My mouth dropped open.
Daemon took the card with a smile and then opened the door. “Told you,” he said to me.
I refused to give him the benefit of a response, instead focusing on the club. Nothing had changed from the last time. The dance floor was packed. Accompanied cages hung from the ceiling, swaying from the movements inside. People grinded to the heavy beat. A different, strange world tucked away in the epicenter of normalcy.
And the place was still alluring to me in a weird way.
Down the shadowy hallway, a tall man waited at the door for us. Paris—the blond Luxen we’d met last time. He nodded at Daemon, opened the door, and then stepped aside.
I expected to see Luc sprawled on the couch, playing DS like last time, so I was shocked when I discovered him at the desk, pecking away at a laptop, his face screwed in concentration.
The stacks of hundreds were gone.
Luc didn’t look up. “Please sit.” He waved at the nearby couch, all businesslike.
Glancing at Daemon, I moved with him to the couch and sat. In the corner, a tall yellow candle spread a peaches scent throughout the room. That was all the decoration. Did the door behind the desk lead to another room? Did Luc live here?
“Heard you guys didn’t get very far at Mount Weather last time.” He closed the laptop and folded his hands under his chin.
“About that,” Daemon said, leaning forward. “You didn’t know about the onyx shields?”
The boy, the little mini mogul/mafia kingpin/whatever he was became very still. Tension filled the room. I waited for something to blow up. Hopefully not one of us.
“I warned you that there may be things I’m unaware of,” he said. “Even I don’t know everything about Daedalus. But I think Blake’s on the right track. He is right about everything being encased in a shiny blackish-red material. Perhaps we did build a tolerance so we were not affected by the onyx shields.”
“And what if that’s not it?” I asked, hating the icy feeling slushing through my veins.
Luc’s amethyst gaze was concentrated. “What if it’s not? I have a feeling that’s not going to stop you from trying again. It’s a risk and everything has risks. You’re lucky you got out of there last time before anyone realized what happened. You get another chance. Most people don’t.”
Talking to this kid was weird, because he had the mannerisms and speech patterns of a well-educated adult. “You’re right,” I said. “We’re still going to try.”
“But knowing all the perils ahead seems unfair?” He tucked back a strand of brown hair, his angelic face impassive. “Life’s not fair, babe.”
Daemon stiffened beside me. “Why do I have a feeling there’s a lot you’re not telling us?”
Luc’s lips formed a half smile. “Anyway, you came here for a reason other than those onyx shields? Let’s get to the point.”
Annoyance flashed across Daemon’s face. “An unstable hybrid attacked Kat.”
“That’s what unstable people do, hybrid or not.”
I bit back a snappy retort. “Yeah, we figured that much, but she was my friend. She gave no indication that she knew anything about the Luxen. She was fine, got sick, and then came to my house and went nuts.”
“You didn’t give any indication you know ET didn’t phone home.”
What a little brat. I took a deep breath. “I get that, but this was out of the blue.”
Luc leaned back in his chair, kicking his legs onto the desk. He crossed them at the ankles. “I don’t know what to tell you about that. She may’ve known about the Luxen, gotten hurt, and some poor sap tried and failed to heal her. Or the Man pulled her off the street like they do at times. And unless you know some darn good torture techniques and are willing to employ them on an Officer of Daedalus, I don’t see how you’ll ever know.”
“I refuse to accept that,” I whispered. Knowing would bring some kind of closure and justice.
He shrugged. “What happened to her?” Curiosity colored his tone.
My breath caught in my throat as I balled my hands into fists. “She’s no longer…”
“Ah,” Luc murmured. “She did the whole spontaneous combustion thing?” The look on my face must’ve been answer enough because he sighed sadly. “Sick. Sorry about that. A twisted history lesson for you—you know all those unexplained cases of spontaneous combustion throughout history?”
