Empathy bled into his voice. “Those cities are gone, Miss Swartz. Most of the Luxen have taken on human form and they have killed the humans they’ve found not suitable. There is little to no contact coming out of them from any source that we trust. I pray for whatever humans are left in those places.”
“All right. Those cities are gone, but nowhere else so far. What if we can stop them?” Daemon said. “What if we can do the same thing without killing innocent people on both sides, and without destroying the cities to the point they’ll be unlivable?”
Nancy choked out a laugh as she shook her head in disbelief.
“Think about it,” Archer jumped in. “You’re going to have millions of Americans completely displaced in just those three cities, not counting L.A., and the more you do this, the more refugees you’re creating. The States would go under.”
A muscle flexed along General Eaton’s jaw. “Do you think this is not something we have thought about or have begun preparation for? Right as we speak, we’re planning for an even worse outcome than losing the major cities. We’re planning for a complete loss in case the EMPs fail in some manner.”
The general described the precautions they were taking, moving computers and other valuable electronic-based equipment into underground bunkers stocked with nonperishable items, and he droned on until I felt like I really was going to hurl.
If I thought the invading Luxen were bad, I’d had no idea. We truly were on the verge of a catastrophic disaster.
“We can get the Arum,” Archer said. “I know we can.”
My heart toppled over. Could we really get the Arum? I doubted it would be easy, and I almost couldn’t believe it when General Eaton said the magic words. “If you can get the Arum to fight, then we will hold off on neutralizing the force outside of the capital.”
“Thank you.” I almost jumped. I almost hugged the dude, and I was glad I didn’t, because that looked like it would be all kinds of awkward.
“But we don’t have a lot of time. We’ve got about six days, maybe seven, and then we have to go to the EMPs,” the general said. “I’ll need to make a lot of phone calls.”
“This is ridiculous.” Nancy stood, throwing her hands up. “I cannot believe you’re even thinking of allowing them to—”
“You forget your place, Husher. Like always,” snapped General Eaton. He drew himself up to his full height, pouring authority into the air. “I, just as the president of the United States, am willing to vet out different tactics.”
General Eaton continued to dress Nancy down, and I thought I’d be happier to see that happen, but I ended up experiencing a mad case of secondhand embarrassment and I seriously wished I wasn’t around to see it.
Daemon, on the other hand, looked positively gleeful as I moved to stand next to him while Nancy did the walk of shame.
Archer started talking about different ways the Arum could maim and kill the Luxen in less than five seconds flat, a conversation I never thought I’d hear Daemon taking part in so enthusiastically.
Eventually, Nancy left to probably go rock in the corner somewhere and plot her revenge, and General Eaton started making phone calls. It was then that my stomach decided to announce that it could use massive quantities of food.
Surprised that I could eat after seeing and hearing what I did, I pressed the heel of my palm against my belly and smiled sheepishly when the boys looked down at me. “Sorry?”
Daemon’s lips tipped up. “Hungry?”
“Maybe. A little.”
“There’s food in the mess hall near your rooms,” Archer said. “I thought I told you guys about that.”
“We didn’t have time . . .” I trailed off and started imagining dancing naked babies so I didn’t think about why we didn’t have time.
Archer’s brows rose. “The hell?”
Cheeks flaming, I turned to Daemon. I needed to get out of there before Archer got a peep show. “I think I’m going to go get something to eat.”
“Okay.” He brushed his lips over my forehead. “I’ll meet you back at the room.”
I didn’t look at Archer as I spun around. Leaving the boys in the control room, I hurried out into the hall. Not only did I need to get food in my tummy, I needed something else to do that felt normal. I considered visiting Dawson and Beth again as I climbed the empty stairwell and entered the wide corridor on the main level. As I rounded the corner, I stumbled to a surprised halt.
Luc stood up ahead, a few doors down from where Dawson and Beth were, but he wasn’t alone. A girl was with him, maybe around his age or a year younger. She was a tiny thing, and he all but dwarfed her. Ridiculously slender, her denim-clad legs were as thin as my arms. Her hair was like spun gold and she was stunningly pretty, with a heart-shaped face full of faint freckles and eyes that were a warm chocolate.
And I’d seen her before.
Back when Daemon and I had gone with . . . with Blake to meet Luc for the first time. She had been on the stage, as beautiful and fluid as a dancer, and then later, she’d poked her head into Luc’s office, and he’d gotten all frownie face about it.
But she looked different now.
A very pretty human girl, but there were dark smudges under her eyes, her cheekbones were sharp, face gaunt and pale, and her entire appearance was overly frail, as if it was taking everything in her to be upright on two feet.
