Opposition

17

{ Daemon }

Well, shit balls for dinner on Sunday.

That was the worst-case-scenario response.

I moved forward, positioning Kat between Archer and me. If I had to light this room up to get her out of here, so be it. And then what? This mission would be an absolute failure, the government would start e-bombing the crap out of cities, the world would decline into a place I sure as hell didn’t want to be in, and worse yet, I would lose my sister. Forever.

Perhaps I should’ve just kept my mouth shut?

Lotho stood to his full height, which had to be damn near seven feet tall, and he eyeballed me like he wanted to chew me up and spit me back out. “Did you actually expect a different response from me?” He tipped his head back and laughed. Several of the Arum snickered around us. “That any of us would help a Luxen? Or a hybrid or whatever the hell that thing is?” He gestured at Archer. “You’re either incredibly arrogant or seriously stupid.”

Irritation pricked at the back of my neck, causing my skin to hum with electricity. I knew I needed to keep it cool, at least until they made a real move against us. As much as it sucked, we needed them.

“What?” Lotho came down a step, and I stiffened. “You don’t have something smartass you want to add?”

My eyes narrowed. “Give me a second. I’ll come up with something.”

Hunter groaned.

Small hands pushed into my back in warning. “I didn’t expect any of you to hold our hands and sing ‘Kumbaya,’” I said, and Lotho arched a brow. “I didn’t expect any of you to actually welcome us here, but I did expect you all not to be a bunch of idiots.”

“Oh God,” Kat murmured behind me as she dug her nails into my back.

“That’s not going to win you any friends.” Hunter looked at me as if I were a few brain cells short of a complete set.

His brother, Pinky or Binky—I had no clue because I’d forgotten both of their names—appeared as if he was ready to go find himself a bib.

I took a deep breath. “You guys do realize what’s going to happen once the Luxen take over Earth, right?”

Lotho’s expression said he couldn’t give two craps. “Do you think we care about humans? They are . . . useless to us.”

I seriously began to question his intelligence. “Once they take over and subjugate every human here, they’re going to come after you guys. They may not be worried about you now, but they will. And the last time I checked, the Luxen owned the Arum.”

Lotho snorted. “They did not own us.”

“Is that so?” Archer chimed in. “Because you’re here on Earth, underground, living in subway tunnels. Just thought I’d point that out.”

“He kind of has a point there,” I added, smirking. “By then, they’ll have learned how to fight your kind,” I continued, hoping at least one of the Arum down here could make sense of logic. “Right now, they have no clue. It will be like a damn buffet for you. But later? After they’ve dealt with an Arum here and there? History is going to repeat itself.”

“History will not ever repeat itself,” sneered a female Arum. “They will never have control of us again.”

“Keep telling yourself that while you hide down here,” I retorted.

Pinky—I think it was Pinky—started to shift. “We are not hiding.”

“Totally looks like you guys are hiding.” Kat peeked around my shoulder, and Lotho’s gaze slammed into her in a way that made me want to pull out his larynx and shove it down his mouth. “I mean, from an outside observer, I’d say you guys were hiding.”

Hunter squeezed his eyes shut like he suddenly had a headache.

A heavy footfall later, Lotho was within ass-kicking range. He wasn’t looking at me. My hands curled into fists.

Cool it, Archer warned me.

“You’re not just a casual observer,” Lotho said to Kat, voice as thick as the shadows gathering around him. “You’re a whore of the Luxen who hides behind them.”

I stiffened. “What—”

“Hold up. Excuse me.” Kat darted out from behind me and raised one hand. “First off, the last time I checked, I’m not a whore for anyone. Secondly, I didn’t cower behind him. Unlike some people.”

Lotho cocked his head to the side.

“And thirdly? Not one of you in this room—not a single one of you—caused the destruction of your planets, right? Is anyone in here old enough that they had a hand in that war between your two kinds?” When no one answered, she shook her head. “You guys are ridiculous! All of you.”

Cold blasts of air hit from several directions. Not good. “Uh, Kitten . . .”

“Shut up,” she snapped, and my eyes widened. “You’re just as bad as they are.”

“What the what?” I said.

Hunter’s clone raised his brows. “I kind of want to hear where this is going.”

More snickers from the peanut gallery.

“You two hate each other just because of what you are,” Kat all but shouted.

“Well, they were kind of created to destroy us, so. . . .” I trailed off.

“And they committed genocide on our kind and enssslaved our people,” Lotho said, his voice becoming snakelike.

“Waah, waah, waah. Whine. That’s all I hear.” Kat threw her hands up. “Let me give you a brief history of mankind. We have constantly, systematically screwed one another over religion and race, doing far worse than what your two kinds have done to each other, more often than a history teacher has time to cover in class. Since the beginning, we have hurt one another over the stupidest things.”

“Well, that’s a glowing endorsement of humans,” Hunter’s brother said drily.

“You don’t get it.” For a second, I really thought she was going to stomp her foot. “Even though so many races on this planet have so much bad blood between them, when the shit hits the fan, we always come together. Always. Why? Because we know there are some moments when we have to fight together, and so we do. Then, when it’s all over, we go back to hating on each other. And everything is right in the world.”

