The Burning Shadow

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

  “Yeah. I kicked her legs out from under her like I know jujitsu, and then I vaulted, Luc, I vaulted onto the sink and pivoted like a ballerina. I grabbed her head and stabbed her through it with the obsidian blade.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “That’s … kind of hot.”

  “Luc, I’m being serious.”

  His violet eyes flared. “And again, I’m not joking.”

  “Neither am I. I did something that was impossible for me, and it’s more than that. Way more than that.” My nails were digging into the skin of his wrist. I could feel it, but he didn’t so much as flinch. “I think—oh God—I think I’m like them—like April and Sarah.”

  His lips parted. “Evie—”

  “You don’t understand. There’s something in me that April unlocked.” I shuddered. “It was me, but it wasn’t.”

  His intense gaze searched mine. “Okay. I’m going to need you to tell me everything.”

  * * *

  I did just that as Luc drove us to the club and led me up to his apartment, where he put a cold Coke in my hand. I drank the whole thing like I’d just crawled out of the desert, dying of thirst.

  “You said she hit a button on a key fob?” He stood before me.

  Placing the empty can on the end table, I leaned to the side and pulled out the key fob. It was black with a small red button in the center. “It’s this.” I handed it over. “She said … I think she said it was some kind of sound wave called the Cassio Wave? And that it only affected people with the Andromeda serum, unscrambling some kind of code in the serum. Do I have a code in my head?”

  “Like a computer code?” He turned the key fob over. “I don’t think you have a computer code in your head.”

  “Duh,” I snapped, rubbing my palms over my knees. “But there’s something in there, because besides the brain-killing pain, I had images, Luc. Like glimpses of memories. I saw a man; he looked strung out, and there was this smell of cat pee … and mold.”

  Luc had become very still. “I think you saw your father—your real father.”

  I jerked, somehow not surprised and yet … disturbed. “And I saw you—you as a young boy. Running by the river—by the Potomac. We were barefoot and muddy. I think … I think we were laughing. Did we do that?”

  Luc took a step forward but stopped himself. “Yes. A lot.”

  I let out a shaky breath. “When the pain stopped, she started to say something to me, and I finished the sentence for her. ‘A life for a life,’ and that sounds like some Stephen King stuff right there.”

  His brows climbed up his forehead.

  “I knew what she was saying then—what it meant—but now I have no idea how or why I knew that. Then she said to me, ‘Come. He’s waiting for us.’”

  White light appeared in his pupils. “He?”

  I nodded. “I have no idea who he is, but I did hear a man’s voice when my head felt like it was being pulled apart. It was the same voice I heard after I shot April’s handler. He said something like, ‘You’re not like them,’ and then I had a memory of being dressed in black pants and a shirt, holding a gun. I didn’t see him, but I heard his voice.”

  His fingers curled over the fob. “And that’s when this voice said you aren’t like the others?”

  “Yes, and he said something else. Like I needed to be faster and stronger. I don’t remember exactly.” I winced as a burst of pain lanced through my skull.

  “Are you okay?” Luc was immediately by my side, his hand on my cheek.

  “Yeah.” I breathed slowly as the pain receded. “Whenever I try to remember what was said, it makes my head hurt.”

  “Then don’t. Stop—”

  “I can’t stop. None of this makes sense, and I’m sure as hell not going to figure it out if I don’t try.” I pulled away, dragging my hands through my hair, holding the strands back from my face. “April acted like once she hit the button, I would be different, that I would willingly go with her or something. I thought…”

  Placing the key fob in his pocket, he placed his hands over mine and gently removed my fingers from my hair. “What?”

  I drew in a shallow breath. “I thought I was going to die. The pain was that bad, Luc. It felt like nothing was going to be left of me by the time it ended. I thought—” My voice cracked. “It was so bad. I don’t know how I’m alive…”

  “Peaches.” He leaned in, resting his forehead against mine. “Stop. I can’t … I hear you saying this, and I want to blow something up knowing you felt that kind of pain and there was nothing I could do to stop it. That I didn’t even know it was happening—that I should’ve been there.”

