Origin (9 page)

“Daemon,” Nancy called, her voice laced with impatience. “All you’re doing is delaying what you want.”

As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. Sending the punk one last promising look, I turned and followed the woman down the hall. Everything was white with the exception of the black dots in the wall and ceilings.

I didn’t recall much about the inside of the buildings from when I’d been here as a kid, but I did remember there were very few places we’d been able to go. Most of the time we’d been kept to a community floor until we had assimilated and been set free.

Being back here didn’t sit well with me for a multitude of reasons.

Nancy stepped in front of a door and leaned down. A red light clicked on and shone in her right eye. The light on the panel turned green and the door unlocked. That was going to prove tricky, and I wondered whether, if I took on Nancy’s form, the systems had been prepped to recognize that. Then again, I felt as drained as the desert floor from whatever this building was outfitted with, so I wasn’t sure what I could actually pull off.

Inside the small circular room, there were several monitors manned by men in uniform. Each of the screens showed a different room, hall, or floor.

“Leave us,” she announced.

The men stood up from their stations and hastily exited the room, leaving Nancy and me with the tool who had come in with us.

“What did you want to show me?” I asked. “EuroCup?”

Her lips pursed. “This is one of many security control rooms stationed throughout the buildings. From here, we can monitor everything in Paradise Ranch.”

“Paradise Ranch?” I laughed bitterly. “Is that what you’re calling it now?”

She shrugged and then turned to one of the stations, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “All of the rooms are recorded. That helps us monitor activity for various reasons.”

I ran a hand over the scruff growing on my cheek. “Okay.”

“One of our concerns whenever we bring in new hybrids is to make sure they are not a danger to themselves or others,” she began, folding her arms. “It’s a process we take very seriously, and we go through several rounds of testing to ensure that they are viable.”

I really did not like where this was heading if it had anything to do with Kat.

“Katy has proven to have some issues and can become very dangerous.”

I ground down on my teeth so hard I was surprised they didn’t crack. “If she’s done anything, it’s because she was provoked.”

“Really?” Nancy punched a button on the keyboard, and the screen above her to the left flickered on.

Kat
.

All the air went out of my lungs. My heart stopped and then sped up.

Kat was on the screen, sitting down with her back pressed against a wall. The image was grainy, but it was her—
it was her
. She was in the clothes she’d worn the night she was captured at Mount Weather, and that had to be weeks ago. Confusion rose swiftly. When was this taken? It couldn’t be a live feed.

Her hair hung down on the sides, shielding her beautiful face. I started to tell her to look up but realized at the last minute that would make me look like an imbecile.

“As you can see, no one is near her,” Nancy said. “That is Sergeant Dasher in the room with her. He is doing the initial interview.”

Suddenly, Kat’s chin jerked up, and she sprang to her feet, racing around a tall man in a military uniform. The next second, she hit the floor. I stared in open horror as Kat withered, and then one of the men unhooked a water hose from the wall.

Nancy flicked a button, and there was a different image. It took me a second to recover from the last scene and get what was going on now, but when I did, pure, red-hot rage lit me up.

On the screen were Kat and freaking Blake, squaring off. She whirled, grabbing for a lamp, but he darted in front, blocking her. When she swung on him, pride swelled in me. That was
my
Kitten, claws and all.

But the next thing had me searching for a way out of the room. Blake had intercepted her punch, twisted her arm, and swung her around. Pain registered on Kat’s face, and then he had her down on her back, pinned to the bed.

I saw red.

“This isn’t happening now,” Nancy said calmly. “This was a while ago, when she first arrived. It’s muted.”

Breathing heavily, I turned back to the TV. They were struggling, and Blake had obviously overpowered her. She was still fighting, though, her back bowing and her body twisting under his. Violence rose in me, powered by potent rage and a level of helplessness I’d never felt before, and it tasted like Blake’s blood. My hands formed fists, and I wanted to smash them in the monitor, since his face wasn’t in front of me.

When he had pulled her off the bed, and I saw him dragging her across the floor and off the screen, I spun toward Nancy. “What happened? Where did he take her?”

“Into the bathroom, where there are no cameras. We do believe in some sort of privacy.” She clicked something and the video fast-forwarded a couple of minutes, and Blake entered from the right. He sat on the bed—
her
bed—and Kat appeared a few seconds later, absolutely soaked.

I stepped forward, exhaling out of my nose. Words were exchanged between them, and then Kat whirled, opened a dresser, and grabbed clothes. She disappeared back into the bathroom.

