Fluorescence: The Complete Tetralogy (85 page)

“You don’t want to know. Whatever you do, Brian, don’t get your ass put in jail.”

“Uh, I’m not planning on it.”

“Neither was I.” I puffed out my cheeks as I exhaled.

“Do you need my help?” His hand radiated with a blue aura.

“I’m fine, thanks.” I folded my arms to hide the
distracting injury from view. I’d survived many fights without Brian’s
healing touch. “So, does anyone have something else I can wear? This is not exactly incognito swagger.”

“Orange isn’t your color, either.” Brian grinned, trying to
make me smile. “Jane still has some of my stuff down in the basement,” he said. “Think any of it will fit you?”

A few inches taller and slightly more built than Brian, I
probably couldn’t wear his clothes. If they were my only option
for now, I’d take a shot at seeing if they fit. Luckily, Brian was in damn good shape for a guy his age. There was a chance
they’d work out well enough.

There was something unnerving about popping out of the basement wearing Brian’s clothes. A belt helped adjust the fit of the pants, and the shirt—although more snug than I’d prefer—was alright for the time being. The sleeves of one of his hoodies were too short, as were the pants, but at least I had
a pair of shoes that fit. Albeit, plain white jail
sneakers.

Alice cocked an eyebrow at me. “That’s so weird,” she said. “I’ve actually seen Brian wear that exact set before.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. “It’s weird for me, too. Don’t normally go around wearing other dudes’ clothes.”

I glanced at Kareena. She was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, arms crossed.

“Judas.” I sat on the edge of the coffee table in the living room. “Since everything’s going to shit right now and you’re stuck here with us, I want to ask you something. Assuming the others haven’t already.”

“Yes?”

“What is fluorescence? The way you explained it to me
initially, I thought of it like it was living inside us—like a virus
or parasite.”

“Fluorescence is not parasitic in any way. It is energy,” he replied.

“Like the soul,” Kareena said, pushing up from the wall. “The Prism said it was like the soul. That the energy is a life force.”

“We were once part of the Prism,” Judas said.

Everyone’s eyes were on him.

“The Prism are made of all variations of color. We are made of one. As are each of you, aside from the child. We parted from their kind centuries ago, evolving to host only
one variation. In order to do this, we had to forgo the spectral
form and succumb to a physical one.”

“So, if each of you are one single color and the Prism are all… doesn’t that mean Solus is closer, biologically, to the Prism than you?”

“That is why we need him back,” Judas said. “Blue
fluorescence is the rarest of them all. It is both the most difficult to cultivate and the most tedious to bind to a host.”

“That’s why it had to be our child,” Alice said.

“Yes. But because fluorescence is energy, it is volatile
and can be transferred between individual carriers. This is why you cannot be with others.” He looked at Kareena. “Your
light cannot blend with the energy of others or it will corrupt the strain.”

“Well, it’s too late for that.” She scowled. “I’m still here, so it can’t be that bad.”

“Your simple human mind cannot understand the consequences of this complex process,” Judas replied, almost sneering. That surprised me. Then he twitched again and the expression went straight.

Another death? How many were left?

“We did not know it was possible with your technology, but the Seeker and I witnessed the crude piece of equipment utilized against you earlier. It disrupted your fluorescence.”

“You didn’t know this could happen?” Brian asked.

“We were unaware primitive technology could interrupt the fluorescent bond.”

“What about the portals?” I looked at Brian. “Do you—”

“I declined. I didn’t want Judas messing with what the Prism gave me.”

“And you?” I looked at Kareena.

She pulled her wrist in close to her chest and shook her head.

“Come on, guys! This thing saved my ass! We may need portals later on when things get… worse.”

“I don’t want it,” Brian said, gruffly. “I don’t want anything from them, especially not their help—if that’s what he wants to pretend it is. We’ve been screwed over enough by the Saviors already.”

