Origin

Chapter 21

Katy

I stood quickly, palming the gun. “Are you sure?” I winced. “Okay. That was a stupid question.”

“I don’t—”

A knock rattled the motel door, jarring me to the point that I almost dropped the pistol. Daemon shot me a concerned look, and I flushed. I really needed to pull it together. Taking a deep breath, I nodded.

He prowled to the door silently, with the grace of a lethal predator, and there I was, stumbling around like a colt. Inching closer, I told myself I was ready to use this gun. Using the Source, which was just as dangerous, would be too risky. Shooting a gun would draw attention, but hopefully only the local kind.

Daemon leaned in, peering out the peephole. “What the hell?”

“What?” My heart skipped a beat.

He looked over his shoulder at me. “It’s Paris—the Luxen who was with Luc.”

It took me a moment to remember who he was—the really pretty blond Luxen who had been with Luc at his club. “He’s a friendly?”

“We’ll see.” Daemon squared his shoulders and cracked the door open. I couldn’t see anything beyond his bare back, which, if I had to be stuck staring at something, at least it was that. “Surprised to see you all the way out here,” he said.

“Should you be?” came the response.

“You tell me. Why are you here? And why shouldn’t I blast you into next week?”

My palm was sweaty around the gun. Daemon really wouldn’t blast Paris. Wait. Yes he would, risky or not.

“Because that would draw way too much attention,” Paris replied in his smooth voice. “And besides, I’m not alone.”

Daemon must have seen someone else, because his shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch, and he stepped aside. “Well, come in.”

Paris stepped through the door, his strides long and sure. He took one look at me holding the gun. “Nice shirt.”

I glanced down, forgetting I was wearing the extraterrestrial highway shirt. “Thanks.”

Then Archer popped in, looking fresh and clean. Not at all like someone who’d spent the night running around the desert. Suspicion bloomed like a noxious weed. He looked at Daemon. “Were we interrupting?”

Daemon’s eyes narrowed as he closed the door. “What’s going on?”

Archer reached into his jeans and pulled out a glass case. He handed it over to Daemon. “Here is the LH-11. I thought I’d let you do the honors.” He looked at me. “Are you going to shoot me, Katy?”

“Maybe,” I mumbled, but I lowered the gun and sat on the edge of the bed. “Where have you been?”

Archer frowned as Paris milled about, casting a distasteful sneer at the room. “Well, I did have a busy night keeping half the military off your tracks. Then when I was heading back to meet you, I ran into our friend here.”

“I wouldn’t consider him a friend,” Daemon said as he came to stand beside where I sat.

Paris placed a hand against his chest. “You wound me.”

Daemon rolled his eyes, and then in a lower voice, he said. “You can put the gun down, Kitten.”

“Oh.” I flushed. Stretching over, I placed it on the table. Then I addressed Archer. “We owe you a thank-you for…for everything.” I waited for Daemon to chime in. When he didn’t, I kicked his leg.

“Thank you,” Daemon muttered.

Archer’s mouth curved in amusement, and I think it was the first time I saw him really smile. I was blown away by how young it made him look. “You have no idea how gleeful that makes me feel to hear you say that, Daemon.”

“I can imagine.”

“Seriously,” I cut in. “We do thank you. We would’ve never made it here if it wasn’t for you.”

He nodded. “It wasn’t just for you two.”

“Explain?” Daemon said.

Paris huffed as he hopped up on the desk. Thank God the thing didn’t give out on him and wrinkle his pressed pants. “Do you guys really think that Archer enjoyed being Daedalus’s perfect little example of how an origin should be?”

“I guess not.” Daemon sat beside me. “And I guess Luc didn’t, either.”

Paris raised a slender shoulder. “And I guess you didn’t enjoy being their perfect, little mutant-maker?”

“Oh, yeah, and Nancy was totally loving you.” Archer folded his arms. “You were her all-star Luxen. How many humans did you mutate in the short period of time there? More than any other Luxen has.”

Daemon stiffened. “That really has nothing to do with this. Why are you helping us, and why are you with Paris?”

“And where is Luc?” I piped in, figuring he couldn’t be too far.

Paris smiled. “He’s around.”

“We don’t have a lot of time for questions, but I can give you the short and dirty version,” Archer said. “I owed Luc a favor, and Paris is right. You were right, Katy. Being in Daedalus means not having a life. They controlled every aspect. It doesn’t matter how I came into creation.” He spread his arms out, palms up. “What matters, always matters, is living.”

