“Stabilize me?” My laugh sounded a bit choked. “What’s going to happen? I’m going to explode or something?”
He looked at me. “You can seriously end up hurting yourself or others. I’ve heard things, Katy. Some mutated humans… Well, let’s just say it doesn’t end pretty.”
“You don’t need to scare her.”
“I’m not trying to. It’s just the truth,” Blake responded. “And if the DOD finds out about you, they’re going to take you in. And if you can’t control your abilities, they will put you down.”
I gasped, turning away. Put me down? Like a feral animal? All of this was happening way too fast. Just last night I’d been having a good, normal time with Daemon. The very thing I’d wanted from Blake, who turned out not to be normal at all. And the whole time I believed Blake was attracted to me because he wanted to be, he was drawn to me because we were both X-Men wannabes.
Ha. Irony was such a bitch.
“Katy, I know this is a lot. But you have to be prepared. You leave this town, the Arum are going to be on you. That is, if you can slide by the DOD.”
“You’re right. This is a lot.” I faced him. “I thought you were normal. And you’re not. You’re telling me that I have the DOD gunning for me. That if I ever decide to leave this place, I’m going to be a Snack Pack for an Arum. And better yet, I may lose complete control of whatever powers I have and wipe out a family of four, then be put down! All I wanted to do today was eat some goddamn fries and be normal!”
Daemon let out a low whistle and Blake winced. “You’re never going to be normal, Katy. Never again.”
“No shit,” I snapped. I wanted to hit something, but I needed to pull it together. If I’d learned anything from my dad’s sickness, it was that things couldn’t be changed. But I could change how I dealt with them. Since I moved here—since I met Daemon and Dee—I’d changed.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled in the anger, fear, and frustration. Perspective was needed. “What are we going to do?”
“We don’t need his help,” Daemon said.
“But you do,” Blake whispered. “I heard about the window thing with Simon.”
I glanced at Daemon, and he shook his head.
“What do you think will happen next time? Simon ran off, doing God knows what. You won’t get so lucky again.”
Simon’s disappearance wasn’t luck. I didn’t want to look at it that way. Tipping my head back, I closed my eyes. Ice settled in my limbs. It was no longer a fear of exposing the Luxen, but myself now, too. And my mom.
“How do you know so much about them?” I asked, voice small.
“The girl I was telling you about? She told me everything. I wanted to help her…to get away, but she wouldn’t leave. The DOD had something or someone that meant a lot to her.”
God. The DOD was like the mafia. They’d use any means necessary. I shivered. “Who was she?”
“Liz something,” he said. “Don’t know her last name.”
The walls of the car seemed to shift even closer. Trapped. I felt trapped.
Daemon was boiling over in the seat next to me. “You know,” he said to Blake, “there’s nothing stopping me from killing you. Right now.”
“Yes, there is.” Blake’s voice was even. “There’s Katy and the fact I doubt you’re a cold-blooded killer.”
Daemon stiffened. “I don’t trust you.”
“You don’t have to. Only Katy does.”
And that was the thing. I wasn’t sure I did trust him, but he was like me. And if he could help me not expose Daemon and my friends, I’d do anything. It was just that simple. Everything else would have to be played by ear.
I looked at Daemon. He was staring ahead now, hand on the dashboard as if the plastic was grounding him somehow. Did he feel as helpless as I did? It didn’t matter. I couldn’t—wouldn’t risk him.
“When do we start?” I asked.
“Tomorrow if you can,” Blake said.
“My mom leaves for work after five.” I swallowed.
Blake agreed and Daemon said, “I’ll be there.”
“Not necessary,” Blake shot back.
“And I don’t care. You aren’t doing a damn thing with Katy without me being there.” He faced the boy again. “I don’t trust you. Just so we’re clear.”
“Whatever.” Blake climbed out of the car. Cold air rushed in, and I called out his name. He stopped with his hand on the door. “What?”
“How did you get away from the Arum when they attacked you?” I asked.
Blake looked away, eyes squinting at the sky. “That’s not something I’m ready to talk about, Katy.” He shut the door and jogged off toward his car.
I sat there for several minutes, staring out the window, not really seeing anything. Daemon muttered something under his breath and then opened his door, disappearing into the shadows surrounding the diner. He’d left me.
I didn’t even remember the trip home. Pulling into the driveway, I killed the engine and sat back, closing my eyes. Night seeped into my silent car. I got out, took a step, and heard my porch steps groan.
Daemon had beaten me home. He came down the steps, his baseball cap hiding his eyes.
I shook my head. “Daemon…”
“I don’t trust him. I don’t trust a damn thing about him, Kat.” He took off his hat, thrust his fingers through his hair, and then slammed the cap back down. “He comes out of nowhere and knows everything. Every instinct is telling me he can’t be trusted. He could be anyone, working for any organization. We don’t know anything about him.”