Blake dropped his head into his hands.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” I promised to no one in particular, but it was one I was going to keep. He would pay for this—all of this—one way or another.

The soldier cleared his throat. “Blake isn’t an issue anymore.”

I faced him, breathing raggedly. “Care to tell me why?”

He pressed his lips together. “Blake’s dead.”

“What?”

“He’s dead,” the guy repeated. “Katy killed him two days ago.”

The floor felt like it dropped out from underneath me. My first response was to deny it, because I didn’t want to believe that Kat would have had to do something like that—that she had to go through it.

The monitor was turned off, and Nancy watched me. “The reason I’m showing you this isn’t to upset you or to make you mad. You need to see with your own eyes that Katy has proven to be dangerous.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that if Kat really did do that, she had a reason.” My heart thudded in my chest. I
needed
to see her. If she had done this… I couldn’t bear to think about what she had to be going through. “And I would’ve done it, too, if I were in her shoes.”

Nancy
tsk
ed softly, and I added her to my Going to Die Painfully list. “I hate to think of you as being unstable, too,” she said.

“Kat isn’t unstable. All these videos show is her defending herself, or that she was scared.”

Nancy made a sound of disagreement. “Hybrids can be so unpredictable.”

I met her gaze and held it. “So can Luxen.”

Chapter 10

Daemon

They let me clean up in an empty communal area. At first I didn’t want to waste the time. I needed to get to Kat, but they weren’t giving me much of a choice, which turned out to be a good thing because I looked like something straight out of the mountains. The growth on my face was out of control. After a shave and a quick shower, I put on the black sweats and white shirt that had been left behind. Same standard uniform they had used years ago. Nothing like dressing everyone the same to make them feel like a nameless face in a crowd of nameless faces.

It was all about control and keeping everyone in line when I’d been here before. To me it looked like Daedalus was no different.

I almost laughed when realization kicked in. It probably had always been Daedalus running the show, even when I’d been assimilated here so many years ago.

When the guard returned, it was the tool from earlier, and the first thing he did was check the plastic razor for the blade.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “I’m not that stupid.”

“Good to know,” was the reply. “Ready?”

“Been.”

He stepped aside, allowing me back into the hallway. As we headed to another elevator, he was glued to my hip. “As close as you’re riding me, man, I feel like I need to take you out to dinner or something. At least I should get your name.”

He punched in a floor. “People call me Archer.”

My eyes narrowed. There was something about him that reminded me of Luc, and hell if that boded well. “Is that your name?”

“That’s what I was born with.”

The dude was as charming as…well, as me on a bad day. Flipping my gaze to the red number on the elevator, I watched it steadily go down. My gut twisted. If Nancy was screwing with me and Kat wasn’t here, I was about to find out.

I didn’t know what I’d do if she wasn’t. Probably go insane.

I couldn’t stop what came out of my mouth next. “Have you seen her—Kat?”

A muscle flexed in Archer’s jaw, and my imagination ran wild until he answered. “Yes. I’ve been assigned to her. I’m sure that pleases you to no end.”

“Is she okay?” I asked, ignoring the jab.

He turned to me, and surprise crossed his features. Trading insults and barbs wasn’t on my to-do list right now. “She can…she can be as expected.”

I didn’t like the way that sounded. Taking a deep breath, I ran a hand through my damp hair. The image of Beth freaking out popped into my head. A tremor ran down the muscles in my arm. There was no doubt in my mind that no matter what condition Kat was in, I could handle it. I would help her get better. Nothing in this world could stop that, but I didn’t want her to have experienced anything that would’ve damaged her.

Like killing Blake surely would have.

“She was asleep the last time I checked in,” he said as the elevator came to a stop. “She hasn’t been sleeping well since they brought her in, but she seems to be making up for it today.”

I nodded slowly and followed him out into the hallway. It struck me then how brave they were in only giving me one guard, but then again, they knew what I wanted, and I knew what was at risk if I acted a fool.

My heart was tripping out, my hands opening and closing sporadically at my sides. Anxious energy rolled through me, and as we neared the middle of the wide hall, I felt something I hadn’t felt in way too long.

A warm tingle shimmied along the back of my neck.

“She’s here.” My voice sounded hoarse.

He glanced back at me. “Yes. She’s here.”

I didn’t need to tell him that I’d had my doubts, that a part of me had held on to the cold possibility that they’d played to my weakness. It must’ve been written all over my face, and I didn’t care to even hide it.

Kat was
here
.

Archer stopped before a door and punched in a code after doing the eye-reading bit. There was a soft sound of locks clicking out of place. He glanced at me, hand on the doorknob. “I’m not sure how long they’ll give you.”

