about our abilities, they wouldn’t let us live free. They’d have us locked up in a heartbeat.”
“Really? The DOD knows the Luxen are a peaceful race and they know the Arum aren’t the same as your kind. Having the Luxen free takes care of the Arum alien problem. Besides, don’t they get rid of any Luxen who causes a problem?” Blake jerked back as Daemon nearly went over the seat, but I grabbed his sweater. Not like I could hold him in place, but he stopped. “Look, all I’m saying is there are bigger fish the DOD wants. And that’s the humans the Luxen mutate. We’re just as strong as you—even stronger in some cases. The only thing is, we tire out a lot quicker and it takes us longer to recharge, so to speak.”
Daemon settled back, his hands clenching and unclenching.
“The only reason why the DOD lets you believe that your big, bad secret is hidden is because they know what you can do to humans,” Blake said. “And we’re what they care about.”
“No,” I whispered, my brain rebelling against the idea. “Why would they care about us instead of them?”
“Gee, Katy, why would the government be interested in a bunch of humans who have more powers than the very creatures who created us? I don’t know. Maybe because they’d have a superhuman army at their disposal or a group of people who can get rid of the aliens if need be?”
Daemon swore under his breath—a work of art with curse words. And that scared me more than anything, because that meant Daemon was actually starting to listen to what Blake was saying. And believe it.
“But how…how are you stronger than the Luxen?” I asked.
“That’s a good question,” Daemon admitted softly.
“In the diner, when I knew the guy was going to skip out on his meal? It’s because I could pick up on bits of his thoughts. Not all of them, but enough to know what he’s planning. I can hear almost any human—any one that’s not mutated.”
“Mutated?” God, that word brought forth some really gross images.
“You’re mutated. Tell me, have you been sick recently? Had a really high fever?”
Apprehension rose so quickly it left me dizzy. From the other seat, Daemon tensed.
“I can tell by your expression you have. Let me guess, you had a fever so bad that it felt like your entire body was on fire? Lasted a couple of days and then you felt fine—better than ever?” He turned to the window again, shaking his head. “And now you can move things without touching them? Probably have no control. The table shaking inside wasn’t me. It was you. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Soon you’ll be able to do a hell of a lot more, and if you don’t get control of it, it’s going to be really bad. This damn place is swarming with DOD, hidden in plain sight. And they’re here looking for hybrids. Far as I know, the Luxen don’t typically heal humans, but it happens.” He glanced at Daemon. “Obviously.”
Hands shaking, I tucked my hair behind my ears. There was no point in lying about what I could do. He’d been right. Jesus. Daemon had mutated me. “Then why are you here if it’s such a risk now?”
“You,” he said, ignoring Daemon’s barely audible growl. “Honestly, I thought about not coming back. Moving on, but there’s my uncle…and you. That’s not many like us who haven’t been caught by the DOD. You need to know what kind of danger you’re in.”
“But you don’t even know me.” It seemed absurd that he’d risk so much.
“And we don’t know you,” Daemon added, eyes narrowed.
He shrugged. “I like you. Not you, Daemon.” He smiled. “But Katy.”
“I really, really do not like you at all.”
My stomach twisted. This wasn’t the time to get into that mess. My brain was on overload. “Blake…”
&nbs
p; “That wasn’t said to make you say you like me or not. I’m just stating the fact. I like you.” He glanced at me, eyes shuttered. “And you don’t know what you’ve stepped in. I can help you.”
“Bullshit,” Daemon said. “If she needs help controlling her abilities, then I can do it.”
“Can you? What you do is second nature to you. Not to Katy. I had to learn how to rein in my abilities. I can teach her. Stabilize her.”
“Stabilize me?” My laugh sounded a bit choked. “What’s going to happen? I’m going to explode or something?”
He looked at me. “You can seriously end up hurting yourself or others. I’ve heard things, Katy. Some mutated humans… Well, let’s just say it doesn’t end pretty.”
“You don’t need to scare her.”
“I’m not trying to. It’s just the truth,” Blake responded. “And if the DOD finds out about you, they’re going to take you in. And if you can’t control your abilities, they will put you down.”
I gasped, turning away. Put me down? Like a feral animal? All of this was happening way too fast. Just last night I’d been having a good, normal time with Daemon. The very thing I’d wanted from Blake, who turned out not to be normal at all. And the whole time I believed Blake was attracted to me because he wanted to be, he was drawn to me because we were both X-Men wannabes.
Ha. Irony was such a bitch.
“Katy, I know this is a lot. But you have to be prepared. You leave this town, the Arum are going to be on you. That is, if you can slide by the DOD.”
“You’re right. This is a lot.” I faced him. “I thought you were normal. And you’re not. You’re telling me that I have the DOD gunning for me. That if I ever decide to leave this place, I’m going to be a Snack Pack for an Arum. And better yet, I may lose complete control of whatever powers I have and wipe out a family of four, then be put down! All I wanted to do today was eat some goddamn fries and be normal!”
Daemon let out a low whistle and Blake winced. “You’re never going to be normal, Katy. Never again.”
“No shit,” I snapped. I wanted to hit something, but I needed to pull it together. If I’d learned anything from my dad’s sickness, it was that things couldn’t be changed. But I could change how I dealt with them. Since I moved here—since I met Daemon and Dee—I’d changed.
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