Daemon grimaced. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“Funny how there’s not many cases known, but they do happen out in the noob world.” He spread his arms wide to indicate the world outside this office. “Hybrids—my theory at least, and it makes sense if you think about it—most do the self-destruction thing in the facilities, but a few do it outside. That’s why the occurrence is rare to humans.”
All of this was good and a little disturbing to think about, but it wasn’t why we were here. “My friend was wearing a bracelet—”
“Tiffany’s?” he asked and smirked.
“No.” I smiled tightly. “It was just like the one you’re wearing.”
Surprise rolled over Luc’s face like a wave. The little punk dropped his legs onto the floor and sat straight. “Not good.”
Foreboding chills skated over my skin as Daemon zeroed in on Luc. “Why is that not good?”
He seemed to debate whether he should talk about it and then went with a, “Oh, what the hell. You’ll owe me, hope you realize. But what you see here?” Luc flicked a finger along the stone. “It’s a black opal—so rare that only a few mines can even unearth these babies. And it’s only these kinds.”
“The ones that look like they have fire in them?” I asked, leaning forward to get a better look. It really did look like a black orb with a flame inside. “Where are they mined?”
“Australia, usually. There’s something in the composition of a black opal that’s like a power booster. You know, like Mario gets when he hits a mushroom. Imagine that sound. That’s what a black opal does.”
“What kind of composition?” Daemon asked, eyes sharp with interest.
Luc unhooked the bracelet and held it up in the dim light. “Opals have this remarkable ability to refract and reflect specific wavelengths of light.”
“No way,” Daemon breathed, and apparently that was super cool. I was still lost on the whole stone and light thing.
“Yes.” Luc smiled at the stone, like a father smiles at his prodigal son. “I don’t know who discovered it. Someone in Daedalus, I’m sure. Once they figured out what it could do, they kept it away from the Luxen and ones like us.”
“Why?” I felt stupid for asking, mainly because both of them looked at me like I was. “What? I don’t have a degree in alien mineralogy. Geez.”
Daemon patted my thigh. “It’s okay. Refracting and reflecting wavelengths of lights affects us, like the obsidian affects Arum and onyx affects us.”
“Okay,” I said slowly.
Luc’s purple eyes glimmered. “Refracting light changes the direction and speed. Our friendly neighborhood aliens are made of light—well, made of more than that, but let me explain it this way: let’s say their DNA is light. And let’s say that once a human is mutated, their DNA is now encased in wavelengths of light.”
I remembered Daemon trying to explain this before. “And onyx disrupts those wavelengths of light, right? Kind of makes them bounce around and go crazy.”
Luc nodded. “Opal’s ability to refract allows a Luxen or a hybrid to be more powerful—it enhances our ability to refract light.”
“And the reflection part—wow.” Awed, Daemon grinned.
I got the whole refraction thing. Sure, super speed, ability to pull on the Source more easily, and probably a slew of other benefits, but reflection? I waited.
Daemon nudged me with his elbow. “We flicker or fade sometimes because we move fast. And sometimes you see us fade in and out—it’s just reflection. Something all of us have to work at to control when we’re younger.”
“And it�
��s hard when you’re excited or upset?”
He nodded. “Among other things, but to control reflection?” He fixed on Luc. “Are you saying you can do what I think you can?”
Laughing, Luc hooked the bracelet around his wrist and sat back, dropping his legs on the desk again. “Hybrids are good. We can move faster than humans, but with the obesity rates nowadays, turtles can move faster than most humans. Sometimes we’re even stronger than the average Luxen when it comes to the Source—it’s the mixture of human and alien DNA that can create something powerful, but that’s not standard.” A self-fulfilled smile stretched Luc’s lips. “But give a Luxen one of these, and they can completely reflect light.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You mean…like, invisible?”
“So cool,” Daemon said, staring at the stone. “We can change the way we look, but become invisible? Yeah, that’s new.”
Confounded, I shook my head. “Can we be invisible?”