Then he opened the door.

Like walking through quicksand or in a dream, I moved forward without feeling the floor beneath me. The air seemed to thicken, slowing my progress, but in reality I was rushing that damn door and still not moving quickly enough.

Senses on high alert, I stepped into the cell, vaguely aware of the door closing behind me. My gaze shot right to the bed pressed up against the wall.

My heart stopped. My entire world came to a halt.

I walked forward, and my step faltered. Only at the last possible second, I caught myself from hitting the floor on my knees. The back of my throat and eyes burned.

Kat was curled on her side, facing the door, appearing terribly small on the bed. The chocolate-colored length of her hair fell across her cheek, covering the sleeve of her exposed arm. She was asleep, but her features pinched as if even in rest she wasn’t wholly comfortable. Her small hands were tucked under her rounded chin, lips slightly parted.

Her beauty struck me hard, like a bolt of lightning right in the chest. I froze there, for how long I don’t know, unable to take my eyes off her, and then I took two long strides that brought me to the edge of the bed.

Peering down at her, I opened my mouth to say something, but there were no words. I was struck speechless, and I swear Kat was the only one who could do this to me.

I sat beside her, my heart pounding as she stirred but didn’t wake. Part of me hated the idea of waking her. Up close, I could see the dark shadows blooming under her thick lashes like faint ink smudges. And honestly, I was happy—no,
thrilled
—to just be in her presence, even if it meant that I wasted the entire time soaking her up.

But I couldn’t stop myself from touching her.

Slowly, I reached out and carefully brushed the silky strands of hair back from her cheek, fanning the long length over the stark white pillow. Now I could see the faint bruises across her cheekbone, a faded shade of yellow. There was a thin cut on her lower lip, too. Anger punched its way through me. I inhaled deeply, letting my breath eke its way out.

Placing one hand on the other side of her, I lowered my head and pressed a soft kiss to the cut on her lip, silently promising that I’d make whoever was responsible for the bruises and pain she’d faced pay dearly. Instinctively, I let the healing warmth flow from me to her, erasing the bruises from sight.

A soft, warm sigh blew across my mouth, and I lifted my gaze, unwilling to pull too far away. Kat’s lashes fluttered and her shoulders hitched as she dragged in a deeper breath. I waited with my heart in my throat.

She slowly opened her eyes, and her gray stare was unfocused as it moved over my face. “Daemon?”

The sound of her voice, husky with sleep, was like coming home. The burning turned into a ball in my throat. Leaning back, I placed the tips of my fingers on her chin. “Hey, Kitten,” I said, my own voice hoarse as hell.

She stared at me as the cloudiness in her gaze cleared. “Am I dreaming?”

My laugh came out strangled. “No, Kitten, you’re not dreaming. I’m really here.”

A heartbeat passed, and then she rose up on her elbows. A single strand of hair fell across her face. I straightened, giving her more room. My heart rate kicked into supersonic speed, matching hers. Then she was sitting up fully, her hands on my face. My eyes closed as I felt the gentle touch all the way to my soul.

Kat slid her hands over my cheeks, as if she were trying to convince herself that I was real. I placed mine over her hands and opened my eyes. Hers were wide and wet, shining with tears. “It’s okay,” I told her. “Everything’s going to be okay, Kitten.”

“How…how are you here?” She swallowed. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re going to be mad.” I pressed a kiss to her open palm. I reveled in the shudder that rolled through her. “I turned myself in.”

She jerked back, but I held onto her hands, not letting her get away. And yeah, I was selfish. I wasn’t ready to go without her touch. “Daemon, what…? What were you thinking? You shouldn’t—”

“I wasn’t going to let you go through this by yourself.” I slid my hands down her arms, cupping her elbows. “There was no way I could do that. I know that’s not what you wanted, but
this
wasn’t want I wanted.”

She gave a little shake of her head, and her voice was barely a whisper. “But your family, Daemon? Your—”

“You’re more important.” The moment those words came out of my mouth, I knew they were true. Family had always come first for me, and Kat was a part of my family—a bigger part. She was my future.

“But the things they’re going to make you do…” The wetness in her eyes swelled, and a single tear escaped, racing down her cheek. “I don’t want you to go through—”

I caught the tear with a kiss. “And I’m not going to let you do this by yourself. You’re my—you’re my everything, Kat.” At the sound of her soft inhale, I smiled again. “Come on, Kitten, did you really expect anything less from me? I love you.”