  Shuddering, I closed my eyes. “I don’t know what she did, but she did something, Luc. That Cassio Wave or whatever it is, it unlocked something in me, and I saw it, Luc.”

  “What do you mean?” He pulled my head back, and when my gaze met his, I could see the worry etched into the striking lines of his face. “Besides turning into the Terminator?”

  Clasping his wrists, I nodded and whispered, “I’m almost too afraid to say it out loud.”

  “Don’t be afraid.” The tips of his fingers touched my cheek. “Never with me.”

  Never with me. Those words gave me the courage to speak what was terrifying to even acknowledge. “I saw my eyes. They were like Sarah’s—like April’s. They were black, and my pupils were white. That’s why I couldn’t leave the bathroom. They went back to normal after a couple of minutes, but I saw them.”

  His brows knitted. “That’s not possible.”

  “I know.” I swallowed hard. “But I saw them. I didn’t imagine it. I saw my eyes, and that’s what they looked like.”

  A tremor coursed through his hands. “You’re human, Evie. You’re human except for—”

  “Except for the Andromeda serum, and April said that there was some kind of code in that serum. Maybe not a computer code, but she hit that button and my brain shorted out, and then I kicked ass, Luc. I can’t walk a straight line sober most days, but I kicked her ass in like a nanosecond. But it’s more than that,” I said, heart thumping. “That guy’s voice? I heard it before, and then James mentioned something randomly today. He’s got a cold, and he said I’ve never gotten sick—neither Zoe nor I, and you know what? He’s right.”

  “That doesn’t mean you’re not human.” He let go of my cheeks and rose.

  “But what I did today wasn’t something someone like me could do.” I wet my lips. “Maybe that’s why I don’t have a trace. It’s not so much the serum but what was in that serum, and now … What is going to happen? What if I start to mutate like Sarah or Coop? Because let’s just accept the fact that Coop was probably going through some version of whatever was happening to Sarah. What if—” I sucked in a shrill breath. When Sarah got sick, she’d run off like she had no idea who she was, like she was running toward someone. “What if I lose myself again? What if I mutate and I don’t remember any of this—”

  “Nothing is going to happen to you. Nothing. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “Stop saying that!” I shot to my feet, heart pounding. “You can’t control everything that happens. No one can.”

  “I beg to differ.” His lips thinned as he turned from me. Tension tightened his shoulders, and the air became charged with static. “I am always in control—”

  “Not when it comes to this,” I reasoned, shaking my head. “Why do you think it’s impossible? All the evidence points to there—”

  “Because I would know!” he roared, spinning back to me. A charge of energy ripped through the room. The bulb exploded inside the lampshade of the lamp on the end table, causing me to jump. His voice lowered as his chin dipped. “I should know if you weren’t human—if that serum had done more than give you back your life.”

  “You can’t know everything, Luc.”

  He shook his head as he stepped forward. “I know you.”

  I sucked in an unsteady breath. “Just a few days ago,
you told me you knew Nadia, but you didn’t know me. Did that change?”

  “Yes. I was wrong.” In a blink of an eye, he was right in front of me. “I realized I was the moment you told me you wanted me.”

  My heart stuttered and then skipped a beat. “That doesn’t mean you know what is happening to me, and something is.”

  Luc’s chest rose with a deep breath, and then he turned from me, walking to the window. The blinds were up, and the overcast November sky was gray and gloomy. “I don’t like this, because I always know what is going on. I always have answers.” He thrust a hand through his hair. “And I have no idea what is going on here. It reminds me of…”

  I took a step toward him. “Of what?”

  “Of when you first got sick.” His voice had gone so low that I barely heard him. “I didn’t have the answers then. I couldn’t fix you. I couldn’t do anything, but…” His head tipped back and he exhaled heavily. “It’s the only time I’ve ever been scared.”

  I wanted to go to him, but I was rooted to where I stood. “Are you scared now?”

