The Brightest Night

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  No one else noticed my escape as I crept out of the room. They’d fallen back into a heated argument. Out in the hall, I looked down the end, to the lone door that led to Blake. What were they going to do with them?

  Having no idea, I walked out into fading sunlight. Archer had left the meeting, but he hadn’t gone far. He was pacing right where Luc and I had stood earlier. He stopped, looking over as I went down the steps. “They still at it in there?”

  I nodded as I slowly approached the older Origin. “I couldn’t sit and listen any longer. I’m going to go check in with Viv.”

  “Don’t blame you.” He folded his arms over his chest, his gaze falling to the closed door behind me. “I couldn’t stay in there, not in the same building as Blake, knowing how he hurt Dee. He almost killed her, too.”

  “How is Dee handling it?”

  “She’s shocked. Angry. Things were a little rough when she first learned, but my lady is strong.”

  “She is!” I said, maybe a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, to do what she does, she has to be. I could never keep my cool like she does.”

  His grin kicked up a notch. “You should see her after she does the on-air interviews. Pretty sure she wants to blow things up.” The grin was as gone as quickly as it had appeared. “I don’t know how Daemon can stand to be in the same zip code as that guy.”

  “I don’t think he can. That’s why Luc is staying behind—just in case Daemon makes a go for him,” I said, running a hand over my arm. There was a chill in the air that hadn’t been there earlier. “What do you think they’re going to do?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, eyes nearly identical to Luc’s sliding back to me. “I don’t think it’ll matter what they decide in the end.”

  I didn’t think it would, either.

  His head tilted. “How does that make you feel? Knowing that two people will die, one of them most likely innocent?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, and then I took a long breath. “Actually, I do. I don’t like the idea of Chris dying. I don’t like the idea of anyone dying, but if he’d done those things to Luc, I’d be demanding his execution.”

  Archer watched me. “Death is never easy, not even when it’s well deserved. Except the dead have a habit of not staying dead.”

  “Seems that way.” I started toying with the hem of my shirt. “And I guess the same could be said about me.”

  “Luc never said you were dead. We just assumed you were.”

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about a whole bunch of someones assuming I was dead. “How are things on the outside?”

  “Where we film, things are normal, but the news isn’t good. They are really pushing the Luxen narrative, even networks that don’t usually fall in line with the administration’s agenda. Only overseas news sources are questioning what is being reported as the cause of the flu.” Lifting a hand, he scratched his fingers through his neatly trimmed hair. “The masses aren’t really paying attention. If this flu spreads wider than the infected cities and the only thing humans do is avoid Luxen instead of one another, things are going to go south fast. Like, Spanish influenza fast.”

  I shivered as I tried to imagine a widespread outbreak. If Hollywood taught me anything, one person on a plane would bring the whole world crashing to a halt. To be honest, I was surprised it had only traveled to five cities and not more.

  “Is there any news coming out of the quarantined cities?” I asked, hoping he had a different story to tell from Heidi and Emery’s.

  Pressing his lips together, he shook his head, and my heart sank. “Officials claim that aid is being rendered and that as soon as a vaccine can be developed, those uninfected in the cities will be the first to receive them, but we already know that’s a lie.”

  We did.

  Only the normal flu vaccine could prevent the mutation in the virus, and I doubted the officials were going to do anything to fix the nationwide flu vaccine outage—an outage I was sure they’d engineered.

  “Sometimes I just don’t get it. Like, how can the Daedalus have such a reach that the CDC isn’t all over this? That there isn’t a single person within the organization that’s not holding up their hand and saying, ‘Wait a minute.’”

  “I’m sure there have been,” Archer said. “And I’m sure many of them, if not all of them, have been silenced through conveniently timed accidents.”

  Jesus, I hadn’t even considered that. “Just when you think the Daedalus couldn’t get any eviler or more powerful, you’re proven wrong.”

  “I learned a long time ago to never underestimate them.”

