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—
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—
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.