She wasn’t really standing on her own, either. Luc’s hands were wrapped around her upper arms, almost as if he was supporting her weight. I didn’t need to be a doctor to know that she bled some serious illness into the air around her. Not a cold or flu, but something bad.
Something that reminded me of my father.
I bit down on my lip. Luc seemed unaware that I was there as he smoothed his hands up and down the girl’s arms. “It’s going to be okay now,” he said. “Just like I promised.”
A wan smile turned her lips up. “Do you have any idea what’s going on out there? I don’t think anything will ever be fine again, Luc.”
“I don’t care about that right now,” he said in typical Luc fashion. “Remember what I told you about that new drug?”
“Oh, Luc.” She wrapped bony, pale hands around his wrists. “I think we’re beyond the point of anything working—”
“Don’t say that.” Strength and determination poured into his voice. “It will work. It has to work. Or I’ll kick its ass.”
The girl didn’t look convinced, but her smile spread as she leaned forward, sliding her arms around Luc’s waist.
Luc closed his eyes, and his lips parted as he let out a slow breath. “Why don’t you go in there and get some rest, Nadia.” He drew back, smiling down at the top of her head. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of, and then I’ll be back. Okay?”
I so knew he was totally aware of me, and yet I didn’t feel bad for eavesdropping, considering how many times he’d peeped on us.
She glanced over to where I stood, her curious gaze starting at my toes, and when she reached my face, recognition flared in her big eyes. She hesitated for a moment, and then ghosted into the room.
Luc closed the door behind him and faced me. Once more I was struck by the wisdom in his odd purple eyes and the set of his face, as if he was much, much older than he appeared.
“Who is she?” I asked.
“You heard me say her name.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I glanced at the closed door. “I remember her. She was at the club, dancing on the stage.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I’ve killed people for just looking at her, and you want to know who she is?”
Luc could do that in the blink of an eye, and he could also make me squawk like a chicken if he wanted to, but I wanted to know who this girl was to him, and I seriously doubted he would mess with me. Or at least I hoped not.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he strolled up to me. “After everything you’ve seen and heard, you really want me to tell you about her?”
/> I crossed my arms. “Right now, I would like to think about anything other than what I just saw and heard.”
He was silent for a long moment as he studied me, and then he leaned a shoulder against the wall. “Nadia just got here from Maryland—Hagerstown, to be exact. I called in some favors when I got to this base.”
The kid had more favors owed to him than a gambler had debt. “Of course.”
A slight grin appeared. “I’ve known Nadia for a couple of years, met her when I first visited the Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. She was a runaway—abusive home, a father who would make you sick.”
The moment those words formed, the worst-case scenario took form.
“What you’re thinking doesn’t even touch what really went on,” Luc said, voice hard. “Don’t worry. He got his just deserts in a very slow and painful way.”
My heart skipped a beat at the cold, grim smile that appeared on his face. I didn’t even need to ask what he did. I knew.
“She was young and living on the streets when I met her, so I took her in. Paris wasn’t too keen on it. She’s human after all, but there’s something . . . Well, Nadia is special.” A far-off look crept onto his expression.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
Luc let out a dry laugh. “No. I’d never be that lucky.”
My brows rose, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking it. He was in love with her.
If Luc picked up on the thought, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Two and a half years ago, she started getting bruises all over her, would end up worn out easily, and couldn’t keep any food down. It’s a cancer of the blood, a label with too many words that don’t matter.” His eyes narrowed. “It’s fatal.”
I closed my eyes. “Luc, I’m . . . I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said, and when I looked at him again, he was staring right back at me. “Your father died—a lot of people die from cancer. I get that. But Nadia won’t.”
“She’s why you wanted the Prometheus serum.” From the moment I saw her, I’d been putting two and two together. “Luc, they said it didn’t work for—”
“It works on some diseases and some cancers. They didn’t get a chance to roll the drug through every sickness out there,” he interrupted, and I snapped my mouth shut. “As messed-up as Daedalus was, they did do a few good things. And hopefully, this will be another karma point for them.”
I wanted it to be the case. I didn’t know the girl, but after losing someone to cancer and losing all contact with my mom, I knew how hard loss was. It never went away, but stayed with you like a faint shadow that was thicker some days than others.
“I hope it works,” I said finally.
He gave a curt nod. A moment passed and then he said, “So you guys want to use the Arum to fight the Luxen?”
I blinked. “Does it ever get old being a know-it-all?”
