Daemon
We had to get out of there. Sooner, not later. That was all I could think about.
When we were escorted back to our rooms, I looked at Archer a little more differently and a hell of lot more closely. The soldier had always seemed different, but I would’ve never guessed that he was something other than human. I had sensed nothing unusual from him, not a damn thing other than this off vibe, but I did notice that Kat seemed comfortable around him. Other than a few smartass responses, which I of all people couldn’t hold against him, he seemed like a pretty okay guy.
And frankly, I didn’t care what the hell he was. Knowing that he was something different only meant I needed to watch him more carefully. What did matter was the fact that they were breeding children here.
That disturbed the hell out of me, and it also angered me.
The moment the door was shut behind me, I headed for the bathroom. Kat had the same idea. A second later, her door opened, and she walked in, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Her face was pale. “I want to vomit.”
“Well, let me get out of the way, then.”
Her brows pinched. “Daemon, they…” She shook her head, eyes wide. “There are no words for this. It’s beyond anything I could’ve imagined.”
“Same here.” I leaned against the sink as she sat on the edge of the closed lid. “Dawson never mentioned anything like that to you, did he?”
She shook her head. Dawson rarely spoke about his time with Daedalus, and when he did, he usually told Kat. “No, but he said some of the things were insane. He was probably talking about this.”
Before I said any more, I shifted without warning to my true form. Sorry, I said when she winced. Luc had warned me that the things here would blow my mind. Speaking of which, notice anything about Archer’s and Micah’s eyes—and who has the same kind? Luc’s got the weird, blurred line effect going on, too. Hell, I should’ve known that kid wasn’t a normal hybrid. He’s an origin.
Kat ran her palms over her thighs. When she was nervous, she was always fidgeting. Normally I found it cute, but I hated the why behind it now. This is beyond us, she said. How many kids do you think they have? How many people are out there in the world, masquerading as normal humans?
Well, that’s no different than us pretending to be normal.
We’re not superhumans who can drop a person on the ground by curling our fists.
I was kind of envious of that ability. Yeah, too bad, because that would come in handy when someone is getting on your nerves.
Her hand shot out, smacking my leg. And what the heck was that? She—that evil woman in a pantsuit—didn’t mention anything about that.
Pretty much all women who wear pantsuits are evil.
Kat’s head tipped to the side. Okay. I do have to agree with that, but can we focus?
We can now that you agree. I reached over and tweaked her nose, which earned me a dirty look. We need to get the hell out of here and quick.
I agree. She knocked my hand away when I went for her nose again. No offense, but I have no desire to be making any weird babies with you right now.
I choked on my laugh. You’d be blessed to have a child of mine. Admit it.
Her eyes rolled. Seriously, your ego knows no limit, no matter the situation.
Hey. I like to be consistent.
That you are, she said, voice dry in my thoughts.
As much as I love the idea of the whole process involved in making a baby with you, it’s not ever going to happen under these circumstances.
A pretty flush covered her cheeks. Glad we’re on the same page, buddy.
I laughed.
We need to get the LH-11 and somehow get in contact with Luc. That sounds impossible to me. Kat’s gaze wandered to the closed door. We don’t even know where it’s kept.
Nothing is truly impossible, I reminded her. But I think we do need another plan.
Any ideas? She tugged the elastic band out of her hair and untangled the mass of waves. Maybe we could set the origins loose in the compound. I bet that would cause enough of a distraction. Or maybe you could take on the form of one of the staff here…
They were good ideas, but there were problems: I bet Daedalus had defenses in place in case a Luxen morphed into someone else, and how would we get to the other building to let out a bunch of miniature super- soldiers?
Kat turned to me, biting on her lower lip as she reached out. Her fingers snaked through the light and touched my arm. My entire body jerked. In my true form, I was hypersensitive. They weren’t really good ideas, were they?
They were great ideas, but…
Not easily done. She slid her hand up my arm, her head tilting to the side as her gaze wandered over me. My light reflected off her cheeks, giving her a rosy glow. She was beautiful, and I was so, so desperately in love with her.
Her chin jerked up, and she sucked in a breath, eyes widening.
Okay, I may have actually thought that last bit at her.
You did. A small smile split her lips. I liked hearing it. A lot.
Kneeling down so I was eye level with her, I cupped her cheek. I promise you that this isn’t going to be our future, Kitten. I will give that to you—a normal life.
Her eyes glistened. I don’t expect a normal life. I just expect a life with you.
Yeah, that did crazy things to my heart. Like it stopped beating for a moment, and I was dead in front of her for a second. Sometimes I don’t think I…
What?
I gave a shake of my head. Never mind. I lowered my hand and backed up, breaking contact. Luc said he’d know once I got ahold of LH-11. Obviously who he has in here has to be close to us. Anyone you can think of who might be a friendly?
I don’t know. The only ones I’ve really been around are the doctor, the sergeant, and Archer. She paused, her nose wrinkling. It did that whenever she was concentrating. You know, I always thought Archer might be on Team Not Insane, but knowing that he’s one of them—an origin—I don’t know what to think of him.
I thought about that for a moment. He’s been good to you, hasn’t he?
Some of the color leeched from her cheeks. Yeah, he has been.
Counting to ten before I continued, I said, And the other ones really haven’t been?
She didn’t answer immediately. Talking about that stuff isn’t going to help us get out of here.
Most likely not, but—