Lotho’s form solidified as he stared at her.

“God!” Kat did stomp her foot then. “Why can’t you all act like humans just once?”

Silence, and then Lotho asked, “You’re wanting us to forget everything that they have done to us and continue to do?”

“No. I want you to remember,” she said. “I want you to remember everything that was done to you because these Luxen—the ones who just got here—they are the kind that totally screwed you over. Not Daemon. Not me. Not most of the Luxen who have been living here. The invaders are your enemies. I want you to remember that.”

His lip curled. “As if there is a difference between them.”

Kat shook her head in disbelief. “Things aren’t always black and white. And if you really think that going after the invading Luxen isn’t in your best interest, then . . . well, good luck with that.”

Lotho looked away, his gaze traveling over the mass of his minions. He was as still as the air around us for a moment. Tiny hairs along my arms rose, and then he shot forward, going straight for Kat.

I whirled around, shifting into my true form as Lotho grabbed hold of Kat. He slammed her into the nearby wall with his hand around her neck.

Red-hot rage exploded inside of me. The sound that rose from my throat was raw and animalistic. I shot forward, shouting out in fury as Hunter’s brother and another Arum clutched my arms. A heartbeat later, an additional Arum was at my back, pushing me down onto the slimy, cold floor. I didn’t need to look to know that Archer was also surrounded.

I struggled, drawing in the Source, but these three Arum were big guys—definitely not young—and they were strong, as if they’d recently fed on a few Luxen. Light pulsed and flared, snapping into the air. I lifted my head, seeing the world in white and red.

“What do you think is stopping me from ending your life right now?” Lotho snarled, inches from her face.

“Nothing,” she gasped out. “But what does . . . killing me solve?”

“It’ll amuse me.” Lotho leaned into her, like all up in her personal space. He tilted his head to the side, and even from where I was, I could see his gaze move down the length of her. “And I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy it.”

I lost my shit.

Pure energy rippled through me, expanding into a burst of light. The Arum at my back was flung like a beanbag. I rose, dragging Hunter’s brother and his sidekick along with me. Power rolled from me in a tumultuous wave as I slammed my arms inward, knocking the two Arum’s heads together.

Down they went.

I started forward, stopping long enough to drop-kick a rapidly shifting Arum into next week, and then another I caught under the chin, knocking him into the crowd of Arum.

“Let her go,” I said, shifting into my human form as the Source crackled and roared down my arm. My heart pounded as the floor under my feet began to shake. “Or I will bring this whole damn place down on all of us.”

Lotho glanced over his shoulder at me. “Look at you and your big, bad self. Rawr.”

“You haven’t see anything yet,” I growled. “I’m giving you five seconds to back the hell off her. One. Four. Fi—”

He dropped her and faced me fully. “I don’t think you know how to count.”

“And I don’t think you want to live.”

Lotho stared at me a moment and then threw his head back, letting out a loud laugh as Hunter’s brother picked himself up.

“Uh . . .” Hunter frowned, glancing at his brother as he staggered to the side. “Not expecting that.”

Neither was I, but I didn’t take my eyes off Lotho as I stalked forward, hitting his shoulder with mine when I reached Kat’s side. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, swallowing hard as she watched Lotho. “He’s laughing . . . ?”

I started toward Lotho, my vision still tinted in whitish-red. I was going to put my hand through his chest, but Kat clutched my arm, forcing me to stop.

“I kind of like them,” Lotho said to Hunter, who appeared just as confused as the rest of us. “Which is great news for you, since I won’t kill you for bringing them here.”

Hunter scowled deeply as he folded his arms across his chest. “Good to know.”

“Back up off of the freak,” he ordered those surrounding Archer. He strode up the steps to the makeshift throne and then dropped down in an arrogant sprawl, thighs spread wide. “Okay, then. You want an army. I’ll give you an army.”

The mass of Arum around us shifted as some, but not nearly all, of the tension seeped out of my shoulders. I felt like I should say thank you, but those words wouldn’t even form on my tongue.

“I give you my word, but there is one condition,” he said, raising his chin.

“Of course,” I muttered.

Lotho eyed me like I was some kind of insect under a microscope. “It’s just one little thing that I demand.”

Archer nodded, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter’s shoulders square up as he squeezed his eyes shut. He muttered a curse under his breath.

“You let me feed off her.”

I started. “I know I heard you wrong.”

“No. You didn’t,” Lotho replied coolly. “You let me feed off her.” He nodded at Kat. The blood drained from her face, but it rushed to every part of my body like a fiery flood. “I won’t kill her. Just a taste. Or two. Maybe three.”

A long moment passed as I stared at the soon-to-be-dead son of a bitch. Part of my head couldn’t register that he’d dared to even make that request. Fury simmered in my gut, spreading into an inferno. My vision blurred as the world shifted colors.

Hunter shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s so messed up, man.”

“Yeah. I’m completely screwed up like that.” Lotho smiled, and my rage knew no limit at that point. “That’s my condition. Take it or get the hell out.”