Onyx aln-2

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Daemon’s arm tightened around me as he kissed my flushed cheek. “Told you.”

  Not what I expected as a response.

  He chuckled, rolling onto his side—onto me, really. “My bet—I won. I told you that you’d tell me you loved me on New Year’s Day.”

  Looping my arms around his neck, I shook my head. “No. You lost.”

  Daemon frowned. “How do you figure?”

  “Look at the time.” I tipped my chin toward the clock. “It’s past midnight. It’s January second. You lost.”

  For several moments he stared at the clock like it was an Arum he was about to blast into the next county, and then his eyes found mine. Daemon smiled. “No. I didn’t lose. I still won.”

  Chapter 33

  I crept back into my house right before six in the morning, feeling airy and…happy. I needed to shower and get ready for school. There was a part of me that felt wrong for the smile on my face. Should I be content after everything? I wasn’t sure. It didn’t seem fair.

  And I needed to see Dee.

  After I stepped out of the steamy bathroom wrapped in my robe, I wasn’t startled when I saw Daemon lounging on my bed, freshly showered and changed. At some point, I’d felt him.

  I made my way over to the bed. “What are you doing?”

  He patted the spot beside him, and I crawled onto my knees. “We need to stick close together over the next couple of weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if the DOD shows. We’re safer together.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  A lazy, indulgent grin played across his lips as he tugged on the belt of my robe. “Not the only reason. Probably the smartest, but definitely not the most pressing.”

  Things had changed between us in a matter of hours. We talked more last night…and kissed some more before falling asleep in each other’s arms. Now, there was an openness, a partnership in things. He was still a total smartass. And yeah, that smug grin still irked me.

  But I loved him.

  And the jerk loved me, too.

  Daemon sat up and pulled me into his lap. He kissed my forehead. “What are you thinking?”

  I burrowed my head into the space between his shoulder and neck. “A lot of things. Do…do you think it’s wrong to be happy right now?”

  His arms tightened. “Well, I wouldn’t send out a mass text message or anything.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “And I’m not entirely happy. I don’t think I’ve really come to terms with everything. Adam was…” He trailed off, his throat working.

  “I liked him,” I whispered. “I don’t expect Dee to ever forgive me, but I want to see her. I need to make sure she’s okay.”

  “She’ll forgive you. She needs time.” His lips moved against my temple, and my heart squeezed. “Dee knew you tried to warn her off. She called me when you told her to leave, and I told her and Adam to stay out of there, but they parked the car down the street and came back. They made that choice, and I know she’d do it again.”

  My throat tightened. “There are so many things I wouldn’t do again.”

  “I know.” He placed two fingers under my chin, tipping my head back. “We can’t focus on that now. It’s not going to do any good.”

  I stretched up, kissing his lips. “I want to see Dee after school.”

  “What are you doing for lunch?”

  “Other than eating? Nothing.”

  “Good. We’re skipping.”

  “Going to see Dee, right?”

  His smile turned wicked. “Yeah, but first, there are things I want to do, and we don’t have nearly enough time for that now.”

  I arched a brow. “Are you going to try to squeeze in dinner and a movie then?”

  “Kitten, your mind is a terrible and dirty place. I was thinking we could go for a stroll or something.”

  “Tease,” I murmured and started to stand, but he held me there.

  “Say it.”

  “Say what?” I asked.

  “Tell me what you told me earlier.”

  My heart leaped into my throat. I’d told him a lot of things, but I knew what he wanted to hear. “I love you.”

  His eyes darkened a second before he kissed me until I was ready to say screw the whole doing-right-by-me thing. “That’s all I ever need to hear.”

  “Those three words?”

  “Always those three words.”

  …

  News of Adam’s passing hadn’t hit the school yet, and I wasn’t telling anyone other than Lesa and Carissa. The story was he had died in a car accident. Police would back it up if questions were asked. My friends took it like expected. There were a lot of tears, and again I was surprised that my eyes could still fill with them.