  Another ripple of energy coasted through the room, sending static dancing over my skin. “I am.”

  25

  If Luc was afraid, then I should be terrified. I was scared, but at the same time, I felt … detached from it. I knew it was happening to me, but I felt normal as I watched Luc turn from the window and face me.

  I felt like Evie, whatever the hell that meant.

  “You never struck me as the type to ever be afraid,” I said, being honest.

  “Usually I’m not, but when it comes to you…” He trailed off, looking away. A muscle flexed along his jaw. He inhaled deeply. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “Will we?”

  “We will.” He came over to me and took my hand. He sat, pulling me onto his lap, and I went, pulling my legs up and draping them over his. His sharp gaze flickered over my face. “There’s a lot we need to talk about. Things are going to change now.”

  Air lodged in my throat. Things had to change now. I knew that. Huge things. Tiny knots formed in the pit of my stomach as I lowered my gaze. Dread and uncertainty took root. I didn’t have to ask to know that those things were life-changing.

  Two fingers pressed against my chin, tilting it up. “But there are two things we need to take care of first that are more important.”

  “What could be more important than this?”

  “This.”

  The fingers under my chin curled as he brought my mouth to his, stopping just an inch from his lips touching mine. The hand along my chin slid to the nape of my neck. A heartbeat passed, and then he kissed me. There was an undeniable spark that passed between us the moment our lips met. The kiss started out slowly, just a brushing of his lips, but as soon as mine parted, he made this sound that caused a curl low in my stomach. He kissed me harder and then harder still, and I had to think that only Luc had the power to kiss away the fear and uncertainty, the tainted knowledge that there was something drastically wrong about me.

  All those problems were still there, but for a little while, they couldn’t touch us. When he lifted his head again, I was a little dazed.

  “There’s still one more thing.”

  “Mmm.” My lips were still tingling, parts of my body were still throbbing in tune with the beat of my heart.

  “My surprise.”

  I’d forgotten about that. “Are you sure it’s not a Chia Pet?”

  He chuckled as he lifted his hand. A moment later, a box appeared in his hand, coming from somewhere outside the line of my vision. It was wrapped in paper that eerily matched his eyes. He handed it over.

  I looked at it and then at him. “What is this?”

  “Open it.”

  None of the surprises were wrapped before. I slid my finger along the gap and tore the shiny paper aside.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered, staring down at a brand-new camera—an expensive-as-hell camera. A Canon T6 Rebel with all the accessories—accessories I’d never had the spare cash to buy or use. “Luc.”

  “Your old one was ruined, and I know how much you love to take pictures.”

  Tears blurred my vision as I stared down at the camera.

  “Plus, you need to retake those pictures of my stunningly handsome face.”

  “Luc,” I whispered, clutching the box.

  He was silent for a moment. “Are you going to cry? Please don’t cry. I don’t like it when you cry. It makes me want to fry stuff, and I’m already down two lamps today—”

  Laughing, I lunged toward him and kissed him. “You didn’t have to do this, but I’m keeping it. Forever.”

  He grinned as he scrunched his fingers through his hair. “Glad you like it.”

  “I love it.” I ran my hand over the box, and then I laughed. “I turned into a master assassin today and killed April. I may or may not be some kind of Lord knows what, but I … I feel okay. It’s not the camera or the kissing—though both helped,” I added when he raised his brows. “But it was you. Thank you.”

  Grinning, he looked away and dropped his hand. “It’s nothing…” His phone went off, and he reached into his pocket to check it. “They’re back … with April’s body.”

  * * *

  Part of me didn’t want to know why they’d brought back April’s body, and yet I was morbidly curious as I followed Luc down to the main club floor, where everyone was waiting.

  Zoe made a beeline for me, quickly followed by Heidi. They both hugged me, and when Zoe pulled back, she said, “I can’t believe you did it, and I have questions. I’m kind of pissed that I didn’t get to do it.”

  “Join the club,” Emery commented as she strode by, heading toward the hall we just came from.