  My mind went straight to Luc, to what he’d shared. A twisting motion lit up my chest. Luc had escaped them so very long ago and he’d never become like Blake, but the Daedalus had made those first cuts.

  “You doing okay?” Archer asked.

  I blinked, managing a smile. “Yeah.”

  He arched a brow. “You do realize I can read minds, right?”

  “You do realize it’s rude to do that without someone’s permission?”

  Archer grinned. “I do, but you’re—”

  “Loud.” I sighed. “I know.”

  He nodded and then cast his gaze in the library doors. “I’ve known Luc a long time.”

  Every part of me tensed. I really didn’t want him to be picking up on what Luc had shared with me. No one needed to.

  “No one will,” Archer said, and those violet eyes met mine. “There are days when I think I don’t know much, but I was with the Daedalus for a long time, virtually undercover. None of us walked out of there without scars. We all feared that we’d become exactly what they wanted, one way or another. A monster.”

  My mouth dropped open. How deep did he go into my mind to pull that out?

  “It’s Dee that keeps me human,” he went on. “It’s always been you that has done that for Luc, and I have a feeling, even if you don’t realize it, he does the same for you.”

  The next breath I took scorched my throat. I was at a loss as to what to say.

  Archer smiled. “I’d better head back in there.”

  I nodded, stepping aside as he walked past me. I watched him until the door swung shut behind him. More than a little freaked out, I slowly turned around and started walking, thinking over what Archer had said. Part of me didn’t want to know how he’d picked all of that out of my brain, but he was right. Luc was there for the nightmares and all the scars I carried. If he weren’t, I would probably be just as inhuman as I imagined the other Trojans were.

  Walking along the empty lot that was behind the shopping center, I took in the stools that sat in front of the basins turned over to dry out. The clotheslines were bare, and as I walked under them, I couldn’t help but think of how creepy it was—

  A soft whistle drew my attention the right. My heart kicked against my ribs as I spun around, searching for the face I hadn’t seen in days. There. Behind the dumpster, I saw familiar red hair.

  “Nate.” Relief seized me as I crossed the distance and then gave way to concern, because I seriously wasn’t expecting to see him so soon. “Is everything okay?”

  He’d slinked farther back into the shadows as I rounded the corner, frowning when he continued to move away. Nate was skittish, but this was different. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. It’s just…”

  I saw his face, and rage poured into me like a violent summer storm. He’d been hit—hit hard. Around his swollen left eye, his skin was a deep purple and an angry shade of red. The Source pulsed in the center of my chest, flashing through my body. “Who did that to you?”

  Nate drew back, planting himself against the back of the building. “Your skin.” The one eye of his widened. “It’s moving.”

  I didn’t have to look at my arms to know the Source was making its presence known and he was scared. Who could blame him? Besides all the nonsense he’d been fed about the Luxen, I was sure I looked like something straight out of a low-budget science fiction mo
vie.

  “It’s okay.” I lifted my hands, and Nate flinched. Stupid move. I willed myself to calm. The Source pulsed and then returned to a steady hum. “I’m not going to hurt you. You have to know that. Right?”

  Nate was still for several long heartbeats, and then he nodded. “You really aren’t like them—like the ones who’d invaded.”

  “I’m not. Neither are the ones here.” I managed a calming breath. “Who did this to you?”

  His silence was an answer.

  “Was it Morton?”

  He folded scrawny arms over his frail chest and gave me one more nod.

  The fact I didn’t lose my shit right there showed just how much control I truly had, because now it was me who wanted to blow something up.

  Namely, Morton.

  Funny how I had just walked away from people arguing about whether it was right or wrong to kill someone, and here I was, fully ready to commit murder. Nate was just a child. All of them were just children. How in the hell could a grown man hit one of them? And I knew this wasn’t the first time.

  “Your eyes,” Nate whispered.

  “Sorry. I’m just upset for you. No one has the right to hit you, Nate. That’s not okay.” Surprised by how level my voice was, I slowly lowered my hands. “Please tell me you’re here because you want our help. Please.”