  Daemon poked me once in class to remind me of our lunch plans, and then one more time because he felt like it. Layers of guilt followed me through most of morning classes, alternating with brief moments of exhilaration. I knew that even if Dee forgave me, it wouldn’t change anything. I needed to come to terms with the role I’d played.

  But I also knew I couldn’t stop living.

  When I entered bio, I met Matthew’s eyes. There was a twitch to his lips before he opened up his grade book. Lesa was abnormally subdued due to what I’d told her. Halfway through class, the intercom kicked on.

  The school secretary’s voice rang out. “Katy Swartz is needed in the principal’s office, Mr. Garrison.”

  A jolt of unease pierced my stomach as I grabbed my bag. Shrugging at Lesa’s look, I passed Matthew a near-panicked one as I headed out. I sent Daemon a quick text from my mom’s cell that she’d given me that morning, letting him know I was being called to the office. I didn’t expect him to respond back. I wasn’t even sure he had his cell with him.

  The gray-haired secretary was rocking a Brigitte Bardot hairstyle and a bright pink sweater. I leaned against the counter, waiting for her to look up. When she did, she squinted through her spectacles. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m Katy. I was called to the office?”

  “Oh! Oh, yes, come on, dear.” There was compassion in her tone as she stood. She hobbled toward Principal Plummer’s office. “Right this way.”

  I couldn’t see through the glass windows, so I had no idea what was waiting for me when she threw all her weight behind opening the door. I marked off any job in the school system in my future if she hadn’t been able to retire at her age.

  Principal Plummer sat behind his desk, smiling at whoever was seated on the other side. My gaze followed his, and I was shocked to see Will.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, twisting my backpack’s strap against my shoulder.

  Will came to his feet quickly and rushed to my side. He clasped my free hand. “Kellie’s been in an accident.”

  “No,” I think I gasped. Alarm pounded at my sides as I stared at him. “What do you mean? Is she okay?”

  His expression was pained and haggard as he avoided meeting my eyes. “She left work this morning, and they think she hit a patch of ice.”

  “How bad is it?” My voice wobbled. All I could see was Dad—Dad in a hospital bed, pale and frail, the smell of death that clung to the walls and the hushed voices of the nurses…and then the mannequin in the coffin that sort of resembled Dad but couldn’t have been him. Now all those memories were replaced with Mom. This can’t be happening.

  Will curved a hand over my shoulders, gently turning me around. We were walking out of the office, but I wasn’t conscious of any of it. “She’s in the ER. That’s all I know.”

  “You have to know more than that.” I didn’t recognize my own voice. “Is she awake? Talking? Does she need to have surgery?”

  He shook his head, opening the door. Outside the snow had stopped, and plows were clearing the parking lot. The air was frigid, but I didn’t feel it. I was numb. Will led me to a tan Yukon I didn’t recognize. Unease trickled in, and a horrible thought struck me. I halted a few feet from the passenger side.

  “
Did you get a new car?” I asked.

  He frowned as he opened the car door. “No. I use this during the winter. Perfect for snowy roads. I tried to tell your mother to get something like this other than that damn matchbox she drives.”

  Feeling stupid and paranoid, I nodded. It made sense. A lot of people had their “winter” vehicle around here. And with everything that had happened, I’d forgotten about what I’d discovered about Will—his sickness.

  I climbed in, clutching my bag to my chest after I buckled my seat belt. Then I remembered Daemon. I checked the phone and saw there wasn’t a reply yet. I sent him another quick text, telling him that Mom was in an accident. I’d call him and leave a more detailed message once I knew how…how bad things were.

  I choked on a breath when I thought about losing her.

  Will rubbed his hands together before he turned the key. The radio came on immediately. It was a weather broadcast. The man’s voice coming from the speakers was cheery. I hated him. Meteorologists were watching a Nor’easter forming in the South, slated to slam into West Virginia early next week.

  “What hospital is she at?” I asked.

  “Winchester,” he said, twisting around as he reached for something in the backseat.

