The Burning Shadow

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

  It had been two weeks since the trip to Harpers Ferry and the quarantine situation in Kansas City, and luckily, there hadn’t been any more situations like that.

  Cooler and more logical heads were prevailing. So far. Many human doctors and scientists were on TV nightly, as was Daemon’s sister, Dee, attempting to dispel the rumors that there was some kind of virus being passed from Luxen to humans. They were making headway, thankfully, because there’d been no more cases of the mysterious virus.

  Somehow, the three of us had gotten on the topic of what happened to Emery’s family during and after the invasion, while we were in Emery’s apartment above Foretoken. Before I’d learned that Emery was a Luxen, I’d been told that her family had died, but I never knew how.

  “There were a lot of Luxen here who weren’t happy with having to live like humans. They thought that they should be in control,” Emery explained as she sat back. “That we were the higher life-forms, so why were we living in the shadow of humans? My mom was still alive then, and so was my other brother, Tobias. They were like me, having no problem living like humans. I mean, it would’ve been great to have things out in the open. Pretending to be human isn’t easy.”

  “Because of having to force yourself to slow down and move like a human?” I asked, vaguely remembering Zoe explaining why she always came in dead last in gym class.

  Emery nodded as she glanced at Heidi. “It takes more energy for us to slow down. Not to mention, it’s exhausting always being aware of how fast we’re moving and how we’re behaving, so it would be nice to live out in the open, but not in the way they wanted. To Shia and others like him, it was never about equal rights. It was about dominating humans and proving we were stronger, smarter, and better in every aspect. They helped the invading Luxen.”

  I drew in a short breath as I sank into the thick cushions.

  “Shia helped them, and when the war began, he was on the other side.” She bit down on her lip, looking at the menu from a bakery down the street that offered all variations of cupcakes humanly possible. “We tried to get him out. You know, to get him to see that what they wanted to do wasn’t right. Wasn’t any better than what the humans are trying to do now. He wouldn’t listen, and it happened right after the war—during the first wave of raids, where they were just rounding up Luxen and…”

  And killing them.

  My memories of the time after the invasion weren’t real … or at least, they weren’t my memories. Or maybe the memory of the fear and confusion had been mine and that trauma had broken through the fever, forever implanted. Either way, it had been a scary time for humans and Luxen alike.

  “He’d been spotted before, during the war, and they couldn’t tell Shia and Tobias apart. Not that it mattered then. They both were killed, and my mother tried to intervene. She was slaughtered right along with them. It happened so quickly. They were alive one moment and dead the next.” Her lower lip trembled as she gave a short shake of her head. “I don’t even know how I escaped. It’s a blur to me now, but I got out of there.”

  “You don’t have to talk about this,” I told her, my heart squeezing as Heidi rested her cheek on Emery’s shoulder. “I mean, I don’t want you to feel like you do.”

  “No. It’s okay.” Emery’s smile was brief. “It’s good to talk about these kinds of things sometimes. You know?”

  I nodded. “What did you do afterward?”

  “Moved from city to city, trying to keep a low profile. I met some other Luxen along the way, others like me who were unregistered and just wanted to live. I ended up in Maryland after hearing about this place where unregistered Luxen could be safe.”

  “Foretoken?”

  Emery nodded. “Didn’t believe it, even after I first met Luc. Couldn’t figure out how he, at the time being like fifteen or sixteen, could remotely guarantee anyone’s safety, but he took me in and got me straight.”

  “Got you straight?”

  Heidi glanced at Emery before speaking. “Let’s just say Emery was on a very understandable, destructive path.”

  “I wasn’t taking care of myself. Not eating right and … there are drugs out there that have the same kind of effects on us as they do on you,” she said, and that I hadn’t known. “Ketamine. Some narcotics.” She rubbed her hands together. “Heroin. It takes twice the dose—sometimes more than what a human can withstand—for it to have the same effects, but I fell down that rabbit hole.”