  “How did you kill her?” Heidi demanded, practically hopping from one foot to the other. “Okay. That came out kind of wrong, but how did any of this happen? I have so many questions.”

  I glanced at Luc. “Well, that’s kind of a long story…”

  “Show me your hand,” Grayson said, appearing out of freaking nowhere.

  Half afraid that he was going to drop a tarantula in my hand, I did as he asked.

  Grayson dropped my obsidian pendant into my palm, clean of blood and chain replaced. Before I could thank him or ask how he replaced the chain that quickly, he was already walking away from me, heading into the kitchen.

  My gaze met Luc’s, and there was a secretive little smile on his lips as he inclined his head. I curled my fingers around the pendant. That was nice of Grayson.

  I still didn’t like him.

  “Where is everyone going?” I asked.

  “An autopsy,” Luc answered.

  “What?” Heidi and I demanded at once, and then Heidi spun, taking off after Emery.

  Luc strolled past me, stopping to place a brief, unexpected kiss on the corner of my lips. He murmured, “Don’t forget. I’m needy.”

  My eyes widened, and I felt my cheeks flush as Luc walked off.

  Zoe turned to me. “You and I really need to have a long conversation. And I’m not talking about just April.”

  I glanced at the hallway everyone had disappeared down. “Luc and I … well, we’re together, I guess. I mean, no. I don’t guess. I know.” My face was burning. “We’re totally together—”

  She smacked my arm. “And you haven’t told me?”

  “Ouch.” I rubbed my arm. “It just kind of happened a couple of days ago, and everything has been so crazy, I just haven’t had a chance.”

  “You can always make time to tell me that you have a boyfriend, especially when that boyfriend is Luc. Geez, Evie.”

  “I should’ve told you in between Heidi nearly dying and Luc getting shot,” I retorted. “Maybe work in a mani and a pedi.”

  “I would’ve loved a mani and a pedi.” Her smile was wide and fast. “Seriously, though. I’m happy to hear this. You both have been through a lot to get here.”

  Nodding, I toyed with the pendant in my hand as I l
ooked down the hall. “He’s … he’s Luc.”

  Zoe laughed. “That’s all you need to say for me to understand.”

  I grinned. “We should probably see what they’re up to, and then I can tell you what happened.”

  She agreed, so we went down the hall and through the swinging doors and into the kitchen as I put the necklace on. Wearing it after I’d used it to stab April in the head was—

  We both skidded to a stop.

  Lying on a prep table, underneath stainless-steel pots and pans, was April. Her skin had taken on a waxy pallor, and her forehead …

  I quickly looked away from her to where Heidi and Emery stood, the former’s head cocked to the side as she stared at the dead girl.

  Luc was standing with his back to the door, arms crossed, and Grayson stood at the foot of the table, face impassive.

  It was Clyde, the tattooed and pierced bouncer, and the Luxen, Chas, that I was focused on. Clyde was dressed like a butcher from a horror movie, wearing thick gloves that reached his elbows and some kind of rubber apron that covered his overalls. A pair of small, black-rimmed glasses were perched on his nose.

  “You guys weren’t joking,” I whispered, horrified and somewhat morbidly interested.

  Chas handed what appeared to be a scalpel to Clyde, who said, “I’m going to do my first autopsy.”

  “In the kitchen?” Kent rushed into the room, skidding to a stop. “Where I make myself fritas in the morning?”

  Clyde arched a pierced brow. “Well, yeah, I mean, it’s the perfect place.”

  “No,” Kent argued. “It’s the exact opposite of the perfect place.”

  “It’s a clean, flat surface that offers privacy and many bowls,” Clyde responded.

  “I do not want to know what you plan to put in the bowls I use for my salad and cereal!” Kent exclaimed, and I had to agree with him.

  “Why are we doing an autopsy?” Emery asked, looking a little pale around the mouth. “I mean, is it really going to tell us what she is?”

  Luc shrugged as he slowly shook his head.

  “I want to see what her insides look like,” Clyde responded calmly.