“No. Our human DNA gets in the way of that, but it makes us just as powerful as the strongest Luxen and then some.” He wiggled a little in his seat. “So you can imagine that they wouldn’t want any of us having these…especially one that hasn’t been proven to be stable, unless…”
A cold breath of air shot over my neck. “Unless what?”
Some of the enthusiasm faded from his face. “Unless they didn’t care what kind of damage the hybrid caused. Maybe your friend was a test run for a bigger incident.”
“What?” Daemon tensed. “You think they did this on purpose? Hooked up an unstable hybrid and sent her out into the wild to see what happens?”
“Paris thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist with a hint of schizophrenic paranoia.” He shrugged. “But you can’t tell me that Daedalus doesn’t have a master plan up their sleeves. I wouldn’t put a single thing past them.”
“But why would she come after me? Blake says they don’t know the mutation held. So it wasn’t like they’d send her after me.” I paused. “And, well, that’s if Blake’s telling the truth.”
“I’m sure he is about the mutation,” Luc responded. “If he wasn’t, you wouldn’t be sitting here. See, I’m not sure even Daedalus knows everything that this stone is capable of and how it affects us. I’m still learning.”
“And what have you learned?” Daemon asked.
“For starters, before I got my grubby paws on one of these, I couldn’t pick out another hybrid if one did a jig in front of me. I knew the moment you and Blake arrived in Martinsburg, Katy. It was weird, like a breath washing over my entire body. Your friend probably sensed you. That’s the least terrible probability.”
Daemon blew out a long breath and then looked away for a moment. “Do you know if it can enhance the Arum’s abilities?”
“I imagine it could if they were bloated on a Luxen’s powers.”
Overwhelmed, I sat back and then shot forward. “Do you think the opal can, like, counteract the onyx?”
“It’s possible, but I don’t know. Haven’t hugged any onyx recently.”
I ignored the sarcastic tone. “Where can we get some of the opal?”
Luc laughed and I wanted to kick his legs off the desk. “Unless you have about thirty thousand dollars lying around and know someone who mines opals, or you want to ask Daedalus for some, you’re out of luck. And I’m not giving you mine.”
My shoulders slumped. Yippee, another dead end. We couldn’t catch a break if it slapped us upside the face.
“Anyway, it’s about time for you guys to hit the road.” He tipped his head back, closing his eyes. “I’m assuming I won’t hear from you two again until you’re ready to go to Mount Weather?”
Ah, we’d been dismissed. As I stood, I debated on bum-rushing Luc and grabbing his bracelet. The way his eyes opened into thin slits warned me to forget that idea.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Daemon prodded.
“Sure, I have something else.” Luc lifted those long lashes. “You really shouldn’t trust a soul in this game. Not when everyone has something to gain or lose.”
Chapter 29
Over the course of several weeks, interviews given by local law enforcement and tearful pleas from Carissa’s parents appeared on the nightly news, candlelight vigils were held, and reporters from all around came, drawn in by morbid curiosity. How could such a little town have so many children who just disappeared? Some even speculated that a serial killer had targeted the sleepy town in West Virginia.
Being at school, listening to everyone talk about Carissa, Simon, and even Adam and Beth was hard to do. Not just for me, but for all of us who knew the truth.
These kids didn’t disappear.
Adam and Carissa were dead, most likely Simon, too. Beth was being held against her will in a government facility.
A dark, somber mood settled, creeping into every part of us, and there was no shaking it. Of course suspicion blossomed along with the spring grass and tiny buds at school, because only one of the kids had reappeared and that had been Dawson. But his reappearance had signaled the disappearance of others.
There were whispers in the hall and long looks passed among students whenever Dawson or Daemon was around. Possibly because very few could tell them apart, but both brothers acted like they didn’t hear it. Or maybe they just didn’t care.