Her hands fell to my shoulders, flexing until her fingers dug through the cotton of my shirt, and she stared at me for so long I started to worry. Then she sprang forward, wrapping her arms around my neck and practically tackling me.

Laughing against the top of her head, I caught myself before I toppled over. One second she was beside me, and then she was in my lap, wrapping her arms and legs around me. This—
this
was the Kat I knew.

“You’re crazy,” she whispered against my neck. “You’re absolutely crazy, but I love you. I love you so much. I don’t want you here, but I love you.”

I slid my hand down her spine, curling my fingers against her lower back. “I’ll never grow tired of hearing you say that.”

She pressed against me, her fingers burying in the hair at the nape of my neck. “I missed you so much, Daemon.”

“You have no idea…” I ran out of words at that point. Her being this close after so long was the sweetest kind of torture. Each breath she took, I felt in
every
part of my body, in some areas more than others. Really inappropriate, but she always had a powerful hold over me. Common sense jumped out the window.

She pulled back, her eyes searching mine, and then she reclaimed the distance, and, damn, the kiss was half innocent, half desperate, and wholly perfect. My grip on her back tightened as she tilted her head, and even though the kiss started out as something sweet, I totally took it there. I deepened the kiss, throwing every fear into it, every minute that had passed that we’d been separated, and everything I felt for her. Her breathy moan shook me, and when she wiggled it nearly undid me.

I gripped her hips and pushed her back. It was the last thing I wanted to do. “Cameras, remember?”

Color crawled up her neck and splashed across her cheeks. “Oh, yeah, everywhere except—”

“The bathroom,” I supplied, catching the flash of surprise across her face. “They’ve filled me in.”

“Everything?” When I nodded, the rosy color in her cheeks disappeared, and she quickly scuttled out of my lap. She settled beside me, her gaze straight ahead. Several moments passed, and she took a deep breath. “I’m…glad you’re here, but I wish you weren’t.”

“I know.” I didn’t take offense to that statement.

She tucked her hair back. “Daemon, I…”

I placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her face back to mine.
“I know,”
I said again, searching her eyes. “I saw some of the stuff, and they told me about—”

“I don’t want to talk about that,” she said quickly, sliding her hands over her bent knees.

Concern rose inside me, but I forced a smile. “Okay. That’s okay.” I slid my arm back around her shoulders, tugging her closer. There was no resistance. She melted into my side, curling her fingers into my shirt. I kissed her forehead. I kept my voice low. “I’m going to get us out of this.”

Her hand balled around my shirt as she lifted her head. “How?” she whispered.

I leaned over, pressing close to her ear. “Trust me. I’m sure they’re watching us, and I don’t want to give them any reason to separate us right now.”

She nodded in understanding, but her mouth grew tense. “Have you seen what they’ve been doing here?”

I shook my head, and she took a deep breath. In hushed tones, she told me about the sick humans they were treating, the Luxen and the hybrids. As we talked, we stretched out on the bed, facing each other. I could tell she was skating over a lot of stuff. For one thing, she didn’t talk about anything she’d been doing or how she got those bruises. I figured it had to do with Blake and that was why she was mum on the topic, but she did mention a little girl named Lori who was dying from cancer. A pinched look appeared when she talked about her. Kat hadn’t smiled once. The knowledge nagged at me, threatening to ruin the reunion.

“They said that there are bad Luxen out there,” she said. “That it’s why they have me here, to learn how to fight against them.”

“What?”

She tensed. “They said that there were thousands of Luxen who wanted to harm humans and that more would be coming. I’m guessing they didn’t say anything like that to you?”

“No.” I almost laughed, but then I remembered what Ethan had said. There was no way that could’ve had anything to do with what she was saying. Or could it? “They told me they want more hybrids.” A troubled look crossed her face, and I wished I hadn’t said that. “What kind of cancer does Lori have?” I asked, running my hand up her arm. I hadn’t stopped touching her. Not once since I’d entered the room.

The tips of her fingers were resting on my chin, and we were as close as we could be that would seem appropriate, considering we had eyes on us. “Same kind of cancer my dad had.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Her fingers followed the curve of my jaw. “I only saw her once, but she’s not doing too well. They’re giving her some kind of treatment they’re getting from the Luxen and hybrids. They call it LH-11.”

“LH-11?”

She nodded and then frowned. “What?”

Holy crap, that was what Luc wanted. Which begged the question, what the hell did Luc want with a serum that Daedalus was using on sick humans? Her frown deepened, and I bridged the insignificant space between us, keeping my voice low. “I’ll tell you later.”