“But it worked, Brian.” I stood. “Well… it
did
work.” I
lifted my wrist and showed the line of burnt skin to the others.
“Mine shorted out when I tried to use it in jail. The fluorescence went haywire and did this.”

“A malfunction?” Judas came closer. He lifted my wrist
and rotated it slowly, staring at what was only a wisp of white
smoke to me. “This should not have been possible. How did this happen?” Judas looked me in the eye.

“I don’t know. Maybe it was the shock from the taser that did it. You saw what it did to me, Kareena. It took me down fast.”

“It did,” she said in agreement.

“But for your light to attack you… that is not typical
behavior.” Judas turned my hand over and prodded at the bracelet I could barely see. “I will attempt to repair it,” he said, dropping my hand so he could reach into his sleeve
compartment for his tools.

. . .

The first ten minutes of the evening newscast was a report on the death toll from the Ghost Plague and how it was
spreading across North America like wildfire. Cases were popping up in other countries, too, and scientists were baffled by
the lack of comparable symptoms. The second report was about me—and how I had disappeared from the county corrections facility. They mentioned one of the guards had been relieved of duty after a sudden onset of hysteria.

Who wouldn’t be hysterical after seeing all of that crazy shit? On top of whatever Solus showed him.

“Can I… talk to you?” It was Kareena. She’d lightly crept
down the basement stairs into the guest room and was
hanging back on the last step, leaning on the railing. Lucy was upstairs with Solus and the others.

I got up from the bed.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, though I wasn’t thrilled to see her. I wanted to be left alone, which is why they let me rest in the
basement to begin with. “Shouldn’t you be up there
keeping an eye on Judas?”

“Solus can see him just fine. I came down to check on
you
. Are you… okay?” she asked, chewing her lip as she cautiously approached.

“I don’t know if
okay
works in this situation, but I’m alive and Lucy’s safe so…”

“You’ve been a little, um, different since you got back.
What happened to you in there? In jail?” She closed some
distance between us.

“I think I need some time to myself, Kareena.”

Those damn bewitching green eyes of hers were drawing
me in already.

“I need… to get my mind off other things so I can focus on what matters. I need to clear my head.”

She took another step closer until we were only inches apart, her heat making me tense. “I can help with that, you know?” she whispered as her hands came up to my chest. Her warm, golden skin reflected the diffused light of the nearby lamp.

I tried to reply, but nothing came out and my mouth hung
open.

“I can get your mind off everything else,” she said, a coy smile curling her auburn lips. Fingers slid beneath the hem of my tight-fitting shirt and fingernails crawled up my side. I tried swallowing but couldn’t. A lump in my throat. Yellow
light started up in my chest, burning and flickering—making
her shadow dance upon the wall beside us. Heartbeat racing.
I could barely breathe.

“You know, I can make you forget about it all, even if only for a few minutes.” She backed me up against the wall
and pressed her nails into my skin as she leaned closer
, electrifying me even as I wanted to hate her for it.

I wanted her, but… I wanted what Brian and Alice had even more. Something stable.
Real.

“Say you’ll forgive me, David.” Her wispy words caressed my throat. “I said I was sorry.”

“Kareena…” Every inch of my skin ignited from her touch.
Everything inside me yearned to cave in—to satiate the incessant thirst I still had for her.

When I was younger, I’d have screwed any girl who’d have me, but today, I had responsibilities. I just—

Pain sparked through me and I recoiled.

“What is it?” She gasped and lunged for me as I slipped away. “What did I do?”

I peeled up my shirt and showed her the swollen, stitched-up wound below my ribs. A splotch of rusty old blood
framed it in color.

“Holy shit. Did someone stab you?” She reached a hand toward my face. Fingertips sliding across my jaw line felt nice. The tenderness made our eyes meet again. “David, I’ll ask Brian to heal it for you.”

“No!” I pulled away and scoffed. “No, damn it! I don’t need Brian’s help.” It hurt to move that quickly, but I bit my tongue and sucked it up because I was angry. “I already told him no.”