  I stared straight ahead, trying to keep the panic at bay. She’s going to be okay. She has to be. She’ll be okay. My lips trembled. Why weren’t we already on the damn road?

  “Katy?”

  I faced him. “What?”

  “I’m really sorry about this,” he said, his face expressionless.

  “She’s going to be okay, right?” My breath caught again. Maybe he wasn’t telling me the worse of it. Maybe she was…

  “Your mom is going to be fine.”

  There wasn’t time for me to feel relief or to question what he said. He leaned forward, and I saw a long, scary-looking needle. I jerked back in the seat, but I wasn’t fast enough. Will pushed the needle into the side of my neck. There was a pinch, and then coolness rushed through my veins, followed by a faint burning sensation.

  I knocked his hand away, or I thought I did. Either way, the needle was gone from his hand, and he was watching me curiously. My hand fluttered to my neck. I couldn’t feel my pulse, but it beat through me wildly. “What…what did you do?”

  Hands on the steering wheel, he pulled out of the school parking lot without answering. I asked him again. At least I think I did, but I wasn’t sure. The road up ahead blurred in a kaleidoscope of white and gray. My fingers slipped over the door handle. I couldn’t will them to work, and then I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

  Calling upon the Source was out of the question. Darkness crept into the corners of my eyes, and I fought it with every ounce of the strength I had left. If I lost consciousness I knew it was all over, but I couldn’t keep my head from listing to the side.

  My last thought was, Implants are everywhere.

  Chapter 34

  When I came to, it felt like a drummer had taken up residency in my head and my mouth was dry. I’d felt like this once before, when a friend and I had drunk an entire bottle of cheap wine during a sleepover. Except then I’d been hot and sweaty, and now I was freezing.

  I lifted my head off the coarse blanket my cheek rested on, prying my eyes open. Shapes were blurry and indistinguishable for several minutes. Flattening out my hands, I pushed up, and a wave of dizziness assaulted me.

  My arms and feet were bare. Someone had taken off my sweater, shoes, and socks, leaving me in my tank top and jeans. Goose bumps pimpled my skin in response to the near-freezing temperature of wherever I was. I knew I was inside somewhere. The steady hum of lights and distant voices told me that much.

  Eventually my eyes cleared, and I almost wished they’d stayed out of focus.

  I was in a cage that resembled a large kennel used for dogs. The thick black metal was spaced enough that I could fit a hand through it. Maybe. I looked up, realizing there was no way I could stand or even lie down completely straight without touching the bars. Manacles and chains hung from the top. Two of them were hooked to my numb, chilled ankles.

  Panic clawed through me, forcing my breath in and out as my gaze darted around at a frantic pace. Cages surrounded me. A gleaming reddish-black substance coated the insides of the bars closest to me and on top of the manacles around my ankles.

  I kept telling myself to keep it together, but it wasn’t working. I scooted onto my backside, sitting up as far as I could and reaching down, wanting to pull the things off my ankles. The moment my fingers touched the top of the metal, red-hot pain swept up my arms, straight to my head. I yelped, jerking my hands back.

  Terror consumed me, swallowing me like a rising tide. I reached for the bars, and the same barbed pain sliced through me, throwing me back. A scream tore from my throat as I shuddered, bringing my hands close to my chest. I recognized the pain now. It was what I’d felt when Smoker had placed that object against my cheek.

  I tried to call on the power that was in me. I could blow these cages apart without touching them. But there was nothing inside me. It was like I was empty or detached from the Source. Helpless. Trapped.

  A lump of material stirred in the cage nearest to me, rising up. It wasn’t a lump, but a person—a girl. My heart pounded against my ribs as she sat up, pushing greasy strands of long blond hair off her pale face.

  She turned to me. The girl was my age, give or take a year. A wicked red-blue bruise spread out from her hairline, across her left cheek. She would’ve been pretty if she weren’t so thin and unkempt.

  She sighed, lowering her face. “I was really pretty once.”

