I came face-to-face with Archer and the Glock he held in his hand. Our gazes collided, and fear exploded in my chest like buckshot. My breath caught in my throat as I froze. All I could see was the barrel of the gun, and then the spark as the trigger was pulled. I braced myself for the pain of metal ripping through my skin and bones.
Except it never came.
A body thunked on the ground behind me, and I spun around, gasping as I saw a Luxen facedown in the road in a pool of shimmery liquid.
“Bullet to the head,” Archer said. “Even they don’t get up from that.”
“That’s cheating,” Daemon said as he whirled around, taking out the last Luxen with a blast from the Source, pinning him against a nearby truck.
“Whatever.” Archer shoved the gun behind his back. “I’m all about conserving energy where I can.”
Pushing the hair out of my face, I surveyed the grim scene. “That’s all of them?”
Archer looked around. “I’m thinking it is for now.”
For now? I wasn’t sure I could go another round as I turned to where Daemon stood. My heart spasmed in my chest. Bluish-red liquid seeped out of the corner of his mouth. I jerked toward him, rocked. I hadn’t even seen him injured. “You’re hurt!”
“I’m fine,” he assured me, but the sight of him—of Daemon bleeding—rattled me to the core. “Took a hit, but it’s cool. In a couple of minutes it will be like nothing happened.”
That did very little to ease the panic building.
“He’s truly okay,” Archer threw in. “He’ll heal fast, especially since it’s daytime.”
I didn’t quite get what he was saying at first, but then I remembered Daemon explaining all that time ago how the sun did wonders for the Luxen, while copious amounts of sugar worked for hybrids.
“We’ve got to hurry.” Daemon grabbed my hand, tugging me back toward the Explorer. “More will feel us traveling, and it’s only a matter of time before they figure out what we’re doing.”
And that would be bad—really bad.
16
{ Katy }
I’d gone through three chocolate candy bars by the time we neared Atlanta and was experiencing a major sugar rush. With Daemon behind the wheel and, as he had said, completely fine and dandy after taking the hit, we made up the time spent dealing with the Luxen on the road in Kentucky and might have shaved a few years off my life and Archer’s.
We hadn’t seen any more Luxen, and we didn’t know exactly where they’d sensed us or if they’d communicated to others that we were on the move, or if they even knew who we were, but to be safe instead of sorry, we assumed eventually more would be coming.
As we crossed into Georgia, I saw something that looked like it was straight out of a movie. The trees on either side of the highway had been snapped in two, charred and broken. Wreckage from a plane crash could be seen through the thick stand of vegetation. A tail. A middle section with the tiny windows blown out.
I looked away, heartbroken by all the needless violence and destruction. The more I saw, the harder I believed it would be for us—for the world—to move on no matter what happened with the invading Luxen. Now that humans knew they were around us, how could they go on? How could they ever trust a Luxen after this?
I couldn’t let myself dwell on those worries, kind of like not crossing that screwed-up bridge with a bunch of holes until we got to it. I really couldn’t fathom what life was going to be like for anyone.
Surprisingly, the roads had cleared for the most part. Any abandoned car had been pushed to the shoulders, and the city, from the outer loop of the major highway, looked okay, all things considered.
Probably had something to do with the heavy military presence and the National Guard, but they would only hold the Luxen off for so long. It was close to seven in the evening when we arrived at the sprawling airport, and it looked like a curfew had been put into place, because there was hardly anyone anywhere. Then again, no one was getting on a plane right now.
“There we go.” Archer pointed at a sleek foreign car with all the windows tinted out. “That’s what he said he’d be driving. Nice car.”
“I know asking you to stay in the car is too much, but please stay close to me.” Daemon slowed down as he crossed the parking lot, heading toward the fancy black car. “Luc might trust the douche, but I don’t.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s not like I’m going to run up and hug him.”
His expression turned bland. “I’d sure hope not. I might get jealous.”
“You’d get jealous if she hugged a tree,” Archer tossed out.
“Maybe.” Daemon coasted to a stop in a parking space behind the car. “I’m needy like that.”
I lost my urge not to roll my eyes as I opened the passenger door. “You both are ridiculous.”
As we climbed out of the SUV, three doors on the flashy car popped open. Curiosity pecked at me. I’d never really seen an Arum who wasn’t going to try to snack on my energy. So there was a certain level of novelty in really getting the chance to see and interact with one who hopefully wasn’t going to turn into yet another thing that would try to kill us. I focused on the tall form unfolding from the driver’s side.
Holy Arum . . .
The dark-haired man was as tall as Daemon but broader. The black shirt he wore stretched across the sort of shoulders and chest that reminded me of a boxer’s build. Just from that alone, he looked like he could do some damage. From what I could see of the sculpted jawline and profile, his skin was pale, like all Arum, but not a ghastly color. More like alabaster or porcelain. His eyes were hidden behind black shades. Wearing dark denim, he looked more like one of those guys in GQ magazine than a soulless alien version of the goat-sucking chupacabra.