Brian wasn’t the answer to everything and I wished she could spend one damn second
not
thinking about him.

Then I remembered… I was even wearing his clothes.

Chapter 26

P
latinum metal shimmered in the low light. Stars of
bright blue twinkled on and off in a line below his eyes. I locked gazes with Judas and didn’t let him out of my sight while the others slept. Brian and Alice were upstairs in Alice’s
bedroom, Solus and Lucy were in the basement with Judas and me, and Kareena was asleep on the couch in the living room.

Maybe I should have let her stay with me because she wa
s in pain, too, knowing her father’s life was in danger. But
no amount of sympathy could prepare me for another night beside her.

Sweat beaded on my forehead and I wiped the back of
my hand across my brow. My stitches ached. Sitting hunched
over on the edge of the bed aggravated the wound. I never did get that tetanus shot the doctor recommended. I didn’t know shit about that kind of stuff. I just wanted to live—to be a good father for Lucy. Somehow.

“You are in distress,” Judas said, staring at me. He
stood near the staircase, refusing to sit because he claimed it was unnatural for him.

“I’m fine.” I looked behind me. Lucy was fast asleep beside Solus, her hand clutching one of his.

“You are in pain, as well,” Judas added. “But your pain is beyond the flesh wound you hide.”

“Thanks to you,” I grumbled through clenched teeth. “I’ve
got whatever is killing everyone else. My fluorescence is killing me because of you.”

“Experiments carry risks,” he said flatly. “You are a
powerful Tracker, nonetheless.”

“Is there anything I can do about this?” I said, shaking fro
m an onset of chills. “I don’t want to ask the others. I don’t
want to ask Brian.”

Judas lurched closer.

“Your wound will soon be infected.” He lifted a hand toward me. “It will take you before your light fades if you do not get help.”

“I don’t want help.” My voice broke.

“But you need it,” he said.

The bed quaked.

“Daddy?” Lucy came up behind me. “Are you okay, Daddy?” She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned against my back, hugging me. I reached up to grasp her arms
and smiled.

“Yeah, baby, I’m fine.”

Judas retreated back to his spot by the wall and looked off at the other side of the room.

“You’re tired. Why don’t you go to bed?” She nuzzled me with her nose.

“Daddy needs to stay awake to make sure Judas doesn’t get into trouble.”

“Oh…” She released me and dropped down into a cross-legged position on the bed. “Solus said the Prism are watching us. That they’re going to protect us from whatever it is that’s making people sick.”

I didn’t even know she knew about the pandemic. I wanted
to keep it secret from her.

“Are the Prism coming back?” I asked, scooting over and
turning toward Lucy.

“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug.

There was a gentle tapping on my knee and I jerked my head.

It was Solus.

How the hell?

“You were just sleeping. How did you…” The kid was a
ninja. I couldn’t hold back a nervous laugh. “Lucy, could you
turn on that light over there, please? What is it, Solus?”

He stared up at me and blinked.

“The child knows you are ill,” Judas announced.

“How?”

“
He can
sense the
corrupted
light in you
because he
carries Healer DNA.”

“Does that mean he can—”

“No. He does not have the ability to stop the corruption from taking you. This is why we must study him further. He can assist you with your other infection, however.”

Solus cupped his hands and lifted them toward me.

“What is it? What do you want me to do?” I asked.

He used one hand to motion that he wanted me to give him mine.

I put out my hand and he carefully took it into his tiny, pale fingers and turned it over, palm up. Then he clasped his
hands around it and closed his eyes. A teal glow emitted from
his chest and tiny flecks of blue, green, and icy white light rose from his fingertips, prickling me with jolts of what felt like cold air licking my skin.

A rush of warmth shot through me and I grimaced as the
heat became nearly unbearable. I doubled over on the edge of the bed and clutched my side. Fire rippled across my ribs
and I peeled up my shirt to watch as a spark of wild blue color knitted through my wound, sealing the skin closed and
soothing the inflammation.