Obsidian

Dee met my stare. “They don’t need a reason, Katy. The Arum are evil. They kill us for our powers.” She paused, paling. “And they kill humans for the fun of it.”

Chapter 21

Astonishingly, things were sort of…normal now. My trace did fade in a week and a half. Daemon had acted like he’d been released from a twenty-year jail sentence, and he was never around when I was with Dee anymore. September and most of October passed without anything happening. Mom continued to work both jobs, and she had a couple more dates with Mr. Michaels. She liked him, and I was happy for her. It had been so long since I’d seen her smile not tinged with sorrow.

Carissa and Lesa both had been to my house, and many times we’d gone to the movies or the mall in Cumberland with Dee. Even though I’d grown close to the two human girls and had a heck of a lot more in common with them, I was closer to Dee. We did everything together — everything except talk about Daemon. She tried, several times.

“I know he likes you,” she’d said once while we were supposed to be studying. “I see the way he looks at you. He gets uptight if I even bring you up.”

I’d sighed and closed my notebook. “Dee, I think the reason why he stares at me is because he’s planning on ways to kill me and hide my body.”

“That is so not the look he gives you.”

“Then what’s the look, Dee?”

She knocked her book off the bed and climbed to her knees, placing her hands over her chest. “It’s the ‘I hate you but I want you’ look.”

I giggled. “That was terrible.”

“It’s true.” She lowered her hands. “We can date humans if we want to, you know. It’s kind of pointless, but we can. And he’s never paid attention to any other human.”

“He’s been forced to pay attention to me, Dee.” I flopped onto my back on my bed. My stomach tightened at the thought of Daemon secretly wanting to be with me. Granted, I knew he was attracted to me. I felt it, but lust didn’t have anything on like. “What about you? What’s up with Adam?”

“Absolutely nothing at all. I don’t know how Ash is attracted to Daemon. We grew up with them, and Andrew is like a brother to me. I don’t think he feels any differently, either.” She paused, her lower lip trembling. “I don’t like any of my kind.”

“Is there a…human boy you like?”

She shook her head. “No. But if there was, I shouldn’t have to be afraid to like him. I have a right to be happy. It shouldn’t matter if it’s one of your kind or ours that does it.”

“I completely agree.”

Dee had lain down next to me, snuggling up. “Daemon would freak if I fell for a human.”

I almost smiled at that, but then I remembered their brother. Damn right, Daemon would freak. Maybe rightfully so, because if his brother hadn’t fallen for a human, he’d still be alive.

I hoped for Dee’s sake she never fell for one. Daemon would most definitely go nutso.

As it approached mid-October, it seemed like we’d gone backward in time. I was going to find that pen of his and destroy it. I’d lost count of how many times I was poked in the back long after the trace had faded from me. It seemed he lived to get under my skin.

And there was a part of me that kind of looked forward to it, only because it was entertaining…until one of us seriously got mad, especially when he was being downright antisocial.

Like Friday in class, Simon had asked if I wanted to study for our trig exam. Before I could even respond, Simon’s backpack had flown off his desk, scattering its contents across the floor as if someone had swept his arm across his desk. Red-faced and confused, Simon had been successfully distracted by the laughing class while he gathered up his notebooks and scattered pencils.

I’d glanced back over my shoulder at Daemon, suspecting he was behind the flying backpack, but all he did was smile lazily at me.

“What’s your deal?” I asked in the hallway after class. “I know you did that.”

He shrugged. “So?”

So? I stopped by my locker, surprised to find that Daemon had followed me there. “That was rude, Daemon. You embarrassed him.” Then I lowered my voice to a whisper, “And I thought using your…stuff would draw them here.”

“That was barely a blip on the map. That didn’t leave a trace on anyone.” He lowered his head until the edges of his dark curls brushed my cheek. I was caught between wanting to crawl into my locker and crawl into him. “Besides, I was doing you a favor.” I laughed. “And how was that doing me a favor?”

Daemon smiled at me and then lowered his gaze so his thick, dark lashes shielded his eyes. “Studying math wasn’t what he had in mind.”

That seemed debatable, but I decided to play along. I wasn’t backing down from him, not even when he could toss me in the air with a single thought. “And what if that’s the case?”

“You like Simon?” His chin jerked up, anger flashing in his emerald eyes. “You can’t possibly like him.”

I hesitated. “Are you jealous?”

Daemon looked away.

And I seized the opportunity to finally have one thing to rub in his face and stepped forward. He didn’t move or breathe. “You’re jealous of Simon?” I lowered my voice. “Of a human? For shame, Daemon.” He sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m not jealous. All I’m trying to do is help you out. Guys like Simon want to get between your legs.”

My cheeks flushed as I stared at him. “Why? You think that’s the only reason why a guy might like me?”

Daemon smiled knowingly as he slowly backed up. “Just saying.”

He left after that, disappearing into the crowded hall. Which was good, because if he’d stayed a moment longer I would have socked him. When I turned around, I saw Ash standing outside her class. Her look pretty much fried me on the spot.

No one was talking about Sarah. It wasn’t that the school had for-gotten her. It was just that they’d moved on, like most did. Knowing how and why she died was something I tried not to think about. When I did, my stomach soured like curdled milk. She died because Daemon saved me and the Arum had needed someone to take his anger out on.

And at night, I dreamed about the parking lot behind the library. I saw his face, the coldness and rage in his eyes as he squeezed the life out of me. Those nights, I woke with a scream stuck in my throat, covered in a cold sweat.

Other than the nightmares and the occasion alien-bully move on Daemon’s part, there was nothing else that was out of the norm. It was like living next to normal teenagers.

Teenagers that didn’t need to get up to change the television channel and got a little uptight after meteorite showers.

Dee had explained that the Arum used those atmospheric displays as a way to come down to Earth without being detected by the govern-ment. I didn’t understand how, and she didn’t explain, but for a few days after a shower or even a falling star, the siblings were on edge. They would also disappear, sometimes taking a three-day weekend or missing a Wednesday without any warning. Dee eventually explained that they’d been checking in with the DOD. They continued to tell me that the Arum weren’t a problem, but I didn’t believe them. Not when they took such great lengths to avoid discussing them.

But Dee was on edge for a whole different reason in class on Thursday. Homecoming was next weekend and she hadn’t found a dress. She had a date with Andrew. Or was it Adam? I couldn’t tell the incredible blond duo apart.

Everyone was excited about homecoming, it seemed. Streamers hung from the hallways. Banners announced