  His head bowed. “After you left, Jamal and Nia … I think they wanted to go with you. So, I talked to the others. They’re ready,” he said. “They want out.”

  I almost hit the ground. Only a few hours ago, Luc and I were talking about this. Never did I dare to hope that Nate would come to us so quickly. “Okay. That’s good. That’s great. We can go now—”

  “Not right now.” Nate’s chin jerked up. “It has to be later. Tonight. When it’s dark. We’ll flash our lights when we’re at the Galleria. It’s the mall.”

  I had no idea where that was, but he peeled away from the wall. “Do you have to go back?” I asked, not wanting him to. “You can stay here. You’ll be safe, and we’ll go get the rest of them. You don’t have to go back there.”

  “But I do.” Nate straightened as he took a step, and that’s when I saw him limp.

  He wasn’t limping before.

  “Did he do that, too?” I jerked my chin at his leg.

  “He kicked me when I went down.”

  I was so going to kill Morton. “Stay,” I urged. “I can take you to the doc. She can give you something—”

  “I have to go back. The younger ones. They get scared easy at night. Jamal and Nia can’t handle them all by themselves.”

  “But—”

  “Please. Just come tonight. Okay? When it’s dark. I’ll signal you from inside the Galleria. We’ll be near the entrance.”

  Realizing there was nothing I could do to stop him that wouldn’t scare him, I took a step back. “We’ll be there.”

  “We?”

  I nodded. I might have done a lot of stupid things, but there was no way I was going back into that city by myself again and trying to wrangle up a bunch of frightened children.

  Plus, someone needed to lead them out while Morton was dealt with.

  “Your boyfriend?” he asked.

  “He’ll be there. You’ll like him. He wears really stupid shirts.”

  A tentative smile appeared, but it didn’t last. He’d seen too much, been through too much. “Tonight.”

  “Tonight,” I promised.

  Watching him leave was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. A hundred different things could happen between now and when it was dark enough that the kids could make their presence known. Morton could go at Nate again, could go at any of the other kids.

  My hands curled into fists.

  But I knew if Nate didn’t go back there, the kids wouldn’t come to the mall. They’d scatter in a city they knew like the backs of their hands. We’d never find them.

  Now I just had to convince Cekiah and everyone else that taking on more than a dozen children was the right thing to do. I could only hope that Luc had been right about Cekiah and Zouhour being more than willing to take the children in.

  Spinning around, I raced back to the library and skidded into the main room. Everyone was still there. No tables had been flipped, but I hadn’t been gone all that long. Viv was there, sitting in one of the empty chairs. I must’ve just missed passing her. I knew this was a terrible moment for me to tell them about Nate and the kids, but I really didn’t have a choice.

  “This is becoming—” Kat stopped mid-sentence as Daemon looked over his shoulder at me.

  It’s Nate. He’s back. They’re ready.

  Luc’s gaze shot to me, and with one quick nod, he stood. “The situation with Blake is important, and I’m sure all of you wish to continue arguing the same points over and over again, but Evie has something that’s also important to share.”

  Figuring my thoughts were super-loud at the moment, I wasn’t at all surprised when Archer’s eyes narrowed and he leaned over to whisper in Dee’s ear.

  “Please tell me it’s not yet another person whose right to live or die we’ll need to discuss?” Quinn said wearily.

  Well …

  I was going to skip over that part at the moment.

  “Remember when I said I saw lights in the city? I wasn’t seeing the sunlight reflecting weird or anything like that,” I said, noticing that Eaton no longer looked half-asleep as Daemon tilted his head. “There are people in the city. Kids.”

  That got everyone’s attention. Human and alien eyes fixed on me.

  “What?” Cekiah had twisted around in her seat.

  “Shortly after I saw the lights, I came home to find a kid in the house. I knew he wasn’t a part of this community, because he wasn’t at the school. He was scavenging for food. His name is Nate, and I saw him again a few times, and talked to him once more. Then he came because one of the other kids was hurt. I went with him into the city—”

  “You did what?” Daemon demanded.