  Had she read my thoughts? “I…”

  “Yes, I read your thoughts.” Her voice was hoarse, thick. She glanced away, scanning the empty cages and then settling on the double doors. “You’re like me, I guess—owned by the Daedalus. Know any aliens?” She laughed then, lowering her pointy chin to her bent knees. “You have no idea why you’re here.”

  Daedalus? What the hell was that? “No. I don’t even know where I am.”

  She started to rock a little. “You’re in a warehouse. It’s like a transportation pod. I don’t know what state. I was out of it when they brought me in.” She gestured at the bruise with a flick of tiny fingers. “I wasn’t assimilating.”

  I swallowed. “You’re human, right?”

  Another choked, grim laugh sounded. “I’m not really sure anymore.”

  “The DOD is involved in this?” I asked. Keep talking. I wouldn’t flip out completely if I could keep talking.

  She nodded. “Yes and no. The Daedalus is, but they are a part of the DOD. And they are involved in me, but you…” Her eyes narrowed. They were a dark brown, almost black. “I could only pick up fragmented thoughts from the guys when they brought you in. You’re here for a different purpose.”

  That was reassuring. “What’s your name?”

  “Mo,” she croaked, touching her dry lips. “Everyone calls me Mo…or used to. Yours?”

  “Katy.” I crawled closer to her, careful not to touch the cage. “What were you not assimilating to?”

  “I wasn’t cooperating.” Mo lowered her head, hiding her face behind stringy hair. “I don’t even think they believe what they’re doing is wrong. It’s like one big gray area with them.” She lifted her chin. “They had another one here. A boy, but he’s not like us. They moved him out right after they brought you in.”

  “What did he look like?” I asked, thinking of Dawson.

  Before she could answer, a door shut somewhere outside of the large, cold room. Mo scrambled back, wrapping her thin arms around her bent knees. “Pretend to be asleep when they come up here. The one who brought you in isn’t as bad as the rest. You don’t want to provoke them.”

  I thought of Smoker and his partner. My stomach roiled. “Wh—”

  “Shh,” she hissed. “They’re coming. Pretend to be asleep!”

  Not knowing what else to do, I moved to the back of the pen and laid
down, throwing my arm over my face so I could peek under it without being seen.

  The door opened and I saw two sets of legs encased in black pants enter the room. They were silent as they moved toward our two cages. My heart was racing again, increasing the ache in my head. They stopped in front of Mo’s cage.

  “Are you going to behave today?” one of the men asked. There was laughter in his voice. “Or are we going to have to make this hard?”

  “What do you think?” Mo spat back.

  The man laughed and bent down. Black handcuffs dangled from his hands. “We don’t want to mess up the other side of your face, sweetie.”

  “Speak for yourself,” the second man groused. “Bitch nearly ended any chances of me having kids.”

  “Touch me again,” Mo said, “and you won’t.”

  He opened the cage, and she immediately went after them. But she was no match for them. They grabbed her legs, pulling her out of the cage until she was lying on the cold cement floor. The one who called her a name rolled her over roughly, slamming her face into the floor. She grunted as he put his knee into her back, pulling her arms behind her. She let out another soft cry as he wrenched her arms.

  I couldn’t sit still and watch this. I pushed up, ignoring the nausea. “Stop it! You’re hurting her!”

  The one on her back looked over, frowning as he saw me. “Look at this, Ramirez. This one’s awake.”

  “And that one needs to be left alone,” Ramirez replied. “We’re getting paid enough money to pretend she ain’t here, Williams. Get the stuff on her, and let’s get out of here.”

  Williams climbed off Mo and approached my cage, kneeling down so he was eye-level with me. He wasn’t very old—maybe mid-twenties. The look in his dissipated blue eyes scared me more than the cages. Put what on me? “She’s a pretty one.”

  I scooted back, wanting to cross my hands over the thin material of my tank top. “Why am I here?” My voice wavered even though I met his gaze.

  Williams laughed as he glanced over his shoulder. “Listen to this one, asking questions.”