Even Lesa had changed. Losing a friend would do that, as would the inability to find any closure. There was never a reason for why Carissa had disappeared, at least not for Lesa. She, like so many others, would spend a lifetime wondering why and how it happened. And not knowing created this powerlessness to move on. Even though the seasons were changing and spring was well on its way, Lesa was stuck on the day before she found out her best friend had vanished and the day after. She was the same girl in some ways: moments where she’d say something wholly inappropriate and she would laugh, and then others when she didn’t think I was looking, her eyes would cloud with misgiving.
Carissa wasn’t the only newsworthy case, though.
Dr. William Michaels, aka Mom’s boyfriend and all-around douche canoe, was reported missing by his sister about three weeks after Carissa dropped off the radar. A frenzied storm descended once again. Mom had been questioned and she… She had been a wreck. Especially when she learned that Will had never signed in at any conference in the west, and no one had seen or heard from him since he left Petersburg.
Officials suspected that foul play might have been involved. Others whispered that he had to have something to do with what happened to Carissa and Simon. A prominent doctor just didn’t simply cease to exist.
But Daemon and I were still alive, so all we could assume was that the mutation had held and since he had gotten what he wanted, he was in hiding. Worst-case scenario, Daedalus had picked him up somewhere. Didn’t bode well for us if that happened, but hey, it served him right if he was locked in a cage somewhere.
All in all I wasn’t torn up over the fact that for right now, Will was a nonissue, but I hated seeing Mom go through this again. And I hated Will even more for putting her through it. She hit every stage of the grieving process: disbelief; sorrow; that horrible, lingering lost feeling; and then anger.
I had no idea what to do for her. The best I could was spend the evenings with her on her days off, after I finished with the onyx stuff. Keeping her company and distracted seemed to help.
As weeks passed and there was no sign of Carissa or anyone else that had held the little town captive, the inevitable happened. People didn’t forget, but the reporters went away and then other things occupied the nightly news. By mid-April, everyone for the most part was back to doing their own thing.
I’d asked Daemon one evening as we walked back from the lake, enjoying the warmer temperatures, how could people forget so easily? A bitter sensation had taken up residence in my tummy. Would that happen to me one day if we didn’t come back from Mount Weather? People would just get over it?
Daemon had squeezed my hand and said, “It’s t
he human condition, Kitten. The unknown isn’t something that sits well. They’d rather push it away—not completely, but just enough that it’s not always shadowing their every thought and action.”
“And that’s okay?”
“Not saying that it is.” He’d stopped, placing his hands on my upper arms. “But not having the answers to something can be scary. People can’t focus on that forever. Just like you couldn’t focus on why it was your dad who had to get sick and pass away. That’s the big unknown. You had to let it go eventually.”
I’d stared up at him, his striking features highlighted in the waning light. “I can’t believe you can sound so wise.”
Daemon had chuckled, running his hands up and down my arms. Promising chills followed. “I’m more than looks, Kitten. You should know that.”
And I did. Daemon was ridiculously supportive most of the time. He still hated that I was taking part in the onyx training, but he wasn’t pushing it and I appreciated that.
I threw myself into training with the onyx, which left little time for anything other than going to school. Onyx stripped away energy and after every session, all of us were quick to pass out. And we were so wrapped up in building our tolerance, watching out for officers and implants that we hadn’t even celebrated Valentine’s Day besides the flowers he’d bought me and the card I’d given him.
We kept planning to make up for it, to do the dinner thing, but time got away from us or someone got in between us. Either it was Dawson impatient to save Beth and a hairbreadth from storming Mount Weather, Dee wanting to murder someone, or Blake demanding that we do the onyx thing every day. I’d forgotten what it felt like when it was just Daemon and me.
I really began to think his sporadic late-night visits really were a product of my overactive imagination, because at the end of the night, he was just as whipped as I was. Every morning it seemed like a vivid dream and since Daemon never mentioned it, I let it go while looking forward to it. Dream Daemon was better than no Daemon, I guessed.
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