  “Trust me, she’s already received the lecture I know you’re about to deliver,” Luc remarked.

  I gave him a wince of a smile. “I know it wasn’t the brightest idea, but I did it. I needed to see how many kids there were and try to get him to trust me. You see, he didn’t want me to tell anyone, and he was worried that if I did, the kids would scatter into the city. There are over a dozen children in that city. All human. Nate might be the oldest, and he can’t be older than thirteen.”

  Someone sucked in sharp breath, and there were gasps. I was hoping that was a good sign.

  “How is that even possible? Where are their parents?” Jamie, who hadn’t been exactly keen on me hanging around, had a hand pressed to her chest.

  “Some were homeless or in group homes or something similar before the invasion, and just forgotten in the chaos,” I said. “But one of the kids told me there used to be more children—there used to be parents, families, but many of them didn’t survive the first year.”

  “Oh my God,” whispered Jamie. “That is … I don’t even have words.”

  “I have so many questions right now,” Zouhour said. “How did you two even get past our patrols? We have guards constantly patrolling the outer edges of the city.”

  “The kids know this whole area. They know exactly where the guards are going to be at any given time—their schedule.”

  “Well, add changing up the guard routine to my mental to-do list,” muttered Eaton. “I can’t believe we haven’t seen any of them when we’ve done our sweeps. We’ve scoured every inch of that city in the last four years.”

  “Like I said, they know how to hide and not be found,” I told him.

  “What do you mean they’ve been living there?” Jamie asked. “There’s nothing in the city. No food. No real useful supplies other than just what they can take here and there.”

  “That’s where some of the food has been disappearing.” Viv cleared her throat with a slight grimace.

  I sc
anned the group for expressions of censure, but all I saw was shock and dismay. “I wanted to say something as soon as I discovered them, but I knew if anyone came looking for them, no one would see them again.”

  “How do they look?” Viv asked.

  “Underfed. I get the impression that there have been infections, mostly from cuts and bruises. Things that I imagine if they were living under better conditions they wouldn’t have to deal with.” I looked at Viv closer. Her cheeks were flushed. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Yeah. Allergies.” She sniffed. “Too bad the EMPs didn’t knock them out. Why haven’t they come here for treatment? We would’ve helped them.”

  “They’re scared,” Luc stepped in. “I haven’t seen any of the kids myself, but that’s what they’ve told Evie. They’re scared of us—of all the Luxen here.”

  “Good God,” Quinn murmured, running his thumb along his chin. “Have they seen the Yard? Is that why?”

  “I don’t know what they’ve seen, but there’s a man who’s sort of fashioned himself as their guardian,” Luc continued. “He’s got them scared out of their minds when it comes to the Luxen, and I imagine he’s got them thinking only he can protect them, and since he’s human, he felt familiar to them.”

  “But he’s not protecting them. His name is Morton. He’s using them. I’m willing to bet most of the food and supplies go to him, and he’s been abusing at least one of them. I’m sure it’s more,” I said. “I just saw Nate, and he had a black eye and had been limping. I asked if it was Morton, and Nate said yes.”

  Kat’s hand fisted where it rested on the table. “That is unacceptable.”

  “It is,” I agreed. “And none of them have confirmed this, but I think … I don’t know, but it’s awfully convenient and strange that all these kids survived, but only one adult did? Morton could have something to do with the other adults not making it. I’m just saying, I met him once, and he just gives those kind of vibes.”

  “What I’m hearing is making me stabby,” Dee said.

  I nodded. “I’ve told them we can help them. I mean, we would, right? They’re just children, but they’ve been too scared to accept help.” I drew in a shallow breath. “Until tonight. Nate said they’re ready. They want help. I told them we would. I know I’m not on your unofficial but totally official council, and I don’t speak for any of you, but I have to believe that the kind of world you all are building wouldn’t let kids starve or turn a blind eye to them being hurt.”