  Oh God, I didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry didn’t feel like it would cover it. All I could do was offer her no judgment, and that’s what I did. Luxen or human, not everyone who went down that path did so because they woke up one day and decided to trash their life. Some ended up there because of human doctors overprescribing pain medications. Others, like Emery, were trying to escape trauma, and I could understand that.

  Empathy was power.

  “When I met Luc, I had no idea he was an Origin. I had no idea they even existed. I couldn’t figure out how he spent ten minutes with me and seemed to know my deepest secrets.”

  “He was reading your thoughts?” I guessed.

  A quick smile appeared. “Yeah, and he knew right off the bat that I had a problem, and me getting clean was his only condition of helping me. And he did, he and Grayson and Kent. It wasn’t easy. Hell, there are still days…”

  “Never again.” Heidi cupped Emery’s cheek, guiding the Luxen’s gaze to hers. “Right?”

  “Right,” Emery whispered.

  Feeling I was creeping on an intimate moment, a vulnerable one, I lowered my gaze to the menu. I saw the glorious lists of cupcakes, but I wasn’t processing the words.

  I was thinking about what Emery had just shared.

  Not only had Luc provided someplace safe for Emery, as he had for countless others, he’d also gotten her clean. God. That was no small feat for humans.

  Luc was no miracle worker, but he was … well, he was just Luc.

  “Okay, now I really need some cupcakes.” Emery’s laugh was shaky. “What do you want, Evie?”

  “Um.” I glanced back at the menu. “Can I have all of them?”

  Before the girls could respond, there was a knock on the door, and Emery called out, “Come in.”

  I twisted around, and my heart gave a little jump when I saw it was Luc. I hadn’t seen him earlier, but I figured he was around somewhere. At once, I noticed his shirt. It was gray with a picture of a panda in the middle. It read WARNING. PANDAS ARE BEARS. And then underneath, in smaller print, was STILL NOT AS BAD AS KOALA BEARS.

  Immediately recalling his text rant, I grinned.

  Luc’s gaze immediately zeroed in on me. He didn’t need to look around; it was like he knew exactly where I was sitting from the moment he opened the door.

  “I’m coming to crash the girls’ party.” He walked up to where I sat. “Because I know you guys missed me.”

  “We were just sitting here, talking about how much we missed you, and we were wondering what you were up to,” Emery responded, grinning.

  “Actually, we were almost in tears over the fact you hadn’t blessed us with your presence yet,” Heidi chimed in. “Right, Evie?”

  “Right,” I replied dryly.

  “You guys warm my soul.” Luc tugged gently on a strand of my hair, and I looked up at him. “I have a surprise for you.”

  I immediately became very, very wary.

  Heidi, on the other hand, clapped excitedly, vaguely reminding me of a seal. “I’m so excited to see what this is.”

  “Same,” Emery echoed as she kicked a long leg onto the coffee table.

  Admittedly, I was, too, because I really had no idea what Luc had for me today. Diesel the pet rock wasn’t his last gift. There hadn’t been any more trips to Harpers Ferry or anywhere, but there’d been a lot of surprises.

  A lot of weird ones.

  “It’s a private one.” Luc’s grin was downright wicked.

  My eyes widened.

  “That makes it all the
more interesting,” Heidi said.

  “That it does, but…” He tapped the bridge of my nose, and I swatted at his hand. “Can I steal you away?”

  I glanced over at them, and after a moment, I nodded. “Can you guys get me one of the Butterfinger cupcakes?”

  “You mean, like, three of them?” Heidi corrected me.

  I laughed as I rose, dropping the menu on the coffee table. “Yes. Text me when they’re here.”

  “Will do.” Emery handed the menu to Heidi.

  As I stepped around the couch, Luc pushed off the back of it and took my hand. Warmth exploded across my cheeks, because I knew damn well both Heidi and Emery were watching, and I’d never hear the end of it.

  But I didn’t pull my hand free. I let him lead me out of Emery’s apartment and down the hall. “Where are you taking me?”

  “It’s a surprise, Peaches.”