Luc chuckled. “Not one single time.”
My look turned bland.
“Using the Arum is one hell of a Hail Mary, you know that, right?”
I sighed. “It is. Archer said he knew someone who was owed a favor. I’m going to take a wild guess and say it was you.”
He laughed again as he tipped his head back against the wall, looking like a teen boy lounging outside of a classroom. “Yeah, one of the Arum does owe me a favor.” A winsome grin appeared. “And his name would be Hunter.”
14
{ Daemon }
“Hunter?”
Luc sighed and repeated, “Hunter.”
“The douche who was at your club?” Luc and Kat had come and found me in our room, and I didn’t like where this was going.
“Hmm.” Luc tapped a finger on his cheek as he glanced at where Kat sat on the bed. “There were two douches there. He was one of them. So you were—”
“Funny,” I said.
“I thought so.” Luc flashed a grin as he dropped down beside Kat. “Do you know that saying¸ beggars can’t be choosers?”
My eyes narrowed. “I’m never the beggar.”
“Guys.” Kat tucked her hair back behind both ears. “So what do you not like about this Hunter guy?”
“Let’s see.” I pretended to think about that. “He’s an Arum for starters.”
Her gray eyes rolled. “Other than that?”
“Does there need to be another reason?” To me, that was good enough for my rabid dislike of the guy.
Luc nudged Kat with his arm. “It doesn’t matter if he likes Hunter or not. The Arum owes me a favor, and if anyone knows where all our natural-born killers are currently holed up¸ he’ll know.”
“And we can trust him?” she asked.
I snorted. Trusting an Arum? Yeah. Right.
Luc ignored me. “He wouldn’t dare screw around with me, not when he has so much to lose.”
Something ignorant was on the tip of my tongue, but it faded away like a memory just out of reach. I thought about the woman I’d seen with him at the club—a human woman. There had most definitely been a relationship between the two.
I about vomited in my mouth at the thought of that.
“I’ve already talked to him,” Luc said, stretching his arms above his head like a cat in the sunlight. “He’s gonna meet us in Atlanta.”
“Atlanta?” Surprise colored her voice. “And how are we supposed to get there?”
“Probably gonna have to drive.” He shrugged. “There’re no planes in the air, not since ET phoned home and then shot down a commercial jet.”
Kat paled. We hadn’t heard that news yet.
“So, yeah, I don’t suggest flying the unfriendly skies. I’ve already looked it up,” he continued. “It’s gonna take about thirty hours to drive, so it’s going to be an epic road trip. Hunter will meet you at the airport, though—domestic side.” He smiled then, like something about that amused him.
I leaned against the dresser. “So how is Hunter going to help us go after the Arum? Didn’t realize he’s that important of a dude.”
“Hunter’s important but not that significant.” Luc kicked his feet up so his legs were straight. I had no idea if the kid could ever sit still. “He’s your ticket to the Arum playground. He knows where they’re all cooling their feet. Getting Hunter to take you to his leader—master—whatever—isn’t going to be the problem.”
I arched a brow.
“It’s going to be getting the Grand Poo-Bah to go along with it. The Arum are kind of like you guys. All they need is a leader, and then they’ll follow him right off a cliff.” He paused, scrunching his nose. “Never met the guy. Have heard some stuff about him.”
“What stuff?” Kat asked.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter.”
Kat’s brows knit when she frowned.
“Anyway, I’m going to have to stay behind. Pretty sure my presence is needed to keep Nancy from doing something that will upset the balance of the universe. Archer will go with you guys. Both of you, right?” Luc glanced between us. “I seriously doubt either of you will stay behind.”
“Not likely.” I scrubbed my hand down my jaw. Thirty hours in a car with Kat could get interesting, real fun, but with Archer? I thought I might hurt myself.
“Speaking of Nancy . . .” Kat looked at the closed door before she continued. “You can’t let those kids go back to her, no matter what you promised.”
The corners of his mouth rose in a wide smile that was a tad bit on the creepy side. “Don’t worry. She’s not a problem. The whole thing with her will most definitely work itself out in the end.”
The following morning, I sat at a white rectangular table that reminded me of a school cafeteria. I wasn’t sure what to think about that. Did I miss school? Not really. Did I miss life before this crap, when it was just me, my trusty pen, and Kat sitting in front of me?
Yeah. Sometimes.
But it wasn’t like anyone could go back in time.
Dawson sat across from me, scooping scrambled eggs from his plate onto Beth’s. The ch
ick was definitely eating for two, considering the amount of food she just put down, and she was still going strong.