“Why now?” Daemon asked, a hard edge of distrust to his tone.

“And that’s the question of the year, huh?” Paris chimed in, grinning like he ingested some happy pills or something. “Why would Archer pick right now to risk everything—his life, what little life he had?”

Archer sent the other Luxen a dark look. “Thanks, Paris, for adding that. Escaping Daedalus is not easy. Besides Luc and a handful of others, no one has ever succeeded. Yeah, I could’ve run a hundred times over, but they would’ve found me. I also needed a diversion.”

It hit me then. “You used us as a diversion.”

He nodded. “Nancy and Sergeant Dasher are going to be more concerned about finding Daemon and you. I’m not going to be at the top of their priority list.”

Some of the tension eked out of Daemon’s frame. “Nancy had said that there were other origins out in the world pretending to be normal humans.”

“There are some,” Archer confirmed. “I doubt they’ll be a problem right now. They have high-profile lives, so they won’t come within ten miles of any of us.”

There was still something I didn’t understand. “Why didn’t Luc just have you get him the LH-11? He could’ve hidden you.”

Paris laughed softly. “Do you think there’s a method to Luc’s madness?”

“I hoped there would be,” Daemon muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“Actually, there is a method. Besides the fact that I could play spy to keep Luc…and a few others up to date on what Daedalus was doing, I knew that they changed the LH-11 strain, and that’s what Luc wanted, the new version—Prometheus. I was never around the new drug. No one was. Not until they brought you in,” Archer said to Daemon. “It was sort of the perfect storm for everyone. But I don’t know why Luc wants the drug.”

“And I wouldn’t ask him,” Paris said ominously.

I shivered at his tone, but then I thought of what Archer had told me. “What about the Luxen—the ones Sergeant Dasher claimed wanted to take over? Was that true?”

Archer slid a look at Daemon. “It’s true, and your boy toy over here seems to know one of them.”

Daemon’s eyes narrowed. “Stay out of my head.”

I turned to him. “What is he talking about?”

“It’s just something Ethan White said. Remember him?” he asked, and I nodded. I’d met the Elder Luxen briefly. “When I left the colony to come looking for you, he said something about Earth not belonging to the humans forever, but I really didn’t give it much thought, because come on… I’m sure there are Luxen out there who want to be in control, but it would never happen.”

Archer didn’t look convinced, and neither was I, but then the origin cocked his head to the side. “Speaking of the devil…”

A moment later, the hotel door opened. Daemon shot to his feet, eyes turning all white as I started for the gun, my heart leaping into my throat.

Luc strolled in, holding a plastic bag and a pink box. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, a big grin plastered across that angelic face. “Hey, guys!” he said cheerfully. “I brought doughnuts.”

I blinked slowly as I settled back down. “Good God, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I’m pretty sure I locked that door,” Daemon growled.

Luc set the box of doughnuts down, and I eyed them like they held the answer to life. “And I’m pretty sure I let myself in. Hey, Katy!”

I jumped at my name. “Hey, Luc…”

“Look at what I got.” He dug into his bag and pulled out an extraterrestrial highway shirt. “We can be soul twins now.”

“That’s…um, really nice.”

Paris’s lip curled. “Are you actually going to wear that shirt?”

“Yeah, I am. Every day of my life. I think it’s ironic.” Luc’s amethyst gaze circled the room, landing back on me. “Now, I think you two have something for me?”

Daemon let out a low breath and picked up the glass case. He tossed it over to Luc, who snatched it out of the air. “There you go.”

The kid popped open the small and narrow case, exhaling slowly. He closed it reverently and slid it into the back pocket of his jeans. “Thank you.”

I had a feeling that, like Daemon, he didn’t say thank you a lot. “So…what do we do from here?” I asked.

“Well…” Luc drawled out the word. “Shit’s about to get real. Daedalus will spare no expense or life to get their grubby little hands on you, Daemon. They are going to tear this town apart. They already are. And they will use every means possible to drag you back in.”

Daemon stiffened. “They’re going to go after my family, aren’t they?”

“Most likely,” he replied. “Actually, you can count on that. Anyway!” Luc spun on Archer so fast that the older origin took a step back. “I got us some new wheels.”

“Really,” Archer replied.

“And it’s roomy enough for the five of us.” Luc turned back to Daemon and me with an impish grin that spelled no good. “I have a surprise for you guys. But first, I’d suggest putting on some clothes.” He reached in his bag, pulled out a shirt, and tossed it at Daemon. It was a plain white T-shirt. “Me and Katy look adorkable in extraterrestrial highway shirts. You would just look stupid. You can thank me later.”