  “I’m not sure I like your surprises.”

  “You don’t,” he replied. “Because you love my surprises.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, I don’t know if we’re in agreement. I loved Harpers Ferry, but the rest of them? Not so sure about that.”

  “Now what makes you say that?” The door to the stairwell opened before we reached it.

  “Diesel,” I reminded him.

  “What about my handsome boy?”

  We climbed the stairs. “He’s fine.”

  “I know he is, because he’s sitting right on your nightstand.”

  The stupid rock was sitting there. It was the last thing I’d seen when I’d fallen asleep the night before and the first thing I saw upon waking.

  I glanced over at him, finding him grinning at me. “Okay, what about last Sunday? You asked me to come over because you had a surprise, and the surprise was a marathon of all the James Bond movies.”

  “James Bond is amazing.”

  “I hate those movies,” I pointed out as we reached his floor.

  Luc bent his head toward mine, coming just short of his lips brushing my cheek as we stopped in front of his door. “I know.”

  When he spoke, I felt his breath, and a tight, hot shiver curled its way down my spine.

  “And I still like you even though James Bond is a classic and you have no taste,” he added, opening his door with a wave of his hand.

  “How was that a surprise?”

  “You didn’t know it would happen, now did you? Pretty sure that’s the definition of a surprise.” He pulled me into his dimly lit apartment. The blinds were drawn, blocking out most of the afternoon sun.

  “Pretty sure that surprises should be something the person receiving the surprise is interested in.” The door swung shut behind us.

  “Don’t think that’s what it means.” Luc tugged me forward, and I went, stopping directly in front of him.

  I had to tilt my head way back to meet his shadowy gaze. “How about the day before that? You said you had a surprise when I came over and you handed me cheese and bread.”

  “The surprise was that you were going to make me a grilled cheese sandwich,” he explained.

  I looked at him blandly. “What about the Chia Pet?”

  Luc chuckled, and it was a nice sound, dancing off my skin. “I still can’t believe you managed to kill a Chia Pet in a week.”

  “It was defective,” I muttered. “And it was a Mr. T Chia Pet! Like, how did you even find one of those?”

  “I have Chia Pet connections.”

  I stared at him. “That’s … special. Look, I’m just trying to point out you have a history of surprises that I either don’t like or have no idea the purpose behind.”

  “All my surprises have purposes. You shall see.” Still holding my hand, he led me onto the raised platform of his bedroom. It was much darker in this part of the room; I could only make out the shape of his bed. “This is a special surprise that involves no cheese, bread, or James Bond.”

  “Or Chia Pets?”

  Another chuckle sent my stomach tumbling in the most pleasant way. “I don’t hate Chia Pets enough to bestow another one on you.”

  I frowned.

  “I hope you like this one.” His hands went to my shoulders, and in the darkness, he turned me around. His hands stayed there, the weight oddly comforting. “Ready?”

  “Yeah?” I strained to see into the darkness.

  A moment later, the ceiling lamp flicked on, momentarily stunning me. It took a second for my eyes to focus as I scanned the room.

  Then I saw it.

  It was lying on the bed, a framed photograph that was roughly sixteen by twenty. The moment I saw it, I knew what it was.

  A photograph taken from the cemetery in Harpers Ferry, overlooking the lush green valleys and the greenish-blue rocky river of the Shenandoah. And I knew in my bones and in every cell of my being that I had taken that picture. I didn’t remember snapping it, but my fingers twitched nonetheless.

  My lips parted as I shook my head, and a part of me thought that if Luc hadn’t had his hands on my shoulders, I might sink right through the floor.

  “I … I took that.”

  “You did.” His voice was by my ear, quiet.

  “I don’t remember taking it, but I know I took that,” I said. “How does that make sense?”

  “I wish I could answer that.”

  The next breath I took got stuck as I leaned into him, letting the back of my head rest against his chest. “Did you have it all this time?”

