“How…in the world — wait! You’ve done that before. The creepy, quiet, moving thing. But it’s not that you’re quiet.” I sat back against the tree, dazed. “You move that fast.”
“Fast as the speed of light, Kitten.” He reappeared in front of me and slowly sat down. “Some of us can manipulate our bodies past the form we chose originally. Like shift into any living thing, person or creature.” I stared at him. “Is that why Dee fades out sometimes?”
He blinked. “You’ve seen that?”
“Yes, but I figured I was seeing things.” I stretched out my legs a little. “She used to do it when she was feeling comfortable, it seemed. Just her hand or the outline of her body would fade in and out.” Daemon nodded. “Not all of us have control over what we can do. Some struggle with their abilities.”
“But you do?”
“I’m just that awesome.”
I rolled my eyes, but then I sat up straighter. “What about your parents? You said they work in the city, but I’ve never seen them.”
His gaze fell to the ground again. “Our parents never made it here.”
An ache for him and Dee filled my chest. “I’m…I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago. We don’t even remember them.”
That seemed sad. Even though my memories of my dad seemed worn over the years, I still had them. And I had so many questions about how they survived without parents, someone taking care of them when they were little. “God, I feel so stupid. You know, I thought they worked out of town.”
“You aren’t stupid, Kat. You saw what we wanted you to see. We are very good at that,” he sighed. “Well, apparently not good enough.”
Aliens…Wow, those crazy people Lesa were talking about were right. They’d probably seen one of them. Maybe the Mothman was real. And the chupacabra really was out sucking goat blood.
Daemon’s odd eyes flashed for a moment, and then they settled on my face. “You’re handling this better than I expected.”
“Well, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to panic and have a mini breakdown later. I will probably think that I have lost my mind.” After I spoke, something occurred to me. “Can…can you all control what others think? Read minds?” He shook his head. “No. Our powers are rooted in what we are. Maybe if our power — the light — was manipulated by something, who knows. Anything would be possible.”
As I stared at him, anger and disbelief warred inside me. “This whole time I thought I was going crazy. Instead, you’ve been telling me I’m seeing things or making shit up. It’s like you’ve given me an alien lobotomy. Nice.” His eyes opened, a flash of anger sparked through them along with something else that I couldn’t decipher. “I had to,” he insisted. “We can’t have anyone knowing about us. God knows what would happen to us then.” Forcing myself to let it drop for the time being, I asked, “How many…humans know about you?”
“There are some locals who think we’re God only knows what,” he said. “There’s a branch of the government that knows of us, within the Department of Defense, but that’s about it. They don’t know about our powers. They can’t,” he nearly growled, meeting my eyes. “The DOD thinks we’re harmless freaks. As long as we follow their rules, they give us money, our homes, and leave us alone. So when any one of us goes power crazy it’s bad news for several reasons. We try not to use our powers, especially around humans.”
“Because it would expose what you are.”
“That and…” He rubbed his jaw. “Every time we use our power around a human, well, it leaves a trace on that person, enables us to see that they’ve been around another one like us. So we try not to ever use our abilities around humans, but you…well, things never went according to plan with you.”
“When you stopped the truck, did that leave a…
He blinked and looked away.
“And when you scared the bear away? That’s traceable by others like you?” I swallowed down the cold lump of fear. “So the Thompsons and any other alien around here know I’ve been exposed to your…alien mojo?”
“Pretty much,” he said. “And they aren’t exactly thrilled about it.”
“Then why did you stop the truck? I’m obviously a huge liability to you.”
Daemon slowly turned back to me. His eyes were sheltered, closed. Again, he didn’t answer.
I drew in a deep breath, ready to run, fight. “What are you going to do with me?”
When he did speak, his voice wavered. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Since I know what you are, that makes me a risk to everyone. You…can light me on fire and God knows what else.”
“Why would I have told you everything if I were going to do anything to you?”
Good point. “I don’t know.”
He moved forward, and when I flinched away from him, he stopped short of touching me. “I’m not going to do anything to you. Okay?”
I bit my lip. “How can you trust me?”
He paused again and then finally reached out to take my chin in his hand. “I don’t know. I just do. And honestly, no one would believe you. And if you made a lot of commotion, you’d bring the DOD in, and you don’t want that. They will do anything to make sure the human population isn’t aware of us.” I remained still and quiet as Daemon still held me in his soft grip. Several emotions swept through me. Looking at him now, as his presence encircled me, it was all too easy to fall into something I knew I would probably never resurface from. I pulled back. “So that’s why you said all those things earlier? You don’t hate me?” Daemon glanced down at his still-outstretched hand. He lowered it. “I don’t hate you, Kat.”
“And this is why you don’t want me to be friends with Dee, because you were afraid that I’d find out the truth?”
“That, and you’re a human. Humans are weak. They bring us nothing but trouble.”
My eyes narrowed. “We aren’t weak. And you’re on our planet. How about a little respect, buddy.”
Amusement flickered in his emerald eyes. “Point taken.” He paused, his eyes roaming over my face. “How are you handling all of this?”
“I’m processing everything. I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to freak out anymore.”
Daemon stood. “Well then, let’s get you back before Dee thinks I killed you.”
“Would she really think that?”
A dark look crept over his face. “I’m capable of anything, Kitten. Killing to protect my family isn’t something I’d hesitate over, but that’s not what you have to worry about.”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
He tilted his head to the side. “There are others out there who will do anything to have the powers that the Luxen have, especially mine. And they will do anything to get to me and my kind.”
Anxiety clawed its way back into my chest. “And what does that have to do with me?”
Daemon crouched before me, his gaze roaming the dense forest surrounding us. “The trace I’ve left on you from stopping the truck can be tracked. And you’re lit up like the fourth of July right now.” My breath caught.
“They will use you to get to me.” Daemon reached out, pulling a leaf from my hair. His hand lingered near my cheek for a second before dropping to his knee. “And if they get ahold of you…death would be a relief.”
Chapter 17
Bright light pushed through the windows, piercing the darkness that I’d been so comfortable in. I groaned and pushed my head into the soft pillow. My mouth was dry and my head throbbed viciously. I didn’t want to wake up yet. I couldn’t remember exactly why I thought it was best I stay asleep as long as possible, but I knew there must be a good reason.
My muscles ached as I rolled over and pried my eyes open. Two vibrant green eyes stared intently into mine. I choked on a scream and jumped in surprise. In my shock, my legs tangled in the light blanket and I stumbled out of the bed.
“Holy mother…” I croaked.
Dee caught me, holding me upright while I untangled my legs. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