I wondered how in the world Luc knew that Daemon also had one of those shirts.

“And eat some damn doughnuts. In either order will do.”

Daemon scowled, while I was just happy to start eating doughnuts. I peeked inside the box. Glazed. My favorite.

“What kind of surprise?” Daemon asked, holding the shirt and making no attempt to put it on.

“Now if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. But we need to get on the road soon. So eat and pack up. We’ve got places to go.”

Daemon exhaled through his nose and then glanced at me. I could tell he didn’t take too kindly to being bossed around by Luc, but my mouth was full of glazy goodness, so I really didn’t have anything to add at the moment.

Finally, he nodded. “All right, but if you—”

“I know. If I’m screwing with you guys, you’re going to find a way to make my death slow and painful. Got it.” Luc winked. “I consider myself warned.”

“By the way,” Archer said as Daemon leaned over my shoulder and started poking around the doughnuts. “Don’t forget the box of condoms on the floor.”

My focus shot to the floor. There they were, right where Daemon had dropped them last night. My face burned like holy hell, and I almost choked on the doughnut, the sound of Daemon’s laughter ringing in my ears.

…

Daemon

I so didn’t forget the condoms when I packed what little stuff we had into our alien tote. Kat still looked a little red in the face, and it took everything in me not to tease her mercilessly about it. I went easy on her because she looked so damn cute standing there in that stupid T-shirt and those cheap plastic flip-flops, clutching the alien doll to her chest.

I dropped my arm over her shoulders as we headed out into the bright glare of the August desert sun.

Archer brushed past us, his gaze falling to what I carried. “Nice bag.”

“Shut up,” I replied.

He snorted.

We rounded the corner of the motel, and I got my first look at our ride. “Whoa! That’s your wheels?”

Luc threw his new T-shirt over his shoulder as he patted the rear bumper of a black Hummer. “It suits me, I like to think.”

Kat shifted the doll to her other arm as she took in the monster. “Did you drive this small village crusher all the way from West Virginia?”

He laughed. “No. I borrowed this.”

Yeah, I had a feeling that Luc’s “borrowing” was the same way I had “borrowed” Matthew’s car. Heading around the driver’s side, I opened the back door for Kat. “Think you can climb up in this thing all by yourself?”

She shot me a look over her shoulder, and I grinned. Shaking her head, she grabbed the bar and hoisted herself up. Of course, being the helpful guy that I am, I assisted with a well-placed push.

Kat’s head whipped around, her cheeks flushed. “You’re such a dog sometimes.”

I chuckled as I hopped in beside her. “Remember what I said about petting me.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Keep that in mind for later.” I reached around her, grabbing the seat belt before she could.

She sighed as she lifted her arms out of the way. “You know, I am totally capable of buckling myself in.”

“How cute,” Archer said from the other open door. He climbed in on the other side of Kat.

“There’s a reason why I’m doing this.” I ignored him, sliding the waist strap over her lap. She sucked in a soft gasp as my hands slid along her lower stomach. I gave her a wicked grin as I buckled her in. “Understand now?”

“Like I said: such a dog,” she murmured back, but her eyes had turned a soft heather gray.

Leaning over, I pressed my lips to her temple and then lifted my arm. There was enough give in the seat belt for her to snuggle up against my side. “So, is this car my surprise? I can get down with that.”

From the front passenger seat, Luc laughed. “Hell no. I think I might keep this one.”

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride,” Paris said, starting the Hummer. “Actually, it’s a pretty boring ride. Besides the funny alien signs on the highway and maybe a cow or two, there’s nothing to look at.”

“Fun.” As I readjusted my legs, I glanced at Archer. He was tapping his fingers over his denim-clad knees, eyes narrowed on the back of the seat. I didn’t really trust any of them in this car, not 100 percent. They could be leading us right back to Area 51.

Archer turned his head to me. We’re not going to betray you or Katy.

My eyes narrowed. For the last time, get out of my head.

It’s hard not to. You have such a big head. One side of his lips curved up as he returned to staring at the seat in front of him. Besides, how could I bring you back? You saw what I did to get us out of there.

He had a point. Could just be a setup, like it was with Blake. He did the same thing.

I’m not Blake. I want to get away from them just as badly as you do.

I didn’t respond to that. Turning my gaze to the window, I watched the small houses and the signs for the hot springs blur and then finally fade into the flat open highway of nothing but small brush and tan soil. It wasn’t until I saw the sign that I relaxed a little.