  Luc’s hands slid off my shoulders and down my arms, stopping just above my elbows. “You took it one of the last times we went there, and you loved the picture so much, you talked about getting it printed out and framed, but…”

  I closed my eyes and swallowed hard. “Ran out of time?”

  “Yeah,” came his gruff reply. “We ran out of time.”

  “But here it is.”

  Luc was quiet for a long moment. “After I got set up here, I started going through some of the stuff I’d brought with me. I found your old camera; I still have that, if you want to see it. Anyway, I started looking at the pictures and saw this one. I printed it out and got it framed about three years ago.”

  He’d had this for three years? My eyes opened, and my lashes felt damp.

  “I didn’t hang it up. I don’t know why. I kept it in one of the extra rooms here.” He lifted a shoulder. “I thought you should have it, since it’s yours. You can keep it here or you can take it home—”

  Spinning around, I didn’t stop to think about what I was doing. I just did it. Probably much like I’d done that day by Jefferson Rock, when I’d been a different girl and he’d been the same boy.

  I threw my arms around his neck and stretched up onto the tips of my toes. His hands moved to my hips, steadying me as I brought my lips to his.

  And I kissed him.

  It wasn’t much of a kiss. A quick peck on his lips that still somehow short-circuited my entire system. It was like touching a flame, and when I pulled away and stepped back, my hands trembling as they slid down his chest and then off him, I was surprised that my lips weren’t burned—though they did tingle.

  Luc stared down at me, his lips parted and the centers of his cheeks slightly flushed. He looked like a feather could knock him over.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking another step back as I clasped my hands together. “I love this surprise.”

  For a moment, there was no reaction from him. His features and body were as impassive as a statue, and then a wide, beautiful smile broke out across his face. Being on the receiving end of it, I felt like I needed to sit down and take a moment to soak it in.

  “Anytime, Peaches,” he murmured. “Anytime.”

  * * *

  Walking to history class Friday afternoon with Zoe, I smothered a yawn. A nightmare had wakened me shortly after falling asleep, and then Luc had called, and I ended up staying awake for several hours, watching a funny web series on my laptop while Luc did the same from his apartment. I fell asleep with Luc’s laughter i
n my ear, and that was as nice—no, as wonderful—as the picture he’d given me. I’d taken it home with me and had hung it above my bed, and I thought—or hoped—it was level.

  “Do you think we have a quiz today? I feel like we’re long overdue for one.”

  “God, I hope not, because I don’t even know how to spell my name right now,” she said.

  I laughed. “It’s three words.”

  “Look,” she said. “Don’t underestimate my inability to spell right now.”

  “I’ll try not—” My right shoulder jerked forward as someone bumped into me. Turning, my mouth dropped open. “Whoa, Coop. Good afternoon to you.”

  The tall, blond boy lurched past us, shuffling through the classroom. He didn’t apologize, didn’t even seem to notice that he’d nearly knocked me over. I straightened the strap on my bag, eyeing him. He looked a mess—a hot mess. His striped navy-and-gold shirt was so wrinkled it looked like he’d pulled it on at the last minute, and his usually styled hair was sticking up in every direction.

  I glanced over at Zoe. “What in the world?”

  She shook her head. “He looks hungover.”

  “As if you’d know what that looks like.”

  “Oh, I will never forget over the summer when you decided to taste each bottle in your mom’s liquor cabinet,” she replied. “That is not something I’ll ever forget, thank you very much.”

  Cringing, I could almost taste the liquor. It was like gasoline going down and bad life choices coming back up. “God, don’t remind me.”

  “Hey, at least we can forget about it while checking out Mr. Barker.”

  “You are so hot for that teacher,” I told her.

  “Ain’t no shame in my game,” she said as we walked past the podium.

  Coop took his seat in the middle, looking as pasty as a powdered doughnut. A sheen of fine sweat dotted his forehead. Did he have a fever? Thinking of Ryan and the families in Kansas City, I resisted the urge to cover my entire face with my shirt. I doubted this virus, if it was a flu, was still lingering around.