“Las Vegas? Are we’re going to gamble and take in a Flamingo show?”

Luc shook his head. “Not unless that’s your thing.”

Not knowing where we were going or why didn’t settle well with me. I kept on guard, my eyes peeled to the road, looking for any suspicious vehicles that got a little too close. About seven miles into the almost two-hour trip, Kat dozed off. I grabbed the doll before it hit the floorboards and held onto it. I was relieved that she was getting more rest. She needed it.

Every time we came near a police car, I would tense, ready for them to pull us over for a multitude of reasons, varying from a stolen car to taking out military personnel. But no one stopped us. Not a damn thing happened the entire drive, except for Luc and Paris arguing over the radio like an old married couple. I couldn’t figure the two out. Then again, I couldn’t figure out myself.

I thought about the craziest shit on that drive to Vegas. And I mean some really far-out-there stuff, and I don’t know if it had to do with the fact that there were two people in the car who could potentially be peeking inside my head that made me think of things I really didn’t want other people to be privy to.

It all started when I looked away from the window and my attention fell to my leg. Kat’s left hand was curled up against my thigh. For several minutes, I couldn’t look away. What was it about the left hand? It was just a hand, and Kat had a really great hand and all, but it wasn’t that.

It was what typically went on the left hand, on the ring finger.

God, thinking about rings and the left hand made me want to get out of this vehicle and do about a hundred laps, but being married to Kat—married? My brain tripped up over that word, but it wouldn’t be terrible. Nah, it would be far from that. It would be sort of…perfect.

Spending the rest of my life with Kat was something I planned on. There was no question or doubt when it came to that. I saw her—only her—in my future. Making a decision like that didn’t send me into a cold sweat. Maybe it was because my kind mated young, usually right out of high school, and our version of marriage was really no different than what the humans did.

But we were young. Wet behind the ears, or at least that’s what Matthew would say.

Why in the hell was I even thinking about that right now, when our lives were a complete mess? Maybe it was because when everything was chaotic and tomorrow might not come, it made you think about these things? Made you want to seal the deal, so to speak? I hated thinking it, but there might not be a couple of years down the road to get married.

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I tightened my arm around Kat and focused on the road. When the skyscrapers started to come into view, I gently roused her. “Hey, sleepyhead, take a look.”

She lifted her head from my shoulder and rubbed her eyes. Blinking a couple of times, she bent a little and stared out the front window. Her eyes widened. “Wow…I’ve never been to Vegas before.”

Luc twisted in his seat, grinning. “It’s better to see at night, with all the buildings lit up on the Strip.”

Eagerness filled her gaze, but she settled back, shoulders slumping. As much as I would love to take her out, there would be no sightseeing for us. It would be too risky.

I leaned over, pressing my lips to her ear, and said, “Next time. I promise.”

She turned slightly, eyes closing. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Kissing her cheek, I ignored the speculative look Archer gave me. As we entered Vegas, Kat was straining over me to see everything. The palm trees lining the Strip were probably familiar to her, but the pirate ship in front of Treasure Island wasn’t something you saw every day.

It took forever to get through the packed traffic, and normally that would have had me clawing at my eyeballs with impatience, but it wasn’t too bad. Not with Kat practically bouncing halfway in my lap, pointing out well-known hotspots like the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, and the Eiffel Tower at Paris.

I was sort of in heaven.

Unfortunately, this version of heaven had an audience. Dammit.

As we reached the outskirts of Vegas, I started getting weary of this whole surprise bullshit, especially when Paris turned off the main avenue, following another road around a country club and huge golf course. We kept heading farther down the road, farther away from the teeming city. There was nothing out there but a few sprawling mansions, and then a twenty-foot security wall came out of nowhere, a glittering sandstone structure.

I leaned forward, dropping my hand on the back of Paris’s seat. “Is that quartzite in the stone?”

“You better believe it.”

Kat glanced at me, her eyes widening with realization as Paris slowed in front of a wrought-iron gate that had tiny specks of the quartz in it. I’d never seen anything like it.

An intercom popped on and Paris said, “Knock. Knock.”

Static and then a woman’s voice said, “Who’s there?”

Kat raised a brow at me, and I shrugged.

“The interrupting cow,” Paris said, glancing at Luc, who shook his head.

From the intercom, “The inter—?”

“Moooooo!” Paris said, snickering.

Kat giggled.

Archer rolled his eyes and shook his head.

There was an audible huff from the intercom. “That was stupid. The gate is opening. Give it a sec.”

“That was pretty lame,” I said.

Paris chuckled. “I saw it on the Internet. Made me laugh. I got more. Want to hear them?”

“No.” My rebuttal was joined by Archer’s. Something we agreed on. Huh. Go figure.

“Too bad.” Paris eased forward as the gates split, spreading wide. “That wasn’t even my best one.”

“It was pretty good,” Kat said, grinning when I shot her a look. “It made me laugh.”

“You’re easy to impress,” I told her.

She went to smack my arm, but I caught her hand. Threading my fingers through hers, I winked. She shook her head. “You do not impress me.”

I would’ve believed her if she and I both didn’t know better.

It took me a few seconds to realize the road also had large quantities of quartz embedded into the asphalt. The first house we came upon, a modest structure, looked like someone puked quartz all over it—on the roof, the shutters, the front door.

Holy crap.

Since there were no natural formations of quartz nearby, they had brought it in, protecting the Luxen community.

“You didn’t know about this?” Surprise colored Luc’s voice.

“No. I mean, never seemed impossible, using the quartz like this, but it had to cost a pretty penny, and I didn’t even know there was a community out here.”

“Interesting,” Luc murmured, his jaw setting in a hard line.

Paris glanced at him, and I didn’t understand the look they exchanged.

“Neither does Daedalus,” Archer said. “It’s right under their noses. Perfect hiding spot.”

“This is insane.” I shook my head as we passed more houses decked out in quartz, each home getting larger. “How did I not know about this? Do you know someone in here, Luc?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I have some…friends in Arizona, but we need to make a pit stop here first. Let it die down for a few days so the highway won’t be such a danger traveling.”

“So we’re going to Arizona next?” Kat asked, glancing between Luc and me.

Luc shrugged. “It’s an offer on the table. That’s where Archer is heading to hide out for a while, but it’s up to you guys. You can take my offer of hospitality or shove it up my rear.”

Kat frowned.

“Makes no difference to me,” he added.

She shook her head a little. “I don’t get why you all would risk so much to keep helping us.”

Good question.

Luc looked over his shoulder. “We have the same enemy, and we’re stronger in numbers. Just like in the horror movies.”

I started picking up on other Luxen who had to be in the houses or behind the tall walls circling most of the backyards. I really couldn’t believe this—an entire community supposedly unseen by Daedalus and protected from Arum by man-made quartz deposits.

Huh. Mind blown.

We’d finally reached another wall and the gate opened before us. The house, if you could call the monstrous thing a house, loomed ahead like a mirage.

“This is where we’re going?” Kat asked. A look of awe crossed her expression. “It’s a palace.”

That brought a smile to my face.

The place really was absurd. Had to be way more than seven thousand square feet, maybe more, rising three stories, with a sky dome over the middle section and a wing flanking each side. Like the rest of the houses, it was white sandstone with quartz embedded deep into the structure. It, too, had a tall wall blocking whatever existed behind the home.

Paris followed the driveway, stopping halfway through the circle in front of the wide steps. In the middle of the circle was a marble statue. Of a dolphin. Weird.

“All right, kids, we’re here!” Luc threw open the passenger door and bounded up the steps. On the porch, he turned back to the Hummer. “I’m not getting any younger here.”

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed Kat’s hand. “You ready?”

“Yes.” She gave me a little smile. “I want to see what it looks like inside.”

I laughed. “Absurd opulence is what I’m betting on.”

“Same here,” Archer muttered, stepping out.

We climbed down and walked around the Hummer. She took the tote this time, sticking the alien doll in it so its head popped out of the top. Giving her hand a squeeze, I headed up the steps while I prepared myself for God knows what. The way Luc was smiling had me wary. He looked like he—

The feeling that swept down my spine was warming and familiar but totally impossible. So was the startling jump in energy that caused me to drop Kat’s hand. No way.

I took a step back from the door.

Kat turned, concern pinching her face. “What is it? What’s going on?”

Words failed me as I stared at the door. All I could do was shake my head once. Part of me was elated, while the other half was horrified by what I was sensing—and I hoped it was my imagination.

Moving to my side, Kat placed her hands on my upper arm. “What’s—?”

The red-painted door opened, and, as a figure stepped out of the shadowy recesses, my suspicions were confirmed.

“We came all this way to rush in and save your ass, but then you end up saving your own ass before we could do anything.” Dee popped her hands on her hips, and her chin was tipped up stubbornly. “Way to steal our thunder and glory, Daemon.”

Luc clapped his hands together. “Surprise!”